Chapter 46 Something’s Off

Chapter 46: Something's Off

So, the four of them each picked up a few jade slips to examine their contents.

Wang Hao got one that recorded a cultivation technique called the Thick Earth True Art, an earth-attribute technique capable of cultivation up to the Golden Core stage. The other jade slip recorded a divine sense attack spell called the Shatter-Soul Spike. It condensed divine sense power into a spike to attack an opponent's divine sense. Its power was immense. Once a cultivator's divine sense was breached, they would be little different from a living corpse, almost completely at the mercy of others.

However, there was a prerequisite: your divine sense had to surpass the opponent's. Otherwise, not only would the attack be ineffective, but you would also suffer backlash.

That said, this technique inherently strengthened and increased part of the practitioner's divine sense power. Against cultivators of the same rank, victory was almost guaranteed. Wang Hao had taken the Spirit Gathering Pill and had the help of the Soul Nurturing Flower, which slowly nourished and could also enhance divine sense. His divine sense power was stronger than those of his same rank. Cultivating this technique on top of that would allow him to use it as a trump card.

"Mine are alchemy techniques. This person was a mid-grade second-rank alchemist. There are also several pill formulas!" Li Derong said.

Chu He followed up, "Mine are some miscellaneous notes, recording information about demon beasts in the Duan Yuan Mountains. But who knows how many years have passed? They're useless now!"

"This senior was truly extraordinary. Mine are talisman-making techniques. According to the records, this senior was at least a low-grade second-rank talisman master," Chen Qing exclaimed with admiration.

Wang Hao also recounted the techniques and spells he had seen.

Joy was evident on all four faces. They had initially thought there wouldn't be much gain, but it turned out this senior was a "wealthy" individual. Of course, compared to Foundation Establishment cultivators from major sects, he couldn't be considered affluent either. A Foundation Establishment cultivator with only three magic tools and a few thousand Spirit Stones couldn't be called poor, but he certainly wasn't rich.

However, items like the Shatter-Soul Spike, which could serve as a trump card, were priceless. Some mid-sized sect forces might not even possess such things.

Chu He said, "We'll each make a copy of these technique insights and experiences. The Spirit Stones will be split equally. As for the other items, as we agreed, Brother Wang gets first pick!"

Wang Hao glanced at the alchemy furnace and said calmly, "There's not much to pick from. As you all know, I'm an alchemist."

"Alright then, the alchemy furnace goes to Brother Wang!" Chu He then looked at Li Derong. "Fairy Li, what do you want?"

"I want that flying sword magic tool."

Chu He handed the flying sword to Li Derong. The remaining defensive magic tool went to Chen Qing. He himself took the formation disk. With the division complete, they didn't linger. After hastily burying the remains of that Foundation Establishment senior, they hurried back to Qingyuan Market at full speed.

Over ten days later, they returned safely and parted ways at the city gate. Chu He arranged to meet everyone again after selling off their acquired goods.

A mere thousand or so Spirit Stones weren't much on Wang Hao's mind. His greatest gain from this trip was still the Shatter-Soul Spike. It could not only strengthen his divine sense but also launch unexpected attacks against enemies.

Wang Hao now had two spells to learn. He had only scratched the surface of Three Transformations of Essence Fire; by his own assessment, he hadn't even reached proficiency yet, let alone mastery. There was also the newly acquired second-rank talisman-making technique to comprehend. He wouldn't need to go out for a long time.

Returning to the Wang family shop, Wang Hao found Wang Yanzhao. "I obtained another Foundation Establishment Pill formula on this trip. Old Wang, if you can learn it, you won't lack Foundation Establishment Pills in the future!"

Wang Yanzhao scowled. "Where have you been running off to again? This Qingyuan Market is a mixed bag; even I have to tread carefully here. And you? Disappearing for days on end!"

"Come on now," Wang Hao retorted, holding up the jade slip. "I've lived nearly thirty years on my own. If I just sat around at home all day, would I have my current cultivation level? Do you want it or not? If not, I'll keep it myself!"

"Of course I want it," Wang Yanzhao said, taking the jade slip. "I've given you so many good things; it's time to recoup some cost!" He examined it briefly before putting it down. "So using demon cores to refine Foundation Establishment Pills has so many restrictions!"

Compared to the Condensing Essence Fruit, third-rank demon cores contained more complex components requiring alchemists to separate and remove them one by one. If removal wasn't possible, corresponding supplementary herbs had to be used for neutralization and suppression. This wasted too much mental effort from alchemists and significantly lowered pill success rates; producing three or four pills per batch was already considered a high yield even then.

Even so, Foundation Establishment Pills refined from demon cores still couldn't compare to those refined from Condensing Essence Fruit; their success rate for Foundation Establishment was about half a percent lower.

"Even with this formula, obtaining third-rank demon cores isn't easy."

"If it were easy, wouldn't Foundation Establishment cultivators be everywhere?" Wang Hao countered. "Third-rank demon cores are still somewhat easier to find than Condensing Essence Fruit, right? Maybe even this auction will have some!"

Wang Yanzhao shook his head with a sigh. "A low-grade third-rank demon core costs at least fifty thousand Spirit Stones. This time, I need to buy Nine-Branched Herb for our family; I don't have that many Spirit Stones for a demon core."

"It doesn't have to be bought right now," Wang Hao chuckled. "Even with all materials ready, you can't refine Foundation Establishment Pills yet. You need to be at least a high-grade second-rank alchemist!"

"What's with that look? Looking down on your father?" Wang Yanzhao grew furious under Wang Hao's teasing gaze. "Get out, get out! I still have pills to refine," he said, shooing Wang Hao out. "The auction is almost here; don't run off during this time!"

What Wang Hao didn't know was that the Wang family had one high-grade second-rank alchemist: the current family head. Unfortunately, due to injuries, he rarely practiced alchemy anymore. A family with centuries of heritage still had some foundation!

Even without Wang Yanzhao's warning, Wang Hao wouldn't have run off. His time was precious, and his gains from this trip were already substantial enough.

Back in his room, he didn't rush to cultivate secret arts. Instead, he took out the Sky-Overturning Seal.

After its outer shell shattered, it became slightly smaller, though its shape remained unchanged: still two layers. The lower layer was square, each side engraved with cloud patterns and inlaid with three gemstones. The upper layer tapered inward, forming a handle graspable by hand, with only one gemstone inlaid on each of its four sides.

But Wang Hao noticed that some material still covered parts of the seal's body, preventing some runes from being fully visible or clear.

Wang Hao tried refining it with flame and attacking it with magic tools, but nothing worked. Injecting a trace of spiritual power also had no effect!

"Hmm? Does it need re-binding?" Cultivators must bind magic tools in their possession before they can wield them. For first and second-rank tools, the process is relatively simple, requiring only a simple soul imprint for binding.

As for the Sky-Overturning Seal, Wang Hao had already bound it once before. Now he realized that his previous soul imprint must have been on its outer shell alone, vanishing along with its shattering!

Wang Hao attempted to leave a new imprint several times but failed each time. This was very off. Wang Hao's soul was currently quite robust; he could even bind high-grade magic tools.

"Could this thing actually be a treasure?"

Wang Hao recalled another method for binding high-grade magic tools: using a cultivator's essence blood. Of course, this required the tool to be ownerless first.