Soul Severing Nail, Soul Calming Incense

The history between Luo Chen and Wang Yuan was not actually complicated.

Back then, the two of them had entered Great River Market as independent cultivators at roughly the same time.

But unlike Luo Chen, who possessed only the strength of the First Layer of Qi Refining Stage, Wang Yuan had been an Innate Grandmaster in the mortal world and had turned from Martial Dao to the immortal path through a fortuitous chance.

Thus, when he first entered Great River Market, Wang Yuan had already displayed considerable combat prowess.

He had even joined a hunting party and dared venture into the mountains to hunt Low-Rank Demon Beasts.

Luo Chen had possessed little strength back then, but to make a living, he had gone along as well, helping with odd jobs and hauling things.

At the time, owing to his personality and experiences, Wang Yuan differed from the overly cautious independent cultivators. Everything he did was broad and bold, carrying the bearing of a Martial Dao Grandmaster.

Yet that very bearing brought him disaster in Great River Market.

Several Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators robbed him, stripping him of everything he possessed and beating him into serious injury.

After Wang Yuan recovered from his wounds, his personality changed somewhat.

To gather cultivation resources, he planned to enter the mountains again.

A few familiar friends lent him some things. By then, Luo Chen could already refine Grain Avoidance Pills, so he lent him several bottles as well.

Within the Eastern Wilderness Million Mountains, demon beasts were countless.

When cultivators entered the mountains, they basically never dared light fires to cook, so Grain Avoidance Pills were quite useful.

That time, Wang Yuan entered the Ancient Origin Mountain Range alone and in silence.

A month later, he returned carrying the corpse of a Tier 1 Demon Beast.

Not long afterward, the cultivators who had once robbed Wang Yuan died violent deaths one after another. Everyone knew Wang Yuan had surely struck from the shadows.

But no one dared trouble him, because Wang Yuan had joined the Mountain Shattering Gang.

As the largest independent cultivator force in the area, the Mountain Shattering Gang had some reputation. Coupled with Wang Yuan's ruthlessness, he had thoroughly gained a foothold in the Outer City Area.

Especially in the days that followed, Wang Yuan would sell Magic Tools and Cultivation Methods at the market every few days.

Those were all goods of unknown origin. Thinking of all the rumors from Wang Yuan's early days, everyone feared him even more.

It was somewhat bitter to say, but Luo Chen and Wang Yuan had arrived at Great River Market at around the same time.

Ten years passed.

Luo Chen had only just reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage, while Wang Yuan was already a Late Stage independent cultivator at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining Stage.

One had to admit that the gap between people was greater than the gap between people and dogs.

"he asked me to join the Mountain Shattering Gang and even said he would look after me in the future. Why make such a sudden move?"

After arranging the medicinal herbs, Luo Chen sat at the Great Gate, turning over the iron token engraved with the character for "mountain."

"Was it for the sake of our past friendship?"

"Or was it because I killed that Fifth Layer of Qi Refining Stage Short-Lived Ghost across levels?"

Luo Chen did not know. He could only put the token away with great care.

The following days became somewhat monotonous.

He processed all sorts of raw materials, cultivated the Evergreen Art, and nursed his wounds.

Thus, nine days later, the wound on Luo Chen's abdomen finally healed completely.

According to his previous plan, he could officially begin refining All Wonders Pills tomorrow.

Yet Luo Chen's attention was fixed on something else.

"This Soul Severing Nail is actually a High-Grade Magic Tool!"

In his hand lay a pair of dark, heavy long nails, sharp at the front and massive and weighty at the rear.

Both nails carried a dense smell of blood. Strands of crimson showed beneath the black surface, making them somewhat chilling.

He continuously poured Mana into them. The Soul Severing Nails hummed, then suddenly shot out.

One Soul Severing Nail streaked like lightning into a massive stone outside the small courtyard, sinking so deeply that its end could not be seen.

"It is actually this sharp!"

"Unless something unexpected happened, an Armor Piercing Array must be inscribed on it!"

Magic Tools had grades: high, middle, and low.

The standards for judging their grades were the number and quality of the arrays inscribed upon them.

This pair of Soul Severing Nails had only one array inscribed on them, but the Armor Piercing Array was a Tier 2 array, so its power was extraordinarily great.

"No wonder I suffered serious injuries without any chance to fight back."

"According to what that Short-Lived Ghost said before dying, even Wang Yuan failed to guard against it. Its armor-breaking attribute has clearly reached the pinnacle among Magic Tools."

Wang Yuan was no weakling. Before switching to the immortal path, he had been a Martial Dao Grandmaster in the mortal world.

After embarking on cultivation, he had killed countless people and demon beasts.

His realm was high, and his practical combat ability was strong.

For a Fifth Layer of Qi Refining Stage Short-Lived Ghost to injure Wang Yuan, the Soul Severing Nails deserved immense credit.

"However, their flaws seem quite obvious too."

"Releasing one Soul Severing Nail actually consumed half my spiritual energy. If I fired both at once, wouldn't my spiritual energy be instantly drained dry?"

"And!"

Luo Chen continuously urged his spiritual energy, but the Soul Severing Nail inside the stone did not budge in the slightest.

Once gone, it would not return!

The advantages and disadvantages of this High-Grade Magic Tool were simply too obvious.

Its armor-piercing ability could be called top-grade.

It consumed enormous amounts of Mana and could not be controlled. Once fired, it could not be summoned back with Mana.

Only because its material was hard enough that it would not easily be damaged could it avoid being considered a one-use consumable Magic Tool.

Perhaps that was precisely why, despite having a Tier 2 array engraved upon it, it could only be a High-Grade Magic Tool rather than the rumored Top-Grade Magic Tool.

Luo Chen broke apart the stone, dug out the Soul Severing Nail, and happily stored it in his Storage Bag.

"For me, once gone, it does not return cannot really count as a flaw, because I never learned the Attraction Art in the first place."

"Compared with that rusty Low-Grade Magic Sword from before, this is like trading a birdshot for a cannon."

After his burst of joy, Luo Chen returned to the house and lit a stick of Soul Calming Incense.

Beneath its orchid-like, musk-like fragrance, his restless soul gradually settled into calm.

A feeling of ease rising from the depths of his soul nearly made him moan aloud.

But Luo Chen had no time to enjoy it. He hurriedly began circulating the Evergreen Art.

One stick of Soul Calming Incense a day was enough to let a cultivator cultivate their Innate Cultivation Method five more times beyond their original limit.

With Luo Chen's original limit of two to three times, he could now circulate the Evergreen Art eight times!

What did eight times mean?

One circulation restored twenty percent of his spiritual energy. Eight circulations meant one hundred and sixty percent, enough to cast thirty-two Fireball Spells.

It could be said that among this haul, the value of the Soul Calming Incense was second only to the Storage Bag and the Soul Severing Nails.

It surpassed that Low-Grade Magic Robe, that bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills, and everything else.

Because this box of Soul Calming Incense could let him cultivate more times, increase the proficiency of the Evergreen Art, and raise the proficiency of other skills as well.

"Once I have money in the future, I will not only buy a house—I will buy lots and lots of Soul Calming Incense too!"

After finishing his cultivation, Luo Chen felt that the half of his Mana consumed by firing the Soul Severing Nail had recovered by a small portion, and he sighed with emotion.

After sighing, borrowing the tranquil, peaceful, and focused state brought by the Soul Calming Incense, he recalled what had happened that night ten days ago.

It could be said that throughout these ten days, he had almost constantly been recalling it.

Even in his dreams, the scene had replayed several times.

That had been the first time since his transmigration that he faced death head-on!

He kept revisiting it not because he was afraid, but because he needed to remember what had happened then, to prevent himself from facing such a situation again in the future.

With the aid of the Soul Calming Incense, Luo Chen suddenly realized that he could actually have handled that battle better.

The Soul Severing Nails were fast, but he had practiced the Carefree Wander. He could have tried to evade them.

Even if he could not avoid them, he would not have been injured so severely that he nearly died on the spot.

Moreover, the enemy had been in terrible condition at the time. What if he had struck first?

Could he have caught the other man off guard?

Those who struck first gained the advantage; those who struck late suffered disaster. In the end, he had still been too indecisive and too hopeful of luck.

Even during the later head-on battle, he had made enormous mistakes.

The third Fireball Spell had clearly already shattered the other man's defenses. At most, he only needed two more Fireball Spells.

But in his excitement, he had squandered all his Mana in one breath.

As a result, afterward, he had possessed no combat power whatsoever.

He had only been lucky enough to encounter Wang Yuan.

What if he had encountered someone else?

Would someone else have known him too? Would they have spared him?

Heh. Even someone who knew him would likely have been unable to resist temptation!

The possessions of two Qi Refining Stage cultivators counted as a substantial haul no matter what.

"My combat experience is truly far too lacking!"