Cultivation Starts from Farming-Chapter 829 - 374: Moon Shadow Stone, Soul-Breaking Needle
"I feel quite ashamed to say this."
Duan Shuang gently sipped her Spirit Tea, then began to narrate,
"That day in the Ancient Ghost Hall, if it weren’t for the two puppets and the protective divine light bestowed by Fellow Daoist Xu, I would probably have turned to bones by now."
"However, I was still injured and had to find a deserted island to heal my wounds, spending quite some time there until today."
Her tone was calm, and she lightly glossed over the thrilling ordeal, but Xu Ping could imagine the dangers lurking at every step.
"I see."
Xu Ping nodded, understanding well in his heart.
To escape from such a perilous place and heal over two years had already been extremely fortunate.
Xu Ping shifted the topic, asking, "Fellow Daoist Duan, having experienced it first-hand, do you know why so many powerful ancient demons suddenly appeared during this change in the Ancient Demon Hall?"
"Especially that one whose aura reached the threshold of Late-Stage Nascent Soul, something rarely seen even once in a millennium according to past records."
Upon hearing this, Duan Shuang furrowed her brows slightly and put down her jade cup, "With my low cultivation, I’m not quite sure myself."
"But these ancient demons were filled with murderous intent and seemed to have a certain tacit understanding among themselves, frenziedly hunting the Human Race cultivators who entered."
"The one that killed the most Nascent Souls was exactly the ancient demon with the fiercest aura, resembling a skeletal demon dragon with twisted horns on its head, truly reaching the threshold of Late-Stage Nascent Soul in demonic power."
Mentioning that skeletal demon dragon, a trace of fear flashed deep in Duan Shuang’s eyes.
"An ancient demon in the form of a skeletal demon dragon?"
Xu Ping’s eyes gleamed with a hint of thought, and he pondered to himself, "I wonder if the heart blood of this ancient demon meets the standard of Nirvana Blood."
Ever since obtaining the inheritance of the top-tier body refining technique, Nirvana Golden God Skill,
he had been fixated on this divine skill that could transform the physical body and greatly increase strength.
However, the materials needed for it were extremely rare and hard to find.
Especially the Nirvana Blood, which was something that could only be encountered by chance.
Now hearing Duan Shuang’s description, if the strength of this ancient demon is so formidable,
and if its heart blood truly meets the standard of Nirvana Blood, then it would be a clear target to pursue.
"Once I break through to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul, with combat strength comparable to a true Late-Stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, I might be able to venture to the Ancient Demon Hall and hunt down that ancient demon."
Xu Ping secretly planned in his heart, but such matters would have to wait until the next opening of the Ancient Demon Hall.
For with his current strength, recklessly going there would only spell death.
Suppressing the burning desire and anticipation in his heart,
Xu Ping maintained a calm demeanor, continued sipping his tea, as if the topic earlier was just a casual inquiry.
At this moment, a suitable hint of apology appeared on Duan Shuang’s face, her voice lowered a bit:
"Fellow Daoist Xu, this time narrowly escaping danger and returning is entirely due to the puppets and talismans you gave for protection."
"But they have all been used up."
"Fellow Daoist Duan, you give me too much credit."
Xu Ping set down his teacup, his voice indifferent, "Mere two puppets and a few talismans, if they could aid you in escaping such a calamity, they served their purpose, so where is the loss?"
"To me, it’s nothing much, Fellow Daoist need not be concerned."
With his current wealth, quasi-Fourth Rank Puppets and Fourth Rank Talismans were not precious items.
However, Duan Shuang lightly shook her head, her face as bright as spring flowers, embodying a resolute look:
"Fellow Daoist Xu’s generosity, I understand, but I cannot accept such precious treasure without merit."
"Although the journey to the Ancient Demon Hall was perilous, a hair’s breadth from death, I fortunately gained a few things."
Duan Shuang smiled brightly, like flowers blooming in spring, brushing her jade hand over the storage bag at her waist.
An ancient-style storage bag appeared on the table.
"With a little thought, consider it compensation for your loss, I hope Fellow Daoist will not decline." Duan Shuang gently pushed the storage bag towards Xu Ping.
Seeing her firm resolve, Xu Ping no longer quibbled and nodded slightly, "In that case, I will shamelessly accept it."
He extended a wisp of Divine Sense into the storage bag.
The space inside was not small, and the first thing to "see" was a small pile of materials gleaming with various precious lights.
All of them were rare auxiliary materials for refining Fourth Rank Puppets, and though it was only a small portion, they were quite valuable.
However, Xu Ping’s Divine Sense was instantly captivated by an unremarkable "rock" in the corner of the storage bag.
The stone was about the size of a human head, entirely displaying an extremely restrained, almost void-like deep blue.
The surface was uneven, with no overflow of Spiritual Qi, thrown in a mundane mountain stream, even a woodcutter might not give it a second glance.
But Xu Ping’s Divine Sense, comparable to that of a top Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, felt an odd "slip" upon touching this stone.
As if it wasn’t a stone, but a solidified form of deep space moon shadow that could devour all probing...
"Is this... Moon Shadow Stone?!"
Even someone like Xu Ping, whose temperament had long been tempered to remain calm, couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart at this moment.
An immense surprise swept through his entire body.
He didn’t expect Duan Shuang to actually bring out a Moon Shadow Stone!
Xu Ping had long envied Hongyi’s elusive Soul-Breaking Needle, known for shattering Nascent Soul Divine Souls.
The core material for refining it, the Moon Shadow Stone, was too rare.
He had searched for years, even asking Liang Ming, but found no trace.
Yet today, it unexpectedly arrived in front of him in such a manner, and in such a large piece.
"Such an amount of Moon Shadow Stone... is more than enough to refine two, no, three Soul-Breaking Needles!"
Xu Ping managed to suppress his inner excitement, keeping his outward demeanor calm.
Once the Soul-Breaking Needle is successfully refined, it would undoubtedly become his trump card.
It would even greatly enhance his strength against killing Mid-Stage Nascent Soul giants.
Furthermore, compared to cultivators, the Soul-Breaking Needle was more deadly against demon beasts with weaker Divine Sense.
