During his two years at the Cultivation Hall, Physician Li Tianliang had said that a toad's second Divine Ability was the Water Breath Technique.
Cultivators who gained a toad as their Spirit Companion could naturally awaken the toad's second Divine Ability by immersing themselves in water for a long time.
However, toads also had a hidden Divine Ability that the Li Family cultivators knew nothing about. After all, the Li Clan had only just joined the Five Poisons Sect. Its foundations in Poison Cultivation were shallow, and it knew nothing of the secrets involved.
Through reading miscellaneous books, Li Shuidao had learned of an exceptionally powerful Divine Ability called the Wind Catching Eye. The book hadn't explained how to acquire the Wind Catching Eye, nor which Spirit Companion it corresponded to; it had only described the Divine Ability's power.
But with the scientific knowledge he'd accumulated in his previous life, he immediately thought of the toad's hunting talent: dynamic vision.
A toad could strike down a mosquito or fly darting through the pitch-black night with a single blow, all thanks to its signature skill—the hidden Divine Ability, the Wind Catching Eye.
The first Divine Ability of Five Poisons Sect cultivators was always a deadly poison ability. During the Spirit Awakening Early-stage, they could often awaken a second Divine Ability and thereby increase their combat strength. Only a tiny few could awaken a hidden third Divine Ability.
At the Spirit Channeling Realm Middle-stage, cultivators developed Mana and could use it to practice all kinds of Daoist arts. There was no longer any need to awaken their Spirit Companion's Divine Ability by sensing their Spirit Companion.
Following the method of practicing with a Flying Knife to awaken the Scorpion's Tail Stinger, then, acquiring the Wind Catching Eye should involve imitating a toad's hunting habits: using sword-thrusting techniques to mimic the way it shot out its tongue to catch insects, and practicing over and over until the ability awakened naturally.
Thus, a powerful thrusting sword was exactly what Li Shuidao needed right now.
The black sword at the street stall was clearly no ordinary item. Li Shuidao admired it, his heart burning with desire. Just as he was about to ask the price, a middle-aged cultivator beat him to it. "What kind of sword is this? It looks pretty impressive."
The vendor slowly lifted his head. "A Mid-grade magic artifact, the Black Lotus Demon Sword. Five hundred spirit stones. Take it if you want it."
Spirit stones!?
At that price, Li Shuidao's face twitched. This wasn't something he could even dream of buying.
Spirit stones were the universal currency of the Tianyuan Cultivation Continent. The thirty Jade Coins in Li Shuidao's possession, however, had been issued by the Five Poisons Sect of Black Mountain and circulated only around Black Mountain. In other regions, they were as worthless as scraps of paper.
And around Black Mountain, it took one hundred and twenty Jade Coins to exchange for a single spirit stone.
Five hundred spirit stones came to sixty thousand Jade Coins.
It was a fine item, but the price was just as impressive.
Li Shuidao could only turn his attention elsewhere.
That Black Lotus Demon Sword wasn't right for him!
The outrageous price aside, it looked far too cool. If he took that sword, he'd practically be asking for death.
Li Shuidao soon spotted another fine sword.
Its blade gleamed silver and was exceptionally sharp.
"Can I try it out?" Li Shuidao asked.
"Go ahead!" the vendor replied, then turned and walked away.
Li Shuidao picked up the sword and swung it a few times with ease. It felt a little heavy.
A heavy sword might be sturdy, but that didn't necessarily make it suitable for practicing a Divine Ability.
"How much for this sword?"
"One hundred Jade Coins." The vendor held up a single finger.
"One hundred Jade Coins? You're asking that much for an ordinary weapon?" Li Shuidao shook his head.
"This sword can slice through iron like mud! Eighty Jade Coins. You want it or not?"
"No!"
"Fifty Jade Coins!"
"Still no!"
"Then name your price!" the vendor cried impatiently.
"This sword's too heavy. It's not right for me." Li Shuidao put down the slender sword and headed for another stall.
He browsed several more stalls. Even before considering the prices, none of the swords themselves suited his tastes.
In front of a blood-soaked stall, a burly man with a full beard stood watch over his wares.
"Boss, what are you selling?"
"Can't you tell? The meat of demonic beasts," the butcher explained.
"How much for the meat?" a customer asked.
"Ten Jade Coins per pound."
"The meat's yellowed, and all its Spiritual Energy has dissipated. You still dare ask ten Jade Coins per pound?"
"No haggling. Buy it or get lost!" the burly man said coldly.
The customer had been rebuffed and could only flick his sleeve and leave.
A boy of fourteen or fifteen came to stand in front of the meat stall.
He crouched down and poked the meat with a finger. "What kind of meat is this?"
"Second-tier mud dragon meat," the burly man replied tersely.
Li Shuidao sniffed it carefully. It did indeed stink. It had spoiled.
A mud dragon.
A beast of the earth element.
Earth generated metal, and metal generated water.
It was just right for him.
"It's definitely gone bad. Could you lower the price?" Li Shuidao asked with a deep frown and a sigh.
"How much do you want?" Seeing that Li Shuidao was polite, the burly man was just as accommodating.
"How about thirty Jade Coins for all the meat on this stall?" Li Shuidao estimated that there were about five pounds of mud dragon meat. He'd offered all the money he had.
The burly man gave Li Shuidao a surprised glance and thought for a moment before saying, "I've also got a mud dragon hide in pretty good condition. Only twenty spirit stones."
"No, I only want the meat," Li Shuidao said.
"All right. But this meat really is spoiled and rotten. You're getting a bad deal for thirty Jade Coins."
"Could I trouble you to give me this bamboo sword?" Li Shuidao pointed at a long, sharpened sliver of bamboo on the stall.
"What do you want that for?" the burly man asked curiously.
"To make a sword," Li Shuidao answered honestly.
"Haha... A bamboo sword?"
"Exactly," Li Shuidao replied honestly.
The burly man pulled the blood-soaked strip of bamboo from the meat and wiped the blood from it with his fingers. "This is green bamboo from Mount Leng. I shaped it myself on a whim. It's tough and incredibly sharp, but it's only fit for skewering meat. It can't be used as a weapon. Do you know why?"
"Because metal overcomes wood in the Five Elements. If you make a sword from bamboo, even an ordinary weapon could chop it in half," Li Shuidao explained.
"If you know that, why make a sword from bamboo?"
"I only mean to use it for practicing sword techniques. I've never planned to fight anyone with it," Li Shuidao continued.
"Practice sword techniques? It's far too light. If you want to practice, you should use a heavy sword. You won't get anywhere practicing with a light one," the burly man said with a laugh.
"Thank you for the advice, sir. I have my reasons for wanting the bamboo sword."
"Fine! If you want it, you can have it." The burly man gripped the bamboo sword and gave it a flourish, then precisely pierced every piece of mud dragon meat on the stall.
The move was so deft that Li Shuidao's eyes lit up.
They exchanged money for goods.
"You're still young and weak. This bamboo sword might actually suit you. But once your cultivation reaches my level, you won't get the slightest feel for swordsmanship holding something this light."
"Thank you for the advice, sir," Li Shuidao said politely.
The burly man nodded, then took a complete mud dragon hide from his Storage Bag, laid it out on the stall, and got back to business.
What the burly man was really selling wasn't meat or hide. He was selling the mud dragon's Demon Core, and only to those who knew what they were looking at. The meat and hide were merely window dressing.
A short while later...
With several large chunks of expired mud dragon meat skewered on a bamboo sword, Li Shuidao arrived at the stone platform by the river bend with Li Shuilang to meet Senior Sister Jiang Xue.
Seeing Li Shuidao return carrying a huge pile of rotten meat, Jiang Xue immediately scolded him. "You fool! You got swindled, didn't you? If you want to feed your Spirit Companion with demonic beast meat as a Spiritual Object, it has to be fresh. Rotten meat like this has no Spiritual Energy left and is worthless!"
Before you continue