Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

He didn't even have time to savor it; he just swallowed it whole. Immediately, an indescribable surging warmth, like volcanic lava, exploded from his stomach and rushed fiercely to his limbs.

This warmth was pure Yang, blazing and fierce. In an instant, Chu Zheng felt as if he had swallowed a small flame. All the pores on his body seemed to open instantly, and a majestic life force roared through his meridians.

The few hideous wounds on his chest and abdomen began to itch intensely under the flush of this warmth, as if countless tiny life forces were frantically sprouting at the edges of the wounds, accelerating his recovery.

Chu Zheng shivered mightily, a trace of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

This tiger was by no means an ordinary beast. The pure Yang essence and abundant life energy contained in its flesh exceeded all expectations.

It had already undergone demon transformation and embarked on the path of cultivation. It was a true spirit beast. Such a tremendous supplement was like coal in the snow for his severely injured self.

He hesitated no longer, tearing and devouring large mouthfuls, swallowing the entire string of tiger meat as if a whirlwind had swept it away. The scorching torrent surged within his body, driving away the cold, and even a flush of blood qi quickly spread over his pale face.

Xue Qing glanced up at Chu Zheng, watching his rather disheveled eating manner and the languishing air that was quickly suppressed by the essence of the tiger meat, her lips slightly curled.

She didn't pursue the details any further and continued to eat slowly.

The campfire crackled, and warmth filled the cave.

The rich, domineering essence of the tiger meat surged within Chu Zheng, healing his injuries and dispelling some of the cold. He slowly opened his eyes, observing Xue Qing not far away, quietly gnawing on the roast meat. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask:

"Don't you have anything else you want to ask?"

Xue Qing, hearing this, didn't even lift her eyelids. She just pulled the tiger skin draped over her shoulder to wipe her mouth, her voice calm and even conveying a hint of boredom:

"Ask what? How you came by your cultivation?"

She looked up and glanced at Chu Zheng, her gaze clear yet unfathomably deep:

"You were channeling qi and tempering your body three months ago. I saw you every day and night. How could I not have noticed? Merely having a breakthrough in these three months is hardly quick. What's there to be so shocked about?"

Xue Qing's offhand comment surprised Chu Zheng; she had known all along.

Moreover, she had no interest in investigating how a beggar suddenly gained a cultivation skill, as if it were as normal as eating and drinking water.

No, perhaps it wasn't normal.

Chu Zheng's pupils narrowed as he looked at Xue Qing's youthful yet unmoved face, quickly understanding the reason behind it.

She didn't care simply because he didn't matter much to her.

After a long silence, Chu Zheng suppressed the surging thoughts, speaking in a serious tone:

"Why did you go to the government office to kill someone?"

Xue Qing's action of gnawing the meat paused slightly. She looked up, her delicate face, lightly glossed with oil, suddenly cloaked in an icy chill.

Her clear eyes at this moment were like blade edges quenched with ice, sharp enough to frighten:

"That wretch Feng Ling!"

Her voice took on a colder edge, filled with gritted teeth and enmity:

"To curry favor with those so-called 'Superior Immortals,' he engaged in massive construction projects, building a worthless palace. Afterwards, not only did he suppress wages and refuse to pay, he even had the gall to falsely accuse us, claiming we had to collect 'prayer silver' to offer to the Immortal Sect, and then turned around to demand Spiritual Currency from me. It's simply seeking death. Not killing him would be intolerable to the heavens!"

After cursing under her breath, Xue Qing's tone eased slightly, but the chill remained undiminished:

"The day I went, I happened upon Xiao Yu beside that scoundrel. I had long heard he was a man of the Xuanshao Sect, killing him would cause too much trouble, so I backed off for the moment, and got cut by him with a sword as I left."

While speaking, she carelessly tore the multicolored tiger skin draped over her shoulder, revealing a half-smooth shoulder and back.

Near her left shoulder, a roughly four-inch-long blood scar, with skin and flesh rolled open, was in stark view. Though it had already crusted into a dark brown scab, the edges were slightly swollen, still shocking to behold.

Clearly, this was the mark left by Xiao Yu's sword she mentioned.

"If not for considering Xuanshao Sect, that dog Feng Ling would undoubtedly be dead."

With a cold snort, Xue Qing casually pulled the tiger skin back over, concealing the wound.

Her gaze returned to Chu Zheng, sweeping over the more severe wounds on his chest and abdomen, as she offhandedly remarked:

"The wounds on you were likely inflicted by Xiao Yu. To survive such serious injuries and escape his sword shows great fortune."

Upon hearing this, Chu Zheng couldn't help but fall silent. It seemed his venture to the government office had somewhat backfired.

In the moment of Chu Zheng's silent lack of response, Xue Qing's chewing suddenly stopped.

"Wait a minute..."

She abruptly raised her head, a hint of suspicion flashing in her eyes, fixing her gaze on Chu Zheng's face. The nonchalant expression from before vanished, replaced by an oddity as she considered an extremely absurd possibility:

"Don't tell me... you killed him?!"

"Yes."

Chu Zheng nodded slightly, the firelight dancing in his deep-set eyes, revealing no disturbance: "You need not worry, this matter won't implicate you."

No matter how bleak things got, a mere cultivation sect was not something he deemed worth fearing.

"You went to the government office because of me; how can it not be related to me?"

Xue Qing's face instantly darkened, a layer of frost forming between her brows.

Before her words fully left her mouth, she had already leaped up swiftly, crossing to Chu Zheng in a few steps, moving as swiftly as the wind.

She knelt slightly, reaching out to unfasten Chu Zheng's tattered, blood-soaked garment on his chest to examine the severity of his injuries.

Chu Zheng's body tensed slightly, yet he offered no resistance, leaving the tattered fabric on his chest at the mercy of those slightly cool hands.

As the garment flipped open, a few dry blood scabs fell silently, and two pieces of folded yet half-soaked garments with dark red stains soundlessly slipped from Chu Zheng's embrace.

The firelight clearly illuminated the garments' appearance: one undergarment and another—belonging to a girl—undergarments.

In an instant, it seemed as if the air in the cave froze solid.

The crackling of the campfire and the stream's rush sounded painfully loud at this moment.

Xue Qing's movements were frozen, her bright, focused eyes on the wound now glued to those utterly familiar, intimate garments on the ground.

Time appeared to have extended itself severalfold.

Her previous icy and serious demeanor shattered like an ice surface struck by a hammer, instantly replaced by a bizarre, indescribable expression.

After a long pause, Xue Qing raised her head slowly, her gaze shifting from the garments on the ground to Chu Zheng's equally dumbfounded face.

Her voice carried an unprecedented, peculiar tone, breaking the suffocating silence:

"You..."

She paused as if searching for the right words, finally speaking in a nearly absurd tone, tentatively asking:

"...like to wear these?"

This thunderous, completely unforeseen statement shattered all of Chu Zheng's expected outcomes like lightning crashing beside his ear.

His mind, which had not wavered during life-and-death struggles, was brought to a complete halt, drawn into a void as if all thoughts had been utterly extracted, droning in his head.

After a full two breaths, Chu Zheng jolted himself awake from the immense absurdity, instinctively shaking his head repeatedly:

"No…not at all! I just grabbed them when leaving home!"

His voice carried a rare urgency and embarrassment, trying to clarify in the simplest and most direct way.

"Grab them?"

Xue Qing repeated the term, with a slight upward lilt at the end. The odd look on her small face not only didn't fade but grew denser:

She slightly tilted her head, using a gaze as if evaluating a precious rarity, scrutinizing Chu Zheng up and down as if seeing him for the first time.

"You mean..."

Her speech was slow, each word enunciated distinctly:

"You happened to enter my bedroom, went through a pile of garments, specifically picked these two most intimate ones, then tucked them into your bosom, and finally brought them here…"

"Is that right?"