Joy Peak.
After these days of recuperation, Liu Mei's injuries had nearly healed completely.
"Without the Tiger King Cone, let's see what you can use to fight me this time!"
Inside the quiet room, Liu Mei was brimming with killing intent. She completely ignored Lin Zhi Shan, whose cultivation was higher than hers.
No matter what, Lin Zhi Shan was an alchemist. He had enjoyed a life of luxury all these years, and when it came to combat, he was already far inferior to his younger self.
A maid shook a bell and waited quietly.
"A-He, what is it?"
"Reporting to my mistress, Shopkeeper Huang of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion sent someone over with a letter for you."
The maid respectfully presented her with a letter.
"..."
"Lin Zhi Shan has already left the sect. His disciple Su Hao has some ties with our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. We hope Fairy Liu will spare him."
Only after a long passage of polite flattery did the letter explain its purpose.
After Liu Mei finished reading, the letter in her hand burst into flames and turned to ash.
"Lin Zhi Shan already fled? Damn that dog... I should have found some senior brothers to deal with him earlier!"
Liu Mei was enraged and humiliated.
She had originally planned to take revenge with her own hands. Coupled with the rumors circulating in the sect, she had disliked asking men for help.
She had calculated everything, yet never expected Lin Zhi Shan not to seek help from the higher-ups or have an intermediary plead for him. Instead, he had simply fled!
"Su Hao?"
Liu Mei murmured the name, almost forgetting this little nobody.
"Since Lin Zhi Shan didn't take Su Hao with him, he definitely didn't take those medicine slaves either."
"I'll absorb the essence of those medicine slaves first and recover some of my losses!"
Her eyes flickered. "As for Su Hao, I'll deal with him last!"
What did she care about showing someone a little consideration? A mere Shopkeeper Huang from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion—what kind of face could he possibly have?
"If Senior Brother Qian from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion came personally to plead for him, I might spare Su Hao. Huang Shanyu? He isn't qualified!"
Liu Mei let out a cold laugh.
The so-called Senior Brother Qian was the behind-the-scenes owner of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
As for everyone else, there was no chance she would show mercy just because they came to ask!
After leaving the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, Su Hao made a trip around the Scripture Repository. He spent 20 Spiritual Energy stones and obtained the Soul Refining Method for the Soul Refining Banner from Zhang Ming, the Scripture Repository's steward.
This kind of artifact was extremely special. It required someone to refine souls into the artifact manually.
The technique was very simple, and Su Hao mastered it in moments.
"Zhao Bai Jiang really is useless. He couldn't even get cultivators' souls, so he stuffed more than a dozen mortal souls in as filler. What kind of power could that have?"
From Zhang Ming, Su Hao also learned which places made it easier to obtain souls.
For example, the Life and Death Arena. Several disciples died there every day.
However, competition in that place was fierce, and quite a few disciples with Soul Refining Banners kept watch there.
As for other places, such as the Flame Iron Ore Vein and the Ten Thousand Corpse Pit, many people died there, so there were plenty of wandering souls and ghosts. Alternatively, one could sneak there, kill fellow sect brothers and sisters, and refine their souls.
"An inferior-grade Soul Refining Banner can contain one hundred souls. Each soul retains ten percent of the strength it had in life, so it's also called the Hundred Soul Banner.
Once the Hundred Soul Banner artifact reaches perfection, with a hundred souls flying together, it will be rare to find an opponent even among the Outer Sect."
Su Hao's eyes flickered.
This method was one of the fastest and most brutal techniques available, and the most numerous artifact among the Golden Light Sect's Outer Sect.
Even those with extraordinary talent had to look up helplessly when faced with such a crude and brutal method.
Moreover, this artifact suited him rather well. That way, he would not only absorb other people's talents, but also avoid wasting their souls.
He had heard there was also a Corpse Refining Method that could turn cultivators' corpses into puppets.
If he could obtain that as well, then talents, souls, and corpses would all be put to full use. It would be perfect!
Su Hao secretly considered various auxiliary methods to rapidly increase his strength.
His main cultivation was the Sword Path, but that did not mean he had to abandon artifacts and spells.
Low-level cultivators could easily multiply their combat strength by relying on external forces.
The journey back to Heavenly Medicine Mountain was somewhat long. Mainly because he had no flying artifact, he had to detour around three mountain peaks and travel more than ten li before reaching Heavenly Medicine Mountain.
"The Crimson Flame Sword Art records a sword-riding technique, but it has requirements for the sword's grade. The sword must at least be a mid-grade artifact.
"If the Soul Refining Banner has more than fifty souls, it can be used for flight."
Su Hao watched as two streaks of Spiritual Energy crossed the sky like shooting stars. The two figures seemed to be using some kind of aerial technique to fly.
A flying artifact from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion cost 300 Spiritual Energy stones per piece. Aerial techniques were much cheaper; low-level ones only cost twenty or thirty Spiritual Energy stones.
Su Hao failed to notice that the two streaks of Spiritual Energy had turned back. They circled above him several times before descending to the ground.
A male and female disciple, both beaming, blocked his path.
The woman had the distinctive style of a female cultivator from Joy Peak.
The man was short and fat, with the appearance of Maitreya Buddha, his large belly exposed.
Both looked to be in their thirties.
However, cultivators generally looked young.
Although they appeared to be in their thirties, they might actually be older.
"Junior Brother, why are you taking the road through Tiger Fall Cliff? It's dangerous here." The woman's voice was coquettish as she sized up Su Hao.
The short, fat man smiled without saying anything.
"Tiger Fall Cliff?" Su Hao looked at the perilous mountain road. He had never heard of Tiger Fall Cliff.
Name: Zhang Jiaojiao Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 5 Talent: Fire Spirit Body (White) Fire Spirit Body: Affinity with fire Spiritual Energy, granting a slight increase in comprehension and cultivation efficiency in metal-element cultivation methods and metal-element spells. Name: Chen Yifeng Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 5 Talent: Martial Artist (Gray), Talent for the Sword Path (White) Martial Artist: Instinct formed from twenty years of martial arts foundation and combat, granting a slight boost to combat awareness and reaction speed. Talent for the Sword Path: A certain degree of talent in the Sword Path.
"Hahaha, an Outer Sect Disciple who's never heard of Tiger Fall Cliff? It seems Junior Brother doesn't usually interact much with the sect's senior brothers and sisters."
Zhang Jiaojiao blinked her seductive eyes.
Su Hao frowned.
"Forget it. Let's formally introduce ourselves. I'm Zhang Jiaojiao."
"I'm Chen Yifeng."
"Tiger Fall Cliff is a notorious place of danger in the Outer Sect. The Yin energy here is heavy and affects divine sense. Combined with the dense trees that keep the place gloomy all day, it's an excellent spot for killing people and abandoning corpses.
"Newcomers who don't know better often come here, only to be ambushed and tricked. Their corpses are thrown into the bottom of the cliff, leaving them dead without an intact body. There are many vicious beasts from Death Peak lurking below, so even the trouble of destroying the corpses can be spared."
The two introduced themselves one after the other and moved closer, faintly forming a pincer on both sides.
"However, you're lucky to have encountered the two of us. We love making friends. Competition within the sect is fierce, and low-level cultivators like us can only band together to seek a path to survival," Chen Yifeng said.
"May I ask Junior Brother's name? You look unfamiliar. Which peak are you a disciple of?" Zhang Jiaojiao asked. "Do you have a master?"
"So this place is really dangerous. Thank you for warning me, Senior Sister and Senior Brother. I'll leave right away."
Su Hao had already sensed that the two had ill intentions.
"Junior Brother, are you looking down on us?" Chen Yifeng snorted unhappily.
Zhang Jiaojiao grew even more aggrieved. "We kindly warned you, yet you won't even tell us your household? You should know that when low-level cultivators like us face someone stronger, the first rule of survival is knowing how to invoke an intimidating backing—for example, claiming to know a certain senior brother or to have a close relationship with some powerful figure, then using that connection to climb the ladder and flaunt your background!"
"With a senior backing you, ill-intentioned people will hesitate like a rat before a cat and abandon their wicked thoughts," Chen Yifeng said darkly.
Su Hao was somewhat helpless. He spread his hands. "I'm Su Hao from Heavenly Medicine Mountain. My master is Lin Zhi Shan."
"Huh? Lin Zhi Shan!" Zhang Jiaojiao and Chen Yifeng exchanged a glance, finding it difficult to believe. "Really? What proof do you have? Show us your identity token."
"If I don't prove my identity, are the two of you going to kill me?" Su Hao's eyes flickered. After confirming that there was no one else nearby, he wondered if Tiger Fall Cliff really was a good place for murder.
"So what if we are? After all, you're only at Qi Refining Level 3!" Zhang Jiaojiao's smile vanished. With a single look, she and Chen Yifeng reached a tacit decision.
"Sigh..."
Su Hao let out a long sigh and pulled the Golden Rock Sword from his storage bag.
The two were stunned again. Staring at the sword in Su Hao's hand, they could tell at a glance that it could not even be considered an artifact. Then they burst out laughing. "You don't even have an artifact. You're holding a mere unfinished blade, yet you still want to make the first move?"
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