When Song Wen saw the two yellow talismans Senior Brother Xu had taken out, his heart suddenly pounded a few times of its own accord.
The runes drawn upon those two talismans were something Song Wen had never seen before.
Yet he could sense a trace of majestic heavenly might upon them, as though they could restrain every evil and fiend beneath the heavens.
After seeing the two talismans, Song Wen felt the Corpse-Baleful Qi within him circulate somewhat sluggishly, as if it embarrassingly wanted to retreat of its own accord.
"What kind of talismans are these?" Song Wen asked in surprise.
Senior Brother Xu displayed the two yellow talismans for only an instant before putting them back into his storage pouch, looking as though he feared someone might see them, as if these two talismans should never have appeared on Corpse Demon Sect territory.
"Heavenly Thunder Talismans! First-rank high-grade."
Song Wen instantly understood why the other man had been so wary.
Heavenly thunder carried the majestic will of the Heavenly Dao and possessed tremendous killing power against evil things, and the same was true for cultivators of demonic and unorthodox paths.
Among righteous-path cultivators, the few who successfully cultivated lightning-element spells were the people demonic-path cultivators hated most.
Likewise, lightning-element talismans were extremely restraining toward demonic-path cultivators.
Song Wen was somewhat tempted. If used well, these two first-rank high-grade talismans could absolutely threaten Late Qi Refinement cultivators.
Senior Brother Xu saw Song Wen's interest and continued.
"These two talismans were obtained years ago after I killed a righteous-path cultivator. Although Heavenly Thunder Talismans are tremendously powerful and restrain demonic-path 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-path cultivators cannot use them. Because of the cultivation arts we practice, our spiritual power naturally carries the turbid qi of heaven and earth, making it impossible to activate Heavenly Thunder Talismans."
Senior Brother Xu sighed and continued. "That is why these two talismans have remained in my hands for so long. I neither sold them nor used them."
Song Wen was a regular customer, so Senior Brother Xu had not intended to swindle him.
After all, once Song Wen bought the talismans and tried using them, 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 Song Wen joined the Corpse Demon Sect and cultivated the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art, the Longevity Art had, for some unknown reason, not dispersed.
Ordinarily, a person could cultivate only one primary cultivation art. Only after advancing by an entire major realm could one switch to another cultivation art.
Someone like Song Wen, who cultivated both a demonic-path body-refinement art and an orthodox Daoist Qi Refinement art, was utterly unprecedented.
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, thanks 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 Qi Refining Third Layer and 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 rather useless Heavenly Thunder Talismans, Senior Brother Xu's spirits immediately rose.
"How about 100 Spirit Stones for both talismans?"
"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 demonic-path cultivators like us."
"Then how about eighty Spirit Stones? They are first-rank high-grade talismans, after all."
"Still too expensive. I can offer forty Spirit Stones at most. Keeping them in your hands only leaves you with two sheets of waste paper. You might as well sell them cheaply to this junior brother and exchange them for some Spirit Stones."
After some haggling, Song Wen bought the two talismans for fifty Spirit Stones.
Once the transaction was complete, Senior Brother Xu asked quietly.
"Junior Brother, are you going 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 other man knew he was about to leave to carry out a mission.
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Perhaps 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 must be completed by every disciple. For someone like you, Junior Brother, who likes to hole up in the sect for long periods and suddenly buys life-preserving items, you can only be preparing to go out and carry out a sect mission."
Song Wen's expression softened slightly, but he still did not understand what the other man meant by bringing up the sect mission on his own.
"Does Senior Brother Xu have any advice regarding the sect mission?"
Senior Brother Xu waved his hand and said.
"Not at all. Everyone's sect mission is different. How could I possibly advise you, Junior Brother? 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 seen that Song Wen was the sort of person who treasured his life immensely, someone who would never leave the sect as long as he could remain safely within it.
Thus, he intended to take this opportunity to sell Song Wen a few things.
"What is it? Take it out and let me have a look."
"Poison! Heaven-Burning Fire. A Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator will die upon contact. Qi Refining Stage cultivators at the seventh or eighth layer will suffer unbearable agony and have their strength greatly reduced if touched by it. Even Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators poisoned by it will feel as though they are being roasted over raging flames, and will find it exceedingly difficult to purge the poison for quite some time."
Song Wen's interest was immediately piqued. "Senior Brother actually has such a good 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 Qi Refining Ninth Layer not long ago. This poison no longer has much effect on me."
"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on advancing your cultivation another step. Foundation Establishment is now in sight."
Senior Brother Xu grinned broadly, clearly pleased by Song Wen's flattery.
"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 may not be able to afford the Spirit Stones."
"I have ten drops of Heaven-Burning Fire here in total. If Junior Brother lacks Spirit Stones, buying only one or two drops is fine as well."
"Senior Brother Xu, how do you intend to sell it?"
"One drop of Heaven-Burning Fire, twenty Spirit Stones."
"Too expensive. Although this poison is highly toxic, it must touch a cultivator's skin before it can poison them. Twenty Spirit Stones are enough to buy a first-rank mid-grade talisman." Song Wen bargained him down.
After another round of back-and-forth, Song Wen ultimately spent 120 Spirit Stones to buy all the Heaven-Burning Fire.
This made Senior Brother Xu look at 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 had actually spent such a large sum on poison he did not even know whether he would ever use.
It seemed that if he obtained any treasures for fleeing or ambushing others in the future, he could market them to this junior brother. This junior brother should be rather fond of such treasures.
Song Wen put away the jade bottle containing the Heaven-Burning Fire, bid 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 Bombs that posed little threat to Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivators, he returned to his cave dwelling.
Swift Movement Talismans were first-rank mid-grade talismans commonly used by Qi Refining cultivators when pursuing or fleeing. They could greatly increase a cultivator's speed.
After buying these things, Song Wen had spent nearly all the Spirit Stones he had saved up in recent days.
Song Wen was fairly satisfied with today's gains at the market, but there was still one thing he had failed to accomplish: finding Chen Yi.
He wanted to find Chen Yi in order to obtain some information about Seven-Colored Grass from her.
For this sect mission, aside from knowing that he was to take stock of the quantity and growth conditions of Seven-Colored Grass, he knew almost nothing else about it.
Since Chen Yi was in the spirit herb garden, obtaining information on Seven-Colored Grass should be quite easy for her.
Although Elder Shen would most likely provide some information on Seven-Colored Grass when Song Wen went to see him in three days, it was always best to have an extra preparation.
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