Chapter 73: The Host Star Stone Cauldron Artifact

Inside the Divine Chamber, the essence-replenishing progress for his Perceiving Clear Divine Ability finally settled at 98%.

This was far more than the progress provided by the Undying Willow and the Beast-Fighting Palace he had previously encountered.

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged on the jutting rock. His consciousness slowly withdrew from the void of the Divine Chamber, a faint smile touching his lips.

"It really is a cauldron fragment. With this treasure, my next Thorough Awakening isn't far away!"

Chen Lingxi muttered in pleasant surprise, settling his mind to digest the flood of information transmitted from the fragment.

"However, this fragment is quite unusual. It seems it can only be used once."

The Time Candle allowed for multiple transactions, and the Beast-Fighting Palace could receive repeated sacrifices, but this stone seemed to offer only a single use.

After that, the cauldron power remaining within it would be completely exhausted, turning to ash and returning to the world just like the Time Candle.

"Host Star Stone."

He silently recited the fragment's true name.

The moment the name passed his lips, the black stone in his palm vibrated.

Its dark surface suddenly shone. Like a piece of ancient jade seeing the sun after centuries in a tomb, a faint light rippled across it, releasing an unimaginable aura.

The aura was neither majestic nor sharp, but it carried a peculiar, almost fateful heaviness.

It felt as though the stone itself bore some unspeakable karma.

"By engraving a person's name upon this stone with spiritual qi and offering an item they have handled as a sacrifice, that person can be established as a Host Star!

"If the Host Star dies by your hand, you will obtain a great cauldron serendipity, and your cultivation will soar."

Chen Lingxi's eyes shone.

"If the Host Star dies by the hands of another, you will obtain an ordinary cauldron serendipity.

"The magnitude of the serendipity is determined by the Host Star's cultivation. The greater the gap between our cultivation levels, the heavier the reward."

Chen Lingxi exhaled a long breath of turbid air, his dark eyes filled with mingled astonishment and joy.

He found the Host Star Stone extraordinarily profound.

"Marking a person as a fated enemy, and having that enemy die, yields a massive harvest."

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged in the cave. The winter night's cold wind poured in through the cliffs, carrying pine needles and ice shards to whip his robes about, yet he remained oblivious.

He peered out of the karst cave, gazing at the faintly discernible mountain ridge in the distant night.

"If that's the case, who should I establish as my Host Star?"

Chen Lingxi pondered.

He currently possessed items handled by two cultivators.

Either item would be sufficient to sacrifice to the Host Star Stone and establish its owner as a Host Star.

One of them was Lin Suri.

In the Baosu Marquis Residence, Lin Suri had handled countless items; finding a random Incense Burner would suffice.

Moreover, Lin Suri's cultivation at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor was unfathomable. He could draw a bow, condense a golden arrow, and shoot it into the clouds, hovering three zhang in the air like a descending immortal.

If he could list him as a Host Star, the resulting cauldron serendipity upon his death would definitely be substantial.

It was just that—

Chen Lingxi mused for a moment, then suddenly shook his head.

Lin Suri was his bound target for Vision Wander. He had already gained countless benefits by using Vision Wander on him.

From initially stealing the method of breathing and circulating qi in the reversed-seat room, to later glimpsing the Time Candle, the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi, the Six Qi True Art, the Purple True Precious Qi, and even that cultivator surnamed Chao, the Credit Peddler, and Wu Mohe—numerous serendipities had all stemmed from using Vision Wander on Lin Suri.

If Lin Suri died, setting aside whether Vision Wander could bind to someone else, even if it could, it would never be as convenient as observing Lin Suri.

After all, Lin Suri cultivated the Six Qi True Art, resided in the Baosu Marquis Residence—a place relatively abundant in spiritual qi—and constantly plotted for numerous cultivation opportunities. Using Vision Wander on him was equivalent to having a pair of eyes spying on the cultivation world.

Furthermore, if Lin Suri died, he would have to waste mental effort searching for the personal treasures of other experts to find another suitable Vision Wander target. How could that be easy?

Reaching this conclusion, Chen Lingxi shook his head, pushing Lin Suri out of his mind and turning his attention to the other candidate.

"Crown Prince Ying Chi—"

"I have Ying Chi's Spiritual Qi Orb. I could list him as a Host Star."

With a reach of his hand, Chen Lingxi took out a precious orb.

That day in the Beast-Fighting Palace, he had obtained this jade orb from Qiu Chihu. It preserved a wisp of the Crown Prince's spiritual qi, making it the perfect handled item.

"Crown Prince Ying Chi is a disciple of the Southern Heaven Region. His Qi Circulation cultivation is unfathomable, and he holds an earth-shattering artifact like the Purple True Treasure Vase. The serendipity gained from killing him would definitely be extraordinary."

"It's just that... I'm afraid this Ying Chi is even harder to kill than Lin Suri."

He frowned slightly.

"Thinking back on it now, the cultivation of the saberman who assassinated the Crown Prince on Cuojin Mountain that day had probably reached the Nine Revolutions of vital blood, or even... the Martial Dao apex of Entering Profound!

"For such a figure to fail to kill the Crown Prince was not only because of his royal status, but also because Ying Chi possessed an artifact like the Purple True Treasure Vase."

Chen Lingxi still remembered the scene he had witnessed during Vision Wander that day.

That saberman had slain over a hundred cavalrymen with a single strike. The saber light had been like a silver-white banner sweeping across the sky, and even the true light within the rainbow had been driven back by his blade.

But when Crown Prince Ying Chi raised the Purple True Treasure Vase high above his head and tipped its mouth downward, that stream of purple treasure qi had poured out like a waterfall, forcing the saberman to fight for his life. Although he had shattered the purple qi in the end, he had been forced to flee with severe injuries.

"The killing power of the Purple True Precious Qi is truly extraordinary. Having obtained just a single wisp of it, I already know its terrifying might—

"And the Purple True Precious Qi inside the Purple True Treasure Vase in Crown Prince Ying Chi's hands is like a small waterfall.

The amount of Purple True Precious Qi the Crown Prince possesses is a hundred, a thousand times greater than my own!"

"If a real fight broke out, with an artifact like the Purple True Treasure Vase, the Crown Prince could probably clash head-on with cultivators at a higher realm than him."

The more Chen Lingxi thought about it, the more he felt this matter should not be rushed.

"This person is so powerful. If I have to kill him with my own hands, I'm afraid it would take ages."

After pondering for a moment, Chen Lingxi shook his head again and stowed the Spiritual Qi Orb back into his Cosmos Bag, temporarily dismissing the thought.

"Since this cauldron fragment is in my hands, there is no need to rush. I'll wait until I have a suitable candidate before engraving their name." Having made up his mind, Chen Lingxi stored the Host Star Stone back into his Cosmos Bag.

The instant the stone vanished from his palm, that peculiar, fateful heaviness dissipated along with it. It was as if he had shrugged off a massive boulder pressing against his heart, and he let out a long breath.

Cauldron fragments were incomparably precious, and the Host Star Stone offered only a single use. Rather than making a hasty decision, it was better to save it for later, using it only when he found a more suitable target and had greater certainty of success.

After all, while a soaring cultivation was certainly tempting, putting himself in peril for it would not be worth the cost.

With his mind made up, he stopped thinking about the Host Star Stone and turned his thoughts elsewhere.

With a flip of his palm, the Cosmos Bag from his Divine Chamber appeared in his hand.

Sending his spiritual qi into the Cosmos Bag, the numerous items inside fell into his perception.

Chen Lingxi gently waved his hand.

With a slight stir of his spiritual qi, Zhao Yong's corpse appeared in the cave, accompanied by numerous pots, jars, and a bronze furnace.

There were about seventeen or eighteen pots and jars of various shapes. Their mouths were all tightly sealed with wax, hiding their contents.

Zhao Yong's corpse lay face-up on the cold bluestone floor. His dry, well-like eyes were still wide open, coated with a gray, lifeless film.

He had died with his eyes open.

Chen Lingxi glanced at him indifferently, suddenly recalling the Undying Willow Branch.

"Refined into the mouth of the deceased, the Undying Willow Branch can forge an Undying Willow Puppet."

"Should I use the Undying Willow Branch to refine Zhao Yong into an Undying Willow Puppet?"

The moment the thought arose, Chen Lingxi shook his head.

"I only have one Undying Willow Branch, and it was not easily obtained. It would be a pity to waste such a treasure on a vital-blood martial artist at the Golden Body Consummation like Zhao Yong," Chen Lingxi murmured.

Zhao Yong's golden-soup vital blood had been as dense and heavy as mercury, and his Purple-Gold Wheel had been virtually indestructible. When executed by his hands, the three martial arts—Gold-Piercing Finger, Falling Goose Fist, and Cloud Qi Palm—truly possessed city-shattering might.

But so what?

He had still died under Chen Lingxi's saber. Such strength was unworthy of a treasure like the Undying Willow Branch.

"If I have the serendipity to find a stronger corpse in the future, using the branch on them would make the most of it."

Having made up his mind, Chen Lingxi's attention returned to Zhao Yong's corpse.

"I'll just burn it," he decided.

Right at this moment, with a shift of his gaze, he spotted a piece of paper hidden among the pile of pots and jars.

The paper was pressed in the gap between two coarse earthen jars, exposing only a yellowed corner. If one didn't look closely, it was almost imperceptible.

Chen Lingxi had only been focused on storing the pots and jars into his Cosmos Bag earlier and had completely failed to notice the paper.

Curious, he pulled out the piece of paper and unfolded it.

The paper was extremely thin and old, its edges yellowed and brittle. There were several deep creases where it had been folded, as if it had been read many times.

The ink on the paper had blurred slightly, but it remained legible.

Chen Lingxi read it carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"This is a pill recipe? And it has a pill-refining method?"

A bit surprised, Chen Lingxi carefully read through the method.

The ink characters were written with extreme precision, every stroke following the rules of calligraphy. Yet, the content between the lines stood in stark contrast to the neat handwriting, radiating an indescribable wickedness.

After a long while, Chen Lingxi lowered the recipe, finally understanding—

"This is the recipe for the pill Zhao Yong intended to use to poison Marquis Baosu!"

"Soul-Felling Pill—"

According to the recipe, there were two methods to refine the Soul-Felling Pill.

One method was to refine a human pill, turning a living person into a walking pill with a potent medicinal fragrance.

It required selecting a "human ingredient," first slowly permeating their body with the poison of the Soul-Nurturing Flower, allowing their vital blood and the toxicity to blend without causing death. Then, supplemented by dozens of rare medicinal ingredients, a specific vital-blood circulation method would be used to dredge the meridians throughout their body, turning them into a living pill.

Once refined, the medicinal fragrance would seep out from the human pill's pores, assailing the nostrils.

When it was time to use it, one only needed a specific technique to "ignite" it. The pill would then explosively release all the medicinal efficacy accumulated over months and years, transforming into a torrential, unstoppable aura of poisonous slaughter.

The other method was to refine a corpse into a true pill.

This second method was much simpler than the first. It only required the corpse of a recently deceased martial artist. Supplemented by the medicinal ingredients in those pots and jars, a specific technique would be used to boil, refine, and concentrate all of their flesh, bone, and vital blood, ultimately condensing them into a single pill.

Regardless of which refining method was used, one would obtain a peerless poison.

"Such an extraordinary recipe should have come from the hands of the Human Immortal Wu Mohe." Chen Lingxi read the yellowed paper from beginning to end twice, a flash of enlightenment in his eyes.

Zhao Yong had said that he only dared to scheme against the Baosu Marquis, Lin Zhongming, because he had obtained the wondrous method bestowed by the Human Immortal Wu Mohe, along with those numerous treasures.

Later, he had searched bitterly for many days before finally finding a "human ingredient" like himself.

Reaching this conclusion, Chen Lingxi's eyes suddenly flickered, his gaze falling onto Zhao Yong.

Piqued with curiosity, he crouched down and placed a hand on Zhao Yong's shoulder, transferring his spiritual qi inside.

Spiritual qi passed through his palm, seeping into Zhao Yong's corpse in fine threads and slowly advancing along the meridians where vital blood no longer flowed.

After reaching the Qi Circulation 4th Floor, his spiritual qi perception had become countless times sharper than before. As his qi entered the body, all the secrets within Zhao Yong's corpse had nowhere to hide from his consciousness.

"There really is something strange."

As his spiritual qi advanced, Chen Lingxi noticed that Zhao Yong's body seemed to have undergone modifications.

These modifications were extremely hidden; had he not probed inch by inch with his spiritual qi, he wouldn't have been able to discover them at all.

Deep within Zhao Yong's bones, inside the marrow, a peculiar medicinal efficacy and aura vaguely emanated.

"Dragon-Drawing Powder—"

Chen Lingxi instantly understood.

"At sixteen, Zhao Yong was still an impoverished, weak youth. He had never practiced martial arts and had passed the prime age for the Hundred Days Foundation Establishment. Yet, forty years later, he was able to step into the Golden Body Consummation—"

An expert at Golden Body Consummation would be a powerhouse capable of dominating a region no matter where they were placed.

In this Yuanjiang Prefecture, someone at the Silver Bone Realm could already be considered a notable figure, and Golden Body experts were exceptionally rare.

For Zhao Yong to cultivate to Golden Body Consummation over forty years, starting from a weak body without foundational establishment at sixteen, truly defied common sense.

"The reason his martial path was so unusual and smooth was probably because of this Dragon-Drawing Powder. In other words, Zhao Yong also managed to withstand the poison of the Dragon-Drawing Powder."

Chen Lingxi withdrew his palm, a trace of deep thought flashing in his eyes.

Why did he consume the Dragon-Drawing Powder?

Chen Lingxi asked himself inwardly, then suddenly remembered Zhao Yong's madness tonight when he called out to Yun Niang.

He immediately formed a guess.

"Perhaps it was to use himself as the medicine, transforming his body into an aura of poisonous slaughter to perish together with Lin Zhongming."

"Later on, he probably grew scared, or perhaps he felt his life still had other uses. He still wanted to become an immortal, still wanted to resurrect Yun Niang. That was why he began testing the medicine, searching for over two hundred people to find a medicinal primer who could replace himself."

Chen Lingxi ran these thoughts through his mind, then cast his gaze toward those pots and jars.

Zhao Yong had spent forty years collecting these medicinal ingredients, from the age of sixteen to fifty-six. From a lowly sweeping servant to the chief steward of the Marquis's estate, he had exhausted over half his life's blood and sweat on this endeavor.

And now—

"Rather than waste it, I might as well—"

Chen Lingxi immediately began to carefully study the pill-refining method on the paper.

The written method was extremely detailed, with every step made perfectly clear.

The refining process itself wasn't difficult. It merely required a corpse that met the conditions, then mixing the medicinal ingredients in those pots and jars in proportion, using vital blood to draw fire, and boiling it down into a pill.

Chen Lingxi couldn't help but marvel inwardly, "Wu Mohe's attainments in pill refining are extraordinary. Refining such a poison is actually not difficult at all."

"The difficult part is collecting the suitable medicinal ingredients."

Chen Lingxi opened the pots and jars containing the medicinal ingredients. Hundred-year fleeceflower root, Crimson Blood Lingzhi, Silver Marrow Stone, Gold-Thread Python gallbladder—

There was a total of twenty-six medicinal ingredients. Every single one was highly valuable, and some were rare treasures that could be encountered by chance but never actively sought out.

Zhao Yong had spent forty years to finally gather them all, proving the difficulty of the task.

But now, all his hard work had merely laid the groundwork for Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi read the yellowed recipe from beginning to end once more. After confirming he had memorized every step, he carefully folded the recipe and stored it into his Cosmos Bag.

He planned to refine this poison.

Chen Lingxi opened the pots and jars one by one, carefully identifying each medicinal ingredient according to the recipe before measuring them into the correct proportions.

Some of the medicinal ingredients were as withered as rotten wood, some as jade-green as emeralds, some as dark red as blood, and some as pitch-black as ink.

He drew fire from a lamp and ignited it within the bronze furnace.

Using his spiritual qi, he suspended Zhao Yong's corpse in mid-air, combining it with six medicinal ingredients to boil and refine together.

The flames burned fiercely. The medicinal ingredients successively melted into the corpse, then dripped specks of essence down into the bronze furnace.

After going through over ten more refining steps, a peculiar medicinal fragrance permeated the cave. The scent wasn't pungent; on the contrary, it was incredibly rich and fragrant—

It wasn't until dawn, when the first ray of morning light leaked down from the stone crevice in the cave ceiling, that Chen Lingxi finally refined a single pill.

"This is the Soul-Felling Pill?"

He pinched the poison pill between his fingertips and brought it to his eyes for a closer look.

The pill was only about the size of a longan. Its entire body was dark purple, and its surface was so smooth it lacked a single flaw, shimmering with a faint luster in the morning light.

The fragrance drifted out from the pill's surface in continuous, wispy threads.

Chen Lingxi's expression shifted slightly.

The newly formed pill emitted a potent fragrance that actually made his mouth water, and it seemed to carry a strange power.

That power was extremely faint and subtle, yet it genuinely existed, easily captivating the mind!

"This pill is simply too bizarre."

Even though Chen Lingxi clearly knew it was a poison, he actually wanted to take a taste.

He could even feel his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily, as if his body were urging him to swallow this pill, promising that doing so would grant him some indescribable, wondrous experience.

"To think there is such a strange poison."

While marveling, Chen Lingxi desperately suppressed this absurd urge.

The Concealed Edge Method suddenly circulated within his body. That thin, tough barrier wrapping around his spiritual qi abruptly tightened, completely isolating the pill fragrance that kept drilling into him.

He took a deep breath, sucking the cave's chill into his lungs to disperse some of the trance-like intoxication in his mind. Only then did he carefully store the pill into his Cosmos Bag and use his spiritual qi to scatter the lingering fragrance in the cave, letting out a long breath.

"As expected of the poison Zhao Yong spent forty years preparing."

"I wonder what level of expert this could poison."

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged in the cave. Looking at the increasingly bright golden light on the eastern mountain ridge outside, a trace of extremely faint coldness flashed through his eyes.

He secretly speculated, "I wonder if this pill could poison Imperial Consort Chun.

"However, Imperial Consort Chun must have expert guards by her side, and that precious mirror in her hand is a cauldron fragment. It's not guaranteed she lacks the means to guard against poison.

"Acting rashly would only expose me to fatal peril."

"Regardless, this Soul-Felling Pill can be considered one of my trump cards."

A smile emerged on Chen Lingxi's face.

"The Host Star Stone and the Soul-Felling Pill."

To think that a Golden Body martial artist like Zhao Yong would bring him such massive gains.

The sky was about to turn fully bright.

He stood up, straightened his robes, and strode out of the cave.

The morning mist of Cuojin Mountain had already risen, making the place look like an immortal fairyland. The snow at the mountain's peak gleamed with a dazzling golden light under the rising morning glow.

"Time to descend the mountain and return to the estate."