Chapter 255 : Second-Realm Iron Egg
Chapter 255: Second-Realm Iron Egg
“Now kneel down and bind yourself. For the sake of our shared sect, this old man might spare your life.” Hua Buqi scrutinized Shu You with narrowed eyes.
Those Law Enforcement Hall cultivators—killing them was no big deal.
He had committed grave crimes and betrayed the sect. For the rest of his life, he would become a target hunted by the sect's Judicial Hall cultivators.
But Shu You was different!
As the subordinate of the Dao Child, Shu You held some weight in Chen Beiwu’s eyes. At a critical moment, she might even serve as a hostage—an excellent bargaining chip.
“Just you?” Shu You lifted her head, the corner of her lips curling in mocking disdain.
“Stalling won’t help.”
Seeing her defiance, Hua Buqi shook his head. “The Vein-Breaking Needle seals your mana. You can only use less than thirty percent of your power. Even if this old man gave you another day, you still couldn’t break the seal.”
At those words, Shu You forced herself to stand. With a shift in her hand seal, she struck her side fiercely.
In an instant, fresh blood gushed forth, dyeing the front of her robes red.
“Oh? Junior Sister Shu has some resolve.”
Hua Buqi raised an eyebrow, not the least surprised at being countered, and said calmly, “You're willing to damage your dantian just to reverse-train your Dao Foundation with the Moon-Soul Convergence Yin Talisman, in order to temporarily suppress the effects of the Vein-Breaking Needle.”
“In that case, don’t blame this old man for being ruthless.”
With a grim expression, Hua Buqi formed a sword with his fingers. All around, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly condensed into hundreds of frigid ice needles.
These densely packed needles might look ordinary, but each one carried enough power to kill a cultivator in early Foundation Establishment.
Seeing this, Shu You’s gaze flickered.
A death trap could only be broken by force.
As an outer sect elder of the Mirror Moon Sect, Hua Buqi’s strength was above hers—he had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and cultivated the sect’s foundation technique Cold Soul Heart Sutra.
Without using her trump cards, even though the Moon-Soul Convergence Yin Talisman she cultivated surpassed the Cold Soul Heart Sutra in grade, she still couldn’t bridge the gap between late-stage and peak Foundation Establishment.
Shu You’s embroidered shoes tapped lightly as she retreated explosively.
“You can’t escape!”
Hua Buqi's sword-finger fell. Hundreds of ice needles rained down like a storm, piercing Shu You’s body in a flash, turning her into a human sieve.
Yet, rather than pleased, Hua Buqi was alarmed. A glint of light flashed from the storage ring on his finger, and a Second-Tier Spirit Sword slashed toward the water mist silently rising behind him under his divine sense control.
“Buzz!”
Shu You didn’t dodge. Her hands came together, and behind her appeared a phantom moon.
Where the moonlight shone, everything fell into silence—even the charging Spirit Sword lost its spirit and froze mid-air.
At the same time, the riddled illusion clone in the distance slowly vanished.
Suddenly, a towering wave surged beneath Hua Buqi’s feet, gathering the force of heaven and earth to lock him mid-air.
‘A cultivator who makes a name for themselves among inner sect disciples truly isn’t simple—but still too green.’
Casting a glance at the floating clone, Hua Buqi instantly appeared behind Shu You. A rope-shaped spiritual weapon at his waist turned into a cold python, binding her in a blink.
“Finisher!”
Sensing the fierce contraction of Shu You’s pupils, Hua Buqi formed a sword with his right hand and thrust toward her dantian.
But the next instant, the fear on Shu You’s face vanished, replaced by a deadly chill. The Spirit Sword behind her roared out of its sheath.
“Boom!”
At the moment Hua Buqi’s finger struck Shu You’s dantian, a moon-white talisman suddenly ignited, forming a faint light that blocked the attack.
Simultaneously, Shu You’s Spirit Sword struck back viciously at Hua Buqi’s dantian.
“Crack!”
The defensive barrier shattered. A wave of chilling mana spread from Hua Buqi’s dantian through his body, and like a cannonball, he arced through the air and crashed heavily to the ground.
“Pfft!”
Hua Buqi coughed blood and struggled to rise, his face twisted in disbelief.
He had lost!
Lost to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“What kind of move was that?” Hua Buqi asked, eyes ferocious.
A regular high-grade Second-Tier Spirit Sword couldn’t possibly pierce his Second-Tier defensive spiritual weapon and body protection mana.
“When you’re dead, I’ll tell you.”
Shu You wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. The rope spiritual weapon binding her flashed, and using her Moonlight Displacement Art, she slipped free, regaining control of her body.
Step!
Step!
Step!
Watching Shu You approach, Hua Buqi’s expression remained calm.
“Hm?”
Shu You’s heart skipped. Something was wrong.
She now held the upper hand. If they kept fighting, Hua Buqi was dead for sure—so why was he so calm?
Was it a bluff, or did he still have a hidden card?
Just then, the spiritual energy in the air began to tremble, and the earth veins shuddered.
A burly, shirtless man with bronzed skin suddenly appeared in front of Hua Buqi.
The man neither stepped through the air nor activated any spiritual power. Just by being there, he made Shu You feel chilled to the bone.
“Greetings, True Person Dragon-Elephant!”
Hua Buqi dropped to one knee, his eyes filled with open reverence.
‘Damn, it’s a Golden Core True Person of the Heavy Gold Sect!’
Shu You’s heart sank. Bearing the pressure of Golden Core cultivation, she bowed toward Ji Shaoyuan. “Shu You, inner disciple of the Mirror Moon Sect, greets the True Person.”
“What a disgrace. Can’t even handle an inner disciple, and made this seat step in.” Ji Shaoyuan shook his head, raising a single finger slowly.
In the eyes of a Golden Core cultivator, Foundation Establishment cultivators were mere ants—crushed with one finger.
“Wait! Please stay your hand, True Person,” Hua Buqi quickly said.
Ji Shaoyuan’s eyes narrowed. “Are you giving orders to this seat?”
“Your subordinate dares not.”
Hua Buqi trembled. “Shu You serves under the Mirror Moon Dao Child. If she’s the one to cover this up, we might buy more time for the mining operation.”
The more treasures he mined in the Biyuan Mountains, the more importance the Heavy Gold Sect would place on him.
But now, plans had changed, and he had yet to reach Golden Core.
If Shu You died and the mining was exposed, his status in the Heavy Gold Sect would plummet.
After all, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator meant nothing in their eyes.
Were it not that the Heavy Gold Sect—one of the Five Great Sects—needed to maintain reputation and keep their promises, “buying the bones for a thousand gold,” Hua Buqi even suspected he might die without ever receiving a single Golden Palace Pill.
“Mirror Moon Dao Child?” Ji Shaoyuan’s brow furrowed. His gaze toward Shu You changed. “What is your relation to Chen Ziang?”
To the Heavy Gold Sect, the Void-Gold Marrow Vein was valuable—but not as valuable as the Mirror Moon Dao Child.
If they could use Shu You as bait to kill him early, it would eliminate a future threat to the sect.
But the cost would be incurring Mirror Moon Sect’s vengeance, dramatically escalating the war among the Five Sects.
This matter was too critical. Even a Golden Core True Person like Ji Shaoyuan had to report it to the sect’s higher-ups. Any misstep could backfire.
“I’m your mother!”
Before the words fully fell, a Third-Tier Treasure Talisman shot into the sky, breaking through the suppression, encasing Shu You’s entire body in light. She split into four shadows that fled in all directions—north, south, east, and west—at a speed rivalling even Golden Core cultivators.
“Stubborn fool.” Ji Shaoyuan’s expression didn’t change. Ignoring the illusions, he pointed toward the sky.
Not to mention a Foundation cultivator—even a new Golden Core cultivator couldn’t escape him, let alone someone relying on a mere low-grade Third-Tier talisman.
It was a futile struggle.
Buzz!
But just as Ji Shaoyuan’s finger descended to suppress space, another talisman, about three inches long and one and a half wide, crafted from high-grade Third-Tier treasure jade, flared into brilliance.
“It’s actually a high-grade Third-Tier Talisman—Heaven-and-Earth Transposition.” Ji Shaoyuan’s eyes glinted with a trace of surprise. He did not strike again.
Once activated, the Heaven-and-Earth Transposition Talisman could completely conceal the user’s presence and aura, allowing two instantaneous teleportations in any direction, up to a thousand miles each—and it was immune to Golden Core aura locking.
Expertise had its limits.
As a Golden Core body cultivator, Ji Shaoyuan specialized in frontal assaults, not deduction or tracking.
Knowing he couldn’t catch her, he wouldn't waste his strength.
‘To bestow such a life-saving talisman—could this woman be Chen Beiwu’s Dao companion or concubine?’ Ji Shaoyuan raised an eyebrow.
Meanwhile, Hua Buqi stared at the azure sky, eyes darkening.
Even a Golden Core True Person from the Heavy Gold Sect couldn’t subdue a follower of the Dao Child—had his betrayal of the sect this time been a mistake?
“Prepare for war.” Ji Shaoyuan cast Hua Buqi a glance.
To mine enough Void-Gold Marrow, the Heavy Gold Sect wouldn't mind engaging in a full-scale war with the Mirror Moon Sect.
…
Mirror Moon Sect, Alchemy Hall.
A crimson-gold pill furnace was breathing blue-red flames, and crouched before it was not a cultivator, nor a fire-controlling boy, but a spirit dog—its body entirely black with four snow-white paws.
The Crimson-Blue Spirit Flame, which ordinary alchemists had to constantly control with hand seals, became utterly docile under Iron Egg’s claws. The temperature remained stable throughout, until a faint medicinal fragrance began wafting from the furnace.
Upon smelling the fragrance, Iron Egg twitched its nose, then turned to pick up several Second-Tier spiritual herbs of various shapes and tossed them into the furnace with precise accuracy.
Buzz!
Seeing the lid tremble, Iron Egg stood upright on its haunches, its front paws imitating Li Wan’er to form a strange hand seal.
‘This spirit beast actually mastered the Three-Yuan Fire Seal!’
Nearby the furnace, an alchemist in brocade robes with a gourd at his waist twitched his eyelid and couldn’t help stroking his beard to suppress the shock in his heart.
The Three-Yuan Fire Seal was a secret technique of Fairy Yun Wan. It combined Gentle Flame (Southern Li Bright Flame), Martial Flame (Northern Kan True Fire), and Warm Flame (Eastern Zhen Life Flame) to extract and purify spiritual herb essence—greatly enhancing pill quality and producing premium pills.
He himself was a high-grade Second-Tier alchemist, having toiled in the Alchemy Hall for fifty years—a senior figure—yet had never even come close to such a secret technique.
How did a mere spirit dog, only recently admitted to the hall, qualify?
It wasn’t just this alchemist who felt stifled. Even Hall Master Sun, responsible for overseeing pill refinement, was somewhat surprised.
In the long years of cultivation, one truly encountered all manner of absurdities.
A seemingly ordinary, crippled black dog had, under Fairy Yun Wan’s guidance, gradually grown into a mid-grade Second-Tier alchemist.
‘Fairy Yun Wan’s alchemical attainments are truly unfathomable!’
Hall Master Sun narrowed his eyes, his respect deepening.
Though he was a Third-Tier alchemist, the alchemy assistant he trained was only at the level of a low-grade Second-Tier alchemist—worse than even the Fairy’s dog.
“Woof woof!”
Unbothered by the stares of other alchemists, Iron Egg kept his eyes locked on the pills forming inside the furnace.
Buzz!
As time passed, the lid opened of its own accord. Eight beams of blue light streamed out and landed in front of Iron Egg.
Each pill bore unique cloud-like patterns on its surface. Upon closer inspection, these were actually made up of countless tiny claw marks.
This was the special mark left only by a Second-Tier alchemist.
Thanks to these marks, the sect’s Alchemy Hall could confirm that this batch of mid-grade Second-Tier Azure Nourishment Pills was not refined by one of the hall’s human alchemists—but by Iron Egg.
In a way, these served as anti-counterfeit tags.
Every high-ranking alchemist of renown in the Earth Proliferation Territory would leave an exclusive mark on their pills to prevent forgery.
Glancing at the pills, Iron Egg looked a little disappointed.
Three good, five average!
This time, its premium Azure Nourishment Pill yield rate was under forty percent. While slightly better than the last attempt, it still wasn’t enough.
After all, its teacher could produce a full furnace of premium pills each time.
Compared to the teacher’s pill-refining skills, it was still far from there.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Hall Master Sun stepped forward, pocketing four pills as his share, then extended a hand to pat Iron Egg’s head.
“Woof!”
Iron Egg dodged the hand and growled.
In Iron Egg’s mind, only the Chen Beiwu family had the right to ruffle its fur. Not even its teacher could freely pet its doggy head—let alone an old man.
‘Such a cold and proud dog!’
Hall Master Sun froze for a moment, then quickly returned to composure.
Just then, Iron Egg caught a familiar scent. Its pupils dilated, and with an excited bark, it shot off like a black shadow toward the hall’s entrance.
“Long time no see, Iron Egg.”
Chen Beiwu crouched just in time to catch the black blur flying into his arms.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Iron Egg’s tail wagged so fast it left afterimages, thumping wildly against Chen Beiwu’s leg, the strength so great it created gusts of wind.
Clearly, in the year they hadn’t seen each other, Iron Egg’s strength had undergone a complete transformation.
“Let me take a good look at you.”
Hugging Iron Egg around the neck, Chen Beiwu first glanced at the light-orange fate above its head, then activated his divine sense to carefully examine its cultivation and bloodline.
‘Cultivation of two hundred eighty-eight years—equivalent to a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.’
‘Sun-Swallowing Breath-Drinking fully mastered, bloodline purity on par with high-grade Second-Tier Spirit Beasts.’
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help showing a trace of surprise.
In just over a year, Iron Egg’s growth had nearly matched that of Golden Egg—an astonishing feat.
‘How did you manage it?’ Chen Beiwu scratched Iron Egg’s belly as it rolled over.
“Woof woof.”
At his words, Iron Egg suddenly broke free from his arms, dashed to a medicine cabinet at the hall’s edge, and popped open a jade bottle with one paw, swallowing the pills inside in one gulp.
Good heavens—no wonder Iron Egg had managed to evolve from a First-Realm Spirit to a Second-Realm Lesser Beast in such a short time. It had been treating the Alchemy Hall’s spiritual pills as daily meals!
Fortunately, Chen Beiwu’s status had now changed. As the sect’s Dao Child, he could afford it—otherwise, he might never be able to repay the contribution points Iron Egg had consumed.
The next second, under Golden Egg’s gaze full of righteous disdain, Iron Egg cautiously pushed open a hidden compartment in the cabinet, presenting seventy-six jade bottles it had saved from its recent alchemy efforts before Chen Beiwu like tribute.
Sensing Golden Egg’s gaze, Iron Egg hesitated for a moment, then separated out three bottles and handed them over to him—while its tail nervously thumped against the floor.
“Where did all these pills come from?”
Chen Beiwu casually opened a bottle and found seven Azure Nourishment Pills nestled inside—moved despite himself.
The Azure Nourishment Pill had a similar effect to the Spirit-Nourishing Pill, but could greatly enhance the spiritual breathing efficiency of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and even had some effect on Second-Realm Lesser Beasts.
Yet Iron Egg had not taken them for itself, instead saving them up for him. It must’ve taken much thought and effort.
“Woof woof.”
Iron Egg raised its head proudly and pounded its chest to show that it had refined all those pills itself.