Chapter Sixty-Five: Ten Thousand Spirit Stones

If one’s cultivation did not reach the corresponding level, the old man’s blood could not be exchanged for system coins. After absorbing a few gulps, Xiao Wenzi had to pause to refine it. Fortunately, Chu Xiner was helping him collect the blood; otherwise, he could only watch helplessly as the blood drained and congealed, becoming impossible to absorb.

As expected, after absorbing the old man’s blood, Xiao Wenzi’s aura stabilized considerably. Delighted, Chu Xiner worked even more diligently to collect the blood, filling four or five jade bottles before the old man’s blood ceased to flow.

Only then did Chu Xiner turn her attention to the black banner the old man had been gripping, as well as the storage pouch at his waist and the mid-grade magic longsword that had fallen to the ground. Now that he was dead, his possessions were unclaimed, and she was not about to let them slip away. She reached out her fair hand, took the storage pouch, and picked up the magic sword and the black banner, stowing both temporarily in her own storage pouch.

At that moment, Xiao Wenzi spread his wings and flew over to her. He had just finished refining and absorbing the blood, his cultivation had increased somewhat, and, unlike when taking too many elixirs, there was no residual medicinal energy clogging his system.

It was just as he had suspected: the Blood Spirit Divine Art was a supreme technique for refining a cultivator’s blood for one’s own use, far more seamless than exchanging it for Demon Gathering Pills.

“Xiao Wen, is this blood enough?”

Catching Xiao Wenzi in her hand, Chu Xiner pointed to the four or five jade bottles filled with blood on the ground and asked with a smile.

“Yes, it’s more than enough. Thank you, Xiner.”

This blood should be enough for him to break through to the peak of the fifth level, without the drawbacks of taking Demon Gathering Pills. Xiao Wenzi replied joyously via transmission.

Splurt, splurt, splurt.

Now that the blood was sufficient, there was no reason to keep the old man’s corpse around. Chu Xiner controlled her flying sword to slice the body into pieces, then, releasing her spiritual sense to make sure the remote forest was indeed deserted, she took Xiao Wenzi and returned to their cave dwelling.

Outside, the wind and snow were fierce. She herself had just made a breakthrough and needed to stabilize her cultivation, and Xiao Wenzi needed to absorb the blood to restore his depleted “essence.” Chu Xiner had no intention of leaving just yet.

Besides, the Mist Veil Demon-Subduing Array was not completely destroyed; only the spirit stone powering it had exploded. After installing a new spirit stone, the cave’s entrance was once again shrouded and concealed by mist.

A short while later, in the cave’s cultivation chamber, Chu Xiner sat cross-legged atop a stone platform, eyes closed, breathing and refining her energy.

Meanwhile, in the outer hall, four or five jade bottles were placed on display. The stopper of one had been removed; a small mosquito clung to the edge, surrounded by a blood-red demonic aura.

Time slipped by quietly; in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.

The wind and snow outside had ceased. In the two-foot-deep snow, hares and pheasants foraged for food, leaving faint prints in their wake.

Buzz—

Within the cave’s hall, Xiao Wenzi’s body erupted with a powerful surge of demonic energy as he finally used the old man’s blood to break through to the peak of the fifth level.

However, all four or five bottles of blood had been used up, and the effects of the mid-grade demon spirit dew were no longer significant. He would not be able to reach the sixth level of demon energy in the short term.

In truth, Xiao Wenzi’s cultivation speed was already quite fast, so he was in no hurry.

Meanwhile, in the cultivation chamber, Chu Xiner opened her beautiful eyes. After half a month of meditation, her realm was now completely stabilized.

Sweeping her spiritual sense across the hall and seeing that Xiao Wenzi was not only unharmed but had actually grown stronger, Chu Xiner’s heart brimmed with joy. She decided to take inventory of the old man’s storage pouch.

“To think this is a mid-grade storage pouch! Heavens, so many spirit stones and spirit herbs—I’ve struck it rich!”

As soon as Chu Xiner broke the imprint on the pouch, its contents stunned her.

Inside, the space was as large as two rooms, with low-grade spirit stones piled up like small hills.

A rough count revealed no fewer than eight or nine thousand pieces, along with a dozen or so smaller, but far purer and more spiritual, spirit stones—mid-grade spirit stones she had never before encountered.

There were also over a dozen jade boxes containing spiritual flowers and herbs, three flying sword artifacts, and a willow-leaf throwing knife as thin as a cicada’s wing. All of these artifacts, she realized, were at least mid-grade.

In the world of cultivation, one mid-grade spirit stone was worth a hundred low-grade stones. A dozen mid-grade stones equaled over a thousand low-grade stones, and they were so rare one could hardly buy them at any price.

The spirit stones alone were worth over ten thousand—an unimaginable sum. As an inner disciple of the Green Leaf Sect, Chu Xiner only received five spirit stones a month if she did not complete sect tasks. To amass ten thousand would take her decades.

And this was not counting the spirit herbs, the unknown jade slips, or the bizarre black banner, the Vajra Sword, and the willow-leaf knife.

She was wealthy now—truly, fabulously wealthy! With these spirit stones, she would have nothing to fear on her path to the Half-Step Foundation Establishment stage. As she inventoried the treasures, Chu Xiner could barely contain her excitement.

At the same time, her curiosity about the old man’s identity only grew.

Could this old fellow be the descendant of some Core Formation elder, or the ruler of a great clan? Otherwise, how could a mere Qi Refining cultivator possess such wealth and treasures?

The thought turned her excitement to anxiety. Yet she quickly calmed herself.

More than half a month had passed already. If he had powerful backers, they would have come for revenge long ago. Since all was quiet, perhaps her fears were unfounded.

While pondering, Chu Xiner’s thoughts shifted. She drew a jade slip from the storage pouch and pressed it to her brow, sending her spiritual sense within.

Greenwood Codex: an orthodox Daoist wood-element cultivation method. The jade slip contained all the incantations and several basic techniques up to the Core Formation stage.

While Chu Xiner had a water spiritual root and could still practice the Greenwood Codex, she preferred to specialize rather than dabble. After a cursory look, she returned the jade slip to the pouch, with no plans to cultivate it for now.

She drew out another jade slip, and after a brief inspection, her expression turned strange.

The Blood Soul Scripture: within the slip was recorded a cruel and evil demonic cultivation method.

Even aside from the method itself, the instructions for forging the Soul Banner were vicious and depraved, requiring the souls of cultivators or mortals to be refined into the artifact.

There was no need to ask—within the storage pouch, the pitch-black flag was undoubtedly the Soul Banner.

But what was its rank? Was it the Hundred-Soul Banner or the Thousand-Soul Banner? As for the fabled Ten-Thousand-Soul Banner, which, once perfected, could contend with Nascent Soul patriarchs, Chu Xiner was certain this was not it.

She dared not examine the black banner too closely, merely shifting it carefully into her own storage pouch, then tossing the now-empty low-grade pouch into a corner.

The Blood Soul Scripture required blood sacrifices and murder at every turn—too ruthless and sinister. Chu Xiner had no intention of practicing it. However, compared to the Greenwood Codex, she did find herself intrigued by one of the life-saving secret arts recorded within.