Chapter 269: The Old Daoist's Legacy |
The group first approached the alchemy furnace to observe. This bronze alchemy furnace had three legs and two handles. The body of the furnace was cast with Bagua patterns—Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui. There was a small hole opening in each of the eight directions, called the 'Eight Wind Holes'.
The furnace lid was cast into the shape of a lotus flower. Between the lotus petals were dense air-venting crevices from which smoke would disperse. The furnace body had already been smoked dark brown, but the originally carved inscription could faintly be seen:
'The profound origin merges into a single breath, nine cycles to refine the returning pill. If not to a Daoist, it is not transmitted; if not to a human, it is not shown.'
Beneath the furnace lay a pile of ashes, the residue left behind from burning black coal ore during the last alchemy session. They were grayish-white and crumbled into powder at a light touch. It was completely empty inside, and the furnace fire had long been extinguished. It was unknown when the last alchemy session had taken place. Bai Mu estimated that Perfected Yang had intended to use this alchemy room after completely emerging from his secluded cultivation.
After inspecting the alchemy furnace, Bai Mu walked over to the stone platform opposite and opened those small golden furnaces. These weren't actually small furnaces for alchemy, but rather containers used for storage.
As for what was stored inside, it went without saying—of course, an alchemy room should store alchemical pills.
On this stone platform, a total of three small furnaces were placed. The small furnaces on the left and right sides held mutton-fat jade bottles, while the small furnace in the middle contained a purple sandalwood box. Bai Mu picked up the first mutton-fat jade bottle. The mouth of the bottle was sealed with wax, and on the wax was stamped a personal seal—a tiny 'Xuan Zhen' seal script stamp. [Name: Life-Sustaining Pill]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Rare]
[Note: Known in the Maoshan Daoist Arts as the 'Life-Preserving Pill', it is a must-have item for Daoists traveling the martial world.]
This first bottle of Life-Sustaining Pills was a very good recovery item that could regenerate severed limbs and clear negative buffs. There were five pills in total. Bai Mu didn't intend to monopolize this item. His teammates had also contributed to killing that red-haired flying zombie. If he hadn't relied on the Guard Mushroom to obtain intelligence, he probably would have been ambushed by its teleportation ability. If he had been injured, the Emperor's Jade Dragon's luster would have dropped. Unable to maintain his 'kingly demeanor', he would have had no choice but to flee in a wretched state.
So, he made sure everyone got a share, distributing the five Life-Sustaining Pills evenly, one for each person.
Next, he picked up another bottle of alchemical pills:
[Name: Clarity Pill]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect: Grants the 'Tranquility' effect upon use. For 3 minutes, resists illusions and phantoms, and instantly recovers 20% of maximum Mana.] [Note: Only when the heart is as still as water can one enter the Dao.]
There were quite a few more pills in this bottle, a full 20 of them. Mana recovery potions were much scarcer than Health recovery potions, so this amount could be considered quite generous. Bai Mu still distributed them evenly, giving everyone four pills.
The last box was rather special. After opening it, there was only a fist-sized, pitch-black large pill inside. This alchemical pill had no fragrance; instead, it smelled like bone ash, resembling charred coal.
[Name: Corpse Hatchling Pill]
[Quality: Rare]
[Type: Consumable]
[Effect: Grants the 'White Zombie' bloodline upon use. If the user already possesses an undead-type bloodline, it will strengthen their existing bloodline.] [Note: Human souls are good while corporeal spirits are evil; human souls are intelligent while corporeal spirits are ignorant.]
"This alchemical pill..." Bai Mu looked at the four. "Does anyone want it?"
Brewing Cat said, "Sister Three Four and I already have the Gemini bloodline."
I Love a Sword said, "This zombie bloodline is indeed powerful once leveled up in the late game, but the drawbacks are also quite significant, and it conflicts with my equipment, items, and skills, so I'll pass."
"Brother Bai, I still want to be a human..." Scattered Fireflies said.
"Brother Bai, you should keep this thing. You contributed the most, and even if you can't use it yourself, you can put it up on the Auction House and get some points back," I Love a Sword said.
"Then I won't be polite," Bai Mu pocketed the Corpse Hatchling Pill.
He had no interest in the White Zombie bloodline. White Zombies were the small zombies he had killed at the very beginning. Although White Zombies had no vital weak points, their body flexibility would decrease significantly. Moreover, zombie-type bloodlines would cause health recovery items like painkillers to lose their effect, forcing the user to find 'blood packs' themselves. The White Zombie bloodline could be leveled up, and if it could be refined to the strength of the red-haired flying zombie, it would be very powerful. However, the amount of resources required would be terrifying, and the transitional period in between would be very difficult to endure.
Speaking of which... Bai Mu suddenly thought of the Witch. He thought to himself that this alchemical pill could perhaps be eaten by the Witch. Although she was a temporary summon, she was the exact same individual every time Bai Mu summoned her, unlike the 'mass-produced canned food' like the Charger. Giving it to the Witch should be able to strengthen her.
After distributing the alchemical pills, the few of them continued rummaging around the alchemy room and found three pieces of equipment.
Unlike the equipment they had scavenged outside earlier, the equipment in this alchemy room could all be taken out. They were considered extra rewards for the players after defeating the final boss.
They weren't evil items either. They were probably the magical artifacts the old Daoist used while he was alive, which he had stockpiled in this place.
[Name: Lightning-Struck Date Wood Sword]
[Type: Melee Weapon]
[Quality: Rare]
[Attack Power: Low]
[Attribute: Lightning]
[Equipment Effect: Can release a 'Lightning Strike', cooldown time 5 minutes. Grants an additional damage bonus when attacking spirit entities.]
[Equipment Requirement: None]
[Note: An orthodox Maoshan Daoist artifact, made from date wood that has been struck by lightning. It naturally wards off evil and can slay ghosts and suppress malignant spirits.]
The sword was two feet and seven inches long, entirely dark brown in color, with a perfectly straight blade. On the blade, charred black patterns left by the lightning strike could be faintly seen, resembling natural talismans.
[Name: Three Purities Bell]
[Type: Special Equipment]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect: The bell's ringing can reveal surrounding spirit entities, immobilize low-level spirit entities, and slow down high-level spirit entities.]
[Usage Requirement: None]
[Note: A bronze handbell cast with the names of the Three Purities.]
The bell was about three inches tall, cast from bronze, with the words 'Yuqing', 'Shangqing', and 'Taiqing' carved on its body.
Additionally, there was a Bagua mirror. However, unlike the mirror that I Love a Sword had shattered, this was a defensive piece of equipment. Its effect was to reflect low-level spell attacks, and it also had a suppressing effect on ghost creatures.
There were only three pieces of equipment, but there were five of them; they couldn't each have one.
Actually, if Bai Mu had taken all three pieces of equipment, the others probably wouldn't have said anything. However, that bell wasn't very useful to Bai Mu. Both the Bagua mirror and the wooden sword were quite good, but Bai Mu already had plenty of defensive measures. He wanted the wooden sword more; if necessary, it could also be combined with Sacrificial Passage for a burst attack.
So he took priority and chose the wooden sword. As for the remaining two pieces of equipment, the other four discussed and distributed them amongst themselves. In the end, I Love a Sword took the Three Purities Bell, and Brewing Cat took the Bagua mirror. They used the alchemical pills they had just obtained as currency for the exchange. Scattered Fireflies, who didn't get any equipment, ended up with 6 Clarity Pills and 1 Life-Sustaining Pill.
In addition, the last two items they found were a special item and a class change book.
They were respectively the 'Profound Yin Corpse Nurturing Secret Record (Volume One)' and the 'True Explanation of Maoshan Daoist Arts'. The latter could grant the 'Daoist' class, while the former, when held, granted a skill called 'Corpse Summoning', which could raise corpses from the ground to act as temporary summons, though it could only control low-level corpses. Both of these items were accepted by Bai Mu. The others felt too embarrassed to take them. Primarily, they felt they hadn't done much and weren't worthy of such good items. In their eyes, Bai Mu distributing the alchemical pills and equipment to them earlier was already thinking highly of them.
Bai Mu didn't decline, either. After all, he really had put in the most effort.
"Brother Bai, this class change book... are you going to use it yourself?" I Love a Sword asked.
"You want it?" Bai Mu asked.
I Love a Sword nodded.
"This Daoist class is pretty good, but I already have a class, and taking a new one comes with an experience penalty. If you really want it, I can hold onto it for you first."
"Really?" I Love a Sword said joyfully. "Then let's add each other as friends later. When we get back to the Community, I'll definitely offer suitable points or items to trade with you."
"Sure," Bai Mu nodded.
After cleaning out the alchemy room, the group emerged from the main tomb chamber. Next, they spent another few hours wandering through every nook and cranny of the tomb before finally heading back to the exit.
Bai Mu did a mental calculation. Excluding the harvest from the alchemy room, he had additionally learned a Common grade sword art called 'Seven Kills Sword Art' and a Common grade movement skill called 'Swallow Steps'. Both were civilian skills obtained from other tomb chambers. Unfortunately, the gold and silver treasures in this tomb couldn't be taken away. They had truly found a lot of antiques and valuables in there; if they could be taken out and sold for money, they would probably be immensely wealthy, and their descendants would never have to worry about food and drink. At this point, they had completely emptied out this ghost nest, so they stopped lingering. Striding over the corpses of zombies and ghosts, they walked out of the exit. By then, the sky was already bright, and the sun was shining brilliantly outside.
[The Main Quest has been completed.]
[The Main Quest has been completed. The script will be tallied after the storyline ends.]