Free Web NovelChapter 323: Chapter 198: Golden Core Pill (Part 2)
He finished off the Blood Corpse as well, then remembered to fire two blasts from his Entropy Light Spear to make sure it didn’t come back.
He carefully searched the battlefield, erasing all traces as he went.
He acquired the Six Binding and Six Xun Array Flags, plus fourteen Storage Bags.
"Sigh, fourteen Storage Bags..." Lü Zhong looked at the bundled-up bags with a resigned expression, unable to stop himself from sighing.
He hadn’t wanted to get involved, but they had forced his hand.
’I guess I have no choice but to accept these Storage Bags.’
Lü Zhong calmed down and began to consider how to eliminate the potential repercussions. ’Killing both Yuan Ni and Ning Zhongyun is going to cause a lot of trouble. I need to figure out what to do.’
The two of them weren’t nobodies; their backgrounds were significant. One was a direct descendant of the Yuan Family, and the other a True Disciple of Changchun Valley. Their deaths would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Golden Core Masters who backed them.
It wouldn’t be hard for them to trace things back to him through the Chengde Commerce Association.
Still, Lü Zhong wasn’t overly concerned.
Now that he had the Purple Nether Extreme Fire, his path to Core Formation was clear. As long as he could successfully form his core, he would be a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, just like the Yuan Family’s ancestor, Hex Qingding Master.
Once he had the same status, he could avoid being subjected to a forced Heart Inquiry.
If worst came to worst, he could always take Yu Feng’Er and flee to the Western Realm.
’I hope it doesn’t come to that!’
To be safe, Lü Zhong inspected the scene several more times, then scoured the entire area back and forth with Fireball Bullets. Now, not even a Nascent Soul expert arriving in person would be able to find any clues.
’Right, I have to deal with him, too!’
Lü Zhong thought of Steward Ou, who had personally seen him enter the Bone-Transforming Abyss. The man didn’t deserve to die, but to sever the last lead, Lü Zhong had no choice but to send him on his way.
Back on the mountain platform, Steward Ou was still waiting.
Storage Bag +1.
After wiping his aura from the scene, Lü Zhong finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, that’s finally over!"
...
Instead of rushing back to the Green Jade Market, Lü Zhong found a cave partway there. He set up a few simple Prohibitions and began to take stock of his harvest.
A set of six Six Binding and Six Xun Array Flags.
The Array Flags were cyan, inscribed with a dense network of Prohibitions. The Artifact Refining was exquisite and the design ingenious—clearly the work of a master.
They were essential for deploying the Tier Two Secret Array: the Six Binding and Six Xun Array.
As an Array Master, he could deploy the Array by himself. Set up in advance, it would make a perfect ambush. The Secret Array was formidable; it might even be able to trap a Golden Core Master for a short while.
Unfortunately, they were too conspicuous to be used anytime soon.
Lü Zhong added three layers of Sealing Prohibitions and prepared to hide them outside the cave.
Next, he took out the fifteen Storage Bags he had obtained, quickly broke the Prohibitions on them, and dumped out their contents.
The items piled up into a small mound.
In total, there were only thirty thousand Spirit Stones, which was typical of Family Cultivators and sect cultivators—they never carried their entire fortune when leaving home. Most of the stones had come from Yuan Ni.
’Better than nothing, I suppose.’ Lü Zhong had expected as much.
He continued to take inventory.
There were over three hundred assorted Tier One and Tier Two Talismans, mostly common types, worth around ten thousand Spirit Stones.
There were thirty-five bottles of various Pills for healing, detoxification, Replenishing Qi, and more. They were all essential types for a traveling cultivator. Only two bottles contained Pills meant to increase one’s cultivation.
In addition, there were the supplies that had been stolen from the forward base.
And some miscellaneous items.
For food, there was Spirit Rice, spiritual flesh, and Spirit Fruits. For practical use, there were meditation cushions, stools, and tents. For clothing, there were various undergarments. There was also a collection of over a hundred indecent books—it was anyone’s guess who they belonged to—and even a Burma Bell.
Lü Zhong had no use for these things, so he burned them all in a single fire.
All told, the haul was worth fifty to sixty thousand Spirit Stones.
An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have to scrimp and save for decades to accumulate that much.
’Including the Purple Nether Extreme Fire, this trip has been incredibly profitable!’
After inspecting everything and storing it away carefully, Lü Zhong left the cave.
The days that followed were anything but peaceful.
Three days later, a team of Changchun Valley cultivators appeared in the Green Jade Market. They investigated the Bone-Transforming Abyss several times, but from what Lü Zhong overheard, it was clear they had come up empty-handed.
To avoid arousing suspicion, he didn’t rush to leave the Workshop Market. He kept up his previous act, occasionally asking when the Bone-Transforming Abyss might reopen, and spent his downtime sharing tender moments with Yu Feng’Er.
A month passed in a state of constant anxiety before things finally seemed to blow over.
While under the covert surveillance of the Changchun Valley cultivators, Lü Zhong made a show of visiting the Bone-Transforming Abyss.
Naturally, the trip was fruitless.
His performance was convincing and dispelled many of the Changchun Valley cultivators’ suspicions. During their conversations at night, they were already speculating that something had gone wrong inside the Bone-Transforming Abyss, or that something within it had awakened.
Otherwise, with Ning Zhongyun’s and Yuan Ni’s strength, how could they have died so quietly?
And so, the matter came to a temporary close.
Lü Zhong didn’t let his guard down, however. He remained cautious in his daily activities, his behavior unchanged.
After all, he didn’t believe that Golden Core Masters were fools.
...
「Several months later.」
In the Quiet Chamber, Lü Zhong was beaming.
A Purple Flame blazed in the palm of his hand.
"It took quite a bit of effort, but I’ve finally refined the Purple Nether Extreme Fire!"
During the refining process, Lü Zhong had used his Golden Sun Insect Fire as nourishment, feeding it to the Purple Nether Extreme Fire. The latter did not disappoint, undergoing a significant transformation. Its flames now burned far more intensely than before.
It had also become more spirited.
It had even begun to act affectionately toward Lü Zhong.
He tried using the Purple Nether Extreme Fire to forge his True Essence.
The fire truly lived up to its renowned status. Its effects were worlds apart from the Golden Sun Insect Fire. As the Spirit Forging Fire burned his once-mottled True Essence, the impure Spiritual Qi within was refined out, and his True Essence gradually became clean and limpid.
