Strolling through Luoshui County.
Lin Sheng was still thinking about the matter of strengthening his Qi.
Since Qingniao Chasing Star Finger strengthens its own power by incorporating various avian Spirit Beasts into the body,
then Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) can also strengthen its power by incorporating elephant-type or Physique-type Spirit Beasts into the body.
Combining multiple Cultivation Techniques with multiple Spirit Beasts might, to some extent, compensate for their shortcomings, as different techniques have different focuses.
However, this path undoubtedly requires a large number of Spirit Beasts, even Advanced Level Spirit Beasts, which is difficult to achieve in a short time.
Lin Sheng pondered while listening to the hawking sounds from people coming and going on both sides of the street.
"Recruiting soldiers... The Imperial Court is recruiting soldiers, with generous benefits, hurry and take a look..."
At this moment, a commotion came from the center of the street not far away.
Lin Sheng was also pulled back from his thoughts.
He raised an eyebrow, only to see that the public notice board in the center of the street was already surrounded by people, bustling with activity.
However, from the shouts coming from the crowd, he roughly understood what was happening.
"Is the Imperial Court recruiting soldiers?"
He muttered to himself and walked towards the notice board.
Without getting too close, he could see the content of the notice with a single glance of his eyesight.
【Recruiting Martial Artists at Body Tempering and above. They can join the Shock Beast Army. Body Tempering Realm Martial Artists will receive a monthly salary of one hundred taels of silver and five blood nourishment pills; Forging Tendons Martial Artists will receive a monthly salary of five hundred taels of silver and three blood enhancement pills...】
After reading the content of the notice, Lin Sheng couldn't help but show a look of surprise. It was not for any other reason, but that such benefits could no longer be described as merely generous.
The benefits he received as a Body Tempering Realm hunter in the Zhenshan Tower in Lin'an County were more than 10 times less compared to the current military enlistment benefits.
Even though he knew the Northern Yan Imperial Court was wealthy, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised at this moment.
"Shock Beast Army?"
Noticing the words on the notice, he chewed on them.
He had only heard of the Dragon Demon Army; this was the first time he had heard of the Shock Beast Army.
A burly middle-aged man next to Lin Sheng had an excited look on his face. As if he heard Lin Sheng's muttering, he spoke with a touch of straightforwardness.
"It's normal, little brother, that you haven't heard of the Shock Beast Army. This Shock Beast Army is the latest army established by Northern Yan, said to be controlled by Tianhong Pavilion. You must know about Tianhong Pavilion, little brother, that belongs to Prince Yan, and it is the absolute number one violent organization in the entire Great Yan Country."
The straightforward man seemed to know a lot and was also a bit talkative, spouting a lot of information as soon as he opened his mouth.
Lin Sheng's face showed a look of realization.
It was newly established, no wonder he hadn't heard of the so-called Shock Beast Army. Of course, this was also related to the fact that he usually didn't pay much attention to the actions of the Northern Yan Imperial Court.
Adding to that, in the past two months, they had basically been holed up in the Congyun Mountains, living a life of hiding, so it was normal not to know about these things.
"However, brother, the benefits of this Shock Beast Army are excellent. I imagine the assessment difficulty for recruitment must also be extremely high, right?"
"On the contrary, little brother." Hearing Lin Sheng's words, the straightforward man grinned. "The assessment difficulty for this Shock Beast Army is not high, even much lower than the recruitment assessments in previous years. Not only has the age limit been greatly relaxed, but if you sign up, there's basically a more than 90% chance you'll get in, as long as you're not missing an arm or a leg."
"As for the benefits, they are indeed much better than the military benefits of previous years, but times are different now. Haven't we started a war with South Qi? Increasing the benefits is only normal."
"Moreover, the Shock Beast Army belongs to Tianhong Pavilion, so it would be strange if the benefits weren't high!"
When the straightforward man said this, he saw more and more people gathering around, and a look of impatience appeared on his face.
"Alright, little brother, I won't talk to you anymore, I'm going to sign up."
After saying that, the straightforward man left a sentence and squeezed forward in a hurry, surrounding the two black-armored officers next to the notice.
"Shock Beast Army..."
Such a large-scale recruitment, could it be that the front line is struggling?
Looking at the bustling crowd, this thought flashed through Lin Sheng's mind, but he quickly shook his head slightly.
"These matters have nothing to do with me."
With that thought, he had already turned and left.
The two countries, Northern Yan and South Qi, have not been without conflict since their founding, often with Northern Yan having the upper hand. Of course, this was also due to the chaotic situation in South Qi Country.
However, Northern Yan only had a slight advantage. The strengths of the two countries were similar, and neither had the ability to completely conquer the other. After a few years of conflict, it would eventually end without resolution.
He didn't pay too much attention to these matters, after all, he was still considered a person of the Jianghu.
Most of the sects and forces within Northern Yan basically did not intend to get too involved in the war between the two countries.
There were even quite a few who were happy to see it happen. If Northern Yan's national strength weakened due to the war, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for the sects and aristocratic families.
His steps were quick, and he passed through several streets to return to his residence within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Interestingly, he saw the Shock Beast Army's notice on almost every street, indicating a significant effort.
In the quiet room of his residence, Lin Sheng quickly entered cultivation, striving to step into the Bone Transformation Realm as soon as possible.
Now that the cultivation issue of Qingniao Chasing Star Finger was basically resolved, Ghost-mane Finch, Black Eyed Ghost Crow, and Green-Eyed Fierce Eagle, these three Spirit Beasts were enough for his cultivation for a long time.
Of course, he also did not give up searching for information on avian Spirit Beasts, especially Advanced avian Spirit Beasts.
Although capturing avian Spirit Beasts of this level is very difficult,
with his current strength, as long as he can find their specific location and take action himself, even an Advanced Level Spirit Beast may not be able to escape from him, unless it is one of the individually extremely powerful ones.
Of course, in addition to avian Spirit Beasts, other types of Spirit Beasts have also been put on his agenda.
He has already started having people search for elephant-type Spirit Beasts, leopard-type Spirit Beasts, etc.
After all, he has to cultivate several of the true techniques of the Seven Forms Sect.
It's better to search for them in advance and incorporate them into his body first.
Guarding such a treasure trove as the Congyun Mountains, he naturally couldn't waste it.
With the Medicine Gang and Wind Cloud Gang, two active Gangs in the Congyun Mountains, taking action, the efficiency was undoubtedly much higher than that of Feng Yu and others.
As for Feng Yu and the other Seven Forms Sect disciples, he had them all recalled and scattered throughout the various counties in Tiannan Prefecture, especially in the Fu City area, where they were responsible for gathering intelligence and collecting Spirit Beasts.
...
Three days later.
The sky brightened.
In the quiet room.
Lin Sheng held a thick, ancient book in his hand, flipping through it quickly.
It was densely filled with text, but he only paused for a few seconds before turning to the next page. In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had finished reading the ancient book in his hand, and then took another one from the tall stack of books beside him to continue reading.
On his other side were even more books that he had already finished reading.
"With Spirit Illusion Grass as the main ingredient, and Youlan flower and Snake-tail bamboo as auxiliary ingredients, Spirit Illusion Pills can be concocted."
"Using the venom of the Poison Collecting Spider and Hook-tailed scorpion as a guide, combined with Yellow Gallbladder Lotus and Void Grass, Floating Fragrance Pills can be concocted..."
Lin Sheng muttered softly.
The books in his quiet room were all various books on poisons and medicine, mostly ancient texts, which he had Feng Yu and others purchase at high prices.
The reason for purchasing so many medical and poison books was not a sudden whim.
He had had this idea for a long time. With the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm, a poison technique, he was already quite sensitive to various toxins.
However, as his cultivation improved, this poison technique, which was ultimately only a second-rate martial art, was no longer sufficient.
Even if he had devoured and refined various rare poisons, their effect on Bone Transformation Realm Martial Artists was still quite limited.
But with the emergence of his illusion talent, he also realized the extraordinary nature of illusionary poisons.
Especially now that he still had some Youming Soul Lotuses in his hand, the illusionary poison attached to them was extremely strong. He thought that even Bone Transformation Realm Late Stage Martial Artists would find it very troublesome to deal with this level of illusionary poison.
Therefore, he also had the idea of further improving this poison technique, preferably by refining illusionary poisons into it.
He had had this idea before, and the appearance of the Seed Devil Secret Art undoubtedly further promoted this.
The Seed Devil Secret Art must be improved as soon as possible.
The reason he chose to keep the Red Mountain Six Ghosts by his side was partly for this consideration. The strength of these six men was not weak.
Especially the Leader, who was even stronger than Yuan Zhongfei. Although he was not as strong as Wu Xing Sword Shi Hui and others, he was in no way weaker than an ordinary Bone Transformation Realm Late Stage Martial Artist when facing them.
If the effect of the Seed Devil Secret Art weakened, it would definitely start with these six men.
If there were any signs of something wrong with these six men, he could deal with it directly.
Fortunately, after a few days, these six men showed no intention of breaking free from his control.
But he had to improve it as soon as possible.
As for the direction of improvement, in his opinion, there were two points. The first was to strengthen his own spirit.
This secret art was, after all, a spiritual secret art.
The higher his spirit attribute, the stronger the effect of the secret art would naturally be.
However, improving the spirit attribute was quite difficult, and it was unrealistic to expect improvement in a short time, unless there were mutated beasts that could amplify spirit.
As for the second point, it was to start with illusionary poison.
Illusionary poison could also affect a person's spirit and consciousness. He remembered clearly the scene when he swallowed the youming soul grass.
That's why he spent a high price to purchase a large number of rare books.
In addition to this, he also had Feng Yu and others start purchasing some illusionary poison-type poisonous herbs.
Time slowly passed, and an hour quickly went by. Lin Sheng also put down the last book in his hand.
He rubbed his temples, and an idea had formed in his mind.
The next day.
The Red Mountain Six Ghosts arrived early in the courtyard and waited quietly.
With a creak, the door opened, and Lin Sheng, smelling of herbs, walked out.
"Your subordinates greet Gongzi."
The Six Ghosts quickly knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully.
"Rise."
Lin Sheng said calmly.
The address of 'Master' made him feel a little uncomfortable, so he had these people address him as Gongzi.
Watching the Six Ghosts get up, Lin Sheng's gaze swept around and finally landed on the Leader.
"Do you remember how your brother died?"
"Gongzi, my fourth brother was bitten to death by a mountain wolf when he was young. If it weren't for your help, none of us brothers would be alive today."
The Leader said respectfully, with a look of gratitude on his face.
"Is that so? Think carefully, in all these years, does your memory really only contain the six of you?"
Lin Sheng looked intently at the Leader and spoke softly.
"When I was young, I saved you. Now that so many years have passed, has my appearance changed..."
Lin Sheng's voice fell into the ears of the Red Mountain Six Ghosts sentence by sentence. Although the Six Ghosts were confused, they still answered respectfully. However, as Lin Sheng said more and more, a look of confusion gradually appeared on their faces, and finally, they even covered their heads and let out cries of pain.
Soon, the Leader of the Six Ghosts' eyes were filled with bloodshot. He looked at Lin Sheng, and the respectful look suddenly disappeared, replaced by fear and resentment.
"You... you are..."
However, before he could finish speaking, he saw the young man in front of him, his eyes suddenly turning completely black, and the memories that had just surged up gradually dissipated.
The other five ghosts were the same.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
"Your subordinates greet Gongzi."
The Red Mountain Six Ghosts all opened their eyes somewhat blankly. Seeing Lin Sheng, they all knelt down again.
Lin Sheng nodded slightly and flicked his finger, and a porcelain bottle landed in the Leader of the Six Ghosts' hand.
"There is one pill inside for each of you. Eat it now."
"Yes, Gongzi."
The Six Ghosts nodded without hesitation. The Leader opened the bottle cap, took out the pills, put one in each person's hand, and swallowed them.
Then Lin Sheng began to stimulate them with words again.
A full half hour passed.
The Six Ghosts still showed no signs of abnormality. Seeing this, Lin Sheng finally felt relieved.
He threw out another porcelain bottle.
"Take this porcelain bottle to Sun Hai and Yao Quan and have them take the pills."
"Yes, Gongzi!"
The Six Ghosts responded respectfully and then retreated.
The pills in the porcelain bottle were the result of his work overnight yesterday.
After repeated experiments, they did have a good effect.
"With the help of these pills, the Seed Devil Secret Art will undoubtedly be much more stable. Since it was created to complement the Seed Devil Secret Art, let's call it Seed Devil Pill from now on."
With the Seed Devil Pill, there is no need to worry about the loyalty of these people in the short term. In the future, after his spirit attribute improves and the illusionary poison refinement is completed, this step might be unnecessary.
However, before that, he will still reinforce their memories with the Seed Devil Pill every so often.
Chirp chirp...
On the branches of the large tree in the courtyard, two small green birds chirped, as if playing.
Caw!
A strange caw suddenly sounded, instantly scaring the two small green birds, who fled towards the sky at high speed.
Caw caw...
Lin Sheng turned his head, only to see the Black Eyed Ghost Crow in the shed on the side of the courtyard, looking at the fleeing little birds and letting out sounds of joyful cawing, as if laughing.
However, noticing Lin Sheng's gaze falling on it, the large crow immediately closed its mouth and turned its head away.
Ignoring the Black Eyed Ghost Crow, this large crow had clearly gained a circle of fat after following him for a few days.
On a daily basis, it was either lying in the courtyard sunbathing or burying its head in frantic eating.
Because Lin Sheng's meals were mainly Spirit Beast meat, there was still a lot of dried meat from the Giant Spirit Bear and Wolf Ghoul. In addition, the reserves of Elementary Level Spirit Beast meat were abundant.
Not a small number of Spirit Beasts died in his hands during the days in the Congyun Mountains, so they naturally wouldn't be wasted. The beast materials were sold, and the beast meat was all made into dried meat by his disciples.
So he wasn't short on food for the Black Eyed Ghost Crow and the like.
However, seeing its lazy and gluttonous appearance reminded him of Big Yellow.
"Since the commotion has passed, speaking of which, it's time to bring Father and Mother over..."