Divine Level Witch Doctor

The Soul-Stabilizing Incense on the market is made from ordinary medicinal herbs. But this box was made from herbs Zhao Yuan picked from his medicinal garden, cultivated with the Chinese Herbal Cultivation Technique passed down by Wu Peng!

Empowered and catalyzed by an Array, their medicinal properties were comparable to wild herbs that were decades old! The Soul-Stabilizing Incense made from them was naturally something the ordinary kind couldn’t compare to.

However, Ying Ji didn’t know any of this. ”For real?” she asked, her voice tinged with doubt.

Zhao Yuan smiled. He didn’t waste his breath explaining, simply taking a stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense from the box and lighting it.

A wisp of green smoke curled upward, transforming into a deeply soothing fragrance that instantly filled the entire room.

”Huh?!”

Ying Ji looked utterly shocked as she smelled the fragrance and felt the change it induced within her.

Just as Zhao Yuan had said, this stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense had the same fragrance and roughly the same function as the ones she had used before, but its effect was countless times better!

Under the influence of the fragrance, Ying Ji effortlessly entered the state of Entering the Spirit. This was the most coveted state for a Witch Priest’s training. In this state, the effectiveness of their cultivation would be greatly enhanced! In addition, Ying Ji discovered that the fragrance not only helped her own cultivation but was also beneficial to Ghost Spirits and even Gu Insects!

As soon as the fragrance appeared, her Ghost Spirit had drifted forward to greedily consume it. Although it was far less skilled at consuming the fragrant smoke than Zeng Rui and only managed to ingest a small portion, it still benefited immensely; the injuries it had sustained from Zhao Yuan showed significant recovery.

In addition, a Snake Gu that Ying Ji had recently refined but not yet fully tamed also became much more docile under the fragrance’s influence. It even sent her a signal of fealty!

Ying Ji wasn’t the only one who was astonished; the worldly and knowledgeable Ying Family Ancestor was as well.

Her eyes widened in utter disbelief.

She could clearly feel a spark of inspiration emerge in her mind under the fragrance’s influence.

She knew this wasn’t just any inspiration—it was the catalyst for a breakthrough!

If she could seize this moment of inspiration and achieve an epiphany, she could shatter the shackles that had bound her for years and ascend to the new realm she had long dreamed of!

Overcome with excitement, the Ying Family Ancestor didn’t even ask the price. She declared, ”We’ll take this incense. Eight hundred thousand a box. We’ll buy as many as you have!”

Zhao Yuan considered it. A price of eight hundred thousand per box was quite good—a full eighty times higher than ordinary Soul-Stabilizing Incense.

’Even though the herbs are better, this is still a massive profit. After all, I grew them all myself, so they didn’t cost me a thing. Besides, the herbs used for Soul-Stabilizing Incense aren’t particularly valuable medicines. Even aged ones can’t fetch a high price like Ginseng can.’

So, Zhao Yuan was very satisfied with the price.

”I can give you twenty boxes for now. I need to keep a batch for my own use.” Zhao Yuan opened his Storage Ring Space, retrieved twenty boxes of the specially-made Soul-Stabilizing Incense, and placed them on the table.

”Only twenty boxes?” The Ying Family Ancestor was somewhat disappointed, but something was better than nothing. She immediately transferred another sixteen million to Zhao Yuan’s bank account, admonishing him, ”If you make more of this Soul-Stabilizing Incense in the future, you must notify us. The Ying Family will take every last one!”

For a Witch Cultivator, this specially-made Soul-Stabilizing Incense was practically a cheat-level Divine Artifact!

In her excitement, the Ying Family Ancestor couldn’t help but lament inwardly, ’Sigh... if only I’d had this Treasure Incense when I was young. My cultivation would be at least a whole major realm higher by now!’

Ying Ji snatched two boxes of Soul-Stabilizing Incense and clutched them to her chest, refusing to let go. Meanwhile, her gaze fixed on the bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pills as she asked curiously, ”What kind of Elixir is in this bottle? What are its effects?”

Zhao Yuan explained, ”These are Marrow Cleansing Pills. They have only one effect: to allow someone at the Peak of Muscle Strengthening to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm in a single stroke after consumption!”

”What did you say? This Pill can allow someone at the Peak of Muscle Strengthening to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm?!” the Ying Family Ancestor exclaimed, utterly shocked.

”That’s right!” Zhao Yuan nodded.

Ying Ji’s jaw dropped. ”That’s impossible, isn’t it?” she said in disbelief.

The transition from Muscle Strengthening to Marrow Cleansing is the first major barrier one encounters after beginning cultivation. Yet this very barrier has kept countless people out.

There’s a saying in the Cultivation Realm: ”Muscle Strengthening is easy, but Marrow Cleansing is hard.” The threshold between Muscle Strengthening and Marrow Cleansing is even likened to the ”Dragon Sect,” implying that only by crossing it can one be considered to have truly set foot on the path of cultivation. Otherwise, one is merely peering in from the outside.

This isn’t to say that the breakthrough from Muscle Strengthening to Marrow Cleansing is the most difficult. In fact, every subsequent realm breakthrough is even harder! But this first barrier is the one that fells the most people.

Take the Ying Family, for instance. Throughout the entire clan, anyone with even a sliver of talent begins cultivating from childhood. Yet to this day, a mere twenty or thirty people have managed to break through Muscle Strengthening and enter the Marrow Cleansing Realm! And among the younger generation, Ying Ji is the only one!

If the Marrow Cleansing Pill could truly allow someone at the Peak of Muscle Strengthening to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, then the Ying Family’s power would undoubtedly undergo a quantum leap!

Faced with their skepticism, Zhao Yuan maintained his previous attitude—letting the facts speak for themselves. ”Do you have anyone here at the Peak of Muscle Strengthening? Just find someone to try it, and you’ll have your answer.”

The Ying Family Ancestor said immediately, ”We do. Ying Ji, go get your cousin, Ying Zhi.”

Ying Ji dashed out like a gust of wind, returning moments later with her third uncle’s son, Ying Zhi.

After exchanging greetings, Ying Zhi picked up the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Zhao Yuan reminded him, ”Taking this Pill will be extremely painful, but you must endure it. Do you understand?”

Ying Zhi replied, ”I know. It’s a necessary part of the process of breaking through from Muscle Strengthening to Marrow Cleansing.”

Zhao Yuan nodded. ”Good. As long as you know. Take the pill.”

Ying Zhi swallowed the Marrow Cleansing Pill and sat down cross-legged. The potent medicinal effects immediately activated, pushing him to charge toward the Marrow Cleansing Realm!

Breaking through to a new realm takes time. Zhao Yuan didn’t want to wait around idly, so he said, ”Ancestor, please take me to the Library.”

The Ying Family Ancestor considered it for a moment, then instructed Ying Ji, ”You take Zhao Yuan to the Library. I will stay here and act as Dharma Protector for your cousin Zhi.”

”Yes,” Ying Ji replied. She then led Zhao Yuan away, with Zeng Rui following them.

The door to the small building swung shut on its own with a low CREAK.

In the pitch-black room, the Ying Family Ancestor’s eyes were exceptionally bright. She spoke in a low voice, ”Old Hou, what is your take on this Zhao Yuan?”

”A very peculiar young man,” her Ghost Spirit answered. ”Based on my observations, his strength is likely at the Mid Stage of Marrow Cleansing, which isn’t particularly high. And yet, his knowledge is frighteningly vast and profound! I suspect there must be an incredibly powerful Cultivation Sect backing him! He must be the meticulously groomed successor or a Dharma Protector of that Sect! Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to have learned so much.”

”I was thinking the same thing.” The Ying Family Ancestor nodded, her expression growing incredibly serious. ”A person like that... we can only befriend him, never make him an enemy! Otherwise, the thousand-year legacy of the Ying Family will undoubtedly face a great calamity!”