Chapter 97: Adding Frost to Snow

Men who often kill should know that killing is easy, but dismembering a body is difficult.

The moon was dark, the wind was high, and the forest was deep.

"I, Chen, have accumulated virtue and performed good deeds my entire life."

Click~

"How could I encounter such a thing, sigh."

Snap~

Chen Ci sighed softly and put away his Spirit Iron Short Sword. After much difficulty, he had finally dismantled the last Six Yang Skull along with most of the spine. That man surnamed Ma had brought death upon himself, but for some reason, after Ma Jinshun died, the four Copper Corpses lost their vitality; the flesh and blood on their bodies actually began to transform from their original iron-like hardness into gold, copper, and iron, which was a sign of the physical body being corroded by Five Metal Qi.

Chen Ci simply gave the four of them a quick end; although they had no consciousness, turning from a living person into an object surely wouldn't be a good experience.

Don't even mention it, the bodies of these four Copper Corpses were truly hard. Chen Ci spent quite a bit of time and effort before he could completely obtain suitable vessel embryos.

It was bloody and looked just like a slaughterhouse, which was somewhat chilling.

Lin Banshan, standing to the side, watched Chen Ci sighing while dismembering bodies and collecting bones. As a mountain breeze blew past, he inexplicably felt his scalp tingle; given his cultivation and courage, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

How come from just a moment ago, this Daoist Chen seemed a bit abnormal? Did he fail to obtain the complete Superior Grade Qi Refining Method and get stimulated?

"Brother Chen, what are you..."

Before Lin Banshan could finish his sentence, he was stopped by a wave of Chen Ci's hand: "Daoist Lin, let's talk later. Let me strike while it's hot—bah, let me strike while it's fresh, and refine a weapon first."

After speaking, Chen Ci stacked the five Six Yang Skulls together. After brewing for a moment, he pressed his palm onto the skull in the middle, and the refining method for the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer, which he already knew by heart, began to circulate.

Following the input of Three Yin True Qi, the skin, flesh, and bloodstains on the five Six Yang Skulls began to dissolve rapidly, seemingly absorbed into the bones. Before long, they became five skeletons, though the bones faintly revealed a metallic copper color, which was not quite as eerie or terrifying.

This wasn't the end of it. As Chen Ci injected True Qi while refining the vessel embryos, the five skulls quickly shrank to the size of fists, and the five spines intertwined with each other to form a twisted bone club that was just the right size to grip, measuring a little over two feet long, with a ghost-face pattern formed at the tail end, looking very ferocious.

Whoosh~

Chen Ci glanced at the vessel embryo in his hand and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Although this world always bullied an honest man like him, good people would always be rewarded. Look, after coming out to eliminate evil and perform good deeds once, the White Bone Heart-Locking Sword had grown out of the ground by itself.

Isn't it strange, you say?

Thinking of this, the bad mood that had been tainted by some unknown ghost thing finally improved a little.

White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer (Vessel Embryo): No Prohibition/1/100 (Foundation is medium-upper, can obtain fifty-three layers of Prohibition, refine one hundred catties of white bone daily, can advance one of them)

"Do more good deeds, and do not forget your original intention."

Chen Ci muttered a few words to himself before hanging the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer at his waist. He let the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag deal with the remains all over the ground and said, "Daoist Lin, let's go back. By the way, these sedan carriers... let's still detoxify them, and these two yellow-skinned gourds too."

Chen Ci raised his hand to signal; these were the belongings of that man surnamed Ma. Besides the small half-gourd of Five Metal Essence Qi which was still worth something, the remaining gourd contained some wine that carried a bit of spiritual energy, which could be considered spirit wine.

"This trip was thanks to Brother Chen holding the line; I am too embarrassed to take any more of the share."

Lin Banshan shook his head. He looked at the dozen or so mortal sedan carriers lying on the ground, and although he felt it was a bit troublesome, he still took out a small porcelain bottle and flicked a few drops of foul-smelling liquid into the crowd, after which the two of them left directly.

As for where Ma Jinshun went?

Never seen him, never seen him at all. He, Lin, had suffered such heavy injuries, so naturally, he went to heal his wounds at my, Chen's, Sanyin Temple. As for any evidence or explanation...

With no proof and no evidence, you, a person from a tiny Ma Family Village, come running to ask a He Mountain Sect Apprentice for an explanation? I'm afraid you've lost your mind.

The mountain road was difficult to travel, and Lin Banshan's potent medicine and secret arts did not seem as profound as he had claimed; at the very least, his wounds had begun to seep blood again. The two of them were not in a hurry to rush, just both somewhat silent.

Worship Rakshasa Method: Not Initiated/1/10 (Worship this method, enter my gate)

Chen Ci looked at this prompt on his panel a few more times; in fact, he was also a bit conflicted.

He had also come to his senses by now. This big shot, who didn't know where he came from, seemed to have an extremely high status, much stronger than some whatever Shengsi Xuanhuang Shenjun. At the very least, when Chen Ci had faced the statue of that Shenjun directly, although he was tempted, it didn't trigger a new message on his Gold Finger panel.

In other words, the thigh of this big shot might be quite thick.

But the problem is, you could at least paint a picture of the corporate culture or the big pie you're offering.

With just a single sentence, "Worship this method, enter my gate," Chen Ci was also very panicked. What if this big shot was after his body? Wouldn't that be a total disaster?

Of course, Chen Ci wasn't saying he wanted to betray the He Mountain Sect. As the most loyal Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect, he had always been heart-to-heart with the He Mountain Sect.

But even if they were heart-to-heart, the He Mountain Sect couldn't stop Chen Ci from running toward someone better than it, right?

Cough~

Chen Ci touched the White Bone Heart-Locking Sword at his waist and thought for a while, but still prepared to probe Lin Banshan's bottom line slightly; after all, this thing only appeared after he performed the spell.

"Brother Lin, that Spirit Incense method of yours earlier, are you sure it's for subduing consciousness, or is there some other profound mystery?"

Chen Ci emphasized the word "subdue" slightly. He suspected whether Lin Banshan was not well-learned or had learned it wrong.

"Hmm, that Spirit Incense is a secret item from the sect that affects the soul. After the spell is successfully cast, it can make a cultivator's soul completely let go and lose their self, like a blank sheet of paper."

Lin Banshan thought Chen Ci was still worried about whether there were any omissions in the small booklet he obtained, so he explained: "The great experts in my sect can even use this method to refine an external incarnation. Since the spell was cast successfully, there shouldn't be any problems."

Why does that sound a bit wrong?

Chen Ci grinned, thought for a moment, and curiously asked a follow-up question: "Brother Lin, forgive me for asking, but which major sect is your sect a branch of, or is it..."

In the world, most large and small sects are actually split from a few main branches. On the contrary, the origins of the inheritances of miscellaneous schools and rogue cultivators are strange. Even among the side-door sects, those who can truly open up a Daoist lineage on their own are rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, which can be called peerless talent.

Just like the He Mountain Sect, although there is a founding ancestor, the fundamental Great Scripture, the He Mountain Scripture, was not self-realized by him, but slowly completed using an unknown Dao Tome. Even so, this ancestor surnamed Feng, although he did not attain the Primordial Spirit and Longevity, was still a person who left his name in the cultivation world.

Lin Banshan shook his head: "My sect has been established for less than three hundred years. Whether the Sect Master, that old gentleman, has a sect inheritance, we small characters do not know. It makes the Daoist laugh."

Among the side-door sects, there are also distinctions of high and low. The He Mountain Sect has been established for over one kalpa, which is three thousand six hundred years, and has already been passed down for several generations.

The Wenxiang Sect is less than three hundred years old, and the founding ancestor is still in the world, but whether it can still be passed down after hundreds of years is hard to say.

But this didn't help him find out anything. Chen Ci hesitated for a while, wanting to ask directly about the Worship Rakshasa Method, thinking maybe everyone was actually on the same side, but he didn't quite dare.

"Brother Lin, once I have achieved success in my cultivation in the future, I also want to visit the Sea Market, enter the East Sea, and enjoy the scenery of the world."

Chen Ci changed the subject and asked with a light smile: "In this area of Xishan Prefecture in the Liang Kingdom, my identity as an Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect is quite useful, but if I go to the East Sea, is there anything I need to pay attention to? Since we have nothing to do, can you tell me about it?"

"Haha, the East Sea is so vast that it far exceeds a single province. The Wenxiang Sect only occupies a corner, and I have only spent time in a few sea kingdoms and on two shipping routes, so my knowledge is quite shallow."

Lin Banshan also laughed: "However, there are indeed some things to pay attention to in the East Sea, such as don't provoke sword cultivators, don't provoke dragon-kin, and absolutely don't get involved with the Rakshasa Sect."

The East Sea abounds in sword cultivators; if you provoke a sword cultivator, it's easy to be used as a target for their sword testing.

The East Sea has many dragon-kin; dragon sons are tyrannical, and Dragon Ladies are sentimental. No matter which one you provoke, it is not a good thing.

"As for the Rakshasa Sect, if you hear this name, Brother Chen, running fast is definitely the right choice."

Lin Banshan pinched his chin: "Anyway, in the East Sea region, sword cultivators and dragon-kin most love to hunt down Rakshasa Sect members, often coming to blows at the slightest disagreement; cultivators who get involved with them basically don't have a good end."

Chen Ci: "."

Good news, it was actually tested out.

Bad news, this damn thing isn't the content he wanted to hear!

"Rakshasa Sect?"

Chen Ci tried his best to manage his facial expression, pretending to be curious as he asked: "Is this a major Spirit Sect? What happens if one gets involved?"

"It's not a major Spirit Sect, and I don't know the specifics, only that for several kalpas, disciples from various major sects in the East Sea have always defected to join the Rakshasa Sect, causing many big incidents and many deaths."

Lin Banshan organized his words: "But it is said that those who join the Rakshasa Sect also meet a miserable end; they either go mad, die, or go missing without a trace. Anyway, it's somewhat different from the Spirit Sect's Spirit Dyeing Method, but not by much. In any case, it's not a good path, and my Wenxiang Sect naturally keeps its distance from them."

Chen Ci: "."

Damn it, this person surnamed Luo is indeed lusting after my body, phew!

I'm sorry, I spoke a bit too loudly just now; my heart is not just connected to the He Mountain Sect, I am filled with the He Mountain Sect soul!

Also, Brother Lin, why do I feel like the star of death is shining over your Wenxiang Sect too?

Chen Ci's expression was somewhat ugly; he didn't know if Lin Banshan was a Rakshasa Sect member, but there were definitely Rakshasa Sect members in the upper echelons of the Wenxiang Sect, it was just that the people below were unaware.

"Brother Chen, what's wrong?"

Seeing Chen Ci suddenly fall silent, Lin Banshan asked curiously.

"Nothing, just feeling like the East Sea seems quite dangerous."

Chen Ci came back to his senses and sighed: "Also, Brother Lin, you should just eat whatever you want to eat from now on."

"Hm?"

Chen Ci didn't explain much further and took another look at his own panel, only hoping his Gold Finger could be reliable—if it said not yet entered, then it truly hadn't entered, and he hoped he would never enter it for the rest of his life.

He hadn't even jumped out of the pit of this heterodox path, and he had almost entered the door of an evil sect; this world is truly heartless.

(End of chapter)