6: The Soul-Devouring and Bone-Transforming Scripture

"Which direction is your home? I need to buy some Mortal Chicken; the ten from last time tasted quite good."

Lu Xian returned to the main topic.

"Outside the North City Gate. Please follow me, Immortal Master Lu. I still have plenty at home," Song Chengping said.

"That works perfectly. My home is also outside the North Gate."

Lu Xian nodded.

"The Immortal Master doesn't live inside the city?" Song Chengping asked in surprise.

Lu Xian smiled but said nothing.

Previously, he might have longed for the stability inside the city, but now he had too many secrets at home. With the city teeming with experts, it would be easier for his secrets to be exposed.

...

The two left the city.

Along the way, Song Chengping "inadvertently" displayed his quasi-immortal jade token, drawing envious gazes from the people in the Shantytown. He couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling up.

The old man really liked to show off... Lu Xian thought with a wry smile.

Song Chengping greeted people he knew along the way, and it took quite a while before they arrived in front of a small courtyard.

The courtyard wall was three zhang high, and the house was well-structured.

It was much more refined than Lu Xian's dilapidated courtyard.

"My humble abode is shabby, I hope the Immortal Master doesn't laugh at it."

Before he finished speaking, a little girl rushed out of the house, laughing happily: "Grandpa, you're back so early today! But Xiao Ling has already fed all the chickens!"

The little girl ran close, only then noticing Lu Xian standing behind her grandfather.

Immediately, like a startled fawn, she turned around and ran back into the house with quick, pattering footsteps.

"Hehehe, please don't mind her, Immortal Master. This girl has had a hard life; her parents died early, and I raised her. I was afraid she might get into an accident, so I taught her from a young age to hide inside when she sees strangers... You know how this place is..."

"Of course."

Lu Xian didn't mind this. He looked into the courtyard, his gaze drawn to the mountain of construction Materials piled up by the courtyard wall.

Mortar, wooden planks, wooden beams, black roof tiles.

"Oh? You have so many Materials piled up at home; are you planning to renovate the house?"

Lu Xian's eyes lit up. It was exactly what he needed!

"Not at all. I have a rough grasp of carpentry and masonry, so I usually rely on helping neighbors repair their houses to earn some spirit shards to make a living. Relying solely on selling those Mortal Chicken isn't enough to survive."

Song Chengping sighed.

Lu Xian took a quick look and realized one thing was still missing. "Do you happen to have bluestone bricks?"

"Yes, yes, yes! There's no space in the front yard, so they are piled in the backyard along with those Mortal Chicken."

Song Chengping's aged eyes brightened. Seeing that the Immortal Master had a need, he hurriedly replied.

"Good. I want thirty wooden planks, one thousand bluestone bricks, and thirty catties of lime mortar prepared for me! Also, pack up fifty mature Mortal Chicken!"

"Does the Immortal Master need to renovate a house? Might I be able to offer a small amount of assistance?"

"No need, just prepare the Materials and have them delivered."

"Very well. Immortal Master, please enter the house and sit for a moment; I will start after I finish counting. Xiao Ling, quickly make tea for the Immortal Master!"

Inside the house, Lu Xian sat at a wooden table, feeling relaxed.

He had thought he would have to run around gathering Materials, but he hadn't expected to solve it all at once.

"Im... Immortal Brother, please... please have some tea."

Xiao Ling carefully held the teacup, raising it above her head, her eyes daring only to stare at the floor.

"You should drink some too. Don't worry, I don't eat people."

Lu Xian said gently.

"No, no... Grandpa said Immortal Brother is our savior, so I must not disturb you."

Xiao Ling shook her head like a rattle-drum. "He also said... that there is a difference between Immortals and Mortals, and getting close will only bring trouble... My parents went out looking for some Immortal fate, and they never came back..."

Lu Xian looked at the little girl in front of him, who carried a hint of fear, and drank the bland mountain tea, his mind filled with complex thoughts.

If Old Song hadn't received the quasi-immortal jade token today, after he passed away, would the world have gained another person waiting in agony?

No wonder so many people in the world had completely given up on the idea of Cultivating, fleeing to places with thinner Spiritual Qi to establish cities purely for Mortals, and the Immortal Dynasty even legislated to protect them.

It was an open plan for generational elimination!

All to ensure the thousand-year reign of the aristocratic families, Sects, and the royal family.

Heh, what does that have to do with me? As long as it doesn't hinder my Dao... Lu Xian only wanted to quietly stay home and develop steadily.

"Immortal Master Lu, the items are all prepared; we can set off."

The aged voice entered his ears, and Lu Xian snapped back to reality.

He saw Song Chengping carrying thirty thick wooden planks in his left hand and the lime mortar in his right.

Especially on his back, where he had tied a thick stack of bluestone bricks with a thick rope!

That weight was likely no less than two thousand catties!

Was this really a Mortal? Five hundred catties would be the limit for an ordinary person.

Lu Xian's pupils constricted slightly. To be able to live over seventy years in this Shantytown, he truly possessed some real skill!

"Immortal Master, I can't carry these remaining bluestone bricks and Mortal Chicken in one trip. I will make another trip later..." Song Chengping said apologetically.

"No need to bother."

Lu Xian stepped forward, his internal mana flowing, and he easily lifted the remaining items, saying, "Let's go. My home is not far from here, just five miles away."

"Ah, alright! Sorry to trouble the Immortal Master to do it yourself."

Song Chengping walked in front. Lu Xian watched his back; although his spine was slightly hunched and his feet sank slightly into the mud road, his refined muscles were exerting force, and he didn't look tired at all.

In contrast, he still needed to continuously circulate his mana to bear the load.

"Could this old man have another method of Cultivation, like Body Refining?" Lu Xian speculated inwardly.

...

"Just pile them in the courtyard." Lu Xian pushed open his courtyard gate and gestured.

"Immortal Master Lu, are you sure you don't need me to lend a hand with the repairs? If you ask around, my craftsmanship is quite well-known in this area."

Song Chengping looked at Lu Xian's dilapidated small courtyard, the mottled walls, and the leaking roof with missing tiles.

"No need to bother." Lu Xian politely declined.

Once he upgraded it later, the house would look brand new on its own; why go through the trouble?

He pondered for a moment, took out a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and tossed it to Song Chengping.

"Thank you for your hard work, Old Song. Take this."

Song Chengping caught it subconsciously, looked closely, and his eyes widened immediately!

A complete Low-Grade Spirit Stone!

The total number of Low-Grade Spirit Stone he had handled in his entire life didn't even add up to ten!

"Immortal Master! This won't do! Absolutely not!"

He hurriedly pushed it back. "Today is entirely due to the Immortal Master's life-saving grace, I am already deeply grateful! Besides, these Materials are all common items; at most, they are worth fifty spirit shards. This is too much, too much!"

"I might need Materials in the future, so keep it. You just received your Quasi-Immortal Certificate, so this Spirit Stone can help you guide Qi into your body. As for how far you can go, that depends on yourself."

Lu Xian said indifferently.

It was a small gesture of goodwill.

"Alright, alright. Thank you, Immortal Master. I wish the Immortal Master a long and evergreen path to immortality!"

Song Chengping was stunned, then said gratefully, "By the way, I must repay the life-saving grace from today. Immortal Master, this is a fragmentary copy of my Song family's ancestral blood and Qi Body Refining method. I am dull in Aptitude, and having wasted my life, I only grasped the surface."

He handed over an ancient, tattered book.

Lu Xian felt moved and casually took it.

"Then I shall take my leave."

Lu Xian was currently immersed in this secret technique called "Spirit Devouring Bone Transformation Scripture" and didn't pay attention.

It wasn't until the sky grew dark that he came back to his senses, his eyes filled with increasing delight.

This scripture was truly a Body Refining secret technique, consisting of twelve layers!

Cultivating to the peak, after the blood and Qi undergo six transformations, one's raw Physical Body strength alone could rival a Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator!

In close-quarters combat, among those of the same rank, no one could withstand a single punch!

The method of Cultivation was even more tyrannical; one simply needed to frantically consume massive amounts of spiritual Materials, devour their essence and nutrients, and circulate energy to digest them.

However, the drawback was that one had to endure excruciating pain during the bone-transforming process, and the resources consumed were even greater than those for Cultivating.

This was not a Cultivation Technique for immortality, so the Qianyuan Immortal Dynasty did not strictly prohibit its spread.

Because among Mortals, almost no one had the resources to spend on this, and Cultivators generally did not practice Body Refining.

Song Chengping had practiced for decades, but it looked like he had barely stepped into the first layer.

"This Spirit Stone was well spent. But first, I will upgrade the [Immortal Cave] and [Cultivation Chamber], and then I will study it slowly..."

Lu Xian began to move.