Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 166 Speak of Cao Cao, here comes Cao Cao!
Of course, saying that its power surpasses the peak limit of the first grade is actually a bit inaccurate.

A more accurate statement would be that the Dragon Qi Secret Technique regained its original power.

Ji Qiu discovered that using the new type of dragon energy to perform dragon energy secret techniques could greatly enhance the power of the dragon energy secret techniques.

Conservative estimate: a tenfold increase!
In other words, the power of a top-tier first-grade secret technique in the past was at most equivalent to the power of a top-tier fourth-grade secret technique at this time!
This is the power of an upcoming secret technique, an overall upgrade of a major rank!

Ji Qiu was shocked. If all the dragon energy secret techniques mastered by the human race of the Nine Provinces before the appearance of the Nine Provinces Barrier were of this power, then the intensity of the wars during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods would probably be far beyond his expectations!
However, as the power of the Dragon Qi Secret Technique has increased, the amount of Dragon Qi consumed by a single technique has also increased.

It is also ten times the level of the original secret technique!
"Therefore, if we cannot open the Nine Provinces Barrier at this time, the power will increase tenfold, but the consumption will also increase tenfold. Given the current state of the Nine Provinces human race, their overall strength will probably decrease rather than increase!"

Only when the average level of scholars among the Nine Provinces people increases to the point where everyone is a peak seventh-rank scholar can the Nine Provinces Barrier be opened, thus greatly enhancing the overall strength of the Nine Provinces people.

Otherwise, given the current strength of the human race in the Nine Provinces, they would likely be easily wiped out by the numerous demonic beasts that can be found everywhere outside the Nine Provinces Barrier!

Ji Qiu's gaze fell on the giant lobster sealed in the space, and he thought to himself.

This giant lobster, if ranked according to the monster levels within the Nine Provinces Barrier, would at least be a high-grade first-rank monster.

Such monsters can be found everywhere in the sea outside the Nine Provinces Barrier.

"The task ahead is arduous and the road is long!"

Ji Qiu sighed softly, but he didn't seem too discouraged.

After all, he already knew that the overall strength of the human race in Kyushu was weaker than that of the various forces outside the Kyushu barrier.

This is merely further confirmation of the news.

He didn't feel discouraged at all; on the contrary, he felt excited.

This thing is just like playing a video game; you need to always have powerful enemies in front of you to keep the motivation to fight.

If the road ahead is truly flat and open, it would actually feel rather boring!

Then Ji Qiu's gaze began to change.

He stared at the giant lobster with considerable interest.

Lobster! That's a very expensive seafood!

Although Ji Qiu's current power and status in the modern world means he has long since achieved lobster freedom.

He can eat any lobster in the entire modern world that is available!

But there has never been such a large lobster in the modern world, and naturally he has never eaten such a large lobster.

Now that we have the opportunity, we should definitely give it a try.

Thinking of this, Ji Qiu immediately took the lobster to a deserted island.

Then, stepping on the protruding spines of the lobster's tail segment, they climbed up, the salty sea breeze carrying the heat of the giant beast rushing towards them.

He pulled out a chainsaw to cut the lobster.

The moment the chainsaw cut into the carapace, sparks flew like a waterfall of crimson gold, and the pungent smell of burning flesh mixed with the stench of the sea exploded in the air.

The lobster shell was much tougher than I had imagined; it took a tremendous amount of effort to penetrate it even half an inch.

Of course, this is nothing to Ji Qiu.

He easily sawed open the crack, and then scalding fluid immediately gushed out, its eerie blue hue shimmering in the setting sun, splashing onto the rocks with a hissing sound and rising plumes of white smoke.

He inserted a bronze crowbar along the crack and used it to pry open a small gap.

A pungent, sweltering heatwave, carrying thick meat juices, assaulted my senses, while the shrimp meat peeking out from the crevices gleamed like mother-of-pearl.

Ji Qiu used a bone knife to cut along the inside of the carapace, each cut penetrating three layers of carapace. The blade struck the carapace, producing a crisp metallic clang.

As the cutting area expanded, pieces of shell the size of houses crashed down, stirring up clouds of dust.

Twenty minutes later, Ji Qiu finally managed to scoop out the whole shrimp meat.

He then began to cook.

High-end ingredients often require only simple cooking methods.

Although Ji Qiu could easily find all kinds of cooking ingredients and utensils, he was too lazy to do those things.

They started a fire right there on the island and began grilling lobster meat.

As the flames begin to lick the shrimp meat, the surface of the shrimp meat quickly turns an enticing golden color, and the oil drips down, exploding into orange flowers in the fire.

The aroma of caramelized meat mingled with the fresh scent of the ocean, wafting across the entire island.

Ji Qiu broke off a piece of lobster meat that was roasted to a golden brown and crispy. With a crisp "crack," amber-colored juice gushed out, condensing into a string of dazzling beads in the setting sun. The air was instantly filled with a rich aroma of charcoal and the sea.

The moment he took his first bite, the scalding hot meat burst open between his teeth, and the salty and savory juices swept over his taste buds like a tidal wave.

Unlike the thin texture of ordinary seafood, this meat is coated with a rich, oily aroma, and when the tip of the tongue brushes over the delicate fibers, it even tastes a faint hint of volcanic minerality.

As the chunk of meat slid down his throat, Ji Qiu felt as if a ball of blazing fire had fallen down his esophagus, warming his internal organs.

"Wow, amazing! This giant lobster meat is not only delicious, but also extremely energizing. Just this one bite, in terms of pure energy, is probably equivalent to three pounds of peak-grade ninth-rank demon beef!"

"Unfortunately, none of the existing military strengthening techniques seem to require lobster meat as an auxiliary resource."

"Otherwise, this one lobster alone could probably be used to build thousands of powerful soldiers!"

"Looks like I can come to the outside of the Kyushu Barrier to have a feast when I have nothing else to do. The sea is indeed a land of endless wealth!" Ji Qiu chuckled.

After a hearty meal, Ji Qiu left the island and continued his journey to Izumo Island.

And then this trip lasted for three days.

In fact, the straight-line distance from Dongnae County to Izumo Island is only 600 li.

It shouldn't take three days.

If Ji Qiu appeared on land, three days would be enough time for him to travel tens of thousands of kilometers.

They were able to travel from Donglai County in Qingzhou all the way to Dunhuang County in Liangzhou.

But appearing at sea is ultimately different from appearing on land.

On the one hand, he had to constantly bring in and release the assault boats, which inevitably caused delays.

On the other hand, the journey was not very peaceful.

As mentioned before, monsters like giant lobsters are truly commonplace in the East China Sea. Following the principle of dealing with each one he discovered, Ji Qiu eliminated over a hundred monsters along the way.

This has wasted a lot of time.

As a result, it took him three whole days to reach his destination, Izumo Island!

Ki Aki's first impression of Izumo Island was not good.

The towering Black Rock Peak was shrouded in indigo miasma, each wisp of mist twisting and writhing like a living creature, resembling thousands of rotting giant pythons churning from afar.

What should have been a gentle coastline surrounded by cherry blossoms is now covered with jagged, bone-like reefs.

The tide crashed against it, splashing not white waves, but dark green foam with a phosphorescent sheen, pungent and foul-smelling, as if it came from the underworld.

The bronze altar, several meters high, loomed in and out of the mist. Dark red blood scabs clung to the rusty patterns. The animal bone wind chimes hanging from the corners of the altar emitted a piercing shriek, the sound coming from near and far, as if countless vengeful spirits were fighting over the bells.

On the overgrown post road, there were no merchants or travelers, only translucent will-o'-the-wisps drifting and illuminating the abnormally growing cherry blossom trees.

Their branches twist and turn, their petals are an eerie purplish-black, and sticky liquid seeps from their stamens, which corrodes and creates pits when it drips onto the ground.

As night falls, the entire island appears to be submerged in indelible ink, with only the giant cowhide lanterns floating on the sea emitting a blood-red glow, like the scarlet pupils of a demon coldly watching over this land devoured by demonic energy.

The moment Ji Qiu stepped onto Izumo Island, a rusty, fishy smell filled his nostrils, as if someone had splashed scalding blood onto a red-hot iron plate, the pungent smell of burnt blood assaulting his brain.

He instinctively covered his mouth and nose, but the fishy smell seemed to have a life of its own, frantically seeping into his body through his fingers, the folds of his clothes, and even his pores.

The post road underfoot was covered with dark brown gravel. With each step, the gravel made a soft "crunching" sound, as if it were crushing some kind of fragile bone.

The deformed cherry blossom trees on both sides swayed in the wind, and the oozing sap dripped down, leaving a stain on the ground that was indistinguishable from blood.

As he approached the rusty bronze altar, the stench grew stronger, almost solidifying into a mist.

The dark red scabs that had congealed between the altar's patterns seemed to tremble slightly, and the shrill sound of the animal bone wind chimes was mixed with a mournful wail, as if the souls of countless sacrificed people were crying out.

The sea breeze, carrying phosphorescent foam floating on the surface, rushed towards Ji Qiu, its sweet and pungent smell mingling with the putrid stench, causing Ji Qiu's stomach to churn.

Looking up, the entire island was stained with blood. The blood-red cowhide lanterns flickered in the mist, like the pulsating heartbeat of this eerie island, and the thick smell of blood was the evil blood flowing in its veins.

Ji Qiu frowned slightly, but not because of the harsh environment on Izumo Island.

He was actually mentally prepared for the harsh environment on Izumo Island.

After all, this is outside the barrier of the Nine Provinces, a place ruled by demons and monsters, so it should be this bad.

The situation here is exactly what he expected.

Even according to his previous speculation, the situation on Izumo Island was relatively good.

Judging from the current situation on Izumo Island, although the environment here is harsh, there are traces of civilization.

With civilization, communication is possible, and the information he urgently needs can be obtained.

But the current problem is, how do we find the civilized groups here?
Just as Ji Qiu was wondering where to begin, she heard a commotion coming from not far away.

Looking up, one could see dozens of wolf-headed, human-bodied demons, wielding long spears, riding huge blue wolves and approaching. Their dark purple scales gleamed with an eerie metallic luster under the moonlight, and the sound of bone whips slicing through the air intertwined with their low growls to create a chilling symphony.

They were also escorting a group of hundreds of humans with fox tails and fox ears.

They wore heavy bronze collars around their necks, their silver fox ears were pierced by iron chains, and their bushy fox tails were covered in mud and bloodstains.

At the very front of the procession, a young girl was being dragged along by chains, staggering forward. Moonlight fell on her exquisite face, her snow-white skin and black hair framing her crimson-gold pupils with a shattered halo.

The chalcedony inlaid on her forehead had shattered into fragments, yet she still stubbornly straightened her back, her bloodied fingertips tracing streaks of blood across the thorn bushes.

The bronze altar was partially obscured by the decaying mist, and the rusted animal head reliefs were dripping with black, sticky liquid.

The little demons suddenly burst into sharp howls, their bone whips cracking as they roughly pushed the fox people toward the altar.

The girl's pale lips pressed into a cold, hard curve, and as she fell to her knees, her swaying silver tail swept across the dark red ground.

Those were congealed bloodstains in the altar's grooves, now reflecting the unmelted ice crystals on her ankle shackles.

The fox people were all driven onto the bronze altar, while the wolf demons surrounded it and began to cheer.

After a few cheers, the wolf demons parted to make way.

A burly figure slowly emerged, stepping through the shattered moonlight.

Its upper body's human skin had completely molted into gray-black wolf fur, with bulging muscles throbbing beneath the fur, and two huge wolf claws gleaming with a cold, bluish light, each claw as long as a dagger.

The enormous white wolf beneath him was half a man's height, with blood-red vertical pupils, and saliva dripping from between its fangs corroded the withered leaves, creating wisps of white smoke.

The wolf demon looked down at the altar, letting out a low growl.

He raised his wolf claws and drew eerie runes in the air, and foul-smelling black blood dripped from his claws, winding into mysterious arrays on the ground.

As he chanted the obscure incantation, the beast-head relief on the altar suddenly came to life, twisting and opening its blood-red maw, spewing out bursts of black mist.

Blood-red patterns appeared on the surface of the bronze altar, and the congealed blood in the grooves began to flow again, converging into a strange vortex.

The chill in the air grew even more biting, and the flames around the altar suddenly ignited with a ghostly blue light.

The wolf demon's incantation grew increasingly intense, and the white wolf let out a deafening howl, causing the entire wasteland to tremble in the terrifying sound.

A crimson pillar of light rose from the center of the altar, shooting straight into the sky. The desperate cries of the fox people intertwined with the hum of the pillar of light, as if the whole world was being dragged into a dark abyss.

But at that moment, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from the sky.

A sharp whistling sound grew louder as hundreds of arrows, engraved with cyan-gold runes, rained down like a storm, their trailing phosphorescent tails turning the twilight into an eerie golden-red hue.

As the arrows pierced the air, ripples spread out, ancient array diagrams swirled, and sparks from the burning runes clashed violently with the dark blue blood-red light of the altar.

The rain of arrows poured down like a torrential downpour, instantly turning the area around the altar into a battlefield of carnage.

The wolf demons' mournful howls pierced the night sky, and the muffled sounds of rune arrows piercing scales and flesh echoed one after another.

Some wolf demons had just raised their claws to defend themselves when three arrows pierced their throats simultaneously, causing them to stagger and crash into the altar.

Some were pinned to the ground by arrows, their limbs twitching and spitting out black blood, the flesh beneath their purple scales being scorched by runes, leaving charred holes.

The wolf demon leader riding the white wolf roared and slapped his claws several times, shattering the arrows that were close at him.

But the rain of arrows was too dense, and he was hit in the shoulder and thigh one after another. Hot blood gushed out from the arrow shafts and congealed into scabs on the wolf's fur.

The white wolf beneath him was in an even worse state, its back riddled with arrows, white smoke rising from its wounds, its scarlet vertical pupils filled with terror, and it kept whimpering.

(End of this chapter)