Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 260: Chapter 171: Obtaining the Qi Refining Technique and Taking Stock of the Gains

He said these words with utmost sincerity, from the bottom of his heart.

Wan Ze shook his head. ”If you hadn’t worn him down earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to finish him off so easily. His Cultivation Technique and Storage Ring are here...”

He took out the black ring and two Jade Scrolls, offering them to Feng Jiuchen.

Seeing this, Feng Jiuchen decisively waved his hand away, his tone firm. ”You’re the one who killed him, so everything naturally belongs to you. The one who does the work takes the spoils. There’s no reason to share.”

He paused, his gaze toward Wan Ze filled with a touch of emotion. ”Fellow Daoist Wan, you truly are blessed by fortune. The very first time I bring you to the Tomb, we run into something this good. Some people wander these mountains for months without meeting a single living soul, yet here you are, having someone serve themselves up to you on your first visit.”

Wan Ze shook his head and chuckled, not bothering with false modesty. He asked, ”Does this sort of thing happen often?”

”Often.” Feng Jiuchen sighed, his gaze turning profound. ”On the surface, the various powers maintain a peaceful and prosperous front—everyone gets along. But in reality, there’s a turbulent undercurrent, especially in a place like the Tomb... There are no rules, no law enforcement. Might makes right. It’s not uncommon for disciples of the same Sect to kill each other. I’ve seen martial brothers turn on one another over a single relic more than once or twice.”

He glanced at Wan Ze and added, ”But not all Sects are like this. Those righteous Major Sects have strict rules that forbid infighting between disciples. Violators are expelled from the Sect or even have their Cultivation crippled. Most of the ones who engage in this sort of murder and robbery are from these unorthodox paths.”

”Unorthodox paths?” Wan Ze asked.

Feng Jiuchen nodded. ”The Puppet Yin Sect, Asura Hall... in the eyes of those righteous Sects, they’re all unorthodox. But there are advantages to being unorthodox... At least you don’t have to put on a facade. You can fight when you want, kill when you want. It’s liberating.”

Wan Ze nodded, not saying anything more.

Right in front of Feng Jiuchen, he took out Qing Yi’s Storage Ring and turned it over and over, examining it.

The ring was jet-black, its surface etched with intricate Runes. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, with a cool sensation.

”Can you teach me how to open it?” he asked.

A strange feeling washed over Feng Jiuchen.

’I was so stunned by Wan Ze’s Swordsmanship just now that I almost forgot this Fellow Daoist Wan’s understanding of the world is still at a novice level.’

’A man who can execute over a hundred sword strikes so fluidly doesn’t even know how to open a Storage Ring.’

He suddenly grew curious. ’What kind of future will this Fellow Daoist Wan carve out for himself in Huangliang?’

”Just pour your Qi into it and forcefully break the previous owner’s mark,” Feng Jiuchen instructed. ”The previous owner is dead, so the mark won’t be too strong. If your Qi is pure enough, you should be able to shatter it in one go.”

Wan Ze did as he was told, pouring his Qi into the ring.

Sure enough, there was a thin barrier inside the ring... which shattered in an instant.

The space inside the ring was about a cubic meter in size, filled with quite a few items.

There were several half-finished Blood Corpses... bodies that looked like they had been processed but not yet fully refined.

They were folded up and stuffed in a corner of the ring, their grayish-blue skin covered in Runes, emitting a strong smell of medicine and decay.

Wan Ze frowned and didn’t look any closer.

Beside them was a pile of materials for Refining Blood Corpses... various herbs, ores, and some bottles and jars.

Feng Jiuchen leaned in to help identify them. He opened a porcelain vial, and his expression changed slightly. He hurriedly activated his Qimen Seal to block the toxic gas and quickly explained, ”Soul-Breaking Powder. It’s fatal upon contact with blood; a single touch means death. This stuff is a banned substance in Huangliang. The people from the Puppet Yin Sect just love to mess with these shady things.”

He opened a few more vials, checking them one by one, and shook his head. ”It’s all poison. Bone-Dissolving Water, Heart-Devouring Powder, Decaying Flesh Ointment... This guy was truly venomous. As expected, there’s hardly a decent person in the Puppet Yin Sect.”

Suddenly, Wan Ze noticed three crystals shaped like Knife Coins in a corner. They were about the size of a thumb, oval-shaped, and completely translucent, emitting a faint glow.

Holding them in his hand, he could even feel the Qi contained within.

Wan Ze looked up.

”Your luck is pretty good. These are Spirit Crystals,” Feng Jiuchen explained. ”They’re the common currency in Huangliang. Three Low Grade Spirit Crystals isn’t a small amount. That guy probably had to kill quite a few people to save up this much.”

He paused, then added, ”Spirit Crystals can be used for Cultivation or for trade. The Qi contained in a single Low Grade Spirit Crystal is enough for you to cultivate for several days. Of course, if you want to buy something, Spirit Crystals are hard currency.”

Wan Ze nodded and put the items away.

Feng Jiuchen walked over to Qing Yi’s corpse, formed a Seal with his hands, and a crimson Qimen Seal appeared beneath his feet.

The Li trigram—for fire.

”Li Rune Technique—Heaven Incineration.”

A ball of searing flame erupted from the Talisman, instantly engulfing Qing Yi’s corpse and severed head.

The flame’s temperature was incredibly high. Within a few breaths, the body was burned to ash, leaving not even a speck of bone behind.

A mountain breeze blew, scattering the ashes and leaving only a scorched black mark on the ground.

”You can tell if someone was using a disguise by their state at the time of death... This guy wasn’t, so it’ll be easy to find out his real identity in the real world... Leave the rest to me. The Puppet Yin Sect is a complete mess right now. If nothing unexpected happens, he’s probably already been abandoned by Asura Hall...” Feng Jiuchen said, turning to look at him.

”So he’ll die in the real world, too?” Wan Ze asked.

Feng Jiuchen nodded. ”Yes. There will be many possible causes of death...”

Wan Ze fell silent, but he couldn’t help asking, ”There’s just one thing I don’t understand... If this place is really a dream, then his death just now... wasn’t it a little too realistic?”