I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 49 - 48: Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi

Time flew by.

Late that night.

In the dead of night.

At this moment.

On the battlefield outside the city, all the corpses had been incinerated by a great fire, leaving behind only ash and a few scattered remains.

Just then, three figures appeared.

A closer look revealed them.

One was a slovenly old Daoist, another was a young maiden whose face was hidden by a light veil, and the last was a mysterious person wearing a Clown Mask.

"Heh heh."

The slovenly old Daoist chuckled. "You two are right on time. Since you’re here, let’s get started. The longer we wait, the more can go wrong."

"What a pity."

The veiled young maiden sighed softly. Her voice was gentle, her tone tinged with regret. It was a captivating sound that made one yearn to see her true face. "It’s still a bit too early. If only we could have waited another half-month for the number of refugees and victims to reach one hundred thousand."

"Then,"

"the Deceitful Blood and Flesh Array could have nurtured a more Perfect Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi."

"Hee hee hee..."

The mysterious person in the Clown Mask let out a series of giggles, striking exaggerated, comical poses with their limbs. "You humans are so cruel to your own kind."

"Let’s begin."

"Activate the array!"

"Open!"

As soon as the words fell.

The old Daoist, the young maiden, and the Clown Mask exchanged a glance, then each slit their own wrist, drawing blood.

They stood in the center of the battlefield at three different points. As their blood dripped onto the ground, it immediately began to change.

VMM! VMM!

First.

Streaks of blood-red patterns emerged on the ground, spreading outward in all directions.

Before long.

Where the old Daoist, the young maiden, and the Clown Mask stood, their blood formed the image of a crimson lotus.

BOOM! BOOM!!!

In that instant.

With the appearance of this crimson lotus pattern, the grand array that Bu Wuyun and Wei Wohu had previously shattered formed once again.

However.

This was a deeper level of the Array.

It wasn’t long before...

a crimson lotus was nurtured into existence. Wisps of an indescribable, bizarre aura—Yin Qi, death qi, Evil Qi, and more—filled the entire battlefield.

All of it gathered toward this single crimson lotus.

Around them.

On the battlefield.

Crimson lotuses bloomed from the remaining skeletons and the fields of ash.

Bizarre, bloody, beautiful...

Like Mandala Flowers blooming in Hell.

Clearly.

The old Daoist, the young maiden, and the Clown Mask were the masterminds behind this incident. They had been preparing for a long time, and now it was finally time to reap their rewards.

The Deceitful Blood and Flesh Array.

The Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi.

It was precisely by using the lives and flesh of sixty thousand commoners—slaughtered with the help of the Qingbei Town Government Office—that the ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’ was nurtured from countless corpses.

Legend has it...

that by consuming the ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’, any being could directly bypass all barriers and obstacles, advancing unimpeded from the ’First Realm: Mortal World’ to the ’Second Realm: Extraordinary’.

For example.

A Martial Artist cultivating the Martial Path in the ’First Realm: Mortal World’ progressed through two major steps. The first was the Power Realm, which included Ming Jin, An Jin, Huajin, and Dan Jin.

Afterward.

they would step into the ’Second Step: Gang Qi Realm’, which included Outer Gang, Inner Gang, Innate Gang Qi, and Immortal.

These were all part of the ’First Realm: Mortal World’.

As the saying goes.

all things under heaven are born into the mortal world, dependent on it for existence. Within the Ten Thousand Feet of Red Dust, one experiences all facets of life. Whether on the Martial Dao, the Immortal Path, or the paths of Demon Fiends and Divine Ghosts, as long as one has not truly shed their Mortal Body, they all remain within the ’First Realm: Mortal World’.

VMM! VMM! VMM!!!

The crimson lotus grew ever more demonic. As the Array operated, the lotus bloomed, absorbing countless streams of energy. From its very center, a blood-red tumor slowly grew.

PUFF!

The next moment.

The blood-red tumor burst, and from it grew a lingzhi. This lingzhi was pink all over, with a fleshy appearance, and it emitted a faint, sweet fragrance.

The scent seemed capable of stirring the very soul.

"Heh heh, it’s almost a success."

The slovenly old Daoist cackled.

"Mm."

The young maiden focused her attention.

"..."

The Clown Mask said nothing.

VMM!

Finally.

Half an hour later.

The ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’ was fully nurtured. As the crimson lotus withered, every last bit of energy on the battlefield was absorbed.

BOOM!

The ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’ also changed, twisting and growing until it transformed into a small, pink, fleshy person. With a WHOOSH, it tried to burrow into the ground and escape.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

The young maiden waved her fair hand. A golden net, which she had buried underground in advance, was quickly drawn up just as the Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi tried to burrow down.

And so.

the Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi was captured.

It couldn’t escape.

"Good, good, good."

The Clown Mask laughed aloud.

"It’s mine."

BOOM!

Suddenly.

At that very moment.

A figure hidden in the shadows finally made a move. They were incredibly fast, bursting from the darkness like a sharp arrow and rushing toward the ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’.

"Heaven-Splitting Palm!"

BOOM!

The hidden figure raised a hand and struck out with a palm.

"Don’t even think about it."

BANG!

The young maiden flicked her left hand, sending a silk ribbon flying. In her grasp, the seemingly light ribbon became like a ten-thousand-pound iron rod as it smashed toward her opponent.

RUMBLE!

With a deafening crash.

the hidden figure was forced back.

However.

it wasn’t just this one person lying in wait, but four of them. And every single one had reached a level comparable to ’Immortal’.

"Not good!"

"!!!"

The old Daoist and the Clown Mask were startled.

Without hesitation.

they sprang into action, rushing forward at top speed to stop the others from snatching the ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’. A battle erupted between the two sides in an instant.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

One must understand.

they had all reached a level comparable to ’Immortal’. In Qingbei Town, they were the absolute top-tier experts, a whole level above even Bu Wuyun and Wei Wohu.

SPLAT!!!

RIIIP...

In the end.

the young maiden’s golden net was torn to shreds. The Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi escaped, but the moment it was exposed, it was shattered into several pieces.

As a result.

the seven top-tier experts of Qingbei Town present each managed to snatch a piece of the ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’. Everyone got one-seventh.

"Damn it!!!"

The young maiden’s face was grim.

"!!"

The old Daoist’s expression was furious.

"Hee hee hee..."

The Clown Mask laughed. "Interesting, so very interesting. No wonder you didn’t try to stop this from happening. It turns out you wanted a piece of the pie all along."

"The minds of you humans are truly filthy."

"Hmph!"

"Next time we meet, I’ll definitely kill you!"

"..."

The four figures, their true identities hidden, snorted coldly.

Then.

they all left.

"Let’s go!"

"..."

The old Daoist, the young maiden, and the Clown Mask also departed.

「Elsewhere.」

At Xu Qing’s residence.

Xu Qing was unaware of the events outside the city, nor did he have much interest in them. Although the ’Deceitful Flesh Lingzhi’ sounded incredible, he wouldn’t have coveted it even if he had known.

’With the help of the Encyclopedia of All Things, stepping into the Second Realm: Extraordinary is only a matter of time.’

Xu Qing was very confident.

At this moment.

Xu Qing had just finished practicing the Life-taking Thirteen Swords. It was already late, so he returned to his bedroom to rest, summoning the Witch Evil Ghost as usual to guard his safety.

In the blink of an eye.

「The next morning.」

Xu Qing woke early. Since all the refugees and victims outside the city were dead, he no longer had to go out on patrol duty starting today.

「That morning, at the Cangying Martial Arts Hall.」

The Cangying Martial Arts Hall had suffered significant losses this time. Including Xu Qing, only one hundred eighty-three Official Disciples remained. Even more Outer Courtyard Students had died.

But it didn’t matter.

It was believed that the number of Outer Courtyard Students would soon rise again.

Fortunately.

the seven True Disciples of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall were all unharmed. Only Jin Hong had been injured, but the wounds were not serious and not life-threatening.

"A major incident occurred outside the city. All the refugees and victims have died. The Government Office also suffered heavy losses, and our Martial Arts Hall lost many people as well."

Du Cangying coughed, his face slightly pale. He had also participated in the great battle outside the city—he’d had no choice—and had been injured. He still hadn’t fully recovered.

"Starting today, you no longer need to patrol outside the city. I believe Qingbei Town will be stable for a long time to come, and no more incidents will occur."

Du Cangying continued, "You must all train hard in your martial arts and improve your strength. That is the only way to protect your lives in times of chaos."

’That’s great.’

’We finally don’t have to patrol anymore.’

’Good, good, good.’

’...’

Everyone was overjoyed in their hearts.

"Xu Qing."

Du Cangying called out.

"Master."

Xu Qing stepped forward.

"I did not see you outside the city the night before last. How did you escape back here?"

Du Cangying’s gaze was sharp.

One must understand.

given the situation that night, basically everyone on patrol had died. Only a very small number survived and escaped. Yet, Xu Qing had also managed to return.

"Master."

Xu Qing said frankly, "That night, I happened to run into that mysterious Swordsmanship expert, ’Lv Dongbin’. I escaped by secretly following behind him."

"I just lost him halfway through, but I was still lucky enough to escape."

"Quite lucky."

Du Cangying gave Xu Qing a deep look, then asked again, "What is your current Cultivation and Realm? What level have you reached? Have you reached the Peak of Ming Jin?"

"Almost, Master."

Xu Qing said.

"Too slow."

Du Cangying shook his head, his gaze growing even sharper. "I’ll give you one more month. If you can’t reach the Peak of Ming Jin by then, you will leave the Cangying Martial Arts Hall on your own."

"Yes."

Xu Qing lowered his head. "This disciple will definitely reach the Peak of Ming Jin within a month."

"Mm."

Du Cangying asked no more questions.