Chapter 11: Life-Taking Curse

The next day, Lu Yang waited inside his cave dwelling for the entire day.

No one came.

The three men in black robes seemed not to be disciples of the Initial Saint Sect at all; they stirred not even a ripple, and no one even came to investigate the situation.

Lu Yang sighed again; he would never doubt that the Saint Sect, which possessed the life lamps of all disciples, had failed to discover the three deaths. Now that he thought about it, "mutual slaughter among disciples" was probably an established custom; as long as it did not cause a major uproar or become common knowledge, no one would investigate in detail.

After all, the Demon Sect was full of unpredictable schemes, difficult to fathom.

Someone died; perhaps it was to silence witnesses, perhaps for wealth, or perhaps they knew something they shouldn't have. What if they really uncovered something?

So it was better not to investigate.

"Truly worthy of the Saint 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 three men in black robes' tokens contained a full 400 contribution points, an amount absurdly high.

"So they were three habitual offenders."

Lu Yang frowned tightly and rummaged through again; apart from miscellaneous items, only a secret manual named "Qi-Collection Art" truly caught his interest.

After all, in Lu Yang's view, these three men in black robes were extremely skilled at suppressing their true qi. If his cultivation had not broken through, if his true qi and spiritual sense had not undergone a qualitative leap, he probably would not have discovered their infiltration. This showed the power of the "Qi-Collection Art," a trump card kept for emergencies.

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

The Saint Sect's cultivation methods were only recorded on the disciple tokens; the "Qi-Collection Art" was a secret manual, indicating it must have been a personal opportunity for the three men in black robes.

Therefore, there was no need to worry about the Saint Sect having a method to decipher it.

"Truly, when sleepiness comes, a pillow appears; dying was good!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang sincerely prepared the bodies of the three for burial, then dug a pit and buried them, allowing them to rest in peace.

Afterwards, he suddenly changed his mind:

"This 'Qi-Collection Art' is so exquisite, and it is not transmitted by the Saint Sect. Where did they get it? Could there be an even greater opportunity behind this?"

Instantly, Lu Yang's thoughts became active.

However, he quickly restrained his greed, his eyes returning to calm: "No rush, no rush. Perhaps in their next life, we could be friends."

There will be opportunities!

After helping the three rest in peace, Lu Yang took out the disciple token and began to check the materials required for refining the sword pill, which Yun Miaoqing had told him about earlier.

"To refine the sword pill, one must gather three liang of Jin Jing, three liang of jade marrow, two liang of cinnabar, and two liang of sword qi, totaling ten liang. Then, assisted by true fire and divine water, one must forge, cool, and remove impurities, before slowly simmering it with sword art secret methods to make it align with the refiner's essence, qi, and spirit, only then can it be truly refined."

Lu Yang recalled the method for refining the sword pill while flipping through the item catalog.

The more he looked, the worse his expression became.

"Jin Jing, jade marrow, cinnabar, and sword qi have a unified price of 100 contribution points per liang; true water is 500 contribution points per gourd; true fire is 500 contribution points per unit."

"2000 contribution points!?"

Lu Yang gritted his steel teeth; he had heard Yun Miaoqing say that disciples of the Yu Shu Sword Pavilion received a sword pill bestowed by a senior elder upon breaking through to the Qi Refining stage.

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

An ordinary disciple, eating and drinking nothing, working like an ox or horse for the Saint Sect for twenty years, might possibly gather so many contribution points!

Damn Demon Sect!

Such an astronomical price instantly extinguished Lu Yang's pride from just making a small fortune, making him realize once again the reality that he was a pauper.

"In that case, 400 contribution points are a bit useless."

According to Lu Yang's plan, after restarting in the next life, he would choose his cultivation; therefore, no matter what he obtained in this life, he could not take it with him.

Thus, no matter what good things these 400 contribution points bought, they held no meaning for him.

As for cultivation, the mid-stage of Qi Refining and the early stage were completely different; even if he spent all 400 contribution points, it would be impossible for him to break through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

"It seems I can only use it to exchange for a cultivation method."

After all, compared to treasures, cultivation methods and divine abilities, as knowledge, could be carried into the next life. Thinking of 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 are here to exchange for a cultivation method again? It seems you have made a fortune."

"I accept Senior Brother's auspicious words."

Lu Yang bowed, then entered the Library Pavilion. This time his intention was clear: he wanted to find a divine ability with great power, specifically one used for risking one's life.

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 practitioner to nurture a mouthful of killing intent in their chest, refining it day and night with true qi, intertwining it with their very life.

Normally unused, one could speak normally; but once used, opening the mouth and uttering a single "Kill!", the chest full of killing intent would instantly erupt, carrying one's entire life force, shaking souls and sweeping away spirits, unstoppable. However, once this mouthful of killing intent was vented, the person would die; it was a means of mutual destruction with the enemy.

"Excellent; it can kill others and also kill oneself; it fits me perfectly!"

Possessing the Book of a Hundred Lives, what Lu Yang feared most was not death, but being unable to die, because the Book of a Hundred Lives could not be activated voluntarily; it could only be used after he died.

Therefore, he desperately needed a divine ability for suicide.

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

"Life-Taking Curse: hide the qi in the chest. The most important thing is this mouthful of killing intent; the higher the quality of the killing intent, the greater the power when the Life-Taking Curse erupts."

"It is said: When heaven sends forth killing intent, stars shift and constellations change; when earth sends forth killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land; when man sends forth killing intent, heaven and earth overturn. Therefore, killing intent in the world is divided into three categories: Heaven Killing, Earth Killing, and Man Killing. Among these, Heaven Killing and Earth Killing are rare once in a century; only Man Killing is seen everywhere, with the killing intent of weapons being the supreme quality."

Inside the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang began to refine the killing intent.

"Fortunately, the materials are already at hand."

The so-called killing intent of Man Killing mostly comes from weapons used by those harboring murderous intent. Coincidentally, he still kept the weapons held by the three men in black robes.

Lu Yang directly extracted the killing intent from them and slowly refined it into his body.

In an instant, Lu Yang felt as if a thousand knives were scraping his bones and cutting his flesh in his chest; the pain was unbearable, yet he still closed his lips and teeth tightly, daring not to open his mouth.

Because this moment was the critical time for refinement; once he opened his mouth, the qi would leak, and he would inevitably die instantly!

Thus, after a long while, Lu Yang finally felt the killing intent in his chest gradually stabilize, fully merging with his own True Qi, ready to erupt at a mere thought.

"I wonder how powerful it is."

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

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

"Damn it, that piece of shit who got lucky!"

The old man held the disciple token, his wrinkled hands trembling uncontrollably, his old face twisted, making it impossible to tell exactly what emotion he felt.

Lu Yang stepped forward curiously and asked, "Senior Brother? What happened?"

"What happened?" Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes widened in anger, and he fiercely threw the disciple token to the ground, sneering, "Everyone knows. Look for yourself."

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

Lu Yang was utterly confused until he too opened the disciple token and happened to see the latest news, only then understanding exactly what had happened.

"The Merit Pool Grand Prize Finally Has a Winner!"

"The Colorful Merit Fish was drawn by the newly admitted disciple Xiao Shuye; a True Person personally awarded the ten-billion prize on the spot. After receiving the award, Xiao Shuye entered seclusion and has vanished!"

(End of this chapter)