Chapter 453: Demon-Driving and Evil-Suppressing Talisman

Inside a cave dwelling on Mount Guyang of the Xiaoyao Sect.

After arriving at the Xiaoyao Sect this time, Song Qingming did not choose to stay at the inn in Yangshan Square; instead, he came directly to Song Xinyu's cave dwelling on Mount Guyang.

Now that Song Xinyu had achieved success in Foundation Establishment, he already possessed a spirit mountain on Mount Guyang where he could cultivate in solitude, and he had even taken in several Qi Refining inner sect disciples. No sooner had Song Qingming arrived at the foot of Mount Guyang than he was met by people sent by Song Xinyu to escort him to his spirit mountain.

Song Qingming picked up the cup of spirit tea Song Xinyu had handed him and slowly said, "Xinyu, have you found out clearly exactly how many Du Yuchen Pills Elder Chu refined this time?"

"Seventh Uncle, do not be anxious. I have already found out the situation clearly. This time, Uncle-Master Chu refined a total of four Du Yuchen Pills, but two of them were long ago reserved by two senior brothers of the sect, and they have likely already reached their hands by now.

As for the remaining two, Uncle-Master Chu placed them directly into the Merit Pavilion. I went to ask about these two Du Yuchen Pills a few days ago, and they have not yet been exchanged for by anyone else.

However, the merit points required to exchange for a Du Yuchen Pill are truly too high. Even with the merit points I have saved up over these many years, added to those the family has accumulated, it is still not quite enough. Seventh Uncle, we must still think of a way to see if we can take some spirit items to the Merit Pavilion to exchange for more sect merit points."

Song Qingming smiled and shook his head, saying, "Xinyu, you have already contributed quite a lot to the family over these years. Your cultivation base has now reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and there are many places where you need to use spirit stones. Do not touch your merit points for now.

I came prepared this time. You just need to take me to the Merit Pavilion. As long as the Du Yuchen Pills are still there, I can resolve the matter of the merit points myself."

Seeing that Song Qingming had come prepared and insisted on not letting him help raise the merit points, Song Xinyu did not say anything more and could only nod silently.

Back when Song Xinyu was undergoing Foundation Establishment, the family had supported him with so many spirit stones. Even if Song Qingming had no way to resolve the merit point issue this time, Song Xinyu had already made up his mind: if it truly came to that, he would go directly to his Master and other fellow disciples to think of a way to borrow some merit points. He was determined to help Song Qingming exchange for a Du Yuchen Pill.

The uncle and nephew went together to the Merit Pavilion located on Qinghua Peak of the Xiaoyao Sect. After Song Xinyu explained their identities to the Qi Refining cultivator guarding the main gate, the two were quickly led directly inside.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator on duty in the Merit Pavilion heard the purpose of their visit, raised an eyebrow, and spoke directly to Song Qingming:

"To exchange for a Du Yuchen Pill, an additional 1,500 merit points are required. I just checked, and your Song family currently only has 300 merit points in the sect. If you want this item, you must find a way to hand over spirit items to exchange for sufficient merit points."

"Fellow Daoist, I have a spirit herb in my possession. Do you think it is feasible if I add this item?" After Song Qingming finished speaking, he took a long wooden box directly from the storage bag on his person and handed it to the cultivator on duty.

The cultivator on duty took the wooden box, opened it, and took a look. His expression changed instantly. It was quite a while before he closed the wooden box again and looked directly at Song Qingming to ask, "May I ask, Fellow Daoist, where did you obtain this item?"

"About a dozen years ago, I obtained it from the depths of the Fuyun Mountain Range," Song Qingming answered calmly.

"Please sit here for a moment, Fellow Daoist. I must take this item inside for Uncle-Master Chu to appraise. I will reply to you shortly."

After speaking, the cultivator on duty greeted the Qi Refining disciple to the side, urging him to quickly serve tea to Song Qingming and his companion, while he himself turned and walked directly up the stairs to the second floor of the Merit Pavilion.

After the cultivator on duty left, Song Xinyu, who had also just seen the spirit item in the wooden box, hurriedly asked in a low voice, "Seventh Uncle, what you just took out seems to be a third-tier spirit herb. I shouldn't have seen that wrong, right!"

Song Qingming smiled and responded, "You are not wrong. What I handed him is indeed a third-tier spirit herb. Using this item to exchange for that Du Yuchen Pill, I think it should be about enough!"

"It is more than enough! Seventh Uncle, if you had brought this third-tier spirit herb earlier, we could have taken it directly to Uncle-Master Chu. We probably could have exchanged for a Du Yuchen Pill immediately without having to make an extra trip to the Merit Pavilion."

"It is no matter. As long as we can successfully exchange for the elixir, it is fine. It is just a matter of spending a little more time," Song Qingming said with a nod and a smile.

The spirit herb Song Qingming had just taken out was something he had exchanged from Huo Feng over a dozen years ago using many precious spirit items and spirit wine. At the time, Song Qingming had intended to use it at a Tiandan Alliance auction to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill to give to Song Yuanli for his Foundation Establishment in the future.

Normally, the value of such a low-grade third-tier spirit herb certainly could not compare to a Foundation Establishment Pill, but when items like spirit herbs are taken to the Tiandan Alliance to exchange for spirit items, their value generally increases by a few points. If one were lucky enough to be favored by a Tiandan Alliance Elder, and with the addition of some spirit stones, there would be a very good chance of exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

It was just that later, Song Qingming tried his luck at Tiandan Alliance auctions several times but never saw a shadow of a Foundation Establishment Pill, and this third-tier spirit herb was never put to use.

Later, through Song Xinyu's introduction, Song Qingming spent some effort and successfully exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill from a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Xiaoyao Sect. This item had been kept in his storage bag ever since, and it was only now, in order to exchange for the equally precious Du Yuchen Pill, that Song Qingming took it out.

On the second floor of the Merit Pavilion, the cultivator on duty from before was standing in a spot waiting patiently, his hand still tightly gripping the third-tier spirit herb Song Qingming had given him.

Before long, following a flash of white light, a young man dressed in white suddenly appeared before him.

"Disciple greets Master." Upon seeing the person who had arrived, the cultivator on duty hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Chu Fengping waved his hand and asked directly, "Yiping, you just said someone brought a third-tier spirit herb to exchange for my Du Yuchen Pill?"

"That is correct, Master. This person is the Clan Leader of the Song family in Qinghe County, Song Qingming. I just asked him, and he said he obtained the spirit herb from the depths of the Fuyun Mountain Range." After Zhao Yiping finished speaking, he immediately presented the wooden box in his hand to his Master, Chu Fengping.

After picking up the wooden box and opening it to take a look, Chu Fengping nodded and said, "This item is indeed useful to me. You may exchange one Du Yuchen Pill for him. Call him up directly!"

After Zhao Yiping nodded and left, it was not long before he brought Song Qingming back to the second floor of the Merit Pavilion.

Seeing Chu Fengping standing on the second floor, Song Qingming was somewhat surprised. He hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed, "Junior Song Qingming greets Senior Chu."

Chu Fengping glanced lightly at Song Qingming, instantly felt a trace of familiarity, nodded, and said with a smile, "No wonder. When I heard your name just now, it felt somewhat familiar. So you were one of those ten people from the Tuoyun Mountain Sword Trial Assembly back then.

You have cultivated diligently indeed. Back then, it seemed you were only at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment. I did not expect you to have reached this step of Core Formation so quickly."

"Senior praises me too much. Junior's natural talent is actually average. Being able to enter the top ten in the Tuoyun Mountain Sword Trial Assembly back then was truly due to some luck."

Seeing Song Qingming so humble, Chu Fengping smiled and said, "Being able to find a third-tier medicinal herb in the Mount Yunwu range shows that your luck is indeed quite good. Since you have come to exchange for the Du Yuchen Pill, you must be about to attempt the Core Formation realm, right?"

Hearing the other party ask about his own Core Formation, Song Qingming did not go to cover up his purpose and immediately nodded.

Chu Fengping nodded again and said, "The third-tier spirit herb you brought is still higher in value than one Du Yuchen Pill. This old man does not wish to take advantage of you, so I will give you one more thing!

This talisman is called the Demon-Driving and Evil-Suppressing Talisman. It is an auxiliary low-grade third-tier spirit talisman. It can assist a cultivator in resisting the sneak attacks of Jin Dan inner demons during Core Formation. Although it is not a precious item, it will be of some use to your upcoming Core Formation. Consider it a little encouragement from this elder to you!"

Watching Chu Fengping flick the Du Yuchen Pill and a black spirit talisman into his hands, an excited Song Qingming hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and cupped his hands in thanks.

"Junior thanks Senior for the treasure!"

After obtaining the Du Yuchen Pill, Song Qingming greeted Zhao Yiping and immediately took his leave, departing from the second floor of the Merit Pavilion.

After Song Qingming left, Zhao Yiping hurriedly stepped forward with a smile and asked, "Master, you were actually willing to give him a third-tier spirit talisman. Could it be that this person has high cultivation talent and truly has some certainty of Core Formation?"

Chu Fengping glanced lightly at Zhao Yiping and shook his head gently, saying, "A cultivator's certainty of Core Formation is not enough to be judged by cultivation talent alone. Apart from Heavenly Spirit Root cultivators like Senior Sister Bai, who are one in ten thousand, for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators to successfully achieve Core Formation, besides talent and diligent cultivation, it often depends on a trace of personal fortune.

Just now, I merely felt for a moment that this child's fortune was indeed quite good, and perhaps he truly might succeed in Core Formation in the future. That is why I wanted to build a good connection with him in advance."

"Is this personal fortune really so important for Core Formation?" Upon hearing his Master Chu Fengping's explanation, Zhao Yiping was even more puzzled.

Chu Fengping sighed slightly and said, "Your Senior Brother Lin has outstanding talent. In terms of cultivation diligence, he has always been a leader among you fellow disciples. He cultivated to the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment before the age of one hundred, which is even a bit faster than I was back then.

Since he entered my tutelage, I have refined elixirs for him several times over these years, and I can be considered to have supported him to the best of my ability. Logically speaking, his certainty of Core Formation should certainly be much higher than that of ordinary people.

But as you know, Yutian has failed several times in his Core Formation attempts over these years, and everything has gone against him. I have thought about it over and over and cannot find the reason. Perhaps he truly lacks that little bit of fortune!"

After successfully obtaining the Du Yuchen Pill, Song Qingming did not linger on Mount Guyang. That very day, he bade farewell to Song Xinyu and left the Xiaoyao Sect alone.

This time, not only did he obtain the Du Yuchen Pill he wanted, but Song Qingming also gained an extra "Demon-Driving and Evil-Suppressing Talisman" that was of some use for Core Formation, which truly surprised him somewhat.

I have noticed many new book friends recently. If it is convenient, why not join the book friend group and chat together: 236038447.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 454 =====