The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 139: Bird Strike

Li Lang and his two friends each sized up the Qi beast flying parallel with their Skyrunner. It tried to swerve left and right to lose them, but Sima Xue followed along its movements with ease. The bird visibly got frustrated and tried ramming them again and again with abrupt movements, but even then, the vehicle expertly mimicked its motion.

This brusque action got the trio looking to stabilize their footing.

“Careful there!” Li Lang shouted out.

The speeds they were traveling meant the wind was whistling their ears, but it posed no problem for those with their cultivation.

“I know what I’m doing!” Sima Xue yelled back. “Don’t worry and fight freely. I’ll catch you if any of you fall.”

Li Lang could tell she said the last part with a mischievous smirk. He chose to ignore it, as the star of the current show was not him.

Despite having reached the eighth stage of Energy Gathering, he would normally not be a match against a beast at the peak of the same realm. This was doubly true against an aerial beast. He knew his role was that of a supporting one. Long Yi would be their main force. After all, he was the one who suggested they take on the challenge instead of having Sima Xue swiftly deal with it.

“Terra Moon Slash!” the sizable man in question cried out.

Staying true to the principle of honing a few techniques to perfection rather than becoming a jack of all trades, Long Yi had tirelessly trained the same Qi art for years. It could be said the current Terra Moon Slash had undergone a transformation compared to the time he first revealed it at the tournament. It was that tournament that earned him a spot to the pocket realm, so it was vivid in his memories for him to compare to.

Time waited for no one. The ranged attack, which consisted of a sharp stone shaped into a crescent moon, swiftly flew toward the Qi bird. From how close they were flying together, the beast didn’t even get the chance to react before it landed squarely on its side.

A sharp, piercing screech rang out as the move managed to draw blood, but the wound was shallow. The plumage had softened the blow. Still, the creature evidently suffered as it flew around erratically from pain. Sima Xue decided to simply hover their carriage a short distance from the spectacle.

“W-we should act. Or e-else it may r-recover,” Wei Ping advised.

Li Lang nodded in response and attacked. His Qi art ended up being just a second slower than Wei Ping’s. The trio hadn’t practiced their teamwork much, having secluded themselves in solo training for years. That was why they allowed Long Yi to take the opening hit first, as he would be the most powerful among them.

“W-Wind Shattering Claws!” Wei Ping cried out.

With the pocket realm having blessed every participant with techniques that fit the user, Wei Ping no longer used basic techniques. Previously, he found all the martial arts in the repositories wanting. His smaller stature and unfamiliarity with combat meant carrying heavy weapons while performing a series of physical and Qi techniques to be too much.

Thankfully, the pocket realm had just the right martial art for people like him. Instead of the dagger he once wielded, he now used a sharp pair of claws attached to the back of his hand. It was light and not intrusive. He could still freely use his hands for grappling or movement.

Unfortunately, the claws were weapons meant to take advantage of their user’s swiftness and agility. With them being in the air and on the roof of a Skyrunner, Wei Ping could only let out an unimpressive Qi attack.

The sharp winds shot out from his claws, only stripped some plumage off the giant bird.

However, another attack sneakily followed right behind the sharp winds, traveling on the same trajectory. If one witnessed the scene from start to finish, one could observe this second attack adjusted its trajectory as if it was alive.

This was a characteristic ability of late-stage Energy Gatherers and a Qi art that Li Lang employed.

Under Li Lang’s guidance, the small projectile flew straight toward the wound Long Yi had opened up. It used Wei Ping’s wind attack as cover, striking the complacent Qi bird. However, when the attack did land, nothing particular happened. The projectile was simply a needle with the thickness of a finger. It could hardly do much damage to the carriage-sized bird.

However, that changed very quickly within a dozen seconds.

The thrashing around ceased. The Qi beast became lethargic and drooled at its mouth as it glided in the air. The parts near the wounds twitched. It evidently had difficulty breathing. While it looked like it was on death’s door one second, it suddenly recovered.

It flapped its wings with power, stabilizing its flight. It prepared to do combat with its assailant to take revenge for the pain it suffered. Unfortunately, just as it turned toward the Skyrunner, its movement began to slow again. This transition wouldn’t be the last time that it happened.

The group of four watched on as the bird went through several cycles of pain and relief.

“Did you get it?” Long Yi commented with a blank look on his face.

“Hmm, probably not,” Li Lang muttered as he carefully observed the bird. “It’s at the peak of Energy Gathering. It’s good enough to disrupt its movements, though. Prepare to finish it off.”

With those words, Li Lang threw out another needle. Despite the added distance to the target this time, it still managed to strike its target with ease. That was thanks to the target being distracted from its own suffering.

Qi beasts were still animals. They practiced no techniques and relied on their natural gifts. That meant they simply relied on their instincts to flush out any poisons from their bodies. With no refined techniques to rely on whatsoever, it was left to suffer the effects of Li Lang’s poison. While their natural constitution was significantly stronger, they couldn’t avoid the fast-acting poison entirely.

Seems like the Qi beasts outside the pocket realm are no different. Thanks to the Vengeful Leaf Compendium, the Qi aspect of the poison is able to put up a fight before it succumbs to the defenses.

The reason why Li Lang’s needle caused the bird to suffer from the effects of the poison again and again was thanks to the same principle as his spear. The specially made needle had a compartment in it that was hollowed out. It contained a sizable payload that constantly leaked out of the needle until it ran out.

It was all thanks to this new poison, needle, and delivery method that Li Lang successfully crippled the beast to the point it became unable to formulate any counterattacks.

Li Lang’s new Qi art enabled this delivery method. Once again, the new Qi art he learned wasn’t a flashy attack of any sort. Its name was Gossamer Knife Dance. It simply allowed its users to control knives remotely, as if they had strings attached to them. It required great control of one’s Qi but produced low-power attacks. Many would consider this technique to be subpar in frontal combat.

The most useful environment for such a technique would usually be indoors when used for an ambush. The core principle behind the Qi art was to catch foes off guard, with sudden attacks from unexpected angles. It was something assassins would use. However, in Li Lang’s case, he made a slight change to it.

Combining the Qi art with these custom-made needles, it became a force to be reckoned with. While a decent number of other poison users also employed needles, they usually used much thinner ones that were difficult to see in motion. They often were enough to keep the enemy on their toes while they had to deal with other attacks. This was because poisons weren’t substances that could kill within a few seconds. Even with the most deadly substances, it was difficult for it to kill the infected before the cultivator flushed it from their system.

Poisons were used in a supplementary capacity in combat. A distraction and a nuisance. Few used it for anything more.

As someone who wasn’t well-versed in fighting, Li Lang sought to challenge that. He aimed to create a poison and delivery system that he could rely on entirely in combat. So far, the results seemed promising, but much still needed to be improved on.

The lethality is lacking and didn’t completely subdue the opponent either. I’ll need another move to deal damage if I am to use it as it is.

Li Lang shoved aside the thoughts irrelevant to the moment as he witnessed Long Yi send out yet another attack.

After his first move, he realized his regular Terra Moon Slash was lacking in penetration power to finish the beast off. That was why, starting from the second move, he slashed downwards instead of horizontally.

He manipulated the form of his Qi art, changing from the crescent slash form into a rock spear. Evidently, just that alone was enough. He didn’t even need to put any extra power into it. One after the other, spears pierced through the disoriented Qi beast. A third stone spear pierced straight into the chest of the Qi beast. It only embedded itself halfway until it was stopped, but it did the job.

After being skewered three times, the Qi beast finally lost its capability to maintain flight, nosediving straight to the ground.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Long Yi commented as soon as the trio returned inside the Skyrunner.

“Is t-that surprising?” Wei Ping chimed in. “With L-Lady Xue here, was there e-ever any doubt?”

“That’s that, but what the hell was that, Li Lang?” Long Yi yelled, almost tongue-tied. “I know I made those needles, yet I didn’t expect it to work that well. When did your poison manage to do that?”

With those words, the two young men and one woman glanced over at Li Lang with a giant question mark on their faces.

The man being glared at scratched his cheek and looked out the window in the other direction. Sima Xue didn’t let him escape just like that. Her hands stretched through the window and a finger repeatedly tapped on Li Lang’s shoulder with enough force that it couldn’t be ignored.

“Hey, answer us! What did you use?”