by Imperfection
The following day, Lü Yang waited inside his cave dwelling for the entire day.
No one came.
The three black-clad men might as well have never been disciples of the Primordial Saint Sect at all. Their deaths caused not a single ripple. No one even came by to check on the situation.
Lü Yang sighed once more. He certainly did not believe that the Saint Sect, which possessed every disciple's life lamp, had failed to notice the deaths of the three people. In hindsight, it seemed that "mutual slaughter between disciples" was simply an unspoken rule. As long as it did not escalate, as long as it did not become public knowledge, no one would come to investigate.
After all, the Demonic Path was treacherous and unfathomable.
Someone died. Perhaps it was to silence a witness, perhaps it was for money, or perhaps the dead had learned something they should not have known. What if an investigation actually turned something up?
Better not to look into it at all.
Truly worthy of the Saint Sect...
After his moment of reflection, Lü Yang set his mind at ease and began collecting the spoils of battle.
First were the disciple tokens. To Lü Yang's shock, the three men's tokens contained a combined total of 400 Contribution Points, an amount far beyond what was normal.
So they were repeat offenders.
Lü Yang frowned and rummaged through the rest. Aside from miscellaneous items, the only thing that truly caught his eye was a secret manual named the "Qi Concealment Art."
In Lü Yang's opinion, these three had been exceptionally skilled at suppressing their True Qi. Had he not broken through, gaining a qualitative leap in both True Qi and spiritual sense, he might never have detected their intrusion. This spoke volumes about the power of this Qi Concealment Art. It was clearly their most closely guarded technique.
More importantly, it has nothing to do with the Saint Sect!
The Saint Sect's techniques were only ever recorded on disciple tokens. However, the Qi Concealment Art was a physical secret manual. This meant it was likely the three men's own opportunity.
Which meant there was no need to worry about the Saint Sect having a way to counter it.
A pillow arrives just as you're getting sleepy. What a good death!
With that thought, Lü Yang sincerely gathered the three men's remains, dug a pit, and buried them. It was the least he could do to let them rest in peace.
Then a thought suddenly struck him:
This Qi Concealment Art is so exquisite, and it didn't come from the Saint Sect. Where did they get it? Could there be an even greater opportunity behind this?
In an instant, Lü Yang's mind began to race.
But he quickly reined in his greed, his eyes returning to their usual calm. No rush. Next life, perhaps I can befriend these three.
There would always be opportunities!
After laying the three to rest, Lü Yang took out his disciple token and began reviewing the materials Yun Miaoqing had told him were needed for refining a sword pellet.
To refine a sword pellet, one must gather three taels of metal essence, three taels of jade marrow, two taels of cinnabar, and two taels of sword qi, totaling ten taels. These are then tempered with true fire and quenched with divine water, purging all impurities. Finally, the mixture is slowly refined using a secret sword technique, harmonizing it with the refiner's essence, qi, and spirit, before the pellet can truly take form.
Lü Yang recalled the refinement method while browsing the item catalog.
The more he looked, the worse his expression became.
Metal essence and jade marrow, cinnabar and sword qi, all at a flat rate of 100 Contribution Points per tael. Divine water, 500 Contribution Points per gourd. True fire, 500 Contribution Points per strand...
2,000 Contribution Points!?
Lü Yang gritted his teeth. He had heard it from Yun Miaoqing herself: every disciple of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion received a sword pellet bestowed by their master upon entering Qi Refinement.
And in the Primordial Saint Sect, it cost 2,000 Contribution Points?
An ordinary disciple would have to go without food or drink, slaving away for the Saint Sect for twenty years, before they could possibly accumulate that much!
Damn this Demonic Sect!
Such an astronomical price instantly extinguished the satisfaction Lü Yang had felt from his small windfall, reminding him once again of the harsh reality that he was a pauper.
This makes 400 Contribution Points feel rather like chicken ribs, too little to matter, too much to throw away.
According to Lü Yang's plan, he would choose cultivation when he started his next life. So nothing he obtained in this life could be taken with him.
Therefore, no matter what he spent those 400 Contribution Points on, it would be meaningless.
As for cultivation, mid-stage and early-stage Qi Refinement were worlds apart. Even if he spent all 400 points, it would be impossible to break through to the fifth layer.
Looks like I can only spend them on techniques.
After all, unlike treasures, techniques and divine abilities were knowledge, and knowledge could be carried into the next life. With that thought, Lü Yang left his cave dwelling at once and headed for the Scripture Pavilion.
"Oh, it's you, kid?"
The old man at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion actually remembered Lü Yang. A look of surprise crossed his face. "You're here to exchange for more techniques? Looks like you've made a fortune."
"Thanks to your kind words, Senior Brother."
Lü Yang cupped his hands, then walked into the Scripture Pavilion. This time, his goal was clear: he wanted a divine ability with devastating power, one specifically meant for fighting to the death.
Before long, Lü Yang locked onto his target.
"Life-Taking Curse: 300 Contribution Points."
This divine ability was highly unusual, bearing a resemblance to the Buddhist practice of a vow of silence. It required the practitioner to nurture a breath of killing intent within their chest, tempering it day and night with True Qi until it became intertwined with their very life force.
In ordinary times, it lay dormant, and the practitioner could speak normally. But the moment it was unleashed, the practitioner would open their mouth, utter a single word, "Kill!", and in that instant, all of the killing intent stored within would erupt alongside their life force, shattering souls and scattering spirits, unstoppable in its fury. However, once this breath of killing intent was fully spent, the user would also die. It was, in essence, a technique for mutual annihilation.
Perfect. It can kill others, and it can kill me. Exactly what I need!
Carrying the Book of a Hundred Lives, what Lü Yang feared most was not death, but being unable to die. The Book of a Hundred Lives could not be activated at will. Only his death could trigger it.
Therefore, he desperately needed a divine ability for killing himself.
After exchanging for the technique at the Scripture Pavilion, Lü Yang immediately sat cross-legged and began comprehending the method.
The Life-Taking Curse stores qi within the chest. The most critical element is this breath of killing intent. The higher its quality, the greater the power when the Death Curse erupts.
It is said: when Heaven unleashes its killing intent, the stars shift from their courses; when Earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and serpents rise from the land; when Man unleashes his killing intent, Heaven and Earth are overturned. Thus, the killing intent of the world is divided into three types: Heavenly, Earthly, and Human. Of these, Heavenly and Earthly killing intent appear perhaps once in a century. Only Human killing intent is found everywhere, and of Human killing intent, the qi of war and bloodshed is considered the most supreme...¹
Inside the Scripture Pavilion, Lü Yang began to refine the killing intent.
Fortunately, the materials are readily available...
So-called Human killing intent was mostly extracted from the weapons of those who harbored killing intent. As luck would have it, Lü Yang still had the weapons the three black-clad men had been carrying.
He drew out the killing intent directly, refining it into his body bit by bit.
In an instant, Lü Yang felt as though a thousand blades were scraping at bone and carving flesh inside his chest. The agony was unbearable, yet he kept his lips and teeth clenched shut, not daring to open his mouth.
Because this was the critical moment of refinement. If he opened his mouth now and the qi escaped, he would die on the spot!
A long time passed before the killing intent in his chest gradually settled and stabilized, fully merging with his True Qi. A single thought was all it would take to unleash it.
I wonder how powerful it actually is...
At this thought, a glimmer of anticipation surfaced on Lü Yang's face. He resolved that before dying in this life, he would use the Life-Taking Curse at least once, just to see what it could do.
Returning to the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion, Lü Yang was surprised to find the old man cursing furiously.
"That son of a bitch, that lucky bastard..."
The old man clutched his disciple token, his wrinkled hands trembling uncontrollably. His aged face was twisted into an expression that was impossible to read.
Lü Yang approached with curiosity. "Senior Brother? What happened?"
"What happened?" The old man's eyes bulged with fury. He slammed his disciple token on the ground with a cold laugh. "Everyone's talking about it. See for yourself."
With that, the old man flung himself back into his rocking chair, sulking.
Lü Yang watched in bewilderment. It was not until he opened his own disciple token and saw the latest news that he finally understood what had happened.
"Grand Prize of the Merit Pool Finally Finds Its Winner!
"The Prismatic Merit Fish has been drawn by newly inducted disciple Xiao Shiye! A True Person personally awarded the grand prize of one billion contribution points on the spot. After claiming the prize, Xiao Shiye entered closed-door cultivation and his whereabouts are currently unknown!"
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1. This passage draws from classical Taoist cosmology describing the Three Killings, first recorded in the Huainanzi (淮南子天文训): The Three Killings refer to the killing intent of Heaven, Earth, and Man, each associated with cosmic upheaval, natural catastrophe, and human warfare respectively.