Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

At this moment, Yi Chen's panel underwent another drastic change.

His lifespan limit increased to 107 years old, a full ten years longer than before.

His strength attribute rose from the previous 33 points to 45, topping the four attributes, and his stamina, spirit, and agility had all made significant strides, though not as much as his strength.

Just as Yi Chen had predicted, the seventh layer of the Minor Pure Yang Skill gave him a new active technique—the Soul Ignition Technique.

"The most intense heat is from burning, igniting one's potential, consuming lifespan in exchange for power. Currently, by burning one year of lifespan, one can increase strength and inner qi by fifty percent, with a maximum of fivefold strength enhancement."

Yi Chen read the fine print on the light screen word by word, gaining some understanding of the active skill of the Minor Pure Yang Skill's seventh layer.

However, he had no intention of actively trying out the power of the Soul Ignition Technique for the time being, waiting to see which lucky one would witness his blaze.

"Given how it's changed, calling it Minor Pure Yang Skill doesn't seem appropriate anymore. Better to call it True Pure Yang Skill."

Yi Chen looked at the words Minor Pure Yang Skill on the light screen and, with a thought, the words slowly faded, while the symbol for True Pure Yang Skill gradually emerged and finally stabilized.

Looking at the words True Pure Yang Skill for the seventh layer on the light screen, Yi Chen gently tapped the plus sign next to the True Pure Yang Skill with his mind, and suddenly a row of small print appeared at the bottom of his retina.

[Current Deep Red Value is insufficient at 600, unable to upgrade.]

Hiss.

Seeing this, Yi Chen couldn't help but inhale sharply.

Holy shit, it directly increased the price by sixfold?

Scraping together a hundred Deep Red Values almost killed him, and he even got involved with a master whose depth he didn't know, behind an evil spirit.

To accumulate six hundred... I'd have to slay twenty corpse ghosts, fog ghosts, or mud-pulling ghouls of that ilk.

Unfathomable, truly unfathomable.

"Dad, big daddy, can you invite a friend to help with a slash? This is too expensive," Yi Chen muttered to himself as he faced the light screen on his retina.

However, the Golden Finger did not move at all, not showing any response.

Having no choice, he turned off the light screen.

"Let me test the quality of the seventh layer True Pure Yang Skill," Yi Chen's expression changed as he remembered another trait added behind the seventh layer True Pure Yang Skill, the returning Qi and the ignition, and his curiosity surged.

Unable to restrain himself anymore, a smear of deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi appeared at his fingertips. He lightly drew his fingertip across the sandalwood tabletop on the terrace and, like a torch cutting through, a triangular piece fell onto the terrace.

The cut surface was pitch black with faint blue flames barely visible, likely the burning effect brought by the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi.

Yi Chen looked at it with great satisfaction.

"The seventh layer of the True Pure Yang Skill is indeed not bad."

"This bone-attaching burning effect is simply the nightmare of evil spirits."

"Even if used for murder and arson, for destroying bodies and erasing evidence, the effect is first-class."

"Eh, why would such thoughts arise in this Taoist's mind? Blessings be to the Limitless Heavenly Venerate, my mistake, my mistake."

"Scratch that last part, pretend I didn't say anything."

Yi Chen flicked his finger and a burst of deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi shot towards the triangular piece, instantly igniting it and reducing it to ashes.

He glanced at the charred piece, crushed it underfoot, then left the terrace and returned to his room.

Strength is indeed the courage of a person.

Compared to his tired expression before the upgrade, his face now showed no signs of weariness, only a faint smile remained.

He looked up, gazing through the carved wooden window at the deep night sky, his eyes profound as an unfathomable lake, mulling over something.

After a while, he came back to his senses and shook his head with a smile.

"Overthinking is useless."

"Better to sleep."

"Striving to improve one's own strength is the one true noble path."

With that thought, Yi Chen threw himself onto the bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

…

…

The next day, the rooster crowed at dawn.

Cluck cluck~ cluck~ (Requesting sound effects.)

Yi Chen got up with the rooster, washed up, and straightened his clothes in front of the room's bronze mirror.

An image of a young Daoist with chiseled features and a sunny, handsome face came into view.

He couldn't resist striking several poses in front of the mirror.

"Tsk tsk."

"This chest muscle, this back muscle, these biceps—if I were in my previous life, I wonder how many rich and noble ladies I would've enchanted to death."

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"Powerful without being bulky, truly a rare gem."

Since his breakthrough last night, Yi Chen's physique had undergone further refinement. His muscles appeared smaller than before, but in reality, both his strength and defense had increased significantly.

Now, his body was extremely dense; despite being nearly two meters tall, he weighed over three hundred kilograms. The toughness of his body far exceeded ordinary human imagination.

More than human.

After a night's rest, Yi Chen had fully recuperated. He was spirited, and his deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi had returned to its original state, filling his body.

"It's time to step out and meet with my 'partners'."

As the largest and most luxurious inn in Fengyun County, Ping An Inn naturally incorporated both lodging and dining.

In a private room on the second floor, Yi Chen sat around a square table with Abbess Shuiyue, Daoist Qingxu, and Master Lianhua.

Although Abbess Shuiyue and the other two were surprised by Yi Chen's physical transformation, they tacitly did not ask questions, leaving Yi Chen regretful that he couldn't use the excuses he had prepared in advance.

Unlike his energetic appearance, Abbess Shuiyue and the other two had worried expressions on their faces, indicating they had not rested well.

Master Lianhua was the first to speak among them.

"Regarding the mysterious master mentioned by that demon, does anyone have any good strategies to deal with him?"

At these words, everyone fell silent.

After all, there's a saying that one can only be a thief for a day, but one cannot guard against a thief forever.

Master Lianhua sighed, saying helplessly, "It seems that we can only take one step at a time. After I return, I will write to the Moon Wheel Temple in the mansion city and ask if they have any intelligence. If they do, I will send someone to inform everyone."

"At this stage, we must support each other; we cannot afford to pull each other down."

While saying this, Master Lianhua's gaze intentionally paused on Daoist Qingxu's face for a moment before turning towards Yi Chen.

After a discussion, they agreed to share information and support one another.

After all, the four of them had killed the subordinates of that mysterious master—who knew if he bore grudges?

Supporting each other was in everyone's best interest.

At the very least, intelligence should be shared.

This is often the case in the world: people unite against a common enemy but harbor their own agendas when there is none. This is not surprising.

Under the threat of that mysterious master, the four quickly reached a consensus.

Mobilize all their hidden forces to gather intelligence on the mysterious master.

Was he just passing by, or did he intend to take root in Fengyun County?

Would he continue to trouble them?

Would there be more acts of aggression?

Was wiping out the Wang family a spur-of-the-moment decision, or was there some unspeakable purpose?

Fengyun County belonged to all of them, and if it was thrown into chaos by that demon, resulting in widespread suffering, no one would benefit. Therefore, while trusting in the wisdom of the Town Security, they could not afford to be completely passive and had to take action.

"Then, there's a second matter," Master Lianhua cleared his throat and continued, "The county lord has sent three thousand taels of silver notes."

"For the slaying of the demon that eradicated the Wang family, Taoist Yi Chengzi has made great contributions, so he should take one thousand five hundred taels. The rest of us will take five hundred taels each. What does everyone think of this arrangement?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Abbess Shuiyue and Master Lianhua left in a hurry after the matter was settled, leaving Yi Chen and Daoist Qingxu in the room, the air heavy with tension.

Daoist Qingxu broke the silence after a moment and pushed the five hundred taels of silver notes in front of Yi Chen.

"Daoist, what does this mean?"

"An apology, a request for peace."

"Fengyun County is not large, but it is not small either; it's large enough to accommodate both Hidden Dragon Temple and my True Technique Temple," said Qingxu Daoist earnestly.

"We have always admired Daoist Bai Yunzi's conduct, and my True Technique Temple has no intention of being enemies with the Daoist."

Daoist Qingxu was straightforward, voicing his intentions directly. They were all centuries-old foxes—there was no need for pretense or deception. It was better to be forthright than to beat around the bush, as the latter would only cause annoyance.

Bowing one's head required the proper humble attitude; to be evasive would only irritate others.

Seeing Yi Chen's figure that morning, Daoist Qingxu felt a powerful sense of oppression, keenly aware that Yi Chen might have made another breakthrough. This was why he took advantage of the moment Abbess Shuiyue and Master Lianhua had left to swallow his pride and directly seek peace.

He was very decisive in his actions!

Yi Chen looked at the silver notes before him and shook his head.

"Not enough."

"What do you mean, Taoist Yi Chengzi? Surely you don't want my old life," Daoist Qingxu spoke with a hint of age in his voice.

"Of course not, Daoist Qingxu, you're overthinking it. What would I want your life for?"

"What I mean is, five hundred taels is not enough."

"You need to add more money!" Yi Chen tilted his head, bearing the resemblance of a money-grubbing client.

Daoist Qingxu: "..."

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