In Black Mountain Town, outside the material exchange building of the Great Desolation Immortal Sect, there was an outer disciple named Little Fatty Ding?
Just because he had previously tossed gold coins on the ground and made a fool of him, that guy had harbored a deep grudge, secretly sending word to the thugs of Black Mountain Town to come and kill him?
Beigong Yu stood with his saber sheathed, a chill surging in his heart.
As expected, this world was exceptionally treacherous.
Danger came not only from Demon Beasts and Demonic sects, but also from fellow human beings.
After a session of "friendly" interrogation (one slice per person), the final leader—a man whose cultivation had reached the 8th Stage Soul Refining Realm—revealed all of this to Beigong Yu.
"5269, I... I've told you everything now. Can you let me go?"
"Yes."
"However, you have to drink this."
He held his blood-red saber against the man's neck, pulled a jade vial from his tunic, and said indifferently.
"Do we really have to? I swear, I..."
"Then go and die."
Beigong Yu drew his blade, ready to strike.
"Wait, wait, wait... I'll drink it, won't I drink it?"
Seeing how ruthless and decisive Beigong Yu was, the burly man hurriedly took the jade vial from Beigong Yu's hand. Taking a deep breath filled with bitterness and despair, he uncorked the vial and swallowed the liquid inside.
"Ah... What... What is this?"
As soon as the liquid entered his throat, the big man felt as if his internal organs were being violently torn apart by sharp claws, sending waves of excruciating agony through him that caused him to roll on the ground in pain.
"Chilian Venom, a potion I formulated myself, made using the venom of the deadliest Chilian Golden Snake from the Chilian Mountains, combined with numerous other poisons."
"Don't bother looking for someone to cure you. Not only is this poison my exclusive formula, but the attacks also strike within a very short window—once every day. You won't have time to find a healer."
"Of course, if you work for me obediently, I will give you a dose of the antidote every day. Otherwise, the poison will invade your heart and rot your internal organs until you die."
The burly man's face instantly turned ashen with despair.
The resentment and hatred in his heart almost drowned him.
Damn bastard, a lowly Battle Slave ant actually dares to enslave me! Just you wait; once this poison is cleared, I'll make you wish you were dead!
Yet, the moment he thought of the other's overwhelming strength and terrifying saber techniques, his heart trembled violently.
Beigong Yu knew the man was wishing he could tear him apart with his bare hands.
He had no intention of keeping the fellow alive anyway; he merely wanted to make use of him.
As he had mentioned before, because of his status as a Battle Slave, not only did he receive only about a tenth of the profits when selling materials, but when purchasing cultivation resources, he had to pay several times or even tenfold what others paid.
The big man in front of him was not a Battle Slave; whether he bought or sold materials, he paid and received standard prices.
Therefore, he intended to hand this task over to the man in the future.
That way, he could elevate his cultivation much faster.
As for the Chilian Venom, it wasn't a bluff—it was real.
However, it wasn't an exclusive formula, but rather a poison recipe he had found on someone he had killed, which he had then brewed himself.
It was only capable of threatening those in the Body Refining Realm.
"What... what do you want me to do?"
Under someone else's eaves, one had no choice but to bow one's head. The burly man suppressed the hatred and murderous intent in his heart and asked in a low voice.
Beigong Yu took out all the gold coins, silver coins, and other resources he had on him, handed them to his new tool, and said: "Take these resources and currency, go to the material exchange point, and trade them for Body Refining Spirit Liquid of the mortal rank 7th or 8th grade and above, three drops of 1st-grade, 3rd- or 4th-tier Demon Beast blood, and some dried meat, water, and other supplies. I'll give you one hour. Can you do it?"
"Demon Beast blood—even the lowest-grade Demon Beast blood is worth over a thousand gold coins a drop. Are you sure you want to buy Demon Beast blood?"
"Why so much nonsense?"
"And hand over everything you have on you."
"Understood."
Beigong Yu looked at him coldly as he spoke.
Hearing this, the burly man suppressed his murderous intent, pulled a book and a pouch filled with gold coins from his robe, and respectfully handed them to Beigong Yu.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of resisting, but with the other's blade pressed against his neck, how could he resist?
"Basic Body Refining Art?"
Seeing that the book the man had brought out was actually a cultivation mental method, Beigong Yu was overjoyed.
Although it was just the most garbage-tier street vendor trash, it was still the very first cultivation mental method he had encountered in this world, carrying tremendous significance.
It could be considered a major harvest.
Without hesitation, Beigong Yu took out all his gold coins—a total of 1,590 of them—along with over two thousand silver coins, and handed them all to the man. He also instructed him to take the collected Green Wolf pelts and other items back to Black Mountain Town to sell, ordering him to return as quickly as possible. Otherwise, after a day without his exclusive antidote, the man could just wait to die.
The burly man nodded and obediently took the pile of Green Wolf pelts and other resources on the ground, heading toward the mouth of the valley.
Once out of Beigong Yu's sight, the murderous intent in the big man's heart could no longer be contained, and his entire face began to twist.
Despicable Battle Slave scum, I will definitely kill you!
He didn't run away.
He didn't dare to gamble.
However, unwilling to accept his fate, he secretly tried to circulate the Basic Body Refining Art, hoping to use this foundational cultivation mental method to detoxify himself. The moment the Basic Body Refining Art began to cycle, however, a searing, tearing pain shot through his meridians and heart, frightening him into halting the circulation immediately. Only then did the condition ease somewhat.
This time, his heart harbored even more apprehension and dread toward Beigong Yu.
It seemed he would have to obey orders for the short term.
...
Beigong Yu did not immediately plunge into cultivation. After secretly observing for a while and confirming that the man had not gone back on his word and returned, he found a secluded spot and began to peruse the Basic Body Refining Art.
Although his cultivation had already reached the 7th Stage Blood Refining Realm, that had been achieved with the aid of the mysterious golden finger.
It had not been accomplished by practicing a body refining art.
Even though the manual in his hands was nothing more than a dime-a-dozen Basic Body Refining Art, for Beigong Yu—who had never practiced any mental method whatsoever—it was a wonderful harvest and starting point.
He just wondered if the mysterious golden finger could also deduce this Basic Body Refining Art and make it even more powerful.
Filled with anticipation, Beigong Yu opened the Basic Body Refining Art cultivation manual.
Hum...
It was coming!
That marvelous sensation truly arrived.
The next moment, Beigong Yu's consciousness appeared within the familiar, boundless starry sky.
A transparent, mysterious figure sat cross-legged in the cosmos and began to deduce the Basic Body Refining Art.
As the deduction proceeded, countless golden patterns and blood-colored specks of light appeared on the transparent, mysterious figure. Interconnected, they spread across the entire body of the mysterious entity.
Seeing this, Beigong Yu was struck by a flash of spiritual enlightenment, realizing that those golden patterns represented the circulation routes of the body refining art within the body, while the blood-colored specks of light must be the body's acupoints.
As the golden patterns and blood-colored specks linked together and circulated within the projected body, wisps of wondrous aura laden with Dao intent drifted out from the mysterious figure.
Sensing this aura, Beigong Yu couldn't help closing his eyes and opening his mind to comprehend the wondrous marvels within.
He did not know that the moment he closed his eyes, wisps of Dao intent imperceptibly merged into his soul. Under the influence of these profound and mysterious wisps of Dao intent, his soul underwent an unperceived, quiet transformation.
After an unknown passage of time, a bell-like humming sound echoed through his mind, ruthlessly kicking him out of that boundless starry sky.
The next moment, a massive torrent of information rushed like a tidal wave, violently and forcefully flooding into the ocean of his consciousness...