Life-Killing Curse

The next day, Lu Yang waited in his cave dwelling for an entire day.

No one came.

The three men in black seemed not to have been First Saint Sect disciples at all. They had not stirred the slightest ripple; no one had even come to inspect the situation.

Lu Yang sighed again. He would never doubt that the Sacred Sect, which possessed every disciple's Life Lamp, had failed to notice the deaths of the three. Now that he thought about it, "disciples killing one another" was probably an unspoken rule in itself. So long as it did not grow too large or become known to everyone, no one would investigate it closely.

After all, the Demonic Sect was a place where winds and clouds shifted treacherously, impossible to fathom.

If someone died, perhaps it was to silence them, perhaps for wealth, or perhaps because they had learned something they should not have known. What if an investigation really uncovered something?

Better not to investigate at all.

"Worthy of the Sacred Sect indeed."

After his sigh, Lu Yang finally put his mind at ease and began collecting the spoils.

First came the disciple Tokens. To Lu Yang's shock, the three black-clad men's Tokens contained a full 400 Contribution Points—far more than was reasonable.

"So they were three repeat offenders."

Lu Yang frowned deeply and searched through their belongings again. Apart from miscellaneous items, only a secret manual called the "Breath Concealment Art" truly caught his eye.

In Lu Yang's view, the three men had been extremely skilled at concealing their True Qi. Had his cultivation not broken through, bringing a qualitative leap in both his True Qi and spiritual sense, he likely would not even have detected their intrusion. That showed just how formidable this Breath Concealment Art was. It was clearly one of their trump cards.

"More importantly, this has nothing to do with the Sacred Sect!"

Sacred Sect cultivation methods were recorded only in disciple Tokens, while the Breath Concealment Art was a secret manual. Clearly, it had been an opportunity belonging to the three men themselves.

So he did not need to worry that the Sacred Sect had some means of countering it.

"What perfect timing—when sleepiness came, someone brought a pillow. They died well!"

At that thought, Lu Yang sincerely gathered the three corpses, dug a pit, and buried them in it. At least they could rest in peace beneath the earth.

Then a thought suddenly struck him:

"This Breath Concealment Art is so exquisite, and it was not passed down by the Sacred Sect. Where did they obtain it? Could there be an even greater opportunity behind this?"

In an instant, Lu Yang's thoughts began to stir.

But he quickly restrained his greed, and his gaze turned calm again. "No rush, no rush. In their next lives, perhaps we can be friends."

There would always be another chance!

After laying the three to rest, Lu Yang took out his disciple Token again and began examining the materials Yun Miaoqing had previously told him were needed to refine a Sword Pellet.

"To refine a Sword Pellet, one must gather three taels of Gold Essence, three taels of Jade Marrow, two taels of Cinnabar, and two taels of Sword Qi, ten taels in total. Then use True Fire and Divine Water to temper and cool them, dispelling impurities. Finally, slowly refine them with the secret methods of a Sword Art, making them harmonize with the refiner's essence, qi, and spirit. Only then can it truly be completed."

As Lu Yang recalled the method of refining a Sword Pellet, he flipped through the item catalog.

The more he read, the worse his expression became.

"Gold Essence, Jade Marrow, Cinnabar, and Sword Qi are uniformly priced at 100 Contribution Points per tael. True Water costs 500 Contribution Points per gourd, and True Fire costs 500 Contribution Points per strand."

"2,000 Contribution Points!?"

Lu Yang gritted his steel-like teeth. Yun Miaoqing had told him that Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion disciples received a Sword Pellet bestowed by their elders once they broke through to Qi Refining.

Yet in the First Saint Sect, it actually cost 2,000 Contribution Points?

An ordinary disciple would have to go without food or drink and serve the Sacred Sect like an ox or horse for twenty years before possibly gathering that many Contribution Points!

Damn Demonic Sect!

That sky-high price instantly crushed Lu Yang's delight at having just made a small fortune, once again making him realize the cruel reality that he was dirt poor.

"In that case, 400 Contribution Points are rather useless."

According to Lu Yang's plan, after restarting in his next life, he would choose cultivation. Thus, no matter what he obtained in this life, he would be unable to take it with him.

Therefore, no matter what good items those 400 Contribution Points could buy, they meant nothing to him.

As for cultivation, the middle stage of Qi Refining was worlds apart from the initial stage. Even if he spent all 400 Contribution Points, it would be impossible for him to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

"Looks like I can only exchange them for cultivation methods."

After all, compared to treasures, cultivation methods and divine abilities were knowledge that could be carried into the next life. With that thought, Lu Yang immediately left his cave dwelling and headed for the Library Pavilion.

"Oh? It's you, kid?"

The old man at the Library Pavilion entrance actually remembered Lu Yang. Surprise appeared on his face. "You're here to exchange for cultivation methods again? Looks like you've struck it rich."

"May your auspicious words come true, Senior Brother."

Lu Yang cupped his hands, then entered the Library Pavilion. This time, his purpose was clear: he wanted a powerful divine ability specifically meant for staking one's life.

Very quickly, Lu Yang found his target.

"Life-Killing Curse: 300 Contribution Points."

This divine ability was highly unusual, resembling the Buddhist Closed-Mouth Zen. It required the practitioner to nurture a breath of killing intent in the chest, tempering it day and night with True Qi until it intertwined with one's life.

When it was not in use, one could speak normally. But when the time came, opening one's mouth and uttering "Kill!" would unleash the killing intent filling one's chest, wrapped around one's very life, in an instant. It would shake souls and scatter spirits, unstoppable wherever it went. Yet once that breath of killing intent had been vented, the user would die as well. It was truly a method that killed both oneself and the enemy.

"Not bad. It can kill others and kill myself too. Perfect for me!"

With the Hundred Lives Book in his possession, what Lu Yang feared most was not death, but being unable to die. The Hundred Lives Book could not be activated voluntarily; only his death could trigger it.

Thus, he badly needed a divine ability for suicide.

After exchanging for the cultivation method at the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang immediately sat cross-legged and began comprehending the art formula.

"The Life-Killing Curse stores qi in the chest. The most important part is this breath of killing intent. The higher its quality, the greater the Life-Killing Curse's power when it erupts."

"When Heaven gives rise to killing intent, stars shift and constellations change. When Earth gives rise to killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land. When man gives rise to killing intent, Heaven and Earth overturn. Thus, the killing intent under Heaven is divided into three kinds: Heavenly Slaughter, Earthly Slaughter, and Human Slaughter. Heavenly Slaughter and Earthly Slaughter are rarely encountered even once in a hundred years. Only Human Slaughter can be found everywhere, and among it, Blade Weapon Qi is of the highest grade."

Within the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang began refining killing intent.

"Fortunately, I already have the materials on hand."

Human Slaughter Qi was usually taken from weapons used by those who harbored killing intent. By sheer coincidence, he had kept the weapons wielded by the three black-clad men.

Lu Yang directly extracted the killing intent from them and refined it into his body bit by bit.

In an instant, Lu Yang felt as though a thousand blades were scraping his bones and slicing his flesh within his chest. The pain was unbearable, yet he still clamped his lips and teeth shut, not daring to open his mouth.

Because this was the critical moment of refinement. If he opened his mouth and the qi leaked out, he would certainly die on the spot!

Only after a long while did Lu Yang feel the killing intent in his chest gradually settle, completely connecting with his own True Qi. With but a thought, it could erupt.

"I wonder how powerful it is."

At that thought, anticipation immediately surfaced on Lu Yang's face. He decided that before dying in this life, he absolutely had to use the Life-Killing Curse once and see how powerful it was.

When he returned to the Library Pavilion entrance, Lu Yang unexpectedly found the old man there cursing at the top of his lungs.

"Damn bastard, that lucky piece of trash."

The old man held a disciple Token in his hands. His wrinkled hands trembled without stop, and his aged face twisted so badly that it was impossible to tell what emotion he was feeling.

Lu Yang walked over and asked curiously, "Senior Brother? What happened?"

"What happened?" The old man's eyes widened furiously. He viciously hurled the disciple Token onto the ground and sneered, "It's spread everywhere already. See for yourself."

Before his words had even faded, the old man lay back down in his rocking chair, looking as though he were sulking.

Lu Yang was utterly baffled. Only when he opened his own disciple Token and happened to see the latest news did he finally understand what had happened.

"The Merit Pool grand prize has finally found its winner!"

"The Colorful Merit Fish was drawn by newly initiated disciple Xiao Shiye. A True Person publicly awarded the one-billion grand prize. After claiming the prize, Xiao Shiye entered seclusion and vanished without a trace!"