Inventory of Gains and Clues

"Lying to you? I really didn't make a move. You ran into my sword and died yourself—how can you blame me for that?" Su Shi'er said expressionlessly.

This guy had intended to kill him from the very start. Moreover, his cultivation was far superior. If he actually let him go, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains.

He was tempted by the Cinnabar Fruit, but he hadn't lost his head.

Saying so much to the other party was nothing more than making him completely let down his guard. For Su Shi'er, saving a bit more energy also meant having more strength to face any crisis that might arise at any moment.

"Ah! You... you bastard! You'll die a horrible death!" the Youth in Silk Scarf shouted hysterically, blood gushing from his mouth.

In the span of a few breaths, he lay flat on his back, his life force nearly drained, his entire body incredibly weak. His unfocused gaze fell on Su Shi'er, and he began to beg again, "Please! Please save me! I don't want to die! I still want to reach the Great Dao..."

But whether he cursed or begged, Su Shi'er stood coldly by, paying him no heed.

A few minutes later, the Youth in Silk Scarf lay motionless on the ground, no longer breathing, his eyes wide open in a stare of eternal grievance.

Su Shi'er drew the White Mist Sword and, from a distance, stabbed a few more times to confirm the man was thoroughly dead. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, sheathe his sword, and walk forward.

He was really dead! Su Shi'er stood there, somewhat dazed. After all, this was his first time killing a person. Besides the relief of surviving a disaster, there was also an empty feeling in his heart.

However, over the past few years, the number of demon beasts he had killed was countless, and his will was extremely tough.

He was only lost in thought for a moment before snapping back to clarity. He picked up all the useful items from the body and the ground, then tossed out a Fireball to burn the corpse to ashes. Carrying the things, he hurried away.

Although this place was remote, the commotion from the fight had been considerable, and he was afraid someone might come.

If he were discovered, he'd be dead for sure.

Fighting between disciples of the same sect was a major taboo, and killing a fellow disciple was a capital offense.

Half an hour later, Su Shi'er returned to his residence.

After silently meditating for a while to calm his mind and restore the true essence in his body, he took out the items he had picked up and examined them one by one.

The first thing he picked up was the identity token of the Youth in Silk Scarf. On it were clearly written six small characters: Tianhua Peak, Meng Tianyi.

"He's actually from Tianhua Peak? That makes sense. According to the Sect Manual, Tianhua Peak mostly has sword cultivators. Since he claimed to be a sword cultivator, it's only natural that he's from Tianhua Peak!"

Su Shi'er muttered to himself, then sent out a Fireball to burn the identity token to ashes.

After doing this, he picked up a round shield from the side.

Without the support of true essence, the round shield had shrunk to the size of a palm. Its surface was patterned like a turtle shell, and three small characters were faintly visible: Turtle Pattern Shield.

"No wonder this round shield could block the attack of a High-grade Magical Artifact—it's actually a Mid-grade Magical Artifact. It's a good thing I attacked at close range; otherwise, if he had activated this Turtle Pattern Shield in advance, who knows who would have won or lost!"

"It's a pity this Turtle Pattern Shield already has a crack. I wonder if the mysterious Pill Furnace can repair the crack after refining it."

Looking down at the Turtle Pattern Shield in his hand, seeing a long, narrow crack on it, Su Shi'er felt both fortunate and somewhat pained.

After thinking it over, he took out the mysterious Pill Furnace, injected a bit of true essence into it, and made the furnace slightly larger than the Turtle Pattern Shield.

Then he tossed the Turtle Pattern Shield inside.

Just like when he had refined the White Mist Sword, as soon as the Turtle Pattern Shield was placed inside, it was covered in a faint layer of green light.

A few breaths later, the changes stopped. Su Shi'er carefully put away the mysterious Pill Furnace and then took a new look at the Turtle Pattern Shield.

After refinement, the Turtle Pattern Shield had become half its original size, and it was now completely crystalline. The sandy-brown shield faintly emitted a bit of sparkling light.

"This... this has actually become a Top-grade Magical Artifact?"

Su Shi'er's eyes widened, and he was overjoyed. In the Cultivation World, defensive magical artifacts were even rarer and more precious than offensive ones.

And a Top-grade Defensive Magical Artifact was not inferior to ordinary spatial-type magical artifacts.

With such a treasure in hand, his safety factor had greatly increased.

"If I had had such a treasure before, Meng Tianyi's sword aura wouldn't have been able to injure me at all!"

"Still, I have to thank him for sending me such a good thing before the Newcomer Trial."

"It's just a pity that the crack on the Turtle Pattern Shield wasn't repaired. It seems the mysterious Pill Furnace can only refine and upgrade the grade of treasures, not repair them."

Su Shi'er suppressed his excitement, took a few more looks at the Turtle Pattern Shield, and then carefully tucked it into his bosom.

Even with the crack, the Turtle Pattern Shield, now a Top-grade Magical Artifact, had greatly increased defensive power. The crack was secondary.

Putting away the Turtle Pattern Shield, Su Shi'er also stored the two low-grade Qi Gathering Pills and three Escape Talismans he had found.

His gaze finally fell on the last item he had taken from Meng Tianyi.

This was a book that Meng Tianyi had kept close to his body.

The book looked old and worn, its cover already missing. The pages were yellowed, and many of the characters were blurry.

But since it was kept close to his body, Su Shi'er felt it must be something good.

When he opened the pages and saw the content, Su Shi'er's pupils suddenly contracted.

In an instant, the veins on his body bulged, and he became agitated and furious.

Panting heavily, he quickly flipped through the book.

Most of the book recorded a sword cultivation technique called Skull Swordplay.

This swordplay could only be cultivated by those at Qi Refining Stage Six or above, and it only covered the stages from Qi Refining Stage Six to Stage Nine.

Moreover, during cultivation, it required a large amount of Yin Attribute Treasures and Corpse Remains.

Once mastered, one could unleash a unique Skull Sword Qi that devoured the vital essence of living beings during an attack. The more vital essence it devoured, the stronger the sword qi became.

Such a description immediately reminded Su Shi'er of the Man in Black who had killed his grandfather and the villagers.

He remembered it with exceptional clarity. That day, the sword qi unleashed by the Man in Black was shaped like a skull, almost identical to the description in this book—one could even say it was several degrees more powerful.

"Skull Swordplay! Could it be... that the Man in Black is actually hiding on Tianhua Peak?"

"However, even though this technique was carried by Meng Tianyi, I can't rule out the possibility that he obtained it from somewhere else."

"It seems that finding that Man in Black will take some effort. No matter where he is, I will find him sooner or later. But for now, the priority is to improve my own strength."

Su Shi'er sat on the bed, dazed for a moment, before pulling himself together again.

Over the past four years, although he had been training hard in the Waste Pill Room, he had also secretly been investigating the whereabouts of the Man in Black.

Unfortunately, all his efforts had yielded nothing.

Now, though he still had no useful leads, at least he knew the name of the sword technique the man had used and its characteristics.

Taking a deep breath, Su Shi'er picked up the nameless book again and continued flipping through it.