Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Power First

Song Min held Wu Chunqiu’s head, placed it facing Huangyuan Marketplace, took out three sticks of Spiritual Incense, lit them, and kowtowed three times.

“To my late father, Song Taiji. Your unfilial daughter, Song Luoxi, has today obtained the head of our enemy’s descendant and makes this offering.”

After kowtowing, she sat cross-legged on a green rock and silently regulated her breathing. Though a great deal of loot remained in Huashan County, she paid it no mind, tacitly acknowledging it all as Yang Jing’s.

Yang Jing did not hesitate. He cast two Red Fire Spells, burning Wu Chunqiu’s corpse on the ground to cinders, not stopping until even the bones were gone. Unfortunately, Wu Chunqiu’s Storage Bag had been utterly destroyed by the Celestial Star Destruction Divine Light, causing him to lose out on a great deal of loot.

Even now, Yang Jing felt a sense of unreality. The Great Demon of a hundred years in the future had died by his hand just like that. In his time, the Biyuan Ancestor had been widely acknowledged by countless players as the Golden Core cultivator most likely to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage. He was a thorn in the side of the cultivators from the Six Great Sects.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators lacked the ability to seize a body for rebirth. Having been reduced to a pile of ash, Wu Chunqiu was well and truly dead.

Yang Jing shook off his distracting thoughts and turned his attention to the spoils.

He first placed the extremely weakened Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother into his Spirit Beast Bag. With that, the Cocoon Formation and Embryonic Development Talent was halfway his.

Among the remaining treasures, the most valuable by far was the spine of the Three Corpses Bone Demon, which was all that remained after it was slain by the Destruction Divine Light. This spine was the very essence of the Bone Demon and an exceptional material for Artifact Refining. Using it as the primary component, refining a Spiritual Artifact would be no problem at all.

The greatest difference between a Spiritual Artifact and a Magical Artifact is that the former possesses a faint Spiritual Essence, while the latter is a completely inanimate object. The price difference between the two starts at a factor of ten.

This is because Spiritual Artifacts are not only far more responsive than Magical Artifacts during Magical Combat, but their nature and power can also be upgraded by adding new Spiritual Materials. They even have the potential to be advanced into Magical Treasures.

Yang Jing picked up the spine from the ground. The Three Corpses Bone Demon’s body had been massive, standing over twenty feet tall, so even after being partially burned away, the spine was still seven feet long. It was still warm to the touch, its surface seared smooth by the Celestial Spirits Star Force. One end was sharp; even without any refining, it was already a terrifying weapon.

The Three Corpses Bone Demon’s entire life essence had actively condensed into this spine while it resisted the Celestial Spirits Star Force. The moment Yang Jing took it in his hands, an incredibly vicious aura surged up his arms.

Yang Jing internally circulated his Celestial True Yang, immediately suppressing the vicious aura.

When the Three Corpses Bone Demon was alive, his cultivation of the True Yang Body wouldn’t have been enough to handle it; he would have been devoured as food in a single encounter. But now that it was dead, it could forget about causing any more trouble.

He set aside a dedicated Storage Bag for the spine, putting it inside to prevent the vicious aura it emanated from damaging his other belongings.

As for the Independent Cultivators’ Storage Bags, the Magical Artifacts were mostly low-tier junk. The Spirit Stones totaled just over a thousand, and some miscellaneous materials from demons were worth a little. The Independent Cultivators of San Yuanli all had their own Cave Mansions, so they didn’t carry all their wealth with them.

The two most valuable Magical Artifacts were Yu Yingwu’s Jade Pendant Magical Artifact and Elder Li’s Ruyi Spirit Locking Mirror.

He also collected the Demon Alarm Bell, which had been crushed flat by the Three Corpses Bone Demon. In terms of its Spiritual Materials alone, the value of this copper bell was second only to the Bone Demon’s spine.

By the time Yang Jing finished gathering all the loot, Song Luoxi had stopped meditating. She had recovered some of her Magical Power and was no longer completely helpless.

As a True Disciple of the Taixu Sword Sect, she cared little for the miscellaneous spoils from Huashan County. Their combined value wasn’t even a fraction of the worth of her Yellow Umbrella Spiritual Artifact.

Only the spine of the Three Corpses Bone Demon was of any real interest.

With her father’s death avenged, a grudge that had festered in her heart for years was now largely resolved. Her cultivation in the Sword Dao had even progressed a step further.

She knew Yang Jing deserved most of the credit for bringing Wu Chunqiu to his end. Without him, she would have already perished. An even more tragic fate would not have been out of the question.

“Give me your Merit Jade Token.”

Song Luoxi took the Jade Token, retrieved her own Sect Jade Token from her Storage Bag, and manipulated them for a moment with her Divine Sense.

“In my capacity as a True Disciple of the Taixu Sword Sect, I’ve recorded one merit for you. I don’t have the authority to grant a Foundation Establishment Pill, but there will be no problem exchanging this merit for a strand of Stellar Baleful Qi to aid your Foundation Establishment.”

Yang Jing was inwardly overjoyed. ’I can’t believe it,’ he thought. ’I’ve gathered three strands of Stellar Baleful Qi without even having to search for them.’ At this rate, reaching the limit of his Magical Power at the Qi Cultivation stage was just around the corner.

Song Luoxi then took out a Jade Scroll and a Token.

“I can never truly repay you for saving my life. This is a Sword Mantra my father created, called the Fire Dragon Sword Scripture. He developed this Sword Technique by modifying the Song Family’s ancestral art, and it is in no way inferior to the Golden Core Sword Techniques of the Taixu Sword Sect. Unfortunately, few of the Song Family’s younger generation have amounted to much, and they have shamed this technique. Today, I gift it to you. As for this Token, if you ever find yourself in trouble, you can use it to find me at the Taixu Sword Sect.”

’Throughout the incident in Huashan County, Yang Jing had been incredibly perceptive, noticing Yu Yingwu’s strange behavior from the very beginning. During the Magical Combat between the Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he remained calm and collected, and in the end, it was he who delivered the decisive blow. He truly is the perfect prospect for a Sword Cultivator.’

This made Song Luoxi want to nurture his talent.

Yang Jing accepted the Fire Dragon Sword Scripture. This was now the third Sword Technique he had obtained.

“Elder Song, regarding what happened today, is it possible to keep my name out of it? That Demon Cultivator clearly held a high status within the Demon Sect, and someone as weak as me can’t possibly withstand their retaliation.”

Song Luoxi hesitated for a moment before nodding.

All that remained in Huashan County were the nine Demon Banners. Yang Jing was sensible enough not to take them. Song Luoxi might turn a blind eye to him taking the wreckage of the Demon Alarm Bell, but these Demon Banners were taboo.

Just a moment later, a beam of Sword Light with astonishing power flew in from the sky, descending directly toward them.

An exceptionally handsome cultivator anxiously materialized from within the Sword Light:

“Luoxi! Are you alright? Junior Martial Uncle Zhang sent a message saying your Soul Lamp’s flame suddenly dimmed, indicating you were in mortal danger!”

Song Luoxi’s expression immediately turned cold, and she adopted an aloof, unapproachable demeanor.

“Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Lu. I’m quite all right.”

Yang Jing immediately concealed his presence and carefully distanced himself from the pair, busying himself with collecting the remains of the Independent Cultivators from Huashan County.

’A simp will always be doting and obedient in front of his “goddess,” but he won’t be the same toward others. If this Senior Brother Lu is a petty man and holds a grudge against me for witnessing his pathetic attempt to curry favor, I could find myself in a world of trouble through no fault of my own.’

Yang Jing gathered the skeletal remains of the San Yuanli Independent Cultivators into an empty Storage Bag.

’The fundamental rule of the Immortally Cultivation Realm is that power is everything. If I were already at Foundation Establishment, what would it matter if I stood on the sidelines and watched Senior Brother Lu make a fool of himself? Unfortunately, I’m just a Qi Cultivation Independent Cultivator. The only sensible thing to do is to make myself scarce and avoid unnecessary trouble.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep