Chapter 31: Take what you need
"Ordinary weapons, no matter how tough and sharp they are, can only be considered as sharp weapons, and their effectiveness is limited, only for ordinary people to use. If a cultivator infuses their mana into it, even the best sharp weapon will break because it cannot withstand it, while a magic weapon is different, it can withstand and contain mana." Zhao Tong cleared his throat and explained confidently.
"This sword can be infused with mana?" Yuan Ming exclaimed.
"Try it yourself." Zhao Tong did not directly answer, but handed the sword to Yuan Ming.
After taking the long sword, Yuan Ming grasped it and stimulated the mana in his dantian, guiding it towards his palm.
He only felt that after the mana condensed in his palm, it immediately found an outlet and extended into the bronze long sword in his hand.
In the next moment, a layer of blue light appeared on the bronze long sword, like a fish swimming from the hilt, rushing towards the tip of the sword, emitting a sharp aura.
"Blue Fish."
At this moment, Yuan Ming noticed that there were two delicate characters engraved near the hilt of the sword, which were inscribed by the person who crafted the sword, not his own name. It seemed that this sword was either his masterpiece or had extraordinary significance to him. Zhao Tong glanced at it and said casually.
"Why do you say it’s a half magic weapon?" Yuan Ming asked again.
"Because usually magic weapons have certain auxiliary powers, such as releasing ice, fire, thunder, and so on. This is because they contain different attribute runes. After this sword was crafted, it did not undergo rune engraving, so it does not have such abilities." Zhao Tong continued to explain.Yuan Ming thought for a moment and realized that the sword was only sharper without any other auxiliary powers, so he asked: "Can it be remedied by re-engraving the runes?"
"It can be done, but it requires an elder from the Fire Refining Hall to do it. Ordinary disciples don’t have this ability." Zhao Tong said.
Yuan Ming knew that there was no hope for the time being. As a beast tamer, no matter how much resources he accumulated, he could not possibly invite a sect elder to craft a magic weapon for himself.
"There’s one more thing I want you to take a look at." Yuan Ming said, taking out the black pottery bottle he had obtained from Ba Yin.
Zhao Tong took it over, opened it curiously, and immediately smelled a pungent and spicy odor.
He quickly moved it away, pushed it back with a disgusted face, and said, "This is the Bloodthirsty Pill, where did you get it?"
"What is it used for?" Yuan Ming did not explain, covered the bottle cap, and asked.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Tong understood where this thing came from. He had seen many fights and snatches between beast tamers.
"Burning essence blood and stimulating potential can make a person temporarily burst out power far beyond their actual strength, but the sequelae are extremely serious. Unless it is a matter of life and death, do not use it." Zhao Tong explained and reminded.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming’s doubts were immediately resolved. Ba Yin must have taken this thing before, which gave him the power to kill the human-faced spider. As for the sequelae, just think about how terrifying his body would be after he died."Thank you for your help. I’ll sell these two spider legs now," Yuan Ming said, putting away his blue fish sword.
"Okay, what do you want to exchange for this time?" Zhao Tong asked.
Yuan Ming pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you have any sword techniques or cultivation methods?"
"Well...actually, we don’t have any," Zhao Tong replied, shaking his head.
Yuan Ming felt a little disappointed upon hearing this.
"Our Bi Luo Sect is known for our beast-taming techniques, and our cultivation methods mainly revolve around that. We do have some miscellaneous low-level cultivation methods, but I haven’t seen any sword techniques," Zhao Tong explained.
"In that case, let’s not exchange anything for now. Keep the items with you, and I’ll exchange them when I have something I want," Yuan Ming said after a moment of contemplation.
"Sure, or I can help you inquire about whether any senior brothers from the Fire Refining Hall are willing to take the risk and carve a formation for you. We can see if they need the spider legs of the human-faced ghost spider," Zhao Tong nodded and said.
"Thank you," Yuan Ming thanked him.
"It’s just business, no need to be polite," Zhao Tong waved his hand casually.
Yuan Ming bid farewell and planned to leave. Today was the day to offer blood food, and he planned to go to the boundary monument.
Suddenly, Zhao Tong’s voice came from behind him, asking casually, "By the way, did you take the face skin of the human-faced ghost spider when you killed it?"
Yuan Ming’s heart stirred slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Is that disgusting thing useful?"
As he asked this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Zhao Tong’s eyes.
"That thing is the main material for refining the Thousand-Machine Mask. If you didn’t pick it up, then forget it," Zhao Tong waved his hand and signaled him to leave.
From his reaction, Yuan Ming judged that the face skin of the human-faced ghost spider was not an ordinary thing, at least it was important to Zhao Tong.
"No wonder he explained so much to me. He was laying the groundwork for this," Yuan Ming thought to himself.
He stopped and turned around, asking, "By the way, do you have any books like the Bai Cao Ji? Can you give me two more?"
Yuan Ming was able to recognize the meat spirit ganoderma because he got the Bai Cao Ji from Zhao Tong.
"What do you want them for?" Zhao Tong asked.
"To broaden my horizons. Next time I encounter a vicious beast like the human-faced ghost spider, I’ll know what things on its body are useful and what things are not," Yuan Ming said with a smile.
Zhao Tong hesitated for a moment and then took out a blue booklet from his pocket and threw it over.
Yuan Ming quickly caught it and glanced at the cover, which read "Illustrated Guide to Common Vicious Beasts in the Ten Thousand Mountains."
"This book records all the vicious beasts commonly found in the Ten Thousand Mountains, their personalities, attack methods, and the degree to which they can be utilized. This should be enough for you," Zhao Tong said.
Yuan Ming was overjoyed upon hearing this. He was about to thank him when he heard him add, "This booklet is of great value to you beast-taming slave warriors. It’s worth a spider leg."
"I..." Yuan Ming’s words of gratitude got stuck in his throat, and he cursed inwardly before leaving.
...
Yuan Ming arrived at the boundary monument and met Hu Huo, the elder.When Elder Hu Huo took the thirteen blood offerings from him, he only glanced at them before putting them away without any surprise. "Not many people can adapt to the life of a beast slave so quickly. You did well," he said calmly and threw a detoxification pill at Yuan Ming.
Instead of taking it immediately, Yuan Ming asked, "Elder, I have some doubts about the technique of wearing beast fur. May I ask for your advice?"
"No," Elder Hu Huo refused directly.
Yuan Ming thought to himself that it was impossible to get any help from Elder Hu Huo. "As I told you before, don’t forget about becoming a named disciple," Elder Hu Huo reminded him coldly.
As long as he became a named disciple of the Bi Luo Cave, he could get rid of his identity as a beast slave and no longer worry about the backlash of wearing beast fur. However, the cost of collecting a thousand blood offerings would increase the risk of backlash and shorten the time.
"Take it one step at a time, improve your own strength as much as possible. The road ahead is long and winding," Yuan Ming murmured to himself.
After a few days, the members of the Qing Lang Gang confirmed that the team sent to chase Yuan Ming had disappeared. "Boss, we searched a hundred miles around and still couldn’t find Vice Leader Ba Yin and the others. It seems they are in a bad situation. They went to chase after Yuan Ming before. Could that kid have killed them?" a savage-looking man with a square face and a fierce expression said.
"According to Wu Lu’s feedback, Yuan Ming may have reached the second level of Qi Refinement. Even so, Ba Yin is at the third level. How could he die at the hands of a second-level Qi Refinement cultivator?" Wu Bao’s facial muscles twitched.
"Right, even if Ba Yin is useless, he shouldn’t die at the hands of a second-level Qi Refinement cultivator. I think there must be something fishy going on," Ba Tu pondered.
"Ba Tu, just say what you want to say. Don’t beat around the bush," Wu Bao scolded him.
"Boss, I mean... we’ve been expanding too fast recently. Could we have attracted the attention of other forces? Otherwise, how could a mere second-level Qi Refinement cultivator dare to attack our people?" Ba Tu lowered his voice.
"That’s impossible! I know the situation of the nearby forces like the back of my hand. Even if Ba Yin is not strong enough, he should still be able to protect himself. " Wu Bao frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "There’s another possibility."
"What is it?" Ba Tu asked.
"Ba Yin and his men have rebelled against us and joined someone else," Wu Bao said angrily.
Upon hearing this, Wu Bao’s eyes narrowed and he scolded, "You and Ba Yin have never gotten along, and I never asked about it. But now, you can’t just make baseless accusations.""Boss, please calm down! I’m just putting forth my guess. Ba Yin and the other three disappeared together, and no matter how you look at it, this matter seems quite strange," Ba Tu insisted.
Upon hearing this, Wu Bao placed one hand on his leg, propping up his chin, and remained silent for a long time.
"For the time being, let’s put aside the matter of hunting down Yuan Ming. Recall all the men, and from now on, try to form groups of ten as much as possible. Don’t act alone. Focus all our efforts on finding Ba Yin and the others." After a moment, Wu Bao raised his head and ordered.