Chapter 159: The Method of Bestowing Blessings, Absorbing Soul Beads, Vitality Essence

Before boarding the ship, he noticed that Hong Qiuquan, Li Qingzhi, and the others had lingered at the harbor for a moment before heading back toward the county town.

Clearly, they had given up on the trip to Mount Huang.

This was quite normal.

Ordinary people, having heard numerous legends and perhaps even having witnessed such encounters firsthand more than once, naturally harbored a deep fear of ghostly entities.

As for the Necromancers—a faction frequently dealing with various demons and ghosts, experts in banishing and commanding spirits—they formed a motley crowd of shady characters, and no one could ever be certain who they truly were.

Once entangled with them, one's life was no longer one's own.

And Li Qingzhi?

Although he possessed the cultivation of a single stick of incense, that level of mastery was indeed somewhat weak.

In a place like that, preserving one's own life would be difficult enough, let alone protecting three defenseless companions.

The Ao River Ship!

This was the commercial vessel Chen Yushu had chosen to board for this journey.

The fare alone was exorbitant, costing a full seven taels of silver—equivalent to half a year's expenses for many ordinary families in Jianghuan Town.

"Though the fare for my ship is high, its greatest advantage is safety.

Up and down the Dragon River, perilous places are everywhere.

River monsters lurking at the bottom, aquatic ghost domains, the spirits of sunken vessels, wandering lost souls, and river phantoms... danger lurks in every corner.

Only by traveling with our Ao River Ship can one arrive safely without running into mishaps."

Faced with doubts, the merchant vessel's manager offered an explanation, his tone brimming with confidence and pride.

Hearing this, the others nodded silently and ceased their arguments.

Although seven taels of silver was not a small sum, safety was paramount.

After all, even by taking the overland route, the inherent dangers would be no less severe. Aside from demons and ghosts, one had to guard against various local bandits, murderers, robbers, and villainous martial artists from the pugilistic world...

Most people felt that avoiding trouble was better than courting it.

Chen Yushu shared this sentiment; after paying the silver, he immediately boarded the ship.

Since the voyage would take a full two days, he directly rented a private single cabin, allowing him to rest comfortably at night.

Although this cost an additional fifteen taels of silver, the comfort made it worthwhile.

"Yet, there are quite a few practitioners of the arcane arts aboard this vessel."

With a sweep of his Qi-observing technique, Chen Yushu spotted more than one person possessing the cultivation of three sticks of incense.

Beyond that, there were quite a few with one or two sticks of incense.

The most striking among them was an elderly man with a lump-like bulge right in the middle of his forehead, giving him the appearance of growing horns and an extraordinary aura.

And indeed, he was extraordinary.

Not only did he possess the cultivation of three sticks of incense, but he was also dressed in fine brocade and accompanied by two highly formidable subordinates.

These two were not Necromancers, but genuine martial artists.

Judging by their vital blood energy, neither was weak. One of them possessed an aura of blood so potent that it felt even stronger than Manager Zhou of the Liu Family Pharmacy, clearly indicating someone whose internal cultivation had reached the perfected realm of refining the five viscera and six bowels.

The other, though seemingly weaker in vital blood energy, held profound mysteries within, his body concealing a surging, vibrant force.

Internal Energy Realm!

This was a martial artist of the Internal Energy Realm.

"It seems so.

The number of people heading to Mount Huang in search of fortune this time is far greater than I imagined."

A trace of an inscrutable expression instantly surfaced on Chen Yushu's face.

Necromancers possessed their own unique methods.

Yet in actual combat, martial artists actually held the greater advantage.

Necromancers relied on astonishing arcane techniques, but martial artists possessed a natural restraint against them.

Even a practitioner with three sticks of incense proficiency skilled in summoning deities was roughly on par in actual combat strength with a martial artist of the Internal Energy Realm.

Unless they could summon a deity of an even higher rank from the canonized pantheon.

Take Qi Jiquan, for instance; during ordinary battles, he would only summon a spirit-medium rather than a higher-level divine general.

Aside from the more complicated rituals and procedures required, this was also constrained by the limits of his own physical endurance.

Only when fighting for his life would he invite a divine general to possess his body.

However, once the divine general withdrew, his body would fall into an unprecedented state of weakness, to the extent that an ordinary person could easily cut him down.

Therefore, Necromancers were a very special and fragile profession.

Only when their strength reached the Dao-entry level and above could Necromancers truly acquire relatively reliable self-preservation methods.

Consequently, some well-established or influential Necromancer families would raise loyal retainers, bonded servants, and martial artists to protect their younger members during their periods of vulnerability.

The old man before him was clearly one such individual.

Given his age, having reached merely the peak of the three sticks of incense level, his innate talent could hardly be considered outstanding, yet this did not prevent him from traveling with two martial artists as bodyguards.

One could tell at a glance that while this person's individual might might not be overwhelming, the family background supporting him was likely substantial, naturally commanding extra respect from others.

And the old man was evidently a well-known figure in Qinghe County; the moment he stepped onto the ship, several people were seen stepping forward to greet him warmly.

Among them was another practitioner with three sticks of incense proficiency traveling on the same vessel.

"Brother Mo, I didn't expect that you, too, would plan to make this trip?"

Another slightly younger elderly man with three sticks of incense proficiency cupped his fists and said.

"Thirty years ago, when I had just entered the fold and my cultivation was low, I missed out with great regret.

Now, I must go and make the trip.

Even if I gain nothing, going to witness it and make the acquaintance of fellow travelers is still worthwhile."

The one addressed as 'Brother Mo' shook his head with a sigh, then smiled, "I never expected that you, old Yan, an old-timer who hasn't stepped out of your village in decades, would actually go as well?"

Hearing this, the other man shook his head and replied, "Mainly because my child has slightly better talent than I did, and I must carve out a livelihood for him.

After all, our Yan family cannot compare to your Mo family's deep-rooted heritage, which has produced senior predecessors who entered the Dao.

Our Yan family has only been passing down our arts for three generations from father to son, clinging to that meager family foundation just barely enough to scrape by."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward a middle-aged man standing behind him.

Chen Yushu had already noticed this middle-aged man earlier; at the peak of the two sticks of incense level, he was likely on the verge of breaking through to the three sticks of incense tier.

He could hardly be considered weak.

At the moment, he simply stood honestly behind old Yan with a simple, rustic demeanor.

"You're being too modest. That 'Worship of Blessings' technique of your Yan family is peerless; ordinary ghosts and deities cannot withstand a single bow from you."

A rare look of solemnity appeared on 'Brother Mo's face as he spoke.

"You flatter me!"

Old Yan waved his hand, though a trace of unexplainable complacency flickered across his face.

While they were talking, the group had already entered the ship's deck. Chen Yushu had not followed too closely, so the subsequent conversation became indistinct.

After all, the wind and waves on the river were strong, and coupled with the various chaotic noises during boarding, the sounds inevitably became distorted and blurred.

Even so.

Although Chen Yushu was somewhat curious about the identities and strengths of the two men, he had no intention of approaching them for a chat or investigating further.

What truly concerned him in his heart was the specific situation within Mount Huang.

After all, the Divine Favored One had previously only mentioned the inheritance cliff left behind by the Ancestor of Mount Huang, and due to time constraints, had not explained things very clearly.

He had only stated that that particular inheritance cliff was one of the rare places where ordinary rogue cultivators could acquire top-tier Necromantic inheritances.

As for the specific methods of acquisition, the difficulty, the number of participants, the various factions involved, and other details, he had been unable to elaborate.

"Fortunately.

Fellow Daoist, the Divine Favored One, also mentioned before that after arriving at Tianling Commandery, I can use the induction disc to contact him.

At that time, he will explain the more detailed situation to me.

Otherwise, heading there completely blind would indeed have been troublesome."

Chen Yushu pondered silently, and soon found his assigned cabin.

It was indeed just a small compartment; apart from barely accommodating a small bed wide enough for him to lie down on, there was only a sliver of space left for the passageway.

Crucially, the entire ship was constructed of wood, and the soundproofing was poor; the slightest movement in the next room could be heard clearly.

To this, however, Chen Yushu did not mind.

Having previously shared a large common room with eight people at the Liu Family Pharmacy, this single-person compartment already felt quite luxurious to him.

One hour later.

Amidst a flurry of shouting, the merchant vessel officially untied its ropes and set sail.

Chen Yushu felt the hull jolt and then rapidly move away from the vicinity of Qinghe County.

"We've set sail."

Chen Yushu muttered inwardly, then closed his eyes once more and began to practice the White Tiger Visualization Technique.

Simultaneously, his hand flipped over, and an oval-shaped black bead materialized.

A Calamity-grade Soul Bead.

"A Calamity-grade Soul Bead contains immensely rich spiritual particles.

If used for absorption and cultivation, it can rapidly enhance my Dao cultivation.

The only thing that needs caution is the intensely extreme negative emotion contained within... but for me, this is not much of a problem."

With such thoughts in mind, Chen Yushu's spiritual power stirred slightly, directly 'touching' the soul bead. Then, like a golden needle, he pierced it ever so slightly, drawing forth wisps and threads of spiritual particles, guiding them toward his mental sea of consciousness.

Boom!

The moment these wisps of spiritual particles were stirred,

Like water poured into boiling oil, countless emotional shocks bearing various negative emotions surged over uninhibitedly.

Yet instantly, they were entirely repelled and cast out by the unshakeably calm, poised mindset of his state of deep concentration—unmoved even if Mount Tai collapsed before him—leaving not a single trace behind.

They were purged one by one.

Immediately afterward, only the pure, virtually unpolluted spiritual particles remained, which he naturally absorbed and transformed.

"Indeed.

In the state of deep concentration, the chaotic emotions of the Calamity-grade Soul Bead have no impact on me whatsoever.

I can freely absorb and transform them using this."

Chen Yushu breathed a silent sigh of relief, a relaxed expression appearing on his face.

Following that, he once again guided wisps of spiritual particles, absorbing them continuously.

One wisp, two wisps, three wisps... tens of thousands of wisps...

Chen Yushu's incense Dao cultivation rapidly surged accordingly.

+1

+1

+2

...

In merely the span of an hour, his cultivation rose from the level of three sticks of incense (45/100) to three sticks of incense (51/100).

One must realize that,

In immortal cultivation, the higher one's incense cultivation ascended, the greater the time and consumption required to achieve the next corresponding level of Dao mastery.

Every single point increased at the three sticks of incense level would have corresponded to five, six, seven, or eight points back at the single stick of incense stage.

This was the difference between energy tiers and boundary thresholds.

"As expected of a Calamity-grade Soul Bead.

After absorbing for so long, the spiritual particles inside are still so abundant.

Perhaps it really can elevate my cultivation straight to the completion of the three sticks of incense level in one go?"

Only then did Chen Yushu cast his gaze upon the soul bead, a look of pleasant surprise inevitably showing on his face.

Yet upon careful reflection, this was entirely normal.

The Calamity grade, in terms of boundary tier, actually surpassed Dao-entry, being at least comparable to the Dao-entry Night-wandering level.

The energy contained within it was naturally immensely abundant.

Since he was only at the three sticks of incense level of cultivation, even considering the inevitable waste during conversion, filling up his cultivation capacity was hardly an arduous task.

After all, his current White Tiger Visualization Technique had also been cultivated to the realm of perfection.

Every time it circulated, the power converted into Dao mastery was naturally relatively large.

Even if he couldn't absorb and convert all of it, it still surpassed countless practitioners, preventing excessive waste.

Another point worth mentioning was that,

Through comparison, Chen Yushu had also discovered why many practitioners at the completion of the three sticks of incense level would resort to borrowing evil spirit essences in order to force a breakthrough into Dao-entry.

Aside from the fact that their concentration states were too low to endure the agony of the fire burning the body, the primary reason was that evil spirit essences actually contained a certain trace of vital life energy.

As the saying goes: the Great Dao numbers fifty, and the Heavenly Derivation is forty-nine, leaving one escape; that 'one' was the source of creation—a glimmer of life amidst absolute peril and death.

Evil spirit essences, being the concentrated energy essence of lifeless entities, would inevitably contain a wisp of life force.

It was just that this life force was extremely faint, making it easy to overlook.

Only now, while absorbing the spiritual particles within the soul bead, did Chen Yushu perceive this vitality; after all, a Calamity-grade Soul Bead was a tier higher than an evil spirit essence, and naturally contained a much richer essence of life.

To a certain extent, this glimmer of vitality possessed the function of repairing soul damage and alleviating spiritual agony.

As long as one possessed the corresponding methods and techniques to refine and extract this vital life essence, it truly could, to a certain degree, increase the probability of a practitioner at the three sticks of incense level successfully surviving the fire burning the body to forge their divine soul.

"Of course.

This probability remains very low.

Because the negative emotions within are extremely杂乱 (cluttered and impure), and purging them is a tremendously difficult task."

Pondering carefully, Chen Yushu could not help but shake his head in a sigh.

Yet,

In truth, given his state of deep concentration, he was fully capable of accomplishing this feat.

He merely needed to guide those wisps of spiritual particles, route them through his mental sea of consciousness, and then correspondingly channel them back out to be re-injected into a specific vessel, which would effectively allow him to extract incomparably pure spiritual particles and those wisps of 'vital life essences'.

This was an ability exclusive to him—or rather, exclusive to Necromancers whose concentration had reached the level of deep stabilization, or at the very least, grand stability.

After all, once concentration reached grand stability, one could remain unaffected by the negative emotions within evil spirit essences and thoroughly purge and eradicate them.

And naturally,

That would enable the extraction of the 'vital life essence' contained within the evil spirit essences.

"Could it be that someone is utilizing the state of grand stability to generate vital life essences and sell them?"

Thinking this over, Chen Yushu naturally had no intention of trying it himself.

Because for him, the gains did not outweigh the losses.

The time and energy required would be far too great.

He had no desire to waste his time on such endeavors.