A Treasure Land for Cultivation
This was naturally thanks to his having cultivated the foundation section of the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art to the master level. His spiritual sense was as clear as a lamp wick, circulating without the slightest obstruction and making full use of every wisp of incense offering.
After returning the incense offering bottle, Lin Xu walked toward the Merit Hall with regret. "These NPCs are way too rigid. I have to turn in the last quest and get a quest token before I can collect the next bottle of incense offerings..."
This wastes far too much time...
Grumbling inwardly, he placed twenty Dharma Coins into the Merit Hall's exchange slot, and twenty merit points were promptly credited to him.
When turning in the quest, one Dharma Coin earned one merit point, but exchanging merit points for Dharma Coins cost two points per coin. The sect pocketed the difference.
Lin Xu wasted no time. He picked up a new quest token and strode toward the Incense Offering Hall.
After five round trips, he went back to accept the quest again, only to find that the Dharma Coin refinement quest had disappeared.
"Why is the Dharma Coin refinement quest gone?" he asked with a frown.
"This week's incense offerings have all been used up. The next batch won't arrive for another three days," the hall-guarding boy replied expressionlessly.
Lin Xu was slightly taken aback. "Once a week?"
He remembered that five villages were under Xuanwei Monastery's jurisdiction. Apparently, each village offered one bottle of incense offerings per week, for a total of five bottles a week, and they had all been used up.
He frowned slightly. "Looks like I'll have to find another way to make money."
Beyond what the quests required, he had obtained a total of four hundred Dharma Coins and one hundred merit points from five consecutive quests.
At his current cultivation speed, that little bit of resources was just a cup of water on a burning cart.
He glanced over the quest list and soon spotted a new quest:
[Capture wandering souls in the Yin Locust Forest. Each soul captured earns 15 merit points.]
The Yin Locust Tree Forest lay on the mountain behind Xuanwei Monastery. After nightfall, Yin Qi filled the air, and wandering souls and wild ghosts roamed among the trees.
"Once cultivated, the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art can use a spirit lamp's heartfire to drive away evil and bind spirits. It can refine wandering souls into lamp oil and Dharma Coins to nourish my cultivation, and it can even subdue wandering souls, wild ghosts, and spirit essences for my own use. This quest is practically tailor-made for me." Lin Xu's eyes brightened slightly, and he accepted the quest at once.
After leaving the Merit Pavilion, Lin Xu took a Soul-Nourishing Talisman and a Soul-Guiding Bell in hand and strode toward the Yin Locust Forest on the back mountain.
Item: Soul-Nourishing Talisman Type: Dharma implement Grade: Azure, common Effect: A dwelling place for soul bodies; can nourish spirit bodies Spirit bodies: 1/1 Description: Made of Yin Locust wood and engraved with a soul-nourishing talisman. It can draw in trace amounts of Spiritual Qi to nourish soul bodies.
The Soul-Nourishing Talisman was a fist-sized wooden tablet engraved with eerie green runes. It felt slightly cool in the hand, cost ten merit points to exchange for, and was standard equipment for Xuanwei Monastery cultivators.
Item: Soul-Guiding Bell Type: Dharma implement Grade: Azure, fine Effect: Soul-refining spell effects +15%, magic power consumption -5%; Soul Hooking and Spirit Seizing · Azure Description: When shaken, it produces a clear, ringing sound that attracts wandering souls and exerts a compelling pull on incomplete soul bodies.
This was Lin Xu's first azure fine-grade Dharma implement. The Soul-Guiding Bell felt warm and smooth in his hand, as though it resonated with a spiritual nature.
Night deepened, and a chilly wind brushed the treetops with a soft rustle.
Standing at the edge of the forest, Lin Xu summoned heartfire from his sea of consciousness with a thought and infused it into the Soul-Guiding Bell. The bell rang softly, its clear notes rippling outward like threads and strands, penetrating the shadowy woods.
Yin Qi churned in response. A short while later, several wispy figures slowly drifted out from deep among the ancient locust trees. Wandering souls and remnant spirits gathered like gray smoke and floated toward the sound of the bell.
Lin Xu's gaze sharpened slightly. The candle flame of the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp in his hand flickered, and a beam of candlelight became a chain of flowing light that swept straight toward the remnant soul at the front.
The remnant soul let out a piercing wail. Before it could flee, the chain of candlelight wrapped around it and dragged it into the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp.
With a thought from Lin Xu, spiritual fire surged. The remnant soul struggled for a moment before turning into a wisp of pure soul power, which condensed into lamp oil and dripped into the lamp.
A remnant soul like this was not even worth subduing; it could only be refined into lamp oil.
"Seven Dharma Coins..." One glance was enough for him to know what the remnant soul was worth.
That was also because his soul-refining efficiency was high. For another cultivator, refining it into even two Dharma Coins would have been a profit.
Without pausing his thoughts, he swept the Bright Light Lamp in his hand, sending out several lines of candle flame in succession. They bound all three remnant souls and swiftly dragged them into the lamp to be refined.
In an instant, the previously empty lamp was filled with oil, its shimmering flame illuminating the cold, stern profile of Lin Xu's face.
The number of Dharma Coins had risen to twenty-three. He waved a hand to put them away, then fixed his gaze on the last wandering soul, which was somewhat more solid than the others.
Name: Wandering Soul · White Race: Ghost Level: 1 Strength: 0 Agility: 9 Constitution: 0 Spirit: 8 Intelligence: 1 Health: 12/12 Skill: Spirit Bewilderment · White (beginner) Evaluation: When a person dies, they become a soul. Its soul body is incomplete, its intelligence is clouded, and only a few lingering obsessions from its life remain.
"This wandering soul is actually level one. That makes it a supernatural creature..." A flicker of surprise passed through Lin Xu's eyes.
Ordinary people were all level zero. That included him: even after ten years of painstaking cultivation in the real world, the system had rated him only level zero.
This wandering soul looked as though a gust of wind could blow it away, yet it had already crossed the threshold into the supernatural.
Although level did not indicate combat power, it showed that this wandering soul already possessed certain supernatural traits and could threaten the lives of ordinary people.
His thoughts raced. Lin Xu activated the Bright Light Lamp again, and candlelight shot out in a streak like a lock, binding the wandering soul tight in an instant.
But just as it was about to be dragged into the lamp flame, the wandering soul struggled violently. A powerful wave of soul power erupted from within it, and the chain of candlelight trembled as though about to break.
"Not bad, this is a little interesting~" Lin Xu's brow twitched. The light of the great sun's fire in his sea of consciousness suddenly blazed brighter, and scorching spiritual fire surged out along his spiritual thought, instantly reinforcing the chain of candlelight.
The wandering soul wailed and was finally dragged into the lamp flame.
Its soul body twisted and struggled in the flame, giving off waves of icy Yin presence, but the bright lamp's candle flame held it firmly in check.
After a moment's thought, he tied the Soul-Guiding Bell he had been holding in his left hand to his waist and took out the Soul-Nourishing Talisman.
With a thought, a line of fire flashed, sending the wandering soul that was still struggling in the lamp into the Soul-Nourishing Talisman, where it soon fell silent.
This was a quest item. The quest required him to turn in one complete spirit body and rewarded fifteen merit points.
For an ordinary disciple, that was a decent reward. But for Lin Xu, this wandering soul alone could easily be refined into more than twenty Dharma Coins, worth far more than a mere fifteen merit points.
"Now this is a treasure land~" Having completed the quest, Lin Xu swept his gaze over the shadowy depths, showing no intention of leaving.
He was only standing at the edge of the Yin Locust Forest, yet he had easily obtained so many Dharma Coins. If he went deeper, wandering souls might be everywhere for him to refine.
With that thought, Lin Xu did not linger. He walked steadily into the depths of the forest.
Of course he knew it was dangerous, but the one-month quest deadline hung over him like a death warrant. Even with a golden talent, he could not afford the slightest bit of slack.
The chilly wind rose abruptly, and mist surged through the woods like a tide. Ahead, ancient locust trees twisted and tangled together, a faint, eerie blue glow showing beneath their roots.
Lin Xu glanced over and, to his surprise, saw an item panel. He was puzzled:
Item: Yin Locust Type: Spirit wood Grade: Azure, fine Effect: Nourishes soul bodies, soul body recovery speed +15%; draws in moonlight and condenses Yin Qi, producing 3 drops of Yin Dew per month Resources: [Spirit wood · Azure: 17] [Yin Dew · Azure: 1/3] Description: Locust wood that grows in places filled with Yin Sha. Its wood is tough and contains a faint trace of Yin Qi, often attracting spirit bodies to dwell within it. Eerie green specks of light seep from cracks in its bark, condensing into dew on their own with every new moon.