Chapter 19: Five Chang Spirit-Communication Method

Chen Ci could not stay in this pill room for even a single second longer.

But fortunately, how did that saying go? When the master has tasks, the Apprentice serves him in his labor.

He summoned his third Apprentice, Long Xianzhi, and ignoring his slightly green expression, ordered him to make sure every nook and cranny was cleaned thoroughly, and then to buy some mugwort to fumigate the place for a full day and night.

After speaking, Chen Ci tossed him two bottles of his own homemade Dragon-Tiger Pills, telling him to cultivate diligently and reach Zhoutian Consummation as soon as possible, before leisurely heading to the side courtyard.

The air outside was truly fresh.

Chen Ci bandaged his wound; had he been any slower, the blood from the wound would have stopped on its own.

Unable to help himself, he recalled the scene of the recent Dharma battle. Chen Ci pondered for a while and reflected, "That was still a bit rash just now. Although the Mother Hen Corpse Ganoderma soup was stealthy, its effect wasn't very good; it only relied on catching the opponent off guard. In the future, I can research other methods of poisoning—ahem, methods of subduing the enemy."

"As for that man surnamed Ma... there shouldn't be any issues. He offended someone and fled here, changing his appearance to come as a servant of the Liu family. Now that his corpse has been fed to the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag, not a single scrap remains."

The problem is not significant.

After pacing back and forth in the side courtyard a few times, he waited until his mind had completely settled before he began to inspect his spoils of war.

First was the strange idol that had been immobilized by the Soul Fixing Talisman, and the Dao Tome that the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag had spat out.

"Five Chang Spirit-Communication Method?"

Chen Ci first flipped through the gold-threaded Dao Tome. This volume was not a cultivation technique, but rather a method for refining ghost artifacts, somewhat similar to some of the Dharma Artifacts in the He Mountain Sect.

This five-headed, ten-armed idol housed five fierce ghosts, raised using the yin souls formed from cruel deaths. Once the Five Chang were formed, they could be used to enter nightmares, cast curses, block paths, and kill enemies; it could be considered quite miraculous.

It was just that the refining method required primordial yang, primordial yin, and the souls of living beings. While the souls could be replaced by those of beasts, this primordial yang and primordial yin could only be obtained by harming people.

"I wonder if this so-called primordial yang and primordial yin is only found in humans? Actually, stop, stop—people can't, or at least shouldn't..."

Chen Ci shook his head violently, casting the terrifying thought to the back of his mind.

"What a high-level Prohibition on this Five Chang Spirit! I'm afraid it has at least ten layers!"

Chen Ci slightly extended his True Qi into the five idols to probe them. Feeling the levels of the Prohibitions inside, where five clusters of blood shadows rolled about in a mysterious space, emitting miserable cries, he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

When cultivators engage in Dharma battles, physical state, mindset, level of cultivation, quality of True Qi, Dharma Artifacts, spells, talismans, and pills are all influencing factors. It is impossible to discuss them in isolation; one cannot judge a cultivator's combat strength solely by their cultivation level.

If it weren't for the fact that this Five Chang Spirit was completely countered by the Soul Fixing Talisman, and the fact that he had ambushed it with chicken soup, the outcome would have been uncertain.

"Should I refine this Five Chang Spirit?"

The thought arose in Chen Ci's mind, and it was difficult to decide.

Dharma Artifacts between cultivators cannot be used simply by dripping blood on them; one must use True Qi to wash away the other party's traces and re-refine them before they can be used as easily as one's own arm.

The only benefit is that before refining to the level of the Dharma Artifact itself, re-refining does not require finding new materials, and the refining speed will increase significantly. However, if one wishes to advance further, one must honestly continue to refine the Dharma Artifact's Prohibitions according to the refining method.

"Forget it. I could harvest the primordial yin even if I weren't a good person, but how do I get this primordial yang? Damn it, no wonder that guy surnamed Ma's rear was so loose, he couldn't even clench it at all, and he even wore powder on his face—ugh..."

Chen Ci hurriedly tossed the idol aside; it was bad luck.

In a few days, he would take it to Xishan Market and sell it secretly; there shouldn't be much of a problem.

The remaining close-fitting soft armor and short sword were not Dharma Artifacts and contained no Prohibitions. The soft armor could only be considered a piece of mundane treasure armor—better than nothing—but the short sword had some value.

"Is this a short sword forged from Spirit Iron?"

Chen Ci examined it closely and had a guess.

This short sword weighed a little over five catties. The so-called Spirit Iron was not some spiritual mineral; it was high-quality refined iron that had been slowly washed with True Qi, accumulating over time until it became Spirit Iron, capable of piercing a cultivator's protective True Qi.

When those mundane swordsmen reach Zhoutian Consummation and step onto the Dao path, the mundane swords in their hands become spiritual; in reality, it is just the sword body slowly becoming Spirit Iron, which is considered a valuable material.

"This soft armor and short sword can be used for self-defense."

"I lost two mother hens, three stalks of Corpse Ganoderma, and fourteen Soul Fixing Talismans. I wonder how much this Five Chang Spirit can sell for."

Although it should be a profit overall, the cost-effectiveness was not high, and the risk was quite significant.

Chen Ci picked up the Spirit Iron Short Sword, infused it with True Qi, and lightly pricked the back of his hand. Despite only using a few hundred catties of force, his own protective Three Yin True Qi was broken through.

"A martial artist cultivator who has just entered the Dao can have a chance to stab and kill a high-level cultivator if they hold a Spirit Iron Short Sword, but the prerequisite is being able to get close. No wonder that guy surnamed Ma wore soft armor; this is all Jianghu experience. Write it down, it will be tested later."

Putting down the short sword, Chen Ci stroked his chin in thought, then patted the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag at his waist, releasing a strand of Five Yin Black Evil that curled toward his left hand.

"One breath..."

Chen Ci understood in his heart. He circulated more Three Yin True Qi to protect his left hand, but after at most five breaths, the protective True Qi was still shattered.

"If a cultivator with low cultivation has no defenses, the Five Yin Black Evil could kill them in a single encounter."

"But for those with higher cultivation, even if they do nothing else, they can resist it for three to five breaths just by relying on their True Qi. Five breaths doesn't seem like a long time, but it's more than enough to run thirty zhang."

Chen Ci touched his neck, his expression somewhat ugly. If he encountered close-quarters combat, his life would be at risk.

"I remember there was also a mundane sword technique. I didn't think much of it at the time. Should I practice it? Why are there more and more things to practice!"

Chen Ci leaned back. Although having many skills is never a burden, it is impossible to practice them all if there are too many.

Everyone knows that a cultivator increasing their Dharma Power level is the righteous path. Once the level rises, refining Dharma Artifacts and practicing spells becomes much easier than before.

But who dares to say that they don't use Dharma Artifacts or engage in battles with others while in the Qi Refining stage?

"Side-door sects, miscellaneous schools, and rogue cultivators already have inferior innate talent, techniques, and resources compared to those disciples of large sects. It's like others are focusing on their studies at a prestigious school, while I'm stuck at some lousy school and still have to work part-time to pay my tuition."

Countless thoughts surged, and Chen Ci slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air: he still had to practice.

To use words from his past life, if you don't spend money on military expenditures, are you going to let others spend your money on food, drink, and merrymaking?

"Cultivation is a long-distance run; only those who laugh last will succeed. Pill methods can be postponed for a while; it is very difficult to see results in the short term. It's not like having a Gold Finger means one can quickly master pill methods."

With the Frost Sugar business with the Wenxiang Sect, he wouldn't be too short of money for at least three to five years. However, he might still encounter one or two uninvited guests like the man surnamed Ma.

Having made his decision, Chen Ci did not dawdle. He quickly returned to the quiet room and dug out those few mundane cultivation techniques from before.

"Copper Armor Art," "Dragon-Elephant Art," "Stone Lock Hunyuan Art."

These three techniques were essentially no different; they all involved tempering the flesh, then moving blood and Qi to refine the skin, flesh, bones, and internal organs, finally reaching Zhoutian Consummation to generate True Qi.

At the time, the Stone Lock Hunyuan Art had the longest name, so Chen Ci simply chose that one.

"Black Tiger Saber," "Wind-Chasing Sword," "Land-Leaping Technique."

Chen Ci had practiced this leaping technique before, but it was meaningless and didn't even show up on his Gold Finger; it was likely too low-level, so he hadn't paid it any mind.

These three were actually not 'cultivation techniques' but rather more like 'moves,' and just looking at their names, one could tell they were all very common and not high-quality goods.

Without needing to think it over, Chen Ci picked up the "Wind-Chasing Sword Art" and began to flip through it; there were no complex moves, just an explanation of how to apply force, straightforward and direct, emphasizing only one word: fast.

"Let's practice it; for a man, being fast isn't actually such a big deal."

"I only hope this thing can be refreshed on the interface, otherwise it can only be used as physical exercise."

Chen Ci thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)