Chapter 15

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Chapter 15: Well-Illuminated Spirit Liquid and Shadow-Splitting Sword Light

Chongyun solemnly picked up the green gourd, gently stroked it for a moment, and then reluctantly handed it to Wang Yu.

"Qiu Ye, listen carefully. Although I founded the White Cloud Temple and only accepted you and Qingfeng as my two disciples, it hardly counts as a true cultivation sect. In truth, I come from the Li family in Liangzhou, Wu Kingdom, thousands of miles away. I offended a powerful enemy because of a Foundation Establishment Spirit Object, and was set up, which caused my abilities to greatly diminish. That is why I came to Yellow Stone City to escape. But unexpectedly, my enemy is very powerful, and sent someone to find me here, even bribing wandering cultivators in Yellow Stone City to suddenly attack me. I only used half of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Object I obtained back then, and the other half is here. You should keep it safe."

"Master, what is a Foundation Establishment Spirit Object, and what does Foundation Establishment mean?" Wang Yu asked, confused as he took the gourd.

"Both Qingfeng and I are only at the first major level of a cultivator, the ‘Qi Refining Stage.’ The Yin Water Skill has a total of twelve levels, and the Qi Refining Stage is also divided into twelve smaller realms. If one can cultivate the Qi Refining Stage to above the tenth level, they can attempt to break through to the second major level, the ‘Foundation Establishment Stage.’ Only by reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage can one truly step onto the path of immortality, and one’s lifespan can be greatly increased to over two hundred years."

"For us cultivators, the earlier one breaks through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the better. Otherwise, when we grow old and weak, the chance of successfully establishing a foundation will drastically decrease."

"As for the Foundation Establishment Spirit Object, it is a precious item that helps Qi Refining Stage cultivators when they break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. It is extremely valuable; otherwise, I would not have ended up in this situation because of it. Remember, do not open the gourd before starting to break through the bottleneck; the ‘Well-illuminated Spirit Liquid’ inside will dissipate in the wind, wasting this item." Taoist Chongyun said with a serious expression.

"Well-illuminated Spirit Liquid"

Wang Yu murmured softly, unable to resist touching the green gourd in his hand. He found it gentle to the touch but seemingly very hard, and the gourd’s mouth was tightly sealed with a lid, giving off no hint of what was inside.

"Yes, this gourd is called ‘Well-illuminated Gourd,’ and it is a rare spiritual material that can be made into a magic tool. However, it can produce ‘Well-illuminated Spirit Liquid’ only once in ten thousand tries. By the way, here are my notes. The first half contains some basic knowledge about the cultivation world, while the second half records the twelfth level of the ‘Yin Water Skill’ cultivation method and some useful herbal recipes. The recipe for Blood Refining Soup is included." The Taoist thought for a moment and then took out the black-covered book from his bag and handed it to Wang Yu.

"Thank you, Master."

Wang Yu felt a surge of energy as he took the black book. With this book, he could deepen his understanding of the mysterious powers of cultivators.

"Lastly, these two items: the jade pendant is the family token of my family. If you have the chance, you can deliver it to the Li family. As for this box, in a way, its value is comparable to this half gourd of ‘Well-illuminated Spirit Liquid.’ It is also a gift I prepared for a dear friend who came to see him off. Taoist Friend Huang, am I not mistaken? You have been with me for such a long time." As the Taoist picked up the iron box covered in talismans, he suddenly turned and spoke coldly towards the entrance of the cave.

At these words, Wang Yu was startled and quickly tucked the gourd and the black book into his arms. He swiftly drew the silver sword and nervously looked toward the entrance.

The entrance of the passage was a bit dim, but there was no one in sight.

When Wang Yu saw this, he looked at the Taoist with suspicion.

"At this point, Taoist Friend Huang, if you still don’t show yourself, then I have no choice but to offend you." Taoist Chongyun ignored Wang Yu and raised one hand, slowly clapping towards the entrance of the passageway.

"Puff"

A wave of white, cold air swept out from the Taoist’s hand and covered the passageway.

"Oh, why must you do this, my old friend Chongyun!" Amidst the rolling cold air, a shadow appeared, faint and indistinct. After a sigh, flames of red burst forth from his body, swirling outwards and sweeping away all the cold air, causing the temperature inside the cave to rise significantly, becoming unbearably hot.

"Just as I thought, it is Taoist Friend Huang. When I was attacked, I wondered how those scattered cultivators dared to work together openly without the Huang family’s permission." Taoist Chongyun stared at the newly appeared shadow, saying with a blank expression.

The man wore a yellow robe and had a white face; it was "Martial Uncle Huang," who had visited the temple not long ago. But now he was surrounded by flames, looking almost like a god or demon, making onlookers feel unsettled.

"Taoist Friend Chongyun, though I am the lord of Yellow Stone City, the true leader of the Huang family is not me. I cannot go against the decision made within the clan to befriend that person. However, I did not take part in the collusion against you by Old Xu and the others. I only came this time to help handle the aftermath out of respect for our friendship." The man in the yellow robe replied without changing his expression.

"Hmph, helping me with the aftermath means you want the treasures that person also desires, right?" The Taoist glared at the man in the yellow robe, speaking sarcastically.

"My Taoist friend, if you don’t believe me, there is nothing I can do. But I really didn’t expect that the treasure that brought you all the way to a distant land would be the famous ‘Well-illuminated Spirit Liquid’, this famous Foundation Establishment Spirit Object. I have heard that although this item is not as good as the Foundation Establishment pills, it still has one-tenth of the Foundation Establishment effect, and many people have successfully used it for Foundation Establishment." The man in the yellow robe said a few words without much commitment, then his gaze suddenly turned to Wang Yu, unable to hide the greed on his face any longer.

When Wang Yu heard that the other person was the City Lord of Yellow Stone City, he was already shocked. Seeing the unfriendly look on the other person’s face, he couldn’t help but grip his silver sword even tighter.

The City Lord of Yellow Stone City noticed this, and with a glint in his eyes, he spoke to Wang Yu in a gentle voice:

"Little fellow, the soft sword in your hand is a special weapon made by my Huang family. It seems my nephew has met his end at your hands. This is quite interesting. My nephew has the second layer of Qi Refining. Although he has not yet established his Spiritual Root, he has mastered one or two low-level magic tricks, not to mention the ‘Dark Wind Fan’ for protection. So, I will let you live if you simply hand over the ‘Well-illuminated Spirit Liquid’."

Wang Yu thought to himself, "I don’t believe you at all," completely ignoring the words of the man in the yellow robe. He was quite surprised to find out that the young man in white he had killed was the other’s nephew. But now, with Taoist Chongyun seriously injured and this person approaching with such obvious malice, it seemed that things might turn really bad.

"Taoist Friend Huang won’t play tricks anymore, huh? That’s good. This way, I won’t hesitate when I kill you." Taoist Chongyun watched everything with a look of disgust on his face. He waved one hand over the iron box, and the talismans on its surface fell away in a flash of white light.

"Clink, clink, clink."

A clear, pleasant sound came from inside the iron box, like beautiful music from the heavens.

"The spirit sword sings by itself? No way! You, a family outcast, how could you possess a spirit sword? Even if it is a spirit sword, how could you control it with your level?" The man in the yellow robe’s face changed slightly, staring intensely at the iron box, as if he faced a formidable enemy.

"Go ahead and try!" Taoist Chongyun sneered and pointed his finger at a corner of the iron box.

With a "crack," the mechanism made a sound, and the surface of the iron box slowly opened up.

"Swish"

The City Lord of Yellow Stone City, who was standing at the entrance, quickly dashed into the passage behind without looking back and vanished from sight.

Wang Yu blinked, feeling a bit incredulous.

Who just said he didn’t believe it?! Why did you run so quickly?

"Master, he…"

"Don’t speak."

As soon as Wang Yu opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Taoist Chongyun waving his hand, still holding the iron box with one hand and staring expressionlessly at the entrance.

Wang Yu stood still, afraid to move, but his eyes unconsciously glanced into the iron box, and his face looked a little strange.

Inside the iron box, there was no ‘flying sword’, just an ordinary, shabby sword sheath that was less than half a foot long, with a yellowed surface and several holes.

Taoist Chongyun was actually lying.

Time passed little by little.

At the entrance of the cave, a figure flickered, and the City Lord of Yellow Stone City appeared again. This time, however, the red flames on his body were gone, replaced by a soft golden light, and he held a small, dark iron shield about a foot wide.

"Golden Light Talisman"

When Taoist Chongyun saw the golden light around the City Lord of Yellow Stone City, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Old friend Chongyun, you almost tricked me. If you truly had a spirit sword, why did you let me go just now? Even if you have one more strike left, what can you do against my double protection of golden light and magical tools? You might as well surrender."

As soon as he finished speaking, the City Lord of Yellow Stone City raised the iron shield in front of him and strode towards Taoist Chongyun. In just two or three steps, he reached a distance of about ten feet from the man. He chanted something, extending his large hand, fingers surrounded by flames, reaching out towards the Taoist, with a large fireball visibly forming in his palm.

"Hehe, Taoist Friend Huang, farwell." The Taoist chuckled, suddenly biting his tongue, and spurted out a splash of blood that landed on the tattered sword sheath.

"Bang!"

After a slight tremble, a small white sword, just a few inches long, shot out from the sheath. It spiraled for a moment before turning into a three-foot silver light that rushed toward the man in the yellow robe.

"Sword Light"

The City Lord of Yellow Stone City felt a chill run through his body. Ignoring the Taoist, he quickly slapped a small shield in front of him. Three white patterns on the shield lit up, forming a thick white light that met the flying sword light. The man himself did not advance; instead, he retreated, flying backward toward the entrance of the passage to escape.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

The three-foot silver light shot past the iron shield as if it were nothing, racing toward the City Lord of Yellow Stone City. Then, in the man’s terrified gaze, it circled around him.

The man in the yellow robe let out a loud, miserable scream, his golden light shattering. A towering column of flames shot up into the sky but was quickly engulfed by the silver sword light, leaving behind the man’s dismembered body on the ground, guts and other organs spilling everywhere, creating a gruesome scene.

The silver light spiraled in the low air for a few moments before returning to its small sword form, swiftly flying back and vanishing into the dilapidated sword sheath.

"Puff"

The old sword sheath vanished into thin air the moment the small white sword entered.

All of this left Wang Yu speechless.

"Good, good, good! To see the power of the spirit sword with my own eyes, even just a glimpse of its light, means I haven’t wasted most of my fortune! Haha…" After laughing a few times, Taoist Chongyun tilted his head and breathed his last, still having a hint of a smile on his face.

"Master, don’t scare me. You won’t just leave like this, will you?" Wang Yu, surprised that his strong enemy was easily defeated, was startled again by the Taoist’s appearance. He hurried to the Taoist and placed his finger below his nose.

After a moment, Wang Yu’s expression became very alarmed.

He thought for a moment, then grabbed one of the Taoist’s wrists, quietly sensing it for a while, but there was no pulse at all.

Taoist Chongyun really has passed away.