Refining Qi starts from repairing the panel.

Chapter 220 Burial
"An evil ghost from a foreign land?"

Lie frowned slightly. There were indeed many things about Zhengchu that were different from ordinary people:

"What happened to the person you met before?"

Wu was lost in his memories, and spoke after a long while: "He was an extremely terrifying person, warlike and murderous by nature. It seemed that he would feel uncomfortable if he didn't cause trouble for a day."

"He once went into the Heaven Beyond Heaven to hunt the Divine Phoenix and Blood Phoenix. He also went into the sea to capture and kill a real dragon. He even killed many of the strongest warriors in the big tribes. He is fearless and has an unpredictable temperament. It is impossible to guess with common sense."

"Later, I heard that this person seemed to be dead, but I have no idea where and how he died..."

Lie's heart tightened, and he felt a little uneasy: "Wu, you are telling me this now, what do you want?"

"I can't see through Zhengchu... The trouble he has caused may not be something my Wangshan tribe can bear."

Wu's face was full of sorrow, and she didn't know how to treat Zhengchu.

Today, Zhengchu has done a favor for the Wangshan tribe. The changes he has brought are enough to change the fate of a tribe.

However, if Zhengchu is really a creature from a foreign land like the person she knew back then, he might bring a catastrophe to the Wangshan tribe in the future.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

Seeing Wu remained silent for a long time, Lie said in a deep voice: "No matter what, I brought him back. I will keep an eye on him and will not let him go astray."

"You go back first. I need to rest for a while. Liu Ying will stay with me."

Wu said nothing more and, with Ying's support, walked into the depths of the palace.

The wide stone bed was covered with thick, soft animal skins. Ying seemed a little absent-minded. After helping Wu onto the bed, she couldn't help but ask in a low voice:

"Wu, will you hurt Zhengchu?"

"No." Wu shook his head, held Ying's hand tightly, and asked in a deep voice:
"Ying, if one day, the survival of the tribe requires the death of Zhengchu, what will you choose? The demise of the tribe... or let Zhengchu die."

"That day will never come." Ying said seriously without any hesitation, "If that day ever comes, it will be because of my incompetence."

"Wu, don't worry."

Ying stood up straight, her eyes burning like torches, and spoke word by word:

"I will become the most powerful witch in the Wangshan tribe. I will protect the tribe for you and continue the flame of Wangshan."

"Ying, I'm sorry."

Wu sighed, raised his hand and gently stroked Ying's hair, his eyes full of pity:

"Your mother was originally the heir I chose, but she loved your father too much and could not control her heart. She gave up her qualification to be a witch, and this is why this responsibility was placed on your shoulders."

Ying's expression faltered slightly, and she subconsciously took a half step back, lowering her head and muttering:
"Father never told me these."

She had no idea what had happened before, and had never even seen her mother. Growing up, she only knew that her mother died on the day she was born.

"When Ya gave up being the successor of Wu and was with your father, she felt very guilty. After she became pregnant, she found me."

The witch pulled a slightly bitter smile and said, "As a witch, I understand and even envy your mother. At that time, there were no suitable children in the tribe. I was about to die, so I agreed to Ya's request."

"Your mother is the most talented person I have ever seen. As a candidate for a witch, she was born with extremely strong spiritual power. Even before she reached adulthood, she was stronger than some witches."

"On the day you were born, she passed on all her power to you. That's why you have a spiritual power far exceeding that of many witches. But it is also because of this that she..."

Having said this, the witch stopped talking and said no more.

"So that's it."

Ying lowered her head, her tone revealing relief. For many years, she had always believed that she had killed her mother and often felt very guilty.

"Ying, don't blame your mother. Sometimes, people are like this. It is difficult for them to control their thoughts and they will do many things that they regret." Wu's expression was complicated and her eyes were dim. She also had many things that she regretted.

"No, witch."

Ying raised her head with a smile on her face:
"Mother did what she wanted to do, and that's why I was born. I think... Mother would not regret being with Father. The only thing she regrets is that she was not able to take over from you and continue to protect the tribe.

"And I...will do this for her."

At this moment, the haze in Ying's heart disappeared and her eyes were determined. Her mother gave up the chance to survive and passed all her strength to her, probably hoping that she would make up for this regret.

…………

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The next few days were quiet and somewhat boring.

Chu Zheng devoted most of his energy to spiritual practice. Apart from occasionally going to the smelting site to communicate with those weapon casters and transmit formation patterns, he would meditate in his residence.

He replayed the scene of Wu Weilie changing the totem that day over and over in his mind, absorbing nutrients from it.

The witch's skillful techniques left a deep impression on him and deepened his understanding of totems.

As long as he can fully understand it, once his cultivation level is higher, he can try to create his own totem, and then replace the totem behind him.

After changing Lie's totem, Wu had to lie in bed for several months before he could barely get out of bed. He was already very exhausted. Chu Zheng had expected this.

Her body was exhausted and had no strength left. It had been completely drained away. Now she was only relying on her obsession to stay in the world.

The thousand-foot underground tunnel was filled with frost and was extremely cold. With Chu Zheng's current level of cultivation, he needed to circulate his Yuan Qi, or let the beast fire in his body flow, in order to prevent his body from freezing.

After the cold wave arrived completely, Wu's health became worse and worse. He seldom went out and only stayed in the hall. Lie pulled together a few young and strong men, and dug another fire pit under the hall. They set up a place to smelt ore, making the surroundings of the hall warm like spring.

Even so, all the means were unable to save the lost life of the witch.

There is no way to save the situation. The weight of these four words is enough to explain everything.

hum-

Lie pushed open the stone door and stepped into the house, his expression a little solemn:

"Zhengchu, Wu has passed away. Come with me to see her off."

Chu Zheng was stunned for a moment, nodded, stood up and followed Lie's footsteps.

Four warriors from the Wangshan tribe were carrying a jade coffin, which had been sealed. Ying stood aside, without much sadness on her face.

Lie took a step ahead and walked towards the ground.

As we got closer to the ground, the temperature around us dropped rapidly, the ice became thicker and thicker, and eventually the tunnel was completely blocked by ice.

The blood in Lie's body began to surge, and the scorching heat rose up, instantly melting the three-foot-high ice. The icy water rolled down the corridor, formed a small stream, and flowed into the ground.

A moment later, the group arrived at the ground, and all they saw was ice and snow. Chu Zheng stepped onto the ground for the first time in a long time, and the whistling of the wind and snow echoed in his ears. All he saw was a dead and cold winter, without a single sign of life.

The original Wangshan tribe has been completely sealed by heavy snow and hidden by thick ice and snow.

The extremely cold temperature made Chu Zheng feel uncomfortable, so he accelerated the circulation of the beast fire in his body, which made him feel much more comfortable.

This extreme low temperature was somewhat beyond Chu Zheng's expectations. Apart from the howling of wind and snow, there was no other noise between heaven and earth. There was a dead silence amid the noise, as if even time and space had come to a standstill and were completely frozen.

Lie led a group of people forward and entered a wasteland.

The ice and snow around him melted quickly, revealing a graveyard. Lie walked straight towards a tombstone without stopping.

The tombstone looked very clean, with no weeds around it, and it was obvious that someone took care of it regularly.

"The Tomb of Chu Ming..."

Chu Zheng looked at the name on the tombstone and his eyebrows moved slightly. A name with a surname was enough to prove that this person had an extraordinary background.

"He was once the strongest warrior of the Wangshan tribe. He came from a large tribe, but for Luan, he stayed and joined the Wangshan tribe. He has protected the tribe for more than 400 years."

Lie said in a deep voice: "Wu's last words were that he hoped to be buried beside him."

As a witch, Chu Ming could not marry in her lifetime. She waited for Luan for more than four hundred years, or even longer.

Lie did not explain any more to Chu Ming. He dug a new grave on the side of the tomb and buried the jade coffin.

Wu's funeral was simple. Apart from Lie and Chu Zheng, there were only a few of the strongest warriors in the tribe, and Ying.

Ying was not affected by the cold at all, her face was rosy and her breathing was steady.

Chu Zhenglue glanced at it with some doubt, and his heart was moved.

Under the spiritual eye, Ying's soul strength has reached the third level. This is a strength that only adult totem monks can achieve, and it is comparable to the great monks in the immortal realm of soul concentration.

Ying is only ten years old so far, and her future achievements are limitless.

The witch's death did not have much impact on the tribe, and everything remained the same.

Ying took over the witch's position and began to prepare medicine for the warriors in the tribe and draw totems for newborns.

Her current level is far behind Luan's, but except for the first-class totem which she cannot carve for the time being, she has already mastered the methods of engraving other totems.

In the eyes of the people of Wangshan tribe, she is already a qualified witch and is respected by many tribesmen.

Chu Zheng's status in the Wangshan tribe also rose. Most of the tribesmen regarded him as a rare genius.

The formation pattern he transmitted greatly enhanced the power of the talisman weapons and reduced the losses during the refining of the talisman weapons.

At the same time, Chu Zheng had already begun to teach some basic breathing techniques to the warriors in the tribe.

This is a way of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth. It is somewhat different from the real method of refining Qi, but it also had a great impact on the warriors of the Wangshan tribe, greatly improving their combat effectiveness.

In this regard, Lie did not intervene at all, but just watched silently, and his attitude towards Chu Zheng remained the same as usual.

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This time the cold wave lasted a long time, half a year longer than in previous years, and lasted for nearly four years.

If the blood food previously stored was not sufficient, many members of the Wangshan tribe would have starved.

After experiencing the cold wave, the population of many tribes will enter a period of growth. The Wangshan tribe is no exception. The number of newborns in recent years has increased year by year.

Correspondingly, Ying, as a witch, became extremely busy. She had to carve totems and regulate the bodies of newborns every day, which took a lot of energy.

As Chu Zheng often lived underground and lacked the intake of Yang energy, his cultivation speed slowed down a lot. However, with many spiritual medicines, he was able to condense the Dao Fetus and entered the middle stage of the Dao Fetus realm.

The growth of his physical body is even more astonishing, and his strength has increased several times. It is now difficult to find a third-level wild beast that can withstand a palm from him.

In the totem, this has entered adulthood. The connection between the totem and him has become closer, and the magical powers implied therein have shown signs of becoming manifest.

As the cold wave faded, the temperature underground gradually began to rise. The high temperature and high humidity caused by the melting ice made many newborns extremely painful, and epidemics occurred from time to time.

However, during this period of time, we cannot rush back to the surface and we need to persevere for a while.

Lie has already left the underground with the strongest men in the tribe. They want to thoroughly cleanse the area within a thousand miles of Wangshan tribe in the shortest possible time and eliminate the threat.

As soon as the cold wave passed, there were hungry wild beasts everywhere. Many powerful wild beasts started fighting and hunting frantically to make up for the losses in the cold wave.

This period is even more dangerous than before the cold wave came.

It was not until a month after the cold wave subsided that the Wangshan tribe began to migrate and return to live on the surface.

As soon as he returned to the surface, Chu Zheng couldn't wait to leave the tribe and enter the wilderness to relieve the feeling of being suffocated by living underground for a long time.

Along the way, he often saw the skeletons of wild beasts, from which the blood and essence had been drained away, apparently squeezed dry by the molten beads.

All the wild beasts within a thousand miles around had been swept away, and Chu Zheng did not see any prey until he ran more than 20,000 miles away before he saw any traces of the wild beasts.

At the same time, he discovered traces of a tribe, and the traces were very new.

A claw mark that spanned over a hundred miles covered the entire tribe, leaving only a deep pit. At the bottom of the pit, some remaining traces of the palace could be vaguely seen.

An extremely powerful wild beast passed by and destroyed the entire tribe with one blow, leaving no one alive.

Chu Zheng was slightly shocked. If this claw had landed on the Wangshan tribe, the result would have been the same.

This place is only 20,000 miles away from Wangshan Tribe, it’s too close.

Chu Zheng calmed himself down, cleaned up the remaining traces in the tribe, obtained some talisman weapons and fragments of bone books, and set out on his return journey.

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When Chu Zheng returned to the tribe, Wangshan tribe was very lively.

After asking several tribesmen, Chu Zheng finally understood the situation. A few days ago, people from the Wan tribe came and brought some wild beast flesh and blood, as well as magical medicines.

This is a celebration to celebrate the Wangshan tribe for surviving the cold wave.

At the same time, members of the Wan family also sent an invitation to a big animal hunting celebration.

(End of this chapter)