Chapter 88: White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer

Chen Ci sighed slightly in his heart, but in a mere instant, he suppressed his thoughts, reached out his hands to take the wooden box, and bowed toward the direction of Fuhu Altar: "Thank you, Senior Brother, for bestowing the technique!"

He didn't even ask two extra questions.

Because Chen Ci had no choice.

As his cultivation deepened and he understood more about the cultivation world, Chen Ci felt his initial thoughts upon arriving were all the more ridiculous; he had been too naive. As for the status of an Outer Sect Disciple of the He Mountain Sect, he didn't know how many loose practitioners and miscellaneous experts would break their heads fighting for it, yet still fail to obtain it.

Let alone the method for Longevity, even a Lower Grade Dao Foundation was a secret technique that the vast majority of loose practitioners could hardly touch.

As long as what was in this wooden box wasn't some ten-death... well, nine-death-one-life situation, as long as that Hutou Daoren wasn't asking him to do something with a nine-in-ten chance of death, Chen Ci figured he would have to accept it.

"Junior Brother Jiang, has there been any major event in the altar recently?"

Having already accepted the wooden box, Chen Ci lifted his teacup and asked casually, while a banknote was supported by his True Qi and sent into the sleeve of the fat man.

"Sigh, sigh, Senior Brother, you mustn't, you really mustn't."

The pair of small eyes on Ding Jiang's face were very conflicted. With his sharp eyes, he immediately saw that this was a thousand-tael banknote and very much wanted it, but once he thought that this man surnamed Chen might have an unusual relationship with his own teacher, his courage shrank a little.

"Changping County has no scenery, just a few local specialties; Junior Brother, just accept them, it's no trouble."

"Ha, haha, right, local specialties."

Hearing this, Ding Jiang finally felt at ease and put the banknote away, his expression becoming much more enthusiastic: "There hasn't been any major event in the altar recently. Teacher is still working on breaking through to the Dao Foundation, though it seems Teacher's mood hasn't been very good these days."

Chen Ci pondered for a moment and asked again: "Then has there been any major event in Xishan Prefecture recently?"

"None either, just that the water transport outside Xishan Prefecture has been affected, which has also made business in the market on Fuyun Mountain much worse."

Ding Jiang thought for a moment and replied: "However, there is one thing. A few days ago, someone from the Chi Long Main Altar came to visit Teacher, but the specific content is not something we could know."

Someone from the Chi Long Main Altar?

Chen Ci put down his teacup and thought for a moment: "I heard that a Waterway Superintendent of monster origin has appeared on the Liuyun River. Is there any follow-up to this matter?"

"As for that, there are quite a few versions."

Ding Jiang paused to organize his words: "Some say that monster took an official letter from the Liang Kingdom government, others say that monster received a talisman edict from Longhu Mountain, and even more extreme, some say that monster was raised by our He Mountain Sect specifically to block the river and collect wealth. It's hard to tell what's true or false, but Yingchou Ravine is now controlled by that monster. It has built a Water Mansion and a pier; ships can pass as long as they pay silver, it's just that the fees are a bit expensive, which is why the water transport of Xishan Prefecture has been affected, and no one knows when it will recover."

"Heh, that is somewhat interesting. Could it be that this monster has really seized control of the shipping route? This is a treasure bowl."

Chen Ci also felt it was quite interesting. Within the borders of the Liang Kingdom, Longhu Mountain and the He Mountain Sect actually couldn't take down a single monster. Could it be that this monster really had some background?

"Who's to say? If I could be the Waterway Superintendent for a year or a half, oh my, I wouldn't even dare to imagine those days."

Ding Jiang touched his chin, and the tone of envy could not be faked in the slightest.

The matter concluded, Ding Jiang did not linger; he drank his tea and went straight back to Fuhu Altar to report.

Chen Ci looked at the wooden box on the table and pondered for a moment, but he couldn't figure out what Hutou Daoren would need him to do.

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it; opening the box would likely reveal all.

Chen Ci channeled his True Qi to wipe over the seal talisman, but the talisman didn't move; instead, it faintly exuded a sense of restlessness. Clearly, he hadn't obtained the method to open it, and if he used force, the object inside might be destroyed.

"Eh?"

Chen Ci picked up the wooden box to examine it. That fat man surnamed Ding shouldn't have dared to omit any information. Looking closer, Chen Ci thought of something; he took the wooden box to the quiet room in the back courtyard, took out a Tiger-shaped Small Seal from a hidden cabinet, injected True Qi into it, and pressed it onto the talisman. Only then did the seal talisman fall off.

Chen Ci let out a breath and opened the wooden box. The contents were sparse: only a pale booklet and a semi-transparent jade bottle.

There seemed to be a living creature inside the jade bottle.

Chen Ci picked up the small bottle and looked through the mouth; inside was a black cicada the size of a fingernail, lying in the bottle without moving.

"Mother-Son Heart-Linked Gu?"

Chen Ci was a bit uncertain. This kind of Gu insect was not common in the He Mountain Sect. Not only was it difficult to refine, but it couldn't be used to harm people's lives; it was just a rare treasure that allowed the holders of the mother Gu and the son Gu to communicate within a thousand miles as if they were face-to-face.

It was just that after being used, the son Gu would be wasted, and a mother Gu could only produce a fixed number of son Gu; once all the son Gu died, the mother Gu would be useless.

However, using it required holding the Gu insect under the tongue. Chen Ci had only heard of it and had never seen the real thing.

Putting down the jade bottle, Chen Ci picked up the booklet and carefully flipped through it. After reading it, the expression on his face was quite strange.

This booklet didn't contain much content, only the refining method for a Dharma Artifact.

It was called the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer.

It was a very powerful offensive weapon with great ferocity. Compared to the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag, it had fewer variations, but it was much more efficient at killing people, which happened to make up for the lack of power in Chen Ci's current attack methods.

But the problem was that this White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer was not a Dharma Artifact passed down within the He Mountain Sect. Although the refining path was somewhat similar, Chen Ci had never heard of this technique's name; at the very least, it was not in the records of the He Mountain Scripture.

What was Hutou Daoren's intention?

Chen Ci frowned, flipped through the booklet a few more times to ensure there was no message, but found a signature at the end: Baigu Daoren Xu Jia.

Chen Ci had never heard of this name either. After all, there were countless experts in the world and countless strange arts; he had only lived for thirty years, so how much could he know?

This was truly troublesome.

Chen Ci grimaced. He had held some expectations that the booklet would be the Five Ghosts Possession Great Method, but he hadn't expected it to be a powerful side-door Dharma Artifact.

Such side-door Dharma Artifacts were naturally used for killing.

Hutou Daoren only bestowed the technique without leaving a message, clearly plotting something big. At the very least, he would never let Chen Ci take advantage for nothing; if he didn't use it, fine, but if he did, it would definitely be for a major purpose, perhaps even to the point of risking his life.

However, the only good news was that there should be no trouble in the short term; after all, it would take several years for a Dharma Artifact to go from the start of refining to becoming a combat force.

"Mother-Son Heart-Linked Gu, White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer."

Chen Ci gripped the booklet and paced lightly in the room. This sudden bestowal of the technique by Hutou Daoren was likely related to his sending of the Golden Rope. It seemed that his act of intercepting the Wang Family had indeed caught the eye of this cheap senior brother. Sure enough, one had to do things and demonstrate value to be of use to others.

It was just that he didn't like the direction of this appreciation.

He was actually a technical talent.

"I am good at alchemy and talisman-making, not at fighting. Sure enough, thousand-mile horses are common, but Bole is not. This cheap senior brother truly has no eye for talent."

Chen Ci muttered a few words and complained a little: "Besides, it would have been better if you had given me a Hundred Spirits Poison Dragon Sword. This whatever-it-is Heart-Lock Hammer doesn't match my temperament at all."

More importantly, the base material for this White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer required the Six Yang Skulls of five cultivators to refine. Where was he supposed to find those?

It was truly frustrating.

He wondered if he could discuss it with that cheap senior brother and exchange it for something else.

Chen Ci sighed, put the Heart-Linked Gu and the booklet into his robes, and, filled with worry, simply went to the alchemy room, preparing to practice the Observation Qi Method and the Condensing Pill Method some more.

If a Side Door Cultivator doesn't use their brain, they will be in trouble sooner or later; if one could just be a logistics worker, that would actually be quite nice.

Setting aside Chen Ci's worries about the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer, Ding Jiang, covered in dust, had just returned to Fuhu Altar and went straight to the back mountain to see his teacher.

In that same elegant bamboo cottage, Hutou Daoren lay on his side on a small couch, glanced at Ding Jiang who was kneeling on the ground, and asked indifferently: "What was the scene like on your trip to Sanyin Temple? Tell me about it."

(End of this chapter)