Chapter 192: The Sinister Path is Hard to Walk, Re-sacrificing the White Bones

The Human Origin refers to the great medicine of the human body, also known as the three treasures: Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Yet, this great medicine of the human body is difficult to use for other purposes; although this Human Origin Treasure Pill bears the name "Treasure," it is even more sinister than the Nourishing Qi Green Ganoderma Pill, being a bona fide heterodox evil pill.

Its primary ingredient is a "Medicine Person," or in other words, young boys and girls cultivated through special means.

A child is innate; they divide the clear and the turbid, fix the yin and yang. Those full of Essence can be refined into pills to nourish longevity; those with sufficient Qi can be refined into pills to replenish Qi; those with full Spirit can be refined into pills to benefit the spirit. Using this Bone-Reflecting Mirror to find children aged six to nine, distinguishing them into the three categories of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and cultivating them with various aged herbs for three years, one can open the furnace to refine pills once the Medicine Person is mature. This allows one to ignore the refiner's attainments in medicine-gathering methods and the Condensing Pill Method, greatly reducing the difficulty of forming the pill.

A pair of young boys and girls can yield one pill.

Chen Ci squinted at the Bone-Reflecting Mirror in his hand, his expression flickering. No wonder that man surnamed Du kept this mirror on his person; beyond the detailed explanation of the Human Origin Treasure Pill within, more importantly, it possessed the supernatural ability of Bone-Reflecting and Essence-Distinguishing. Without this mirror, refining the Human Origin Treasure Pill would be countless times more difficult, making it hard to select suitable young boys and girls to cultivate as Medicine Persons.

And the fact that this man surnamed Du plotted for the foundation at Yunshi Shan as soon as he arrived was likely for this reason; after all, if one were to refine the Human Origin Treasure Pill without some cover, it would certainly be a dead end if word got out.

If one had a foundation to serve as a cover, whether it be taking on disciples or some other excuse, one could at least hide it for ten or twenty years. When the time came, one could just shake off the dust and leave, moving to another country to keep a low profile for a few years, and everything would be fine.

But that is not what Chen Ci is thinking about right now.

However.

"One can walk a side path, but one cannot be sinister."

Yet this Human Origin Longevity Nourishing Pill and Human Origin Spirit Benefiting Pill each have their own mysteries.

And as for the Human Origin Spirit Benefiting Pill, its description is even more miraculous: swallowing this pill, whether practicing martial arts, cultivating Daoist methods, refining Dharma Artifacts, or refining pills, crafting talismans, setting up arrays, or even reading and writing, one will have divine-like assistance and improve day by day.

This is also the first pill formula Chen Ci has encountered that can extend life.

This Human Origin Qi Replenishing Pill is one thing, but Chen Ci already has his own pill formula, so the need is not that urgent.

Chen Ci checked the mirror again, only to feel that this sentence held an indescribable magic, tempting the holder to attempt refining the Human Origin Treasure Pill.

The Human Origin Longevity Nourishing Pill can extend life by one year per pill; after three pills, the efficacy will begin to slowly diminish, depending on the individual cultivator's situation, until it becomes ineffective, but theoretically, it can extend life by ten to fifteen years.

If he were given a few more decades to manage things slowly, perhaps attaining a Dao Foundation would be no problem at all.

As a mere minor cultivator of He Mountain, if he wants to become an immortal or an ancestor, it is not as if his bottom line cannot be lowered a little further.

These three Human Origin pills can be called supreme treasure pills for a miscellaneous Loose Practitioner. Compared to the difficulty of refining them, whether it is nourishing longevity, replenishing Qi, or benefiting the spirit, they are rare treasures for a wild practitioner. That this man surnamed Du could have such Qi Refining cultivation is likely inseparable from this mirror and these treasure pills.

This so-called treasure pill is easy to refine and has good effects. For a moment, Chen Ci really had a thought, but as for this Human Origin Treasure Pill, heaven knows who the real "Treasure Pill" is.

"Appearance is easy to fix, but lifespan is hard to deceive."

It is said to nourish the brain and refresh the spirit, but in reality, it also indirectly improves one's cultivation aptitude. In Chen Ci's view, it is actually the most precious treasure pill among the three for a cultivator, provided its efficacy is truly as miraculous as described.

This damn thing is truly tailor-made for Chen Ci.

Chen Ci scratched his hair and muttered to himself: "Refining pills, crafting talismans..."

To put it bluntly, this pill is for cultivators to nourish their brains and refresh their spirits.

"There is a saying that goes well: you are what you eat. So, eating bitterness won't make you a person above others; you have to eat people."

Chen Ci gripped the mirror and paced in the backyard.

"Extending life..."

"Sinister side paths disturb my Dao Heart. That man surnamed Du is truly insidious; even in death, he wants to harm his Grandpa Chen. He truly deserved to die."

Chen Ci couldn't help but complain: "My surname isn't Guyue, so I can't walk this Great Love Way at all. Besides, using people to refine pills—the furnace contains a Medicine Person, but who is to say the person outside the furnace isn't also a Medicine Person?"

Chen Ci exhaled a breath of turbid air, subconsciously feeling that this Bone-Reflecting Mirror was a disaster.

He can hold onto his original heart today.

But in the future... that is not certain.

"If I had a choice... actually, I still want to be a good person."

Chen Ci shook his head, gripped the edge of the mirror with his hand, and began to slowly exert force.

But he did not expect that this unassuming Bone-Reflecting Mirror could withstand Chen Ci's grip. Let alone a bronze mirror, even a piece of refined steel would be crushed into slag under the dual reinforcement of his Superior Grade True Qi and his Force Path body.

Clearly, the material of this Human Origin Bone Reflecting Mirror is not simple, or rather, this mirror is no ordinary object.

He does not know where the man surnamed Du obtained it; those among the Loose Practitioners who can make a name for themselves truly all possess unique skills.

But unfortunately, Chen Ci is still one move ahead.

Throwing the mirror onto the ground, Chen Ci simply took out the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer and gestured with it.

The more miraculous the mirror appeared, the less he wanted to keep it. He swung down with all his might; he saw green light suddenly emerge from the mirror's surface, supporting the Heart-Lock Hammer, but after just that one moment, the green light dissipated directly. Amidst a teeth-gritting friction sound and a loud bang, the mirror surface was completely twisted and deformed, unable to reflect even a shadow.

"Done and dusted, comfortable."

"But after working all night, I only picked up a good head in the end; slightly at a loss."

Chen Ci curled his lips, holding the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer in one hand and picking up the Six Yang Skull with the other, heading toward the quiet room, not forgetting to glance at his Gold Finger panel on the way.

White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer: Five-fold Prohibition/67/100 (Foundation is medium-high, can obtain fifty-three layers of Prohibition; refine one hundred catties of white bone daily, can advance one).

The refining of every Dharma Artifact requires the cultivator to spend endless time, and the more powerful the Dharma Artifact, the more resources and time are required for refining, which is also more likely to delay the improvement of cultivation.

From Chen Ci's perspective, this White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer is naturally powerful, but to be honest, although he relies on this Dharma Artifact, he always has something weighing on his mind.

"One is not master of one's own fate."

Sanyin Temple, quiet room.

Chen Ci stacked the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer and Brother Du together, adjusted his True Qi for a while, and then pressed his hands onto the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer and the Six Yang Skull, operating the refining method of the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer in reverse.

With the input of Nether Yin True Qi, the previously motionless White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer began to tremble. The five skull hammer heads suddenly turned to hiss silently at Chen Ci, first threatening, then seemingly begging their master not to destroy them.

"Hmph!"

Chen Ci let out a cold snort, his palm gripped hard, suppressing them. At the same time, his incantations did not stop. The five spinal bones that were twisted and entangled together as the hammer handle seemed to soften and began to slowly separate. On the other side, the flesh and skin on Brother Du's Six Yang Skull were also rapidly dissolving. Both processes proceeded simultaneously. Soon, in front of Chen Ci, the original White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer was split into five, and on his Gold Finger, the entry also changed slightly.

White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer (Artifact Blank): Not yet formed.

"Next is..."

As Chen Ci's thoughts moved, the six strange and bizarre Six Yang Skulls on the table seemed to come alive, rolling and biting each other. Bone slag kept falling from their grim, huge mouths, and they seemed to be wailing incessantly, fighting for the five elegant seats on the Heart-Lock Hammer.

This scene is a bit sinister, one might say.

But compared to the Human Origin Treasure Pill, it is still much better; at least he is messing with dead people.

Chen Ci narrowed his eyes, watching coldly while resting on the side. If he had been provoked by such a bizarre scene in the past, he might have been uneasy for a few days, but now, he has seen the world. Chen Ci can handle such a minor scene, and he even felt like taking a nap.

Fortunately, the method for refining the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer is all about survival of the fittest; in the time it takes to eat a meal, the struggle between these six Six Yang Skulls was decided, and one old skull was completely torn to pieces and devoured by the other five amidst a 'crack' and screams, and after eating their own brother, the remaining five skulls struggled to gather together, wanting to merge into one, but failed, and could only open their mouths to wail silently, begging for their master's mercy.

"Master Chen is still being pretentious; this White Bone Magic Tool is actually not much better."

Chen Ci mocked himself, then composed his mind, reached out and tapped, and the refining technique he knew by heart began to circulate, and the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer also began to slowly take shape.

But this refining of a Dharma Artifact did not seem so simple; perhaps it was because new Six Yang Skulls had been added and had not yet finished grinding together, or perhaps this hammer already had foundational Prohibitions, but Chen Ci refined it for a full day and night before the five unfamiliar Six Yang Skulls finally merged into one, and the five spinal bones twisted together again into a hammer handle that was just right to grip, intersecting at the end into a more ferocious ghost-face-like pattern.

"Hoo~"

Chen Ci lifted the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer and swung it twice, the wind whistling, and its appearance and feel did not seem to have changed much, yet it also seemed to have become a fraction heavier; he glanced at the Gold Finger panel, and the detailed explanation of the Dharma Artifact appeared on it once again.

White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer: Five-fold Prohibition/68/100 (Based on the foundation, one can obtain fifty-seven layers of Prohibition; by refining one hundred catties of white bone daily, one can advance one layer.)

The quality of the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer did not improve by much.

But it finally had the embryonic form of a high-grade Dharma Artifact, and if he put in more effort in the future and picked up more skulls from the roadside, it was not impossible to refine a Dharma Artifact with Perfected Prohibitions.

"Acceptable; in the end, it wasn't a wasted effort."

Hanging the freshly forged White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer under his Daoist robe, Chen Ci stretched his muscles and bones, and just as he pushed open the door of the quiet room, Xiao Qingfeng, who was dozing off at the entrance, was startled awake and hurriedly stood up to bow: "Master."

"Mm."

Chen Ci responded, and just as he was about to head forward, he heard Xiao Qingfeng cautiously report: "Master, a Madam Shi is asking to see you and has been waiting in the front hall for a long time."

(End of this chapter)