Mortal: Refining Weapons for Immortality

Chapter 32 Return Chapter

With the death of the Azure Flood Dragon, the entire lake became completely still. The remaining small snakes either scattered in all directions or sank to the bottom of the lake and remained motionless, fearing that they would be completely wiped out.

Having slain the Azure Thread Flood Dragon, Song Meng naturally wouldn't be polite to Lin Changqing, a Qi Refining stage cultivator, and began his search.

Generally speaking, dragon-type demon beasts can condense their demon cores in advance, but it is unknown whether this half-snake, half-dragon demon beast has a demon core.

During his search, Song Meng actually found a small, dark green demon core. It was much smaller than a normal demon core, and some of the patterns on it were not fully formed. However, its value was not bad. It was worth more spirit stones than the entire flesh and blood body, and it also had a lot of value in alchemy. It could also be used for bartering.

"Great! I didn't expect to have such a good harvest this time. I'm really lucky." Song Meng rubbed the demon core with his fingers, wiping away the bloodstains on it, making the demon core completely clear. This was the first time Song Meng had ever touched a demon core. Sure enough, the energy contained inside was extraordinary, incomparable to that of a flesh and blood body.

After examining it closely, Song Meng put away the demon core of the Azure Threaded Flood Dragon. As for the remaining body, Song Meng left it to Lin Changqing and did not completely take possession of the Azure Threaded Flood Dragon.

That's how it is in the cultivation world. The strongest takes the lion's share, and no matter how much effort you put in, you'll only get some compensation and a few more monster materials.

In the world of cultivation, for demonic beasts that possess demon cores, the value of the demon core is paramount. Generally, the value is split 30/70: three-tenths of the value lies in the body, and seven-tenths in the demon core. Of course, there are other special variations, such as nine-tenths of the value being in the demon core, or even all the value being in the demon core, while the body is useless.

It's understandable that Song Meng would leave his entire body to Lin Changqing, since Lin Changqing created opportunities for him throughout the entire process, and he even took a "pill" that damaged his foundation for it.

A little embarrassed by this, Song Meng walked over to Lin Changqing and, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, lightly patted him, saying, "Young Brother Lin, I've decided to be your friend. There are very few cultivators as daring and courageous as you. I have high hopes for you!!!"

In the end, he may have admired Lin Changqing and even relinquished his promise.

"If you encounter any difficulties later, you can come to Yellow Maple Valley to find me, and I can give you some pointers."

Lin Changqing has now reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage and is about to establish his foundation. Naturally, he will not be moved by Song Meng's appreciation. Moreover, it is not impossible for Lin Changqing to fight the Azure Thread Flood Dragon alone, but it would be more troublesome and might even damage a flying sword talisman.

Even though he had the strength to rival a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was still a Qi Refining cultivator, not a Foundation Establishment cultivator. So in the end, he still smiled at Song Meng, looking very happy.

"Thank you, Senior Song."

Seeing that Lin Changqing was so sensible, Song Meng laughed heartily.

"Alright, go and collect the Azure Thread Serpent, then we'll go check on them."

Lin Changqing began to process the Green Thread Serpent, dissecting its body and packing it away.

As for the horned snake covered in wounds, Lin Changqing fed it a healing pill and then put it back into the spirit beast pouch.

After that, he went to meet up with Song Meng.

......

On the island, Huang Sheng and Li Zhijing bowed to Song Meng together to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, Senior Uncle Song, for coming to my rescue!"

Song Meng waved his hand, telling the two not to stand on ceremony. He stepped forward to observe Li Zhiping's condition and said to everyone with a troubled expression, "Nephew Zhiping's condition is so bad right now, I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on until we can return to the sect and be treated by our senior brothers."

Helpless, Song Meng could only take out an antidote pill and force Li Zhiping to swallow it with his magic in order to reduce the toxins in his body, as a last resort.

Under the effects of the antidote, Li Zhiping's complexion improved slightly, but his face remained dark, and he was not completely out of the brink of death.

"These ordinary antidote pills are still not enough. At most, they can only provide temporary relief and cannot remove much of the toxins. If it weren't for the antidote pills that you, Junior Nephew Huang, had taken out earlier to provide temporary relief, Junior Nephew Zhiping probably wouldn't have been able to wait for our rescue."

After seeing that Song Meng's antidote pills were not very effective, the middle-aged man and Miss Cui also took out their own antidotes to try to slow the spread of the toxins, but the effect was not significant.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Song Meng remembered that Lin Changqing's magic power could break through the poison of the Green Thread Flood Dragon, so he figured that magic power should also have some detoxification effect, so he asked Lin Changqing about it.

"Brother Lin, your technique can break through the poison of the Azure Thread Dragon, so it must have some miraculous effects. I wonder if you could help my nephew detoxify, or even just alleviate the symptoms?"

Lin Changqing could naturally detoxify completely, but it would inevitably cost him his lifespan. He and Li Zhiping were not related, so he certainly wouldn't want to waste his lifespan.

If it's just about relieving the poison, it's easy for Lin Changqing; he can simply use Xiaochun's magic.

However, Lin Changqing would not provide the antidote for free. After all, the Li family might not cherish something that is given away for free. Therefore, Lin Changqing subtly expressed his difficulties.

"Senior Song, I've used all my internal energy, expending some of my foundation, which should alleviate the poison, but..."

Those present naturally understood Lin Changqing's unspeakable difficulties, but they and Li Zhiping were merely ordinary fellow disciples, not too close, and had not yet reached the point of bearing the consequences.

The middle-aged man and Li Zhijing were different; they came from the same family, and he couldn't just stand by and watch someone die.

So before Lin Changqing could finish speaking, the middle-aged man interrupted him, saying respectfully, "If Fellow Daoist Lin can truly alleviate my nephew's severe poisoning, my Li family will naturally offer a consultation fee. Please, Fellow Daoist Lin, lend us your help."

Seeing that his uncle had spoken, Li Zhijing couldn't just stand there and appear heartless, so he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Brother Lin, please do me a favor. My Li family will never forget your kindness."

Seeing that the two were so respectful in asking him to detoxify, Lin Changqing naturally had no reason to refuse. After all, he and the Li family were old acquaintances, and they had always had a pleasant working relationship.

He then said to the two of them, "Since you two fellow Daoists are so sincere in your request, I will certainly do my best to help you."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lin Changqing began to "laboriously" detoxify Li Zhiping.

A wisp of green light from Lin Changqing's hand gently touched Li Zhiping's back, entering Li Zhiping's meridians and continuously clearing away toxins, like cleaning away dust, expelling the toxins from his body, causing a wisp of foul-smelling black gas to emanate from the air.

The black aura emanated from Li Zhiping's body, and his complexion gradually changed from its initial dark black to a normal color, clearly indicating that the toxins in his body had been greatly reduced.

Now, under Lin Changqing's magical healing, Li Zhiping felt as if he had found an oasis in the desert and drunk from a sweet spring. His consciousness slowly returned, and he murmured weakly, "Uncle Li...Junior Brother...I'm still alive?"

Seeing that Li Zhiping had almost recovered, Lin Changqing slowly withdrew his magic power, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said breathlessly, "I have fulfilled my mission!!!"

The weakened Li Zhiping was helped up by Li Zhijing, while the middle-aged man once again expressed his gratitude to Lin Changqing.

"Thank you so much, fellow Daoist, for saving my nephew's life! Thank you so much, fellow Daoist!!!" the middle-aged man said sincerely.

Lin Changqing said in a weak voice, "Fellow Daoist Li, it is my duty to save people, there is no need to be so polite."

Just as the two were exchanging pleasantries, Li Zhiping, dragging his weak body, inquired, "Junior Brother, Zhijing, have you found any treasures on this island?"

The two of them stiffened, knowing they couldn't hide anything anymore, and had no choice but to take out the spiritual medicine they had found earlier in front of everyone.

"Green light grass? Navy blue flower?"

Song Meng was tempted when he saw some herbs that were hundreds of years old, but as an elder of his sect, he couldn't force them to take them, so he suggested exchanging them.

And so, Li Zhiping and the other two redistributed their spoils, and of course, they also gave some medicinal herbs to the people who came to their rescue.

The island was searched again by everyone, hoping to find some treasures. However, rare natural treasures are rare in the world, and this secret place is not large, so it only produces a small amount of natural treasures, which is not much. However, in addition to these cultivation materials, some things that are not very useful were also found.

These things are mostly cultivation techniques and insights carved on the stone walls, as well as some fragments of dissipated magical artifacts and nearly ineffective elixirs.

In addition, three demon cores of dragon beasts were also found, but the spiritual power contained within the demon cores had been exhausted, and they had lost their original effects, making them less valuable than the bodies of the demon beasts outside.

Therefore, no one objected when they saw Lin Changqing accept these items, and they left them all to him. After all, these ineffective items were not even worth mentioning, and there was nothing worth fighting over.

Lin Changqing did not offer any explanation, but simply demonstrated the frugal nature of a rogue cultivator, making it clear to everyone once again that Lin Changqing was a rogue cultivator who did not have the channels and resources of a sect cultivator. Many of his cultivation resources were obtained through his own efforts, which made everyone feel a little strange towards Lin Changqing.

However, since everyone had supported him all along, they didn't say anything and just let Lin Changqing take it.

As for the remaining jade slips containing cultivation techniques, elixir formulas, and miscellaneous books, everyone made copies of them and, led by Song Meng, left this secret place together.

With the protection of Song Meng, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, no evil cultivators came to disturb them along the way, and they left Yanshi Mountain peacefully and returned to Huangfeng Valley.

Li Zhiping was also taken back to Huangfeng Valley and given treatment by more skilled physicians and alchemists, while Lin Changqing returned to Huangfeng Valley Market with Li Zhiping.

Strolling through the market on North Street, looking at the scattered cultivators around him, Lin Changqing felt a mix of emotions.

In the market town of North Street, there are not many independent cultivators who can earn spirit stones. In fact, it is possible that most of them have been setting up their stalls for a long time but still can't collect the spirit stones they paid to Huangfeng Valley for their stalls.

These rogue cultivators have basically not mastered the four arts of alchemy, array formation, artifact crafting, and talisman making, so their sales are not very good. They only know how to make some spiritual wine and food, as well as some strange and ingenious skills. They are not part of the mainstream orthodox cultivation world. Some cultivators don't even know these unorthodox methods. They can only sell some common items, and their prices cannot be higher than those in the shops in the south.

Under such circumstances, there are practically no cultivators who wouldn't resort to some underhanded tactics to earn spirit stones; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to set up this stall.

As for Lin Changqing, he is an anomaly, proficient in both alchemy and artifact crafting, which is why he is not in such dire straits and can afford to hire Li Zhijing to help him manage his stall. Otherwise, he would only be able to sell his wares in smaller markets or remote mountain areas, like most independent cultivators.

Although Huangfeng Valley Market has many rules, it is very safe. Few people openly disturb Lin Changqing's stall at the north end. Instead, they all use underhanded methods, but Lin Changqing has bribed them with spirit stones to deal with them.

Of course, this was when he had just arrived in Huangfeng Valley Market. He didn't have much of a foundation and his strength was relatively weak, so he had no choice but to do this. Now, no one uses such methods anymore.

However, as his strength grew, some of his thoughts became stronger, especially after he understood the difference between himself and the sect cultivators during this hunt for demonic beasts. He saw more clearly the common thoughts of the sect cultivators, which was their different evaluation of the Poison Dragon cultivator.