Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 308 Illusion
Zhou Baogui is a shrewd businessman who is very confident in his ability to judge people.

This is also what he has relied on to climb up the ranks in the cultivation world all these years.

Perhaps years ago, when Zhou Baogui sold the damaged talisman to this young man, he only regarded him as a customer with abundant spirit stones.

However, businessmen also need to access a lot of information in the cultivation world, understand all kinds of major events, and grasp the trends.

He had naturally seen what happened on Longtan Mountain.

At that moment, he recognized the young swordsman in the clouds as Song Yesheng.

He later learned that the other person's real name was Song Yan.

"Hehe, Senior Song is young and promising, and has a handsome appearance."

"A mere small mask is hardly enough to conceal your charm, hahaha."

This Manager Zhou really knows how to talk.

However, this person had only met him once a few years ago, yet he could recognize him today just by looking at his eyes and eyebrows. That's quite remarkable.

Zhou Baogui glanced at Song Yan, then suddenly called the maid in.

"Remove these away, and then go and get my Green Lotus Peak."

"Yes, boss."

The maid responded and, with nimble hands, quickly prepared a new set of tea for the two of them.

"Senior Song, please use this. It is the finest Qinghe Peak Green, which has the effect of relieving fatigue and nourishing the spirit."

Zhou Baogui was the first to pick up his teacup and take a sip: "If you think this tea is good, senior, I'll have Xiaolan pack a bag for you to take away later."

Seeing this, Song Yan did not refuse and picked up the teacup to take a sip.

As the warm tea entered my throat, a slight coolness rose from my mouth and surged towards my mental center.

The pain and exhaustion of the soul, faintly and actually, felt a slight relief.

I couldn't help but feel shocked.

"Excuse my bluntness, senior, you don't look well. You seem mentally and physically exhausted..."

"Manager Zhou has a good eye."

After taking a second sip of tea, Song Yan realized it no longer had the desired effect, so he put down his teacup.

"To be honest, I had some trouble while cultivating a few days ago and accidentally injured my soul."

A hint of weariness flashed across Song Yan's brows, casting a faint shadow over his handsome face.

Now it was Zhou Baogui's turn to be surprised.

Damaging one's soul is no joke.

"Although there is no major problem now, the foundation of the soul has been damaged, and the recovery will be quite slow."

"Fortunately, an elder in the sect passed down a pill formula, which may be beneficial for cultivating the soul. That's why I've come here to collect spiritual herbs."

The elixir that Song Yan was going to refine was certainly not one passed down from the Dongyuan Sect.

It is also one of the classic elixirs recorded in the Thousand Elixir Formulas, the Soul Nourishing Elixir.

In fact, the recipes for Soul Nourishing Pills circulating in the cultivation world today are not particularly precious.

This elixir only has the effect of gently nourishing the damaged spirit and soul, but it does not have the effect of restoring them.

It's just that the medicinal materials needed for refining are not cheap, and there are relatively few cultivators who can use them, so they are not sold in ordinary pill shops.

Song Yan decided to refine some pills himself according to this version of the Thousand Elixir Formula, and then combine it with the Five Star Pulse-Catching Technique, thinking that he would recover quickly.

After all, he hadn't suffered any real damage to his soul; it was just a temporary weakness.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Baogui's expression became even more solemn: "I see."

“Damage to the soul and spirit should indeed be treated with caution.”

Song Yan nodded: "I came here to find a spiritual medicine called Wood Spirit Life-Generating Ginger."

"Manager Zhou, you are very knowledgeable. I wonder if your shop has this item? As for its age, it must be at least sixty years old, the older the better."

Jiang, imbued with the vitality of the wood spirit of heaven and earth and the power of the earth element, possesses an abundant life force.

It is used only for healing, but when combined with other medicinal herbs as a catalyst, it can have a calming effect.

After listening, Zhou Baogui's face showed a thoughtful expression, and his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the table, as if he was recalling something or weighing it.

After a moment, he cupped his hands apologetically: "Alas, what you need, senior, is indeed a rare item. To be honest, this Wood Spirit Life Vein Ginger, especially the old kind, is really hard to find. Our store has no such item in stock at the moment."

Song Yan simply nodded, showing little regret, seemingly unsurprised by the outcome.

Many things in the cultivation world cannot be mass-produced like elixirs and talismans.

It's perfectly normal that you can't produce it right away.

However, Zhou Baogui changed the subject: "But, senior, your arrival this time is quite timely."

Do you know what day it is today?

"night market?"

Today is the Lingyuanze Night Market. Song Yan's original plan was to inquire at the Jubao Pavilion and, if he found this spiritual herb, return to his cave to refine pills.

If not, I'll try my luck at the night market.

Zhou Baogui nodded: "Senior, you may not know this."

"The situation on the front lines of the Chu Kingdom's cultivation world has eased, and the cultivators of the Demon Ruins are suffering repeated defeats. In recent months, many cultivators who were fighting abroad have returned from the front lines."

Among the cultivators Zhou Baogui mentioned, there were not only cultivators from the Dongyuan Sect, but also some rogue cultivators who had been transferred to other sects.

"Many cultivators have accumulated quite a few good things through countless battles."

"As a result, the market at our Lingyuanze Auction House has become more and more booming than ever before. Rare items that are usually hard to find have been appearing frequently in recent months."

"Among the auction items at today's night market, there is a batch of rare and excellent medicinal herbs up for auction."

"Among them is the Wood Spirit Life-Generating Ginger you mentioned. Oh, but since it's a mixed auction of several rare medicinal herbs, the quantity of this herb alone is not large."

"Furthermore, if you can't use the other medicinal herbs, you might suffer a loss."

Zhou Baogui analyzed every detail for Song Yan.

"If you are interested, senior, I can get you a VIP pass in advance to save you some trouble and ensure that you can participate in the bidding smoothly."

"Alright. Thank you for your trouble, Manager Zhou. I need one of these vouchers."

Song Yan is now considered quite wealthy among Foundation Establishment cultivators. He simply stores any extra spiritual herbs in his Qiankun bag, knowing he might need them someday.

After quickly finishing the trivial matters, Song Yan got up to leave, and Zhou Baogui escorted him to the outside of Jubaoge.

"I am very grateful for Manager Zhou's guidance this time."

"Not at all, it was just a small favor."

Zhou Baogui waved his hand repeatedly: "I only hope that Senior Song can visit more often."

"If you have any rare treasures to sell, I would be extremely grateful if you could consider taking care of me first."

Song Yan nodded: "Definitely."

Whether it was this time or the last, discussing matters with this Zhou Baogui at Jubao Pavilion always went smoothly and the results were always pleasant.

He does indeed have a lot of things to sell; who doesn't need spirit stones to buy them?

Why don't we sell them here?

In Song Yan's hand was a long, light blue, strip-shaped magical artifact with some white patterns in the center.

It appears to be a hairband.

This was also a gift from Zhou Baogui before he left.

According to him, after refining it and wearing it on one's head, one can use a little spiritual power to condense water and form a thin film of water in front of one's face, thus achieving the effect of freely changing one's appearance.

This Manager Zhou really showed his sincerity in trying to win me over.

The things he gave himself were not valuable, and did not contain many spirit stones, but they were all things he needed.

“Zhou Baogui…”

"interesting."

Song Yan took the water mirror hairband in his hand, refined it casually, and tied it on his forehead.

After passing through a small alley, Song Yan's figure could no longer be found.

In Lingyuanze Market, there is a new face with an ordinary appearance, somewhat like someone in their prime.

……

In the dead of night, rare goods can be found in alleyways.

The auction had ended. Most of the cultivators around, whether or not they had ultimately won the spiritual items they wanted, quickly left the area.

Those who occasionally stroll leisurely and engage in lively discussions are mostly Foundation Establishment cultivators or people traveling with friends.

Song Yan slowly walked out of the market.

The auction went smoothly, but there were a few people bidding against him for the packaged spiritual herbs; they were probably all alchemists.

He eventually won the bid with spirit stones at a price slightly above market value.

As Zhou Baogui said, the other auction items included many strange and unusual treasures, some of which could have been used in Song Dynasty banquets.

However, none of them are things that are urgently needed.

Adhering to the principle of saving where possible and spending where appropriate, he only made one bid and ultimately failed to win the auction.

It's okay, at least I've achieved my most important goal.

Song Yan left the market without flying away, but instead walked slowly back to his sect.

He didn't know when it started, but a shadow of similar height began to follow him.

The shadow followed him, about two or three steps behind, its steps somewhat unsteady.

However, he seemed to be learning Song Yan's walking posture and pace, and soon he stabilized.

Their actions gradually became completely synchronized, even the sound of their footsteps blended together.

If someone were here and saw this scene, they would probably think that the shadow of the person in front of them had stood up.

Perhaps realizing this, Song Yan turned to look at the shadow.

But the shadow paused for a moment, then turned around to look behind it, only to find nothing there.

Under the moonlight, one could vaguely see the raging, churning demonic flames surrounding the shadow.

Song Yan stroked his chin, nodded in satisfaction, and continued walking towards the sect.

At Longtan Mountain, he was resurrected from the dead, driving away his inner demons and causing them to escape.

The inner demons can no longer affect me, but I can still vaguely sense their existence.

Upon learning that he had tricked Xiao He out of her flute, Song Yan decided to find the culprit and kill him first.

So, a few months ago, he began to practice the secret technique he had obtained from Chen Li, the Illusory Heavenly Demon Art.

Song Yan did not intend to wait until he had completed this skill before sending the Illusory Heavenly Demon to search for the traces of the inner demon.

That's too slow.

He chose to first split off a wisp of his own soul.

The intense pain and mental shock made the previously vague perceptions clear.

I roughly know the location of my inner demons.

However, Song Yan did not set off immediately, as that would easily alert the enemy.

Two or three years have passed since Longtan Mountain, and the inner demon still hasn't returned to find him.

The reason is easy to guess.

By sheer chance, he found a very suitable body that could sustain him for a long time.

However, they do not yet believe they can contend with the original body.

That's why he hid himself and dared not show his face.

To Song Yan's surprise, he actually had the audacity to sneak into the Red Maple Plains base with his own face on.

"It seems that the other 'me' really likes that flute."

Let's return to the illusory Heavenly Demon.

The illusory form refined by one's own divine soul had somewhat strange effects.

It's not something you can master right away; controlling virtual forms requires some experience.

Initially, this illusion was so small that it couldn't even walk steadily.

It's not that he lacks intelligence.

However, this wisp of divine soul is like a compressed ball of paper; it will take some time for it to fully expand and return to its original state.

However, Song Yan was not in a hurry; he still needed to recuperate his spirit.

A monk who can run away cannot run away from the temple.

Inner demons are inescapable.

Now Song Yan basically goes everywhere on foot, carrying this illusory Heavenly Demon with him.

Let's not expect it to fight for now; let's figure out the path first.

Return to the cave.

Song Yan wasted no time and immediately entered the alchemy room, taking out the ugly sword-dao alchemy furnace.

With a flick of his sword finger, he unleashed sword energy and began his alchemy practice.

Even after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Song Yan never abandoned the path of refining pills with sword energy.

Even just practicing sword energy control is good.

However, given Song Yan's current swordsmanship aptitude, consuming low-grade or mid-grade pills would generally do more harm than good.

Therefore, he now only takes the high-grade pills he refines himself, and supplements them with the Spirit Gathering Sword Formation to improve his cultivation.

Most of the other elixirs are available for sale.

Song Yan's success rate in achieving the required level of alchemy is already quite high, averaging around 50% to 60%.

Although top-grade pills are rare and hard to come by, thanks to the unique nature of sword-based alchemy, one or two can still be produced every now and then.

The amount of Ginger that was acquired at the auction was actually quite substantial, considering that it is only an auxiliary ingredient.

It doesn't take many to refine a batch of Soul Nourishing Pills.

However, due to recent damage to his soul, his control over sword energy is somewhat flawed.

It wasn't until the sixth attempt that they managed to refine the first batch of Soul Nourishing Pills.

However, the low-grade pills contained far too many impurities and toxins, making Song Yan hesitant to take a bite.

Let's set that aside for now and continue refining the elixir.

Seven days later, all the alchemy materials were used up.

A total of thirty-two Soul Nourishing Pills were obtained, including fifteen low-grade, sixteen mid-grade, and one high-grade.

He first took a mid-grade Soul Nourishing Pill, and then began normal cultivation and recuperation.

With the help of practicing the Five Star Pulse-Grasping Technique, his soul began to gradually recover.

The effects of the medicine wore off completely after about a month.

Song Yan estimated that these pills should be enough.

So he directly consumed the superior-grade Soul Nourishing Pill...

Before we knew it, another year had passed.

A lot happened this year.

First, the number of cultivators in the Demon Ruins has basically dwindled, with the vast majority returning to their respective sects from the front lines.

Secondly, Lin Qing finally established his Dao foundation and became a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Li Qingfeng is also preparing to go into seclusion to break through his cultivation barrier.

However, Xiang Zhaoling, who was initially hailed as the number one genius of the new generation, is still stuck at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and has made no progress.

This caused great anxiety throughout Lianyou Peak.

If you were an ordinary cultivator, who would care whether you had successfully established your foundation or how quickly you did it?

But this is a top genius with a single fire spiritual root; the so-called "immortal seedling" refers to this kind of disciple.

If such a promising talent were nurtured at Lotus Nether Peak and then misbehaved, who would bear the consequences if the sect leader were to blame them?

However, Xiang Zhaoling herself was not in a hurry at all.

It was as if this had nothing to do with her.

This day.

Suddenly, several chimes rang out from the Dragon Head Peak in the Zongzhong area.

The disciples of the sect left their respective caves and headed towards Dragon Head Peak.

(End of this chapter)