I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 45 - 44: Cabbage Flower Snake

Xu Qing fell silent. He didn’t try to persuade them any further. As the saying goes, you can’t talk a man out of his own grave. Because he possessed the Evil Ghost Mask, Xu Qing was particularly sensitive to things like Yin Qi, Evil Qi, and Ghost Qi.

In truth.

From the moment the old man and his group had appeared, Xu Qing had sensed faint wisps of Yin Sha Evil Qi clinging to them through his Evil Ghost Mask.

That was why.

He had spoken up earlier, warning them not to let lust cloud their judgment and engage in that sort of activity in a place like this.

Unfortunately.

They wouldn’t listen to reason.

In the end.

Three of the fifteen members of Patrol Squad Thirteen, which Xu Qing led, stayed behind. They took out their coarse biscuits and completed the transaction with the little old man.

Then.

The men walked off to the side, laughing and joking.

"Let’s go."

Xu Qing shook his head and looked away. "We’ll make our rounds and come back. They should be done by then, and we’ll have them rejoin the squad."

"Yes."

"Understood."

"..."

The others nodded respectfully.

As the group departed.

Faintly.

The hurried sounds of panting could be heard from the side.

「Half an hour later.」

Xu Qing and his men had completed one round of their patrol area and returned to the spot of the transaction, but they couldn’t see the three men.

Likewise.

They couldn’t find the little old man and his group either.

Everyone had vanished.

"Where are they?"

"How did they disappear?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"..."

Suddenly.

The men were stunned.

"Maybe they’re not done yet?"

"They can last that long?"

"..."

The men muttered among themselves.

Xu Qing, however, remained silent.

Next.

Xu Qing and his men patrolled a few more rounds, but they still saw no sign of them.

At this point.

They finally realized something was wrong.

"Those damn beggars and refugees, they dare make a move on us?!"

"Do they have a death wish?"

"..."

The next moment.

Anger began to bubble up within the men.

"What’s the plan?"

Su Changhe frowned.

"This..."

Liu Xiao hesitated, then looked toward Xu Qing.

"I already warned them not to do that kind of thing in such an unsavory place. But they were thinking with their dicks and just wouldn’t listen."

Xu Qing shrugged.

"That may be true."

Su Changhe shook his head, took a deep breath, and looked at the others.

Among the squad members.

Three were from the Tiger Head Escort Agency, and one of them was among the three who had disappeared.

"What are you planning to do?"

Xu Qing asked.

"Living or dead, I want to see a body."

Su Changhe said in a low voice, "Brother Xu, don’t worry. I won’t force the entire squad to search with me, but I have to find my man from the Tiger Head Escort Agency."

"Mm."

Xu Qing just nodded.

After that.

Su Changhe led his men, his face grim, and began to search, following the footprints left earlier. He also started questioning the refugees and victims in the area.

In fact.

Of the three missing men.

The Tiger Head Escort Agency, the Red Snake Gang, and the Cangying Martial Arts Hall had each lost one member.

"And you?"

Xu Qing looked at Liu Xiao.

"Let’s just forget it."

Liu Xiao said.

"Then we continue the patrol."

Xu Qing said.

In reality.

Xu Qing was well aware that as the number of refugees and victims grew, some heretical practitioners would naturally be hiding among them.

It might even attract some Demon Fiends and evil spirits.

After all.

For these heretical practitioners, this was the perfect environment. They excelled at stirring up all kinds of trouble to absorb things like resentment, filth, death energy, and Yin Qi for their Cultivation.

As for the evil spirits.

The situation with them was even more unpredictable.

’Whatever kind of heretic or Demon Fiend you are, just don’t come looking for trouble with me.’

Xu Qing thought to himself.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye.

It was six o’clock the next morning.

Xu Qing’s patrol shift for the day was over.

"Time to head back."

Xu Qing stretched and yawned, looking a bit tired. It was already six, and the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Su Changhe’s expression was ugly.

Obviously.

He hadn’t found anything.

"Stop thinking about it."

Xu Qing patted Su Changhe’s shoulder reassuringly. "Just be more careful on the next patrol. Don’t let your guard down, and don’t do anything reckless again."

"Hah... Mm."

Su Changhe took a deep breath. He didn’t say anything more, just nodded.

The scene shifted.

「Half an hour later.」

Xu Qing had returned home.

Yu Hu happened to arrive with a steaming bowl of eight-treasure porridge, which was, of course, cooked by his mother, Wang Cuilan. He approached with a big smile on his face.

"Master, have some porridge."

Yu Hu said.

"Good."

Xu Qing smiled.

Whether it was dumplings, beef noodles, or this bowl of porridge, for Xu Qing, it was all just a drop in the bucket. Normal food could no longer satisfy his daily needs.

If he were to eat food like dumplings, beef noodles, and eight-treasure porridge, he could eat so much that he could easily eat a wealthy family into bankruptcy.

For a Martial Artist.

What they needed was Spiritual Food.

And without Spiritual Food.

A Martial Artist’s strength would be significantly weakened, leading to insufficient physical and mental stamina, making it impossible to display their true power.

Therefore.

The dumplings, beef noodles, and this bowl of eight-treasure porridge from Yu Hu were, for Xu Qing, more a symbol of human warmth, something that lessened his sense of loneliness.

"Practice your fist forms."

After finishing the porridge, Xu Qing commanded Yu Hu.

"Yes, Master."

Yu Hu replied respectfully.

「An hour later.」

Xu Qing sent Yu Hu away. For some unknown reason, Yu Hu was becoming increasingly bright. Originally, Xu Qing had estimated that Yu Hu wouldn’t even be able to master Level 3 Baji Fist before the end of winter. Now, it seemed possible he might achieve it within a month.

Although it had taken Yu Hu a long time to enter the Ming Jin realm, he wasn’t old. Combined with the intelligence he was now showing, he could be considered a young genius.

Next.

Xu Qing continued practicing his fist forms at home. Even though he hadn’t slept the previous night, his energy was still ample, and he didn’t feel tired, so he practiced to increase his Experience Points.

CLANG!

The next moment.

Xu Qing drew his Fine Iron Sword and began practicing the Life-taking Thirteen Swords.

Time flew by.

Before he knew it.

It was almost noon. He slept for another two hours, and suddenly it was two in the afternoon.

’So fast?’

Xu Qing woke up. After eating a pound of Black Mountain Tiger Meat, he was about to leave his courtyard to take over his patrol shift. But just as his foot crossed the threshold of the gate...

"Huh?"

Xu Qing stopped. He let out a soft sound of surprise, having spotted a Cabbage Flower Snake, completely frozen stiff, right at his front gate.

’A snake?’

Xu Qing sized it up. The snake was two and a half meters long and powerfully built. Its body was black, mottled with yellow patches that resembled cabbage flowers, and its front section had several yellow horizontal stripes. The top of its head was brownish-yellow with black-edged scales, which formed a black line under its tail. On its forehead, black markings formed the character for ’King’.

Therefore.

The Cabbage Flower Snake was also known as the King Rat Snake.

’It’s not dead.’

Xu Qing was very surprised. He hadn’t expected to encounter a Cabbage Flower Snake in the dead of winter. ’Snakes usually hibernate in winter.’

’For this snake to appear at my door...’

’And...’

’To reach a length of two and a half meters, it’s already considered large for a Cabbage Flower Snake. It’s frozen as stiff as a stick, yet it’s still alive.’

’Interesting.’

Xu Qing smiled.

’My Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique has reached Level 8, but I still haven’t tamed a single true beast.’

Xu Qing mused inwardly, ’This Cabbage Flower Snake and I seem fated to meet. In that case, you shall become my first tamed beast.’

"Blood Curse Beast Taming Technique!"

WENG!

Without hesitation, Xu Qing drew his Iron Sword and slit the pad of his middle finger. A drop of scarlet blood fell, but influenced by Xu Qing’s Power, it hovered in mid-air.

Xu Qing formed hand seals. Through some mysterious process, he refined his own spirit into the blood, forming the ’Beast Taming Blood Spell’. Only then did it slowly descend toward the Cabbage Flower Snake on the ground.

DRIP!

The blood dripped onto the Cabbage Flower Snake’s forehead, seeping into its body right where the ’King’ character marking was. With that, the ’Beast Taming Blood Spell’ was successfully cast.

Soon.

Xu Qing felt a connection form with the Cabbage Flower Snake.

However.

The Cabbage Flower Snake was unconscious and couldn’t respond.

So.

Xu Qing knelt, extended his right hand, and circulated the Dan Jin within his body, sending his own Qi and Blood into the Cabbage Flower Snake. After about half a minute.

The Cabbage Flower Snake revived.

It had recovered from the brink of death.

"Not bad."

Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

The Cabbage Flower Snake was very docile. It coiled by Xu Qing’s feet, its serpentine eyes holding an eager-to-please look. A faint consciousness could be vaguely sensed from it.

Unfortunately.

The Cabbage Flower Snake was just an ordinary snake; it was impossible for it to possess true, complete Spirituality.

"Record."

WENG!

With a thought, Xu Qing’s consciousness connected with the Encyclopedia of All Things, focusing on the Cabbage Flower Snake. A white light flashed over the snake.

[Recording Successful!]

At the same time.

Information came from the Encyclopedia of All Things.

[Cabbage Flower Snake Level 1: 0/10 (This is an ordinary Cabbage Flower Snake, possessing considerable constricting Power and sharp fangs.)]

"It worked."

A joyful smile appeared on Xu Qing’s face. "Not bad, not bad. It really worked."

"Hahaha..."

Xu Qing laughed out loud.

Also.

Xu Qing now also knew how to level up the Cabbage Flower Snake.

’For the Cabbage Flower Snake to gain Experience Points, it just needs to eat. It gains one Experience Point for every ten pounds of meat it consumes.’

Xu Qing mused inwardly, glancing at the Cabbage Flower Snake. ’Looks like I’m raising a big eater from now on. Ten pounds of meat for just one Experience Point.’

Of course.

Using Spiritual Food would also work.

However.

The Cabbage Flower Snake was currently just an ordinary snake. With its current physical constitution, if it ate Spiritual Food, it would be completely unable to absorb and digest it. It would probably explode and die.

Therefore.

In the beginning.

He had to start by feeding the Cabbage Flower Snake regular meat. Once it leveled up and was no longer an ordinary snake, he could feed it spiritual meats.

For example, the Tai Sui Spirit Meat that Xu Qing had been eating.

After thinking for a moment.

Xu Qing had the Cabbage Flower Snake stay at his residence and also called for Yu Chen, telling him to go to the market and buy some pork.

"Meat is really expensive right now."

Yu Chen said.

"Just go."

Xu Qing said, "Buy a hundred pounds. I’ll give you the silver when you get back."