Chapter 124 - What Was Happening?
Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
The black-ringed viper was an unusual venomous snake. The first time Yan Liqiang witnessed the might of this kind of snake venom was during one of the lessons at the martial arts academy last time. That day, the lecturing academy tutor specially brought a horse there for the experiment and obtained a sample of the venom from the fangs of a live, black-ringed viper. He then dipped the tip of a needle into the venom and pricked the horse with it.
The moment the horse was pricked by the needle, its body instantly stiffened along with its limbs before it loudly crashed onto the ground like a wooden carving that had been pushed over.
The venom of a black-ringed snake wasn’t fatal, but it would paralyze its opponents when it came into contact with their blood, immobilizing them. Compared to the ice ant which had bitten Yan Liqiang before, the paralyzing effect from the toxicity of the black-ringed viper was at least ten times more than that of an ice ant.
Of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t buy this snake for consumption or for its snake bile. Instead, he wanted its venom.
Yan Liqiang once again returned to Wuyang Village before lunchtime. After shutting the door upon returning to his small courtyard, Yan Liqiang went into his room, pinched the black-ringed viper at where its heart was, and took it out from the bamboo cage. He then retrieved a small porcelain bottle he bought the other day, pried open the black-ringed viper’s jaw, and pressed its venomous fangs against the rim of the porcelain bottle. Yan Liqiang exerted some force and the black-ringed viper’s venom was squeezed out of its poison glands, dripping from the sides of its fangs.
This black-ringed viper probably never had its venom extracted while alive. Hence, its venom reserve was extremely full and Yan Liqiang was able to squeeze many drops out of it in one go before the flow of its venom gradually slowed down.
Yan Liqiang put the snake back into its bamboo cage. Then he carefully wiped the snake venom he had collected in the bottle on the four blow darts he had created. After he applied a few layers and emptied the venom he had collected, he carefully stashed the blow darts away.
When he was done with all this, Yan Liqiang changed into a fresh set of clothes and then descended the mountain for a bowl of noodles. He returned with a couple of steamed buns that had he bought and then started practicing blowing darts.
When it came to cultivation, practical experience was much more effective than theories because practice makes perfect. The result of an hour’s worth of practice would be completely different than a day’s worth of practice. If one could practice up to ten days, the result would greatly vary.
Yan Liqiang was aware that he only had one chance in using his blow dart if he wished to kill Wang Haofei. If he messed up the first time, then it would be very difficult for him to find a second chance. Therefore, he had to ensure he wouldn’t mess up the only chance he got. If he didn’t wish to slip up, there was no other way than diligent practice.
The scorching sun hung above his head. Yan Liqiang’s mouth was dry and he was drenched in sweat. Even so, he still persevered in his practice.
He carried a wooden bucket full of water from the kitchen. If he was thirsty, he would scoop a bowl of water from the bucket and drink it. If he was hot, he would pour a bowl of water on his head.
Through constant practice, Yan Liqiang grew increasingly familiar with using the blow darts. Eventually, he seemed to become familiar with coordinated feeling between his mind and hand like he did when he first practiced archery every time he blew a dart. The accuracy of the blow darts he shot out also became increasingly high…
By evening when the clouds in the sky were tinged with sunset hues and Yan Liqiang had already lost count on how many practice rounds he had done, a red light emerged around him all of a sudden. Before he could even react, a strange, surging wave of force suddenly poured into his body from the crown of his head. The strange force that entered him instantly split into three inside his body. One of them rushed towards Yan Liqiang’s eyes, instantly causing an indescribable and pleasingly cool sensation in his eyes which felt as though someone with a high fever was suddenly doused in cool springwater. Another wave of force rushed to his hands, causing the tendons and veins of his hands to pulse irregularly as if they were electrocuted. The third wave enveloped his lungs and entire thoracic cavity, making Yan Liqiang feel as though his lungs were instantly cleared. At one point, Yan Liqiang almost felt as though his lungs had become bellows made of metal which wouldn’t be spoiled no matter how much they expanded…
The red light around him became increasingly intense. Slowly, the silhouette of a gigantic hornet manifested itself from the red light.
After awhile, the silhouette of that gigantic hornet suddenly went into Yan Liqiang’s body, wrapping itself around the energies in Yan Liqiang’s eyes, hands, and lungs before it gradually vanished.
Yan Liqiang was completely stunned. He simply couldn’t believe everything he had just experienced.
The red light which had just shone around him was exactly the same as his many experiences in attaining advancements in the realms of his cultivation techniques. This wasn’t a strange phenomenon. However, he wasn’t practicing any cultivation techniques just now. He was only blowing darts. Not only that, the silhouette of that hornet which had manifested in the red light was unseen and unheard of by Yan Liqiang. He had never heard of any cultivation technique advancement phenomena to include strange creatures like the hornet.
More importantly, when Yan Liqiang sensed the current state of his body, he realized that it felt very light and airy. It was a sensation that was hard to put into words.
The moment the silhouette of that hornet went inside Yan Liqiang’s body, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt his body growing lighter as though his weight was greatly reduced all of a sudden. Truth be told, Yan Liqiang had only experienced an improvement in his physical state from having the silhouette enter his body once and that was when he first passed the Horse Stance stage. He had crouched until the silhouette of a rhinodrake steed manifested itself. When the silhouette of that rhinodrake steed entered his body, Yan Liqiang felt an enormous amount of energy surge into his legs. When the silhouette of the hornet fused into his body just now, he felt the similar sensation as last time. He gained strength previously, but this time, he felt his body becoming more agile.
Not only that, Yan Liqiang also discovered that his eyes, hands, and lungs seemed to have undergone some changes.
When Yan Liqiang looked towards that pomegranate tree again, he suddenly seemed to be able to see it much clearer. Before this, his vision was akin to a pair of three megapixel camera. In just the blink of an eye, the three megapixel camera had instantly been upgraded into five megapixel camera. When he was staring at the pomegranate on the tree, it seemed as though he had instantly zoomed in on the pomegranate.
It was shocking to be able to experience such vision.
Yan Liqiang tried to fling his arm. He wasn’t sure why, but he could feel the speed of his arms significantly faster and more agile than usual. Compared to his current state, the state of his arms before felt as though all the joints weren’t lubricated, and his muscles were powerless while his tendons were not flexible.
Yan Liqiang quickly flung his arms about a few more times. The reflex speed and agility of his arms were simply too fast.
Then his lungs too. Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and realized that he could draw his breath longer and deeper…
What was happening?