Vampire Cultivation Notes

South Street courtyard, alchemy room.

The black cauldron opened, the fire subsided, and two fragrant pills, named Fengxin Pills, flew out, their aroma refreshing and invigorating.

However, for Li Jieqing, who had tasted the flavor of the lotus seeds, the aroma of the Fengxin Pill, which he had painstakingly researched in the past, was nothing special. At this moment, he held two Fengxin Pills in his hand and simply examined them quietly.

"Still a medium grade. But it's better than the ones I refined before. The heat, technique, spirit charcoal, and other materials haven't changed. It seems the problem really is with my blood after my physique was upgraded."

"This is precisely the opportune moment; it's time to prepare some twenty-year-old chicken blood vines and begin refining a superior-grade Devotion Pill!"

Li Jieqing nodded slightly and put away the two pills.

Guarding treasures is one thing, but spiritual practice cannot be abandoned either.

After resting and recuperating, I will regain my magical power.

Li Jieqing then got up, put on his cloak, tied the Qingshui Sword under the cloak, and went out.

At this time, a month had passed since the time when the independent cultivators were encouraged to go to Wangyue Valley to search for treasure.

Nearly ten days have passed since the white tiger was found.

The appearance of the demonic tiger that day shocked the entire Taipingfang. Dozens of cultivators died at once, more than the number who died in half a year when the beast tide hit the town. Among them was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Those who returned severely injured were even more numerous.

How many cultivators are there in Taipingfang City? In a short time, the demon tiger naturally became infamous.

As a result, the greed that had clouded their judgment in the early and mid-stages of Qi Refining made them no longer dare to linger in Wangyue Valley, and the brief treasure-hunting craze was forcibly cooled down.

Instead, cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining became more enthusiastic about it.

Especially the veteran rogue cultivators who had smelled the medicinal power of the green lotus seeds that day and discovered signs of it on the demon tiger, wished they could stay in Wangyue Valley and never come out.

If one person can't defeat the enemy, they call for others to join in. If even they can't defeat the enemy together, they follow them and poison them. The rogue cultivators always have a way.

The two Yu brothers then widely distributed the demon-slaying invitation, inviting cultivators from various families and even other places to gather together. A few days ago, they went to Wangyue Valley together to search for the demon tiger, showing a strong determination to succeed.

"You beast! You chased me all the way here for no reason; you deserve to be disturbed!"

Upon arriving at North Street, Li Jieqing glanced at the few familiar stall owners and couldn't help but smile and nod slightly.

Nowadays, most of the public's attention has been focused on the demonic tiger, and after a month of cooling off, he, as the initiator, is no longer so conspicuous.

Once the demon tiger is eliminated, we can consider leaving the market and visiting Moon Valley again.

But that's a matter for the future.

Li Jieqing was not optimistic about the Yu brothers' operation.

Because that demonic tiger was not a stupid beast; it was quite cunning. Otherwise, it wouldn't have survived the entire tribe.

Seeing that the cultivators outnumbered and outmatched them, the cultivators would naturally know to hide.

Moreover, the demonic tiger possessed an unusual ability: it could conceal its demonic aura, so much so that even the demon-summoning talisman could not detect the slightest anomaly.

I've never heard of the White Tiger demon beasts in the wilderness having such abilities before; it must be a blessing that the demon tiger gained after eating the Green Lotus Seed.

With such abilities, and given the vastness and scarcity of Wangyue Valley, if that demonic tiger were to encounter trouble, it could easily escape to any place and be difficult to find again. Meanwhile, ordinary cultivators would find it difficult to stay in Wangyue Valley for long.

This is the perfect combination of timing and location that the demonic beast possesses.

……

Old Liu's stall.

Li Jieqing approached, greeted them, and said, "Give me a copy of the map of Wangyue Valley that the One-Horned Taoist and the others explored."

The stall owner wrapped his head up in a bandage made of medicated cloth.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Zhao who's out again. Those maps are selling well these days; cultivators everywhere, regardless of their cultivation level, all want a copy."

With one hand, he picked up a map and handed it over. Old Liu said with a smile, "However, since everything was initiated by you, fellow Daoist, I'll give you this one for free. I guarantee it contains the latest developments in Wangyue Valley. I just made a copy and brought it here."

"Free?" Li Jieqing took the map, but frowned. "Fine, the One-Horned Taoist and the Yu Brothers got my message and promised to send me maps, but they didn't send the hand-drawn ones, only these copies?"

"Fellow Daoist, that's not quite right. Those people didn't expect you to spread the news so widely that it became common knowledge."

"Hmph, if I hadn't spread the word, how would they have known about the treasure?"

Li Jieqing shook his head. There are too many untrustworthy people these days.

The old Taoist priest with the unicorn horn, the Yu brothers, and Old Liu all usually spoke kind words, and the Scorpion Lady was even more generous with her compliments, but who knew that none of them would keep their promises.

He is neither a believer nor a good person.

Fortunately, I didn't rush to explore Moon Gazing Valley with them and cause trouble for the demon tiger. Instead, I chose to play it safe.

After cursing a few times, Li Jieqing opened the Wangyue Valley exploration map in front of Old Liu.

Comparing the routes to the locations I had doubts about with the routes on the map in my hand, the two routes overlapped in my mind, and one by one, the locations were rejected.

Not here...

Before he could finish, Li Jieqing closed the map and shook his head slightly.

"Sigh, I don't understand. Who knows where that demon tiger went after its lair was destroyed?"

"Fellow Daoist, do not worry," Old Liu said with a smile. "The Yu brothers left a few days ago, and there should be good news coming. That demonic tiger won't be able to run rampant for long."

"I hope so... Fellow Daoist Liu, you haven't made a trip to Moon Gazing Valley yet?"

"Of course I went. I was one of the cultivators who got chased and bitten when the White Tiger showed up. Look at this wound."

"Amazing!"

Li Jieqing put the map away, thinking to himself that this old Liu had a firm Dao heart and was quite capable. Not only did he dare to enter Wangyue Valley at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, but he also managed to escape with his life from the White Tiger's pursuit.

They're almost as good as him.

"It's hard to say what will happen with the demon tiger and the treasure. Fellow Daoist Liu, do you have any twenty-year-old chicken blood vines? I don't need your friend's, just tear off two feet of these for me to take with me."

"Yes, yes, yes!" When it came to business, Old Liu's spirits soared, and he hurriedly went to his storage bag to retrieve the elixir.

"Twenty-year-old chicken blood vine is considered a top-grade spiritual herb in the market. I've been cooperating with Fellow Daoist Zhao for many years, so how about you give me a discount? Seventeen spirit stones per foot?"

Not afraid of defaulting on the debt, Old Liu handed over the chicken blood vine and chuckled softly, "If you refine any high-grade pills and have any left over, just send them to me. I promise you won't suffer any loss."

A ten-year-old chicken blood vine is dark red all over, while a twenty-year-old one is even darker in color and its surface will be slightly raised and grow some small thorns.

This is indeed a very easy-to-distinguish feature.

Li Jieqing glanced at it, then used his magic to test the medicinal effects, and nodded in satisfaction: "Easy, easy."

Old Liu was always shrewd, so it was no surprise that he could tell that I was going to refine a high-grade pill, and there was no need for him to care.

It doesn't matter if a craftsman's skills are exposed.

If he could truly become a top-grade alchemist, his status in Taiping Market would greatly increase. At that time, people like the One-Horned Taoist and the Yu Brothers would really have to be mindful of his feelings.