Chapter 11: The Killing Curse

The next day, Lu Yang waited in the cave dwelling all day long.

No one came.

The three men in black acted as if they weren't even disciples of the Primordial Saint Sect; they hadn't caused even the slightest ripple, and no one had even come to check on the situation.

Lu Yang sighed once more. He didn't doubt that the Saint Sect, which possessed the life lamps of all its disciples, would fail to notice the deaths of the three men. Now that he thought about it, "mutual killing among disciples" was likely an unwritten rule; as long as it wasn't made a massive, public scandal, no one would bother to investigate thoroughly.

After all, the demonic sects were unpredictable and treacherous.

If someone died, it could be to silence a witness, to seize wealth, or perhaps because they knew something they shouldn't. If they actually investigated, what if they found something?

Therefore, it was better not to investigate.

"As expected of the Saint Sect."

After his lament, Lu Yang felt relieved and began to collect his spoils.

First were the disciple tokens. To Lu Yang's shock, the three black-clad men's tokens contained a total of 400 contribution points—an amount far exceeding common sense.

"It turns out they were habitual offenders."

Frowning, Lu Yang searched through their belongings again. Aside from some miscellaneous items, only a secret manual titled *Qi Concealment Art* truly caught his eye.

In Lu Yang's view, these three men were exceptionally skilled at concealing their true qi. Had his own cultivation not broken through—granting him a qualitative leap in both true qi and spiritual sense—he might not have detected their infiltration. This spoke to the potency of the *Qi Concealment Art*; it was clearly their trump card.

"More importantly, this has nothing to do with the Saint Sect!"

Sect techniques were only recorded on disciple tokens, whereas the *Qi Concealment Art* was a private manual. This suggested it was a personal windfall obtained by the three men.

Thus, he didn't have to worry about the Saint Sect having a way to counter it.

"Talk about a windfall. They died well."

Thinking this, Lu Yang sincerely prepared the bodies of the three men, dug a pit, and buried them, allowing them to rest in peace.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him

"This *Qi Concealment Art* is so exquisite, and it wasn't passed down by the Saint Sect. Where did they get it? Could there be an even greater opportunity behind this?"

Instantly, Lu Yang's mind began to race.

However, he quickly restrained his greed, his eyes returning to a calm state. "No rush, no rush. Perhaps I can make friends with these three in my next life."

There would be opportunities!

After helping the three men to their final resting place, Lu Yang took out the disciple tokens and began checking the materials required for refining a Sword Pill, as Yun Miaoqing had previously told him.

"To refine a Sword Pill, one must gather two taels each of Gold Essence, Jade Marrow, Cinnabar, and Sword Qi, totaling ten taels. This is then supplemented by True Fire and Divine Water for tempering and cooling to remove impurities. Finally, it must be slowly refined using secret sword techniques to harmonize it with the essence, qi, and spirit of the refiner before it can truly be completed."

Lu Yang recalled the method of refining a Sword Pill while flipping through his inventory.

The more he looked, the more grim his expression became.

"Gold Essence, Jade Marrow, Cinnabar, and Sword Qi: a unified price of 100 contribution points per tael. Divine Water: 500 contribution points per gourd. True Fire: 500 contribution points per strand..."

"2,000 contribution points!?"

Lu Yang gritted his teeth. He had heard Yun Miaoqing say that disciples of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion would receive a Sword Pill bestowed by a master after breaking through to the Qi Refining stage.

Yet, in the Primordial Saint Sect, it cost 2,000 contribution points?

An ordinary disciple would have to work like an ox or a horse for the sect for twenty years without eating or drinking just to amass that many points!

Damned demonic sects!

Such an astronomical price instantly extinguished the pride Lu Yang felt from his recent small windfall, forcing him to face the reality that he was still penniless.

"In that case, 400 contribution points are somewhat useless."

According to Lu Yang's plan, when he restarted his next life, he would choose his cultivation level. Therefore, nothing he obtained in this life could be taken with him.

Consequently, no matter what good items he could buy with 400 points, they were meaningless to him.

As for cultivation, the middle stage of Qi Refining was entirely different from the early stage. Even if he spent all 400 points, it wouldn't be enough to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

"It seems I can only exchange them for techniques."

After all, compared to treasures, techniques and divine abilities were forms of knowledge that could be carried into the next life. With this thought, Lu Yang immediately left his cave dwelling and headed for the Library Pavilion.

"Yo, is it you, kid?"

The old man at the entrance of the Library Pavilion actually remembered Lu Yang, his face showing surprise. "Are you here to exchange techniques again? Looks like you've struck it rich."

"I stand corrected by your kind words, Senior Brother."

Lu Yang cupped his hands and walked into the Library Pavilion. This time, his intention was clear: he wanted to find a powerful divine ability specifically used for life-and-death struggles.

Soon, Lu Yang locked onto his target.

"*Killing Incantation*: 300 contribution points."

This divine ability was very unique, resembling the "Silent Zen" of the Buddhist sects. It required the practitioner to nurture a breath of killing intent within their chest, refining it day and night with true qi until it became intertwined with their very life.

Normally, it wasn't used, and one could speak as usual. But when the time came, once the mouth opened and the word "Kill!" was uttered, the full breath of killing intent would instantly explode forth, carrying the user's entire life with it. It was an unstoppable force that could shake the soul, but once that breath of killing intent was spent, the user would also die. It was a method of mutual destruction.

"Not bad. It can kill others and kill oneself. It suits me perfectly!"

Possessing the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes, what Lu Yang feared most was not death, but being unable to die. Because the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes could not be actively activated—it only worked once he died.

Therefore, he desperately needed a suicidal divine ability.

After exchanging for the technique at the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang immediately sat cross-legged and began to comprehend the formula.

"The *Killing Incantation* hides the qi in the chest. The most important thing is this breath of killing intent. The higher the quality of the killing intent, the greater the power when the *Killing Incantation* erupts."

"As the saying goes: 'When Heaven releases killing intent, stars shift and constellations move; when Earth releases killing intent, dragons and serpents rise from the ground; when Man releases killing intent, heaven and earth are overturned.' Thus, the killing intent of the world is divided into three types: Heavenly, Earthly, and Human. Heavenly and Earthly killing intent are rare once in a century, while Human killing intent is seen everywhere, with the aura of weaponry being the highest grade..."

Inside the Library Pavilion, Lu Yang began the process of refining his killing intent.

"Fortunately, I have the materials ready."

The so-called Human killing intent was mostly derived from weapons used by those possessed of murderous intent. As luck would have it, he still had the weapons used by the three men in black.

Lu Yang directly extracted the killing intent from them, refining it into his body bit by bit.

In an instant, Lu Yang felt as if a thousand knives were scraping his bones and slicing his flesh. The pain was unbearable, but he kept his lips tightly sealed, not daring to open his mouth.

Because this was the critical moment of refinement; if he opened his mouth and the qi leaked, he would surely die instantly!

After a long time, Lu Yang felt the killing intent in his chest gradually stabilize, becoming completely connected to his own true qi. With a mere thought, it could now erupt.

"I wonder just how powerful it is..."

At this thought, a trace of anticipation appeared on Lu Yang's face. He decided that before he died in this life, he must use the *Killing Incantation* once to see its true power.

However, when he returned to the entrance of the Library Pavilion, he unexpectedly found the old man there cursing loudly.

"Damn bastard, you lucky piece of sh*t..."

The old man was holding a disciple token, his wrinkled hands trembling uncontrollably, his aged face contorted in an emotion that was difficult to decipher.

Lu Yang stepped forward curiously. "Senior Brother? What happened?"

"What happened?" The old man's eyes widened with rage. He slammed the disciple token onto the ground and sneered, "It's already spread everywhere. See for yourself."

Before he could finish, the old man lay back in his rocking chair, looking sulky.

Lu Yang was bewildered until he opened the disciple token. Seeing the latest news, he finally understood what had happened.

"The Merit Pool Grand Prize Finally Finds a Winner!"

"The Colorful Merit Fish was drawn by the newly joined disciple, Xiao Shiye. The True Person bestowed the ten-billion prize in public. After receiving the prize, Xiao Shiye has gone into seclusion and his whereabouts are unknown!"