CHAPTER 253: CHAPTER 248 SEVEN STAR SWORD! STAR GOD ART!_1

The Insect External Incarnation collected the Daoist Robe Artifact and the Storage Bag, then threw out the Fire Bullet Talisman and the Banishing Evil Talisman at the same time to incinerate the body.

The Fire Bullet Talisman was for destroying the body and erasing traces, while the Banishing Evil Talisman burned away the residual evil energy to prevent attracting any trouble from lingering bizarre auras.

After everything was done, Jia Ren wasn’t in a hurry to leave and began to inventory the contents of the Storage Bag and the Magic Artifacts.

Sect Disciples differ from ordinary ones as most carry Magic Artifacts with Sect tracking marks.

Jia Ren didn’t want to carelessly provoke trouble from the Seven Stars Palace.

Inside the Storage Bag, the most eye-catching items were five crystal clear spirit stones, looking as if made from jade marrow.

Superior Grade Spirit Stone?

This was a great find! One Superior Grade Spirit Stone could be worth 10,000 regular spirit stones, and the most important thing was that you couldn’t simply exchange them with Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The Five Elements Ancestor had once collected a large number of Superior Grade Spirit Stones. It’s said he had a Special Secret Technique that could use Superior Grade Spirit Stones to increase the success rate of breaking through from the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul stage.

For this reason, he did not hesitate to pay any cost to seize back the Spirit Stone Vein in the Great Wilderness.

This also resulted in the Five Elements Sect falling into traps set by other Sects, nearly leading to its destruction.

Just remembered something... Does the Spirit Stone Vein in the Great Wilderness truly contain Superior Grade Spirit Stones?

The Black Blood Bizarre has already left the Great Wilderness. The Spirit Stone Vein should be safe now...

If he could obtain the secret technique of the Five Elements Ancestor for breaking through to the Nascent Soul as well as a large number of Superior Grade Spirit Stones, it would be a shortcut to advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Jia Ren thought about the Heart-devouring Illusion Bizarre in the Barren Extreme Land and decisively threw the risky idea to the back of his mind.

Let’s focus on forming the Golden Core first!

Jia Ren, who was only at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, had not yet formed his Golden Core, yet he was already thinking about breaking the Golden Core to form the Nascent Soul.

Perhaps he was getting a bit too ahead of himself...

He decided to save the Superior Grade Spirit Stones for a future occasion where they might come in handy.

Besides the five Superior Grade Spirit Stones, there were also 731 Medium-grade Spirit Stones, and not a single Low-grade Spirit Stone.

One hundred-year Spiritual Medicines numbered 135; 72 were three-hundred-year ones, 22 were five-hundred-year ones, and there were three seven-hundred-year ones.

These included his private possessions as well as the ill-gotten gains from robbing the cultivators on the island. Now all of them had fallen into Jia Ren’s hands.

There were three Superior Evil-warding Artifacts, two of which were of average quality with only the effects of driving out and Warding Off Evil, unable to defend against bizarre sound attacks.

The most valuable was a jade dish made of fine mutton-fat jade, carved with an unknown white Exotic Beast. The surface of the jade dish shimmered with a layer of oiliness, indicating that the original owner frequently played with it.

This Evil-Warding Treasure is quite good, and from now on, it will be his own.

There were quite a few Magic Artifacts, all of them Top-grade Magical Instruments, totaling 11 pieces. Nine were standard Defense Artifacts called Ninefold Light Shields.

Once the nine shields were activated, they could expand to tens of meters or shrink to the size of a palm. The defensive power with nine shields stacked together was acclaimed to be the best among Magic Artifacts of the same rank.

The other two Top-grade Magical Instruments were a Black Jade Armor Artifact and a Red Long Sword.

Both Magic Artifacts were of good quality, the kind that a Golden Core Cultivator would keep as backup treasures, so their quality could not be poor.

The most precious of them all was...

The Insect External Incarnation fished out a silver short sword from the sea with seven holes, the ridge of the sword shining like a mirror.

The most precious treasure of a Golden Core Cultivator, the Magical Treasure: Seven Star Sword.

He eagerly channeled Spiritual Power into the Seven Star Sword.

The Spiritual Power seemed to disappear without a trace into a vast sea, not causing the slightest ripple and unable to activate the Magical Treasure.

This is a treasure that only Golden Core Cultivators can utilize.

Magical Treasures are different from Magic Artifacts; those who aren’t Golden Core Cultivators cannot wield them.

They are divided into Life-bound Magic Treasures and ordinary Magical Treasures.

There is only one Life-bound Magic Treasure, which is in tune with the Golden Core Cultivator’s will.

With the master’s refining, its power can be enhanced, and no one else can use it besides the original owner.

The number of ordinary Magical Treasures is not limited, but their power is inferior to Life-bound Magic Treasures.

The gap becomes increasingly wide as the strength of the Golden Core Cultivator grows.

This Golden Core Cultivator had only one Magical Treasure, so naturally, it was a Life-bound Magic Treasure and not an ordinary one.

Once I reach the Golden Core Stage, I can erase the original owner’s mark and use it...

Once his Cultivation Level breaks through to the Golden Core Stage and before he had created his own Life-bound Magic Treasure, the Magical Treasure Seven Star Sword could be used as a temporary substitute.

He carefully stored the Magical Treasure close to him.

The remaining treasures were not many, including Elixirs, Ore Stones, and Demonic Beast Materials, which were dazzling to behold.

There were only seven Elixirs, all intended for Golden Core Cultivators, and he was unclear on their names and effects.

Most of the ore had little value except for a piece of silver ore with threads of blood that caught the eye.

Blood-patterned Silver Essence?

A material for refining Magical Treasures, the same material as the Seven Star Sword, probably what remained after the sword was crafted.

The Demonic Beast Materials were mostly from Second Order Magical Beasts and were of average value.

Last were a few Jade Slips.

One green Jade Slip contained writing that was undecipherable.

If the writing couldn’t be recognized, then it had no value.

Jia Ren put it away and turned his attention to another Jade Slip that was old and yellowed with age.

Upon immersing his consciousness within, he sensed the information recorded inside it.

The Jade Slip detailed a Divine Soul secret technique known as the Star God Art, consisting of four levels: Stardust, Starsand, Star River, and Star God, which correspond to Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul respectively.

The Star God Art was not easy to start or advance in, being difficult to learn and master.

Once cultivated, however, the Divine Soul and sensory abilities would far surpass those of same-level cultivators.

He hadn’t cultivated the Star God Art for long...

Cultivators don’t usually carry Jade Slips with them; instead, they commit the information to memory, preventing it from benefiting others if they die at the hands of a Bizarre Cultivator.

Jia Ren had slain many cultivators, the majority of whom had no Jade Slips that recorded any Cultivation Techniques, secret techniques, or the Four Arts of Cultivation.

This Golden Core Cultivator had no Jade Slips for Cultivation Techniques or secret techniques, only the Star God Art and the indecipherable one.

The latter might still provide an opportunity one day to decipher the mysterious text.

The Star God Art is a top-notch secret technique that leads directly to the Nascent Soul Stage. The likelihood of such a powerful Divine Soul secret technique being preserved is not high.

Either he was preparing to trade it with others, or it was acquired not long ago and had yet to be mastered.

The Qunxing Archipelago is rarely visited by High-Order Cultivators; he tended more toward the latter scenario.

What an unexpected windfall!

The Magical Treasure, the Seven Star Sword, is not bad, but its value pales in comparison to the Star God Art.

The incomplete version of the Thousand Threads of Myriad Souls Technique practiced by Jia Ren was too weak, leaving his Divine Soul lagging behind his Cultivation Level and physique.

He once sought to collect secret techniques for the Divine Soul.

Unfortunately, even the most rudimentary Divine Soul secret technique was out of reach, and after years of collecting, he still came up empty.

The Star God Art was the unexpected windfall!

That alone far exceeded his expectations.

After carefully inspecting the treasures in the Storage Bag and destroying several suspect items that might pose hidden dangers, he finally set off for the Qunxing Archipelago.

During the flight, his face kept changing.

Zhen Yi turned into Xu Yi.

Zhen Yi was dead, Xu Yi was reborn.

This was also to prevent trouble if the Golden Core Cultivator died and the Seven Stars Palace sought out Zhen Yi.

The Golden Core Cultivator had been dealt with, the chief culprit executed, but the accomplices remained unresolved.

It was time to settle this debt.

「Celestial Star Shop.」

Manager Chen’s expression was ugly.

"Damn Zhen Yi, all the treasures are gone!"

"The seniors of the Seven Stars Sect will surely retrieve them all. He’s done for!"

Ever since betraying Zhen Yi, he had become the person most eager to see Zhen Yi dead.

A Golden Core Cultivator taking action would surely be foolproof.

As time passed, the sky gradually darkened, and the Golden Core Cultivator from the Seven Stars Sect still had not returned.

Could something have gone wrong?

How could that be?!

This is a Golden Core Cultivator!

There is an insurmountable gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core. Zhen Yi could never be a match for a Golden Core Cultivator, let alone survive.

"Should we change the name to Yunluo Shop?" a Maid inquired cautiously, approaching.

The Tianxing Sect was already destroyed, and to the majority, Zhen Yi seemed much better than the Golden Core Cultivator.

Moreover, there was also the favor of saving their lives.

"Change my ass!"

"Get out!"

He slapped the Maid across the face, leaving a clear handprint on her left cheek.

Manager Chen began to pace back and forth, an inexplicable irritability rising in his heart.

Had the Golden Core Cultivator killed Zhen Yi and already left?

Was the Celestial Star Shop now worthless and beneath the notice of a Golden Core Cultivator?

Without a Golden Core or Foundation Establishment Cultivator in charge, a mere Ninth Level of Qi Refinement cultivator could not possibly protect such a large shop.

If there was still no outcome after two days, it’d be better to flee earlier.

Manager Chen left the Celestial Star Shop, but after barely taking two steps, he felt an extreme pain at the back of his head, as if he’d been hit by a club.

Without any chance to resist, he immediately passed out.

"Nice material," the Insect External Incarnation emerged from behind, putting away his magic artifact staff.

Physical unconsciousness is not a guaranteed safety measure. A lit Bewitching God Fragrance was placed near the man’s nose and mouth, and after confirming he had inhaled the poisonous smoke, the Insect External Incarnation covered him with a sack and carried him away from Wanling Island.

「Kongyang Island.」

Manager Chen was still unconscious, bound and surrounded by a Demon Sealing Formation.

"I’ve always wanted to know the exact effects of the Mislead Trickster Grass."

"Magical Beasts are inherently different from humans—any analyzed effects are bound to have discrepancies."

"Now I have the perfect experimental material!"

To utilize a material perfectly, one must understand its properties. As he had yet to fully understand the Parasitic Trickster Blossom and Mislead Trickster Grass, he did not know their impact on cultivators.

A human experiment?

He still had his own lines he would not cross. This experiment was usually conducted on Magical Beasts, not innocent cultivators.

If he acted recklessly, how would he be any different from a Bizarre Alliance Cultivator?

Until Manager Chen repaid kindness with enmity...

If Jia Ren had not intervened, the man would have died early at the hands of the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators who raided the Tianxing Trade Association.

Taking over the Tianxing Trade Association was akin to saving this man’s life.

Selling oneself to save one’s life is one thing, but to lead enemies to Kongyang Island is quite another.

Killing him outright would be a tremendous waste. It would be more appropriate to test the effects of the Bizarre Object, a way for him to die meaningfully.

The Insect External Incarnation moved to the back of the Medicinal Garden, where over 30 stalks of Mislead Trickster Grass were planted, surrounded by an unusual Formation.

Threads of bizarre aura wafted through the air.

It was a Gathering of Tricks Array that he accidentally created while learning the Spirit Gathering Array, capable of attracting the scattered bizarre auras of the world.

Cultivators favor nature’s spiritual energy, while Bizarre Objects are drawn to the power of the bizarre.

The Mislead Trickster Grass was growing and mutating much faster under the influence of the Gathering of Tricks Array, showing an astonishing rate of growth.

After repeatedly ensuring that the Bizarre Formation did not attract Bizarre Demons, he settled down to cultivate Bizarre Objects with concentration.

"Shall I use you for the Mislead Trickster Grass experiment?"

「Kongming Island.」

The sleeping Manager Chen awoke from his agony, his mouth letting out a chilling laugh.