178: Noisy
After seeing Si Niang out, Wei Xun immediately closed his eyes and used the Dream Soul Travel Technique to enter the tower.
"Young man, want to play chess? Today I can even let you have a two-hand start!"
As soon as Wei Xun entered the tower, the voice of the old man playing chess on the first floor echoed.
"Senior, wait until I practice a bit more before I play chess with you!" Wei Xun smiled at the old man, then strode upstairs.
Upon reaching the fifth floor, Wei Xun saw Ming Mountain Daoist guarding the Pill Furnace.
"Master!" Wei Xun walked to the side and greeted him.
"You've arrived!" Ming Mountain Daoist nodded, his youthful face appearing particularly serious at this moment.
Wei Xun looked at the firelight in the furnace, then at Ming Mountain Daoist.
"Master, have you figured out how to remove the Blood Addiction?" Wei Xun asked curiously.
"Now, we're just one Spiritual Plant away from successful Alchemy!" Ming Mountain Daoist sighed, "I've tried many different Alchemy methods, trying to bypass that specific Material, but all have failed."
"What Spiritual Plant?" Wei Xun asked hastily.
"I can't be certain!" Ming Mountain Daoist sighed, "But one of these two, Water Yin Grass or Wood Spirit Flower, should be effective!"
"Even you can't be sure, Master?" Wei Xun questioned, "Is this Blood Addiction so difficult to eradicate?"
"Once afflicted, this Blood Addiction will slowly penetrate the bone marrow!" Ming Mountain Daoist said, "Although it won't affect cultivation, as one's cultivation level gets higher and higher, it will become increasingly difficult to eradicate, and the Blood Addiction will also become more and more severe!"
"Then if I find these two Spiritual Plants, will the Blood Addiction be removed?" Wei Xun asked again.
"Not necessarily!" Ming Mountain Daoist shook his head, "If these two Spiritual Plants I just mentioned are effective, then it's a cause for celebration!"
"If these two Spiritual Plants are useless, then you can only find a monster that has transformed from a plant into a demon," Ming Mountain Daoist said.
"Plant transformation?" Wei Xun was puzzled.
"It means monsters that are transformed from flowers, plants, and trees!" Ming Mountain Daoist slowly explained, "However, these kinds of things are very difficult to become spirits, and once they do, their strength should not be underestimated."
"What happens after finding such a demon?" Wei Xun asked again.
"Kill him!" Ming Mountain Daoist said, "Kill this monster and dig out his heart; this heart is the best medicinal Material to remove the Blood Addiction!"
"Understood!" Wei Xun nodded.
Then, after bidding farewell to his Master, Wei Xun ascended to the seventh floor of the pagoda.
Indeed, the man on the seventh floor was still tirelessly playing the zither.
However, this time Wei Xun came with an idea, wanting to see if he could wake this person up.
Ever since his last interactions with Ming Mountain Daoist and the blacksmith giant on the second floor, the items in his Cloud-Turning Hand could temporarily enter the tower with him.
Listening to the man's beautiful and gentle zither music, Wei Xun, with a mischievous smile, pulled out the flute that Wang Tianchi had given him.
"You love playing the zither so much, so I'll add a little more to your performance!" Wei Xun said, bringing the flute to his lips and blowing forcefully.
Screech~
A piercing flute sound suddenly rang out, so sharp that it made Wei Xun himself grimace in discomfort.
However, to Wei Xun's delight, as soon as the flute sound began, it indeed made the zither-playing man stop, then look up and glance at him, though his gaze seemed a bit off.
"It really works!" Wei Xun's face lit up with joy at this sight, and he immediately prepared to go up and greet the man.
"Noisy!" The man uttered in a low voice, then directly stroked the zither with his hand, instantly unleashing a wave of sound Qi.
Wei Xun saw this and cried out in dismay, but in the next second, he was directly struck by the Qi wave, and was actually forcibly knocked out of the Myriad Treasure Pagoda.
After his Soul was knocked out of the pagoda, Wei Xun disregarded his physical discomfort and immediately drilled back into his own body.
"Hoo!"
After coming out, Wei Xun let out a long breath, then felt like he had a severe headache, as if he had a concussion.
"Is this what it feels like when the Soul is severely damaged?" Wei Xun rubbed his head and adjusted his breathing before finally recovering.
"That guy is too dangerous, I won't go looking for him again!"
Wei Xun put away the Myriad Treasure Pagoda, feeling a chill down his spine when he thought of the man playing the zither.
However, after calming down, Wei Xun immediately frowned again.
"Si Niang is gone?"
Wei Xun used the Wind-Following Marvelous Ear and Ten Mile Tracking to sense his surroundings.
He discovered that Si Niang was not nearby.
"Strange!" Wei Xun slowly got up and walked outwards.
Normally, Si Niang would not stray too far when standing guard for him, but this time, she was nowhere to be found.
That could only mean one thing: Si Niang was in danger.
"Damn it!" Wei Xun took out the Secret Manual of Pill Green Talismans from his ring and quickly flipped to the page for the Tracking Talisman.
After temporarily memorizing the method for drawing the talisman, Wei Xun immediately stood in place and attempted it.
It took Wei Xun seven attempts before he could barely draw the Tracking Talisman, and he mentally pictured Si Niang's appearance.
Immediately following, the Tracking Talisman, suspended in the air, transformed into a faintly glowing butterfly, then slowly flew towards the other side of the Forest.
Seeing this, Wei Xun immediately concealed his Qi and quietly followed behind the butterfly.
Meanwhile, in another Forest about twenty to thirty miles from this valley, a bonfire rose from a clearing.
Three to five Human Cultivators in white robes were sitting around the bonfire, resting.
"It's really a pity we didn't catch that guy worth a hundred purple-gold stones this time!"
"I heard that guy is also a monster; he probably escaped back into the Black Abyss Mountain Range long ago, how could he be so easy to catch!"
"Although this snake demon isn't worth that much money, if we take her back, dig out her demon core, and sell her to a brothel based on her looks, she could still fetch some money!"
As they spoke, they all turned to look at Si Niang, who was tied to a tree.
Si Niang was currently unconscious, with several sword wounds on her body, bleeding profusely.
"Do you think this snake demon has any connection to the guy we're looking for?"
"It'd be best if she does! Tying her here might attract the guy we want to catch."
"Hahaha, if we manage to catch him, I wouldn't even know how to spend a hundred purple-gold stones!"
Just as these people were discussing loudly, a muffled thud suddenly came from the Forest beside them.
Hearing this sound, the few people immediately drew their swords and became vigilant towards the side.
"What is it?"
"Whether it's human or demon, get out here!"
Then, in the next second, before their eyes, an iron-skinned man slowly walked out of the Forest towards them.
Seeing the iron-skinned man, several people frowned.
"What is this thing?"
"It has no Qi on it, could it be a Puppet?"
"What is a Puppet?"
"You don't even know this? I used to hear that people from the Hundred Refinements Sect could refine Puppets. These Puppets can not only help with chores, but some can even participate in combat, they're very miraculous!"
"Then why would there be a Puppet here?" A daring man walked towards the Puppet and poked the iron-skinned man's body with his sword.
"You should stay away from it, this thing is quite dangerous!" Someone behind him reminded.
"What's dangerous about this!" The daring man smiled and said, "It's just an iron lump, it can't even walk properly, I don't believe this thing can do anything!"
But as soon as the man finished speaking, the 'iron lump' he spoke of directly delivered a charging punch to his face.
The man failed to dodge in time and was directly sent flying by that punch.