Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter 81 A Surprising Encounter with Lü Zu

The cloud boat pierced through the thick clouds, soaring into the sky, and sped towards Tiannan Town.

They've struck it rich! Hundreds of beast cores were extracted from the Crimson-Eyed Flame Wolf. The one inside the White-Haired Wolf King, in particular, was crystal clear, round, and gleaming—its quality was exceptional.

"These beast cores should fetch a good price, right? Hmm, I need to find a good buyer as soon as I get back."

Xiao Chong sat leisurely in the cloud boat, gazing at the dark night sky, his mind racing.

"Are you out of your mind for money?" The moment the idea of ​​selling beast cores came to mind, the cauldron spirit jumped out and shouted, "Hmph, you think you can sell our food supplies? No way!"

When his thoughts were exposed, Xiao Chong stiffened and his face immediately turned red. Fortunately, the sky was dark and no one noticed.

But he quickly found the key to his retort, and said angrily, "Tell me, why did you detect my thoughts again?"

This time, Dingling's voice sounded a bit unnatural as he awkwardly said, "I was out for a walk after eating and just happened to bump into your thoughts. It was absolutely not intentional, just a coincidence, nothing more."

"Is it really such a coincidence?" Xiao Chong asked in an unfriendly tone.

"It really is such a coincidence. If I had intentionally tried to probe your thoughts, may I be struck by lightning!" The cauldron spirit quickly swore an oath.

"Tch!" Xiao Chong scoffed. "If it were a lightning strike, wouldn't I be the first one to be struck? Let's find someone else!"

"Then...then..." The spirit of the cauldron was at a loss for words to convince Xiao Chong, and stammered for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.

"I'll make sure you can never be near a woman again!" Xiao Chong knew Ding Ling's weakness well and struck at its vital point.

"I would never make such a vow, even if it meant my soul would perish. A thousand years, a full thousand years! Do you know what it's like for a person with boundless energy to be forced into abstinence for a thousand years?"

Do you know what "one stroke to the end" means? Do you know why the skin of the fifth aunt is so rough? Do you know...?

The more Dingling spoke, the angrier and more heartbroken she became, until finally she burst into tears.

Holy crap, how can this guy's words contain so much information? If I hadn't seen so many posts online in my past life, I wouldn't have been able to understand the rich content contained here at all.

Seeing that the cauldron spirit was in unbearable pain and looked like it wanted to die, Xiao Chong said with a mixture of anger and amusement, "Alright, I forgive you. But this is the last time. If this happens again, even if you take human form, I will castrate you."

The spirit trembled, immediately stopping its crying. It nodded repeatedly, and then cautiously asked, "So our food rations won't really be sold, will they?"

"Our rations? The word 'our' is debatable. You didn't seem to be of any help at all in this beast core hunting operation, did you?"

Xiao Chong was communicating with the cauldron spirit in his mind, but on the surface he seemed nonchalant. No one in the cloud boat noticed that his expression was actually incredibly interesting.

"Uh……"

Ding Ling was speechless for a moment when asked the question, but he immediately put the question out of his mind and said, "You can't say that. What about our mutual friendship? I've brought you a lot of benefits during this time."

Being ungrateful and failing to repay kindness is not a good virtue. Whether in life or in work, there must be a moral bottom line.

Damn it, this guy actually looked down on me! When did his eloquence become so sharp? Was his sadness just a facade?

Xiao Chong remained silent for a moment, then realized that the spirit of the cauldron had some merit, so he said, "Alright, I'll give you half of these beast cores."

The cauldron spirit was overjoyed and said, "Then what are you waiting for? Take the biggest one and try it first. Such a big one can at least last for a year of hard training. Just thinking about it makes me look forward to it."

"The smell of blood is too strong. I'll have to dip it in some seasoning when we get back." Xiao Chong said with a headache, recalling his unpleasant experience of consuming a beast core in Soul-Slaying Ridge last time.

"I advise you to eat it as soon as possible," Ding Ling said in a deep voice, as if there was a hidden meaning in his words.

Xiao Chong asked curiously, "Why?"

The cauldron spirit thought for a moment and replied, "Judging from my thousand-year-old intuition, or rather, thousand-year-old god, your trip to the Southern Wilderness will not go smoothly, and you will urgently need a capable helper."

Moreover, I have a very bad feeling that this place is dangerous. If I could take human form a day sooner, I could help you better sooner.

"Where is the danger? You're not exaggerating, are you?" Xiao Chong asked, half believing him.

This time, Dingling pondered for a long time before saying, "I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong, but the more it's like this, the more worried I become."

The intuition of a seasoned thief can be surprisingly accurate sometimes, and should not be taken lightly!

After much deliberation, Xiao Chong finally made up his mind, took out the beast core of the white-haired wolf king, and snapped it in half.

Huh? Why doesn't it taste fishy this time? Instead, it has a slightly sweet taste. Could it be because the wolf king's beast core is of such high quality?

Xiao Chong felt a surge of suspicion, but his mouth never stopped talking.

"Crunch... Crunch..." Xiao Chong quickly chewed the wolf king's core clean.

"Mmm, it feels great, I can't stop eating," Xiao Chong finished his meal in a few bites, wiped his mouth, and seemed to want more.

"Then let's try some others." In the darkness, Xiao Chong pulled out another handful of beast cores from ordinary Crimson-Eyed Flame Wolves and eagerly threw them into his mouth.

"Pah! It tastes just as awful as before!" A strong, fishy, ​​and muttony smell assaulted Xiao Chong's mouth and nose, catching him off guard, and he spat it all out.

"What a spendthrift old man! How can you waste food like this! Don't you know what it means to be thrifty and manage a household well?" Dingling stomped his feet in his mind, heartbroken.

"Spendthrift old man"—is that a term you should use? Why do you talk like you're my wife?

Xiao Chong really wanted to have a good argument with the spirit of the cauldron, but he was already too weak to do so.

The power contained within the white wolf king's core that he had just consumed erupted within his body like a bursting dam.

Streams of vital energy poured down like a waterfall, instantly filling the dantian and then dispersing throughout the body's meridians, where they surged and roamed.

Xiao Chong was startled by this sudden change. In his great alarm, he hurriedly used the "Nine Transformations of the Stars" cultivation method to guide and absorb this primordial energy, transforming it into primordial power and storing it in the acupoints of his body.

Fortunately, these creatures, having been nurtured by the white-haired wolf king for many years, had long since lost their sharp edges and were not particularly fierce, thus managing to hold on.

However, another change caused Xiao Chong extreme discomfort: the rapid circulation of his qi and blood.

Last time in Broken Soul Ridge, he almost vomited blood after consuming just a few ordinary beast cores. This time, the beast core from the Crimson-Eyed Flaming Wolf was of a higher grade, and since it came from the wolf king's body, the effect was even more pronounced.

Streams of qi and blood surged forth like a river overflowing its banks, and Xiao Chong's blood was almost boiling. He could even hear the rushing sound of blood flowing through his veins.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

My heart was pounding rapidly and powerfully, as if it were about to burst. Every vein on my skin bulged out, like thick, menacing purple earthworms, throbbing incessantly.

Xiao Chong tried everything he could to slow down the flow of his qi and blood, but to no avail.

The body's Qi and blood flowed faster and stronger, finally reaching their peak.

"Snapped……"

All the blood vessels on his skin burst, and a cloud of blood mist sprayed outwards, splashing a crimson stain onto the transparent energy shield of the cloud boat.

Amidst the blood mist, Xiao Chong roared, then collapsed to the sky, falling into a coma.

"Young Master Chong... Xiao Chong... Captain..."

The others in the cloud boat were taken aback and rushed over, shouting urgently to Xiao Chong. Zhao Li also stopped the cloud boat.

"Uncle Yin, what's wrong with Young Master Chong?" The fat man, who was closest to Xiao Chong, asked Yin Changkong with a look of anxiety.

Yin Changkong carefully examined Xiao Chong's injuries and said with a worried expression, "His internal energy is too strong, it seems to be caused by consuming too many beast cores."

"Then what should we do?" Yin Feng interjected.

Yin Changkong said in a deep voice, "I don't have any good ideas for the time being. I can only protect his heart meridian with my vital energy. Zhao Li, drive the cloud boat at full speed. We'll think of other methods when we get back to the camp."

"Okay!" Zhao Li agreed without saying anything more, and hurriedly returned to his seat, turning the cloud boat to its maximum speed.

The cloud boat roared and tore through the night sky, speeding northward like lightning. Yin Changkong laid Xiao Chong flat in the cabin, placed a hand on his chest, and slowly channeled his Yuan energy into Xiao Chong's body.

Xiao Chong was unaware that the five people on the cloud boat were already in a flurry of activity; he was in a completely different state of mind.

"Where am I? Why is it so dark and there isn't a single ray of light?" In a pitch-black space, Xiao Chong touched the hard and cold objects around him and muttered to himself.

Before the words were finished, a golden light flashed in the darkness, and the surroundings became bright.

A middle-aged Taoist priest with a lean face and bright eyes sat cross-legged in the golden light. Upon seeing Xiao Chong, he laughed loudly and said, "Young friend, there is no need to panic. I am Lu Yan, and my Taoist name is Chunyangzi. We are currently in the furnace I use for refining medicine, which is the Purple Cloud Cauldron you mentioned."

It turned out to be Lü Dongbin, the true owner of the Purple Cloud Cauldron! Xiao Chong was startled and quickly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "This humble one, Xiao Chong, greets the great Lü."

"A big shot?" A hint of doubt flashed across Lü Dongbin's face as he stroked his beard and said, "Young friend, this title is quite interesting, but I wonder what this 'big shot' means?"

"Oh, what you mean by 'big shot' is that you have boundless magical power, great abilities and supernatural powers in the immortal realm, and a revered status." Xiao Chong awkwardly rubbed his hands, showering him with flattery.

"So that's how it is. I never imagined that things would change so much after a thousand years away from the mortal realm." Lü Dongbin chuckled and changed the subject. "But I do have a certain status in the immortal realm. I can't claim to have boundless magical power. At most, I'm just a minor figure, hehe."

Hmm, this old Taoist priest is quite humorous and seems easy to talk to. Should I take this opportunity to ask for some benefits?

Seeing that Lü Daka was not putting on airs, Xiao Chong's fear disappeared, and he asked with a smile, "I wonder if there is anything that you want to teach me, Ancestor?"