Magic Tools! Secret Arts! Challenge! Going to Die! Fourth Life Complete!! [Seeking Recommendation Tickets!]

"It's been over a decade, and the markets here are getting more impressive."

Zhao Xiaoshuang returned, filled with emotion.

She had last visited Ghost Mother Mountain with Qian Yu thirteen years ago. At the time, both had just advanced to True Essence, and they had seen many new things on their journey. The bustling markets around Ghost Mother Mountain had opened their eyes even further.

This time, after only thirteen years, she noticed many novelties and changes. In comparison, the thirty thousand li territory under Tianlin Cave seemed a bit dull, unchanging year-round.

"Most of the rogue cultivators gathered at Ghost Mother Mountain are those who don't want to be bound, who yearn for freedom, and dare to venture and fight."

"Most True Essence and True Qi cultivators in Tianlin Cave are within the villages. The herders have their skills, but in terms of cultivation, temperament, and methods, they are mostly inferior to those at Ghost Mother Mountain."

Meng Nan had stayed in both places and knew the differences best.

For rogue cultivators, venturing and cultivating at Ghost Mother Mountain, although more perilous, offered a far greater hope of achieving Qi Refining than staying in regions like Tianlin Cave.

"Once the city construction is complete, we'll set up a market there too."

Meng Nan said this, and indeed, he had this idea in mind.

Tianlin Cave.

Ghost Mother Mountain.

Then break out and see a vaster world.

"Not just Ghost Mother Mountain, I must venture out and see in my lifetime."

"Beyond Chashan and Ghost Mother Mountain, it must be even more exciting!"

Zhao Xiaoshuang's thoughts aligned with his.

Zhao Xiaoshuang in this life was increasingly capable, heroic, and spirited. She traveled back and forth, often dusty from her journeys, yet her energy remained high, as if she had an endless supply.

She excitedly told Meng Nan about the various sights she had seen during her three-year round trip, and she yearned for the world beyond this small corner.

They chatted for a while.

Zhao Xiaoshuang then returned to the main topic: "The spoils from this trip are all here."

When she went with Xu Rong and the others, over twenty Inner Qi and True Qi cultivators accompanied them, each carrying a full load of building materials.

Upon their return.

There was only a palm-sized cloth bag.

"This is—"

Meng Nan's expression shifted. He took it in his hand and circulated his True Essence, sensing a spatial dimension that could be round or square, changing at will. Inside were piles of Spirit Sand, many bottles and jars, and several jade slips.

Spirit Sand.

Pills.

Cultivation methods.

Sorcery.

Everything was covered.

Even the cloth bag in Meng Nan's hand was a remarkable artifact called a 'Storage Bag'. It was rarely seen and was a practical artifact for those below Immortal Masters, a rare find. It opened up a small space within to hold miscellaneous items.

This Storage Bag had an internal space of about one cubic meter, perfect for storing precious and small items like Spirit Sand, pills, and jade slips.

"When I went with Xu Rong to 'Jinhua Market', they happened to be holding an auction. One of the final items was this Storage Bag, which I acquired for three catties and seven taels of Spirit Sand."

Three catties and seven taels of Spirit Sand!

Converted to gold, that would be three million seven hundred thousand taels.

However, while Spirit Sand could easily be exchanged for gold, the reverse was difficult.

In his third life, over ten True Essence cultivators and hundreds of True Qi cultivators managed a large market in Qingtian Market, but in a year, not counting gold, they only earned about seven or eight taels of Spirit Sand.

More than half of this came from a Spirit Sand mine beneath the Qingtian Market on Qingtian Mountain.

This showed how hard Spirit Sand was to earn.

This single Storage Bag was equivalent to four to five years of Spirit Sand income for Qingtian Market, truly valuable.

Of course.

It also showed the extent of Meng Nan's corruption!

However, an artifact like a Storage Bag couldn't kill enemies, defend, or speed up travel. It only had the function of storage. While it was useful in some ways, it was also useless in others.

But Meng Nan and the others would frequently need to fence stolen goods, and having such a Storage Bag was undoubtedly excellent.

Three to four catties of Spirit Sand.

Not a loss.

And the spoils from this trip were not limited to the Storage Bag.

Spirit Sand, pills, cultivation methods, sorcery, pill recipes, artifact refining techniques.

In summary, they had profited greatly.

"There's nothing else worth mentioning."

"However, one of the jade slips recorded a method for refining a magical artifact called the 'Soul Banner'. I took a casual look, and the materials required were too difficult to find, with extremely harsh conditions. I doubt it'll be useful."

"But didn't you want this kind of thing? So I brought it back for you."

"Many of those items were bartered, and it took a lot of back and forth to get Spirit Sand. We were in a hurry, so we took some losses in the process. But as you said, we didn't haggle over them."

"It was easy to get anyway."

Zhao Xiaoshuang chuckled.

This trip broadened her horizons, and she had a chance to show off her wealth. She was also targeted and had to fight a good battle.

It was exhilarating.

She felt utterly satisfied.

The other minor details didn't matter.

"Soul Banner."

Meng Nan's heart stirred. He took out a jade slip and placed it against his brow.

After a while.

He opened his eyes, surprise and joy evident within them.

This 'Soul Banner' was a type of evil magical artifact. Once refined, it could capture souls and forge them into ghosts and Sha, aiding the user in battle.

If successfully refined, its power would be immense.

If it could hide ten or even a hundred honored soul Sha within, each with a combat power no less than True Essence, the destructive potential was unimaginable.

But it was too difficult.

Refining it was difficult—

Difficult due to the materials and techniques.

Materials were hard to find.

Techniques were hard to learn.

Only a master craftsman who had personally refined it with absolute mastery of the craft had even a slight chance of success.

Attempting it externally was pure waste.

And this was only the first hurdle.

The second difficulty lay in cultivating the honored soul Sha.

From the quality of the souls captured, to the techniques and secrets involved, to the feeding and nurturing of the honored soul Sha.

All these aspects presented too many obstacles.

Finally, one had to guard against the backlash from the honored souls within.

"This is truly not easy!"

"If this 'Soul Banner' is successfully refined, its power might not be much less than the 'Giant Spirit God' secret technique."

"But its difficulty is no less than the 'Giant Spirit God' either!"

Meng Nan shook his head.

To gain corresponding strength, one had to put in corresponding effort.

Secret techniques were like this.

Magical artifacts were also like this.

"In short, it's not easy."

"In Tianlin Cave, perhaps only Zhu Keda could refine it."

Zhao Xiaoshuang shook her head.

She didn't think much of this magical artifact.

With the same time and energy, it would be better to further improve the 'Giant Spirit God' secret technique; the increase in strength would be much more direct.

Soul Banner?

Too ethereal!

"No rush."

Meng Nan was still very happy and put away the jade slip.

Time flowed by.

Three years passed, and he returned.

The year after his return, Zhao Xiaoshuang couldn't sit still again and led another team out, traveling to Ghost Mother Mountain.

Meng Nan, however, continued his arduous cultivation.

With the resources he had embezzled continuously supporting him, his cultivation speed was extremely fast.

Water Realm.

Silver Mirror.

Plate Realm.

In just four years, Meng Nan had finished cultivating 'True Qi Qi Accumulation'.

And then--

Muscle Refining.

Tendon Refining.

Skin Refining.

Bone Refining.

With the help of Spirit Sand and elixirs, one level per year.

Time flew to the ninth year of his fourth life, and he had already begun refining his internal organs.

At this point, Meng Nan's muscles were firm and full, his reactions quick; his tendons and fascia were strong and elastic, his explosive power fierce, and his body agile; his skin was tough, greatly increasing his resistance to blows; his bones were hard, his piercing power formidable, making him more agile and even more resistant to blows, his bones refined like steel.

Even without the aid of internal energy or True Qi, Meng Nan's physical body alone could now crush the vast majority of internal energy users.

This was a transformation of the body.

It was also a small step from mortal to immortal.

When it came to the internal organs, which involved the viscera, the cultivation speed slowed down again.

Meng Nan was unhurried, meticulously studying every detail.

As he reached True Qi Body Cleansing, his lifespan in the future timeline increased once more, to 10 years.

He still had nearly two years left to refine his internal organs.

If he succeeded, followed by blood replacement and marrow cleansing, his True Qi Stage would be considered complete.

However, judging by the progress, that seemed unlikely.

But that was alright.

Aside from his cultivation, Meng Nan had also put immense effort into the 'Giant Spirit God' secret technique.

In the first six years of this life, plus the six years of his third life, he had successfully constructed the thirty levels of the 'Giant Spirit God' Qi Circulation Diagram.

Then, he greedily absorbed spiritual energy and Spirit Sand.

Another four years passed.

This secret technique had achieved initial success.

"Boom!"

On Five Cloud Peak, an explosion of energy roared.

Meng Nan swayed, and his body immediately transformed, growing to a height of thirty feet. His appearance was similar to Meng Nan's, clad in patterned armor that shone with divine light, looking incredibly imposing.

Punching and kicking.

Forming hand seals.

Everything was executed with perfect timing and greatly increased in power, boosting Meng Nan's strength by more than one level!

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Meng Nan kicked Xu Rong over and pushed Qian Yu away with a palm strike.

Even as their lightning magic and bladed weapons struck him, the divine light washed over him, rendering them useless.

He formed another hand seal and pointed his finger at the void, tapping it repeatedly--

Rumble!

Two thunderous booms, lightning like snakes.

This was 'Palm Thunder' advancing to 'Five Thunder Technique'. It was personally taught by an Immortal Master, and the highest attainment allowed one to command five thunders. Meng Nan could currently only command two, but amplified and magnified by the 'Giant Spirit God' enhancement, they directly forced Xu Rong to retreat repeatedly and made Qian Yu raise her shield to block.

A fierce battle ensued.

Finally, Meng Nan understood the power of this secret technique.

At this point, his True Qi was also depleted, and his body was under immense pressure, making it difficult to continue.

"That's enough for now."

Meng Nan stopped.

With a sway, he returned to his original form.

"Junior Brother, this secret technique is truly incredible!"

Although this wasn't the first time Qian Yu had seen Meng Nan or Zhao Xiaoshuang use the 'Giant Spirit God' secret technique, she couldn't help but marvel every time.

For example, this time.

Meng Nan was only at the peak of True Qi, but with this 'Giant Spirit God' secret art mastered, he could actually contend with someone like her, at the peak of True Essence, without being at a disadvantage at all.

It was simply unbelievable!

Beside him.

Xu Rong was also amazed.

With such a secret art, it was no wonder their teacher was invincible among those in the True Essence Stage back then.

Thinking back to a few years ago when he accompanied his master's wife, Zhao Xiaoshuang, to Ghost Mother Mountain, he had also seen his master's wife use this technique, and its power was even more astonishing—

She could defeat and kill over ten True Essence cultivators who attacked her, one by one.

And with the technique of spitting Blood Arrows, it was most difficult to defend against, making killing people effortless.

Hardly anyone could withstand even a single move!

"It's indeed powerful."

"But the cost of cultivation is high, and the cost of using it in battle is also high."

After sixteen years of effort, Meng Nan finally truly mastered the 'Giant Spirit God' secret art. Now that he had personally tested it, he knew how monstrous this secret art was.

Setting aside combat power.

Just talking about the consumption—

The initial thirty layers of construction required the consumption of fourteen catties and four taels of Spirit Sand to truly get started and form the initial Giant Spirit body.

True Qi, True Essence!

Over ten catties of Spirit Sand?

Even a hundred True Essence cultivators would struggle to gather that much!

Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang only managed to cultivate this secret art by first traversing all eight cities of Tianlin Cave and mining all the Spirit Sand veins.

There were many hardships during the process, and the investment was immense.

In fact, over the years, they hadn't even been able to support a third person capable of cultivating this secret art.

Difficult, difficult, difficult!

Truly difficult!

However—

It was undeniably strong!

"With this secret art, I will sweep through the True Qi and True Essence stages, finding few opponents!"

As the words of emotion and ambition faded.

Several days later.

Meng Nan was cultivating in his manor.

Suddenly.

He felt something was amiss. He opened his eyes and saw a person standing before him, holding a sword.

"Hiss!"

Meng Nan's heart leaped in alarm. He quickly got up, cupped his hands towards the person, and respectfully said, "Meng Nan of Chashan, greetings, senior."

There was a formation on Angming Mountain, and his manor was protected by a nine-layered interlocking formation, along with True Essence guards.

Under such circumstances, for this person to enter his cultivation chamber so silently meant they were no ordinary individual; they were likely already in the Qi Refining stage.

Calling them 'senior' and acting humbly was not shameful.

"They say you are at the peak of True Essence, yet your cultivation is only at True Qi?"

Lü Shiwu frowned slightly, displeased, and sized up Meng Nan. "Show me your secret art."

"Yes."

Meng Nan was honest and extremely obedient.

He immediately walked out of the quiet room, swayed, his body expanding to thirty feet, surrounded by divine light.

As soon as he performed the technique.

The person flicked a finger, and a sword qi shot out. With a clang, Meng Nan seemed to deflate, rapidly weakening. His Giant Spirit body quickly dissipated, and he returned to his human form.

He feigned shock on his face and exclaimed, "Senior is mighty!"

"Bullshit!"

"Wasting my time!"

Lü Shiwu was disgusted and cursed.

Then, his figure flickered.

dissipated with a gust of wind, already long gone.

"This person—"

Meng Nan walked back into the quiet room, his smiling face gone.

Everything had happened too suddenly earlier for him to think it through. Now, recalling it, that person's cultivation shouldn't have been above Qi Refining, and there were still faint True Essence fluctuations on them.

"True Essence."

"Could it be they heard of my great reputation and came specifically to challenge me?"

At this thought.

And then recalling the few words and the demeanor of that person just now, Meng Nan became even more certain. His guess was likely eight or nine parts correct.

"This person thought I was very powerful and came to challenge me, but then discovered I was a good-for-nothing, and left disappointed and dejected."

That made sense.

"Heh!"

"What a situation!"

Meng Nan chuckled dryly.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Thinking no further, he continued his cultivation.

One month later.

Meng Nan made arrangements for his affairs, sending Zhao Xiaoshuang, Qian Yu, and the others away.

And then—

"Angming City is complete, I have no regrets!"

In broad daylight, he calmly faced death.

The fourth life thus concluded.

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