Roaring Dragon-Chapter 46: All Life Nourishes the Heavens, but the Heavens Give Nothing in Return!

In order to investigate whether the Li family had ties to demonic rebels, several high-ranking experts were standing by at the yamen.

With the Chilin Guard's message dispatched, Tie Fengzhang had already arrived near the Princess’s residence within moments.

Linghu Qingmo rode at the front. Spotting Li Jing and the Chilin Guard heading toward Qingquan Alley, she drew her sword and approached to ask:

“Elder Li, are there traces of demons here?”

“Shh~”

Li Jing was observing the Demon-Seeking Disk with care. Detecting that the source of the blood fiend aura was nearby, he retrieved his sword from the side of the horse.

Ji Shiqing of the Xuanhu Temple had intended to exchange findings, but the moment he stepped into the alley, his brows furrowed. He reached into the wide sleeve of his Daoist robe and pulled out a Bagua Disk, infused it with qi to examine its surface, then swept his eyes across the nearby buildings. He raised his hand and pointed toward the center of the alley:

“The source of the blood aura is there.”

“Fan out and surround. Do not disturb Her Highness the Princess.”

Tie Fengzhang raised his right hand, and the elite martial troops accompanying him scattered to both sides, leaping onto rooftops, creeping in toward the courtyard from all directions. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Linghu Qingmo had also been holding her breath and tracking the source. But just a few steps forward, she suddenly noticed the source was near Courtyard No. 6 or 7 and couldn’t help the jolt in her chest.

Because the Princess’s mansion was always too noisy, Courtyards No. 5, 6, and 7 in Qingquan Alley had never been rented before.

But now... only Xie Jinhuan had paid one tael and seven coins to rent No. 6.

Could it be... Xie Jinhuan was attacked by a demonic rebel?!

That thought hit Linghu Qingmo like a thunderclap. A carousel of memories flashed through her mind—

being beaten, having her chest groped, being forced to do chores, having her ass grabbed...

The first impression hadn’t been great, but Xie Jinhuan did hate evil with a passion, had real skills when it came to hunting criminals, and had even pounced into Sanhe Tower to save her. A guy like that—how could he just die here, bitter and unfulfilled?!

Linghu Qingmo gripped her sword tightly, suppressing the urge to charge in recklessly. Only after the seniors completed the encirclement did she finally leap in.

Swish swish swish—

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen figures burst forward and landed around the courtyard.

Li Jing scanned swiftly with his Qingfeng Sword in hand!

Ji Shiqing’s hand under his sleeve made silent hand signs, and blue-white lightning could be seen sparking in his right hand!

Tie Fengzhang also gathered his qi, preparing for a possible violent clash with a demon!

But in the next moment, every one of the guards and experts froze in confusion.

They saw warm autumn sunlight falling over the elegant corners of the courtyard.

A small table was set on the stone steps outside the tea room, bearing wine and snacks.

A graceful, intellectual beauty in a delicate skirt sat on the edge of the white stone steps, both hands cupping her cheeks, eyes filled with the blush of first love behind her gold-rimmed glasses, staring into the center of the courtyard.

On the white stone path, a shirtless young man was upside-down, supporting himself with two fingers while crossing his legs in a weird pose. His qi was circulating wildly!

Next to him, a fat black bird tried to imitate the handstand, head down, but it was too difficult. All it could do was tumble backward again and again...

“Coo~ coo~ coo...”

??

The many high-level experts present had seen all kinds of strange things in their time—but this scene? Absolutely the first. Everyone looked like they wanted to say something... but held it in.

As the dozen figures burst in, Lin Wanyi and Meiqiu were visibly startled, their eyes darting in panic.

“Huh?”

“Coo-gi?!”

Xie Jinhuan also flipped upright in one motion, scanning left and right like he was facing an enemy. Then his face filled with confusion.

“Miss Linghu? Elders, what are you all...?”

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan was unharmed, Linghu Qingmo let out a breath of relief, cautiously sweeping her gaze around.

“There is blood fiend aura here. Did you sense anything unusual just now?”

“Blood fiend aura?”

Xie Jinhuan looked around. “Is there? Miss Lin, did you notice anything?”

Lin Wanyi, caught in the act of a secret rendezvous with a man, naturally flushed bright red.

“There’s no such thing! Must be a mistake...”

Tie Fengzhang, aware of how fearsome Xie Jinhuan had been the past few days, also began to feel like it might be a false alarm. He looked around at his peers.

“Elder Li? Daoist Ji?”

Li Jing, still holding the Demon-Seeking Disk, could clearly see the needle trembling—pointing straight at Xie Jinhuan!

Ji Shiqing’s instrument gave the same reading. His brows furrowed deeply.

“Friend Xie, what cultivation technique were you practicing just now?”

Xie Jinhuan replied calmly, “Miss Lin and I made a bet. ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) I said I could cultivate in reverse, she didn’t believe me, so I showed her.”

“Reverse cultivation?”

The crowd looked utterly baffled.

Zhou He, a Chilin Guard centurion, realized things were going off-script and frowned, but still interjected:

“Any technique that gives rise to ‘blood fiend aura’ is considered demonic or heretical. Young Master Xie, that’s a dangerous thing to claim.”

Xie Jinhuan spread his hands. “How could it be heretical? Regular techniques absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish your essence and body. Reverse cultivation just disperses qi, breaks down flesh and blood into nourishment, and gives it back to the world...”

After the explanation, everyone looked even more baffled.

Not a single master present had heard of such a brain-dead technique. Just as they were about to ask more, Linghu Qingmo jumped in first:

“He really can do that. I saw it before. It’s called... um... Inverted Candle Pouring!”

“Ah?!”

The moment she finished, a few sharp gasps came from the surrounding courtyard.

Everyone had strange looks on their faces.

Even Li Jing, usually composed, craned his neck with a weird expression. Inverted Candle Pouring? Isn’t that just woman-on-top...

If this really was a reversed Tiangang technique, then yeah... that name kind of fit.

...

Linghu Qingmo noticed their odd expressions.

“What’s wrong?”

Tie Fengzhang didn’t want to explain bedroom techniques to the little miss. He landed in the courtyard, carefully examining Xie Jinhuan.

“Young friend Xie has earned great merit lately. I’d rather not suspect you. But the law is the law—if demonic traces are found, they must be investigated thoroughly. Forgive me.”

As he spoke, he began checking meridians, blood flow, qi sea, and more.

Ji Shiqing, as the official “demonic forces advisor,” also stepped forward and carefully inspected him.

Xie Jinhuan was clean as a whistle and had nothing to hide, so he cooperated completely.

“Is reverse cultivation illegal?”

Illegal? That’s not even the right category of problem!

Li Jing stood with hands behind his back, thinking it over.

“Some techniques do go against the natural flow to gain strength quickly. There are also methods that involve completely dispersing one’s cultivation to start over.

“But cultivating fully in reverse, going for something like ‘all life nourishes the heavens, and the heavens give nothing in return’... hmm... it’s not forbidden, per se—just irrational. No one’s ever done something so... stupid.”

Tie Fengzhang, still checking, nodded in agreement.

“This is even more extreme than the old sayings about ‘cutting flesh to repay mother’ or ‘carving bone to repay father.’ Never heard of anything like it.”

Xie Jinhuan gave a bright, sunny smile.

“It was just a bet with Miss Lin. I was messing around.”

Ji Shiqing examined him thoroughly. Other than a pure stream of martial qi, there was no sign of heretical arts in his body. He couldn’t help but look bewildered.

“Qi sea, meridians, muscles—everything checks out. No way he’s cultivated demonic techniques. But the blood aura earlier was real. Repeat what you just did.”

Xie Jinhuan was totally cooperative. He drew in qi, letting it surge through his limbs and bones. A soft breeze kicked up in the courtyard.

Whoooosh~

Tie Fengzhang focused on the flow of qi inside him—and quickly noticed that the pure true qi originally stored in the qi sea was running a full circuit before unraveling and dispersing outward.

Next, Xie’s essence and blood energy got dragged along with the chaotic qi, seeping out through his skin and breath—returning to the heavens and earth.

It looked like he was self-destructing!

Ji Shiqing, holding the Bagua Disk, saw clear signs of blood aura—but again, no demonic cultivation technique. His eyes flashed with stunned awe.

“This really is caused by the technique! Its structure... is ingenious beyond belief. But... hmm... it doesn’t quite match the legendary ‘corpse transcendence’ methods either...”

Tie Fengzhang saw it too. The technique’s structure was like a divine blueprint—but other than self-destruction, it had no use. His expression turned complicated.

“This cultivation method... it does only that?”

“Of course not.”

Xie Jinhuan wasn’t stingy. He gathered qi into his right hand and showed off:

Crack crack!

As the qi flowed through his body, two sparks flickered to life in his palm.

The martial officers present widened their eyes.

That was clearly a Daoist lightning art—known as the “first among myriad arts,” famed for its killing power!

Only...