A Radish?

Not a single glimmer of light showed in the leaden gray sky, as though this land of Mingchuan had always been plunged in perpetual darkness. The dense yin-nether power made Li Guanqi intensely uncomfortable; even the thunder power within his body was faintly suppressed. At that thought, Li Guanqi could not help frowning slightly. It seemed he could not afford to be too ostentatious about possessing lightning primal energy. Nearly all the surrounding buildings were pitch-black, low pavilions etched with dense, eerie runes and motifs. Li Guanqi did not know what these runes and patterns meant; they seemed to be a local custom. As all kinds of figures bustled past him, Li Guanqi felt his eyes truly opened. He had not expected demons—so rare on the Qingyun Continent—to be everywhere here. Fox demons, bears, mountain spirits... In short, any demon capable of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to open their intellect and gain wisdom could be found in abundance here. Suddenly, something bumped against Li Guanqi's heel. Looking down, he saw a plump, squat white radish... Li Guanqi clicked his tongue in wonder. "Tsk. Even radishes have become spirits these days." Who would have guessed that the moment he said those words, the little spirit flared with displeasure? Eerie purple patterns surfaced across its skin, and its aura surged upward, matching a Nascent Soul realm cultivator! Moreover, its body swelled until it was half the height of a man. Its round purple eyes glared wide. Baring a mouthful of fangs, it spat human speech, cursing, "You're a radish! Your whole family is radishes!" "I am Pengluo! Pengluo! Not a radish!" This scene drew quite a few passersby to stop and stare at Li Guanqi. Looking at the half-man-tall radish, Li Guanqi's mouth twitched slightly. "Isn't that still a radish..." Hearing this, the little spirit erupted in fury. Its body swelled once more, and in the blink of an eye, it grew as tall as Li Guanqi. Its massive form blocked Li Guanqi from view. The plump, rounded body was covered with mysterious purple markings, radiating bursts of purple light. Its aura had climbed all the way to the peak of the early Soul Formation Realm! This genuinely startled Li Guanqi. He had wondered earlier how a plant or fruit spirit could wander openly down the street without fear of being captured and brewed into medicine. He looked it up and down, clicking his tongue in marvel. Just then, an elderly man in a black robe sitting by the street slowly looked up at them. Unable to resist, the elder cautioned, "Boy, don't piss it off, or we'll all suffer." Evidently, the elder meant that the Pengluo's true strength went far beyond this. Li Guanqi shrugged. His blood surged with a roar as the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art instantly circulated. He slammed a punch straight down onto Pengluo's head. Thud! The entire street shuddered violently! A terrifying boom echoed in all directions, jostling the seated elder so hard that he staggered... Beneath the black robe, the elder's aged mouth dropped open as he stared at the ground not far before him. The stone pavers of Mingchuan had cracked like a spiderweb. The furious Pengluo was now embedded in the ground, leaving only a bare head showing with two purple stems sticking out. Its exposed eyes had rolled back, whites showing, and its body slowly began to shrink. This sight thoroughly stunned everyone around them. Over the years, plenty of people had tried to seize Pengluo. Yet not only was this creature extraordinarily powerful, its escape technique was supreme—it was practically impossible to catch. With its thick hide and stubborn vitality, Pengluo was notoriously troublesome to deal with... Gulp... Gulp... Sounds of swallowed saliva rose one after another. Humans, ghosts, and demons all fixed their eyes on Li Guanqi. This was a Pengluo! Consuming it would yield immense benefits! If an ordinary Soul Formation cultivator ate it, they could likely advance by a sub-tier. The greed in their eyes was impossible to suppress. Li Guanqi reached out, plucked Pengluo up, and with a flip of his hand threw it into the isolated space within his sword coffin. He glanced up at the onlookers, a cold sneer on his lips. The fact that none of them had made a move meant they still possessed some rationality. After all, no one who could enter Mingchuan City was an idiot. This pale, slightly sickly-looking man had merely thrown a casual punch. Yet a single punch had knocked the enraged Pengluo unconscious. None of them believed their bodies were tougher than Pengluo's. Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Li Guanqi slowly vanished down the street. "What a formidable fellow... He knocked an enraged Pengluo senseless using physical strength alone!" "Seems the people coming to Mingchuan lately are monsters!" "What's that thing on his back? Could it be a coffin?" Li Guanqi didn't take bagging Pengluo to heart; he merely found the fellow amusing. Besides, a Soul Formation spirit creature... he could plant it on Tianlei Peak later. Li Guanqi smiled, clasping his hands behind his back in high spirits. "I'll plant a whole yard of radishes when I get back. Heh, just thinking about it makes me happy." As various figures passed Li Guanqi, they were subconsciously nudged aside. Some ghost cultivators even felt an inexplicable dread creep into their hearts whenever they laid eyes on him. These ghost cultivators had grotesque, menacing visages, yet when they saw Li Guanqi, they scrambled to squeeze out fawning smiles. Noticing this, Li Guanqi felt rather amused and helpless. Aside from possessing lightning primal energy, he had forcibly devoured heavenly tribulation lightning with each breakthrough to elevate his energy's purity. And now he carried two heavenly flames! To yin and wicked creatures, seeing him was like mice running into a cat. Glancing up at the misty rift in the sky and calculating the time, Li Guanqi strode deeper into Mingchuan. For now, the area within ten thousand zhang of the rift was fully enveloped by an enchantment, and no one could cross it. He found an inn not far from the barrier and checked in. Fortunately, spirit stones were hard currency everywhere. Looking around at the moldy room, Li Guanqi couldn't help wrinkling his nose. Still, he didn't mind. He put away the sword coffin and masked his inner power with the Yinming Profound Flame, then nodded slightly. The Yinming Profound Flame surged within him, thoroughly concealing his natural aura. This flame was truly uncanny... If the Purple Dragon Thunder Flame was the ultimate masculine, unyielding flame in heaven and earth, the Yinming Profound Flame was the exact opposite extreme. Furthermore, the Yinming Profound Flame possessed a unique ability: it could be controlled to materialize inside another person's body out of thin air, making it virtually impossible to guard against! He wondered where Chen Zhi had obtained the Nine Heavens Flame Devouring Art, which actually allowed one to control multiple heavenly flames at the same time. The source flame seeds of the heavenly flames rested within his Nascent Soul's dantian, never interfering with each other. His soul power was already more than half merged with his Nascent Soul. Once soul and Nascent Soul completely fused into an origin spirit, he would officially step into Void Refinement. Li Guanqi stepped out of his room, intending to wander the streets. A place where humans, demons, and ghosts coexisted intrigued him greatly. "Mm, maybe I can pick up some local specialties to take back."