Chapter 138 : Soul-Binding Lock
Chapter 138: Soul-Binding Lock
“Incredibly, there’s not even a note with the item names.”
Chen Beiwu grew curious and opened the first sealed jade box.
A lump of murky, semi-gel-like orange-yellow soil appeared before his eyes, with starry black specks constantly flowing within. It gave off a pungent stench, a mix of rotting corpses and sulfur.
“This is a third-tier lower-grade treasure material, Five-Filth Earth Marrow?” Chen Beiwu’s pupils contracted.
The Five-Filth Earth Marrow, also known as Five-Tainted Soil, was a special product formed from the fusion of baleful qi and turbid qi within a Three-Yin Earth Vein.
When consumed by an earth-attribute spirit beast, it could reshape its bones and awaken its dormant ancient bloodline.
If an earth-attribute spirit beast at the peak of the Second Realm consumed it, there was even a thirty percent chance of bloodline advancement, allowing it to transform into a third-tier treasure beast.
Of course, there was a cost.
If a lesser beast of the Second Realm without strong divine sense consumed it, its soul might be corrupted, leading to madness—or even mutating into a mindless slaughtering beast known as a Five-Filth Fiend Beast.
‘No wonder this Five-Filth Earth Marrow has been sealed and left unused.’ Chen Beiwu muttered inwardly.
This kind of treasure material, both beneficial and harmful, was undoubtedly a double-edged sword.
Without a safe method of consumption, very few beast tamers of the Southern Wastes would risk their contracted beasts, which was why it had remained preserved until now.
“Unfortunately, this material is useless to me.” Chen Beiwu closed the jade box.
If he recalled correctly, the Immortal Alliance Official Website should have a safe method for consuming Five-Filth Earth Marrow. Unfortunately, neither Gold Egg nor Iron Egg were earth-attribute spirit beasts.
Moreover, Five-Filth Earth Marrow was too niche, making it difficult to find the right buyer.
He would most likely be stuck holding onto it, unable to trade it for an equivalent third-tier treasure material.
“Gulu!”
Gold Egg waddled over, eager to try his luck as well.
‘Alright, you pick one too.’ Chen Beiwu took out the remaining two jade boxes.
Gold Egg hesitated for a moment before finally using his fin to nudge open the one on the right.
“Whoosh!”
As the lid opened half an inch, a jet of pitch-black cold light suddenly shot out.
Chen Beiwu’s pupils shrank as he activated Wave-Stepping through the Tide, pulling Gold Egg and Iron Egg back ten zhang.
At the same moment, his protective spirit artifact, Tidespring Silk Armor, automatically unfurled, manifesting a ceaseless tidewater screen to intercept the incoming strike.
“Boom!”
The cold light crashed into the water curtain and burst apart into black mist, releasing an indescribable strange fragrance.
“Hisss...” As the mist spread, the grasses and wildflowers at Chen Beiwu’s original spot instantly withered into sludge, exuding a putrid stench.
Chen Beiwu wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
Cultivators of the Southern Wastes were truly sinister. Had it not been for his second-tier defensive spirit artifact’s automatic protection, he might have fallen victim to this ambush.
Gold Egg also shuddered.
Was his luck really that bad—to open a box containing a trap powerful enough to kill a First Realm spirit?
‘It’s fine, just a little accident.’
After soothing Gold Egg with his intent, Chen Beiwu turned his gaze to the last jade box.
Learning from experience, he didn’t open it by hand this time. Instead, he carefully lifted the lid using the Cold Pool Spirit Sword.
“Skreee!”
Inside lay a droplet-sized golden blood bead, flowing like liquid mercury.
A sharp eagle’s cry erupted in Chen Beiwu’s mind, as if he were facing a savage Sky-Rending Golden Roc.
Under this aura, Gold Egg and Iron Egg trembled instinctively in fear.
‘Undying aura, blood turned to gold—this is the marrow blood of a Third Realm Beast General, the Sky-Rending Golden Roc!’
Chen Beiwu’s heart skipped a beat as he quickly sealed the jade box, only then did the razor-sharp metallic qi gradually fade.
Beast blood was ranked in three grades: the highest was essence blood, followed by marrow blood, and lastly, ordinary flesh blood.
Essence blood was rare—it was the root of a beast’s bloodline. Even colossal beasts the size of mountains only held a handful of drops.
Marrow blood came second, being refined by beastly power and infused with partial bloodline might. The Great Hui Spinal Marrow Chen Beiwu had consumed before was of this grade.
Even so, with its help, he had advanced into the Tenth Level of Qi Refining.
As for ordinary flesh blood, due to the brutal battle earlier, most of the essence and marrow blood of the Cang Thunder Tiger and Sand-Swimming Falcon had been depleted. Their corpses barely qualified as this grade—save for special parts.
A Third Realm Beast General was equivalent to a Golden Core True Person.
Even just its marrow blood contained a trace of undying spirituality, far surpassing the essence blood of Second Realm lesser beasts. With some luck, it could even elevate the bloodline of the Sand-Swimming Falcon to a third-tier treasure beast.
The falcon tamer had not used it earlier only because he wanted to maximize the effect—waiting until the falcon reached its limit at 499 years of cultivation before using it. In the end, Chen Beiwu reaped the benefit instead.
‘A pity this marrow blood comes from a metallic beast, not water-attribute. It can only be traded in the Southern Wastes.’ Though thrilled, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help but feel regret.
This Foundation Establishment cultivator’s wealth was indeed abundant, and the jade boxes contained treasures more precious one after another. Yet, none were resources useful for him or his two beasts. Trading them in the Southern Wastes would also be troublesome.
As for the Immortal Alliance, unlike spirit fish or spirit herbs, Beast General marrow blood simply didn’t exist there.
There were only about a dozen named Beast Generals in Fallen Dragon Manor. If he dared bring this out for trade in the Immortal Alliance, it would instantly draw suspicion.
‘Greed knows no bounds—still, these treasures are indeed fine goods.’ Chen Beiwu took a deep breath, suppressing his regret.
If Senior Sister Yun could succeed in helping him capture the Heaven-Eye Blackhawk, then this drop of Golden Roc marrow blood would surely be useful one day.
Skipping past the miscellaneous items in the storage ring, Chen Beiwu’s attention settled on a stack of jade slips and a dozen or so books.
【Spirit-Breaking Three Arrows】
【Seven Methods of Beast-Bird Taming】
……
【Windfeather Hundred-Feather Record】
A quick scan with divine sense revealed that these cultivation manuals mostly contained beast-taming methods passed down through the Windfeather Pei Clan, which immediately caught his interest.
After finishing the Seven Methods of Beast-Bird Taming, Chen Beiwu chuckled softly.
The Windfeather Pei Clan’s name sounded grand, yet their beast-taming arts were astonishingly crude.
To tame hawks and raptors, they mainly relied on divine sense suppression and artifact control—simple, rough methods hardly worthy of being called profound, let alone comparable to the superior beast-taming arts of the Immortal Alliance.
Shaking his head, Chen Beiwu put the book aside and turned his gaze to a rusty bracelet inside the storage ring.
Strictly speaking, it was the second-tier mid-grade spirit artifact recorded within the Seven Methods of Beast-Bird Taming: the Soul-Binding Lock, a special tool of the Windfeather Pei Clan used to subdue second-tier avian beasts.
The Soul-Binding Lock’s surface was covered with fine grooves that concealed blood-soul spikes. These could pierce into a bird beast’s weak meridians, restricting its beastly power and immobilizing it.
With a mere thought and a wisp of spiritual power, the master of the artifact could activate the spikes at will.
Additionally, the golden roc-shaped beast head embedded at its joint could lock onto the beast’s very soul.
If a tamed avian of the Second Realm ever birthed rebellious thoughts, the Soul-Binding Lock would automatically scour its essence, inflicting a torment of neither living nor dying.