Chapter 522

“No need to look further—these flesh golems are all guards of this stone workshop, said to be specially crafted by combining corpse alchemy with mechanism arts; each possesses the combat strength of a second-rank Strength Cultivator, and even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators aren’t their match—this is one of the main reasons this Three Idol Stone Workshop has remained stable to this day.” Yan Lingxiang cast a spell toward the wooden boat, shrinking it and tucking it into his sleeve, then explained to Wang Yu.

“Flesh golems—equivalent to second-rank Strength Cultivators.”

Wang Yu murmured softly, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

The bloody aura on these golems couldn’t be faked—either the materials used in their creation were extraordinarily rare, or these flesh golems had indeed slain many living beings, who might have been either humans or beast monsters.

If what Yan Lingxiang said was true—that each was equivalent to a second-rank Strength Cultivator—it was truly terrifying.

After all, among second-rank cultivators, second-rank Strength Cultivators were far stronger than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, unless one was among the rare few true dual-cultivators of body and qi; pure second-rank Strength Cultivators were already exceedingly scarce.

First, the path of body cultivation was fraught with difficulties; those with aptitude for it were few, and merely the initial step of absorbing lethal qi into the body was enough to deter most.

Second, pure second-rank Strength Cultivators couldn’t extend their lifespan—they remained as mortal as ordinary people, turning to dust within a century at most, which naturally discouraged even fewer from pursuing body cultivation to reach high-rank Strength Cultivator status.

Recall the Four Symbols Sect—even as a Golden Core sect, it had only one second-rank Strength Cultivator within its ranks.

Yet even so, many cultivation sects and larger cultivation families didn’t lack first-rank Strength Cultivators, for this was the only path available to ordinary people without spiritual roots but with body cultivation aptitude.

Moreover, if one truly became a second-rank Strength Cultivator, it wasn’t impossible for cultivation sects or families to reward one or two longevity pills.

Even so, despite possessing body cultivation aptitude and knowing the power of high-rank Strength Cultivators, cultivators who dual-practiced body cultivation were extremely rare; after all, human energy was limited, and most already felt their cultivation time insufficient—dividing attention further toward the even more difficult path of body cultivation naturally left very few willing.

Not only were high-rank dual-cultivators rare, so too were high-rank experts in the hundred arts of cultivation: array masters, pill refiners, artifact forgers, even cultivation farmers and mechanism engineers—the higher their rank, the rarer they became.

The fundamental reason was that spending vast amounts of time studying external arts slowed a cultivator’s progress, ultimately hindering their own advancement.

This was precisely why major cultivation sects and families treated their high-rank array masters, pill refiners, and others with great respect and lavished them with resources, even encouraging talented cultivators to pursue the hundred arts of cultivation.

If Wang Yu hadn’t had the “Tai Yuan” to assist him, he too couldn’t have diverted attention to body cultivation; though he wasn’t yet a second-rank Strength Cultivator, he had already studied the Black Armor Art for several years and understood well the difficulty of reaching second-rank body cultivation.

Now, with over a dozen “second-rank Strength Cultivator golems” displayed at the entrance of this “Three Idol Stone Workshop,” it was indeed enough to intimidate most cultivators below Golden Core.

As Wang Yu was pondering this,

Yan Lingxiang called out to him, then stepped forward toward a street beside the square, continuing to explain:

“Brother Wang, come with me—I’ll take you to meet a friend first.”

“He’s lived here in the Three Idol Stone Workshop long-term—he’s a true local power. Let’s ask him first whether any large quantities of Chaos Stones have recently arrived; if not, I advise you to bet sparingly.”

“After all, those Chaos Stones that haven’t sold must have been examined countless times by fellow cultivators already—old stock that still hasn’t sold, what’s there to gamble on?”

Yan Lingxiang spoke with great enthusiasm, behaving exactly like a seasoned gambler who knew every corner—Wang Yu found it somewhat speechless, but had no choice but to follow him.

The white stone square wasn’t crowded—only a scattered dozen or so people.

But once they stepped onto the street, crowds surged thickly, bustling with activity; among them were many oddly dressed figures strolling about, occasionally slipping into shops lining either side of the road.

Most of these people emitted faint qi fluctuations, mostly at the Qi Condensation stage, but a few were impossible to discern—either they concealed their aura with special artifacts, or their cultivation levels were indeed no lower than theirs.

Yet when Wang Yu clearly saw the faces of some people on the street, his heart tightened sharply.

Many among them bore scales on their cheeks and fangs protruding from their mouths—they looked nothing like ordinary humans.

“Brother Yan, who are these people?” Wang Yu couldn’t help asking.

“Don’t be startled, Brother Wang. Though they look like beast tribes, they aren’t true beast folk—they’re half-breeds, possessing both beast and human bloodlines.” Yan Lingxiang replied casually, as if it were nothing.

“Half-breeds?” Wang Yu was even more startled.

“Yes. During the decades-long war between human and beast tribes in the Chaotic Spirit Region, though both sides suffered heavy losses, it also gave birth to these half-breeds carrying beast blood.”

Once beast tribes take human form, they’re nearly indistinguishable from humans in appearance and aesthetics; so whether human cultivators captured beautiful beast women or beast women captured handsome human men, both could produce such half-breeds with dual bloodlines.”

Though neither tribe exterminated half-breeds outright, neither welcomed them either—so half-breeds generally only appear in a few special regions, and the Three Idol Stone Workshop is the largest such settlement in the Chaotic Spirit Region; in truth, half-breeds are the real masters here.”

One of the three Golden Core patrons of the Three Idol Workshop is a half-breed true cultivator.” Yan Lingxiang added casually.

“I see,” Wang Yu finally understood.

“So, the friend I’m taking you to meet—he’s also a half-breed, and looks rather… well, just keep your eyes respectful when you see him, don’t embarrass me, brother.” Yan Lingxiang suddenly shifted tone.

“Him? Is your friend really that unusual-looking?” Wang Yu, puzzled, asked again.

“Hmm… you’ll see when you meet him. Just come with me—just behave properly, and you won’t go wrong.” Yan Lingxiang began to stammer.

This made Wang Yu glance at him with a strange look, secretly wondering whether his friend was “male” or “female.”

“In the Three Idol Stone Workshop, aerial flight and spirit-vehicle travel are forbidden, so to reach distant places, you must either walk the long way or spend some spirit stones to ride one of those beast-drawn carts.” Yan Lingxiang stopped a slowly moving cart on the street, explained a few things to Wang Yu, then pulled him aboard.

The cart looked much like an ordinary horse-drawn carriage, except that instead of horses, two strange beasts with dual horns and six hooves—resembling both oxen and wolves—pulled it.

“To Hunxiang House.”

Yan Lingxiang told the middle-aged driver, wearing a straw hat, then casually tossed him several spirit stones.

“Gentlemen, please sit comfortably—Hunxiang House isn’t far, we’ll arrive soon.” The driver caught the spirit stones, perked up, cracked his whip through the air, and urged the two beasts to turn, pulling the cart swiftly down the street.