Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 188 Karmic Fire "Burning Like Fire" (Bonus Chapter 23 for Alliance Leader)

"Thank you." Xu Ziqing accepted it with both hands.

"Not at all, you're too kind."

Upon seeing Song Yan, Wu Zheng understood his purpose. He said, "Wait a moment," and then walked towards the back hall.

Xu Ziqing looked at Song Yan and laughed: "You Qi Refining Realm cultivators have sword-wielding skills, and we Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators naturally have sword-wielding skills as well."

Song Yan suddenly realized, and upon closer reflection, it was indeed true.

There are quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Dongyuan Sect, so there are many spectator slots for the Dragon Pool Mountain Nine Veins Grand Competition. However, there are only a few slots for participants, so naturally, some selection methods are needed.

"However, the sword-sparring among Foundation Establishment cultivators is not done in such a grand manner; everyone just spars behind closed doors."

Xu Ziqing gave a wry smile: "Those people really went to great lengths to prepare me for the trip to Longtan Mountain three years from now."

After exchanging a few words, Wu Zheng brought over Song Yan's reward for wiping the sword.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu."

"Alas, Junior Brother Song is exceptionally talented. I am just a useless old man and cannot bear the title of Senior Brother."

"Hmm? Junior Nephew Song, aren't you going to take a look at those high-grade magic artifacts and other treasures of the same level?"

Seeing that Song Yan was about to leave after taking the Qiankun bag, Xu Ziqing immediately spoke up to remind him.

"High-quality magical artifacts are easy to obtain, but spiritual treasures that suit one's own nature are not easy to find."

This time it was Song Yan's turn to be puzzled: "Elder Xu, when the rewards were announced before, you only mentioned high-grade magic artifacts, but you didn't mention that high-grade magic artifacts could be replaced with spiritual items of the same grade."

Xu Ziqing was slightly taken aback, then explained, "When the rewards are announced, only low-grade and mid-grade magic weapons can be exchanged for spiritual items of the same grade, because the sect has these items."

“Disciples can always find treasures that suit them.”

"As a reward, there aren't many high-grade magic artifacts or spiritual items of the same level available in the sect."

“In the past, some cultivators would be misled by many things in it, even if they were not suitable for them, they would insist on giving up high-grade magic weapons to exchange for them.”

"So gradually, we stopped mentioning it, and it became an unwritten rule."

"Elder Qin Xijun, didn't she mention it to you?"

Song Yan gave an awkward smile: "Uh, she didn't know I was here to receive the award."

"For cultivators who have clear goals and know when to advance and retreat, I actually think it's worth going to take a look."

"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look."

"Alright, thank you for your guidance, Elder Xu."

Xu Ziqing waved his hand and left first.

Song Yan followed Wu Zheng and slowly made his way to the Earth Treasure Vault.

In fact, for him at present, directly choosing a high-grade magic weapon flying sword is not a viable option.

Because he had already begun to study the basic sword formation that required three flying swords, while Ji Linjun was just an ordinary soldier.

If I could exchange it for a high-grade magic weapon, it would be a huge improvement for me.

However, since we're already here, it won't hurt to take a look.

Song Yan followed Wu Zheng through a barrier shimmering with spiritual light, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

The Earth Treasure Vault was not a warehouse filled with wooden shelves like the Namiya General Store, but a circular attic.

Countless orbs of light, like stars, slowly rotated around the central jade platform, each containing a treasure.

"..."

The Earth Treasure Trove is indeed full of good things.

The so-called "not much" is actually a lot.

"Junior Brother Song, you can use your divine sense to examine the items inside the light cluster."

Wu Zheng pointed to a small bronze mirror on the edge of the jade platform, "If you are interested, you can use this mirror to recall the detailed description of the item, think it over carefully, and then make a decision."

Song Yan nodded, thanking him for the reminder.

When his divine sense probed into the first ball of light, he vaguely understood why the situation Xu Ziqing had described had occurred.

"Soul-crossing incense. Burning incense calms the soul, soothes... vengeful spirits?!"

Xiao Song checked the description text again and again.

These items are incredibly diverse, and even if they're useless to you, they can easily tempt you to exchange for them...

"The ingredient for soaking in alcohol is Lingtai medicinal seedlings."

"Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after drinking alcohol, casting a transformation-type Taoist technique can slightly extend the duration of the effect."

"..."

Song Yan had relatively little experience with transformation-type Taoist techniques, but their value was probably comparable to that of methods for cultivating divine sense.

No wonder this item was placed here. The benefits of having a strong spiritual sense are now evident.

Song Yan simply split his divine sense and quickly touched the light clusters around the jade platform.

Countless dazzling spiritual items flashed before his eyes, and several times he almost couldn't resist exchanging them on the spot.

Fortunately, his mind is now clear, and he has come to his senses in time.

It took a lot of effort to examine these treasures thoroughly.

So far, what has captivated Song Yan the most is an antique called the Substitute Doll.

"Scapegoat puppet".

"Able to replace the original body with a puppet under the fatal blow of a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"The nature and origin of this substance are still unclear, and it is unknown whether its use will have any negative effects."

It is a very powerful life-saving item.

This substitute doll is about the same size as Nan Hong's clay doll and looks like it has a silk-like texture.

The unknown nature of this item made Song Yan hesitate for a moment.

"what?"

Just as Song Yan was hesitating, a fiery red color caught his eye.

Within the ball of light, a purplish-red spiritual flame burned quietly.

“Things of the highest spiritual nature are consumed by karmic fire.”

“The spirit fire of unknown origin can be used to assist in the cultivation of certain fire-based techniques or secret arts.”

"..."

It was actually a supremely spiritual object...

Upon seeing the spiritual fire, Song Yan stopped.

He couldn't help but ponder and make plans.

Now I have three choices: one is to leave this place and go to Guiyan Peak to honestly choose a high-grade flying sword magic weapon.

Secondly, there was the scapegoat puppet.

Thirdly, this burning is like karmic fire.

"Although high-grade magic weapons are precious and can directly improve combat power, there are still opportunities to obtain them in the future."

Using a scapegoat puppet would give one a chance to survive against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which should theoretically be the best option.

When life is gone, nothing is left.

however……

Firstly, the substitute puppet is too bizarre, and its description also states that the specific negative effects are unknown.

Secondly, this supremely spiritual object can strengthen the seed of swordsmanship, which will greatly benefit future swordsmanship cultivation, making it quite attractive to Song Yan.

"..."

"So be it, the substitute puppet is ultimately just an external thing."

After much deliberation, I finally made a decision.

"Moreover, having this item on hand might make one more prone to taking risky actions and thus more likely to fall into dangerous situations."

Looking at the ball of flame, Song Yan no longer hesitated.

"Let's choose this one."

Such spiritual objects are not easily obtained under normal circumstances...

After confirming with Wu Zheng several times, Song Yan took out a jade token from the Sword Wiping Reward Bag he had just received.

It represents the opportunity to exchange for a high-grade magical artifact.

After handing over the jade token, Wu Zheng assisted him in retrieving the true spiritual fire.

The outer layer of "Burning Like" is dark red, like congealed blood scabs. The core of the flame, however, is pure and has a hint of purplish-gold.

It burns silently, yet it subtly exudes a heart-pounding, burning sensation.

Only when facing this object directly did Song Yan sense the violent fire elemental power beneath the calm flames.

The number of flames burning like karmic fire is not large, just a small cluster of flames the size of a fingertip.

However, he didn't care. As long as this thing existed in the Yin-Yang Realm, even just a little bit would be enough to improve the seed of swordsmanship.

With his current level of cultivation, he couldn't possibly eat too much.

(End of this chapter)