4: Two arrows, the mountain-drilling beast

Han Yu looked at Su Ling's retreating back, lost in thought.

"Senior Brother, are you interested in this kid?"

The young stall owner beside him leaned over and whispered.

"Completing the Azure Orchid Moss mission at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, although with the help of Talisman power, his personal strength is definitely not weak."

Han Yu said indifferently, "I received news from a Junior Martial Uncle that within three to five years, the Sect is very likely to conscript a large number of Foundation Establishment Disciples for a major undertaking."

"No wonder I heard that all the Spirit Medicine in the medicine garden has been collected recently to refine Foundation Establishment Pills and Primordial Cultivation Pills. So it was to Cultivate Foundation Establishment Disciples."

The young man suddenly realized, "Senior Brother, do you think this kid has a chance to reach Foundation Establishment?"

"Yes, if we can gather some Foundation Establishment Stage fellow Disciples around us at that time, our safety will be more assured, won't it?"

Han Yu nodded slightly, "Within three months, I will definitely break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. As for you, it will be about a year at most."

"Senior Brother's consideration is truly thorough."

The young man gave a thumbs-up, looking completely in agreement.

"Observe more and scout for some potential candidates."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

...

Su Ling didn't know that this Senior Brother, with whom he had traded twice, was taking an interest in him. Even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care much.

At this moment, he was holding a gray scale the size of a palm, his heart stirring slightly.

[Low Grade Magic Treasure jade bone armor, Accessory]

Magical Artifacts in the Cultivation world are divided into Magical Artifacts, Magic Treasures, and Spiritual Artifacts.

Those below Foundation Establishment generally use Magical Artifacts.

Magic Treasures are for those above the Core Formation stage.

As for Spiritual Artifacts, they are rare and hard to come by. Su Ling had never heard of anyone possessing one.

Even if a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator were given a Magic Treasure, his magical power wouldn't be able to unleash even a tenth of its power.

This Low Grade Magic Treasure accessory should normally be full of Spiritual Qi.

However, in Su Ling's perception, the Spiritual Qi contained in the gray scale was even less than that of an ordinary Fireball Talisman.

"How many Spirit Stones for this scale?"

Su Ling asked indifferently.

"Three Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

The woman at the stall, who looked to be around twenty, replied simply.

"Are there any more?"

"This is a Phosphor Iron Crocodile scale I obtained by chance, and it's the only one."

"Phosphor Iron Crocodile..."

Su Ling rubbed the scale, shaking his head slightly, "Too little Spiritual Qi, one Spirit Stone at most."

Phosphor Iron Crocodiles are Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Yao Beasts, and their scales are indeed very similar to this one.

But there were subtle differences in the details.

He had once had the good fortune to come into contact with such scales, so he was quite knowledgeable about them.

With this woman's Seventh Level of Qi Refining strength, she probably couldn't deal with a Phosphor Iron Crocodile.

Obtaining it by chance was normal.

"Junior Brother, if you truly want it, I'll compromise, two Spirit Stones."

The woman sized up Su Ling and chuckled softly.

"One."

Su Ling shook his head and casually put down the jade piece.

"Well, alright, one Spirit Stone. The jade piece is yours, Junior Brother."

Seeing Su Ling's firm attitude, the woman agreed.

After all, this scale was just something she had accidentally picked up while out.

Handing the last remaining Spirit Stone to the woman, Su Ling put away the scale and turned to leave.

At this moment, he was penniless, so there was little point in staying here.

This jade bone piece could be considered a small bargain.

The appraisal information didn't say it was a fragment, which meant this thing definitely still had use.

It was just unknown if it was originally this dull gray color, or if some unknown substance covered it.

...

Seven days later, Su Ling returned to the Artifact Refining Hall to retrieve his custom-made Magical Artifact.

[Low Grade Magical Artifact white bone bow, can condense spiritual power arrows.]

Arriving at a secluded corner, Su Ling held the pale bow-shaped Magical Artifact and tried to draw the bowstring, infusing it with spiritual power.

An arrow shimmering with a faint, eerie glow quickly condensed.

Over these days, he had already mastered the operation of the Ghost Soul Arrow.

Aiming at a dark ancient tree not far away, Su Ling released the bowstring. The eerie glow cut through the Void Realm and shot directly into the ancient tree.

After a while, Su Ling walked to the ancient tree and examined it carefully.

The Ghost Soul Arrow had indeed hit the ancient tree.

But now, not even a scratch was on the ancient tree's bark.

"The Ghost Soul Arrow is only effective against things with souls. Even when wielded through the white bone bow, the effect is the same."

Su Ling nodded silently. When he practiced the Ghost Soul Arrow before, he always felt something was missing.

According to the description on the strange paper, the Ghost Soul Arrow needed to be paired with the specific nine nether soul devouring bow to exert its maximum power.

Unfortunately, the white bone bow was only the lowest-tier Magical Artifact and could not assist the Ghost Soul Arrow in extracting Soul Power from the Void Realm.

"With a Magical Artifact in hand, it's time to go out and perform missions again."

Putting away the white bone bow, Su Ling headed straight to the Mission Hall.

With the Low Grade Spirit Medicine in the medicine garden all conscripted, rumors had long been circulating among the Outer Sect Disciples that a major event would soon occur in the Sect.

Su Ling urgently needed to improve his strength to increase his chances of survival.

In the past seven days, he had consumed all his qi refining pills, and coupled with his previous combat experience, his strength had advanced somewhat.

He was just a step away from the Seventh Level of Qi Refining.

Relying solely on slow cultivation, it would take at least another month to break through.

It was better to go out directly, earning contribution points and also more Spirit Stones.

Arriving in front of the Mission Hall, he saw Zhong Er and two other fellow Disciples from his courtyard quickly leaving in the distance.

A glint flashed in Su Ling's eyes. Three days ago, Zhong Er successfully advanced to the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, and then seemed to have gone to the Merit Hall.

He didn't expect this guy to be so eager to go out on missions before his cultivation was even stable.

With this thought, Su Ling quickly walked into the Mission Hall and took on three collection missions in one go.

The ink jade spirit mushroom was one of them.

...

Two days later.

In the dim mountain forest, Su Ling drew his bowstring, and wisps of eerie light converged towards it, rapidly forming an arrow.

A Mountain Drilling Beast, as large as a wild boar and resembling a pangolin, roared and pounced towards him.

His figure remained motionless until the Mountain Drilling Beast was only a few feet away, then he released the hand drawing the string.

The next second, the Mountain Drilling Beast seemed to be struck by lightning, its movements suddenly stiffening.

Su Ling took the opportunity to dodge, and the Mountain Drilling Beast's claws brushed past him. The violent airflow blew his body several meters away.

It was the effect of the Flowing Wind Technique Spell.

"Bang!"

The Mountain Drilling Beast hit the ground with a muffled thud, sliding three zhang forward before finally stopping.

After several breaths, there was still no movement.

"Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, it needs two arrows."

Su Ling rubbed his temples, holding the white bone bow as he slowly advanced.

In two days, this was the first Eighth Layer of Qi Refining Yao Beast he had encountered.

The Sixth or Seventh Level of Qi Refining Yao Beasts he had encountered previously could basically be instantly killed with one fully charged Ghost Soul Arrow.

However, the Ghost Soul Arrow required a certain amount of time to charge, and a hastily fired Ghost Soul Arrow was slightly less powerful.

When he spotted this Mountain Drilling Beast from afar, he charged and shot a Ghost Soul Arrow.

As a result, the Mountain Drilling Beast roared and immediately turned to charge at him.

Fortunately, the distance was far enough for the second Ghost Soul Arrow to be released.

"The Dantian expanded by the Nine Nether Secret Record should be larger than that from other basic cultivation methods, otherwise I wouldn't be able to release a second arrow while also using the Flowing Wind Technique..."

Putting the Mountain Drilling Beast's corpse into his bag, Su Ling mused to himself.

The Ghost Soul Arrow uses soul as its guide and spirit as its medium.

Its consumption of spiritual power is even less than that of the Flowing Wind Technique.

However, the consumption of Divine Soul power is even greater.

After continuously firing two arrows, even with Su Ling's combined Soul Power, it was still a bit strenuous.

After casting the Flowing Wind Technique and two Ghost Soul Arrows, Su Ling felt that he still had at least half of his spiritual power left.

He had noticed this when practicing Spells over the past three years.

His situation was very different from what the Sect Elder described when teaching.

This made Su Ling pay even more attention to the Nine Nether Secret Record and Cultivate even more diligently.

However, perhaps because his Dantian was expanded more than others, his cultivation progress was also much slower than others.

"But in the long run, it's definitely a good thing."

A series of low growls came from afar. Su Ling quickly identified the direction and swiftly shot off.