Hundred Shadow Cold Sword

Master Lei Yi's eyes widened as he demanded, "Do you really have the Great Yellow Elixir Formula?"

Yang Lingtian replied calmly, "Of course. If I can produce the Heavenly Spirit Elixir Formula, naturally I can produce the Great Yellow Elixir Formula as well."

Master Lei Yi pondered for a moment. Though not fully convinced, he figured it was better to believe than to miss out.

If he let this slip by, he might never get another chance like this.

So Master Lei Yi urged eagerly, "Quick, hand over the Great Yellow Elixir Formula."

Yang Lingtian's lips curled into a smile. "I can hand over the Great Yellow Elixir Formula, but we need to discuss the terms of cooperation first, don't we?"

To get his hands on the Great Yellow Elixir Formula, Master Lei Yi had no choice but to agree to negotiations.

Master Lei Yi's position in the True Elixir Pavilion of Tianchen City was second only to the Pavilion Master, so he had the authority to decide on matters of cooperation.

Thus, they began to hash out the details.

Soon, they reached an agreement and drafted a contract.

According to the contract, the True Elixir Pavilion would first pay Yang Lingtian 100,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Then, for the next year, they would pay 50,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones each month. After one year, the ownership of the Heavenly Spirit Elixir would transfer to the True Elixir Pavilion.

In other words, Yang Lingtian would earn 1.2 million Low-grade Spirit Stones from selling this formula.

For him, that was a fortune.

After all, the monthly allowance from his family was only 10,000 spirit stones.

And even those 10,000 stones—his predecessor had spent every last one each month.

He'd blown it all on drinking, eating, and having fun, never using it for cultivation.

Sometimes, after gambling at the casino, he'd even end up owing tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Yang Lingtian sighed. It made sense that his predecessor was called a wastrel and a good-for-nothing. No wonder others looked down on him.

Exchanging formulas for spirit stones was one way to obtain cultivation resources.

His mind held many more Tier 3 formulas, and he considered whether to trade a few more.

But then he thought again. In Tianchen City, pulling out one or two Tier 3 formulas was already shocking enough.

If he brought out more, it would inevitably draw too much attention.

His cultivation was still too low right now. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Of course, some trouble was unavoidable.

The open agreement was settled, but he and Master Lei Yi also had a secret pact.

This was about the Great Yellow Elixir Formula—something too many people shouldn't know about.

Yang Lingtian and Lei Yi reached another private deal.

Master Lei Yi would personally give Yang Lingtian 100,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones first, then another 300,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones three months later.

At that point, the Great Yellow Elixir Formula would be handed over to Master Lei Yi.

This meant Yang Lingtian could keep Master Lei Yi on a leash for three months.

In truth, Yang Lingtian could have directly refined the Great Yellow Elixir and traded that with Master Lei Yi instead.

But he didn't want to reveal that he was a Tier 3 Alchemist.

Master Lei Yi didn't think Yang Lingtian could refine pills either. He assumed the Chen Family had obtained these two Tier 3 formulas through some means.

Though it was startling that Yang Lingtian could produce two Tier 3 formulas at once.

Still, as one of the Four Great Families of Tianchen City, the Chen Family might stumble upon some lucky finds now and then.

So Master Lei Yi didn't dig deeper into why Yang Lingtian possessed formulas that the True Elixir Pavilion of Tianchen City didn't have.

Yang Lingtian walked out of the True Elixir Pavilion carrying a fortune of 200,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones and some necessary medicinal herbs.

The Onlookers who saw him emerge unscathed were both surprised and puzzled.

As soon as he stepped out the door, the system's voice rang in his mind.

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[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining a large amount of spirit stones for the first time, taking a step further on the path to becoming a powerhouse. As a reward, you have received the First-grade Artifact Refining Skill.]

Yang Lingtian was startled inwardly. He hadn't expected that acquiring spirit stones would come with a reward.

This was a huge surprise!

He'd just handed over the formulas not long ago, and now he was rewarded with an artifact refining skill. Was the system pushing him toward all-around development in virtue, wisdom, physique, aesthetics, and labor?

On top of that, the Chen Family had built their foundation on artifact refining, but aside from Chen Zhengqing, they only had one First-Rank Artifact Refiner left.

With this First-grade Artifact Refining Skill, he would definitely be able to help the Chen Family solve some problems in the future.

Just getting spirit stones had earned him a reward—he had no idea what the system's criteria were.

But one thing was certain: constantly growing stronger was his main quest.

As long as he stayed on the right path, the system would surely reward him at some turning point.

For now, he still needed to deal with the problem of his damaged meridians first.

So Yang Lingtian bought an ordinary Alchemy Furnace and returned to his room.

He planned to refine the Meridian-Renewing Elixir himself and repair his meridians as quickly as possible.

Although the Alchemy Furnace he used was of low grade, his Tier 3 Alchemy skill was more than enough to refine a Tier 2 pill.

This was his first time refining. Yang Lingtian carefully placed the medicinal herbs into the Alchemy Furnace, then lit the furnace fire.

The flames began to dance, and he started controlling the heat, letting the temperature rise slowly.

Once the temperature was stabilized at a certain level, he could gradually extract the essence of the herbs.

This process required extreme skill and experience. Relying on the alchemy mastery he had obtained, he slowly took command of the refining rhythm.

This kind of flame control was something even Master Lei Yi couldn't match.

After all, only a Tier 3 Alchemist could achieve it.

After a round of operations, the Meridian-Renewing Elixir was finally formed.

This was Yang Lingtian's first time refining a pill, and he succeeded one hundred percent on the first try.

He was ecstatic inside. The feeling of cheating was truly wonderful.

The alchemy skill the system had rewarded him with was incredible—it directly equaled decades or even centuries of bitter cultivation for other alchemists.

Whether in flame control or herb decomposition, Yang Lingtian handled it all with ease, without any difficulty.

Still immersed in joy, he immediately swallowed the Meridian-Renewing Elixir. A warm current flowed through his entire body.

His body seemed soothed by this warmth, and his damaged meridians slowly began to regain vitality.

Soon, his meridians had recovered to their original state, even stronger than before.

The repair of his meridians made him feel that the circulation of Spiritual Power within him had become effortless.

His perception of the world's spiritual energy grew sharper, which meant his absorption of that energy became faster.

"Hahaha, my meridians are finally restored. This is the first step toward becoming stronger." Yang Lingtian was wild with joy inside.

The moment his meridians recovered, the system's voice rang out again.

[Congratulations to Host for repairing your meridians and taking a further step on the path of the strong. As a reward, you receive the first layer of the sword art Hundred Shadow Cold Sword.]

[The first layer of Hundred Shadow Cold Sword is equivalent to a Yellow-grade Top-tier Martial Skill. It contains one hundred sword forms, each with extraordinary power.]

Thus, another sword art was added to Yang Lingtian's mind, filling him with delight once more.

"This is a Martial Skill. Most cultivators don't even encounter Martial Skills until the Golden Core Realm."

"Even the entire Chen Family only has my Foster Father, Chen Zhengqing, who has cultivated one Martial Skill—it's practically the clan's treasured heirloom."

"And this is just the first layer. There are probably second and third layers to come. The higher the layer, the greater the power must be."

Although the first layer of Hundred Shadow Cold Sword wasn't very high in grade, it was suitable for cultivation at the Qi Refining Stage.

After all, if the sword art's grade were too high, his own Spiritual Power would struggle to drive it, and he wouldn't be able to unleash its true might.

Hundred Shadow Cold Sword emphasized the perfect integration of Movement Technique and swordsmanship. Every strike required the flawless coordination of strength, speed, and precision.

Thus, it was an extremely difficult sword art to master. But if one succeeded, its power was immense.

Its strength lay in the ability to dodge attacks quickly and flexibly while countering enemies with swift, accurate strikes using the unique movements of Hundred Shadow Cold Sword.

Moreover, each strike was stronger than the last, and the final strike was Hundred Swords Convergence, with even greater power.

"Hundred Shadow Cold Sword, not bad. But I'll need a good sword to go with it."

Yang Lingtian picked up the ordinary longsword that didn't feel quite right in his hand, a bit disdainful.

It was just a common iron sword, without any special power.

The Chen Family itself was a weapon-forging clan, and their main business was crafting arms.

Most of what they sold were these ordinary weapons, primarily targeting Qi Refining Stage cultivators and mortals.

So he decided to forge a longsword suited to himself.

For now, though, he'd make do with this sword and try practicing Hundred Shadow Cold Sword.

The first step in practicing Hundred Shadow Cold Sword was mastering basic swordsmanship techniques.

This included the grip of the sword, its usage, and various fundamental attack and defensive stances.

Through repeated practice, the body could become familiar with these basic movements, making them smoother and more natural.

The second step was actually practicing the forms of Hundred Shadow Cold Sword. The art had one hundred forms, each one lethal.

The third step was to circulate Spiritual Power within the body, concentrating force onto the sword to unleash even greater power.

So Yang Lingtian kept drawing and swinging his sword, repeating the same motions over and over.

His feet traced highly rhythmic patterns on the ground. As his steps moved at high speed, his body shifted rapidly along with them.

The sword in his hand swung continuously, emitting bursts of cold light, leaving sword wind in its wake wherever it passed.

After half a day of training, he was ravenously hungry, so he decided to head to the kitchen for some food.

When he arrived at the kitchen, over a hundred workers were bustling about inside.

Yang Lingtian's arrival also caught their attention.

A servant jeered in a strange tone, "Hey there, isn't this the Chen Family's parasite, Young Master Yang?"

"This kitchen is a place for us lowly servants. How could your delicate body come to a place like this?"

"The family head has no idea why he'd keep an adopted son like you—completely useless trash."

Hearing this servant speak to him like that, the anger in his heart slowly kindled, and his face began to darken.

"It seems you don't know what respect is. A mere servant dares to speak so insolently—do you not understand the difference between high and low?"

Yang Lingtian said coldly, his voice like biting frost, chilling to the bone.

The servant was utterly unafraid and continued to mock, "Respect? A waste like you who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun—you know what respect is?"

In his eyes, Yang Lingtian was nothing but a piece of trash at Qi Refining Level 2.

And though he himself was a servant, his cultivation had reached Qi Refining Level 4, enough to crush him completely.

Besides, in their view, Yang Lingtian was just an adopted son—an outsider, plain and simple.

If not for the family head, Chen Zhengqing, shielding him, he would have been kicked out long ago.