Chapter 114: Doing Business
This time, the other party only wanted a Cold Magnet, so Li Ming did not feel too pressured. He would get 200 spirit stones out of it. The other party had not bargained, so he felt that like he had gotten a good deal.
In terms of sharpness, nothing could compare to a flying sword.
However, there were also some things that the flying sword could not cut through. In fact, attempting to do so may even cause damage to the flying sword's performance. One of such things was the Cold Magnet. These Cold Magnets were meticulously forged.
The stones from which they were forged had to maintain the magnetic fields, and doing so was a difficult task.
However, this was not a problem for Li Ming.
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The demonic core seemed to suit him really well. The speed at which his divine sense was improving now made him feel a little shocked.
With his divine sense becoming stronger, it had become nearly effortless for him to search through third-grade spiritual herbs. Although fourth-grade spiritual herbs still were quite troublesome, with these tentacles, he could still quickly search through these spiritual herbs.
Not only could his divine sense improve his control over flames, but it could also allow him to have a deeper understanding of various medicinal herbs. This way, when he was smelting, it would be much easier, and his efficiency would be much higher.
Li Ming did not dare to be careless when it came to 200 spirit stones.
He closed his eyes and used his spiritual energy to scan the small Cold Magnet a few times. After confirming its location, he opened his eyes.
The guest wearing a black veil and hood waited quietly.
Li Ming, who had been resting with his eyes closed for a long time, suddenly opened his eyes.
Pieces of shattered Cold Magnets slowly floated up from Li Ming's palm. Almost at the same time, a milky white flame silently appeared, and the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.
The manager's eyes revealed a trace of surprise.
Li Ming sat cross-legged. His expression remained unchanged. He was incredibly focused at this moment, using his divine sense to control the situation.
His hands kept changing positions in front of him, turning into afterimages.
The fire floating in the air turned into a thin white flame that surrounded the Cold Magnet like a small white snake.
Suddenly, the flowing flames accelerated. The man wearing the black veil saw a white light flash in front of him, twisting and turning, one after another!
Once the Three Revolutions Fire Formation was activated, the temperature in the room plummeted.
Even the bamboo hat man subconsciously took a step back. The flowing flames made him feel a bone-chilling coldness.
The Three Revolutions Fire Formation was a simple formation that could increase the strength of flames, be it ice flames or raging flames.
Every time he circulated it, the power would increase by a bit. With his current cultivation, he could only circulate it three times at most. Regardless, a 40% increase in power was enough.
He concentrated and urged his divine sense.
Although he now had a demonic core and his control had greatly increased, it was still very difficult to use the Three Revolutions Fire Formation. He used his divine sense to carefully control the stalagmite fire. He could feel that his strength and spiritual energy were draining at an extremely fast speed, and a sense of fatigue was constantly assaulting him.
Li Ming suppressed the impulse in his heart and carefully controlled his divine sense.
With a whoosh, the fragments gathered together, and the Cold Magnet was completed.
But then again, was the upper limit of humans not amazing? Once upon a time, he could only earn tens of spirit stones a year. Now, he could earn 200 spirit stones in just a day.
In terms of pure income, Li Ming could be considered the number one figure in the entire sect. However, he did not feel rich at all. Instead, he felt as if he had fallen into a cycle of becoming poorer and poorer!
Originally, he could have earned more spirit stones, but because of his cultivation, he was penniless. Now, he had to work hard to earn money.
However, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief. In this world, how could there be good things for free? He had already obtained great benefits, but without the Soul-Refining Art, the yin fire bead, and the stalagmite fire, he would not have even been able to reach the foundation establishment realm.
"I did not disappoint you."
"Senior's fire-controlling technique is extraordinary!" The bamboo hat man took the Cold Magnet into his hand and exclaimed in praise. Then, he happily paid Li Ming 200 spirit stones.
Li Ming felt relieved after receiving the 200 spirit stones.
"You're welcome." Li Ming's eyes were mostly attracted by the 200 spirit stones, so he replied casually.
"Excuse me, did you sign up for the sword-testing conference?" The other party seemed to want to build a relationship with Li Ming.
"No, I have not." Li Ming shook his head.
Li Ming did not have much time to waste. The Three Revolutions Fire
Formation just now had already drained all the spiritual energy in his body. Even if the demonic pattern automatically absorbed spiritual energy, he still felt extremely exhausted.
Ever since he had gotten the demonic pattern, his understanding of the [Vajra Seal] had gotten deeper and deeper. In a short period of time, Li Ming had cultivated the Vajra Seal to the third level. When he started to circulate the mental cultivation technique, the muscles under his skin emitted a faint golden light. It was a phenomenon called Bodily Golden Robe.
According to the Vajra Seal, it should take at least five to six years to reach the third level, which was the Bodily Golden Robe, and it would take more than ten years to reach the fourth realm, which was Red Lotus Flowing Gold.
After cultivating the Bodily Golden Armor, his defense had increased greatly. His body was unshakable, and ordinary flying swords could not pierce through his skin.
Li Ming's current body was much stronger than before, but for some reason, his figure was still very slim. Coupled with his iconic handsome face, he was very recognizable.
The Three Revolutions Fire Formation had consumed too much of his energy. He had to rest as soon as possible.
"Do you have any other requests?"
"Hehe, I'll pay a visit to senior another day." That person chuckled and turned to leave.
Li Ming ignored him and closed his eyes again. The Soul-Refining Art started circulating in his body again. A moment later, he pulled himself together again.
Li Yingfeng saw this scene and immediately shouted: "Next."
Other than the spirit stones, he had also accepted many other things.
Everyone had different needs, so the materials he needed to refine were different. In a day, he had to refine more than ten kinds of strange materials, including spiritual herbs and ores.
In just these few days, Li Ming had refined over a hundred kinds of spiritual herbs, which were very beneficial to his path of pill refinement.
At this moment, he was filled with gratitude for his choice. If he were in the sect, he would never have seen so many spiritual herbs. Moreover, most of what he had come across were rare items.
Unfortunately, the stalagmite fire was a flame of extreme cold, and it could not refine many materials. The materials he could use were mostly of the cold nature.
"What? You can't do it? If you can't even refine this, how dare you do business?" A muscular man was holding a third-grade scarlet jade in his hand as he cursed..
Chapter 115: What Do People Live For?
"My flame is of cold yin nature, so it is unsuitable for refining materials of extreme yang."
"Damn it, this was a waste of my time. You have to f*cking compensate me for my time!"
The other party's voice abruptly paused. At the same moment, his face was suddenly filled with horror as he stood rooted in place, motionless.
Li Ming calmly retracted his sword intent. "My apologies, but we really must be more understanding of one another." This was not the first time he had encountered something like this. He was already experienced in this regard.
One could imagine how powerful the pressure of a golden core realm cultivator was.
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The burly man did not say a word more and left dejectedly.
Li Ming knew the importance of efficiency. Time was money, and nothing was more important than time.
After a day of working hard, his brain had gotten rather numb. He could not handle any more orders and shouted, "Everyone, that is it for today. Please come again tomorrow."
Li Yingfeng gave everyone a tag, each with a number on it. The next morning, they would follow the order as stated by the tags.
Li Ming let out a breath of relief and satisfaction as he had gained quite an ample amount this time. The transaction of 200 spirit stones was equivalent to his usual day's worth of profit.
As usual, he gave Li Fengying two spirit stones as compensation to the sect for renting the sect's store. As long as he had another busy seven to eight days, he would be able to pay back the huge sum he owed. His mood immediately improved a lot.
Just as he was about to go back to rest, a voice suddenly sounded behind him. "Junior Brother Li!"
Li Ming's actions came to a halt. He turned around and saw Senior Brother Li
Zhengxuan standing at the entrance of the store.
"Brother Zhengxuan!" Li Ming was delighted.
Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan seemed to have become a different person. He was wearing a tattered short robe, and his incredibly sharp sword qi was hidden. Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan's appearance was originally very ordinary, but his clothes right now were utterly without elegance. He looked like the most ordinary low-level cultivator.
It could be inferred from this that Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan's cultivation had improved once again!
However, the shock on Li Ming's face grew stronger and stronger. Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan has actually already entered the perfected foundation establishment realm! With his keen senses, he could see the clues at a glance.
How was this possible?
He had only entered the intermediate stage of the foundation establishment realm not long ago, yet he had already reached the perfected level of the foundation establishment realm!
Li Ming's own improvement could also be said to be monstrous. However, Li Zhengxuan's cultivation speed was not bad either.
Li Ming listened with great interest to the experiences of the past few days, and his spirits were raised. He was very happy because he believed that it was very normal for his senior brother to be able to do this. It would be too unfair if people like him were not known.
At this moment, Li Fengying also rushed over after hearing the news. She recognized Li Zhengxuan at a glance and could not help but be overjoyed,
"Senior Brother!"
Li Zhengxuan first greeted Li Fengying, then looked at Li Ming and laughed. "Come, come, let's have a good drink! Let's get drunk!"
The night sky was filled with stars.
Li Ming brought Li Zhengxuan to the rooftop, drinking fine wine while enjoying the cool breeze.
"Good wine!" Li Zhengxuan could not help but drink two big cups.
"Hehe, this is peach blossom wine." Li Ming said, "Since you've come, how can you not have good wine? That's why I bought some."
"Haha! Awesome, awesome!" Li Zhengxuan downed the cup in one gulp.
In the courtyard below, Li Fengying repeatedly shook her head. The usually calm Li Zhengxuan and the usually calm Li Ming were completely different once they started drinking.
"Fortunately, you came to participate in the sword-testing conference. There are many people this time, and I saw many experts." Li Ming turned his head to take a look and said, "However, I will defeat them and not leave a single one alive!"
Seeing Li Ming's face, Li Zheng Xuan laughed out loud, "Good! Kill them!"
Li Ming chuckled and shouted. Then, he held the wine pot and suddenly stopped talking.
Seeing Li Ming's expression, Li Zhengxuan could not help but ask with concern, "Is there something wrong?"
"Senior Brother, what do you think humans live for?"
"What do humans live for?" Li Zhengxuan could not help but straighten his body. He looked into the distance and said, "I do not really know the reason for that. I only have one thought in mind, and that is to see what this sword looks like when it's cultivated to its peak."
"Supreme Sword Dao?" Li Ming muttered to himself as he looked into the distance.
He stood on the roof and looked down at the night view. From afar, there were lights everywhere and shouts everywhere.
Li Ming's tone was filled with pain. "I want to find what I've lost and what I've forgotten."
He did not reveal his secret. Otherwise, it would be too shocking.
"Little brother, don't worry," Li Zhengxuan consoled him, "Fate works in mysterious ways."
"Hehe, this is fate! Today, when we brothers gather, we should not talk about such things! Let's continue drinking!" Li Ming picked up the wine jar and poured it into his mouth.
"Haha!" Li Zhengxuan also laughed loudly. He picked up a pot of wine and shouted, "Ha!"
In the next morning, Li Zhengxuan set off for Dongfu.
Li Ming returned to the days when he had become rich.
The current Li Ming absorbed spiritual qi much faster than before. However, the strange thing was that if he did not use the spiritual qi he absorbed into his body as soon as possible, it would gradually disappear, and he could not store it all.
For a cultivator, the strength of their spiritual qi was directly correlated to the strength of their abilities. If they did not have enough spiritual qi, they would not be able to use at least 70% of the moves they had. The higher the level of the cultivation technique, the more spiritual qi it consumed.
He was very suspicious if it was because there was a problem with his physique.
"Without enough accumulation, it will be difficult for my cultivation to advance, and for my realm to increase…"
Things like formations were really too complicated. However, the world was vast and nothing was impossible.
The demonic pattern itself was something that would not have even crossed the minds of countless others.
In essence, the human body was a formation. When one of its attributes changed, there would definitely be a change in a part of the formation. As long as he found the source of the change and modified it appropriately, the problem would be solved.
Only now did Li Fengying notice that these days, Li Ming seemed to be a little off.
His refining progress was much slower than before. Every time he finished refining, he would be in a daze for a while.
It was a stark contrast to his previous eagerness. Could it be that he had earned enough spirit stones? She could not help but think so.
Li Ming should also relax. Li Ming himself knew best what he had gained every day recently.
Li Ying Feng still could not believe that the seemingly quiet Li Ming could actually make such an exaggerated performance..
Chapter 116
Just his income for the past few days was equivalent to over five months of her shop's income.
This was a frightening thing to think about. She had never thought that such a thing was even possible before.
Li Ming was also a genius.
Her earlier guess was also soon confirmed. While Li Ming still continued to do business, he no longer accepted spirit stones. Instead, he accepted jade slips.
However, what made her feel strange was that he seemed to like jade slips very much. He would accept anything that he had never seen before. However, after observing him for a while, she realized that he was particularly interested in the jade slips related to formations.
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She gave him a thumbs up in her heart.
The Divine Will Sect was a sect that used swords. There were many sword techniques in the sect, but there were very few jade slips regarding other fields.
Collecting jade slips was naturally a good way to learn about other fields. It would also be of great help to his pill refinement skills in the future.
Every cultivator had to learn formations. It was fundamental. Pill refinement, artifact refinement, and seals, all of them were inseparable from formations.
Everyone was well aware of this, but there was nothing they could do. The Divine Will Sect was not a wealthy sect, so where could they get the spirit stones to nurture talents?
She suddenly felt a little regretful. If only Li Ming were born into a prestigious family!
"I can only refine this much at most."
Li Ming passed a bottle of Clear Jade Dew to the customer.
The customer quickly accepted it and uncorked it. He smiled and praised, "Senior Li's skills are indeed amazing!" He then solemnly put away the medicine bottle and quickly left.
Li Ming did not stand up. He took out the jade slip he had just obtained, feeling quite happy.
He had used his best techniques to barely succeed in making the Clear Jade Dew all so that he could get this jade slip. This was a jade slip left behind by an unknown sect. It had been around for a long time, and there were three very complicated formations inside.
After another refining session, he threw himself into his own work.
During this period of time, his control over spiritual energy had improved by leaps and bounds.
He had subconsciously trained himself in this regard, so he was much more "stingy" with any bit of spiritual energy.
However, even though his absorption speed was extremely fast, it still could not make him feel full, because his consumption was still unavoidable.
However, he soon realized the problem. If one wanted to use spiritual energy to perfection, it was not just about precise control of spiritual energy, but also a deep understanding of the formation that was to be set up. When both were combined, it would be able to unleash the greatest power.
Since he only accepted jade slips, Li Ming's business was affected.
However, those who could come here were mostly foundation establishment realm and golden core cultivators with some ability. These people more or less carried a few good-quality jade slips.
Everyone knew that Li Ming loved formations the most, so everyone would try their best to bring such jade slips.
Li Ming's actions were not surprising. The stronger the cultivator, especially for those who were in the pill refinement or artifact refinement professions, the less they needed spirit stones.
Such people would usually make some strange requests. Things like jade slips were of the most ordinary kind.
Even though the number of pills refined every day was far less than before, the number of jade slips that Li Mind received was increasing at an extremely terrifying speed.
There were many types of jade slips that Li Ming received. Although most of them were ordinary, there were some that were better, such as the one in front of him.
Suddenly, Li Fengying moved in front of Li Ming with a strange expression,
and whispered a few words into his ear.
"Three golden core cultivators came to visit." When Li Fengying said this, even Li Ming was shocked.
These were three golden core cultivators!
Ever since he started this business, some golden core cultivators had come to find him. For example, the bamboo hat man who requested a Cold Magnet was a golden core cultivator.
The price that golden core cultivators could pay far exceeded that of normal customers. But at the same time, the materials they needed to refine were definitely very difficult. High difficulty meant high risk. If he failed, he would not be able to withstand it.
This time, there were three of them!
A commotion could clearly be heard outside. It was obvious that the three golden core cultivators were slightly unhappy. He had to raise his voice. "The three of you, please come in!"
The three of them entered in a single file. A man in a long red robe walked over with majestic steps.
The person on the left was a man with an aquiline nose. He had a cold expression and gave off a feeling that he was not easy to get along with.
On the right side of the man in red was a fierce-looking man. His body was sturdy and looked like a mountain of flesh. As soon as he got through the door, he scanned his surroundings.
"Greetings, fellow daoist." The leader, the burly man in a red robe, cupped his fists at Li Ming with a smile.
"Greetings, senior brothers!" Li Ming did not dare to be negligent. He stood up and cupped his fists in greeting.
The division of ranks between cultivators was very complicated. Thus, most people were divided according to cultivation.
The three of them were very pleased with Li Ming's attitude. Even the hook-nosed man's cold expression warmed up a little.
The leader smiled and said, "I'm here to ask you for a favor."
After saying that, he took out a black seed from his pocket and said, "This fourth-grade black lotus seed's outer shell is extremely hard, and even flying sabers cannot cut through it. I came here this time to ask you to refine its outer shell."
"Just a reminder. If you destroy it, I will not let you off!" The fiendish man said in a deep voice.
"Third brother, don't talk nonsense!" He turned to Li Ming and said, "Fellow Daoist, do not bother with his nonsense. Just focus on refining it." Facing the party of three, Li Ming's back broke out in cold sweat.
For him to be able to reach this stage from an outer sect disciple, his perception was extremely good. With a glance, he could tell that these three people were not good people. Even though the other party was saying good things, if he really destroyed the black lotus seed, then he definitely would not have a good ending.
Li Ming keenly sensed that the three of them were surrounded by a faint smell of blood. The three of them used some unknown method to hide this wisp of blood essence, but under Li Ming's perception, how could it be hidden?
This was a big deal! This was Li Ming's first thought.
He shook his head and said sincerely, "I really cannot refine a fourth-grade black lotus seed!"
The red-robed man smiled and did not say anything. The hook-nosed man beside him said in a deep voice, "Since you can refine a Cold Magnet, how can you not be able to refine a black lotus seed?"
The fierce-looking man's eyes became sharper.. "Let me tell you, whether you're willing or not, you have to refine it! Otherwise, I'll smash apart your lousy shop!"
Chapter 117
He first handed a jade slip to Li Ming. "Fellow Daoist Li, there is no need for you to be so polite. Why don't you take a look at the formation on this jade slip first?"
After he finished speaking, he raised his head, his gaze landing on Li Fengying before he continued softly, "Why don't you put away the sound transmission talisman in your sleeve to avoid unnecessary trouble?
Li Ming could not help but praise them inwardly. With just a few words, the party of three had left the two of them completely overwhelmed.
After letting Li Fengying calm down, he gathered his courage and said, "Three seniors, you seem to have gotten the wrong information. While I did manage to refine a Cold Magnet once, it was only a third-grade Cold Magnet."
"Fellow daoist, are you looking down on me?"
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Li Ming felt his entire body tighten as if he were bound by something, making it difficult for him to move. Li Fengying stood beside him, her face turning pale white as she looked at the party of three with a gaze of utter horror.
"Alright then! I promise you!" Seeing that the situation was not to his favor, Li Ming could only grit his teeth and agree.
While Li Ming was also in the golden core realm just like the other party, they were likely to already be in the perfected level of the golden core realm.
"Hehe, you are smart. Again, you have nothing to worry about. As long as you can refine it, the three of us will definitely not take advantage of you." The red-robed man laughed loudly as if nothing had happened.
At the same time, the pressure on Li Ming's body instantly disappeared. When Li Ming looked at the red-robed man once again, his heart turned cold.
While this fellow looked gentle and refined, he was, in fact, a ruthless man. If he failed to refine what they wanted, the consequences would definitely be horrible. The Divine Will Sect was quite far away from where he was currently at. If anything happened to them, even the sect master would not be able to save them in time.
He did not take out the jade slip, rather only taking out the black lotus seed. The jade slip did not have much meaning to him right now. It was already very fortunate that he could survive.
The three of them retreated to the side. The hook-nosed man glanced at Li Fengying, indicating for her to watch herself.
Li Ming did not waste any time. He began to study the black lotus seed carefully.
The black lotus seed was a fruit borne by the black lotus. It was an extremely rare spiritual herb that grew in extreme places like a swamp filled with miasma.
Due to the toxicity of the plant, its leaves had already rotted and turned white, while its flowers had turned black. The most valuable thing that could be obtained from the plant was the lotus seed it produced.
All the venom absorbed by the black lotus would gather and fuse in its body, turning into a brand-new type of venom.
When it bears a lotus seed, all the poison in its body would be concentrated on a small black lotus seed.
The black lotus seed would germinate when it fell into the rotting soil and turn into a new black lotus. This new black lotus would absorb the surrounding poisonous miasma and turn into a new black lotus seed.
After each cycle, the grade of the black lotus seed would increase.
This fourth-grade black lotus seed had gone through at least four reincarnations. One could simply imagine the poison inside such a rare black lotus seed!
Holding the black lotus seed in his hand, Li Ming felt his mouth go dry. This was the first time he had refined such a powerful spiritual herb, so he could not help but feel a little nervous.
The surface of the black lotus seed was extremely tough. Even a flying sword could not leave a mark on it, so the poison inside did not leak out.
If not for this, Li Ming's finger would have deteriorated at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the poison would have spread through his entire body extremely quickly. In barely any time, he would have turned into a skeleton.
Even a third- grade detoxification pill could not resist the toxicity of the black lotus seed, let alone the second-grade detoxification pill that Li Ming currently had.
Li Fengying was usually in charge of the shop's internal affairs, so she had heard of the black lotus seed. Her beautiful face was pale as she looked at Li Ming somewhat nervously.
She took out a sound transmission talisman from her sleeve, but the hook-nosed man's gaze fell on her once again. A fierce look flashed across his eyes. As long as she did something they did not want, these people would immediately make their move.
How dare these people be so presumptuous in the territory of the Divine Will Sect!
Li Fengying bit her lower lip, her gaze towards Li Ming filled with worry. The black lotus seed was definitely not something Junior Brother Li Ming could refine. It had already been extremely difficult for him to refine the fourth-grade Cold Magnet.
Refining the black lotus was even more difficult than cutting it open. Moreover, it was an extremely poisonous object. If he was not careful, he could easily be poisoned to death.
When she saw Li Ming's back, drenched in cold sweat, her heart skipped a beat.
If only the sect master was here!
Her heart was burning with anxiety. If the sect master rushed over, with his strength, he would be able to deal with these people!
Li Ming also had the same thoughts as Li Fengying, but he only delayed for a moment before sensing the hostility in the eyes of that fierce-looking man. He knew that he could not delay any longer.
With a wave of his hand, the stalagmite fire quickly wrapped around the black lotus seed. The hostility in the three people's eyes instantly disappeared. They looked at Li Ming warily and unconsciously moved their legs toward the door of the shop.
Li Ming understood that this was because they were afraid of the poison of the fourth-grade black lotus seed. Even if the three of them were at the golden core realm, once they came into contact with its miasma, they would probably find themselves in dire situations.
Li Ming wished he could throw the black lotus seed as far away as possible, but unfortunately, he was forced to work on it.
If he refined this black lotus seed and was poisoned..
The milky-white flame surrounded the black lotus seed. The black lotus seed was like a black inner core, emitting a strange aura in the white flame.
Li Ming made up his mind and threw away all distracting thoughts. Since there was no way out, it was useless to think too much.
He urged his divine sense with all his strength. In his other hand, there were five third-stage spirit stones. He began to set up a formation under his feet.
The fiendish man looked at the red-robed man. The red-robed man waved his hand. He knew that this was a formation used to recover the cultivator's spiritual energy.
Seeing Li Ming's clean and neat movements as if he were facing a great enemy, he could not help but feel a trace of anticipation.
After quickly setting up the Five-Elements Spirit Replenishing Formation, Li Ming withdrew his right hand and placed it on his knee. His entire body relaxed. His gaze never left the stalagmite fire.
In the milky-white flames, there was a black lotus seed that was jumping strangely and emitting a chilling aura.
The cold sweat on his back had already evaporated, but Li Ming, who was immersed in his work, was not nervous at all. His mind was now filled with only one thought: how could he refine this fourth-grade black lotus seed?
He quickly made up his mind. He did not have many options.
He could only resort to the Fourfold Fire Formation!
The Threefold Fire Formation was the one that Li Ming had used before. The Fourfold Fire Formation was the higher-grade version of that..
Chapter 118
At this very moment, there was nothing more in the world that he hated more than rumors. It was clearly nothing but his refining of the Cold Magnet that brought all of this trouble.
Li Ming smiled bitterly. Before he entered the intermediate stage of the golden core realm, it should be impossible for him to refine this fourth-grade black lotus seed.
Even with the Three-Revolutions Fire Formation, he would not be able to refine fourth-grade black lotus seed. He closed his eyes and carefully felt the black lotus seed within the stalagmite fire, but soon, disappointment appeared on his face.
Under the embrace of the stalagmite fire, the black lotus seed did not budge at all.
Taking a deep breath, Li Ming's two fingers moved like flowing water, leaving afterimages in the air.
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For the first time, the red-robed man revealed a shocked expression. As the saying goes, outsiders could see the entire picture. Although this set of finger techniques was not a profound move, it was superb and brought out the extremes of "Phantom Fingers."
Phantom Fingers was displayed when a person's hands would leave afterimages in the air as they moved incredibly quickly. Because of the overlap of the afterimages, there would be phantoms left in the air.
Li Ming's fingers did not stop. Before the afterimages of his fingers completely disappeared, new finger techniques appeared. In the end, his fingers became a series of continuous finger techniques.
Before reaching the late stage of the golden core realm, finger techniques were a very useful cultivation technique. Everyone knew it, but there were also differences in strength. Other than those who cultivate their bodies, there was not much difference in strength, flexibility, or strength.
In other words, in terms of spiritual energy, early-stage golden core cultivators were of a level higher than foundation establishment cultivators, but in terms of finger techniques, there was not much difference.
Without a specific cultivation technique, one had to cultivate continuously if they wanted to improve their finger techniques.
This expressionless young man's cultivation was average, but his finger techniques were amazing.
The other two were also stunned. They looked at each other and saw joy in each other's eyes. The set of finger techniques before them filled them with confidence in Li Ming.
At this moment, Li Ming's mind was clear and he was abnormally focused. His gaze was fixed on the milky-white stalagmite fire and the black lotus seed within it.
As his fingers moved faster and faster, the dancing flame seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand. A white flame shot out from the flame.
The stalagmite fire was a ball of thread, and the thread of fire was a thread that had been found. The white thread was still extending outwards.
The white flame grew longer and longer. One end of the flame was still connected to the stalagmite fire. The flame circled around the black lotus seed.
The stalagmite fire shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye. When the last bit of flame disappeared, the black lotus seed was revealed.
Streaks of white flames like agile white snakes revolved around the black lotus seed.
Li Ming's movements suddenly changed. His hands were originally as fast as lightning, but now it was as if they were carrying an immense weight.
The white flame split into two from the middle and turned into two flames. Now, it was as if there were two small white snakes that circled around the black lotus seed. Then, their speed suddenly doubled.
Strangely, the two flames did not collide.
"Onefold Fire Formation!"
The black lotus seed was as steady as a mountain, not moving at all.
Li Ming's expression did not change. His fingers kept changing.
Two became four! The four thinner lines of fire formed an even thinner ring of fire in the shape of a cross.
"Twofold Fire Formation!"
The black lotus seed quivered slightly, producing a crisp sound.
Li Ming stared at the black lotus seed in the center of the fire formation. He was not surprised.
His movements became slower and slower, but the spiritual energy in his body circulated faster and faster.
The eight threads of flame wrapped around the black lotus seed tightly like a cage of white flame.
"Threefold Fire Formation!"
Compared to before, Li Ming's control of the Threefold Fire Formation was much better. Ever since he received the guidance of the stone tablet,
Li Ming began to consciously train his control over spiritual energy. In addition, he had a lot of time to temper it every day, so his progress was rapid. The Threefold Fire Formation which was extremely difficult previously had now become easy to perform.
The black lotus seed trembled violently in the middle of the fire formation as if it would break free from the fire array at any moment!
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the white flame cage in the sky. They knew that this was the most critical moment.
In the center of the fire formation, the cold air was threatening, eight times colder than the stalagmite fire! Cold fire was cold, while hot fire was scorching.
"Fuse!"
The fusion rate of cold fire would increase as the temperature decreased, while the fusion rate of hot fire would increase as the temperature increased.
The Threefold Fire Formation increased the cold energy of the stalagmite fire by eight times, and also increased its fusion ability by eight times!
The eight-times fusion caused the originally motionless black lotus seed to undergo a slight change. Faint dents appeared on the surface, a sign that it was about to be smelted.
However, if it was just a fusion, he did not know how long it would take him to refine this black lotus seed.
Under the influence of the demonic core, Li Ming's divine sense was abnormally coordinated. Moreover, no one noticed that his body was now softer than ever before. The easier it was, the more the demonic pattern could be used to its greatest effect, and it could also absorb spiritual energy faster.
Li Ming's precise control of his spiritual energy had shown astonishing results in the past few days. The spiritual energy consumption of the Threefold Fire Formation was only about half of his. He could feel the spiritual energy emitted from the Spirit Replenishing Formation.
Li Ming was slightly relieved. He had not used the Spirit Replenishing
Formation when he was refining it. But now, everything seemed to be fine.
The spiritual energy in the spirit stones had some impurities, but this was not a problem for Li Ming. The demonic pattern automatically filtered them out.
The spiritual energy in the Spirit Replenishing Array continuously surged into Li Ming's body.
He closed his eyes and did not move. He maintained the operation of the
Threefold Fire Formation and waited for the replenishment of spiritual energy. After this period of continuous experimentation, the consumption of his spiritual energy by the Fourfold Fire Formation had already reached a very terrifying level.
When the spiritual energy in his body recovered, Li Ming suddenly opened his His fingers moved like he was dragging a heavy stone! His skinny arm was shaking with difficulty, but his fingers were moving very steadily.
Everyone's eyes were white!
The cage of flames became smaller and smaller turning into what looked like a white cocoon! The 16 flame threads spun around the black lotus seed at a speed so fast that no one could see them clearly.
"Fourfold Fire Formation!"
Li Ming's spiritual energy was being consumed at an alarming rate. He had only barely completed the Fourfold Fire Formation, and there was not much spiritual energy left in him.
He did not care about anything else and crazily absorbed the spiritual energy from the Spirit Replenishing Formation. A huge amount of spiritual energy surged towards him. He was like a thirsty traveler in the desert, crazily absorbing all the water he could..
Chapter 119
The sixteen-times fusion caused the tough surface of the black lotus seed to melt at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Li Ming controlled his divine sense with all his might. The sixteen-times fusion meant that his use of spiritual energy had to be extremely precise. Any deviation would cause the entire fire formation to collapse under the sixteen-times amplification!
The three customers and Li Fengying were so nervous that they held their breaths. The shop was completely silent.
The Fourfold Fire Formation did not move at all, only the white flames continued slightly trembling. Every time it shook, the four of them held their breaths. They understood that Li Ming was still too exhausted to activate the Fourfold Fire Formation and was not that familiar with it.
However, none of them could care about that right now.
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Other than nervousness, the four of them were also shocked! It was too shocking!
A foundation establishment cultivator was actually able to utilize the Fourfold Fire Formation. If people found out about this, it would definitely cause huge waves across the entire Dongfu and even the entire Sky Moon World! A Threefold Fire Formation was already extremely difficult for early-stage golden core cultivators, much less a Fourfold Fire Formation!
However, this ordinary-looking kid in front of them could actually activate the Fourfold Fire Formation!
They had only come here because they heard that somebody had managed to refine a fourth-grade Cold Magnet.
In fact, when they found out that Li Ming was only in the foundation establishment realm, they were very disappointed, but they still decided to give it a try.
One had to know that a fourth-grade black lotus seed was not so easily destroyed! When Li Ming had accepted the deal, they had guessed that he would have something up his sleeves, but they had never expected him to bring out a Fourfold Fire Formation!
The Fourfold Fire Formation was not a mysterious formation. It was actually a very common formation that many people knew.
However, even though they knew, there were very few who could pull it out.
The higher one's cultivation, the stronger one's control over spiritual energy.
There was only one explanation for such an increase, and that was the increase in realm! Take the Threefold Fire Formation, for example. Even though there would occasionally be early-stage golden core cultivators who could barely set it up, it was absolutely impossible for those cultivators to set up a Fourfold Fire Formation.
This was because the requirement that the Fourfold Fire Formation had on the cultivator's spiritual energy and cultivation was more than twice that of a Threefold Fire Formation. Only when one reached the intermediate stage of the golden core realm could one achieve the requirements of the Fourfold Fire Formation.
However, right before their eyes was exactly what they had thought to be impossible.
Although the flames in the white light were still trembling slightly, there was no doubt that it was a Fourfold Fire Formation!
The three of them looked at Li Ming as if they were looking at a monster.
Li Ming did not know about any of this. He had no time to care about anything else. He was solely focused on the black lotus seed!
The holes on the black lotus seed grew bigger and bigger, deeper and deeper. Finally, the crystal lotus seed within could be seen.
Li Ming did not dare to relax in the slightest at this moment. He did not want to be bewitched by this crystal-clear lotus seed. It looked very beautiful, but in fact, it was a terrifying poison. Even a tiny bit would kill him, and even the gods would not be able to save him then.
He forcefully suppressed the fear in his heart and tried his best to stabilize his spiritual energy. At this time, the slightest mistake would be disastrous. The three of them also took a step back. They looked at the crystal-clear lotus seed with fear in their eyes.
The ruthlessness of the black lotus seed was well-deserved!
The Spirit Replenishing Array formed by the five third-stage spirit stones provided Li Ming with a steady stream of spiritual energy. However, the spiritual energy in his body was still being drained at an alarming rate. His recovery speed was obviously not able to keep up with his consumption.
There was not only one way to set up a Spirit Replenishing Array, but the Five Elements Spirit Replenishing Formation was the best he could set up at the moment.
When the violent spiritual qi poured into his body, he would feel the pain of his meridians being torn apart. The spiritual qi that had just entered his body was being consumed at an even faster rate, making him feel extremely weak.
Waves of intense tearing pain came again and again. Even with the support of the demonic pattern, Li Ming felt like he would soon go crazy.
However, he knew that he could not let himself go crazy. The slightest movement would cause the Fourfold Fire Formation to collapse.
At that time, he would lose control of this crystal-clear lotus seed. Its poison would cause everyone in the room to be unable to remain here for eternity. Clenching his teeth, a trace of blood quietly flowed down from the corner of his mouth.
Li Ming did not seem to notice it. His eyes widened in anger as he looked at the crystal lotus seed that was gradually revealing its true appearance!
The cocoon of light formed by the 16 threads of flame emitted extreme coldness and suppressed the poison. As the surface of the lotus seeds peeled off, the three customers became solemn, and their breathing became heavy.
Chi!
The five spirit stones in the Five Elements Spirit Replenishing Formation suddenly crumbled into five lumps of powder! Everyone's expression changed. He failed?
Amidst the dust, Li Ming's hoarse roar could be heard, "Argh!"
Just before the fire cocoon dissipated, a crystal lotus seed fell into a jade bottle in his left hand. Then, he blocked the mouth of the jade bottle with lightning speed.
The pink mist dispersed, revealing Li Ming's miserable figure. His hair, face, and body were all covered in powder. The blood at the corner of his mouth was mixed with powder, and it was a shocking sight.
"Fortunately, I succeeded."
Li Ming placed the jade bottle in front of him with his right hand. His voice was hoarse and weak. One could imagine how bad his current condition was!
The red-robed man waved his hand, and the jade bottle immediately flew into his hand. After checking it, his expression immediately became overjoyed.
However, his expression immediately turned serious. Then, he cupped his fists at Li Ming and said, "Fellow daoist, you're really capable!" After saying that, he placed the jade slip in front of Li Ming. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the hook-nosed man. "Do you still have the [Metal Refinement Chapter] from before?"
"Yes." The hook-nosed man was stunned for a moment before nodding his head. He then took out a jade slip from the pouch at his waist and handed it over.
The red-robed man placed the [Metal Refinement Chapter] in front of Li Ming and said sincerely, "I hope that fellow daoist can forgive me for my intrusion just now. This is a jade slip that my little brother accidentally obtained. Take it as our apology! In the future, if we encounter any trouble, we hope that you are willing to lend us a hand once again!"
This person is very strong!
Li Ming's heart trembled. It was not because he was thankful to the other party, but because he was holding back his anger. However, just from the name of the jade slip, Li Ming knew that he definitely had no way to resist. He could only force a smile and say, "I hope it won't be as troublesome as today."
After the three of them left, Li Ming, who had escaped death, let out a long sigh of relief. His left hand, which was hidden in his sleeve, released the talisman.
This time, his losses were truly too great!
However, when he saw the two jade slips, he felt that his efforts were not in vain. Li Fengying was already scared out of her wits, hurriedly holding a large number of spirit pills and shoving them at him, trying to persuade Li Ming to go back to the Divine Will Sect. This business was simply too dangerous..
Chapter 120
The following day, Li Fengying was absolutely stunned when she saw how Li Ming, who was half-dead just the day before, was already completely fine.
To her, Li Ming originally looked like someone who might even be unable to withstand a gust of wind. As such, she could not help but wonder if he was merely acting tough.
His internal injuries were much better than he had expected. Li Ming originally thought that he would need to rest for a few months, but he discovered himself recovering pretty quickly. However, it seemed that it would still take some time for him to fully recover.
He had to go back before his injuries recovered. These golden core cultivators all had bad tempers. If another group of miscreants came, he would really be in hot water.
Riding Silly Bird, Li Ming rushed back to his courtyard.
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He finally heaved a sigh of relief when he returned to the Divine Will Sect
Although the Divine Will Sect was not big, the sect master and the others were still in the mountains. With their presence, nobody dared to go overboard and cause trouble. The scene of Martial Uncle Xin suppressing all the enemies with a single sword strike on the night when Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan had risen to the foundation establishment realm was still vivid in his mind.
Sects that had at least four golden core cultivators guarding it could be counted on one hand in the entire continent.
The only thing he felt regretful about was that Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan was not currently in the sect.
After obtaining a pile of jade slips, he began living comfortably for some time. While he was recovering from his injuries, he studied the jade slips in his hand.
He earned many types of jade slips, but the truly good ones were few and far between.
In fact, he did not need too many jade slips. All the jade slips in the sect were open to inner sect disciples, and he could enter his master's library pavilion at will.
Putting everything else aside, just collecting these jade slips would take an unknown amount of time. However, the only thing the sect lacked was the formation jade slips that he urgently needed, so he could only use this method to gather them. He had collected quite a number of jade slips regarding formations, but they were all very fragmented and had no structured system to them.
Fortunately, Li Ming was not a very picky person. He was already quite satisfied just being able to obtain so many jade slips.
Among them, there was a [Blue Flower] that was extremely exquisite, but it was too feminine and was more suited for women.
It was useless to keep it, and the current Li Ying Feng rarely even went to practice the sword. She was busy doing business all day.
However, when he arrived at the east peak, he found that his Junior Sister Lin Xue had also completed her foundation establishment realm and became an inner disciple under Shi Fengrong.
He never thought that this little girl would actually become his junior sister.
When he found a valley and saw the apple-shaped wooden sign with the words "Lin Xue's home" written on it, he could not help but let out a chuckle.
Lin Xue's valley did not have any barriers.
Lin Xue, who was practicing her sword technique, was stunned when she saw Li Ming. She was overjoyed but immediately called out timidly, "Senior brother."
"Mm, very good." Li Ming praised flatly. In fact, from his point of view, Lin Xue's sword technique was still full of holes. He threw the [Blue Flower] to Lin
Xue and said, "Take a look at this."
After asking again, he understood. His master was still in seclusion and did not have the time to teach him anything.
Looking at the other party's round face full of sweat, Li Ming felt that he should be a good senior brother.
He began to guide her bit by bit. He had been cultivating sword scriptures for a much longer time than Qin Cheng. Although he was not as brilliant as Li Zhengxuan, he also comprehended two types of sword essence. His eyesight and perspective were much better than others.
"Your foundation is not good enough." As soon as Li Ming said this, Lin Xue felt like crying, but she forcefully held her tears back.
"Hm, you can come to my valley to cultivate every day. When I'm free, I will give you some pointers."
In the small courtyard, Li Ming, who was bathing in the sun, leaned lazily on a rattan chair. As he swayed, he thought about the jade slips he had memorized.
Not far away, Lin Xue was practicing her sword techniques without saying a word. Her forehead was covered in sweat. Silly Bird stood proudly on the top of the tower, occasionally using her blue beak to tidy up the white feathers on her body.
Li Ming had just been distracted by a difficult question. When he opened his eyes, he saw Silly Bird's smug face. He grew even more frustrated. He casually picked up a stone and threw it at Silly Bird.
"Show off!" This sentence came out of his mouth.
Silly Bird shrieked and flapped her wings to dodge the flying stone. Her eyes were filled with disdain as she looked at Li Ming.
Lin Xue, who was practicing her sword techniques, suddenly quivered. When she saw Li Ming shout at the blue-beaked snow goose, her big eyes narrowed. Seeing Lin Xue's smile, Li Ming coughed and walked slowly toward Xue Lin like a senior brother.
"The greatest taboo when practicing sword techniques is to be distracted. You have to concentrate fully. Only then can you…"
Lin Xue was trying hard to hold back her laughter and had a weird look on her face. Li Ming was completely oblivious. He imitated the tone of the tablet spirit, shook his head, and ended with the lines, "What else is there that is easier than cultivating sword arts? Hm, practice a few more times and you'll get it! "
Then, he waved his hand. "I'm going to go for a walk." After saying that, he slowly walked out of the small courtyard.
Ever since Lin Xue came to Li Ming's place to cultivate every day, Li Ming's food supply has been increasing. Li Ming's appetite had also been increasing. She would cook delicious meat soup over a small fire, as well as food that was filled with spiritual qi. The only thing that made him depressed was that Silly Bird would always come to take some for herself. But there was simply nothing he could do when Silly Bird acted cute in front of Lin Xue.
"Tsk tsk, that girl looks really good!" After leaving the valley, the tablet spirit's figure emerged. He licked his lips and looked back at the valley with a reluctant expression.
Li Ming was already used to the expression on the tablet spirit's face. "Hmph, there are so many people from the Divine Will Sect who want to kill demons and spirits. If you're not afraid of death, then go ahead!"
"They won't be able to see me." The tablet spirit spoke with confidence.
"If you eat her, I won't have anything to eat. Let's die together." Li Ming smacked his lips. Lin Xue's cooking was really delicious.
"Hmph, I won't eat her, but you should not let me starve forever. Give me souls!" The tablet spirit snorted coldly.
"Didn't you say that it would take some time for the yin fiends in the sword cave to form?" Li Ming said to the tablet spirit while shrugging his shoulders.
The tablet spirit looked like it was drooling. "One day is probably enough. Let's get a few and satisfy my appetite!"
Without waiting for Li Ming's reply, he threw down a few spirit stones. His vision blurred, and Li Ming's figure disappeared from where he was.
Li Ming had come to the sword cave more than once, but every time he came, he would be amazed. No one could imagine that there was actually another world in this cave.
Chapter 121
This was not a place he came by every day, so Li Ming decided to condense a few more yin beads while he was there. Yin beads were quite valuable, after all. Moreover, refining yin fire beads could prove to be useful later on. Although he had not tested them out, Li Ming was still very confident in the power of these beads bead. With them being so troublesome to refine, it would be strange if they were useless!
He found a place where he would not be disturbed by the tablet spirit and where the yin qi was denser, and then he began condensing yin beads.
Ever since the tablet spirit told him that all magical arts were based on formations, he had been exploring this way of thought. However, reality was often cruel, as even the simplest magical technique appeared to be ever-changing.
If the core of a magical art was truly a formation, it would be extremely difficult to find the location of the formation through the myriad changes.
Soon, he entered an out-of-body experience. During this time, his hands sometimes moved fast and sometimes slow, and there was no order to speak of. There was no expression on his face at all, and his eyes were empty as if his soul had completely left his body.
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The yin qi on his hands condensed at times, while dissipating during other times. However, he did not seem to notice any of this. His ten fingers moved about as if they were possessed.
The tablet spirit opened its eyes and discovered Li Ming's condition. The yin qi that had been rushing into its body suddenly stopped. It closed its eyes again, and the yin qi in the surroundings gathered towards it at an even faster speed.
The movements of Li Ming's fingers started to have a rhythm to them. The speed at which the yin qi gathered on his hand also became faster and faster. Soon enough, a yin bead slowly formed on his hand.
When the yin bead took shape, Li Ming woke up from his trance. He looked at the yin bead in his hand and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes. The only difference from before was that there was a slight increase in speed.
If it was not for Li Ming having paid some attention to the time, he would not have even noticed this improvement at all.
Although it was only a small improvement, it still served as encouragement for Li Ming. Although he was a little disappointed, he also knew that with his current level, it was still very difficult to learn the formations behind magical arts.
But at least it proved that he was moving in the right direction. As long as he knew the direction to move in, he could go further.
He made a bold change, and this change made his yin beads form even faster.
Perhaps in the future, if his attainments in formations were high enough, he would no longer struggle as he did today, Li Ming consoled himself.
Next, he did not waste any more time and focused on condensing yin beads, only stopping after condensing 30 yin beads.
After absorbing enough yin qi, the tablet spirit was in high spirits. With a satisfied expression. it flew in front of Li Ming. "Go and kill a few vin fiends!" The expression on its face was like that of a hungry child.
"You can do it yourself." Li Ming asked curiously. The tablet spirit was much stronger than him, so there was no reason for it to ask him for help.
The tablet spirit pursed its lips and looked helpless. "If I were to be the one to kill them, those yin fiends would not taste as good."
"Is that so?" Li Ming was skeptical.
The tablet spirit shrugged its shoulders and did not say anything else.
Li Ming thought to himself that it was best not to provoke this spirit too much. He was very clear about the desire that the tablet spirit had for souls.
Hunting yin fiends was much better than having it take souls from others.
"Alright, but you know my strength."
The tablet spirit grew excited. "How could there even be any powerful yin fiends here? Hehe, hurry, we have to go in before your senior brother. We might even find something good."
"Why?" Li Ming asked, puzzled.
Perhaps it was because it needed Li Ming's help, but the tablet spirit did not show any impatience.
He explained in detail, "These yin fiends mostly emerge in places with extremely dense yin qi. They are born from yin qi and gradually form their own consciousness. From when they are born, they will continuously absorb the yin qi around them and become smarter."
"Once they gain enough intelligence, they can finally make use of their innate talent for cultivation, making their bodies even purer. Some powerful yin fiends can even turn into demons or evil spirits.
"With them having been born from yin qi, they have an extreme aptitude toward yin and even have bodies of yin. They become incredibly difficult to deal with."
Li Ming was shocked. The words "difficult to deal with" was something that rarely came out from the mouth of the tablet spirit.
"However, yin fiends are ultimately formed from yin qi. Their formation takes quite some time."
"Your senior brother cleaned up all the yin fiends here just now. He's really a freak. Not a single one was left! If it was not for this cave, the fiendish qi and bloodthirsty qi here would not have been formed so easily. Sigh, this is fate!" The tablet spirit looked like it was sighing, which baffled Li Ming. He reminded him, "You are not human, you have no life."
One man and one spirit entered the deepest parts of the sword cave.
As they got deeper and deeper, the yin qi became denser and denser, and the tablet spirit's expression became increasingly cheerful. However, in Li Ming's eyes, all of this was so strange.
This body of a spirit was indeed different from that of a human. The deeper he went, the more perturbed Li Ming felt.
The surrounding environment was getting stranger and stranger, but Li Ming's divine sense was getting stronger and stronger. He could clearly feel a chill that made people shudder. It was like countless bugs were drilling around his body.
The blood fiend at his feet was much thicker than outside. It was filled with endless hostility, and Li Ming's divine sense had to avoid it as much as possible.
Li Ming could not help but feel a lingering fear when he thought about how his finger had almost touched something that looked like blood.
Li Ming could tell at a glance how powerful the blood fiend was. This was not someone he could provoke.
"Where are the yin fiends?" Li Ming's voice trembled as he spoke.
The tablet spirit paused and looked around. Suddenly, it pointed in a direction excitedly. "There's one over there."
He took the lead and flew in that direction. The tablet spirit's body was erratic like a ghost.
Li Ming could only grit his teeth and follow closely behind the tablet spirit.
A pitch-black mist was surging in the corner of the wall.
"This is a yin fiend?" He never would have thought that the yin fiend that the tablet spirit spoke so frighteningly about was actually a ball of black mist that looked like it could not harm a thing.
The tablet spirit shrugged its shoulders. "Yin fiends come in many different forms. You've seen them many times, so you should not be surprised."
"I don't want to see too much." Li Ming muttered to himself as he looked at the ever-changing black fog in front of him. He suddenly had a feeling that he did not know where to start. "How do I kill it?"
"That's easy. You just have to hurt it." The tablet spirit's eyes lit up, and its face was filled with hope. "Heavily injure it!"
Li Ming summoned the water-drop sword.
Under the constant nourishment of the spiritual spring, the body of the water-drop sword had already become crystal clear. After a few hand gestures, he made his move!
A translucent ripple slowly rippled in front of Li Ming. The water-drop sword sank into the yin fiend's body. The sharp tip of the sword was as if it sank into
water as its movement slowed.
Chi!
The yin fiend suddenly rampaged..
Chapter 122
Li Ming felt an excruciating pain in his head, as if a needle had been ruthlessly stabbed into his brain. At the same time, the water-drop sword was suddenly thrown into chaos.
"This is only the lowest-level yin fiend. It only has one ability, and it is this divine sense spike that you are currently experiencing." The tablet spirit sneered as it said, "Don't tell me you can't even handle this."
Then, another divine sense spike hit Li Ming.
Although his divine sense was massive, he had no idea how to use it. Even with the divine sense he had, if he did not know how to use it, then it was no different from a waste of resources.
When it came to divine sense attacks, divine sense defenses, and so on, he was absolutely clueless.
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His brain felt like it had been stabbed twice by a dagger, and he felt sharp, harrowing pain.
The yin fiend's attack was invisible and untouchable. When his divine sense sensed it, the attack had already arrived. It was almost impossible to dodge it.
As long as the tablet spirit had something to do with it, it's definitely not something good. Li Ming complained endlessly in his heart.
After the yin fiend was struck by the water-drop sword, it was enraged and instinctively counter-attacked. Apart from the divine sense spike that it repeatedly launched at Li Ming, it also charged at him like a wild beast.
Li Ming felt the temperature around him drop abruptly. The yin qi was so thick that it was almost tangible. It surrounded him as if it wanted to drill into his body through his pores!
Right now, Li Ming felt as if he was being stabbed by thousands of needles. Due to the extreme pain he was in, he could not help but let out a shrill scream.
"You're so useless. That senior brother of yours could split this thing in half with a single slash." The tablet spirit sneered.
At this moment, Li Ming did not have the time to bother about the tablet spirit. The water-drop sword returned to his hand. This time, he did not hesitate at all. The spiritual energy in his body surged and he prepared an attack!
However, in the next second, he was scared out of his wits!
The spiritual energy in his body suddenly went on a rampage! The black mist that surrounded him was like a sponge that absorbed all the spiritual energy in his body.
How is this possible?
If this continued, his spiritual energy would be exhausted in barely any time!
"Devouring spiritual energy is something that any demon can do. Oh, this little yin fiend cannot even be considered a fully-fledged demon." The tablet spirit's words held a hint of disdain as it spoke to Li Ming.
When Li Ming heard the tablet spirit's words, his interest was immediately piqued. Devouring spiritual energy! Inexplicably, the [Vajra Seal] appeared in his mind. He could not care about anything else right now and directly activated the [Vajra Seal].
In the black fog, a golden light suddenly shone. Li Ming's entire body seemed as if it had been plated with a layer of dark gold.
Success!
Li Ming could clearly feel that the speed at which his spiritual energy was flowing out of his body had sharply declined. His dark golden skin was like a barrier that could stop him from losing his spiritual energy.
Without any hesitation, Li Ming wielded the water-drop sword!
Sword qi rose from the ground like a tidal wave and reverberated in the air. It created layers of waves like a tempestuous storm at sea!
At this moment, the cold qi that had been accumulating for a long time surged out like a landslide and swept across everything!
The pressure on Li Ming's body instantly disappeared. He held the longsword in his hand and was surrounded by a layer of light blue ice crystal fragments.
"It's been beaten up so badly by you, how can I still eat it?" The tablet spirit said unhappily.
Li Ming was panting and could not be bothered with the tablet spirit. After a while, his breathing calmed down. However, when he thought of the danger he had just been in, he flew into a rage. "Damned humanoid demon! Why didn't you warn me earlier?"
The tablet spirit acted as if it had done nothing wrong. "I thought that you would know. It's basic logic."
Could this idiotic tablet spirit not see the trouble I was in? Li Ming sneered, "I won't be helping you with this little task of yours any longer! You can do it yourself. "
The tablet spirit was dumbstruck.
Dumb tablet spirit! I'll kill you if you dare to play any more tricks on me! Li Ming was furious.
"It's a misunderstanding!" The tablet spirit followed behind him with a serious expression. "Originally, I wanted to tell you how to deal with yin fiends, but you should know that you have to experience it yourself to gain a deeper understanding."
Li Ming did not mind the tablet spirit.
The tablet spirit looked at him and said slowly, "Look, with your ability, it really did not take much effort to destroy the newly formed yin fiend, did it? But you really are wasteful, how could you destroy it like that?"
Li Ming did not even look at the tablet spirit as he said, "Why should I not destroy it after it hurt me?"
"Yes, you're gravely mistaken if you think that way," the tablet spirit said seriously. "For example, if your master asked you to catch a live demonic beast, what would you do? You are a pill refiner yourself, so you should know that many demonic beast must be kept alive in order for the materials that can be obtained from them to remain effective.
Li Ming ignored him.
"With your cultivation, it's already very lucky that you were able to kill him.
However, you can't stay in the Divine Will Sect and the Heavenly Origin
Supercontinent forever, right? After all, you still have a lot of things to do." Li Ming paused and interrupted him without hesitation. "What do you mean?" "I'm just teaching you some methods to deal with this kind of situation."
"What methods are you talking about?"
"There are many methods." The tablet spirit stroked its chin and said, "However, at your current level, it's best to use formations."
Formations? Li Ming was stunned, but his interest had been piqued. "Formations, what do you mean formations? Will my enemies always give me time to set up formations?"
A hint of disdain flashed in the tablet spirit's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
"You know very little about formations. I've seen powerful cultivators that can often set up a huge formation with just a thought. Their techniques are ever-changing. I once saw a sword cultivator with twelve flying swords set up a powerful sword formation in an instant. It's extremely impressive."
"That's the same as not saying anything." Li Ming was disappointed. These days, although he had studied formations, he had only just begun to understand them. He still needed a lot of time before he could even begin studying more complicated formations.
"Formation plate?" Li Ming was stunned and revealed a pleasantly surprised expression. "Do you actually know how to make formation plates?"
In the formation jade slips that he had collected, even though there were records of formation plates, there was nothing about how to actually make them.
He originally wanted to find some jade slips that could teach him how to make formation plates in Dongfu, but because of the matter with the black lotus seed, he did not have the time to investigate and had to rush back to the sect.
"I don't." The words of the tablet spirit were like a bucket of cold water being poured on Li Ming's head. The flame of excitement and hope that had been ignited in his heart with great difficulty was instantly extinguished.
He looked at the tablet spirit with displeasure.
The tablet spirit shrugged its shoulders. "I don't know much about it either, but I do know where to find it.'
"Where?" Li Ming blurted out.
The tablet spirit said leisurely, "I can tell you, but I think we should sign a contract first..
Chapter 123
Li Ming was stunned for a moment before he came to a realization and asked, "What do you want?"
"After I tell you, you have to give me fifty living yin fiends." The tablet spirit's scarlet tongue licked at the side of its mouth, making it look indescribably evil.
"Alright." Li Ming agreed without thinking.
"Hehe, in your library pavilion." The tablet spirit glanced at Li Ming, a faint smile hanging on its mouth.
Li Ming was silent.
Box
The Divine Will Mountain had long since opened the doors of its library pavilion to inner disciples, and it was free of charge.
When the sect master first announced this, Li Ming thought that there was something wrong with his ears. In his opinion, the sect master and the martial uncles were not generous people, so why would they offer something so valuable for free?
However, despite his doubts, Li Ming still enjoyed this privilege.
Unfortunately, most of the jade slips in the sect were related to the sword. There were very few other types of jade slips, let alone high-grade ones in other fields. Therefore, Li Ming could not really benefit from the jade slips in the library pavilion as much as others.
Li Ming suddenly paused. He saw an acquaintance.
"Senior Brother Luo Ming!"
Wasn't this senior brother supposed to be in seclusion? Li Ming was shocked. When he looked at Senior Brother Luo Ming again, he noticed that he seemed to be immersed in his own thoughts. Senior Brother Luo Ming even seemed to be completely oblivious to his arrival.
Li Ming did not hold any good feelings toward Senior Brother Luo Ming. There was no room for reconciliation between the two of them.
However, Li Ming did not want to cause any trouble here, so he quietly searched the library alone.
Very quickly, he found a jade slip containing information on a formation plate inside. He was overjoyed. The tablet spirit had not tricked him.
Holding the jade slip, Li Ming quickly began studying. It was unknown how much time had passed as he studied.
A formation plate was generally understood as a jade plate on which a formation had been set up beforehand. When needed, it could be released instantaneously. It was very useful. Most formations could be made into simple formation disks.
However, the power of the formation plate was still slightly inferior to a formation set up by magical artifacts. Therefore, it was generally only used by low-level cultivators below the golden core realm.
And among cultivators, loos cultivators were the most experienced in using formation plates.
Li Ming felt that he was quite fated to be with these loose cultivators. For example, the spiritual plant magical arts that he had studied in the past were the specialties of these loose cultivators.
The difficulty of making formation plates was directly proportional to the complexity of the formation that was being inscribed onto the plate.
It had to be said that during this period of time, Li Ming had accumulated a lot of experience in the process of refining materials in Dongfu. Under his careful study, he gradually grasped the technique of refining formation plates.
In the past, he studied formations only to improve his attainments in forging and pill refinement. He never thought that he could use that knowledge against his enemies.
It was only when he began studying formation plates that he suddenly realized that formations could also be a very useful card in battle.
It was already late at night when he came out of the library pavilion. He did not see Senior Brother Luo Ming anywhere, so he assumed that the other party had left.
When he returned to West Wind Courtyard, Lin Xue had already left. Silly Bird was still perched on the roof, combing her fur repeatedly.
He walked into the room and found a jade plate. After pondering for a moment, Li Ming began to make his first formation plate.
He cut the jade plate into a thin piece the size of a palm. He did not need to carve too much. Li Ming used the water-drop sword to cut it into a rough circle.
The most important thing was to seal the formation in the jade token, but what formation would he inscribe?
Since it was the first one, Li Ming chose the easy Three-powers Water Formation.
Its only use was to make the surrounding water denser, thereby increasing the power of water-element cultivation techniques. Setting up a formation required many techniques, but the most important thing was a talisman treasure.
Some cultivators would make small flags to set up formations. Some people would make a string of beads to assist the formation. Every cultivator was different, and the talisman treasures they used were different.
All talisman treasures had one thing in common, and that was that they were large in quantity.
The more powerful the formation, the more talisman treasures it required.
However, in Li Ming's eyes, the talisman treasure was an existence that was far beyond his reach. With his current level, he was still unable to make talisman treasures.
Fortunately, the Three-powers Water Formation did not require too many materials. Li Ming randomly picked three first-grade greenwood and cut them into small pieces. Then, he carved the formation patterns on them.
Because this formation was very simple, the three crude talisman treasures were quickly drawn.
Li Ming began to lay down the Three-powers Water Formation.
The three greenwood talisman treasures were placed in the positions of Heaven, Earth, and Man. And two spirit stones were placed in the positions of the Sun and Moon. After doing all this, Li Ming formed a seal with his hands.
A thin layer of fog quickly enveloped the small courtyard. Silly Bird was so surprised that she cried out loudly. She flapped her wings and soared into the sky.
At this moment, Li Ming hurriedly took out the jade plate that he had prepared earlier and began to use the sealing technique.
The surrounding water elements and the three water elements were all sucked into the jade plate, and a blue water rune appeared on the jade plate.
Li Ming was delighted and quickly activated the array disc. The array disc flashed, and the Three-powers Water Formation appeared on the ground, emitting water vapor continuously.
The only difference was that the water vapor produced was much less than the actual Three-powers Water Formation.
Interesting!
Li Ming, who was full of vigor, began to make all kinds of formation plates. Although they were all out of inferior materials, he was still happy and did not get tired of testing more things out.
He only stopped when all the spiritual energy in his body was exhausted. However, there were more than ten formation plates of various types in his hand. The exhausted Li Ming fell asleep as soon as he laid down. After a while, he began snoring loudly.
Lin Xue eventually woke Li Ming up.
"Oh." He responded. Li Ming forced his sleepy eyes open and mumbled. It had been a long time since he had slept so soundly.
"The sect master has invited you to head to the Divine Will Hall."
"Divine Will Hall, don't disturb me…" Li Ming had just opened his eyes and was still in a daze. After a while, he came back to his senses and quickly sat up. He asked Lin Xue anxiously, "Wait, where idd you say that the sect master wanted me to go?"
"The sect master wants you to go to the Divine Will Hall."
Sobering up instantly, Li Ming leaped up like a gust of wind and flew out of West Wind Valley.
What a joke!
If the sect master told him to go to the Divine Will Hall, then there must be something big to be announced!
On his way to the Divine Will Hall, he wondered what announcement the sect master would make at this time.
When Li Ming arrived at Divine Will Hall, he did not expect Senior Brother Luo Ming to be there as well. He bowed to the sect master on the main seat and retreated to the side.
Looking around, the rest of the martial uncles were not around. There were only three of them in the entire Divine Will Hall.
"Luo Ming, Li Ming, the two of you should mentally prepare yourselves. In another month, the two of you will be following Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan to participate in the Dongfu Sword Testing Conference. During this period of time, you must work hard in your cultivation and not slack off."
From the moment Li Zhengxuan left the sword cave, no one had ever questioned his position as the eldest senior brother. It was said that the sect master had only decided on that day.
Luo Ming did not say a word and bowed.
Li Ming, who was not mentally prepared, stood there.. Sword-Testing Conference? He was going to the Sword-Testing Conference?