Chapter 494: Chapter 494

That’s an Immortal Jade!

Qian Duoduo felt as if he was in a beautiful dream, stunned by the Immortal Jade worth fifty thousand Spirit Stones. Realizing he was holding such a fortune, he took a few deep breaths to barely maintain his composure.

"I can finally hold my head high and say my name is ’Qian Duoduo’!" he thought, but felt a bit apprehensive, comforting himself: "As they say, a master can lead you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual. I’ve always talked about teaching, but never guaranteed she could paint perfect talismans.

That thing, even my own success rate is not high; how well she can learn depends on Yun’s fortune."

At the same time, Qian Duoduo felt a bit uneasy.

To casually bring out an Immortal Jade and dare to uphold justice against evil cultivators, these two must be either rich or noble!

What if they find out he’s not that skilled, just an overpriced piece of junk?

Having never been well-off, Qian Duoduo was anxious over fifty thousand Spirit Stones, secretly determined to teach Yun quickly to see the results soon.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan felt he had gotten a real bargain!

Only fifty thousand Spirit Stones, and it comes with intelligence on evil cultivators and a promise to teach Yun Shu Talisman Painting—it’s practically a buy-one-get-one discount deal!

Especially the detailed relationship between Liu Zifu and the evil cultivators and their whereabouts; even catching and refining just one could grant him one or two years’ lifespan, worth more than five Immortal Jades.

Satisfied, he settled things here, sent Ling Di back to guard the small courtyard, and then transported himself with the Thirteen-Flavor Antitoxic Pill to Yellow Dragon Ridge.

In the dark night, the fierce wind swept over the yellow earth as always.

As he arrived, stepping on the yellow earth, the Elder Dragon who had swallowed an Antitoxic Elixir in the underground palace was alert, slowly opening his eyes as he finished his cultivation.

At the same time, the grand entrance to the underground palace emerged with a mighty rumble.

"Young friend Jiang, please come in!" Zhou Jian exhaled slowly, his eyes sharp as a torch.

He knew he had been poisoned for too long, had wasted many years, and lost considerable cultivation. He urgently needed to cultivate to catch up, possibly ascend to the Upper Realm, or else his lifespan would run out, and his cultivation wouldn’t break through—a dead end!

Though he begged for assistance, successfully getting an elixir from his former lover, it would only last five years.

For a cultivator, five years might not even be enough for a single closed-door cultivation session. If no other antidote is found, he’d lapse back into a poisoned stupor, wasting time aimlessly.

Thus, Zhou Jian dared not waste a single moment; had not his savior suddenly visited today, he wouldn’t have bothered with anyone.

"Senior Zhou, here’s a Thirteen-Flavor Antitoxic Pill I made for you to keep for emergencies." Jiang Yuan wanted to take a stroll around Bamboo Mountain City, and straightforwardly offered the pill.

The familiar medicinal incense wafted over, making Zhou Jian’s eyes light up—is this elixir actually made by Young Friend Jiang? He’s an Alchemist, and received the true teachings of Black Tortoise Pavilion?!

In other words, he could directly ask him for an elixir to slow the poison’s effects!

"Oh dear, how should I express my gratitude?" The Elder Dragon finally saw hope to never be troubled by poison again, his hands slightly trembling as he took the elixir.

[Side Task: Detoxification]

[The Elder Dragon Zhou Jian is urgently in need of an antidote for his strange poison. Please help him successfully detoxify and receive rich special rewards]

[Task 3: Collect Thirteen Toxic Elements, refine a Thirteen-Flavor Antitoxic Pill for Elder Dragon Zhou Jian, completed. Reward: Armor (Top) Blueprint Fragment +1 issued]

[Would you like to synthesize the Armor (Top) Blueprint?]

[Task 4: Upgrade the Alchemy Room to Level Eight. Reward: Universal Antidote Pill Formula +1]

The moment they exchanged the items, the side task was completed.

Jiang Yuan invoked his mind, selected to synthesize, and golden light flashed before his eyes—a complete Armor blueprint fell into the Storage Bag.

Then he glanced at Task 4, thinking according to the system’s habit, the reward formula surely relates to the Elder Dragon’s poison; maybe when the Alchemy Room reaches Level Eight, the poison would be thoroughly resolved.

"No need to thank me, Senior; it was all thanks to your token that allowed me to meet Senior Lin, who coincidentally provided the pill formula. Contact me anytime if needed." Jiang Yuan was fully aware.

If it wasn’t for the elder’s connection, he wouldn’t have smoothly gained favor in various Sects and familiar faces. Out and about, everyone supports each other.

Having addressed the urgent matter, the Elder Dragon racked his brains for thanks. After a brief exchange of pleasantries between the man and dragon, Jiang Yuan proposed borrowing the complete "Devouring Technique."

Since he experimented, only the system-rewarded cultivation technique would disappear after he read it, borrowing the Elder Dragon’s "Devouring Technique" to see wouldn’t harm.

Waiting for Xiao Bai to teach is too slow indeed; the Devouring Technique seems akin to Vast Mountains and Rivers and Soul-Devouring Demon Skill, perhaps after learning, it could be synthesized into a new skill.

"Since you need it, young friend, this cultivation technique is yours!" The Elder Dragon eagerly handed over from his Storage Bag.

Being a heavenly level cultivation technique, Jiang Yuan felt a slight thrill.

But immediately he thought Xiao Bai had already comprehended it fully, needing just more time for the small courtyard’s members to receive the true teachings;

He could learn by reading, so there’s no need to accept such an expensive tribute.

Heavenly level techniques are too valuable; once leaked can incite a storm of bloodshed, selling it is uncertain but likely it brings trouble instead.

Besides, accepting such a gift over an elixir exchange would cover the gratitude for a technique easily attainable, wasting a major favor is unnecessary.

Thinking it over, Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "No need, Senior; I merely wish to borrow it to validate my suspicion with no intention to accept such precious gifts."

Saying this, he casually opened the cultivation technique.

[Would you like to learn the Devouring Technique?]

Clicking "Yes," the progress bar leapt forward.

[Devouring Technique learned, Skill Level is 0, experience can be increased through effective usage]

[Similar type skill detected, would you like to spend a million Spirit Stones to unify the skills?]

A heavenly level technique indeed, merging skill costs this much Spirit Stones!

Jiang Yuan mused without hesitation, clicking to unify.

[Spent a million Spirit Stones, Devouring Technique unified with Vast Mountains and Rivers skill, new skill: Devouring Mountains and Rivers]

[New skill reaches Level Ten, may unify with existing skill—Soul-Devouring Demon Skill]

[Devouring Mountains and Rivers: Instantly releases massive Spiritual Power to devour everything within a certain range; if there are living beings, it randomly extracts one part to refine lifespan. Note: Use with care, as reckless killing violates divine harmony]

As expected, these three skills belong to the same type, ultimately achievable to unify them!

"Thank you, Senior, for allowing me to borrow it; I’ve finished reading," Jiang Yuan closed the book, contently returning it.

The Elder Dragon looked bewildered—not this is a heavenly level technique! Each word and phrase requires extensive Spiritual Power to comprehend; after just a glance, what could he glean?

Could it be... he pondered, suspecting the young friend kindly opted to borrow to avoid an awkward lack of better recompense, thus ending the elixir gratitude?

With favor comes repayment; the more, the better, not less?

"Such a brief moment, what could you discern?" The Elder Dragon laughed mildly: "Take it back for further comprehension, anytime anything is unclear, I can clarify."

Jiang Yuan shook his head seriously replying, "I’ve read it, and it matches my earlier thoughts; Devouring Technique has a remarkable similarity to Vast Mountains and Rivers. Follow current novels on ⓝovelFire.net

Should Senior have time, perhaps new cultivation can be derived from these similar techniques."