Chapter 4: Drawing Qi into the Body

Xiaoxue's petite body swayed slightly. "This servant isn't quite sure. Miss only said that Young Master Bai made a mistake and needs to be locked up here to reflect for a few days."

"At that time, Young Master Bai was covered in blood, and I spent a long time wiping it off."

Junior Brother Bai Ming's mouth twitched slightly; it seemed Song Wanqing still cared about her reputation.

He had been whipped for three hours; at the time, his skin was already torn and flesh mangled. That miserable state couldn't be summed up by just saying he was covered in blood.

Junior Brother Bai Ming probed with a few more questions and discovered that the young girl before him didn't seem to resist talking to him.

This was the only breakthrough point for now.

"Is there spiritual energy here?"

Xiaoxue blinked, looking somewhat puzzled. "Doesn't Young Master Bai know?"

Moving from one prison to another, how could he possibly know?

Although Xiaoxue found it strange—in her view, these were common facts—she still explained it to Junior Brother Bai Ming.

During this time, Junior Brother Bai Ming asked questions indirectly multiple times, and the information he gathered became increasingly complete.

This was a world filled with spiritual energy. Cultivators could ride clouds and mist, travel a thousand miles in a day, and there were various immortal sects that remained in seclusion, soon to open their gates to accept disciples.

The place where Junior Brother Bai Ming was currently located was a city named Canglan.

The Song family held an unshakable position in this city of Canglan. Patriarch Song was not only the lord of Canglan City but also possessed the cultivation of the Golden Core Stage.

Golden Core.

Junior Brother Bai Ming felt a chill in his heart. Fortunately, he didn't need to fight this group of Cultivators; he only needed to escape from here.

But could he really escape, relying only on the body of a mortal?

Did he really have to be imprisoned here until death, just as Song Wanqing had said?

Junior Brother Bai Ming's heart tightened, feeling a sense of palpitations; he couldn't see any hope.

Xiaoxue continued to chat casually, a smile on her face. "My Miss is also a renowned genius in these parts, born with a Heavenly Spirit Root."

Still increasing the difficulty.

Junior Brother Bai Ming smiled bitterly. With his own frail and pathetic body, how could he escape the clutches of that crazy woman?

Bang—

The heavy iron door was slowly pushed open, the sound interrupting Junior Brother Bai Ming's thoughts and drawing his gaze.

A flash of cyan entered his eyes.

The owner of the cyan clothes moved with light steps, appearing somewhat gentle under the dim candlelight.

The woman had a beautiful face, wore a faint smile, and her demeanor was calm and unhurried; her smiling eyebrows made one feel favorably inclined toward her.

If Junior Brother Bai Ming didn't know the woman's true face, he would surely think the woman before him was a kind and generous person.

But this woman was a devil wearing human skin.

Xiaoxue quickly tidied up the food basket and stood to the side. "Miss."

Song Wanqing waved her sleeve lightly. "You may go out first; I have important matters to discuss with Young Master Bai." She turned her head to look at Junior Brother Bai Ming, the faint smile on her face appearing meaningful.

Xiaoxue left quickly, closing the heavy iron door as she departed.

Song Wanqing raised an eyebrow slightly. "It seems Young Master Bai has gained some understanding of his current situation."

Junior Brother Bai Ming's expression was ugly. Although he had lost the physical iron chains, the gap between immortals and mortals left him with no chance of winning whatsoever.

"Song Wanqing, do you think mere physical torture can make me submit?"

Song Wanqing's smile deepened. "Oh my, fainting is indeed one way. A mortal's body is just so fragile; after a little tossing about, it can't take it anymore, and if one is not careful, it might break."

Junior Brother Bai Ming was somewhat vigilant. "What do you want to say?"

The iron grating was easily opened. With no barriers left, there was only a few meters of space between the two.

Song Wanqing approached step by step. Junior Brother Bai Ming instinctively retreated until the coolness of the wall touched his back; he had nowhere left to run.

At such close range, was there any chance of winning?

Junior Brother Bai Ming began to consider the possibility of attacking Song Wanqing. Even if there was no chance of winning, he couldn't just surrender without a fight.

Song Wanqing got closer and closer. Junior Brother Bai Ming felt a chill in his heart, but finally made up his mind.

He punched toward Song Wanqing's lower abdomen, but it felt as if there was an invisible wall of Qi in between. His fist stopped a foot away from her abdomen, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch.

Song Wanqing took the opportunity to pin Junior Brother Bai Ming against the wall with one hand, her jade-like hands gripping his neck.

Furthermore, a pair of invisible large hands pressed down on Junior Brother Bai Ming's body, making him unable to move.

Junior Brother Bai Ming struggled, feeling somewhat afraid. "What are you doing?"

Song Wanqing's lips curled up as she gathered a blue ball of light in her hand and shoved it into Junior Brother Bai Ming's mouth.

The invisible large hands dissipated, and Junior Brother Bai Ming fell from the wall, half-kneeling on the ground.

Junior Brother Bai Ming clutched his neck. "Crazy woman, what did you feed me?"

Song Wanqing squinted her eyes, revealing a malicious smile. "Just something good."

Junior Brother Bai Ming curled up his body, violently clutching his neck, wanting to vomit out what he had just swallowed.

After a bout of heart-wrenching dry heaving, he spat out nothing.

The spiritual energy contained within the blue light orb wandered through his body. Junior Brother Bai Ming felt his limbs burning, and his abdomen felt as if it were about to explode with pain.

His face was flushed red, and tiny beads of sweat constantly appeared on his forehead.

Hot, so hot.

His body temperature kept rising; he felt as hot as a furnace.

Song Wanqing watched Junior Brother Bai Ming's changes with great interest, a look of surprise in her eyes.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's brain was in chaos; his head felt like it was about to explode.

No, I cannot fall here.

Junior Brother Bai Ming forcibly suppressed the chaos in his mind, using his willpower to endure the heat of his body. Slowly, he discovered that he seemed to be able to control the movement of the spiritual energy within his body.

The spiritual energy stopped spreading to his limbs and began to concentrate in his lower abdomen; a circular ball of light began to take shape.

A sky full of firelight emerged from Junior Brother Bai Ming's body.

There were wisps of lingering flames in his eyes.

"Song Wanqing, pay with your life!" Junior Brother Bai Ming let out a roar and attacked Song Wanqing.

Song Wanqing extended her right hand to block his fist. Seeing this, Junior Brother Bai Ming kicked toward her waist.

Song Wanqing blocked with her left hand, easily stopping it.

"Interesting."

A fireball shot straight out from Junior Brother Bai Ming's palm, exploding between the two.

Taking advantage of the impact of the explosion, Junior Brother Bai Ming flew toward the iron door; his goal was never to defeat Song Wanqing here.

But to escape this place.

Song Wanqing was staggered by the sudden explosion, and the iron door appeared before Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes.

Almost there. She had played too loosely after all, actually daring to let me draw Qi into my body.

When a Cultivator draws Qi into the body, they reach the Qi Refining Stage. From then on, a spiritual root appears in the abdomen of the practitioner, and they formally step onto the path of immortality.

Junior Brother Bai Ming was excited. With just one punch, he could break this iron door and escape from here.

During the struggle just now, he had gradually felt a spiritual root beginning to form within his body. According to the information he gathered from Xiaoxue, this was a sign of entering the Qi Refining Stage.

What was even more precious was that he could feel the spiritual root within him was very strong. Judging from the feeling of drawing Qi into his body, the quality of this spiritual root was extremely high.

Catching her off guard, he might actually be able to escape. Relying on the physique of the Qi Refining Stage, this distance of a few dozen meters would be covered in the blink of an eye.

This might be his only chance right now; how could he let it go?

Junior Brother Bai Ming raised his right fist, wanting to punch through the iron door in one blow.

Just as his fist was about to touch the iron door, a water orb appeared, enveloping his entire body.

Junior Brother Bai Ming struggled inside, wanting to tear open the water orb, but no matter how hard he tried, this seemingly soft water orb showed no signs of breaking.

He could only watch quietly from within as that blurry figure walked over.

Song Wanqing clapped her hands, her lips curling into a beautiful arc. "Not a bad sideshow."

Watching the blurry figure outside the water orb get closer and closer, Junior Brother Bai Ming had only one thought in his heart.

It's over.

He had failed to seize this only opportunity; there was no longer any possibility of escape for him in the short term.

All that awaited him was Song Wanqing's intensified torture.