30: Chapter 30 Breakthrough

A thin booklet—"Jinyang Sect Outer Sect Disciple Manual."

The paper was yellowed, the corners were curled, and the writing on the cover had worn away until it was somewhat blurry.

He flipped through it casually; inside, it recorded the Jinyang Sect's rules, the duties of an Outer Sect Disciple, the basic incantations for the Cultivation Technique of the Qi Refining stage, and a few crude diagrams of Meridian circulation.

Seventy or eighty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The Spirit Stones were irregularly diamond-shaped, each one a circle larger than a thumb, translucent, with milky-white Spiritual Qi flowing slowly inside, as if mist had been sealed within the stone.

Holding them in his palm, he could feel a faint fluctuation of Spiritual Qi seeping out from the stones. This was the first time he had seen a Spirit Stone since his Rebirth.

A few small porcelain bottles. Opening the stoppers to check, they contained Bigu Pills and a Medicinal Pill for healing—Rejuvenation Pills. They were grayish and emitted a faint medicinal scent.

A few stalks of Low Grade Spirit Medicine were kept in jade boxes.

Opening one of them, inside was a piece of Yellow Essence over a hundred years old; the quality was decent, though the medicinal potency was slightly inferior to Purple Gold Ginseng.

The other few were about the same, all just barely reaching the grade.

Over a dozen pieces of Low Grade Spirit Materials, which could be used for setting up Formations or Artifact Refining.

There was also the skeleton of a Low Grade Tier 1 Yao Beast and its pelt; looking at the pelt, it seemed to be from a Blazing Rabbit.

There was also a beast-skin map. After unfolding it, it was about two feet square; the beast skin had been tanned, making it soft and tough.

The map marked the locations of the Jin Kingdom, Liang Kingdom, Chen Kingdom, and the Jinyang Sect mountain gate, with mountains and rivers outlined in ink lines and cities marked with cinnabar.

The Manghuang Mountains lay like a giant python between the Jin Kingdom and the Jinyang Sect; on the map, that area had a conspicuous red circle drawn around it, with four small characters written next to it: "Yao Beasts run rampant."

There were over twenty Talismans. Jiang Yan flipped through them one by one; most were Tier 1 Low Grade—Fireball Talisman, Wind Blade Talisman, Diamond Talisman—all the most basic goods.

But there were three Tier 1 Medium Grade Talismans and one Tier 1 High Grade Talisman.

He unfolded those three Tier 1 Medium Grade Talismans.

Two Ice Spike Talismans; the Talisman paper was light blue, the Talisman patterns were drawn with silver-white Spirit Ink, the lines were sharp, and cold air seeped out from the Talisman surface, feeling like touching an ice surface with his fingertips.

One Lightning Strike Talisman, with purple Talisman patterns, winding and twisting like lightning. One Earth Wall Talisman, with yellowish-brown Talisman patterns, thick and steady.

The last Tier 1 High Grade Talisman was picked out by him separately.

The material of the Talisman paper was clearly different—it was not ordinary Talisman paper, but a kind of light golden Spirit Skin, a grade higher than even the skin of a Three-Eyed Fire Wolf.

The Talisman patterns were drawn with dark golden Spirit Ink, dense and layered, with five layers of Restriction patterns alone.

He probed his Divine Sense into the Talisman surface; the Spiritual Qi pathways were as complex as a miniature Formation.

Golden Gang Slash Talisman. Tier 1 High Grade. Upon activation, it releases a Golden Gang Sword Qi, with power equivalent to a full-strength strike from a Cultivator at the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

Jiang Yan put the Talismans back into the Storage Pouch, his fingers pausing at the pouch's opening.

It was fortunate that it was a sneak attack. If Zhao Xuancheng had been allowed to activate this Talisman, he might have capsized.

A Tier 1 High Grade attack Talisman; with his current strength, if he hadn't dodged it, it would certainly have resulted in death and his Dao vanishing.

There were also two Low Grade Magical Artifacts.

A Gold Spirit Sword. The sword was two feet long, pale gold throughout, with a Sharpness Restriction and a Durability Restriction inscribed on the blade.

When Spiritual Qi was injected, the blade glowed slightly and emitted a very faint humming sound.

The quality was decent, standard, and it should be a standard-issue Magical Artifact of the Jinyang Sect.

A small golden shield. It was palm-sized, but after activation, it could expand to three feet square, with two Durability Restrictions inscribed on the shield face.

He flicked the shield face with his finger, producing a crisp "ding" sound, with a lingering echo.

The Storage Pouch itself was the most valuable thing in this pile.

Although it was the lowest-grade Storage Pouch with a space of only half a zhang square, having it meant he no longer needed to carry bundles while traveling everywhere.

Zhao Xuancheng's net worth somewhat exceeded his expectations.

For a piece of trash at Qi Refining Stage 2, there were actually a Tier 1 High Grade Talisman and seventy or eighty Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch.

Given his cultivation and status, these things could not have been normally issued by the Sect.

Jiang Yan's gaze fell back onto Zhao Xuancheng. Zhao Xuancheng shuddered all over from his look, and his lips began to tremble again.

"These things," Jiang Yan's voice was not loud, "are resources you intercepted that were meant to be paid as tribute to the imperial family."

It was not a question.

Zhao Xuancheng's face turned even paler in an instant than when his leg was broken.

His lips trembled violently, and a clucking sound came from his throat; he wanted to argue, but could not say a word.

Jiang Yan put away the Storage Pouch and all the items.

Zhao Xuancheng seemed to sense something, his lips trembling even more violently, and a voice squeezed out from his throat, sharp and thin: "You... I have already told you everything you wanted to ask... Please spare my life... I am the heir of Marquis Zhennan, my father can find many cultivation resources for you... Whatever you want, he can find it for you..."

Jiang Yan did not answer. He pressed his right hand onto the top of his head.

"What are you doing... No... Don't kill me..." Zhao Xuancheng's voice turned into a sharp shriek, echoing in the empty, dilapidated temple, startling a bat that had been roosting on the roof, which flew out with a flutter.

The Bloodthirsty Demon Scripture was set in motion.

Zhao Xuancheng's body began to convulse violently, more violently than anyone else whose vital blood had been drained before.

It was not because of struggling—it was because the Spiritual Qi contained in a Cultivator's vital blood far exceeded that of a Mortal Martial Artist.

The vital blood was extracted from the top of his head, flowing against the current, and surged into Jiang Yan's Meridians along his palm.

Zhao Xuancheng's screams echoed in the dilapidated temple, then gradually grew weaker.

From screams, it turned into whimpers, from whimpers into clucking sounds in his throat, and finally, only his lips remained, moving silently.

His skin withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His eye sockets sank deep, his eyeballs bulged out, and the light in his pupils faded bit by bit.

His lips retracted, revealing the white teeth inside, even the roots of his teeth exposed.

The skin on his face clung to his cheekbones, the cheekbones jutted out, and his chin was as sharp as an awl.

The vital blood of a Qi Refining Stage 2 Cultivator, although the Foundation was as flimsy as rotten cotton, the total amount of Spiritual Qi contained within it far exceeded that of an Innate Middle Stage Martial Artist like Murong Yan.

A warm and pure energy surged into his Dantian.

The Bloodthirsty Demon Scripture operated crazily, stripping away, compressing, and assimilating the Spiritual Qi within the vital blood.

Inside the Dantian, the dark purple Spiritual Qi vortex began to tremble.

The Spiritual Qi rotated violently under the impact of the vital blood.

That layer of tough membrane blocking the way between Qi Refining Stage 1 and Stage 2 began to thin and soften under the impact of the Spiritual Qi.

Like a layer of cowhide paper soaked in water, it became increasingly transparent and fragile.

When the last trace of vital blood was absorbed, that membrane was finally breached.

It was not a crashing shattering. It was a silent, supple "penetration"—like a needle passing through silk.

The Spiritual Qi began to undergo a qualitative change at the moment of the Breakthrough. It transformed from dark purple into a deeper, purer dark gold.

The volume of each strand of Spiritual Qi did not increase, but the density improved significantly.

The Spiritual Qi vortex suddenly shrank from occupying two-thirds of the Dantian to one-half—but the shrunken vortex rotated faster, and the energy it contained was more solidified.

Qi Refining Stage 2.