Chapter 54: Refining, Ice Soul Profound Sound

Inside a deep, dark cave, a pair of eyes gleamed brightly. Simultaneously, a thumb-sized transparent bead floated within the pitch-black cavern, rippling with concentric circles of magical aura.

"A Dharma Bead!" Inside the cave was none other than Lu Xiaotian, who had employed the Spiritual Vision Technique. The various clan cultivators who had sealed off the small lake had come up empty-handed and were utterly perplexed. They had concluded that the Dharma Bead must have been secretly taken by a member of one of the clans, which was why it had evaded their search.

After all, the ordinary rogue cultivators had already conducted their inspections, and a Dharma Bead could not be refined in a single sitting; if someone had swallowed it, they certainly would have been detected. Consequently, the various great families grew suspicious of one another, nearly coming to blows. However, since no one could confirm who had secretly taken the bead, the conflict eventually fizzled out.

The rogue cultivators by the lake also dispersed one after another. With some time remaining before the great immortal sects began recruiting disciples, they had to return to their previous routine of searching the mountains and fields for spiritual herbs, ore, and other resources. To them, the Crystal Toad and the Dharma Bead were merely topics of conversation during their leisure time.

No one could have predicted that Lu Xiaotian possessed a hidden space within his body, allowing him to carry it out undetected. At this moment, he was looking at the tiny bead—capable of driving countless people to madness—with an expression of excitement. It was undoubtedly a priceless treasure; if it were to appear in the markets of Wangyue City, it would likely cause an immediate sensation and sell for an unimaginable price, making it no difficult task to exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill. After all, the rarity of a Dharma Bead was far beyond anything a Foundation Establishment Pill could compare to.

However, this thought flashed through his mind only to be quickly dismissed by Lu Xiaotian. Even a fool knew the consequences of a three-year-old walking the streets clutching a gold ingot. The cruelty of the cultivation world was far bloodier than the struggles of the secular world. He was merely a mid-stage cultivator with no background. Once news of his possession of the Dharma Bead spread, he would likely be murdered in a conspiracy before he could even lay hands on the vast wealth. A treasure that even Golden Core experts yearned for was not something he could simply possess.

Since that was the case, he would have to use it himself. Lu Xiaotian felt a slight sense of self-satisfaction; a treasure that so many people failed to seize would be enjoyed by him alone—a feeling that could not be shared with outsiders.

Lu Xiaotian opened his mouth and swallowed the Dharma Bead, then closed his eyes to meditate. The bead sank deep into his dantian, appearing somewhat out of place. Lu Xiaotian mobilized the essence qi within his dantian to wrap the bead in a protective layer. Drawing his divine sense inward, he saw that the Dharma Bead within his dantian seemed to have five hidden compartments, and his essence qi was currently attempting to enter the first one.

He sat in meditation for several days. Three days later, the Dharma Bead merged completely with his dantian. Lu Xiaotian suddenly opened his eyes. Had he not been in the mountains, fearing he might attract the attention of other ill-intentioned cultivators, he would have burst into loud laughter.

"Let me test the power of the Dharma Bead first." After a moment's thought, Lu Xiaotian released several Head Ants. Having been raised by the Large-Horned Freak for so long, these ants were accustomed to drinking blood; having gone without food for several days, they appeared extremely irritable. As soon as they were released, two or three began fighting each other, two attempted to flee out of the cave, and two lunged toward Lu Xiaotian.

Lu Xiaotian smiled faintly and extended his index finger, pointing into the void. A ripple spread out from his finger, sounding like the howling wind of an ice plain, yet also like the crisp sound of water striking stone.

Since refining the Dharma Bead and using his essence qi to enter its first compartment, Lu Xiaotian had comprehended a spell: "Ice Soul Profound Sound."

It could directly affect a person's divine sense through sound waves, plunging them into a state of confusion and chaos, thereby creating an opportunity for the caster to attack.

Having just refined the bead, he decided to use these Head Ants to test the effect.

As the ripples spread, the bodies of the affected Head Ants froze mid-air, and they fell to the ground with a series of thuds. Lu Xiaotian was delighted; the effect against these low-level spiritual insects was quite good. Furthermore, because it was an innate spell of the Dharma Bead, the consumption of mana and divine sense was even lower than that of a basic spell.

Over the next few days, Lu Xiaotian continuously practiced the usage of Ice Soul Profound Sound in the wilderness. However, he discovered that this spell only had a significant effect on cultivators and demonic beasts whose strength was not higher than his own. Against those with higher cultivation, it possessed little offensive power; it couldn't even produce a slight slowing effect. The reason the Crystal Toad had been able to affect hundreds of rogue cultivators in an instant back then was because it was a Fourth-Order demonic beast, far more powerful than any rogue cultivator.

Lu Xiaotian gave a bitter smile. It seemed this awakened Dharma Bead had not awakened any incredibly formidable abilities. Nevertheless, it was better to have a skill than none at all; at the very least, against insect cultivators, this move was more useful than any powerful spell.

Once he had mastered the use of the Dharma Bead, Lu Xiaotian began to spend most of his energy, like other rogue cultivators, searching for the spiritual items required by sect missions. During this time, he occasionally clashed with other rogue cultivators. However, Lu Xiaotian was exceptionally cautious, always doing his utmost to avoid being surrounded and attacked.

The sun ducked behind thick clouds, casting the landscape into gloom. Beneath an ancient tree in the sandy terrain, several stalks of spiritual herbs swayed in the wind. A dark shadow swiftly darted into the shade of the tree; its form appeared somewhat blurred as it reached out toward the herbs.

*Whoosh!* A large net descended from the air, trapping the dark shadow within.

"Got it!" Amidst excited voices, several cultivators leaped out from sand pits used as camouflage, each wielding swords or sabers. They guarded the perimeter of the net, preparing to execute the deceived cultivator inside, only to find that the person within the net suddenly shattered like a splash of water, dissolving into countless droplets before vanishing entirely.

"What happened? Where did he go?"

"Damn it! Someone is playing tricks! How cunning! This makes me so angry!" another person cursed furiously.

"Idiots. You think you're allowed to set traps to harm people, but others aren't allowed to use schemes?" From behind a massive boulder dozens of yards away, Lu Xiaotian watched everything carefully. As expected, it was another trap. The opponents had more people; it seemed those few herbs were out of reach.

Lu Xiaotian sighed. The dark shadow had been a shadow clone he had condensed from mana using his "Puppet Shadow Technique." Because he had only recently learned it, the clone's appearance was still quite blurred, looking like a mere dark silhouette from a distance. If it had been a sunny day, even a rogue cultivator with low cultivation would have seen through it at a glance. However, today's overcast weather and the backdrop of the ancient tree provided relatively good conditions, and combined with his rapid speed, the ambushing group had fallen for it.

Lu Xiaotian was preparing to leave, but his luck was quite good; another small squad had also set their sights on these spiritual herbs. When they sent people to harvest them, a fierce battle broke out with the ambushing squad. Both sides suffered casualties, fighting to a bloody stalemate. Feeling an itch of curiosity, Lu Xiaotian took advantage of the fact that neither squad could spare men to watch their backs. He crept closer, harvested one herb with maximum speed, and then bolted away.

The members of the two squads cursed loudly, but they were helpless. At that moment, both sides were locked in a desperate struggle, and neither was willing to divert strength to chase the fleeing Lu Xiaotian. After all, the opponent appeared to be quite strong; diverting men to pursue him might result in their own defeat. Moreover, Lu Xiaotian had only taken one herb; the two squads fighting tooth and nail had, in fact, allowed Lu Xiaotian to reap a profit.

(End of Chapter)