Btth: The Rise of Qingshan

"What I'm looking for is best if you don't ask. Knowing too much... won't do you any good."

Yan Qingshan retracted the map, deliberately raising his head to give a warning at the end of his sentence.

Although Xue Lan was acting out of kindness, he didn't want too many people to know about this. His current strength was too weak. His cultivation as a six-star Dou Zhe could be considered a figure in Qingshan Town, but in Rock Desert City, it wasn't considered very powerful.

Although Dou Masters were rare in Rock Desert City, there were still double digits of named Dou Masters. As a six-star Dou Zhe who cultivated a high-level Xuan-grade Dou Qi method, he should be invincible among the Dou Zhes in Rock Desert City.

But if he faced a Dou Master, he could deal with a low-level Dou Master, but he would never be a match for a mid-level or higher.

Although he had other means, those things couldn't be used too much. If there was no need to cause trouble, he wouldn't want to get involved in trouble.

"Tch~~~ What's with all the mystery?"

Xue Lan muttered dissatisfiedly, but didn't continue to ask.

"Young Master! Sister Xue Lan!"

Qing Ling, wearing a green dress, came to the living room again after tidying up. But this time, she didn't leave. Instead, she stood obediently behind Yan Qingshan, her soft little hands gently massaging Yan Qingshan's forehead, relieving the fatigue-induced drowsiness.

"You annoying little brat, Qing Ling has never served me like this!"

Xue Lan was annoyed by the sight of Yan Qingshan enjoying himself with his eyes closed, grunting and speaking softly with dissatisfaction.

Qing Ling, behind Yan Qingshan, blushed slightly when she heard this, but her hand movements were not affected at all, remaining steady and gentle.

Yan Qingshan leaned back in the soft chair, replying impolitely with his eyes closed, "Qing Ling is my maid, of course she should serve me.

What's your status? How dare you think of such a thing? Someone like you is even worse than Qing Ling. You wouldn't even be able to be a maid, at best you'd be a bodyguard."

Yan Qingshan, whether intentionally or unintentionally, deliberately changed his tone when he said the words "personal bodyguard."

"You little bastard, I've had enough of you!"

Xue Lan was furious when she heard this, and then she realized the other meaning behind the words. She stood up angrily and wanted to punch him, sweeping her jade leg directly towards his head.

"Sister Xue Lan, please don't!"

Qing Ling was anxious when she saw this, shouting and jumping forward to block for Yan Qingshan. But after she did a front flip, there was no heavy blow as expected.

Just as she was about to fall to the ground, she was caught by someone and fell into Yan Qingshan's arms.

"You... you're a Dou Zhe, what was that just now..."

Xue Lan regretted her impulsiveness, but once she kicked, it was not easy to take it back. She was also startled when Qing Ling went to block for Yan Qingshan.

But just as she was about to kick Qing Ling, a green Dou Qi arrived first, blocking her boot. Then, an appropriate force just shook her right leg back.

Xue Lan recalled the green Dou Qi just now and was a little dumbfounded. She originally thought that Yan Qingshan was just a rich young master from a family who was traveling in Rock Desert City.

She was still wondering why this young master didn't bring bodyguards!

But after Yan Qingshan showed his Dou Zhe strength, she had no doubts. Don't look down on Dou Zhe just because it's one level higher than Dou Zhi Qi. The significance is completely different.

The overall environment of the Jia Ma Empire is still considered peaceful. Dou Zhes are not uncommon, but a young Dou Zhe with some life-saving means, as long as he doesn't actively seek death, is unlikely to encounter danger while traveling in the empire. Therefore, many family cultivators start their training journey after becoming Dou Zhes.

Yan Qingshan's display of Dou Zhe strength did surprise Xue Lan, because he was too young. It was unimaginable in the small Rock Desert City for a Dou Zhe who looked only fifteen or sixteen to be able to come out for training.

But more importantly, Yan Qingshan's Dou Qi confirmed Xue Lan's previous guess. Xue Lan was considered a genius girl in the small Rock Desert City and had naturally understood and yearned for high-level Dou Qi.

What she could come into contact with as a commoner mercenary was only huang-grade Dou Qi. She had also felt the huang-grade Dou Qi of ordinary Dou Zhes, but the Dou Qi that made her Dou Qi tremble with just a wisp must be higher than huang-grade.

A Dou Zhe of this age, with high-level Dou Qi, even if Yan Qingshan told her his true identity now, this girl wouldn't believe it, because Yan Qingshan's excellent conditions were too consistent with everything a family training disciple would have.

"This is a thank you gift for you, not included in the reward. It should be able to help you increase your chances of breaking through to Dou Zhe, but this method is only for you. It might become poison if given to others, so be careful."

Yan Qingshan flicked out a scroll, and Xue Lan subconsciously caught it. Suddenly, she was pulled out of the living room by the Dou Qi carried by the scroll in her hand. Before she could realize what had happened, the door slammed shut.

"You little brat, would it kill you to say a few more words!"

Xue Lan shouted angrily, raising her hand and then putting it down. She turned and walked towards the courtyard gate to leave, unfolding the scroll on the way.

Then, her scream came again, "Golden Silk Cistanche, Yin Pattern Scorpion powder, first-rank earth-type monster core…

My goodness, all these things add up to five thousand gold coins, what kind of method is this little bastard giving me..."

…

East Gate of Rock Desert City, two unique desert camels quickly left the city gate, heading towards the vast eastern desert.

In the vast desert, wind and sand raged. A boy wearing cool clothes that barely blocked the sunlight, with green Dou Qi swirling around his vital parts, similar to a Dou Qi gauze garment, walked barefoot in the wind and sand, slowly moving forward against the wind and sand.

Behind him, the rows of footprints sunken in the yellow sand, with five toes each, quickly became blurred in the wind and sand.

And after a while, these footprints were covered by wind and sand, hiding all traces under the desert.

The boy was not alone behind him. Two camels followed him, carrying enough dry food, clean water, and other necessary supplies. On one of the camels sat a girl wearing a green robe.

Wrapped tightly to avoid injury from wind and sand, the girl's face was full of worry, and her eyes towards the boy in front were filled with heartache.

The environment in the Tager Desert was unexpectedly harsh. The yellow sand underfoot, under the scorching sun, was almost like hot iron pellets, making people frown and twitch their lips with every step.

This was with desert boots. If you stepped on it barefoot without any measures, blisters would soon appear. Walking barefoot like this boy was an act of seeking death.

Yan Qingshan was of course not seeking death, but using the harshest environment to train himself, sublimate and strengthen his Dou Qi, and make his Dou Qi more condensed and pure.

Wood-type Dou Qi is almost the least advantageous of all Dou Qi. In terms of damage, not to mention thunder, fire, and wind, even earth-type is stronger. It is not ranked in terms of defense, and it is not as good as water in terms of auxiliary treatment.

It can be said that except for the wood-type cultivator's own recovery ability, there are no other advantages.

However, due to the attributes, wood-type Dou Qi is easily countered by fire, thunder, and other types. Just like tender plants will be destroyed by high temperatures, wood-type is too easily targeted and countered, even if you cultivate higher-level Dou Qi.

In this case, naturally, wood-type cultivators are unwilling to be countered, so there are various methods of training. Yan Qingshan is now using a plan tailored to himself, using the extreme environment of the desert to condense wood Dou Qi, so that his Dou Qi will not be greatly affected as soon as it encounters high-temperature fire Dou Qi.

Moreover, the desert is not only extremely harsh, but also has extremely harsh sudden situations and weather environments. Walking barefoot in the desert, cultivation in this environment is definitely an important experience for him.

Yan Qingshan excluded all other thoughts and focused on walking slowly. The Dou Qi on his body was like a wisp of green candle flame in the strong wind, flickering and persisting, becoming more solid and powerful in this chaotic wind and sand.

Yan Qingshan walked slowly, and the oncoming wind mixed with fine sand hit his face, causing some pain. The same was true for other parts not covered by clothing.

This required him to support a sufficient Dou Qi membrane to avoid being disfigured by the wind and sand.

After half a day's journey, Yan Qingshan could feel that his Dou Qi was almost exhausted, but the remaining Dou Qi was extremely refined and condensed, and he also felt that his cultivation, which was encountering a bottleneck, seemed to have loosened slightly.

Yan Qingshan looked at the sky. The scorching sun hung high overhead, releasing its heat. The strong sunlight brought rich yang energy, and the fire energy in the air was very active, making him feel as if he was in a furnace.

In this situation, even if he tried his best to circulate his Dou Qi cultivation method, the Dou Qi in his body circulated quickly, but there was too little wood energy in the outside world.

Even if he ran his cultivation method at full power, his Qi recovery speed was extremely slow.

If the Magical Beast Mountain Range was a paradise for wood attributes, where lush foliage had infinite vitality even in the cold winter months, then the Tager Desert was a purgatory for wood attributes, where even basic Qi recovery was very difficult.

This was because Yan Qingshan was cultivating a high-level Xuan-grade cultivation method. If it were a huang-grade cultivation method, he wouldn't be able to recover a trace of Dou Qi even after circulating it for most of the day.

"Qing Ling!"

Yan Qingshan's parched lips were a little pale. When he turned his head and opened his mouth to shout, his upper and lower lips almost got injured from opening his mouth, and his lips were also pulled painfully.

"Young Master!!!"

Qing Ling quickly drove the camel to Yan Qingshan's side, letting the two camels surround Yan Qingshan and sit down. She carefully set up a frame and a large piece of tarpaulin, forming a poorly ventilated sunshade shelter.

Qing Ling took out the prepared things from the Storage ring that Yan Qingshan had given her, wiped Yan Qingshan's face and body with a clean, wet towel, and carefully reapplied the sunscreen and sand-proof ointment for him.