Heaven-Burning Fire's Deadly Poison

Seeing the two yellow talismans Senior Brother Xu had produced, Song Wen's heart gave several violent, involuntary thumps.

The runes inscribed upon those two talismans were unlike anything Song Wen had ever seen.

Yet he could sense a trace of majestic heavenly might upon them, as though they could suppress every evil thing beneath heaven and earth.

The moment he saw the two talismans, Song Wen felt the corpse Baleful Intent circulating through his body become somewhat sluggish, as if it were shamefully trying to retreat of its own accord.

"What kind of talismans are these?" Song Wen asked in surprise.

Senior Brother Xu revealed the two yellow talismans for only an instant before stowing them back into his storage pouch, as though afraid someone might see them—as if these two talismans should never have appeared on Corpse Demon Sect territory.

"Heavenly Thunder Talismans! First-tier high-grade."

Song Wen instantly understood why the other man had been so guarded.

Heavenly thunder bore the magnificent will of the Heavenly Dao and dealt tremendous damage to evil things. The same was true for demonic and unorthodox cultivators.

Among righteous cultivators, the rare few who successfully cultivated lightning-attributed spells were the people demonic cultivators hated most.

Likewise, lightning talismans greatly restrained demonic cultivators.

Song Wen was tempted. If used well, these two first-tier high-grade talismans could absolutely threaten late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

Senior Brother Xu saw Song Wen's interest and continued.

"These two talismans came from a righteous cultivator I killed many years ago. Though Heavenly Thunder Talismans are immensely powerful and restrain demonic cultivators, they have one fatal flaw."

"What flaw?"

"Only the righteous qi of heaven and earth can activate these two talismans. In other words, we demonic cultivators cannot use them. Because of the cultivation arts we practice, our spiritual power naturally carries the turbid qi of heaven and earth, making us unable to activate Heavenly Thunder Talismans."

Senior Brother Xu sighed and continued. "That is why these two talismans have remained in my possession for so long. I neither sold them nor used them."

Song Wen was a regular customer, and Senior Brother Xu had no intention of cheating him.

After all, once Song Wen bought the talismans and tried them out, he would immediately discover that they could not be used.

They require the righteous qi of heaven and earth to activate! The Longevity Art is an orthodox Daoist cultivation art. Isn't the spiritual power it cultivates precisely the righteous qi of heaven and earth?

After joining the Corpse Demon Sect and cultivating the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art, Song Wen did not know why, but the Longevity Art had not dispersed.

Ordinarily, a person could cultivate only one primary cultivation art. Only upon advancing by an entire major realm could one switch to another art.

Someone like Song Wen, who cultivated both a demonic body-refinement art and an orthodox Daoist Qi Refinement art, was absolutely without precedent.

Even Song Wen himself had not figured out the reason. He could only attribute it all to his extraordinarily mysterious body.

Although Song Wen had not actively cultivated the Longevity Art over the past year, due to the abundant spiritual qi within the Corpse Demon Sect and his frequent use of spirit stones for cultivation, the Longevity Art's power had continued to grow slowly. It had now nearly reached the level of the third layer of Qi Refinement, which should be enough to activate the Heavenly Thunder Talismans.

"Senior Brother Xu, how much are these two talismans?" Song Wen asked.

Seeing that Song Wen actually wanted to buy the largely useless Heavenly Thunder Talismans, Senior Brother Xu perked up.

"How about one hundred spirit stones for both?"

"Too expensive." Song Wen shook his head. "They can only be activated with the righteous qi of heaven and earth, so they are of little use in the hands of us demonic cultivators."

"Then eighty spirit stones? They are first-tier high-grade talismans, after all."

"Still too expensive. I'll pay at most forty spirit stones. Kept in your hands, they are just two sheets of waste paper. You might as well sell them cheaply to your junior brother here and get some spirit stones."

After haggling back and forth, Song Wen bought the two talismans for fifty spirit stones.

Once the transaction was complete, Senior Brother Xu asked quietly.

"Junior Brother, are you heading out to carry out a sect mission?"

Song Wen's gaze sharpened as he stared coldly at the other man.

He did not understand how the man knew he was about to leave the sect on a mission.

Seeing the hostility in Song Wen's expression, Senior Brother Xu explained.

"Junior Brother, there is no need to be nervous. The annual sect mission is something every disciple must complete. For someone like you, Junior Brother, who likes to hole up in the sect for long stretches and never leave unless necessary, suddenly buying life-saving items can only mean you are going out to carry out a sect mission."

Song Wen's expression eased slightly, but he still did not understand what the other man intended by bringing up the sect mission.

"Does Senior Brother Xu have some advice regarding sect missions?"

Senior Brother Xu waved his hand.

"Not at all. Everyone's sect mission is different, so how could I possibly advise you? I do not even know what your mission is.

"However, I have something good here. I wonder whether Junior Brother would be interested."

Senior Brother Xu had also realized that Song Wen was the sort who cherished his life immensely—someone who would never leave the sect as long as he could stay hidden within it.

Therefore, he intended to take this opportunity to sell Song Wen a few things.

"What is it? Take it out and let me see."

"Poison! Heaven-Burning Fire. A mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator will die upon touching it. A cultivator at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refinement will suffer unbearable agony after coming into contact with it, their strength greatly diminished. Even a ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, once poisoned, will feel as though they are being roasted over raging flames and will find it difficult to purge the poison in a short time."

Song Wen immediately became interested. "Senior Brother actually possesses such a fine thing! Are you truly willing to sell it to me?"

Senior Brother Xu said, "As long as Junior Brother can afford the spirit stones, why would I not sell it? Besides, I advanced to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement not long ago. This poison is no longer very effective against me."

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on advancing your cultivation further. Foundation Establishment is now in sight."

Senior Brother Xu was quite pleased by Song Wen's flattery and grinned.

"Thank you for your auspicious words, Junior Brother. Do you still want the Heaven-Burning Fire?"

"Of course I want it, but I fear I cannot afford the spirit stones."

"I have ten drops of Heaven-Burning Fire in total. If Junior Brother does not have enough spirit stones, you may buy just one or two drops."

"Senior Brother Xu, how do you intend to sell it?"

"One drop of Heaven-Burning Fire for twenty spirit stones."

"Too expensive. Though this poison is potent, it must touch a cultivator's skin to poison them. Twenty spirit stones are enough to buy a first-tier mid-grade talisman." Song Wen pressed the price down.

After another round of bargaining, Song Wen ultimately spent one hundred and twenty spirit stones to purchase all the Heaven-Burning Fire.

This made Senior Brother Xu see Song Wen in a new light. He had not expected this seemingly ordinary junior brother to possess a modest fortune.

But this junior brother truly was afraid of death.

He was actually willing to spend such a hefty price on poison he did not even know whether he would ever use.

It seemed that if he acquired any treasures useful for fleeing or ambushing others in the future, he could recommend them to this junior brother. This junior brother would probably favor such treasures.

Song Wen put away the jade vial containing the Heaven-Burning Fire, bade Senior Brother Xu farewell, and left.

He made another round through the stall area but did not find Chen Yi. After buying five Flying Talismans, six Swift Movement Talismans, and ten Thunderclap Pellets that posed little threat to mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, he returned to his cave dwelling.

Swift Movement Talismans were first-tier mid-grade talismans commonly used by Qi Refinement cultivators in pursuits and escapes. They could greatly increase a cultivator's speed.

After purchasing these items, Song Wen had spent nearly all the spirit stones he had saved over recent days.

Song Wen was fairly satisfied with his gains at the market today, but there was still one matter he had failed to accomplish: finding Chen Yi.

His purpose in seeking Chen Yi was to obtain some information about Seven-Colored Grass from her.

For this sect mission, aside from knowing that he was to inspect the quantity and growth conditions of Seven-Colored Grass, he knew almost nothing about it.

Since Chen Yi was in the spirit herb garden, it should be easy enough for her to obtain information on Seven-Colored Grass.

Although Elder Shen from the alchemy hall would most likely provide some information on Seven-Colored Grass in three days, it was always good to have an extra preparation.