146: Blood Addiction

"Why is it like this!"

Seeing that he had lost, Wei Xun found the result somewhat unbelievable.

He had originally intended to use a new chess variant to defeat the old man, but ever since the last time he was tricked with Five-in-a-Row, the old man had become much more astute.

It was as if he had mastered Chinese Checkers on his very first game.

"Young man, you lost!"

The old man burst into laughter, stroking his beard and proudly tilting his head back.

"You're too amazing!" Wei Xun, knowing he was no match, stood up to leave: "I'm not playing with you anymore, I'm leaving."

"Don't go!" The old man quickly interjected when he saw this: "How about you play a few more rounds with this old man? This Chinese Checkers is quite interesting."

"I'm not playing with you anymore!" Wei Xun shook his head and refused: "Anyway, I can't beat you, so I won't waste my time with you."

"Alright, alright!" The old man waved his hand and said: "Given that you taught me Chinese Checkers, how about I give you one for free?"

The old man finished speaking and picked up a white piece in his palm.

"Really? Then I won't be polite."

Wei Xun immediately reached out and took it, fearing that the old man might suddenly regret it.

"This white piece and the black piece I gave you before are used in the same way!" The old man sat by the table and explained: "If you still want more pieces, besides being able to beat me in a game, I can also give you one more for every new type of chess you teach me."

"Okay!" Wei Xun agreed directly after hearing this, but then remembered he had other things to do, so he had to bid farewell to the old man: "I have some other matters today, I'll teach you others when I have a chance in the future."

"Alright then, go be busy!"

The old man finished speaking, then lowered his head to look at the chessboard, and then returned the black and white pieces to their positions and began playing Chinese Checkers by himself.

After Wei Xun ascended to the second floor, the burly blacksmith walked over with something resembling a black toothpick in his mouth.

"Young man, are you satisfied with the weapon I forged for you last time?" The blacksmith asked proudly.

"As expected of a Forging Great Master, any weapon he forges is a divine Sharp Weapon!" Wei Xun immediately gave him a thumbs up with both hands in praise.

"Oh, right!" The burly blacksmith took the toothpick out of his mouth, then reached out and handed it to Wei Xun: "This is the remaining Materials from the two sticks I forged for you before, I made you a miniature version, do you want it?"

Wei Xun took the toothpick, and with a slight thought, the small stick, originally the size of a toothpick, suddenly became as large as a cucumber.

It was black, straight, and hard.

"Is this its largest size?"

Wei Xun asked doubtfully, looking at the stick in his hand, feeling it was somewhat strange.

"Yes!" The burly blacksmith nodded: "Although it might be a bitreluctantly to use as a weapon, it's definitely more than enough to use as a rolling pin or for mashing garlic."

"Alright then!" Wei Xun reluctantly accepted this strange stick, and then prepared to ascend to the fifth floor to find his Master, Ming Mountain Daoist.

"Wait a moment!" The blacksmith immediately stopped Wei Xun when he saw this: "You see, I've given you another treasure, can you do me a small favor?"

"What do you need me to do?" Wei Xun turned his head and asked: "Do you want me to get you some more iron ore?"

"Iron ore would be best!" The blacksmith chuckled: "By my calculations, I've been imprisoned for almost two thousand years, and I haven't been back to see it. If possible, could you go to Yan Quan Mountain in the future?"

"Yan Quan Mountain? Where is that?" Wei Xun asked doubtfully.

"It's in the border region between Xichuan Continent and Guangling Continent!" The blacksmith finished speaking and sighed: "That area is rich in mineral resources, if I have the chance to go there, I can definitely forge you a divine weapon!"

"Okay!" Wei Xun nodded: "I'll definitely go when I have the chance."

"Hmm!" The blacksmith nodded: "Then thank you very much."

After Wei Xun nodded in response, he went straight up to the fifth floor. The third and fourth floors had no meaning for the current Wei Xun, so he never interacted with them each time he came.

Upon reaching the fifth floor of the pagoda, Wei Xun immediately found Ming Mountain Daoist and then described Si Niang's situation.

"extremely blood spirit essence?" Ming Mountain Daoist frowned and pondered for a long time before slowly speaking: "I have heard of this thing before. Drinking this indeed allows the body to recover quickly, but..."

"But what?" Wei Xun asked anxiously.

"But as you just said, it will indeed cause the person who drinks it to become addicted to blood!" Ming Mountain Daoist replied: "Once this blood addiction is contracted, it will cause an extremely strong craving for fresh blood. If there is no fresh blood replenishment for a long time, one will go mad."

"But if one continues to drink blood for a long time to sustain life, one will eventually turn into a bloodthirsty monster."

"Is there a way to cure it?" Wei Xun continued to press.

"There should be a way!" Ming Mountain Daoist's answer was somewhat uncertain.

"What does 'should be' mean?" Wei Xun didn't understand: "Is there a way?"

"Everything in this world has a cure, as long as the correct method is mastered." Ming Mountain Daoist narrowed his eyes and answered carefully.

Hearing this answer, Wei Xun immediately became excited: "Then how do I do it?"

"This Master is temporarily not very clear..." Ming Mountain Daoist looked to the side: "My Alchemy Cultivation Technique is indeed good, but my healing skills are not very proficient..."

"Uh..."

Hearing this reply, Wei Xun was a bit stunned and didn't recover for a moment.

"But you don't need to worry too much, this blood addiction won't have a big impact in the short term." Ming Mountain Daoist stepped forward and patted Wei Xun's shoulder to comfort him: "Aren't you going to Qian Yuan City next month? At that time, use your Cultivation Technique to go to the Scripture Pavilion of the Alchemy Hall in the city, and I'll figure out a way for you then."

After hearing what Ming Mountain Daoist said, Wei Xun finally felt a little relieved.

"Alright then!" Wei Xun nodded: "Thank you, Master!"

"Also, hurry up and find the Spiritual Plant for Alchemy that I asked you to look for before!" Ming Mountain Daoist said: "At that time, I will teach you the basic Alchemy techniques."

"This Disciple obeys!" Wei Xun cupped his fists and nodded.

Before leaving the tower, Wei Xun went up to the seventh floor of the pagoda again.

Indeed, the fellow playing the zither on the seventh floor was still playing, without stopping for a moment.

By the time he came out of the tower, it was already late at night.

Wei Xun called back Si Niang, who was on lookout, and prepared to sleep and rest.

But he heard sounds of fighting from a nearby direction, precisely where Si Niang was on lookout.

Wei Xun frowned and immediately used Shadowless Step to rush over.

Upon reaching the location, Si Niang had an evil monster pinned to the ground, having clearly just subdued the opponent.

"What's going on?" Wei Xun asked anxiously.

"Big Brother, I just found this guy sneaking around in the Forest!" Si Niang's strength had clearly increased significantly after her Breakthrough to Body Forging Third Layer.

The evil monster she had pinned to the ground was of Forging Body Second Layer strength, but it seemed to have no power to resist in front of Si Niang.

"Don't kill me, I'm from Black Tiger Mountain..." The Little One struggled to lift his head and look at Wei Xun.

Wei Xun immediately recalled after seeing his face: "Aren't you that Crow Demon from Black Tiger Mountain!"