Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Chapter 181 - 179: Celestial Heart Divine Treasure (1)

In Black Stone City, inside the City Lord’s Mansion.

After returning, Hu Qi dismissed the man and arranged for him to receive his due reward.

The man was instantly overwhelmed with gratitude, kowtowing to Hu Qi several times before he finally left.

’What a twisted world.’

Hu Qi shook his head, watching the man’s retreating figure.

After such a long period of enslavement, the Human Race of the Inner Earth World had come to see it as perfectly natural for the Black Blood Species to dominate their fates at will.

It was as natural to them as the sun rising in the west, getting injured from a high fall, or rain falling from the sky.

But this was normal. A person’s character, values, and entire worldview were inextricably linked to their environment.

Reversing this situation was by no means a simple task.

The thoughts flashed through Hu Qi’s mind for a moment before he dismissed them.

As a member of the Human Race, Hu Qi naturally didn’t want this situation to continue.

It was a matter of principle. If he had the power, he wouldn’t mind stepping in to intervene.

However, as things stood now, he was powerless to change any of it.

After dismissing everyone, Hu Qi returned to his courtyard and sat down.

He opened his palm, where the shrunken Yun Shen Tea Tree lay quietly.

With a flash of light, the tea tree returned to its normal size.

Gazing at the tea tree, which stood a full three meters tall, he plucked a single leaf before shrinking the entire Yun Shen Tea Tree once more.

Hu Qi held the leaf in his hand and examined it carefully.

The Spirit-Nurturing Tea leaf was about the size of a fingernail. It was a lush, vibrant green, looking as if it were carved from the purest jade, and its veins were clearly visible.

He fetched a cup, poured boiling water into it, and dropped the leaf inside.

Unlike ordinary tea, Spirit-Nurturing Tea required none of the tedious processing steps like fixation, rolling, or drying. It could be steeped simply by dropping it directly into boiling water.

The instant the leaf hit the boiling water, the surface rippled, and the liquid was instantly suffused with a vibrant, jade-green color.

At the same time, a deeply refreshing aroma wafted out.

The moment he caught the scent, his spirits were instantly lifted.

Meanwhile, the leaf itself seemed to lose all its moisture in the boiling water. It rapidly shrank and shriveled, as if every drop of its essence had been squeezed out. Finally, it became a wrinkled husk and fluttered down to the bottom of the cup.

Hu Qi picked up the cup and took a small sip.

As the tea touched his tongue, a gentle, mellow richness spread throughout his mouth.

The flavor was clean and elegant, with the light fragrance of fresh botanicals, mingled with a subtle, elusive sweetness.

Even Hu Qi, who wasn’t much of a tea drinker, knew this flavor was truly exquisite.

However, for Spirit Tea, its flavor was secondary.

The most important thing was its effects.

As the tea slid down his throat, a pleasant warmth instantly spread through his body, followed by an incredible sensation of comfort and relaxation.

All his anxieties—from being in the Earth Core, from worrying about the coming apocalypse, from feeling his strength was insufficient—vanished without a trace.

He fell into a state of serene, thoughtless relaxation.

This feeling only lasted for a moment before disappearing without a trace.

Looking at the remaining tea, Hu Qi lifted the cup and drained it in one go, even chewing and swallowing the used tea leaf.

The sensation lasted even longer this time.

When the feeling faded, Hu Qi could clearly feel that his mental state had been purified, as if washed clean.

"I didn’t expect this Spirit Tea to have such an effect!"

A look of surprise flashed across Hu Qi’s face.

’No wonder it’s called Spirit Tea.’

The instability in his temperament, caused by his recent explosive growth in strength, had been resolved just like that.

This was something he hadn’t expected, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Afterward, he brewed two more cups.

During this time, Hu Qi had a whim. He decided to see if he could use his Twisted Light to alter the age of the Yun Shen Tea Tree and increase its potency.

Unfortunately, the attempt was a failure. At best, he only managed to make the tree slightly larger; its effects remained unchanged.

This outcome didn’t surprise him.

First of all, he didn’t understand the Yun Shen Tea Tree’s composition. Furthermore, as a Treasure Medicine effective even for Qi Dao Grandmasters and Refining God Venerables, Spirit Tea was naturally in a different league from ordinary items.

With his current power, trying to use Twisted Light to warp its very essence and increase its potency would likely be impossible, even if he did understand its composition.

However, as his strength grew, his Talent Ability would also grow with it.

It might be possible for him to achieve this in the future.

By that time, however, Spirit Tea would likely no longer have any effect on him.

He reined in his thoughts.

Hu Qi didn’t drink any more Spirit Tea.

Instead, he looked into the distance, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

"I wonder when the fish will take the bait."

Back when Changzhu and Wu Yu had noticed him, he had also noticed the two of them.

He had deliberately left a Spirit Tea leaf behind when he left earlier, precisely to lure those two in.

Since the pair meant him harm, he saw no reason to be courteous.

As he saw it, there was no way they could resist the temptation of the Yun Shen Tea Tree.

The only question was when they would make their move.

But regardless, it was necessary to increase his strength before then.

After all, in two days, a feast of Modification Points would be waiting for him to reap.

At this thought, the familiar crimson panel materialized before him.

[Host: Hu Qi]

[Status: Normal]

[Age: 22]

[Bloodline: Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent (Incomplete 46%) △]

[Talent: Spirit Devouring, Twisted Light]

[Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map (Qi Veins Chapter Sixth Layer) △ Traits: Wolf Transformation, Tiger Intent, Rhino Armor, Flash Jump, Infrasound, Frenzy...]

[Taiqing Immortal Slaying Sword Technique (Energy Storage: 13 days) △]

[Wind Falcon Secret Martial Arts (Entry-Level) △]

[Golden Cicada Secret Martial Arts (Entry-Level) △]

...

[Modification Points: 381 (17%)]

The panel was mostly unchanged.

The only real difference was the Energy Storage for his Taiqing Immortal Slaying Sword Technique. Thanks to nurturing his Long Saber in its sheath for the past few days, the charge time had increased from zero to over ten days. It was better than nothing.

Aside from that, there was the Modification Points entry.

By constantly devouring Exotic Beast Meat over the last few days, his accumulated Modification Points were approaching the four hundred mark.

And those were just the Modification Points he had obtained from Exotic Beasts. Hu Qi’s expression flickered as he looked at the panel.

"It’s about time for an upgrade."

He had been holding off on breaking through precisely to accumulate enough Modification Points for this upgrade.

This many Modification Points should be enough to raise his strength by several more tiers.

Thinking of this, his gaze fell on the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.

This time, however, he didn’t intend to merge the Inheritance Secret Martial Arts into the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.

Merging the Secret Martial Arts to increase the potential and completeness of the Spirit Devouring Map could wait. It wasn’t too late to do that later.

"Crimson, raise the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map Qi Vein Chapter to the Ninth Layer!"

As soon as he spoke, his Modification Points instantly decreased by one hundred and fifty.

In that instant, a powerful, cool current of energy poured down from the crown of his head like a waterfall, permeating every bone and sinew of Hu Qi’s body.