After some much-needed rest, Yu Quan got to work. First, he collected all the eyes of the death-dealing damas. He realized that he didn’t have anything to hold their bodies in, so he would probably have to haul them all over to the city. As much as he wanted to use them to cultivate, using monster beast cores to cultivate can be dangerous if done incorrectly. He was actually warned about this in his conversation with Yan Liqin. You would either need to be far stronger than the beast, cultivate a special art, or have a purifying method. Otherwise, your cultivation could be corrupted. It wasn’t the same as demon cultivation; it wouldn’t change your nature or anything. It would only form heart demons that would need to be cleared before continuing cultivation.
Yu Quan used the eye refining technique and grafted them onto his body. Once he had all sixteen dama eyes on him, he didn’t hesitate to try cultivating the [Murder Mantra]. What Yu Quan wasn’t ready for was that with so many dama eyes and his leveled-up techniques, he could cultivate the killing intent that flowed out of the eyes and filled his core at an extremely fast rate. Within ten minutes, he had worked up a sweat, and within twenty, he was covered in it. Pools upon pools of killing intent were being converted into murderous flames inside his core. He carried on cultivating, as difficult as it was. After hours that felt like days, Yu Quan took a break and checked what his information about his murderous flame said.
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 5th Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 1410 Catties
Qi: 2500/2500 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 5)Murderous Flame(x1)
Techniques:…
Yu Quan was a little surprised. All that time and his murderous flame were only at level 5? How difficult was this technique? But he quickly grew determined, believing the more difficult it was to train, the more rewarding it would be. He took a breather, then went right back to cultivating the [Murder Mantra].
…
This time, an entire day passed. Yu Quan could have continued even longer, but he felt a change in his murderous flame, so he wanted to recheck his information.
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 5th Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 1410 Catties
Qi: 2500/2500 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 1)Murderous Flame(x2)
Techniques:…
“What is this?” he asked himself.
Yu Quan saw as his murderous flame reverted but seemingly grew in number. He had been checking its level occasionally and remembered it being at level 9 before the last stretch. He wondered if leveling up past level 9 changed his flame. Just to make sure nothing was wrong, he covered his arm in murderous flames, just as he had always done, but he was surprised to see how large the flame was. It wasn’t much, but it actually had a full but thin layer of flames covering his arm.
“Wait… does this mean I can…?”
Yu Quan released the flames and then tried to control them to exit his body. As he did, the flames flowed out from right around where his core was. Yu Quan quickly used his hands to stop it from flying out unrestrained. As the flames reached his hands and Yu Quan willed them to, the flames began floating just a bit away from the surface of his hand. As he moved his hands, the flame would follow, like he was a wizard controlling his fireball. Yu Quan couldn’t help but start having fun with it, making it spiral and spin around him.
“Once the flame exceeds a certain size, the [Murder Mantra] must break it into separate flames of the fire. Right now, it should be around the size of the flame when it spikes right before it finishes burning paper.”
A stronger flame meant he had more means, especially now that he could manifest outside of him and attack with a hit. His [Sightburn] should also be significantly stronger if he were to use the murderous flame with it. The best part was that the [Murder Mantra] hadn’t slowed down yet. The amount of killing intent he was receiving was still enough for him to cultivate more. After playing with his murderous flame for a few more minutes, he went back to cultivating again.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 5th Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 1410 Catties
Qi: 2500/2500 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 4)Murderous Flame(x4)
Techniques:…
This time, Yu Quan didn’t stop cultivating until he felt the [Murder Mantra] slow down. It wasn’t slowed down to the point that he could no longer cultivate it, but it just wouldn’t be as fast as before. He decided he would keep it so he would have something to multitask with the next time he wanted to further his cultivation level. Until then, he would wander around. He didn’t want to leave so soon, especially since there wasn’t anything urgent back in Blossom Hills. Plus, if he happened upon some more death-dealing damas, he could get more eyes and get even stronger.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
…
A man wearing a gray uniform with a golden insignia on it was running for what looked like his dear life through the streets of the city. Cai Guang was a low-level worker at a shop run by the Merchant Alliance. It was a regular day, slightly busy but mostly carefree, just as it always was. That was until some lunatic came asking to speak to the person in charge. Cai Guang didn’t think he was a lunatic at first, but when Cai Guang asked the man what he needed the head of the shop for and opted to show him, he realized just how crazy this man was. Right outside of the city, the man had piled up 24 death-dealing dama carcasses, all missing their eyes, hoping to sell them. Cai Guang didn’t know what type of man this was, but he didn’t know how to handle this business for him, nor did he want to.
When Cai Guang made it down one street, around the corner, and down the next, he arrived a brown brick building with a matching golden insignia above the door. When he arrived at the door, Cai Guang didn’t hesitate to bust through it, leaving all the surrounding people to wonder what had happened. Appearances weren’t important to Cai Guang at the moment. He needed to find-
“Master He!” Cai Guang called out.
In the room was a slightly husky man, not quite chubby but definitely well-fed, sitting at a desk before two men in very high-quality robes backed by muscular Core Forming Stage cultivators as bodyguards.
“…Cai Guang,” the man said through gritted teeth, making fists so hard he might draw blood.
The two men looked towards Cai Guang, then back towards the man. One furrowed his brows before asking, “Is this… a bad time, Merchant He?”
Merchant He quickly switched his tune. “No~ Of course not. Apologies, gentlemen; it seems I haven’t taught my employee discipline.”
Cai Guang realized the situation and stumbled into a bow. “Greetings sirs. I apologize for my intrusion, but this is an extremely important matter that I must report to Master He.”
The man’s furrowed brows deepened. “Oh? More important than the matters we’re discussing?”
Merchant He sprung into damage control mode. “No, no, of course not. Forgive this frog in a well; he must not realize how high the clouds you walk on are. Let me just see what he wants so I can dismiss him and we can continue.”
The man’s furrowed brows softened, and he nodded his head with a grunt. Seeing that he was satisfied, he quickly walked over to Cai Guang and got close to his ear.
“What could be so important that you think it's so important to barge in while I’m meeting with some of my most important clients?”
Cai Guang didn’t stutter; he immediately got close to Merchant He’s ear and explained the situation. The men watched as Merchant He’s eyes widened as Cai Guang spoke.
Merchant He slowly turned to the men, his face pale as a ghost, cupped his hand and bowed. “I will have to ask that you men excuse me. I have just been informed of a dire situation that needs my presence. I’ll be sure to compensate you for this transgression.”
Seeing Merchant He’s face, the two men couldn’t muster any anger; it really seemed that there was something that needed his care. With the promise of compensation, they had been given face, and Merchant He really was an outstanding business partner.
“Well… alright then. No need to worry about us; go and handle your issue!”
…
Yu Quan was waiting outside with his pile of dama bodies. The guy from the shop said he would go look for his boss, and he seemed pretty adamant about it. He just found it weird because he seemed to be pretty calm before he showed him what he had to sell. Maybe he was scared. But what was there to be scared of? They were dead. After some time, the man from before came running back, following behind a bigger guy running just as crazily. When they got to him, the bigger guy jumped through the air and dove on the floor, giving him the deepest of bows.
“Merchant He greets the Young Master!” he yelled, his face buried into the ground.
Yu Quan didn’t know how to react. Wasn’t this a simple transaction?
“Uh… Are you okay?”
“I’m great, sir. Will you do me the honor of telling me your name, great master?”
Yu Quan grimaced. This was his first time at the city and he already met some weird people who put the weird people in Blossom Hills to shame. He was expecting them to be all high and mighty.
“It’s Yu Quan.”
“Yes! A fine name,” he said, finally getting out of his weird bow. “I am Merchant He and I’m in charge of the eastern sector of the Merchant Alliance’s branch in Virtuous City. My subordinate has told me everything, and I made my way here as soon as I could.”
Yu Quan was happy something went well. At least now, he wouldn’t need to explain everything again. “Good. So, how much can I get for these damas?”
After Yu Quan uttered these words, it was as if Merchant He had switched personalities. His smiley face turned completely serious as he took the abacus from his belt and began flipping beads around. Yu Quan acknowledged the personality switch with intrigue but was more focused on the abacus. Such a thing was ancient in his world; he never thought he would see one in person. But he was in a world without much advanced technology. It's not like they needed it; they could use superhuman techniques. He felt he wouldn’t want to waste his time with math, either. Yu Quan continued thinking until Merchant He finished his calculations. Once they were done, his face changed back to the people-pleasing version of him he had met in the beginning.
“Although the eyes were removed, they don’t matter much. Damas cores are the real money makers, with their bodies being close second for cultivators to eat. So, I ignored that in my calculations and came to an estimate of 360 qi stones per dama, or 8,640 qi stones total. I haven’t checked their strength, and this is our first time working with each other, so let’s just round that up to 9,000 qi stones as a sign of friendship. How does that sound?”
Yu Quan was dumbfounded. This was a lot more money than he expected. He seriously contemplated leaving everything behind and hunting damas for a living. He realized that the damas were likely worth much more, and he might be able to make some more out of it, but 9,000 seemed like a lot, so he let it be.
“Then I’ll accept this as a sign of our friendship,” he said carefully, not wanting to let the merchant think he was ignorant, so he would think twice about taking advantage of him if he worked with him again in the future.
The man paid Yu Quan on the spot, bowed to him again, and ordered a team of servants to come and carry the bodies off. When they were alone, Cai Guang asked why Merchant He was so generous. If they checked each dama for their strength, it was likely the total would be around 8,000 qi stones.
“Naive! You haven’t been in the business as long as I have. A man who is strong enough to gather that many dama carcasses alone is stronger than we can imagine. One of the merchants higher than me in the ranks would still need to be decently polite with him. If I can form a good relationship with him, how can I worry about a measly 1,000 qi stones?”
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 5th Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 1410 Catties
Qi: 2500/2500 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 4)Murderous Flame(x4)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)
[Murder Mantra](Level 3)
[Yellow Qilin Dance](Level 3)
[Qi Compression](Level 3)
Attributes:
[Strange Fire: Murderous Flame]
[Starfire Eyes](Level 1)
[Sightburn](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Maned Hog Ferocity Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Winged Watcher Awareness Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality False Dragon Pride Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Death-Dealing Dama Killing Eyes](Level 1)(x10)