Residence, in the quiet room.
The room was filled with smoke, with several bronze censers placed on the ground, emitting wisps of white smoke.
Amidst the smoke, Lin Sheng's eyes were slightly closed, his figure had already turned red, bone spurs extended from his body, and the vertical eye between his eyebrows opened, revealing an indifferent and emotionless gaze.
He took out a Star Dew Grass from a box beside him, put it directly into his mouth, and swallowed it without chewing.
Then came the second plant, the third plant...
As the Star Dew Grass was consumed, time also passed little by little.
Soon, more than forty breaths of time had passed.
Finally, he stopped his actions, the vertical eye between his eyebrows began to slowly close, and the bone spurs on his body also retracted into his body.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling heavily, Lin Sheng opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face.
"I didn't expect that in these few days, my control over the Heart Monkey Talent has become more proficient."
He had a faint feeling that his mental attribute seemed to have signs of improvement again.
Although he still didn't fully understand the specific effects of the mental attribute, the most intuitive point was that he could better control the Heart Monkey Talent.
Now, even without the assistance of Star Dew Grass, the Heart Monkey Talent could last for about fifteen breaths, which was a significant improvement compared to when he could only last for three breaths initially.
He didn't think too much about it, because at this moment, a layer of fine frost had appeared around his body, and the temperature in the quiet room also dropped sharply.
Without further delay, he immediately circulated the Soul Severing Palm to begin digesting the terrifying cold poison that had accumulated in his body.
The cold poison carried by the Star Dew Grass was extremely potent, and he had continuously swallowed several plants, so it took several hours to completely digest the cold poison.
Correspondingly, he could feel that the cultivation progress of the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm had increased by a trace.
To advance the martial art of the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm to the Blood Transportation Realm, three kinds of exotic poisons need to be refined into one's blood and qi.
Now he had the cold poison from the Star Dew Grass and the corrosive poison from the Black Scale Snake, still lacking one kind of exotic poison.
With the experience of cultivating the Black Scale Snake, the lack of an exotic poison was not a problem. Instead of spending a large sum of money to purchase it, it was better to cultivate poisonous insects himself.
As for the direction of cultivating poisonous insects, the best option was naturally the stagnant poison. The third type of poison he originally refined was the stagnant poison of the Human-faced Spider, but at this point, the stagnant poison of the Human-faced Spider was no longer sufficient for his current cultivation improvement.
At least in his opinion, it was too slow.
"But it will take some time to cultivate suitable poisonous insects."
Lin Sheng fell into thought again.
After this friction with the White Dragon Gang, the slight arrogance he had due to the surge in strength after breaking through to Blood Transportation Realm completely dissipated.
Many times, you can't avoid trouble just because you want to. As long as you are among people, trouble is often unavoidable.
Although he had now entered the Blood Transportation Realm, the strength of Bone Transformation Realm Martial Artists still kept him from being complacent.
Especially the current situation in Wanhua City, which appears to maintain a peaceful state, but in reality, undercurrents have long been surging.
Regardless of the final outcome of Shi Gu's death this time, it will definitely accelerate the breaking of this peaceful situation.
Therefore, the Blood Transportation Realm alone is not enough to deal with the potential dangers. In his opinion, he must at least have the ability to protect himself when facing a master in the Bones Transformation Realm like Shi Gu.
So, the cultivation of the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm is just one aspect. The activation of the third imprint must also be done as soon as possible, as this is the direction that can improve his combat power the fastest.
At the same time, he must continue to collect avian Spirit Beasts.
However, both of these require a large amount of money. Currently, he only has about ten thousand taels of silver, which is far from enough.
His current channels for making money are too few, and it seems only the Listening to the Moon Pavilion counts as one.
"It seems I have to go to the Dark Star's base in the next couple of days to see if there are any suitable missions to make some quick money, at least to activate the third imprint first."
"I wonder how that Magic Seed is doing now?"
Speaking of which, his real purpose for going out last time was to deal with this Magic Seed, but he didn't expect it not to appear.
Now that more than ten days have passed, he doesn't know how much the strength of this Magic Seed has improved.
The Phantom Demon Beast's Magic Seed has always been a major hidden danger for him. He can never feel at ease until it is completely resolved.
The potential of this Magic Seed can be compared to that of a Bones Transformation Realm Martial Artist.
"It was severely injured last time, and it will definitely not be a simple matter to recover. It is also impossible for it to grow to the Bones Transformation level in a short period of time, so there is no need to worry too much. In fact, it is most suitable to kill it directly while it is still weak."
"But how to find this thing is a problem, and its intelligence level is very high..."
Thinking of this Magic Seed, he couldn't help but feel a headache.
"Forget it, let's improve my strength as soon as possible. If I can encounter it, that's great. If not, as long as my strength improves fast enough, I might not be afraid of it..."
After thinking this, he immersed himself in cultivation again.
The next day, at dawn, in the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall.
"So it's Gongzi Lin from the Seven Forms Sect, it's been a long time, I've been missing you so much, Shopkeeper Yang..."
In the inner hall of the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall, Yang Niu, full of smiles and extremely enthusiastic, led a man in black tight-fitting clothes into a private room.
The man in the tight-fitting clothes was none other than Lin Sheng.
This time, he did not conceal his face but walked in openly.
After all, if the other party had the intention to investigate his background, he couldn't hide it, as his residence was in the city. So, he simply revealed his identity directly.
As a direct disciple of the Seven Forms Sect, this identity was quite impressive in this city.
"Shopkeeper Yang, have there been any avian Spirit Beasts recently?"
Picking up the fragrant tea that had been prepared on the table, Lin Sheng took a sip and asked.
"Well, Gongzi Lin, you also know that avian Spirit Beasts are inherently rare, and whether there is stock depends on luck. However, that Ghost Face Black Sandpiper is still here. Speaking of this Pseudo-Spirit Beast, it is also fated with Gongzi Lin. It hasn't been sold for so many days. How about Gongzi Lin takes it first, and it won't be too late to exchange it later when there are avian Spirit Beasts."
Yang Niu's plump face was full of smiles, his attitude having changed 180 degrees compared to their first meeting.
Selling that Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey last time allowed him to vent his anger fiercely in front of a group of colleagues, and even the higher-ups had mentioned including him in the assessment list for promotion.
So at this moment, in his eyes, Lin Sheng was not just a direct disciple of the Seven Forms Sect, but simply his great benefactor.
"Is that Ghost Face Black Sandpiper still here?"
Hearing Yang Niu's words, Lin Sheng's face also showed a hint of surprise. He didn't expect that after such a long time, this Pseudo-Spirit Beast was still here, unwanted.
He couldn't help but suspect that perhaps this Ghost Face Black Sandpiper was somewhat abnormal compared to its peers, just like the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey.
Thinking of this, he specifically asked Yang Niu, and after learning that there was no difference, he dismissed the idea of buying the Ghost Face Black Sandpiper.
However, after so long, there were still no avian Spirit Beasts, and he felt a bit impatient.
The Ten Thousand Beasts Hall was backed by the Yuanyang Beast Sect. If they said there were no avian Spirit Beasts, he would never believe it. Even if they valued avian types highly, it wouldn't be to the extent that not a single one flowed out. The only possibility was that they had already been reserved by someone in advance.
Thinking of this, he frowned and said.
"Shopkeeper Yang, if there are avian Spirit Beasts, I am willing to buy them at a price 20% above the market price. If there are still none, then I can only try my luck in the Fu City..."
"This... Gongzi Lin, don't be anxious... I've been trying to find a way..."
Hearing the dissatisfaction in Lin Sheng's words, Yang Niu was startled at first, but then quickly picked up the teapot with a smile and poured Lin Sheng another cup.
"It seems Shopkeeper Yang has no way. In that case, forget it..."
Lin Sheng pushed the teacup inward and was about to get up and leave.
Seeing this, Yang Niu quickly grabbed Lin Sheng, saying hurriedly.
"Gongzi Lin, wait... Gongzi Lin, wait..."
In his eyes, Lin Sheng was already his number one major customer, and he couldn't let him go.
"Let me think of a way."
Yang Niu's face showed a hint of difficulty. Looking at Lin Sheng's calm face, he finally seemed to make a decision, gritted his teeth, and said.
"30%. Gongzi Lin, at a price 30% above the market price, I will find an avian Spirit Beast within a month. But at that time, you must promise me that no matter what kind of avian Spirit Beast it is, you will buy it."
"Oh?"
Lin Sheng raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"Okay."
Originally, he had planned to go to the Fu City to try his luck after a while, but now that he had agreed, there was no need to rush.
As for what kind of avian Spirit Beast, it was still a true Spirit Beast, and the cultivation effect increase it brought would undoubtedly be much stronger than that of Pseudo-Spirit Beasts like the Ghost Face Black Sandpiper.
As long as he could get an avian Spirit Beast, even if there was a premium, he would accept it.
Seeing Lin Sheng agree, a smile appeared on Yang Niu's face.
Finally, after paying a deposit of five thousand taels, the matter was settled. Afterwards, Lin Sheng spent several thousand taels of silver to purchase a batch of Spirit Beast blood.
He had considered the idea of directly purchasing avian Spirit Beast blood, but unfortunately, the proportion of blood required for a Spirit Beast to enter the body was very high. If the required amount was not met, it would be impossible to successfully enter the body. Therefore, for the sake of safety, it was better to purchase live Spirit Beasts.
In addition, purchasing Spirit Beast corpses was also an option, but after understanding the market situation, he temporarily dismissed this idea. The price of a corpse was not much cheaper than a live Spirit Beast, only about 30%.
Moreover, there was no guarantee of timeliness. If the time of death was too long, it might affect the quality of its blood. At that time, if it did not meet the requirements for entering the body, it would be a loss.
The Spirit Beast blood purchased with several thousand taels of silver was about 30 catties.
Fortunately, these 30 catties of Spirit Beast blood all came from an ordinary Spirit Beast called the Earth Fire Rhino. Unfortunately, 30 catties of beast blood was clearly not enough to meet the requirements for entering the body.
Returning to his residence, after absorbing all 30 catties of Spirit Beast blood, the activation progress of the third imprint on the panel had reached 6%.
Looking at the slow progress of activation, he couldn't help but sigh that the activation of the imprint was clearly a bottomless pit, and he didn't know how much money he would have to spend.
"One month's time, one avian Spirit Beast. Even an ordinary Elementary Level Spirit Beast costs around thirty thousand taels of silver. Including the premium, at least forty thousand taels of silver must be prepared."
He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache.
Forty thousand taels of silver was definitely a huge sum of money.
"It seems I need to make money quickly..."
In the afternoon, he arrived at the Dark Star's base in Wanhua City.
The middle-aged woman was still busy with her embroidery, just like when they first met, seeming to have endless needlework to do. Seeing Lin Sheng come over, she didn't even lift her head and told him to go in and check the commissions himself.
The number of commissions the first time was not much different from the last time. The biggest changes were basically Gray Star Envoy level missions, with only a few changes in Hidden Star Envoy level missions.
As for the Blazing Star and Dark Star missions above that, they were the same as before, without any changes.
It was clear that no one had completed commissions of these two levels during this time. Lin Sheng even doubted if anyone had even taken on such high-level missions at all.
After all, in Linjiang Prefecture, as far as he knew, there was only one Blazing Star Envoy, Qi Ning.
Based on this proportion, the number of Blazing Star Envoys in the entire Great Yan Kingdom was not many.
Moreover, with the difficulty of Blazing Star Envoy level missions, they were naturally not easy to complete.
As for the Dark Star level missions above that, he only looked at them.
It could be said that the completion of every Dark Star level mission would bring about earth-shattering changes to the Great Yan Kingdom.
He scanned through the Gray Star level missions, but after looking around, he couldn't find a suitable one.
These Gray Star missions either took too long, were too difficult, or were too far away.
After a while, he finally chose a commission that he considered acceptable from among them.
【Gray Star Level Commission: Kill the Jade Faced Man Kong Qi, Merit Points Reward: 200 points.】
The reward for this mission was very generous, double the reward for killing the Red Haired Ghost Luo Hu before.
However, this so-called Yu Mian Ren Kong Qi should be significantly stronger than Luo Hu.
Because this Kong Qi was a figure on the Black Rank, although his ranking was not high, being able to make the list showed that his strength would definitely not be weak.
He originally didn't want to take this mission, because compared to strength, finding the person was more troublesome.
Figures on the wanted list were generally very good at concealing their movements, otherwise, with such high rewards, they would have been caught clean long ago.
With the intention of trying his luck, he still accepted this mission. If he happened to encounter Kong Qi, in addition to the 200 Merit Points reward from the Dark Star, he could also get an extra reward from the Imperial Court yamen.
After all, this mission had no time limit, so he could just keep it on him for now.
Moreover, this mission also gave him another direction.
That is, in addition to accepting commissions from the Dark Star, he could also capture fierce individuals on the wanted list in exchange for rewards.
Thinking in his heart, he had already made a decision.
When he came out with the wooden plaque, the woman was still doing her embroidery. Seeing the wooden plaque in his hand, she glanced at Lin Sheng and said.
"This Yu Mian Ren Kong Qi is a notorious flower thief. This old lady hates such beastly scoundrels the most in her life. Since you've taken this mission, I'll give you some information for free. Remember to bring his head back."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng was startled, not expecting such an unexpected gain.