Druid Fairy

Chapter 160 Blood Soul Nourishing Spirit

Dragon Palace.

"Teacher! Teacher, look!"

Li Pingcan, as if presenting a treasure, unfurled the animal skin diagram of the "Nine Yang Refining Spirit Array" in front of the array spirit.

"Ok?"

The spirit of the formation was lying on the cloud bed, pretending to be asleep. It opened its eyes in annoyance, puffed out its beard and glared, and said, "What the hell is this that makes you so fuss?"

Despite his apparent disdain, he slowly floated down, took the scroll, and after just a casual glance, his usually calm and collected old eyes widened in surprise.

"This is... the Nine Suns Refining Spirit Array!?"

He snatched the scroll away and examined it closely, his expression even more excited than when Li Pingcan first found the Soul Wood seed.

"Good formation!"

The array spirit stroked his beard and exclaimed in admiration, "Drawing on the true fire of the earth's veins, gathering the power of the nine yangs, refining all things into spirits... Such skill, such conception, is far beyond the reach of ordinary array masters! Kid, from which grave did you dig this up?"

"The teacher has keen insight."

Li Pingcan chuckled and said that he was just lucky and had "picked up" it from an unlucky guy.

"Luck is also a part of strength."

The spirit of the array, unusually, did not disagree. He looked at the array diagram with fascination in his eyes, then sighed and returned the scroll to Li Pingcan, "What a pity, what a pity."

"Why do you say that, teacher?"

"Do you think this second-tier formation is some kind of child's play?"

The array spirit glanced at him. "The array base of this array requires a second-grade high-quality 'Earth Core Fire Marrow' to support it. The array eye must be made of ten-thousand-year-old warm jade. As for the thirty-six array flags that maintain the operation of the array, they must be made of 'Nine Heavens Divine Iron' as the main material, and then refined with the essence of demon beasts for forty-nine days."

With each word he uttered, Li Pingcan's face darkened further.

By the time the array spirit finished reading the long list of materials he had never heard of before, the smile on Li Pingcan's face had vanished without a trace.

"Teacher, you mean..." he began with difficulty, "...that none of these materials can be missing?"

"Nonsense!" The array spirit glared and blew his beard. "A second-tier array draws upon the power of heaven and earth. If it's even slightly off, it's not an array, it's 'self-destruction'! With your meager skills, you'd probably turn yourself into ashes before you even set up the array!"

Li Pingcan felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, chilling him from head to toe.

'After all that, I finally got an SSR blueprint, but I can't even gather all the materials?'

He thought to himself, "This cultivation game is way too pay-to-win! You can't play it at all without money!"

"Alright, alright, stop looking so gloomy."

Seeing his dejected appearance, the spirit of the formation couldn't bear it any longer and waved its hand.

"You're a lucky kid. You might step in dog poop one day and find something or two. But you have to take things one step at a time. First, thoroughly study the first-tier formation."

Li Pingcan, however, was not giving up. "Teacher, is it possible to find second-tier spiritual materials in the market for independent cultivators?"

"A market for independent cultivators?"

The spirit of the formation scoffed as if it had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Those poor bastards would be lucky to even get a few mid-grade first-tier magic artifacts. Second-tier spiritual materials? Do you think they're like cabbages in a field, to be picked up casually?"

He paused, as if remembering something, and then lazily added, "However, it's not entirely impossible. Some places are indeed prone to producing 'good things' that are not found in ordinary places."

Li Pingcan's eyes lit up: "Please give me your guidance, teacher!"

"For example, those ancient battlefields where life was ravaged and resentment filled the sky, or those fierce and malevolent places where monsters roamed and blood flowed like rivers."

The spirit's voice carried a strange meaning, "Death and life are two sides of the same coin. When destruction reaches its extreme, new life will naturally be born. It is not surprising that those spiritual materials absorb enough 'nutrients' and transform into second- or third-tier materials. If we talk about the most treasures in the world, it must be the famous families and the ten-thousand-year dynasties."

"nutrient?"

Li Pingcan frowned and pressed for an answer.

The spirit of the array said no more, but waved his hand impatiently: "These things, let alone you, even an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator might not be able to collect a set even if he went bankrupt. You should just focus on figuring out your Seven Spirits Array first."

As the spirit spoke, it floated back to the cloud bed, looking like it wanted to say, "Alright, alright, I've said what I needed to say. Don't keep me from sleeping."

Li Pingcan had no choice but to leave the Five Elements Hall, but he kept pondering the array spirit's words over and over in his heart.

…………

"nutrient……"

Li Pingcan, through the domain of the fungus master, focused his gaze on the buried corpses of soldiers from the Great Yu Dynasty and the Great Qian Dynasty.

An idea popped into my head uncontrollably.

Were the sacrifices of those mortals merely for consumption?
So, what exactly does "nutrient" refer to...?
The flesh and blood of mortals and the souls of soldiers became the nourishment for those rare and precious materials, "cultivating" some kind of unspeakable "spiritual material" to provide fertilizer for cultivators to embark on the path to immortality.

This is no longer a simple case of disregarding human life.

This is using countless precious lives to cultivate a bloody "harvest"!
"So, human life is the cheapest and most effective 'fertilizer' in this world..."

"What a world of cultivation! What a world where the strong prey on the weak."

Thinking about it carefully, every word Teacher Zhenling said was meaningful!

Li Pingcan felt a chill in his heart.

Immortals and mortals are truly two different worlds.

He calmed his mind, stopped thinking about it, and went to the familiar market of independent cultivators.

Although he has obtained some spiritual materials, he is still far from being able to set up the "Nine Yang Spirit Refining Array," and he will not be satisfied until he tries.

At the iron bell's stall, the furnace fire still roared.

Upon seeing Li Pingcan, the weapon refiner rarely showed a smile: "You kid, you're pretty tough, you're still alive."

"Master Tie is joking. I value my life very much."

Li Pingcan placed several jugs of fine wine on the stall. "I came here this time to ask the master about something."

He handed over the list of materials that included "Earth's Core Fire Marrow" and "Nine Heavens Divine Iron".

Tie Zhong took it and glanced at it. He was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, bending forward and backward.

"Hey bro, where did you find this ancient treasure map?"

Pointing to the names on the list, he said with great delight, "Earth Core Fire Marrow? Nine Heavens Mystic Crystal? You might not be able to find a single piece of this stuff, let alone my little blacksmith shop! You could turn the entire Songling Prefecture upside down!"

"Are you really not even remotely capable?"

"Yes, there is," Tie Zhong said in a low voice, a serious look on his face. "However, that place is not a safe haven."

He paused, then continued, "I once heard an old friend mention that on the border between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Great Yu Dynasty, there is a place called 'Blood Maple Forest.' It is said that it was once the battlefield where two ancient cultivation sects fought, and countless cultivators perished there, including several Foundation Establishment experts."

The place was filled with resentment; ordinary people who entered would be overwhelmed by its malevolent energy within three steps. But precisely because of this, the land there, nourished by the essence and blood of countless cultivators and fragments of magical treasures, frequently gave birth to extremely high-grade rare and precious materials.

Many desperate criminals go there to try their luck. If they're lucky, they might find a broken magical artifact or spiritual material, which could elevate them to a high level. If they're unlucky, they become the forest's 'nutrients' forever. Tie Zhong looked at Li Pingcan and earnestly advised, "Fellow Daoist, listen to my advice, that place is extremely eerie. If you can avoid it, it's best to stay away."

"Thank you for the reminder, Master."

Li Pingcan clasped his hands in thanks, but secretly made a mental note of the name "Blood Maple Forest".

Just as he was about to leave the valley, he suddenly caught his breath, as if something had locked onto him!

Without hesitation, he unleashed a first-level skill, activating the [Detection Spell], his divine sense spreading out like mercury.

In the dark perspective, a striking red hostility suddenly illuminates the entire scene.

[Zou Daoping, a cultivator from the Great Qian Black Origin Sect, possesses the cultivation level of the eighth stage of Qi Refining and is a talisman cultivator.]

[Spell Fluctuations: Minor Gale Technique, Black Yuan Sword Light Technique...]

[Spiritual energy fluctuations of talismans: First-tier superior Thunderclap Talisman, First-tier superior Swiftness Talisman, First-tier superior Explosive Fire Talisman...]

"A cultivator from the Great Qian Dynasty? How could he be here? No matter how chaotic the rogue cultivator market is, how could a cultivator from an enemy country manage to sneak in?"

"And this aura..."

Just like the female cultivator he killed back then!
Good heavens, how could they run into that?
It shouldn't be an accident, but rather some unknown tracking technique...

Li Pingcan remained expressionless. He bid farewell to Tie Zhong, turned around and walked towards the edge of the valley, deliberately slowing his pace.

Sure enough, that aura, like a hyena that had smelled blood, slowly and steadily lingered behind him.

He sneered inwardly, but instead of taking immediate action, he leisurely walked out of the market and turned into a secluded grove of trees.

Deep in the woods, Li Pingcan stopped, turned around, and waited quietly.

A moment later, a tall, thin figure slowly emerged from behind the tree.

The newcomer was also dressed in a black robe, with a bronze demon mask covering his face, revealing only his eyes, and his body radiated the magical power fluctuations of the late stage of Qi Refining.

"You've followed me all this way. Do you want to spar, or would you like to invite me for a cup of tea?" Li Pingcan's voice was hoarse.

"hey-hey."

The masked man let out a dry laugh, "Let's not beat around the bush. Hand over the storage bag, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse."

"You've got quite the nerve," Li Pingcan shook his head. "I'm just worried you don't have good teeth and won't be able to eat it."

"court death!"

When the masked man saw Li Pingcan walking towards him, he was first taken aback, then a sinister smile appeared on his face.

'What a stupid, reckless fool!'

The talisman in his hand was instantly activated, and a crimson fire dragon as thick as a bowl roared out, carrying a scorching wave of air, rushing straight towards Li Pingcan's face!
In his view, his first-grade high-level attack talisman was enough to instantly kill any cultivator of the same level in a head-on confrontation.

Unfortunately, the bloody scene he had envisioned did not materialize.

This guy didn't dodge or evade, letting the fire dragon devour him.

"Ok?"

The masked man frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Amidst the raging flames, the figure not only did not turn to ashes, but instead strolled out as if nothing had happened, with not even the hem of his clothes charred.

It felt as pleasant as if I had just taken a hot bath.

[Fire Affinity]!
"The temperature of this flame is just right, warm enough." Li Pingcan stretched his limbs, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of amusement.

"Who...who are you?!" The masked man panicked; he had never seen such a bizarre scene before.

To withstand magic with one's bare body?! Is that even human?!
Before he could be shocked for long, seeing that things were going badly, the masked man slapped his storage bag, and a banner shimmering with a sinister aura appeared in his hand.

He waved the banner, and several streams of black energy surged out from it, transforming into three ferocious demons in mid-air, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced on Li Pingcan!
This is actually a rare magical artifact from the Ghost Path!

Facing the three ferocious demons, Li Pingcan neither dodged nor avoided them, but simply uttered a single word.

"thunder."

Before he finished speaking, purple-gold lightning crackled at his fingertips.

"Boom!"

A bolt of purple lightning, as thick as a bowl, descended from the sky, carrying immense divine power, and struck the three evil spirits with perfect accuracy on their heads!
After the [Elemental Amplification], plus the [Thunder Wave] blessed by [Nature's Grace]!
"squeak!

Before the three evil spirits could even utter a scream, they were instantly transformed into three wisps of green smoke and vanished without a trace under the extremely powerful and yang thunder.

"What!?"

The masked man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His "Three Ghost Banners" were his most treasured possessions, refined over many years and having devoured countless souls. Even ordinary cultivators in the mid-stage of Qi Refining would avoid them.

But now, he was actually... he was instantly killed by the opponent's move?
What the hell kind of magic is this?

That's ridiculously powerful!
Little did he know that what Li Pingcan threw out was no ordinary thunderbolt; its power was more than 30% stronger than that of ordinary spells.

Without a second thought, the masked man turned to flee.

But as soon as he turned around, he found that the ground beneath his feet had turned into quicksand, and a huge suction force made it impossible for him to move.

"Want to go?"

Li Pingcan's figure appeared before him like a ghost. "You think you can just leave without leaving something behind? That's not a good idea, is it?"

"You! Don't come any closer!"

"Spirit stones! Pills! Magical artifacts! Take them all! Take them all! Please spare my life!"

He knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Li Pingcan, showing none of his previous arrogance.

Li Pingcan looked at the guy who was crying his eyes out and shook his head.

“I want it all,” he said softly, “including your life.”

Before he finished speaking, the Jingzhe sword in his hand was already drawn.

A black sword light flashed and disappeared.

The masked man's pleas for mercy abruptly ceased.

Li Pingcan sheathed his sword, skillfully collected all the spoils on the ground, and then searched the corpse to make sure nothing was missing before flicking out a flame and burning it to ashes.

After doing all this, I looked at the vast night and sighed softly.

"This world is getting more and more chaotic."

"It seems I need to speed things up too."

He transformed into a bird, soared into the sky, and disappeared into the night.

(End of this chapter)