Whoosh…
The whistling strong wind swept across the Giant Whale River, stirring up waves. A merchant ship raised its sail and approached the bank of the Giant Whale River.
Soon, several figures disembarked from the merchant ship. Walking at the front was a strong, muscular man wearing a sailor suit.
The big man walked with powerful strides, emitting traces of formidable aura. He was surprisingly a powerful Martial Artist in the Divine Form Realm.
Seeing the big man and the others, Qi Ning and Lan Man's faces showed smiles, and they also stepped forward to greet them.
"Water Ape, I didn't expect you to be the one coming to meet us."
Lan Man, holding an umbrella, smiled and said to the big man.
"It's not just me, that guy Beaver is here too. It's good that you are alright."
The muscular man had a hearty smile on his face and replied with a laugh, but when he saw the Dark Star members behind Lan Man, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Didn't you say there were quite a few people? Why are there only so few!?"
"There was an accident on the way, and we lost quite a few people."
Qi Ning shook her head slightly and briefly explained what had happened. The muscular man listened, his face filled with shock.
"I didn't expect you guys to encounter Xiang Kong. It's quite lucky that you were able to save these people."
Water Ape said in a deep voice.
As a Blazing Star Envoy, he had naturally heard of the fearsome reputation of the Three-Eyed Rakshasa Xiang Kong. Even years ago, he had briefly encountered the opponent during an operation with the organization.
The absolute strength that the opponent displayed was still fresh in his memory, even now.
"We also have to thank Shen Jun, otherwise we would have been doomed."
Qi Ning said softly.
"Yes, it's surprising that he came out this time. It's really strange."
Water Ape also said with some emotion.
"Right, let me introduce you. This is the organization's newly promoted Blazing Star Envoy, code-named Ghost Face, and he has also been accepted as a Disciple by Shen Jun."
Qi Ning then pointed to Lin Sheng behind her and introduced him.
"Ghost Face, this is the Blazing Star Envoy of Changhe Prefecture, Water Ape."
"Senior Water Ape." Lin Sheng stepped forward and bowed with cupped hands.
"So this is the newly promoted Blazing Star Envoy. Seeing is truly better than hearing. Meeting you today, you are indeed a young hero, far from ordinary. No wonder Shen Jun values you so much."
Hearing Qi Ning's words, a hint of surprise appeared in Water Ape's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and waved his hands repeatedly at Lin Sheng with a warm smile on his face.
Newly promoted Blazing Star Envoy, Shen Jun's Disciple. Either of these titles represents unlimited future achievements, let alone having both titles together.
He had heard about the newly promoted Blazing Star Envoy, but he didn't expect the person to also be Shen Jun's Disciple.
"Alright, let's get on the ship first. We'll hold a welcoming banquet for you when we reach Changhe Prefecture."
After chatting for a few more sentences, Water Ape led everyone onto the ship.
Soon the merchant ship left the shore and sailed towards the opposite bank.
It wasn't until sunset that the group arrived at the Dark Star stronghold in Changhe Prefecture.
After the welcoming banquet, everyone rested in the pre-arranged accommodation.
Qi Ning and the others had traveled over mountains and rivers, enduring the journey. Now that they had finally reached their destination, they were eager to get some good rest.
Time flowed by, and three days passed quickly.
Changhe Prefecture, Yong'an County.
An inconspicuous spacious manor.
Lin Sheng sat cross-legged in a quiet room.
His breathing was steady and long, each inhale and exhale taking several minutes.
His body's muscles slowly moved with his breathing, contracting, expanding, and relaxing.
From time to time, there were crisp sounds of bones cracking from his body.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a puff of white air.
"It's been three days. The Jin Wu Gu Secret Method has been initiated, but it will probably take at least several months to Master it."
Lin Sheng's brows furrowed slightly.
To cultivate the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, one must first use the Jin Wu Gu Secret Method to dispel all one's internal energy, but this Jin Wu Gu Secret Method was much more difficult than he had imagined.
Of course, the most crucial reason was that he didn't have the Spirit Beast suitable for this Secret Method to be absorbed into his body. Without this amplification, he was almost entirely relying on his own innate talent and comprehension for cultivation.
Although his innate talent and comprehension could barely be considered first-class Genius, the efficiency of cultivating it successfully was not high. Based on his estimation, being able to cultivate it successfully in a few months was due to the combination of his innate talent and mental will. Otherwise, it would have taken even longer.
His gaze fell on the several porcelain bottles placed in front of him.
These were Bone Transformation Pills that aided in cultivating the Jin Wu Gu Secret Method. Taking them could speed up the cultivation efficiency, but one had to endure intense pain and they caused considerable loss of vitality to the body, so one had to be quite careful when taking them. Each bottle contained ten pills, which was half a month's dosage for an ordinary Martial Artist.
However, he had already consumed two bottles of Bone Transformation Pills, a total of twenty pills, in three days.
This was because of his strong physique and tenacious will. Otherwise, with such an overloaded dosage of Bone Transformation Pills, if it were someone else, they might have already suffered a severe loss of vitality and mental breakdown before achieving any progress in cultivation.
Although his cultivation speed was not slow for others, and was even progressing very quickly, to him, this speed was still too slow.
"I still need to find a way to improve the efficiency of cultivating Jin Wu Gu."
He thought to himself, already getting up and pushing the door open.
Because this was a Dark Star Organization base in Changhe Prefecture, the manor was basically filled with Dark Star Organization members.
Upon seeing Lin Sheng, they all respectfully saluted.
After all, as a Blazing Star Envoy, his status was equivalent to that of Water Ape and Beaver, the two people in charge of Changhe Prefecture.
In the past three days, some of the Dark Star members who came from Tainnan Prefecture remained in Changhe Prefecture, while others were arranged to go to Fulong City.
Qi Ning and Huang Quan had already set off for Fulong City yesterday.
After all, Qi Ning was an experienced Blazing Star Envoy and the person in charge of Tainnan Prefecture. Matters concerning Tainnan naturally required her to report for duty in Fulong City.
Although Lan Man remained in Changhe Prefecture, she also had numerous tasks.
Although they had withdrawn from Tainnan Prefecture, it was naturally impossible to give up on the intelligence there. They had already begun to rebuild the intelligence network in Tainnan, and she was extremely busy.
As a fellow Blazing Star Envoy, he didn't have much to do, nor were there various tasks assigned to him.
After all, not many people knew his strength. In the eyes of many, although he was a Blazing Star Envoy, he was still a Bones Transformation Martial Artist. In the eyes of most people in Dark Star, the reason he could become a Blazing Star Envoy at such a young age, besides his talent, was more importantly because of his identity as Shen Jun's Disciple.
Moreover, even if they knew, as a Dark Star seed, he would basically not be assigned any tasks and only needed to focus on cultivation, which suited him perfectly.
"Your Excellency Ghost Face."
As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, a muscular man with a smiling face approached him. The person was none other than Water Ape.
"How is it? Your Excellency Ghost Face, are you comfortable staying here these past few days? Feel free to ask for anything you need."
"It's very good here." Looking at the warm Water Ape, Lin Sheng's heart stirred, and he returned a smile.
"I want to exchange for some more Bone Transformation Pills."
"Bone Transformation Pills?"
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, Water Ape was first taken aback, but quickly reacted and said with some surprise.
"Oh? Brother Ghost Face, didn't you just exchange for two bottles of Bone Transformation Pills two days ago!? Could it be that you've already used them up?"
"No, but didn't Brother Water Ape say before that Bone Transformation Pills are rarely exchanged for on a daily basis, and ordinary strongholds don't have any in stock? So I want to take this opportunity to exchange for more, just in case."
Lin Sheng said with a smile.
"Oh, that's right. Brother Ghost Face, don't worry, you don't need to run around yourself. I'll send someone to deliver them to you right away."
Water Ape's face showed a look of realization. As he spoke, he called over a Hidden Star Envoy from the stronghold.
After giving a few instructions, he turned to look at Lin Sheng with a smile.
"Brother Ghost Face, if I'm not mistaken, you should be cultivating that Jin Wu Gu Secret Method, right?"
"Indeed, is that so? How did Brother Water Ape know?" Lin Sheng nodded, not denying it.
"As expected. Brother Ghost Face, you may not know this, but this Secret Method was created by Shen Jun eighty years ago. Besides this Secret Method, there are several other Secret Methods and two Cultivation Techniques that are all from Shen Jun."
Water Ape explained with some emotion.
"There's such a thing!?"
Lin Sheng was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected his Master to have such accomplishments.
He couldn't help but speculate in his heart that perhaps this Jin Wu Gu Secret Method was the technique created specifically for the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture.
"That's natural. With Shen Jun's strength, he's probably not inferior to the two Pavilion Masters. It's just a pity that his current condition isn't very good, and I don't know when he'll be able to recover. Speaking of which, decades ago, Shen Jun also saved my life."
Water Ape's gaze was distant, as if he was lost in some memory.
Just then, the Hidden Star Envoy hurried over, holding two porcelain bottles in his hand. After bowing to the two of them with cupped hands, he spoke.
"Lord Water Ape, there are only these two bottles of Bone Transformation Pills left in the stronghold warehouse."
"Only two bottles!?"
Hearing this, Water Ape's brows furrowed.
He took the porcelain bottles from the Hidden Star Envoy's hand and gave Lin Sheng an apologetic smile.
"Brother Ghost Face, I didn't expect there to be only two bottles left in the warehouse. The raw Materials for this Bone Transformation Pill are relatively rare, so the stock in various places isn't much. But it's alright, I'll send a message to Fulong City later, they should have some stock there."
"Then I thank Brother Water Ape."
Lin Sheng accepted the Bone Transformation Pills, bowed with cupped hands to express his thanks, and then asked.
"I wonder what the raw material for this Bone Transformation Pill is?"
He was more concerned about the raw material for the Bone Transformation Pill than the pill itself.
"Well, what exactly is the raw material? I'm not too sure, but I did hear that the main ingredient for refining Bone Transformation Pills is a Spirit Beast called the Spirit Bone Python."
Water Ape's face showed a look of thought. After thinking for a moment, he replied.
"Spirit Bone Python."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's eyes lit up. He noted down the name, thanked him again, and after chatting with the other party for a while, he took his leave.
He also found several books in the warehouse that recorded various Spirit Beasts.
Finally, in one of the books, he found a record of the Spirit Bone Python.
【Spirit Bone Python, Spirit Beast, over ten feet long, agile in shape, feeds on carrion, mostly born in decaying places, contains potent venom, has bone armor that can resist internal energy...】
After seeing the record of the Spirit Bone Python, Lin Sheng was overjoyed.
He had basically confirmed it. Water Ape was right, this Spirit Bone Python should be the main material for the Bone Transformation Pill.
Compared to taking Bone Transformation Pills, if he could absorb this Spirit Bone Python into his body, it would greatly increase the efficiency of cultivating the Jin Wu Gu Secret Method in the future.
"But how to find this Spirit Bone Python is a problem?"
Suppressing the joy in his heart, he fell into thought again.
According to the records in the book, Spirit Bone Python is mostly a low-level Spirit Beast, and basically among the top existences of low-level Spirit Beasts, with even some outstanding individuals having the possibility of entering the high-level Spirit Beast rank.
Its body's bone armor is extremely tough, with quite good defense, especially its defense against a Martial Artist's internal energy is astonishing.
It was heavily hunted and killed over a hundred years ago to be made into armor and weapons.
Therefore, the Spirit Bone Python is now quite rare and highly valuable.
Even an ordinary low-level Spirit Beast Spirit Bone Python can sell for a price close to that of a high-level Spirit Beast.
And often, there is a price but no market.
With his own channels, it would probably take a lot of time to find a Spirit Bone Python.
"It seems I have to rely on Dark Star's channels."
He thought to himself and quickly made a decision.
The next day.
The location for receiving missions in the stronghold was a spacious hall in the manor.
"Lord Ghost Face, are you sure you want to spend seven thousand contribution points to put a bounty on the Spirit Bone Python?"
The person in charge of mission matters in the hall was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties with a delicate appearance.
Although she was wearing a human skin mask, Lin Sheng could tell at a glance that she was much older than she appeared.
"That's right, seven thousand contribution points for capturing a Spirit Bone Python alive. If you can provide the location information of the Spirit Bone Python and it is confirmed to be accurate, you will receive one thousand contribution points."
Lin Sheng said indifferently.
Although his expression seemed calm, he still felt a bit of heartache. Seven thousand contribution points was seven hundred thousand taels of silver.
This was almost all the contribution points he had. These contribution points were the sum of the rewards he received after becoming a Blazing Star Envoy and after becoming Shen Jun's Disciple and a Dark Star seed.
Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to take out these contribution points.
However, with his current status, he could receive as many as one thousand contribution points per month, so he could accumulate them back in a few months.
"Uh... okay, I'll post the mission request right away."
Seeing that Lin Sheng was certain, the woman stopped talking nonsense and immediately started making arrangements.
"Okay, Lord Ghost Face, I will notify you as soon as there is any news. Based on my experience, with such a generous bounty, information on this Spirit Bone Python will come soon."
...
Fulong City.
West District, Guiyuan Pavilion.
As Guiyuan Pavilion, which has been rooted in the city for many years and started with medicinal herbs, it controls two-tenths of the medicinal herb business in Fulong City.
Although it's only two-tenths, given the size of Fulong City, it is enough for Guiyuan Pavilion to have substantial profits every year.
Although it cannot compare with the giant merchants in the city, it still has a considerable reputation.
At this time, a thin middle-aged man with a sallow complexion walked into the pavilion, followed by a thin old man who looked like a servant. A tobacco pipe was tucked into his waistband, making a dull clinking sound as he walked.
"Please come in, two guests. May I ask what kind of pills you are looking for? Our store has everything, and we will definitely not disappoint our guests."
Before the two could enter the door, a fat, somewhat slick man with a smiling face had already come forward to greet them.
"I don't want pills, give me three qian of Ghost Lamp Grass, one qian of Red Dragon Flower..."
The sallow-faced man listed a string of medicinal herb names. The fat, slick man listened, a hidden meaning flashing in his eyes, but the smile on his face remained unchanged.
"The medicinal herbs the guest wants are of various types, please come inside with me to select them."
As he spoke, he led the two towards the interior.