The First Immortal of Destiny-Chapter 514: Ghost Soul Flower_1
"Fellow Daoist Blood Demon... you can also concoct Elixirs!"
The middle-aged Smoke Demon took the jade slip, scanned it with his sense, and appeared quite surprised. He immediately asked, "I wonder what grade of Elixirs fellow daoist can concoct?"
"I can concoct Grade III and Grade IV Elixirs. As for Grade V... if the provided raw materials are sufficient and the success rate isn’t a concern, I should be able to concoct some," Shen Mo replied casually.
This implied he had already entered the ranks of a Grade IV Alchemist!
Upon hearing this, the Evil Demons in the room all cast fervent gazes at him. Many evil cultivators and Outer Zone Demons were still stuck at the primitive stage of drinking blood and devouring raw flesh. The stronger ones might be able to concoct Grade I or Grade II Flesh Pills, but they definitely could not concoct Grade IV or superior Elixirs.
This point could be partially gleaned just by looking at the Riverside Sect, one of the Five Great Sects in the Red Flame Zone.
As the pinnacle human sect in this realm, the Riverside Sect had only a single Grade IV Alchemist capable of concocting Grade V Elixirs. This clearly indicated the scarcity of skilled Alchemists!
This was true even for cultivators skilled at utilizing external resources. In contrast, many native-born evil cultivators and Outer Zone Demons couldn’t even concoct Grade V Elixirs.
Consequently, evil cultivators and Outer Zone Demons were obsessed with devouring captured weak creatures alive, forcibly extracting beneficial tangible and intangible substances through their cultivation methods and racial talents.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to refine them; they simply couldn’t!
If someone could refine the resources that boosted their power into elixirs and herbs, the effects would be greatly enhanced.
Even the most common Grade V or Grade I Flesh Pills could see their efficacy increase by fifty to one hundred percent.
Not to mention Grade III or IV Elixirs; consuming the same amount of Flesh and Blood resources would see the effect at least double, and possibly even quadruple!
"I never imagined that our Emotion Valley would have the good fortune of hosting a fellow daoist well-versed in the Alchemy Path today! This joyous occasion truly calls for a grand toast!" The middle-aged Smoke Demon laughed, raising his cup to propose a toast. The other Evil Demons also raised their cups of Blood Wine and spiritual wine, paying respects to the "Blood Demon Patriarch" before drinking heartily.
Shen Mo substituted tea for wine, taking a sip as a token gesture.
Then, the middle-aged Smoke Demon tossed the jade slip into the air. It flew into a cluster of multicolored clouds hovering above the heads of the assembled Evil Demons, allowing them to examine it with their sense.
Above the multicolored clouds, about ten or so jade slips and bone fragments floated quietly. These were carriers of Divine Sense messages, recording the requests and possessions of the Evil Demons present!
Trading high-grade resources and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures wasn’t as simple as trading ordinary items. Both parties needed to consent to the exchange, and it was extremely difficult to measure their value using Spirit Stones.
Therefore, in most cases, what the trading parties desired and what they offered did not perfectly align.
For instance, if an Evil Demon happened to possess the Chaotic Yuan Fruit that Shen Mo coveted but was uninterested in the spiritual items Shen Mo offered, Shen Mo would first have to find other evil cultivators or Demons. He would need to trade for what this particular Evil Demon required before returning to make the exchange for the fruit.
Jade slips, bone fragments, and similar items served to facilitate the exchange of information among the Evil Demons present, allowing them to understand each other’s needs and offerings.
Shen Mo scanned each jade slip and bone fragment in the cloud with his sense, soon discovering that this group of evil cultivators and Outer Zone Demons harbored various hidden agendas.
The items they sought were recorded in meticulous detail, but the spiritual items they possessed and were willing to trade were described vaguely and ambiguously.
Such behavior was, naturally, to prevent their treasures from being coveted by other powerful Evil Demons unwilling to pay a fair price. It was also a precaution against being forcefully robbed or killed for their valuables after leaving this place, possibly through underhanded means.
One could only say that Evil Demons understood other Evil Demons best!
Shen Mo was unconcerned. His strength gave him ample confidence to conduct transactions without resorting to such petty schemes.
Besides the great demon atop Golden Light Ridge, who would dare scheme against him?
If he didn’t go looking for trouble with them, these evil cultivators and Demons should be thanking their lucky stars! Some Outer Zone races, after all, devoured the corpses of their ancestors, leaving no graves to speak of.
After a brief inspection, he found that apart from a few spiritual items that might be useful but weren’t desperately needed, there was little else of interest.
So, Shen Mo sat calmly, sipping his tea and waiting for other Evil Demons to approach him.
Within a few breaths, seven or eight Divine Senses reached out to him, all intent on trading.
Shen Mo’s mind worked rapidly. Moments later, he had struck a deal with one of the evil cultivators.
This evil cultivator only sought High-grade Elixirs to nourish his Dao Body and soul. It wasn’t necessary for Shen Mo to refine them on the spot, so he simply took out two bottles of Elixirs from his inventory: one bottle of Ganoderma Marrow Pills and one bottle of Five Elements Soul-Containing Pills, for Dao Body and soul respectively.
However, as he took out the Elixirs, Shen Mo secretly sprinkled a layer of Ghost Soul Flower petal powder on them. It was odorless and tasteless and didn’t affect the Elixirs’ properties.
But once tainted with the Ghost Soul Flower’s scent, it would linger for a hundred days.
Only those who had sniffed a Special Medicinal Powder could detect its strong, unique fragrance. Even if merely passing by someone marked with it, they could smell the Ghost Soul Flower’s aroma, which wind and rain could not disperse.
Following the scent, one could track a target from thousands of miles away!
Shen Mo planned to deal with every single one of the evil cultivators and Demons present.
Setting this trap now would allow his Class III Peak Demon Soul Generals to sniff the Special Medicinal Powder later and be dispatched to eliminate this group of Evil Demons.
The reason he didn’t scatter the Ghost Soul Flower powder more widely was simple. Besides the evil cultivators and Demons, tens of thousands of mortal men and women, along with Outer Zone creatures, were imprisoned in the valley’s pavilions. If they were also contaminated, it would cause confusion and hinder the Demon Soul Generals’ tracking later on.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Blood Demon. Here are ten Fire Lotus Seeds. Please accept them!"
The trade concluded. The satisfied evil cultivator returned to his seat with his Elixirs and immediately, eagerly took out a Ganoderma Marrow Pill and a Five Elements Soul-Containing Pill. He swallowed them both and began to circulate his cultivation method to refine their medicinal power.
Witnessing this, Shen Mo smiled faintly and stored the Fire Lotus Seeds in his Universe Bag.
These were one of the spiritual medicines for refining Chaotic Yuan Pills. He hadn’t expected to acquire ten of them here. Although the quantity wasn’t quite enough, it was better than nothing!
The next to trade with him was a Class III Peak Human-faced Willow Demon. It generally resembled a willow tree from the mortal realm, except its trunk bore an old man’s face, and its branches were covered in fleshy nodules instead of leaves!
"Fellow Daoist Blood Demon, could you help me refine this Flesh and Blood of living creatures into a High-Grade Spirit Pill?"
The Human-faced Willow Demon swayed its branches, opening the blood-red fleshy nodules one by one. Inside, pools of gory, minced Flesh and Blood were revealed—limbs, torsos, hearts, livers, spleens, and lungs all mashed together, indistinguishable and reeking to high heaven!
This was the Human-faced Willow Demon’s unique "stacking fertilizer" technique.
Its nutrient utilization rate was far higher than that of other Demons which directly devoured their prey!
Of course, this was still inferior to refining the minced Flesh and Blood into an Elixir. Otherwise, the Human-faced Willow Demon wouldn’t have sought out Shen Mo.
Shen Mo’s brow furrowed. Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, he replied indifferently, "Refining a Flesh Pill comes at a different price. This fellow daoist, what do you intend to trade for it?"
