Chapter 94

"Who are you...?"

Liu Ming glanced at the young man in front of him, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a robust build, giving off a familiar vibe.

"My name is Jin Huan. I once met Fellow Daoist Bai with my master in the Weizhou Market. I am now delivering the item you custom-ordered, as per my master's instructions." Jin Huan said, pulling out a small jade box from his sleeve and solemnly handing it over.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, I remember now. You are indeed one of Senior Fang's followers." Liu Ming suddenly realized, his expression relaxing as he took the jade box and opened it on the spot, his face lighting up with joy.

"Excellent. Senior Fang truly lives up to his reputation as the top alchemist in the Weizhou Market, to have successfully refined this item in such a short time." Liu Ming put away the jade box, looking very satisfied.

"Although you provided a lot of main materials, this item is indeed very small. My master failed seven or eight times before finally refining one. According to our agreement, the remaining materials belong to my master, and the Heavenly Dao pact we made is now complete." The young man said with a serious expression.

"Of course. Refining such an item is no easy task. I appreciate Master Fang's efforts in completing it so quickly." Liu Ming bowed, smiling.

"Very well. I have completed my task, so I won't stay any longer." Jin Huan nodded and immediately shot away, riding the white mist beneath him.

Liu Ming, suppressing his excitement, shot off in the direction of Jiuying Mountain.

After a short while, Liu Ming returned to his residence. He sat cross-legged in his cultivation room and took out the jade box, opening it once again.

Inside the jade box lay a slender green needle, emitting a cold, eerie light, as fine as a cow's hair.

"Using so many hard rat hairs to refine just one such needle, even though I don't know how much material was used as payment, the cost was still considerable." Liu Ming muttered to himself, then took out the green needle and placed it in front of him.

Originally, after entering the largest alchemy shop in Weizhou Market, he had found the best alchemist there and handed over the twenty or so giant rat green hairs, asking him to refine a needle-shaped spirit weapon using these hairs as the main material.

As long as one spirit weapon could be refined, the remaining materials would serve as payment for the alchemist and any auxiliary materials.

Upon seeing so many late-liquefaction-stage demon beast hairs, the alchemist immediately agreed and took a Heavenly Dao oath.

Bound by this oath and his status as an inner disciple of the Savage Ghost Sect, Liu Ming was not worried about the alchemist breaking the agreement.

After such a long time, the alchemist had indeed refined the spirit weapon and sent a disciple to deliver it.

Liu Ming made a hand seal and spat out a ball of essence energy at the green needle.

The needle instantly absorbed the essence energy and began to flicker slightly.

Liu Ming's fingers moved rapidly, casting a series of spells.

With a "pu" sound, countless green runes emerged from the needle, coalescing into three thin layers of patterns that hummed continuously.

"Indeed, it's just a low-grade spirit weapon with three layers of restrictions, but it's enough for me now. I'll call you 'Green Shadow Needle.' I hope you can truly come and go without a trace." Liu Ming, seeing this, was not surprised but immediately changed his hand seal and began to refine the item.

A few days later, Liu Ming finally completed the first layer of restrictions on the Green Shadow Needle. He held it between his fingers and gave a slight wave. Immediately, a faint, almost invisible breeze flashed by.

On the opposite wall, a faint glow appeared, and a small black dot emerged, quickly expanding into a fist-sized black hole, from which a faint, pungent smell emanated.

The Green Shadow Needle not only came and went without a trace but was also highly toxic.

...

In a large hall within the belly of Jiuying Mountain, Guiruquan, Zhu Chi, and Daoist Zhong stood near a massive tripod furnace, each making hand seals and chanting incantations with serious expressions.

Below the tripod furnace, a silver pattern array with a diameter of several dozen feet hummed continuously, emitting colorful light that continuously flowed into the furnace.

The tripod furnace was made of bronze, with three legs and two handles, and its surface was engraved with dense cloud-shaped spirit patterns. Inside, a rumbling sound continued, and it trembled slightly, as if something was crashing around inside.

After an unknown amount of time, the light from the silver pattern array grew increasingly intense, almost completely submerging the entire tripod furnace, but the rumbling sound gradually diminished and eventually ceased.

"The time is right! Shichuan, be careful!" Guiruquan suddenly shouted.

"Disciple is ready, Master." A young man who had been waiting in the hall for a long time stepped forward and said.

He was wrapped in a light silver chain, almost encircling his entire body, and his expression was solemn.

"Good. Junior Brother Zhu, Junior Sister Zhong, let's open the tripod!" Guiruquan, seeing this, shouted to Zhu Chi and Daoist Zhong.

They stopped their incantations and pointed their fingers at the tripod.

With a "bang," the tripod lid trembled and flew up.

In the next moment, a black shadow shot out of the tripod.

But when Guiruquan and the others pointed their fingers again, the black shadow paused in mid-air, revealing a man's head with disheveled hair, black lips, and red eyes.

His neck was empty below, and two fangs protruded from his mouth. A green short horn several inches long emerged from his disheveled hair, and on both sides of his face were two thumb-sized red "Seal" characters. After being restrained by the three spirit masters, the head began to emit a strange wailing sound, and its hair suddenly stood straight up, looking extremely fierce.

At this moment, Shichuan let out a low roar, and the chain on his body "clanged" and shot out, one end transforming into a lock that fell onto the head.

With a "pu" sound, an astonishing scene unfolded!

The lock, flashing with silver light, seemed to vanish into the head, disappearing without a trace.

The fierce head immediately let out a惨叫, black aura rolling around it, as if it were suffering immense pain.

Seeing this, Guiruquan and the others were overjoyed and immediately withdrew their magical power.

The man's head, feeling the release of the void around it, regained its freedom.

With a strange cry, it shook its long hair, which instantly transformed into countless black threads that shot toward the young man.

Shichuan, seeing this, pulled the chain on his body and spat out a ball of essence blood.

The silver chain suddenly tightened.

The head let out another piercing cry, black veins appearing on its face, and its long hair contracted weakly.

At this moment, the ball of essence blood flashed a few times and reached the head, where it transformed into a blood-colored rune that adhered to its forehead, as if engraved directly onto it.

The fierce expression on the head immediately vanished, and it floated motionless in the air.

Shichuan chanted incantations and pulled the chain again.

With a "clang," the chain tightened, and the man's head slowly flew forward, stopping about a dozen feet away from the young man.

Shichuan made a hand seal, and the chain transformed into several dozen snake-like forms that shot into the head and disappeared.

The young man then took a deep breath, spitting out more essence blood and making various hand seals at the head.

The man's head's vacant eyes gradually closed, and its face became calm.

Shichuan let out a low cry, cast a spell, and the head began to shrink, along with the chain, eventually transforming into a black mist that entered a leather bag covered in red and green runes at his waist.

"Ha ha, well done. Shichuan, you have finally subdued this flying skull. It is a true demon that our lineage has stored for many years. Although we relied heavily on this demon-subduing chain made of deep-sea cold light iron, it will be more than enough for the sect's grand competition. The task of reviving our lineage rests on your shoulders." Guiruquan walked over, smiling.

"Thank you, Master and the two Senior Uncles for bestowing this spirit weapon. I will not let the sect down and will strive to enter the top five on the Taiyin Stele." Shichuan was extremely excited, kneeling on the ground and almost swearing.

"Since the three of us have bestowed this demon-subduing chain upon you, we believe you are the most suitable person. Xiao Feng was also a good candidate, but unfortunately, he has just advanced to the late-stage spirit disciple and lacks experience in duels. Even if he could subdue the flying skull, he would not achieve a high ranking in the competition." Zhu Chi also walked over and said slowly.

"I will not disappoint the expectations of the three of you!" Shichuan said sincerely.

"Alright, you may rise. You have just obtained the demon-subduing chain and the flying skull, and you need a lot of time to practice and familiarize yourself with them. From now until the competition, you will stay here, and the two Senior Uncles will personally guide you." Guiruquan said with a satisfied look.

Shichuan naturally nodded in agreement.

...

In a secret room of the Ghost Creature lineage of the Savage Ghost Sect, Du Hai embraced Mu Yunxian, both looking unusually intimate.

"Are you really going to compete for the position of core disciple this time?" After a while, Mu Yunxian lifted her head, her face filled with worry.

"Yes. We ventured into the Netherworld Ghost Land and risked so much to gather that material and refine that spirit pill, all for this day. Don't worry. There are not many late-stage spirit disciples under thirty in our sect, only about a hundred. With the help of this pill, I believe I can secure a good ranking among the core disciples. This way, your master will have no reason to oppose our relationship." Du Hai replied with determination.