Chapter 262: Chapter 163: Achievement of the Fake Pill, Advent of the Killing Star

"It’s a shame about the Snakebone Spear," Xiao Chen mused with some regret as he traveled.

The Western Wanderer had arrived too quickly. As a result, the Southern Wanderer was utterly shredded by the Small Three Talents Sword Formation, and all his Defensive Spiritual Artifacts were reduced to fragments.

Fortunately, he had still managed to obtain a Mirror-Like Golden Shield from the Western Wanderer.

He followed the Array Deployment Map to find the last Array Plate and collected another hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

Only then did Xiao Chen find a nearby cave, take out the two Storage Bags, and begin their Refinement.

BANG!

The moment the Restriction shattered, a cloud of orange mist unexpectedly sprayed out from the Storage Bag.

The mist was rather unusual; it dissolved into the surrounding Magical Power as soon as it appeared.

’Heh, interesting. So he had one last trick up his sleeve.’

Xiao Chen checked himself over but didn’t feel anything amiss.

It was probably some kind of toxin, but unfortunately for the trap-setter, it was useless against him.

The Western Wanderer’s carefully prepared trap seemed more like a childish prank to him.

He swept his Divine Sense over them. The two Storage Bags contained a grand total of 58,679 Spirit Stones.

There were twelve chests of various sizes and models alone, and even more Spirit Stones were just loose.

Their origins seemed quite complex; they were likely all looted from different Orthodox Cultivators.

Unlike other Cultivators, these two only carried a total of three Secret Manuals.

They were *Yellow Springs Nine Secrets: Winter Toad*, *Divine Fire Seed Method*, and *Spiritual Origin Opening Yang Talisman Scripture*.

’Another *Yellow Springs Nine Secrets* manual... Don’t tell me it’s actually a series?’

Curious, Xiao Chen picked up the first Secret Manual and flipped through it. Sure enough, the writing style and layout were identical to the *Immortal-Binding Technique* and *Frost Water Divine General* manuals he had found before.

Moreover, all three Secret Techniques shared a common trait: they didn’t require Essence Blood or one’s lifespan as a price.

Instead, they required corresponding Spiritual Objects and complex cultivation methods.

’It even has an advanced version?’

As Xiao Chen read on, he discovered that the *Winter Toad* manual mentioned a partial method for advanced cultivation.

Unfortunately, the copy in his hands only mentioned it in passing. It was clearly an incomplete version containing only the content for the Foundation Establishment Stage, not the full inheritance.

This practice of jealously guarding one’s own techniques reminded him of the several versions of the *Blood Refining Divine Technique* he had seen before.

Similarly, only the Eastern Wanderer possessed the truly complete version; the one circulating in the outside world was missing many parts.

Furthermore, its most powerful technique, the Soul-breaking Needle, was written separately in a small booklet.

Xiao Chen even suspected that the Eastern Wanderer’s copy was also incomplete, and that the true, complete version was held only by the Golden Core True Men of the Divine Fire Sect.

The second Secret Manual was for the Demon Fire that the Southern Wanderer had used at the beginning of their fight.

It allowed one to plant a fire seed in another Cultivator’s body ahead of time, to be detonated when needed.

The third Secret Manual appeared to be a Cultivation Technique from the Lingyuan Sect.

Xiao Chen skimmed through it and confirmed it was indeed the Lingyuan Sect’s Talisman Dao inheritance, likely a spoil of war looted by the Western Wanderer.

Besides the Cultivation Techniques, he also made an unexpected discovery in the Storage Bags: a special Demon Soldier—the Ghost Head Seven-Forged Saber.

The saber was three chi and seven cun long. Eerie white patterns were carved into its hilt.

And where the tip of the blade should have been, there was instead a ferocious-looking ghost head.

Xiao Chen picked up the large saber and tested its weight. It was about 440 jin.

Generally speaking, most Cultivators only kept one or two spare Magical Artifacts in their Storage Bags.

If they had something truly good, they would have already taken it out to use against their enemies.

But this time was different. The Southern Wanderer had been trapped in the Sword Array and had no opportunity to act.

As a result, this Ghost Head Seven-Forged Saber, which was clearly an offensive weapon, was never put to use.

Another one for the collection.

In addition to these, he had also obtained many precious Spiritual Objects.

These included a stalk of Thousand-Year Sword Bamboo, two bottles of Five-Colored Profound Water, three bottles of Spirit Fusion Pills, and a box of extremely precious Gilded Thousand Threads Honey.

This stalk of Thousand-Year Sword Bamboo was almost identical to the one Xiao Chen had used during his Foundation Establishment.

It looked like it came from the same bamboo forest.

This item wasn’t just useful for Foundation Establishment; it was also of great use to Foundation Establishment Cultivators who practiced the Sword Dao.

The simplest way to use it was to directly use one’s Magical Power to squeeze out the Sword Intent contained within it for comprehension. This could double the effectiveness of one’s Swordsmanship training.

As for the Five-Colored Profound Water, Xiao Chen had used it many times before. It was indeed very effective and well worth its price.

The Spirit Fusion Pill was a relatively rare Tier Two restorative Elixir that had the effect of Washing Marrow.

Consuming it could slightly improve a Cultivator’s Meridians, enhancing the smoothness of their Magical Power circulation and, in turn, increasing their cultivation speed.

Although this boost wasn’t immediately obvious, its strength lay in its cumulative effect over time.

The younger the Cultivator, the greater the benefits they would enjoy from consuming a Spirit Fusion Pill.

This elixir could be characterized by a single word: luxury.

The Spirit Grass required for Spirit Fusion Pills was expensive, so the price of the elixir itself was also consistently high.

It was usually bestowed upon a highly favored junior by their elders as a gift; very few Cultivators would buy and consume it themselves.

Moreover, while one might occasionally see it in Hezhou, it was almost nonexistent in Li State.

The three Spiritual Objects mentioned above were all excellent items, but in terms of value, their combined worth couldn’t compare to the final item: the box of Gilded Thousand Threads Honey.

The only reason Xiao Chen knew of this item was because he had read many ancient texts before coming to Hezhou.

Among them was a book specifically dedicated to recording all sorts of rare Spiritual Objects, *Traveling Hezhou: A Memoir of Wondrous Treasures*, which mentioned this precious Spiritual Material from the Eastern Domain.