Chapter 118: Is This Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey?

Pot Heaven.

After receiving the bronze pill furnace gifted by Su Ping, the young Daoist Zhou Xuan saw a significant improvement in both his pill refining efficiency and success rate.

Su Ping returned to Zhaoyue Tingfeng Pavilion and began to take stock of his recent gains.

There were not many high-quality goods in terms of military hardware; they were not even as good as what the Registered Disciples had bought through various channels.

Fortunately, they made up for it in sheer quantity, and there were heavy weapons that the Registered Disciples could not get their hands on.

Su Ping was quite interested in those anti-aircraft machine guns, feeling that if he used his Dharma Form supernatural ability to wield them to hit people, the effect would surely be better than hitting aircraft!

In addition, there were a large number of parts for Humvees, jeeps, and old tanks.

Su Ping was experimenting to see if he could piece them back together and then use artifact refining methods to strengthen them a bit.

He suddenly felt a wave of incomparably pure Spirit Qi fluctuations appear in the backyard.

His Divine Sense swept over and he saw that it was the eleventh batch of Lingxin Pill that Zhou Xuan had been trying to refine recently; this time, he had finally succeeded.

And there was even a Superior Pill produced!

That Spirit Qi fluctuation was the strange phenomenon caused by the Superior Pill.

The Lingxin Pill is one of the most difficult pills to refine among First Tier High Grade pills.

It possesses the ability to increase comprehension for a short time, thereby enhancing a Cultivator's ability to learn and understand new knowledge.

This type of pill is quite popular among Elite disciples in major Immortal Sects.

The price of a Superior Lingxin Pill is more than ten times that of a Peiyuan Pill or Blood Qi Pill of the same grade!

Su Ping planned to sell the Superior Pill, while the middle-grade and waste pills would be taken by himself to accelerate his progress in comprehending various techniques.

After Foundation Establishment, Su Ping began to try practicing the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Water Moon Formless technique.

The Outer Sect Disciples all practiced common, neutral, and peaceful techniques with no special requirements.

Transitioning to this Water Moon Formless technique, which also had no requirements, went quite smoothly.

It was just that after the Entry, the subsequent progress slowed down, which also made Su Ping realize once again that not only was his Spirit Root average, but his comprehension was not much better either.

He was indeed not the kind of genius who could grasp the meaning just by reading a book a few times.

Although he felt a little unwilling, Su Ping quickly accepted reality and looked for a solution.

Then, he discovered the auxiliary pill known as the Lingxin Pill from ancient books.

With the Jiuye Mountain Market and his status as a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, it was very easy to obtain the pill formulas and materials for this Qi Refining stage.

One only needed to let word out, and naturally, flattering immortal cultivation families would appear to show favor.

The difficulty was high and the success rate was a bit low, but fortunately, he had the Purification Spirit Medicine in hand, so it did not matter if the success rate was low and there were many waste pills; the key was being able to refine them successfully!

The success of young Daoist Zhou Xuan this time left Su Ping extremely satisfied.

Thus, Su Ping, having resumed his identity as the Yunlai Sword Immortal, descended into the backyard once again.

"Daoist!"

Young Daoist Zhou Xuan was currently rejoicing over his successful refinement of the pill formula brought by the White Crane Boy.

Sensing the disturbance, he hurriedly turned back and saw Su Ping arriving through the air, so he quickly bowed and greeted him.

And because he had already begun Qi Refining into the body, Zhou Xuan could feel that the Daoist at this moment was much more charismatic and mysterious than before.

He did not think that the Daoist had only recently become stronger.

Rather, he felt that it was his own past self who was too useless and unqualified, so the Daoist had chosen to suppress his aura.

But now, the Daoist was revealing more of his aura; did this... mean he had passed the test?

"Being able to refine the Lingxin Pill shows that you are indeed quite good at the path of alchemy!"

"It is just that your strength still needs to be strengthened... Come, follow me onto the Immortal Boat!"

Su Ping nodded slightly, and with a casual beckoning gesture, the Tianbing No. 1 Flying Boat broke through the air and appeared on Su Ping's right side.

Immediately after, a pair of large hands appeared under young Daoist Zhou Xuan's feet, lifting him up to the deck of the Immortal Boat.

Then, accompanied by a sharp whistle.

The Immortal Boat flew into the high sky.

This made Zhou Xuan unable to help but exclaim out loud, and he once again revealed an excited expression, covering his mouth to avoid losing face by shouting.

It was because he had once again seen the full view of the Yunlai Immortal Realm, seeing those suspended mountain peaks, the golden sea of clouds, and the wondrous sight of dragons and phoenixes bringing auspiciousness.

"Awoo!"

In the sea of clouds, a black dragon-fish, a circle larger than a tiger shark with what appeared to be horns on its head and black scales, even darted out.

This black dragon-fish approached the Immortal Boat, circled a few times, and then swayed as it passed over the Immortal Boat and left.

That fishy smell gave Zhou Xuan goosebumps all over his body.

Fortunately, as the Daoist waved his hand to summon a breeze, the uncomfortable feeling was swept away.

The Immortal Boat flew for a while before suddenly beginning to decelerate and descend.

Not long after, Zhou Xuan widened his eyes as he saw the Immortal Boat land directly in front of a temple filled with an ancient and sacred charm.

Looking at the lifelike six-tusked giant elephants on both sides of the temple.

Young Daoist Zhou Xuan walked down cautiously and looked back at Su Ping.

"Go in and accept the Dao Heart test."

"For these few days, I will have the White Crane Boy watch over you here; after accepting the test, return to the Immortal Boat to take the medicine and practice, and then continue to repeat this process."

As Su Ping spoke, the corners of his mouth moved, and he used Secret Language to transmit the tricks and some insights before the third level of Qi Refining into Zhou Xuan's ears.

After leaving behind a relevant Jade Slip, he then left this Fusheng Rumen Temple.

In Su Ping's view, as long as the Dao Heart is well-tempered, at least during the Qi Refining stage, there is no fear of pulling up seedlings to help them grow and affecting the Dao path.

And once young Daoist Zhou Xuan is able to reach the third level of Qi Refining.

Cooperating with the environment of the Pot Heaven, he could even set up another Array in the backyard to assist with alchemy.

I imagine that even for a troublesome pill formula like the Lingxin Pill, young Daoist Zhou Xuan should be able to refine it several more times a day now, right?

After settling Zhou Xuan in.

Su Ping arrived under the Human-Faced Locust Tree and saw Shanawati, who had already reached the Qi Refining First Layer and was only a step away from continuing her breakthrough.

The Dao of Talismans inherently has the function of consolidating one's foundation.

Relying on the assistance of her Blood Talisman Spirit Body, Shanawati could succeed in crafting even the most difficult talismans within the Qi Refining stage in three attempts, and become proficient within five.

And every success allowed her to gain one more point of insight into cultivation.

This made her cultivation speed cause even Su Ping to feel a sense of wonder in his heart, and he secretly sighed that she was indeed worthy of being blessed by a complete Spirit Body; she was simply a natural-born seed for cultivation.

And this was just a Blood Talisman Spirit Body that leaned toward the Dao of Talismans!

Those Spirit Bodies purely inclined toward cultivation and combat... I fear they would be even more astonishing and impressive, right?

"Shanawati!"

Su Ping transformed into Shu Daoren and arrived at Shanawati's door.

After he spoke slowly, Shanawati stopped drawing talismans, opened the door, and came out to respectfully welcome him.

Shu Daoren walked in, casually tested her with a few questions, and then stopped.

It was mainly because Su Ping discovered that Shanawati's understanding of the Dao of Talismans was faintly surpassing his own, so it was better not to make any mistakes.

Thus, after offering a few comments while feigning profoundness, he asked if Shanawati wished to return home to visit her family.

Shanawati was naturally overjoyed at this.

After all, she was just a young girl who hadn't left home for long.

She was not yet accustomed to the days of not seeing her loved ones for a long time.

On one hand, Su Ping was fulfilling his initial promise and increasing Shanawati's loyalty.

On the other hand, it was also because he had just resolved a major matter.

Releasing Shanawati at this time was equivalent to adding fuel to the fire.

By leveraging Shanawati's experience, he could make those who paid attention to the mysterious circles believe even more in the reality of Ghost Gods and the unfathomable nature of their abilities.

This was because Su Ping had reached Foundation Establishment, and coupled with the fact that he had previously resolved the old general's lair in a straightforward manner without much effort.

These things gave Su Ping a certain amount of confidence, causing him to begin attempting to reveal a little bit of his mysterious tentacles to this technological world, step by step.

And so.

Mage Tapu and the others, who were working hard for the great cause of exorcism, had thought that the recent news was already exciting and shocking enough.

Enough to make them twelve-fold devout and serve the Ghost Gods with all their might.

Yet they did not expect.

As night fell.

Mage Tapu and the others, having sent off the last batch of believers, were planning to go to the back hall one last time to pray before returning to meditate and sleep.

In the back hall, Shanawati, wearing a fine gauze dress, had already appeared there, revealing a faint smile toward these grandfather-aged mages.

Swish!

More than half of the mages knelt down immediately.

Finally, even Mage Tapu knelt down resolutely to pay his respects to Shanawati, the Saintess favored by the Ghost Gods.

Afterward, a grand welcoming ceremony was held overnight.

Just as she had arrived, Shanawati was respectfully welcomed by a large motorcade and sent back to the village where her parents lived to reunite with her family.

And as Shanawati recounted her experiences—excluding those related to cultivation—as if telling a story.

Many people learned that within the Spirit Realm of the Ghost Gods, there were such magical and beautiful scenes, and they could not help but reveal expressions of longing.

Regardless of the fact that in Shanawati's words, that place should actually have been a gloomy and eerie style.

In the eyes of the mages, the fact that one could cultivate there, obtain true Dharma, and receive the favor of the Ghost Gods—that was what mattered most!

Shanawati's appearance was like a meteorite falling into a shallow lake in the mountains of Nierbo, sinking to the bottom and splashing up monstrous waves, completely disrupting the entire surface of the lake.

Nierbo already had many people who believed in Ghost Gods.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to cultivate so many mages who lived comfortably.

Now, they learned that it wasn't just as simple as worshipping the Ghost Gods to receive favor or avoid being cursed by them.

There was an even greater possibility of entering the magical Spirit Realm to obtain true Dharma.

Regardless of whether many things in this were really as they seemed, at the very least, Shanawati was a living example of someone who had received benefits!

Even the Nobles from the capital could not help but come to pay their respects to Shanawati, the Saintess in the mouths of the mages.

And in their contact with her, they truly sensed the magical from a living young girl.

They were all moved, and consequently began to support the temple's exorcism cause, not only giving the green light on material supply channels.

They also provided help and support in many other areas as much as possible.

As for Huang Zong, after discussing it, he decided to release a portion of the Body Tempering tea bag quota to the Nobles of the capital, allowing them to discover the benefits within.

Among them were many who, like that unlucky old general, suffered from serious illnesses.

After realizing that the Body Tempering tea bags could indeed help them.

They all came to seek and purchase them.

And their actions also triggered a chain reaction, making more people realize that perhaps those tea bags sent under the name of health products might really be good things?

While the news of the Saintess was fermenting.

The investigators responsible for looking into the incident of General Bahadur also found more helicopter wreckage and unexpectedly discovered an intact memory card in the pilot's camera helmet.

This made them very excited.

Following negotiations between various factions, they finally decided that each faction could send a portion of investigators as representatives to watch the contents of the memory card together.

Immediately, in a temporary large tent, as the projection began.

They saw the pilot's perspective, which was in the small town at the foot of the mountain, shouting at the townspeople to move supplies.

Afterward, they heard the order from the general and had to quickly pilot the helicopter to take off, continuously climbing and flying toward the rooftop of the building.

Because of the perspective, the helicopter could only see sheer cliffs, and at most, catch glimpses of thick smoke rising in the distance by chance.

And then the helicopter flew to the top of the mountain.

The investigators widened their eyes as they saw the billowing smoke and the burning building!

Because of the thick smoke and firelight, even frame-by-frame pausing only allowed them to barely see that the Outer City District at this moment was already devastated.

At the same time, on the rooftop of the building, there seemed to be several figures waving at the pilot.

This process was very short, lasting almost less than a second or two.

Then, before the pilot could close the distance to let everyone see more things and details.

Accompanied by a thunderous roar!

Lightning rampaged inside the helicopter, igniting multiple flammable objects while simultaneously causing the helicopter to spin and begin to crash.

The footage also froze at this moment.

"Reverse, slow down the footage, pause!"

"Hiss... was this struck by lightning?"

The investigators watched it repeatedly and finally confirmed a fact.

That is... the moment this helicopter flew to a certain altitude, it was struck down by a bolt of lightning, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft and the death of those on board.

"What kind of thing could have done this, being able to control lightning and also destroy the mountaintop?"

"With such power, it could completely and more easily resolve that general's force, right?"

"So, is the other party making a disguised show of force?"

At night, the Northern investigator who finished watching the recording walked out of the tent, facing the cold wind and letting his thoughts run wild.

A few seconds later.

He suddenly realized something and looked back at the bustling tent and the dozen or so different flags planted on the campsite.

He suddenly shuddered:

"Could it be that the other party is actually making a disguised show of force to all of our factions?"

"That old general was just the chicken that happened to be killed by chance?"

Not long after this investigator thought of this and felt it was incredible for his own bold guess.

Staff members found the locals who had passed by the nearby trails at that time.

And from their mouths, they learned that during that period, the fortress of General Bahadur suddenly erupted with the sounds of gunfire and artillery, followed by a series of explosions.

Afterward, they only saw thick smoke and firelight rising, and something blurry seemed to appear under the dark clouds.

Not long after that, they felt the earth shake and the mountains sway, and when they looked again, they discovered that a part of the mountain peak had been shattered alive!

Following that, experts excavated some remains from the ruins wearing the equipment of personal guards and detected results suggesting they had been struck by lightning before they died.

Making it so that even if it was unbelievable.

The Investigation Teams of the major factions had to write in their reports the possibility that the Mysterious Force suspectedly possessed lightning-type weapons or mysterious abilities.

The Northern investigator secretly suspected in his heart that as the investigation deepened, they would discover more and more evidence that the other party possessed lightning power.

It's just... besides the lightning, those Outer City District areas where there were no corpses or weapons.

Does that mean the other party also possesses more abilities they don't know about?

This feeling of being completely in the dark, feeling like he knew nothing, made this veteran investigator feel extremely anxious and gave him a headache.

In the end, he made a decision that a man from the North should make.

Forget it, going back to drink two bottles of high-proof liquor and getting some sleep is the most important thing right now!

Ura!