Chapter 54: Talent

From the iron chest in Lv Fugui's house, Meng Yifan found a copy of "Hunyuan Strength"; this was a Yellow-grade Upper-tier technique, far stronger than "Wild Ox Strength."

Under normal circumstances, a Martial Artist practicing a Yellow-grade Middle-tier technique has twice the True Qi density of one practicing a Yellow-grade Lower-tier technique.

And a Martial Artist practicing a Yellow-grade Upper-tier technique has twice the True Qi density of one practicing a Yellow-grade Middle-tier technique.

In other words, if Meng Yifan could practice "Hunyuan Strength," his True Qi would be four times what it was before.

If he could master Hunyuan Strength, assuming Meng Yifan's cultivation was still at the Second Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist level, the True Qi within his body would be enough to perform "Ghost Crying Wolf Howling" eight times; this amount of True Qi would basically be sufficient, and he wouldn't have to be as strapped for resources as he was now.

"This is a bit difficult." Meng Yifan opened the Hunyuan Strength technique and took a rough look; he discovered that the True Qi circulation paths of this Hunyuan Strength were far more complex than those of Wild Ox Strength, with many places being vastly different.

To cultivate Hunyuan Strength well, one had to open up two new True Qi circulation paths within the meridians, which was clearly a very difficult task.

"Huh! The very first part of Hunyuan Strength is also 'Five Hearts Facing Heaven,' calming the spirit and focusing the mind, starting from the dantian to move the body's Qi and blood to condense True Qi; this is almost identical to the opening of Wild Ox Strength."

"Moreover, although the True Qi circulation paths of the Hunyuan Strength technique are much more complex, one-third of them overlap with the True Qi circulation paths of Wild Ox Strength, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of my cultivation."

Meng Yifan's heart stirred; he had a Game Panel, and he could directly add proficiency to cultivation techniques and martial arts using Experience Value, but regardless of the technique or martial art, the first step required him to comprehend it himself.

Since the Hunyuan Strength technique and the Wild Ox Strength technique had many similarities, the difficulty for Meng Yifan to specialize in Hunyuan Strength would be much smaller.

"I'll try it in a while." Cultivating martial arts techniques requires a safe and quiet environment, free from disturbance, otherwise, it is very easy to suffer from Qi deviation, so Meng Yifan did not rush to practice the technique, but instead led the young men to set up mechanisms and traps in the courtyard.

This time, when Wang Lei and the other two men in black came to launch a sneak attack, if Meng Yifan hadn't set up alarm mechanisms and animal traps in the room beforehand, perhaps all of them would have had their heads chopped off while they were asleep.

"Dig some pits behind the wall, dig them deep, and stick iron spears inside; yes, right there, and poison the iron spears."

"Aim at the doorway, set up three crossbows, and rig them as trigger mechanisms; as soon as someone sneaks in and touches the mechanism, the crossbows will fire."

"Above the entrance to the room, install a bag of lime powder."

"And here, place an animal trap every step."

Meng Yifan directed the villagers as they busied themselves in the courtyard; he wanted to turn this ordinary courtyard into a defensive fortress, and if any more Martial Artists dared to sneak in at night, these mechanisms and traps alone would be enough to give them a hard time.

Meng Yifan said to Liu Zhongyong, the barefoot doctor of Qinghe Village: "Uncle Liu, your task is to prepare more poison; use whichever toxin is the most potent, preferably one that kills instantly upon drawing blood, enough to directly poison a Third Grade Martial Artist or Demon Beast to death."

This Liu Zhongyong was not originally from their Qinghe Village; it is said that he fled here from the Central Plains over twenty years ago.

At that time, Liu Zhongyong was covered in wounds and starving; when he reached the vicinity of Qinghe Village, he fainted by the side of the road, and if Meng Yifan's grandfather hadn't happened to pass by and save him, Liu Zhongyong would have long since become a skeleton by the roadside.

Under the careful care of Meng Yifan's grandfather, Liu Zhongyong's body slowly recovered.

Liu Zhongyong knew medicine; according to him, his family had practiced medicine for generations, and since Meng Yifan's grandfather had saved his life and he had nowhere else to go, he stayed in Qinghe Village to treat the villagers.

Because it was Meng Yifan's grandfather who saved Liu Zhongyong's life, Liu Zhongyong was deeply grateful to Meng Yifan's family, and he never charged a single cent when members of Meng Yifan's family came for treatment.

After Meng Yifan transmigrated, he keenly realized that this Liu Zhongyong was a talent; one must know that after Demon Beasts and Martial Artists cultivate, their bodies evolve, and the higher the grade of the Demon Beast or Martial Artist, the stronger their resistance to poison.

Yet the poison that this Liu Zhongyong concocted had even taken down a Third Grade Flying Tiger Demon; this was clearly something that ordinary poison could not achieve.

"This Liu Zhongyong is definitely no ordinary person." Meng Yifan became curious about Liu Zhongyong's background, but he did not ask too much.

Liu Zhongyong had lived in Qinghe Village for over twenty years, and he had always kept silent, so he must have his reasons; Meng Yifan was not the type of person to pry, as asking too much would only offend people, and in any case, Liu Zhongyong was very good to Meng Yifan's family—not kin, but better than kin—and that was enough.

"Yifan, even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; if you want to directly poison a Third Grade Martial Artist or Demon Beast to death, you need at least Spirit Herbs that have grown for a hundred years, and I don't have any here at all," Liu Zhongyong said, looking at Meng Yifan with a smile.

Meng Yifan's heart stirred when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked: "Uncle Liu, do you mean that you really can concoct a poison that can directly kill a Third Grade Martial Artist or Demon Beast?"

Liu Zhongyong nodded and said: "I can; as long as there are materials, I can concoct it."

"A talent, this Liu Zhongyong is definitely a talent; I must keep a close eye on him, if he dies or runs away, I'll regret it until my guts turn green." Meng Yifan was incredibly excited, looking at Liu Zhongyong as if he were looking at a giant lump of gold.

"Uncle Liu, tell me, what materials do you need to concoct a poison that can kill a Third Grade Martial Artist? If I have the chance, I will find them for you," Meng Yifan asked.

"Naoyang Flower, Tiannan Star, Maqian Seed, Qianjin Seed, and Datura Flower; these five herbs are the main ingredients, and if combined with some other common herbs, one can concoct a poison capable of killing a Third Grade Demon Beast."

"However, Yifan, to kill a Third Grade Demon Beast or Third Grade Martial Artist, those five main ingredients must be herbs that are over a hundred years old; they are all very expensive, and we can't afford them. Why not use herbs that have grown for fifty years? I can concoct a poison capable of killing a Second Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist," Liu Zhongyong said.

"Uncle Liu, we aren't short on money; just concoct the one that can kill a Third Grade Martial Artist." Meng Yifan had obtained some Silver Notes from killing Lv Fugui and Guitou Dao Wang Lei, and now he had forty-four Silver Notes with a face value of one hundred taels each tucked in his bosom; he was simply rolling in wealth and was truly not short on money.

"Alright, the price of each of those five hundred-year-old main ingredients is one thousand taels of silver, and they are hard to find even with money," Liu Zhongyong said.

"What the hell?" Meng Yifan was dumbfounded; one hundred-year-old herb cost one thousand taels of silver, and five would cost five thousand taels; in other words, the four thousand four hundred taels of Silver Notes in his bosom couldn't even buy one set of ingredients.

This was just too expensive; five thousand taels of silver—if it were melted into a giant lump to use as a weapon, it would be enough to smash a Third Grade Martial Artist to death, right?