Chapter 527: Transaction: Mirror-Round Thousand-Gold Ointment

"Hmm, Wang Jianxiong can be considered to have great perseverance."

Yan Baihu called him by his full name directly; clearly, Wang Laohu was not worth mentioning in his presence, and he was only giving a passable evaluation out of respect for Zhou You.

For a discarded tiger general who had fallen to the status of a civilian martial arts master to be able to elevate a Secret Technique to this degree, it is no exaggeration to call it great perseverance.

He deliberately did not mention why Zhou You, having been expelled, was still taught this Secret Technique.

There must be sensitive inside information here, not suitable for deep investigation.

"Master Zhou, I have an uninvited request: please teach me this Secret Technique."

Zhou You feigned surprise, "Oh? Could this Secret Technique come from Dayin Mountain? As a fierce general, Master Yan, surely you know it?"

Yan Baihu was stunned, unable to tell if Zhou You was truly ignorant or just pretending. He patiently explained, "This Tiger-Minion Substitution Technique is known to almost everyone in the sect, but no one has yet been able to make the tiger-minion leave the body. Perhaps this is a variation created by your master."

That's it, so that's how it is.

Zhou You's heart pounded violently; fortunately, he had pinned this matter on Wang Jianxiong, otherwise, he would be in danger.

After the panel upgraded the Tiger-Minion Substitution Technique, he had assumed Dayin Mountain also possessed the subsequent levels.

Yan Baihu's words made him understand that this Secret Technique was incomplete; even a fierce general could only cultivate the tiger-minion but could not make it leave the body and fly out.

If this matter were handled poorly, it would be a case of "holding a jade ring invites a crime."

"Hmm, may I ask, Master Yan, from where did you learn of me?"

Under immense psychological pressure, Zhou You chose to ask Yan Baihu directly.

Yan Baihu did not hide it and answered straightaway, "It was the Monarch who informed me. Master Zhou, rest assured, my coming to find you was approved by the Monarch."

Under his explanation, Zhou You finally learned of the heaven-defying aspects of a Grandmaster.

A trace of residual Qi and blood could reconstruct the scene of a battle; it was precisely because of this that the Monarch found him from the reconstructed images.

Of course, this method also had limitations; it could only reconstruct the most intense moments of a battle. As for the minor cleanup matters after the fight, they would naturally not be leaked.

The best of a bad situation.

Zhou You thought to himself that since the other party found him through the Monarch, they certainly would not resort to force; he should still follow the rules.

"Master Zhou, rest assured, I want this Secret Technique for personal reasons and will not pass it on."

"You can be certain that this secret will end with me, Yan Baihu; there is absolutely no possibility of it appearing within Dayin Mountain."

Yan Baihu paused and stated his condition, "I can exchange this item for it."

Having said that, he solemnly took out an object, placed inside a rosewood box and cushioned with a soft pad.

"..."

Zhou You couldn't help but laugh when he saw it; it truly was a 'precious treasure,' and this could be considered "wool coming from the sheep's own back."

A Hunger Pouch—well, it's called a Storage Pocket now.

Given Yan Baihu's status, it wasn't easy for him to obtain a Hunger Pouch. Perhaps in his eyes, the value of this item in exchange for the Tiger-Minion Substitution Technique would make Zhou You ecstatic? "Ahem, could this be..."

Zhou You widened his eyes and then firmly waved his hand, "It's too valuable; I cannot accept it."

Just kidding, he wasn't lacking these. This battle had yielded several high-level martial arts masters' skins; the Hunger Pouch 3.0 was almost out, so why would he need this primitive version 1.0 Hunger Pouch?

Yan Baihu was dumbfounded; he didn't want such a precious treasure.

During the great war with the Witch People, the Storage Pocket had shone brilliantly; not only could it transport supplies, but many other uses had been discovered for it.

For example, hiding weapons—a palm-sized pocket could hide many powerful weapons. Unfolding it suddenly at a critical moment could turn the tide of battle and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. For example, moving mountains and filling seas—there were precedents where people hid large amounts of rocks or lake water, and when encountering a strong martial artist, they would dump it all out to change the surrounding terrain and escape.

For example, destroying corpses and erasing traces, ahem...

For the time being, what circulated in the outside world was the Hunger Pouch 1.0 version; the more advanced 2.0 was still held tightly by the Liu family.

Even so, the Hunger Pouch, with its unique heaven-defying functions, had become a treasure chased by everyone.

Yan Baihu had managed to get his hands on two with great difficulty, viewing them as precious treasures, and had hoped to exchange one for the Tiger-Minion Substitution Technique.

He hadn't expected that someone would actually not want a Storage Pocket. Yan Baihu's expression showed some pain as he took out a transparent gemstone the size of a fist, "This item is called Mirror-Round Thousand-Gold Ointment."

Mirror-Round Thousand-Gold Ointment—never heard of it.

Zhou You searched his memory; the *Classic of Medicine Kings* didn't have this name on any page. Could it be a Great Medicine secretly passed down by Dayin Mountain, or even a Spirit Medicine? That couldn't be! Great Medicine was for the exclusive use of strong martial artists, and Spirit Medicine was even higher; the value of both was extraordinary.

If Yan Baihu were using Great Medicine to exchange, Zhou You could accept it; if it were Spirit Medicine, it would be absolutely impossible.

"Master Zhou, this item is a medicine, but it is not for consumption by flesh and blood; it is used on weapons."

"If you have damaged weapons, you don't need to return them to the furnace; you only need to smear this medicine over the cracks and gaps, and they will be restored to their original state immediately."

"This battle was intense, and countless Qi and blood divine weapons were damaged. If you're lucky, you can return them to the furnace to be reforged; if you're unlucky, they become scrap iron."

Qi and blood divine weapons are based on weapon embryos—that is, formed weapons—and are refined by nourishing them with Qi and blood. Their external shape and internal structure are inseparable; once broken or deformed, they must be returned to the furnace for recasting.

But once burned by the raging fire, all traces of Qi and blood nourishment vanish, and one must start over from the beginning.

This is a situation that gives many martial arts masters a headache, so generally, they forge multiple weapons at once so they can swap to a spare in an emergency.

If it were truly as Yan Baihu said, that the Mirror-Round Thousand-Gold Ointment could repair weapons without returning them to the furnace...

Then that would truly be a priceless treasure! No wonder that with his net worth, taking this out to exchange made him feel such heartache; the pain was written all over his face.

Zhou You thought that if it were truly a treasure, he wouldn't lose out by exchanging the Tiger-Minion Substitution Technique; on the contrary, he would be the one profiting.

What Yan Baihu needed was the tiger-minion leaving the body, which only required the cultivation method of the lv2 level.

There was another layer of meaning here: once Yan Baihu learned this method, he could attract fire for Zhou You, eliminating the hidden danger of "holding a jade ring invites a crime."

Two birds with one stone! "Master Yan, you are straightforward; I will make the exchange."

Yan Baihu breathed a sigh of relief; regardless, as long as he could obtain the secret method, he could eliminate the hidden danger of the Human Face Sore.

The Human Face Sore was a tumor-like disease lingering in his body, and it was also a major obstacle severely restricting his sprint toward becoming a strong martial artist.

He was willing to pay any price to excise the Human Face Sore.

"Master Zhou, if this technique is useful to me, there will be a heavy reward afterward."

After obtaining the second level of the Tiger-Minion Substitution Technique, Yan Baihu solemnly cupped his hands toward Zhou You and took his leave.

He couldn't wait to return to the mountain to find a quiet place to cultivate this technique.

With Yan Baihu's discernment, he knew the chances were high after only roughly hearing the contents of the second layer of the Secret Technique.

His chest felt slightly hot; that was the Human Face Sore, knowing its end was near, weeping and wailing in an attempt to make him change his mind.

The faint, ethereal sound of a woman weeping actually leaked out into the outside world.

"Hmm?"

Zhou You watched the back of Yan Baihu as he left, recalling the eerie weeping sound, and thought that this fierce general also Zang many secrets.

Regardless, the transaction was complete; exchanging one layer of the Secret Technique for a treasure like the Thousand Gold Mirror Ointment was not a loss! (End of chapter)