Chapter 212: Fourth Stage Spirit Pill · Jin Clan's Manhunt

Chapter 212: Fourth Stage Spirit Pill · Jin Clan's Manhunt

The Jin Clan trio had underestimated Xiao Chen's strength.

But their chosen battleground wasn't without merit - not another soul existed within thousands of miles in any direction.

Cleaning up the battlefield was exceptionally convenient, or rather, there was practically nothing to clean.

After all, the sea teemed with carnivorous fish.

With the sea breeze blowing, no trace would remain in no time.

"No wonder there are constant rumors about Bandit Cultivators in the Eastern Territory", Xiao Chen muttered, shaking his head as he used true mana to cleanse the three Storage Rings in his hands.

It was almost laughable.

Before arriving in the Eastern Territory, he'd heard that some Storage Rings contained Self-Destruction Traps. If opened improperly, they'd be completely destroyed, rendering them unopenable forever.

Supposedly, this prevented Bandit Cultivators from stealing them.

Yet Xiao Chen had discovered the reality was entirely different.

While such a feature might exist, it certainly wasn't present on cheaper Storage Rings.

The Han Hai Ring lacked it, and the Jin Clan cultivators' Storage Rings were even inferior to the Han Hai Ring, so naturally they had no such protection either.

It seemed only direct disciples of major sects could afford the more advanced Storage Rings.

That said, this was actually a blessing.

At least Xiao Chen no longer needed to worry about how to open these Storage Rings.

He flew forward another 100,000 kilometers on his sword, eventually finding an uninhabited desolate island.

Then, activating his true mana to cleanse the rings, he began dismantling their sealing formations.

Compared to storage bags, Storage Rings' sealing formations were inherently more complex, making the process significantly slower.

Especially since they now involved Decree Talismans - under normal circumstances, one needed formation knowledge to resolve them properly.

Without formation expertise, one could only brute-force through with time.

To analogize, the former was like picking a lock with wire, while the latter was akin to violently sawing through it with a blade.

Though Xiao Chen had learned a bit of formation knowledge, he hadn't reached this specialized area.

Thus, he spent a full nine shíchen dismantling the three Storage Rings in his hands.

The spatial capacity of these three rings wasn't large - only nine chǐ square each.

The first thing that caught the eye was the sparkling spirit stones.

Specifically, 64,000 lower-grade spirit stones, and three hollowed sandalwood boxes.

Scanning with his spiritual sense immediately revealed that each box neatly contained 600 middle-grade spirit stones, seemingly prepared as gifts.

Following these were bundles of second-stage spirit herbs, and eight sealed jade caskets.

Inside the caskets were seventeen Third Stage spirit herbs in total, half of which were water-elemental, appearing to be ingredients for some pill formula.

Then came two thick volumes.

The first was titled Encyclopedia of Inner Sea Spirit Herbs, meticulously documenting practically all Third Stage and lower spirit herbs within the Eastern Territory's inland seas.

It contained exquisite illustrations - Xiao Chen flipped through it briefly and counted at least ten thousand images.

The second was titled Sword Immortal's Romance.

It narrated the tale of a sword cultivator who, while traveling realms, met seven different soulmates, eventually defeating a powerful enemy and ascending to True Sovereignhood together.

Similarly containing thousands of illustrations, these mostly depicted beautiful women, accompanied by occasional scenic landscapes.

Flipping through from start to finish, Xiao Chen found no illustrations of the sword cultivator himself. It seemed purely fictional.

"This doesn't make sense - where are the cultivation manuals?"

None of the Jin Clan members carried a single cultivation manual or Jade Slip.

As the saying goes, reviewing old knowledge reveals new insights.

Cultivators should bring manuals when traveling, studying them during downtime to progress.

Not bringing anything explained why they were so terrible at dueling.

What a shame - a Third Stage legacy could easily fetch tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Fortunately, although no manuals were found, Jin Xiuli happened to carry a pill formula - a Third Stage one at that.

Titled Ten-Treasure Heaven-Replenishing Pill, it was a medicinal formula for both healing and body cultivation.

It required ten enhancement-type vital energy herbs and twenty-two auxiliary ingredients.

Its primary effect was replenishing blood and qi deficiencies caused by injuries or failed breakthroughs.

Additionally, it could slightly increase a cultivator's total vital energy reserves.

"Wow, there's something like this?"

Back in the Southern Domain, Xiao Chen had only seen healing spirit herbs.

For body cultivators, vital energy was the foundation of all cultivation. Increasing total vital energy reserves was practically an indirect enhancement of one's innate talent.

Truth be told, the Eastern Territory truly excelled in cultivation - between the Nine Luminaries Mysterious Pill and the Ten-Treasure Heaven-Replenishing Pill, the variety was astounding.

Though these items were undoubtedly expensive, there were always cultivators who could afford them.

This was precisely why the power gap between same-stage cultivators could become so vast.

Next were six unused Third Stage talismans, all offensive types - useless to Xiao Chen.

Finally, there was a Spirit-Containing Treasure Box.

Essentially an advanced storage box, this was an Eastern Territory innovation designed to store high-grade spirit herbs while protecting them from damage.

Seeing this, Xiao Chen's eyes lit up.

Typically, such boxes contained nothing but premium items.

However, this box had a sealing formation several times more complex than the Storage Rings.

It took him another six and a half shíchen to successfully dismantle it.

Opening it revealed a carved treasure vase containing a spirit pill the size of a walnut, with two delicate pill markings circling it.

As the box opened, a faint dan incense aroma spread out.

Just inhaling this fragrance made Xiao Chen feel as though he'd entered a vast forest, surrounded by vibrant life.

This was actually a Fourth Stage spirit pill!

"Oh no, looks like I'm suffering from a lack of education now."

Back in the Southern Domain, Xiao Chen had only seen Third Stage pills.

Having arrived in the Eastern Territory recently, he recognized very few Fourth Stage pills and possessed no Fourth Stage pill forging legacies.

Thus, he couldn't identify this pill's name or effects.

But this wasn't a major issue - such intelligence wasn't difficult to obtain. He could simply inquire upon returning.

Though Xiao Chen was new here with neither connections nor reliable channels, the Eastern Territory had a unique organization - the Chao Hui Pavilion.

Specializing in trading all kinds of intelligence and secret information, they provided any information for a price in spirit stones.

Publicly declaring, "Our intelligence shines like the morning sun, dispelling the mists before every customer."

There was a Chao Hui Pavilion outpost in the Nanlao Sea, reportedly on a small island about 1,500 li south of Hundred Grasses Island.

Not far from the core Hundred Grasses City, yet maintaining a proper distance.

This location was carefully chosen—not entirely removed from Hundred Grasses City's jurisdiction, yet maintaining a degree of secrecy.

It didn't take long for Xiao Chen to locate the Chao Hui Pavilion.

For confidentiality, he didn't directly inquire about his specific spirit pill. Instead, he requested to purchase all Fourth Stage spirit pill illustrations.

Since this knowledge would be useful later, he might as well study ahead.

"Apologies, our pavilion currently only has illustrations of one hundred and twenty-five Fourth Stage spirit pills."

The female cultivator opposite him, wearing a rabbit mask, spoke gently. "There are two versions - the abridged version with only names costs five hundred spirit stones."

"The detailed version with pill descriptions costs three thousand spirit stones."

"Which would the honored guest prefer?"

Pretending to hesitate, Xiao Chen said, "That's so expensive?"

"Then give me the abridged version."

The female cultivator nodded. "No problem."

"By the way, I must remind you beforehand - intelligence transactions require payment before delivery."

"Additionally, the pavilion master has a rule: once a customer views the intelligence, no refunds are allowed."

Reportedly, due to this no-refund policy, the Chao Hui Pavilion had been troubled many times.

But through their connections, they'd resolved these issues - or rather, resolved the troublemakers themselves.

Xiao Chen handed over five hundred spirit stones, then feigned hesitation again. "Wait, I... I'll take the detailed version after all."

Supplementing the difference, he successfully exchanged for a not-too-thick illustrated booklet.

It took about a quarter of an hour. When the booklet was handed over, the ink was still fresh, clearly freshly made.

Back in his courtyard residence in Hundred Grasses City, Xiao Chen immediately activated the Nine Aperture Linked Formation to prevent unwanted disturbances.

Flipping through the intelligence, he quickly found the spirit pill's name - Yanling Wanshou Pill.

As the name suggested, it was a Life Extension pill.

For Golden Core True Sovereigns, it extended life by twenty years.

For Third Stage and below cultivators, it prolonged life by fifty to one hundred years.

In other words, for a cultivator, taking this pill could grant an additional lifetime.

But practically speaking, it wasn't particularly useful to Xiao Chen. At least Golden Core Zhenren cultivators could afford the exorbitant price of Fourth Stage spirit pills.

"No wonder there was such a strong aura of vitality."

When he first detected the Yanling Wanshou Pill's vibrant energy, Xiao Chen had suspected it was either a healing Holy Pill or Life Extension pill.

Now confirmed.

Since this was the case, the item seemed somewhat useless to him currently - he didn't need Life Extension yet.

"Time to find an opportunity to exchange it for other cultivation resources."

Just as he thought this, he suddenly remembered, "Ah, wasn't Lord Huo hosting a Spirit Herb Banquet?"

"This is the entry qualification!"

Back then, he'd heard clearly - anyone presenting a Fourth Stage spirit pill and willing to trade could gain banquet entry.

He now perfectly met this condition.

Attending the banquet to sell the Yanling Wanshou Pill, even exchanging it for spirit stones would be acceptable.

Plus, he could check out other valuable items.

"But speaking of which, the Jin Clan might be an issue."

Losing such an important pill, the Jin Clan would certainly treat this as a critical lead for investigation.

Bringing the Yanling Wanshou Pill to the Spirit Herb Banquet, if the Jin Clan came looking, trouble might arise.

Based on Xiao Chen's understanding of these powerful families, they likely wouldn't believe a solitary cultivator's explanation, instead using their authority to suppress him.

However, with about a month until the March 3rd date, there was no rush.

He could first observe the situation - perhaps the Jin Clan wouldn't react quickly enough.

After all, Nanlao Sea was quite distant from Wanxian Archipelago. Any minor incident during a cultivator's journey could cause a ten-day delay.

As long as the Jin Clan couldn't immediately focus their attention on Hundred Grasses Island, it wouldn't matter.

After all, according to their prior agreement, he needed to head to the outer seas by early May.

"Still, cultivation comes first. The cultivation realm is the foundation of everything."

Xiao Chen shook his head, banishing these distracting thoughts. The cultivation world had always been this way - power reigned supreme. If he were already a Golden Core True Sovereign, he wouldn't need to worry about such trivialities. Instead, the Jin Clan's patriarch would be the one begging for forgiveness at his doorstep.

"Taking my first step toward True Sovereignty - let's taste this demon core."

Xiao Chen retrieved a demon core from his Han Hai Ring. Following the method for consuming Internal Elixirs, he burned it into medicinal liquid using spirit flame, then swallowed it whole.

Actually, there were better ways to process demon cores. For instance, refining them into Third Stage pills could more effectively utilize their mana. However, current conditions didn't permit that, so direct consumption was more convenient. Besides, Xiao Chen believed he'd have ample opportunities to acquire more demon cores in the future. Unlike ordinary cultivators, he didn't need to obsess over such minor details.

As the medicinal liquid entered his body, a surge of potent water mana erupted within him. Simultaneously, a thread of Kui Water Yin Energy cultivated by the sea creature emerged from the liquid, racing along his meridians straight into his dantian.

The Kui Water Yin Energy within demon cores resembled the primal essence cultivators obtained when forming their golden core. It was also the most refined, precious component - comparable to a top-tier Third Stage water system spirit herb.

However, as this Yin Energy originated from a yao beast's essence, handling it required extreme caution. Any mishap during refinement could cause the energy to leak. At best, this would temporarily hinder cultivation, requiring extensive time using True Mana to neutralize the Yin energy. At worst, the dantian could be tainted by cold Yin energy, directly damaging one's cultivation foundation.

For ordinary cultivators, consuming demon cores directly was extremely risky. Fortunately, Xiao Chen was a body cultivator - his physical constitution was exceptionally robust! His blood vitality was vigorous, Yang energy abundant, and his dantian burned like a furnace. The Kui Water Yin Energy diving into his dantian was like throwing itself into a trap. Instantly, his Life-Essence Core seized it with True Mana, completely refining it within moments.

Meanwhile, with the steady supply of pure mana, new True Mana began condensing within Xiao Chen's dantian. During the refinement process, his Life-Essence Core inevitably consumed some Yang energy. This Yin-Yang clash causing minor energy loss was normal and not a major concern. Without interference, his Yang energy would fully recover within a day.

"Huh~! Refreshing!"

Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes, exhaling a two-foot-long breath of cold air. With this final remnant expelled, the demon core was completely refined. The entire process had taken about six hours, yet it had directly added three strands of True Mana to his reserves.

"What incredible speed!" Xiao Chen inwardly rejoiced as his spiritual sense scanned his dantian.

Though to avoid excessive Yang energy depletion, he should ideally consume only one demon core daily. Even at this rate, with sufficient demon core supply, his cultivation time could shrink to one-sixth of the original duration.

Of course, hunting demon cores themselves consumed time. Xiao Chen calculated that he needed at least five demon cores monthly to maintain efficiency equal to secluded cultivation. Anything beyond that would represent true progress. For ordinary cultivators, this would be extremely difficult. But Xiao Chen felt confident - his escape techniques expanded his hunting range, his rapid True Mana recovery allowed higher hunting frequency, and his swift yao beast kills improved efficiency. If he could secure ten demon cores monthly, his cultivation speed would double.

The next morning, Xiao Chen left Hundred Grasses Island again, heading southward to search for Third Stage sea creatures. Whether due to his speed or luck, after a full day's search, he successfully captured a cloud-patterned grouper on the third afternoon, obtaining a demon core. On the sixth morning, he caught a smallmouth silver perch, earning another demon core.

Half a month passed in a flash. He had captured four Third Stage sea creatures, acquiring four demon cores. However, he had nearly exhausted the southern waters around Hundred Grasses Island, especially since catching the fourth creature had required tremendous effort.

"Fishing can't keep draining one area. Time to change hunting grounds."

Xiao Chen eagerly returned to Hundred Grasses Island to rest and refine True Mana for two days while gathering information. He planned to explore eastward next, figuring after checking all four directions, it would be about May.

Unfortunately, upon returning, he found numerous bounty notices posted. The Jin Clan had reacted swiftly, arriving at Hundred Grasses Island eight days earlier. They had contacted Hundred Grasses City while deploying extensive manpower to investigate clues. Three legitimate lineal clan members' soul tablets had shattered simultaneously—a grave matter, especially since this involved a Fourth Stage spirit pill. The Jin Clan had mobilized nearly their entire force, bringing over a dozen Golden Core cultivators in a determined hunt for the culprit.

Seeing this, if Xiao Chen had attended the banquet with the Yanling Wanshou Pill, he'd likely be ambushed upon leaving the city lord's mansion, or even arrested mid-banquet as a bandit cultivator.

Wandering the city, he overheard many discussing the Jin Clan incident.

"Did you hear? That bandit cultivator not only killed the Jin Clan's people from Wanxian Archipelago but also stole an extremely important treasure."

"No wonder the Jin Clan posted a 300,000 spirit stone bounty. What was that treasure? Any leads?"

"Never heard. But daring to provoke the Jin Clan... that culprit's in big trouble."

"I agree. Who's this reckless fool? Even Ghost-Faced Qing knows better than to mess with certain people."

Ghost-Faced Qing ranked tenth on Wanxian Island's bounty wall with 1.3 million spirit stones.

"Hey, speaking of which, could it be Whitebeard? He always targets big families."

"What about White-Faced Scholar? I heard he likes coming to our area too."

White-Faced Scholar ranked sixth with cumulative bounties totaling exactly 2 million spirit stones.

"Nonsense! Whitebeard lacks guts. He only dares attack lone cultivators, though his luck kept him safe for 300 years."

"You're wrong! Someone ranked sixth can't lack courage. Maybe he's deliberately doing the opposite."

...

Soon, the conversation devolved into arguments about which of the Ten Most Wanted Bandit Cultivators was strongest or weakest. Xiao Chen quietly left to gather more information.

The situation was grim - Hundred Grasses City had already accepted the Jin Clan's narrative about bandit cultivators killing their people and was now assisting in collecting clues. Reportedly, the Jin Clan had hired tracking experts who narrowed the search to the southern islands around Hundred Grasses Island two days ago.

If they could identify solitary cultivators who had seen the Jin Clan members, they could pinpoint the suspect range for further screening. With Hundred Grasses City's cooperation, eliminating Golden Core cultivators who couldn't have been present would leave a manageable number of suspects. While the Eastern Territory had more Golden Core Zhenren, their numbers weren't untraceable - most had verifiable records. It just required sufficient manpower and time.

Xiao Chen also learned that Hundred Grasses Island itself had tightened security. Entry remained unrestricted, but departing Golden Core cultivators were under surveillance. Lingering risked being suddenly surrounded by enemies at night. Actually, this information had been deliberately leaked by the Jin Clan. Normally, bandit cultivators would flee under such circumstances. Thus, the Jin Clan had secretly stationed a third of their forces near Hundred Grasses Island to ambush fleeing suspects.

However, Xiao Chen didn't flee as the Jin Clan anticipated. Primarily, escaping would force him to abandon his Golden Light Technique Hermit identity and forfeit any chance at the outer sea ruins. He decided to gamble on remaining undetected. After all, no matter how thoroughly the Jin Clan investigated, they theoretically couldn't pinpoint him specifically. With his Night's Blade, the worst-case scenario was being cornered at his doorstep - but Hundred Grasses Island wouldn't become his tomb.

Thus, for the next few days, he spent mornings refining one demon core to enhance his True Mana. Afternoons were divided between restoring Yang energy and strolling through Hundred Grasses City to gather the latest news.

Coincidentally, on the first day of the third lunar month, a distinguished guest arrived at Hundred Grasses Island - Lantern-Holding True Sovereign, an old friend Lord Huo had met years ago.

Seeing the bounty notices plastered across the city, the True Sovereign casually posted his own bounty at the plaza. Any cultivator providing one of three specified Fourth Stage spirit herbs - Tianrui Immortal Fungus, Purple-Gold Bodhi, or Three-Flower-Converging Spirit Fruit - could exchange it with him for a Spirit-Fungus Soul-Cleansing Pill.

This Fourth Stage spirit pill could cleanse the soul, enhance spiritual sense, and most importantly, improve cultivation aptitude. Reportedly, it granted "one scent, thousand epiphanies" comprehension within six hours of consumption, greatly aiding breakthroughs or overcoming cultivation bottlenecks.

However, the three items Lantern-Holding True Sovereign sought were all related to cultivation aptitude enhancement. Notably, the Tianrui Immortal Fungus was the primary ingredient for crafting the Spirit-Fungus Soul-Cleansing Pill itself.

"Such good fortune?" Xiao Chen felt tempted as he read the bounty notice. Since he might need to flee anytime, why not first exchange for a Fourth Stage spirit pill?

After all, while improving spiritual sense was secondary for Fourth Stage cultivators, it would significantly benefit him. If unnoticed, he'd gain a spirit pill. If detected, he could simply use Night's Blade to escape, conveniently evading the Jin Clan's pursuit.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end