Chapter 18: Soul-Breaking Nail, Spirit-Calming Incense

The connection between Luo Chen and Wang Yuan was actually quite simple.

Back then, the two were roughly contemporaneous rogue cultivators who entered Dahe坊 (Dahe Ward) at the same time.

However, unlike Luo Chen, who possessed only the strength of the first layer of Qi Refinement, Wang Yuan was a secular Grandmaster of the Xiantian realm who had transitioned from martial arts to the immortal path through a stroke of serendipity.

Consequently, upon his initial entry into Dahe Ward, Wang Yuan demonstrated remarkable combat prowess. He even joined a hunting squad, daring to venture into the mountains to hunt low-level demon beasts.

Luo Chen lacked strength at the time, but for the sake of survival, he followed along to help with menial tasks like carrying supplies.

In those days, due to his personality and experiences, Wang Yuan differed from the cautious and prudent rogue cultivators; his way of conducting himself was bold and unrestrained, possessing the true aura of a martial arts Grandmaster.

However, this very aura brought him trouble within Dahe Ward.

Several mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators ambushed and robbed him, stripping him of everything he owned and leaving him heavily injured.

After Wang Yuan recovered from his wounds, his personality underwent a change.

To prepare resources for his cultivation, he planned to enter the mountains once more.

Several close friends lent him some items; Luo Chen, who was already capable of refining Inedia Pills by then, also lent him a few bottles.

Within the millions of mountains of the Eastern Wasteland, demon beasts are countless. When cultivators enter the mountains, they generally dare not light fires to cook, making Inedia Pills extremely useful.

That time, Wang Yuan went alone, silently stepping into the Gu Yuan Mountain Range.

He returned a month later, bringing back the carcass of a first-tier demon beast.

Not long after that, the cultivators who had once robbed Wang Yuan began to die suddenly, one after another. Everyone knew that Wang Yuan must have been working behind the scenes.

Yet, no one dared to cause him trouble, for Wang Yuan had joined the Mountain-Breaker Gang.

As the largest local force for rogue cultivators, the Mountain-Breaker Gang possessed a certain reputation. Combined with Wang Yuan's ruthless nature, he had firmly established a foothold in the outer district.

In the days that followed, Wang Yuan frequently sold magical artifacts and cultivation techniques at the market. Those were all items of dubious origin, and considering the various rumors surrounding Wang Yuan's debut, people feared him even more.

It was somewhat bittersweet to say that Luo Chen and Wang Yuan had arrived in Dahe Ward at roughly the same time.

Ten years had passed.

Luo Chen had barely reached the third layer of Qi Refinement, yet Wang Yuan was already a rogue cultivator at the late stage of the seventh layer. One had to admit that the gap between people can be even wider than the gap between a human and a dog.

"He asked me to join the Mountain-Breaker Gang and said he would protect me in the future. What was the purpose of such a sudden move?"

After arranging his medicinal herbs, Luo Chen sat by the main gate, fiddling with the iron token engraved with the character "Mountain."

"Was it out of regard for our past friendship? Or was it because I killed that short-lived brat at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement by jumping levels?"

Luo Chen did not know; he could only put the token away with great care.

The days that followed were somewhat repetitive: processing various raw materials, practicing the Eternal Spring Art, and tending to his injuries.

This continued until nine days later, when the wound on Luo Chen's abdomen finally healed completely.

According to his previous plan, he could officially begin the refinement of the Profound Mystery Pills tomorrow.

However, Luo Chen's attention was focused on something else.

"This Soul-Breaking Nail is actually a high-grade magical artifact!"

In his hands lay a pair of dark, heavy long nails, sharp at the tip and massive and heavy at the base. Both nails carried a thick scent of blood, with wisps of crimson color appearing somewhat eerie against the black metal.

As he continuously injected spiritual power, the Soul-Breaking Nails hummed and then suddenly flew out.

*Ssh!*

One Soul-Breaking Nail shot forward with lightning speed, embedding itself deep into a large boulder in front of the small courtyard, disappearing into the depths.

"To think it is so sharp! If I am not mistaken, it must have an Armor-Breaking Array inscribed upon it!"

Magical artifacts are categorized into high, middle, and low grades. The standard for determining grade is the quantity and quality of the inscribed arrays.

Although only one array was inscribed on this pair of Soul-Breaking Nails, it was a second-tier Armor-Breaking Array, making its power immense.

"No wonder I was heavily injured without any ability to fight back. According to the short-lived brat's words before he died, even Wang Yuan couldn't defend against it. It shows that its armor-penetration attribute has reached the extreme for a magical artifact."

Wang Yuan was no weakling; before transitioning to the immortal path, he was a secular martial arts Grandmaster. After stepping onto the path of cultivation, he had killed countless humans and demons. He possessed high cultivation and strong combat capabilities.

The fact that the short-lived brat could injure Wang Yuan at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement meant the Soul-Breaking Nail was truly responsible.

"However, the drawbacks seem quite obvious. Releasing a single Soul-Breaking Nail consumed half of my spiritual power. If I were to fire both at once, wouldn't I be instantly drained of all spiritual power? And furthermore!"

Luo Chen continued to drive his spiritual power into the nail, but the Soul-Breaking Nail inside the boulder remained motionless.

It was a one-way trip!

The pros and cons of this high-grade artifact were far too stark. Its armor-penetration capability was top-tier, but its spiritual power consumption was massive, and it was uncontrollable—once fired, it could not be summoned back with spiritual power.

It was only because the material was sufficiently hard that it wouldn't easily be destroyed; otherwise, it would be considered a single-use consumable artifact. Perhaps that was also why, despite being inscribed with a second-tier array, it could only be a high-grade artifact rather than the legendary top-grade artifact.

Luo Chen broke open the stone, dug out the Soul-Breaking Nail, and happily tucked it into his storage bag.

"The 'one-way trip' isn't actually a drawback for me, since I haven't learned the Attraction Technique anyway. Compared to that rusty low-grade magic sword from before, this is like trading a musket for a cannon."

After his moment of joy, Luo Chen returned to his room and lit a stick of Calming Incense. Under the orchid-like musk fragrance, his restless soul gradually became peaceful. A sense of comfort emanating from the depths of his soul almost made him groan aloud.

But Luo Chen had no time to indulge; he seized the opportunity to circulate the Eternal Spring Art.

One stick of Calming Incense per day was enough to allow a cultivator to practice their natal technique five additional times on top of their original foundation. With Luo Chen's previous limit of two to three times, he could now circulate the Eternal Spring Art eight times!

What did eight times mean? One cycle restored twenty percent of his spiritual power; eight cycles meant one hundred and sixty percent, enough to release thirty-two Fireball Spells.

It could be said that in this haul, the value of the Calming Incense was second only to the storage bag and the Soul-Breaking Nail. It was higher than the low-grade mage robe, the Qi-Nourishing Pill, and the other items. Because this box of Calming Incense allowed him to practice multiple times, refreshing the proficiency of the Eternal Spring Art and potentially other skills.

"When I have money in the future, I won't just buy houses; I'll buy lots and lots of Calming Incense!"

After finishing his cultivation, feeling that the half of his spiritual power consumed by the Soul-Breaking Nail had recovered by a small amount, Luo Chen sighed with emotion.

After his reflection, aided by the quiet, peaceful, and focused state brought by the incense, he recalled the events of that night ten days ago. It could be said that for these ten days, he had been thinking about it almost constantly. Even in his dreams, the scene had replayed several times.

It was the first time since his transmigration that he had faced death directly!

He replayed it constantly not out of fear, but because he needed to remember the circumstances to prevent such a thing from happening again.

With the help of the Calming Incense, Luo Chen suddenly realized that he actually could have responded better during that battle. The Soul-Breaking Nail was fast, but he had practiced the Carefree Wanderer technique; he could have tried to dodge. Even if he couldn't dodge completely, he wouldn't have been so heavily injured that he nearly died on the spot.

Furthermore, the enemy's state at the time was extremely poor. What if he had struck first? Could he have caught the opponent off guard?

To strike first is to gain the advantage; to strike second is to suffer the consequences. He had ultimately been indecisive and relied too much on luck.

Even during the subsequent direct combat, there were significant flaws. Clearly, his third Fireball Spell had already broken the opponent's defense; he only needed to follow up with at most two more Fireball Spells. But in his excitement, he had squandered all his spiritual power in one breath, leaving him with zero combat capability afterward.

It was only through good luck that he encountered Wang Yuan. What if he had encountered someone else? Would others have known him too? Would they have let him go?

Heh, even if they were acquaintances, they likely wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation! The property of two Qi Refinement cultivators was, by any measure, a substantial windfall.

"My combat experience is simply too shallow!"