Chapter 124: Chu Ning's Mission Impossible Plan

If you work hard enough, you can grind an iron rod into a needle.

Staying in his master's cave, Chu Ning practiced the Soul-Destroying Spear without distraction.

The most difficult part of compressing spiritual consciousness is maintaining its stability.

When the spiritual consciousness is compressed to the thickness of a finger, the progress becomes even slower.

Even though his spiritual awareness was now stronger than that of an average late-stage foundation-building cultivator, Chu Ning still felt the difficulty.

"No wonder Zheng Qingmin didn't practice."

At this point, Chu Ning did not intend to give up. According to the creator of the Soul-Destroying Thorn technique, in addition to slowly honing the spiritual consciousness, there is also an auxiliary method, which is to use the Soul-Suppressing Pearl.

Soul-soothing beads! Beads made by weapon refiners that can stabilize the soul.

There are not many weapon refiners in this city, and the Soul-Suppressing Pearl is not a rare treasure and is very valuable.

"There are many weapon refiners in Shuangyu City, but unfortunately Shuangyu City has been conquered by the Loose Cultivator Alliance."

Chu Ning also understood the situation outside.

After all, he had to be prepared to run away at any time and it was impossible for him to wait until the enemy reached the gate of the mountain before reacting.

"No, I will issue a reward to the public and take this soul-suppressing bead."

The value of the Soul-Suppressing Pearl is similar to that of the Soul-Transforming Pill, but the Soul-Transforming Pill is easy to find, while the Soul-Suppressing Pearl is not.

There are too many cultivators needed to make the Soul-Transforming Pill, so as long as it is refined, it can be sold easily. Many second-grade alchemists will refine it, so they have more or less stock. However, fewer people need the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, resulting in fewer equipment refiners refining it, so it is not easy to find one on short notice.

Just as Chu Ning was about to offer a reward, there was movement outside the cave.

"Junior Brother Chu!"

Hearing that it was Senior Brother Gu's voice, Chu Ning activated the formation. Gu Fanzhou stepped in, followed by a middle-aged man, who was also a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Brother Chu, this is Daoist Fellow Yao, who has now become a guest elder of our Wenjin Sect."

The guest elder is a sect position created by Gu Fanzhou, which is used to win over other foundation-building cultivators.

Chu Ning knew that his three bottles of Soul-Transforming Pills had taken effect. The man in front of him was a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, and he was also someone that his senior brother knew very well.

Recruit cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage to enhance the strength of the Wenjin Sect.

This is the strategy set by Senior Brother Gu, but it is not applicable to all cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Who knows whether the alliance of loose cultivators composed of those unfamiliar foundation-building cultivators will take the opportunity to plant spies in.

The foundation-building cultivators that Senior Brother Gu recruits must have clean identities. Clean identities mean that their identities can be verified and they originally worked in the surrounding cities, thus avoiding the possibility of being spies.

However, Chu Ning still subconsciously used the secret mirror to take a look at this person, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I have long heard of Elder Chu's reputation as an alchemy genius, and today I finally get to see the real person."

Yao Qihua smiled and spoke. Chu Ning did not respond. Gu Fanzhou on the side explained, "Junior Brother Chu, after Elder Yao joined, he said that he could introduce a fellow Taoist who is also in the late foundation building stage, but he needs a bottle of Soul Transformation Pill."

"This is a good thing. Then Junior Brother, do your best to refine it."

Chu Ning nodded. When he gave the Soul-Transforming Pill to Senior Brother Gu, he asked him to keep it a secret and not tell anyone who made this top-grade Soul-Transforming Pill.

In addition to himself, Wen Jinzong has three second-grade alchemists, two of whom were promoted in the past few years. In the eyes of outsiders, the top-grade soul-transforming elixir is more likely to be made by these three people.

Now that Yao Qihua has joined the Wenjin Sect, Senior Brother Gu did not keep it a secret.

"I didn't expect that the top-grade Soul Transformation Pill was made by Fellow Daoist Chu. If Fellow Daoist Gu hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have believed it. Fellow Daoist Chu's reputation as an alchemist is well-deserved."

"It's also good luck, plus there are enough materials. I wouldn't be able to refine it under normal circumstances."

Chu Ning said this modestly, and Yao Qihua agreed with him deeply. He also thought so in his heart. Chu Ning might have wasted a lot of medicinal materials when refining the top-grade Soul-Transforming Pill.

"Brother Gu, I have something to discuss with you."

Gu Fanzhou was very busy. He said hello to Yao Qihua and Chu Ning and was about to leave, but was stopped by Chu Ning.

"Then I'll go down the mountain first and contact my old friend and tell him the good news as soon as possible."

As soon as Yao Qihua heard Chu Ning's words, he knew that his fellow apprentice had something to say in private, so he found an excuse and left.

Yao Qihua left, and Gu Fanzhou looked at Chu Ning and asked curiously, "Brother Chu, what's the matter? Is there not enough medicinal materials? If there are not enough medicinal materials, you can go to the medicinal material warehouse to get more."

"Brother Gu, I'm afraid this person is unreliable."

Chu Ning went straight to the point. From what he saw in the Secret Mirror, Chu Ning knew Yao Qihua's secret clearly. This man was a member of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

"Yao Qihua is unreliable?"

Gu Fanzhou didn't expect Chu Ning to say this, but he didn't refute it immediately. He just repeated Yao Qihua's information.

Yao Qihua is a cultivator from Dapeng City. He grew up in Dapeng City and is quite famous in Dapeng City. However, because he has the ambition to pursue the golden elixir, he has only two sons and his descendants have not yet fully expanded.

"Brother, the reason why I have talent in alchemy is because I have a sense of whether the pill is formed, and this sense is not only useful for pills, but also for people. Yao Qihua gives me a bad impression."

Chu Ning would naturally not reveal the secret of the secret mirror, so he could only make up a mysterious reason. This was only when he was facing Senior Brother Gu. If it were anyone else, he would not point out the strangeness of Yao Qihua's identity in this way.

Senior Brother Gu behaves like a senior brother, so Chu Ning feels relieved.

Gu Fanzhou was a little hesitant. If it was just his intuition, he couldn't take action against Yao Qihua. After all, Yao Qihua was the first late-stage foundation-building cultivator recruited, and he still needed to use Yao Qihua to attract more foundation-building cultivators to join.

"Senior Brother Gu, I have an idea that can help us find out if Yao Qihua is a spy."

There is another reason why Chu Ning took the initiative to point out Yao Qihua's identity, which is that he planned to use Yao Qihua to do something.

Listening to Chu Ning's plan, Gu Fanzhou's eyes lit up: "Just follow Junior Brother's plan, I will personally handle it. If Yao Qihua is really a spy, then he can't be kept alive."

At the end of his speech, there was a cold light in Gu Fanzhou's eyes.

…

…

One month later.

Gu Fanzhou brought Yao Qihua to Chu Ning's cave, but this time the formation in front of Chu Ning's cave was not activated.

"Brother Gu, Fellow Daoist Yao, I am at a critical moment in my alchemy and cannot withdraw."

Chu Ning's voice came out along the formation, and Gu Fanzhou said with a worried look on his face: "Junior brother, are you okay?"

"Brother, it's good news. God has blessed me and asked Jin Zong. This batch of Soul Transformation Pills is likely to be of top-grade quality. However... Junior Brother's strength is still a little lacking. I'm afraid that I can't maintain the quality of this Soul Transformation Pill."

Hearing the word "top quality", Yao Qihua, who was standing next to Gu Fanzhou, changed his expression slightly, but soon returned to normal.

"Junior Brother Chu, I don't know much about alchemy, is there anything I can help you with?" Gu Fanzhou asked anxiously.

"Top-grade elixirs require great control over the temperature. I'm afraid my soul won't be able to hold on. If I had the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, I'd be confident."

"Soul-suppressing bead?" Gu Fanzhou was a little embarrassed: "Soul-suppressing bead is not easy to find, senior brother, I will try my best to find it for you."

"Hurry up. If it takes more than seven days, even with the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, Junior Brother will be powerless to save the situation. This furnace of elixirs is at best of the highest quality."

"Okay, Junior Brother, don't worry, the top-grade Soul Transformation Pill is actually enough."

There was no response from the formation, Gu Fanzhou looked at Yao Qihua: "It seems that we can only wait for a few days."

"Fellow Daoist Chu is able to refine the top-grade Soul-Transforming Pill. So, waiting a few more days, even a few more months, is not a problem." Yao Qihua said with a smile.

"That's true, but Daoist Fellow Yao has also heard that it is impossible to refine the top-grade Soul Transformation Pill without the Soul-Suppressing Pearl. The Soul-Suppressing Pearl is precious and rare, so how can we find it in seven days?"

Gu Fanzhou sighed: "I will announce the reward to see if anyone has the Soul-Suppressing Pearl."

Yao Qihua's expression changed for a moment, and he said, "Actually, it's a coincidence. I know a fellow Taoist who has a Soul-Suppressing Pearl, but that was ten years ago. I don't know if he still has the Soul-Suppressing Pearl. So... I'll go ask him. If he has it, I'll see if I can buy it from him."

"That's great. Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Yao. No matter what that person asks for, as long as he is willing to trade, we will do our best to satisfy him."

Gu Fanzhou was very excited. Yao Qihua smiled and said, "We can't let anyone take advantage of the situation. Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Gu. I know what to do."

"Okay, then I will ask the current sect to wait for the good news from Daoist Brother Yao."

Looking at Yao Qihua's back as he walked down the mountain, Gu Fanzhou still had an expectant smile on his face, but there was a chill in his eyes.

My junior fellow student guessed right, there really is something wrong with Yao Qihua.

The most likely place for the Soul-Suppressing Pearl to appear is Shuangyu City, but Shuangyu City has already been breached by the Loose Cultivator Alliance. Even if the Soul-Suppressing Pearl is there, it is likely to have fallen into the hands of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

His junior fellow apprentice asked him to deliberately announce the reward in order to expose Yao Qihua's true colors.

If Wen Jin Sect offered a bounty for the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, the Loose Cultivator Alliance would definitely not let the Pearl leak out. Yao Qihua would have to tell those people in the Loose Cultivator Alliance the real situation, but in that case, the top-grade Soul-Transforming Pill would have to be distributed.

The best-grade soul-transforming elixir, as long as it has the word "best-grade" in it, the effect can be leaps to a higher level, and it can almost catch up with the efficacy of some early-stage golden elixir elixirs, but it can also be taken by foundation-building cultivators.

When such a bait is thrown out, it is impossible for Yao Qihua not to be tempted, and he would not be willing to share it.

Yao Qihua chose to be a spy, and knew the man's ins and outs inside out, and had to face the subsequent revenge of the Jindan masters of the Wenjin Sect and bear such a great risk. He could only have one purpose, which was to form a golden elixir.

Although the top-grade Soul-Transforming Pill cannot allow a Foundation Establishment cultivator to form a Golden Elixir, it is still a big step towards forming a Golden Elixir.

…

…

After leaving Wenjin City, Yao Qihua went straight to Dapeng City. He stopped several times and even hid in the same place. After making sure that no one was following him, he headed in another direction.

Shuangyu City.

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It is now the headquarters of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

Those foundation-building cultivators of the Loose Cultivator Alliance have one thing in common: many of them wear masks that can prevent the prying of spiritual consciousness. Unless one is a Jindan powerhouse, one's true appearance under the mask cannot be seen.

As for whether his body shape has changed, no one will explore it.

Because everyone comes here to make money, not to find out each other's past.

There are a total of twenty-five cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage in the entire Loose Cultivator Alliance. For the sake of convenience, these twenty-five are referred to by numbers.

As a figure entered Shuangyu City and appeared in front of the gate of the seventh cave, he formed seals with his hands, opened the gate of the cave formation and walked in.

"Friend Lei, I need the Soul-Suppressing Pearl."

After entering the cave, Yao Qihua directly stated his purpose to the middle-aged man sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Soul-suppressing bead, what does Daoist Brother Yao want the Soul-suppressing bead for?"

Lei Jian was a little confused. The function of the Soul-Soothing Bead was to stabilize the soul, and it was usually only used by cultivators whose souls had been severely damaged.

"Of course I am useful. There are many treasures in the treasury of Shuangyu City. A soul-suppressing bead is nothing."

"Fellow Daoist Yao, the treasure house of Shuangyu City is protected by a formation. Fellow Daoist No. 3 has only cracked half of the formation, and no one else can enter the treasure house yet."

Lei Jian smiled bitterly. Fellow Daoist No. 3 in the Loose Cultivator Alliance was good at formations, but after all, his realm was only the Foundation Establishment Stage. Even if he knew how to break the formation, it would take some time to prepare.

"Even if the treasure house hasn't been opened yet, the Soul-Suppressing Pearl can't be missing, so I told the truth. There is a disciple in the middle stage of foundation building in Wenjin Sect whose soul is damaged. If I can take out the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, I can win Gu Fanzhou's true trust and have a chance to access the treasure house."

Yao Qihua's words made Lei Jian look thoughtful. The reason why he arranged Yao Qihua to be an insider was for only one purpose, which was to master the method of opening the formation of Wenjin Sect's treasure house.

The fact that they were able to capture Shuangyu City but were unable to open the treasury formation served as a wake-up call to the members of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. If they could find someone to act as an insider in advance and obtain the method to open the formation, they would be able to directly distribute the benefits after the siege.

"Fellow Daoist Yao, wait a moment. I will go and discuss this with other fellow Daoists."

Lei Jian asked Yao Qihua to stay in the cave, while he himself walked out of the cave. Yao Qihua was asking Jin Zong about being an insider, and only seven people in the entire Loose Cultivator Alliance knew about it.

A quarter of an hour later, Lei Jian came back with a box in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Yao, this is the Soul Calming Pearl."

"good."

Yao Qihua took the box handed over by Lei Jian. He knew before he came that getting a Soul-Calming Pearl would not be a difficult task.

"Fellow Daoist Yao, have you thought of an excuse? After all, this Soul-Suppressing Pearl is not an ordinary item."

"That's natural."

Yao Qihua answered confidently that he was not worried that his identity as a spy would be discovered. First of all, there were only seven people, including Lei Jian, who knew of his identity as a spy, and these seven people would not tell anyone.

Secondly, the foundation can withstand investigation, and Gu Fanzhou will not suspect that he is a spy.

He had not originally intended to be a spy, but later Lei Jian found him. He and Lei Jian had known each other decades ago, and their relationship was not particularly good.

But when Lei Jian took out the temptation of Dan, he was tempted.

As for his two sons, Yao Qihua had made up his mind that once the Wenjin Sect was conquered, he would give these two sons a sum of spirit stones and some life-saving magic weapons. Whether they could survive in the end depended on themselves.

Yao Qihua did not have deep feelings for his two sons, and did not provide them with many resources. Otherwise, there would not have been no third-generation descendants for so many years. As long as he could form a pill, he could then have children again.

As for the origin of the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, he had already found an excuse. As he was an old friend from many years ago, Gu Fanzhou would not dig into the matter. He did not insist on knowing the identity of his old friend.

"I won't stay here long."

After taking the Soul-Soothing Pearl, Yao Qihua concealed his figure and his breath, then went down the mountain and headed quickly out of the city.

Just like when he came here, he changed directions several times along the way. To make sure that there was no one following him, Yao Qihua first went back to Dapeng City, stayed there for a day, and then returned to Wenjin Sect.

It took Yao Qihua five days to return to Wenjin Sect and find Gu Fanzhou as soon as possible.

"That's great. Daoist brother Yao, come with me to meet Junior Brother Chu. If Junior Brother Chu can refine the top-grade Soul Transformation Pill, Daoist brother Yao will have made an indelible contribution."

Gu Fanzhou was very happy and brought Yao Qihua to the outside of Chu Ning's cave. This time the formation outside the cave was opened.

The two of them walked in together, but Chu Ning looked at them with a lost expression.

Yao Qihua's heart skipped a beat and he had a bad feeling.

"Brother, my strength is not good enough, and the Soul Transformation Pill has failed."

The premonition came true, and Yao Qihua was filled with disappointment. Just when he was distracted, Gu Fanzhou took action.

The two were only ten meters apart when Gu Fanzhou suddenly attacked with thunder. Yao Qihua was a little depressed and distracted. By the time he reacted, a flying sword had already pierced his chest.

"What do you mean, Brother Gu?"

His chest was pierced by a flying sword, but Yao Qihua was not dead yet. He shouted angrily and took out a black banner from his storage bag.

But before he could throw out the black banner, a rope appeared under his feet, winding around like a snake, and instantly bound from his feet to his abdomen.

With his abdomen tied up, Yao Qihua found that he could not mobilize the spiritual fluid in his dantian, which meant that he could not use his spiritual power.

"What do you mean? If you dare to come to my sect as a spy, you must be mentally prepared."

Gu Fanzhou had a cold face. Although they were both in the late stage of foundation building, he was the sect master's disciple. Whether in terms of cultivation or the spiritual weapons on his body, he was not comparable to Yao Qihua.

According to his original intention, he instinctively wanted to kill Yao Qihua, but Junior Brother Chu suggested that Yao Qihua be spared and interrogated about the situation of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. That's when he used the spirit-sealing rope to seal Yao Qihua's spiritual power.

"Gu Daoyou, how could I be a spy?"

Knowing that resistance was useless, Yao Qihua could only deny it because he didn't believe Gu Fanzhou could have any evidence.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, if you treat me like this, I'm afraid no more foundation-building cultivators will be willing to join the Wenjin Sect."

"Whether there are any foundation-building cultivators joining my Wenjin Sect is not something you need to worry about. But if you want to prove your innocence, you might as well tell me which fellow Taoist sold you this Soul-Suppressing Pearl."

Yao Qihua was speechless, of course he couldn't say anything.

We can't let Gu Fanzhou go to the Loose Cultivator Alliance to confront Lei Jian.

"Please spare my life, Brother Gu. I can tell Brother Gu about the situation of the Loose Cultivator Alliance."

Yao Qihua was very direct. When facing a life-and-death situation, he chose to betray the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

"unnecessary."

There was a strong murderous intent in Gu Fanzhou's eyes. He would not believe a two-faced person like Yao Qihua even if he told him.

"Brother Gu, wait a minute!"

Chu Ning saw the murderous intent in Gu Fanzhou's eyes and quickly spoke up to stop him.

Yao Qihua cannot be killed now, he still has some use.

(End of this chapter)