Chapter 263: Chapter 163: Attaining the Fake Pill, Descent of the Killing Star

Legend has it that in the Eastern Domain, there is a Gilded Secret Realm where tens of thousands of Gilded Golden Flowers grow.

Within it also live several thousand Yellow-tailed Silver Ring Bees, which feed on the pollen of the Gilded Golden Flowers and produce honey from them.

Every fifty years, when the Secret Realm opens, Foundation Establishment Cultivators enter to search for hives and collect the honey.

As the Secret Realm only permits Foundation Establishment Cultivators to enter, and the Yellow-tailed Silver Ring Bees are also Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts, the process is extremely dangerous.

But even so, those who succeed only bring out the raw material—the Gilded Golden Flower honey.

It then needs to be brewed with Spiritual Materials like Ice Shards and Dragon Fragrance, a process that takes at least ten years of manual effort.

Only when a Jade Hairpin can lift the honey over three feet high with a thousand threads still clinging to it can it be considered qualified Gilded Thousand Threads Honey.

It is a rare treasure that, while being a Tier Two Spiritual Object, is in no way inferior to a Tier Three Spiritual Object in terms of rarity or value.

Not only can it be used in a variety of Tier Three Spirit Pills as a crucial supplementary ingredient, but it is also a natural antidote capable of neutralizing 99 percent of all potent poisons up to Tier Three.

If consumed directly, it can greatly nourish a cultivator’s lungs and significantly enhance their affinity for Gold Spiritual Power.

Its effects are in no way inferior to those of Purple Gold Spirit Sand, and they are long-lasting.

For a Body Cultivator, it can also be used during Body Refining as a Healing Holy Medicine to prevent injuries.

.

Even in the Eastern Domain, Gilded Thousand Threads Honey was an extremely precious Spiritual Object.

Xiao Chen carefully held the box, weighing it in his hand. One box like this was a standard portion, weighing about three taels and worth at least sixty thousand Spirit Stones.

’Tsk, tsk. I wonder which family’s heirloom this was?’

He called it an heirloom because the box was quite old.

Judging from the Spirit Jade inlaid on its edges, this box of Gilded Thousand Threads Honey had been stored for at least eight hundred, if not a full thousand, years.

But just like fine wine, honey of extremely high purity only became more effective the longer it was aged.

This was actually a good thing, as it meant the value of this honey was even higher.

’This box must have come from the Eastern Domain as well.’

Xiao Chen’s gaze fell on the intricate and detailed patterns on the side of the box, and he couldn’t help but feel impressed.

’From what I’ve seen and heard recently, the Eastern Domain must be far more prosperous than Hezhou. Otherwise, they wouldn’t bother expending such effort on these small details.’

After carefully putting away all the Spiritual Objects, two items remained.

A Bounty Order and a storage box.

Xiao Chen looked at the portrait on the Bounty Order and found it somewhat familiar. ’Why does this look so much like me?’

After reading the description below, he discovered that it was indeed a bounty placed on him.

On the back were various numbers stamped with a mark, and below them was the character for "kill," written in blood-red.

He had seen one of these once before in Jingchuan County. At that time, the bounty on his head was Five Thousand Spirit Stones, placing him in the cheapest tier.

This time, however, the bounty had increased significantly, rising to sixty thousand Spirit Stones.

Still, it left Xiao Chen a bit speechless. ’Is that all I’m worth? Who are they trying to insult?’

Back when he was in Li State, he hadn’t recognized the meaning of the mark.

This time, however, he recognized it at a glance. The mark clearly represented the Huidong Commerce Association.

’How interesting. The Huidong Commerce Association is secretly posting a bounty on me.’

’Very well. I’ll remember this.’

Whatever their reason, it no longer mattered. Since they had done this, they would have to pay the price.

At the latest, once he achieved Core Formation, he would take his sword and level the Huidong Commerce Association.

He put away the Bounty Order and opened the storage box.

Inside was a single, small, round orb, emanating the oppressive aura of a Demon Beast.

HISS!

Xiao Chen sucked in a sharp breath, snapped the storage box shut, and then opened it again.

Yes, it was unmistakable. This had to be a Demon Beast Inner Core.

He reached out, picked up the small orb, and felt its familiar weight. He wrapped it tightly with his Divine Sense and injected a trace of Magical Power.

Immediately, the phantom image of a large, six-foot-long fish appeared. It had an oval-shaped body, yellow fins, and six horizontal stripes along its sides.

Without a doubt, this was a genuine Demon Beast Inner Core.

It appeared to be from some kind of fish-type Demon Beast, not a species native to Hezhou. It was likely another product from the Eastern Domain.

’This... It’s all so sudden.’

Xiao Chen blinked. This was one of his two main goals for coming to Hezhou.

He had originally planned to hunt Demon Cultivators and use the points to redeem one of the six Inner Cores offered by the Lingyuan Sect.

He never expected to achieve his goal so far ahead of schedule.

This was a truly pleasant surprise.

’Am I about to form a Fake Pill?’

Xiao Chen took a deep breath to calm himself.

He then carefully recalled the matter of using the Core Formation process to perform an Enlightenment Spiritual Mechanism on his Wind and Thunder Dual Swords.

Liu Feng had told him about this path back when he first arrived in Hezhou.

Xiao Chen had secretly taken note and had already made inquiries about the matter.

Even during Fake Pill Formation, there was a chance to perform the Enlightenment Spiritual Mechanism, refining a Flying Sword into a Lifebound Sword Embryo.

If successful, he could continue to temper them in the future, upgrading the Wind and Thunder Dual Swords into Spiritual Artifacts.

According to Chang Shunping, such things had happened more than once before.

An ancestor of the Chang Family had once undergone Fake Pill Formation and, in the process, refined his own Lifebound Flying Sword.

In that era, the Chang Family’s sphere of influence extended from Qingyang County north to Qiuping County and west to Dongyuan County.

However, this method was risky, as it would double the difficulty of true Core Formation later on.

If it failed, the cultivator’s hard-won Inner Core would be wasted.

Thus, in recent years, as Demon Beast Inner Cores have become increasingly scarce, fewer and fewer cultivators have dared to take such a risk.