Chapter 11: Life-Taking Curse

The next day, Lu Yang waited in his cave dwelling for an entire day.

No one came.

The three men in black seemed as if they were not disciples of the Chusheng Sect at all; they stirred up not the slightest ripple, and no one even came to check on the situation.

Lu Yang sighed again; he would never doubt that the Holy Sect, which held the life lamps of all disciples, had failed to discover the deaths of the three. Upon reflection, it seemed that "mutual killing among disciples" was simply an established convention; as long as it did not escalate into something widely known, no one would investigate closely.

After all, the demonic sect was fraught with treacherous winds and shifting clouds, impossible to fathom.

When someone died, perhaps it was to silence them, perhaps for wealth, or perhaps they knew something they shouldn't have; what if a real investigation uncovered something?

Therefore, it was better not to investigate.

"Truly worthy of being the Holy Sect."

After sighing, Lu Yang set his mind at ease and began to collect the spoils of war.

First were the disciple tokens; to Lu Yang's shock, the tokens of the three men in black contained a full 400 contribution points, an amount exceeding all reason.

"So they were three habitual offenders."

Lu Yang frowned tightly and searched through their belongings again, but aside from miscellaneous items, only a secret manual titled "Qi Concealing Art" truly captured his interest.

After all, in Lu Yang's view, these three men in black were extremely skilled at concealing their true qi; if not for his own cultivation breakthrough, which granted a qualitative leap in both true qi and spiritual sense, he likely would not have detected their infiltration, proving the formidable nature of this "Qi Concealing Art" as a trump card.

"More importantly, this has nothing to do with the Holy Sect!"

Techniques of the Holy Sect were recorded only on disciple tokens, yet the "Qi Concealing Art" was a secret manual, indicating it must have been a fortuitous encounter belonging to the three men themselves.

Therefore, there was no need to worry about the Holy Sect possessing a method to break it.

"A pillow arrives just as sleepiness strikes; they died well!"

Thinking this, Lu Yang sincerely gathered the three corpses, dug a pit, and buried them, allowing them to rest in peace underground.

Then, suddenly, a new thought occurred to him:

"This 'Qi Concealing Art' is so exquisite and not transmitted by the Holy Sect; where did they obtain it? Could there be an even greater fortuitous encounter behind this?"

In an instant, Lu Yang's mind became active.

However, he quickly restrained his greed, his eyes returning to calm: "No rush, no rush; perhaps in their next life, we can become friends."

There will always be opportunities!

After burying the three to let them rest in peace, Lu Yang took out his disciple token and began to review the materials for refining a sword pill that Yun Miaoqing had previously told him about.

"To refine a sword pill, one must gather three taels of Gold Essence, three taels of Jade Marrow, two taels of Cinnabar, and two taels of Sword Qi, totaling ten taels; then, aided by True Fire and Divine Water, forge and cool them to remove impurities, and finally use sword art secret methods to slowly refine them until they merge with the cultivator's essence, qi, and spirit, only then can they be truly formed."

While recalling the method for refining a sword pill, Lu Yang browsed the item catalog.

The more he read, the uglier his expression became.

"Gold Essence, Jade Marrow, Cinnabar, and Sword Qi are all priced at 100 contribution points per tael; True Water is 500 contribution points per gourd, and True Fire is 500 contribution points per strand."

"2000 contribution points!?"

Lu Yang gritted his teeth; he had heard Yun Miaoqing say that disciples of the Yushujiange who broke through to Qi Refining would each receive a sword pill bestowed by their elders.

Yet here in the Chusheng Sect, it actually cost 2000 contribution points?

An ordinary disciple, working like an ox or horse for the Holy Sect without eating or drinking, would need twenty years to possibly accumulate so many contribution points!

Damn demonic sect!

Such an astronomical price instantly extinguished Lu Yang's pride at having made a small fortune, making him acutely aware once again of the reality that he was a pauper.

"In that case, these 400 contribution points are somewhat useless."

According to Lu Yang's plan, after restarting in the next life, he would choose to focus on cultivation base, so nothing he obtained in this life could be taken with him.

Therefore, no matter what good items these 400 contribution points could buy, they held no meaning for him.

As for cultivation base, the mid-stage of Qi Refining was entirely different from the early stage; even if he spent all 400 contribution points, it would be impossible for him to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Condensation.

"It seems I can only exchange them for techniques."

After all, compared to treasures, techniques and divine abilities, as knowledge, could be carried into the next life; thinking this, Lu Yang immediately left his cave dwelling and headed for the Library Pavilion.

"Oh, it's you, kid?"

The old man at the entrance of the Library Pavilion actually remembered Lu Yang, showing a look of surprise: "You're here to exchange for techniques again? It seems you've struck it rich."

"I thank Senior Brother for your kind words."

Lu Yang cupped his hands in salute, then walked into the Library Pavilion; this time his intention was clear—he sought a powerful divine ability specifically designed for desperate, life-or-death struggles.

Soon, Lu Yang locked onto his target.

"'Life-Taking Curse': 300 contribution points."

This divine ability was very special, resembling the Buddhist practice of silent meditation; it required the cultivator to nurture a mouthful of killing intent within their chest, refining it day and night with true qi until it intertwined with their life force.

Normally unused, one could speak as usual, but when the time came, upon opening the mouth and uttering a single word, "Kill!", the full cavity of killing intent would instantly surge forth, carrying one's entire life force with it, shaking souls and dispersing spirits, invincible in all directions; however, once this mouthful of killing intent was expended, the user would also die, making it a technique that ensured both enemy and self perished together.

"Excellent; it can kill others and also kill oneself, perfectly suited for me!"

Possessing the Book of Hundred Lives, what Lu Yang feared most was actually not death, but the inability to die, since the Book of Hundred Lives could not be activated voluntarily and could only be used after he died.

Therefore, he desperately needed a divine ability for suicide.

After exchanging for the technique at the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang immediately sat cross-legged and began to comprehend the method.

"The Life-Taking Curse hides qi within the chest; the most crucial element is this mouthful of killing intent; the higher the quality of the killing intent, the greater the power unleashed when the Life-Taking Curse erupts."

"As the saying goes: When Heaven unleashes its killing intent, stars shift and constellations change; when Earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land; when humans unleash their killing intent, heaven and earth overturn. Thus, the killing intent of the world is divided into three categories: Heavenly Killing, Earthly Killing, and Human Killing. Among these, Heavenly and Earthly Killing are rarely encountered in a hundred years, while Human Killing is everywhere, with the qi of weapons being the supreme form."

Inside the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang began the process of refining the killing intent.

"Fortunately, the materials are readily available."

The so-called qi of Human Killing was mostly drawn from weapons used by people harboring murderous intent; as luck would have it, he still possessed the weapons held by the three men in black.

Lu Yang directly extracted the killing intent from them, refining it bit by bit into his body.

In an instant, Lu Yang felt as if a thousand blades were scraping his bones and cutting his flesh within his chest, an unbearable agony, yet he kept his lips and teeth tightly shut, daring not to open his mouth.

For this was the critical moment of refinement; once he opened his mouth and the qi leaked, he would surely drop dead on the spot!

Thus, after a long time, Lu Yang finally felt the killing intent in his chest gradually stabilize, completely connecting with his own true qi, ready to erupt at the slightest thought.

"I wonder how powerful it is..."

Thinking this, a trace of anticipation immediately appeared on Lu Yang's face; he decided that before dying in this life, he must use the Life-Taking Curse once to see its power.

Returning to the entrance of the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang unexpectedly found the old man there cursing loudly.

"Damn it, that bastard who walked in dog shit..."

The old man held a disciple token, his wrinkle-covered hands trembling uncontrollably, his old face twisted in an expression that was hard to define.

Lu Yang stepped forward curiously: "Senior Brother? What happened?"

"What happened?" Hearing this, the old man's eyes widened in anger; he fiercely threw the disciple token to the ground and sneered: "Everyone is talking about it; see for yourself."

Before his voice had even faded, the old man lay back down in his rocking chair, looking as if he were sulking.

Lu Yang was completely baffled until he also opened his disciple token and saw the recent news, finally understanding what had occurred.

"Grand Prize of the Merit Pool Finally Has a Winner!"

"The Colored Merit Fish was drawn by Xiao Shiye, a newly entered disciple; the True Person publicly awarded a prize of one billion, and after claiming the reward, Xiao Shiye entered secluded cultivation and his whereabouts are unknown!"

(End of Chapter)