54: Get the elixir by hitting the porcelain and committing suicide

Lin Gou suppressed the excitement in his heart and began to attend to business.

He found a few seemingly honest stalls and, in batches, disposed of some unused Materials he had obtained from Blackwind Valley and the Sect ruins, such as low-grade Yao Beast claws and some common herbs.

This brought him over three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

This amount of money was a huge sum for the former Outer Sect Disciple Lin Gou, but for the current Foundation Establishment Prodigy, it was negligible.

His purpose was more to gather intelligence.

"Boss, have you heard? It seems the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, jointly organized by the three great Sects, is about to open for registration?" he asked casually, feigning disinterest.

The stall owner was a skinny old man with a goatee. While counting Spirit Stones, he said without lifting his eyelids, "It's still early! There's about half a month left. The registration point is at the 'Immortal Guest Inn' at the east end of the market. But I advise you, young brother, with your Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivation, don't bother joining the fun. That place is a nine-deaths-one-life venture. I heard the competition is exceptionally fierce this year; even a great Family like the Ye Family from Zhao Kingdom has sent their direct descendants."

"The Ye Family?" Lin Gou's heart stirred.

"Indeed. I heard the one leading them is a Genius from the Ye Family, named Ye Jun. He's already at the ninth layer of Qi Refining at such a young age and is extremely arrogant. Just two days ago, he arrived at the market and crippled the 'Black Fiend Duo' just because they looked at his female companion for too long."

The old man with the goatee curled his lips, clearly not fond of the so-called Ye Family Disciple.

Lin Gou nodded, chatted for a few more moments, then got up and left.

He was not in a hurry to go to the registration point.

Instead, he continued to wander through the market, like a true Loose Cultivator, full of curiosity about everything.

He stopped in front of a secluded stall selling various strange Ores.

This stall was almost deserted, and the owner was a drowsy fat old man. The items on the stall were all oddly shaped "waste stones" with no Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

Lin Gou's gaze, however, was drawn to a black stone, about the size of a fist, covered in irregular pits, and completely devoid of Qi.

"Ding! Discovered a fragment of Star Iron Mother containing a trace of 'Annihilation Qi'! After absorption, it can slightly enhance the host's Cultivation Technique comprehension and has an extremely low probability of imbuing the host's spiritual power with the 'Annihilation' attribute!"

The System's notification made Lin Gou's heart skip a beat.

Annihilation Qi!

Annihilation attribute!

This thing was definitely a treasure!

He squatted down nonchalantly, picked up the dark, nondescript Ore, weighed it in his hand, and asked dismissively, "Boss, how much for this broken stone?"

The fat old man opened one eye, lazily saying, "Just give what you think it's worth, ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Too expensive, it's just a broken stone..." Lin Gou was about to bargain.

An arrogant and contemptuous voice rang out from behind him.

"Where did this poor Cultivator come from, unable to even produce ten Spirit Stones? Get lost, this stone, this young master wants it!"

Lin Gou turned his head.

He saw a young man dressed in luxurious brocade robes, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, looking at him haughtily, accompanied by several servants.

The young man's face was handsome, but the lingering arrogance and domineering air in his brows spoiled the overall aesthetic.

It was none other than the Ye Family Disciple, Ye Jun, mentioned by the goatee old man.

Ye Jun's gaze did not linger on Lin Gou but went directly to the black Ore, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Clearly, he also possessed some special means to recognize the extraordinary nature of this Ore.

Lin Gou understood in his heart but was too lazy to argue with him.

He directly pulled out ten Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and handed them to the stall owner.

"Boss, I'll buy it."

This action completely enraged Ye Jun.

In his eyes, this shabbily dressed, low-Cultivation ant dared to ignore his words; he was simply courting death!

"Are you asking for trouble?" Ye Jun's face darkened, his eyes revealing murderous intent.

He didn't even bother to let his servants act; he stepped forward himself and, without warning, slapped Lin Gou's chest!

This palm strike did not use much Spiritual Qi, but it was extremely fast and at a tricky angle.

The palm wind was fierce, carrying a hint of humiliation.

Lin Gou's pupils "contracted sharply" in cooperation.

He seemed to be scared silly, completely unable to dodge.

But deep down, his internal monologue was frantically scrolling.

"Here he comes! A high-quality target for courting death!"

"This palm strike has good force; I hope it gets a C-rank reward!"

"The posture must be cool, the expression must be on point, strive to die completely in one go!"

In a flash of lightning.

Ye Jun's palm solidly struck Lin Gou's chest.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound.

Lin Gou's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string.

A mouthful of fresh blood drew a tragic and beautiful arc in the air.

In his last moment of "losing consciousness," his right hand, as if by instinct, tightly clutched the black Ore, flying backward with him, finally falling heavily to the ground several meters away, and then becoming silent.

"Ding! You have been maliciously severely injured and killed by passing Cultivator 'Ye Jun'!"

"Death method evaluation: Passive attack in a 'touch-and-go' manner."

"Reward settlement in progress..."

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining one 'Life-Creating Medicinal Pill,' a holy medicine for healing!"

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining special authority: 'Annihilation Qi' perfect absorption!"

The market's guard team was finally alarmed by the commotion and rushed over.

Ye Jun glanced at Lin Gou's "corpse" on the ground, his face showing no ripple of emotion, instead revealing a disdainful sneer.

He casually pulled out a few broken Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and threw them beside Lin Gou, as if dismissing a beggar.

"Clumsy fool, these few Spirit Stones are for your burial expenses."

After speaking, he didn't even look at the Ore already clutched in Lin Gou's hand. He turned and left arrogantly with his servants, under the awestruck gaze of the surrounding people.

In his opinion, an ant at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, if he died, he died.

And as for that stone, since it was clutched by a dead man and tainted with bad luck, he disdained to pick it up again... A moment later.

In a dark, deserted dead-end alley in the market.

Lin Gou's figure quietly materialized.

He touched his unharmed chest, a cold arc forming at the corner of his mouth.

He opened his palm, and the black Ore lay quietly in his palm.

In his other hand, there was an eye-sized, emerald green Medicinal Pill, exuding a vast aura of life.

It was precisely the rewarded "Life-Creating Medicinal Pill."

He swallowed the Medicinal Pill without hesitation.

A warm current instantly spread throughout his limbs, making his newly established Dao Foundation even more stable and solidified.

Then, he immersed his mind in the Ore.

"Absorb!"

The faint but incredibly pure "Annihilation Qi" within the Ore was guided by the System authority, slowly merging into his Dantian Qi Sea.

The purple lightning originally swirling on the surface of his perfect Dao Foundation, upon contact with this Qi, was actually tinged with extremely fine, deep black streaks.

Lin Gou raised his right hand, and with a thought.

A cluster of purple electric arcs danced at his fingertips.

Looking closely, at the center of the electric arc, there was a black line, like a miniature spatial rift, exuding a terrifying aura that reduced all things to nothingness, annihilating everything.

He coldly raised his head, looking in the direction Ye Jun had left.

Activating "Karma Perception."

In his vision, a newly formed black line, representing "Karma," had extended from the Void Realm, firmly coiling around the arrogant figure in the distance.

A cruel smile appeared at the corner of Lin Gou's mouth.

He noted the unique fluctuation of that black line.

Like the Grim Reaper, he lightly marked a check on his death list.

At the east end of the market, the huge signboard of "Immortal Guest Inn" was already distantly visible.

The registration point for the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm was straight ahead.