Three days later, Yuan Ming arrived on time at Toad Valley, where he found Zhao Tong, who was lying in the first stone house engrossed in a book.

"Senior Brother Zhao, how did it go? Did you get the Yin Marrow Liquid?" Yuan Ming asked as soon as they met.

Zhao Tong glanced at Yuan Ming sideways, reluctantly closed the book in his hands, stretched lazily, and then leisurely pulled out a transparent glass vial from his bosom and shook it. The vial contained a viscous black liquid that slid up and down the sides of the glass.

"You can trust my work. Here, I got the stuff, but it'll cost two hundred Contribution Value—fair trade, no deceit," Zhao Tong said with a nod and wag of his head.

"Profiteer!"

Yuan Ming frowned upon hearing this and muttered under his breath before probing tentatively, "That seems like an awful lot... How about you lend me two hundred for now, and I'll pay you back when I have it?"

Sure enough, he received a roll of the eyes from Zhao Tong.

"Borrow two hundred? You've got a big mouth, don't you? Might as well just say you're robbing me blind! My business is small and works on cash only! Think again, do you have anything else of value to offer as collateral?" Zhao Tong said, clearly annoyed.

Yuan Ming furrowed his brows in thought. Aside from the incense burner that was not to be counted, he did possess some Spirit Grass and other items he had recently acquired from the mist-shrouded islet, but even when converted into Contribution Value, they still fell far short of the two hundred mark.

Beyond that were the treasures left by Master Hei Mu.

"That Storage Bag you have looks pretty good. How about you mortgage it for now and redeem it later when you've accumulated enough Contribution Value? What do you say?" Zhao Tong raised an eyebrow and suggested.

"If you managed to get Yin Marrow Liquid from Elder Wu Meng, you must have already settled the account. I bet you had your eyes on my Storage Bag all along, didn't you?" Yuan Ming widened his eyes and accused.

"If you have something else of value, bring it and we'll trade. What's the use of talking so much?" Zhao Tong said carelessly.

"The Storage Bag was lent to me temporarily by the Three Cave Masters, I can't use it as collateral," Yuan Ming shook his head.

Of course, he had hidden Master Hei Mu's Storage Bag and didn't dare to reveal it in front of others.

"Well then, keep saving up. It's my bad luck, then. This thing might just rot in my hands," Zhao Tong spread his hands helplessly.

"What do you think about this?" Yuan Ming said, raising his hand to swipe at the Storage Bag at his waist.

A piece of Fire Jade Marrow immediately appeared in his hand.

"Wow, Fire Jade Marrow! This is the good stuff, where did you get this?" Zhao Tong's eyes sparkled as he asked immediately.

"Just good luck, found it while out on a mission," Yuan Ming responded indifferently.

"Found it? What kind of dog's luck lets you find such a great treasure? Try finding another one for me to see?" Zhao Tong shouted loudly.

"Just say if you want to trade it or not?" Seeing the greed in Zhao Tong's eyes, Yuan Ming felt more confident.

"Trade? Why wouldn't I?" Zhao Tong immediately put on a big smile.

"What's with that profiteering look on your face?" Yuan Ming pretended to frown.

Zhao Tong reined in his smile and handed the Yin Marrow Liquid to Yuan Ming with all seriousness, "Master Yuan, you need it to refine the Body Tempering Liquid, don't delay your precious time. I can't afford that responsibility!"

"Give me the Ghost Faced Grass and the Purple Core Pollen too," Yuan Ming said.

"It's all prepared," Zhao Tong immediately bent down, picked up a cloth bag from the floor, and handed it to Yuan Ming.

After receiving the items, Yuan Ming handed over the Fire Jade Marrow and turned to leave without another word.

"Hey, didn't you forget? You still owe me two Contribution Value points," Zhao Tong quickly called out as a reminder.

"What's that? The wind is too loud, I can't hear you..." Yuan Ming's voice trailed away as he swiftly ran towards the mouth of the valley.

...

At night.

Looking at the Ghost Faced Grass, Purple Core Pollen, Black Scale Fruit, and Yin Marrow Liquid on the table, Yuan Ming asked, "Can you now tell me what you need these items for?"

In front of him on the table, a silver cat sat elegantly, gaze lowered.

"How does it feel to have your Divine Soul out of body?" the silver cat's cool and ethereal voice rang in Yuan Ming's mind but didn't seem to want to answer.

"I've only tried it that one time. It felt pretty good, almost as if I was floating like an immortal. But I can't stray too far from the body. It doesn't seem very useful," Yuan Ming honestly stated.

"If your soul strayed too far, it would have scattered to the winds long ago," the silver cat's voice, although telepathic, was full of sarcasm.

"I wanted to ask about that last time. Why is that?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"At the Qi Refinement Realm, the Divine Soul is formless and insubstantial, exceedingly fragile. It cannot withstand the external energies, especially during autumn," the silver cat explained.

"Why is that?" Yuan Ming was puzzled.

He hadn't seen any mention of these details in the materials about soul cultivation he had read before.

"Autumn is associated with the metal of the Five Elements, the rest you should figure out on your own," said the silver cat, its tone showing a hint of impatience.

"Oh, I see, wind is considered to be water, and metal generates water. No wonder in the Central Plains countries there is often a practice of executing after autumn—the autumn winds are probably the fiercest, capable of swiftly dispersing the dead souls, so that residual souls won't linger in the world and disturb the living. Then why..." Yuan Ming mused aloud.

"Shut up, I didn't come here to explain these things to you," Yuan Ming's question was cut off mid-sentence by the silver cat's impatient interruption.

"But you were the one who brought up Divine Travel of the Divine Soul. If the soul travels too far from the body, it feels as if the connection gets weaker, and it's also limited by the autumn winds. What's the use of traveling then?" Yuan Ming continued.

"To travel with the divine soul outside the body, you must have something to anchor it to. Using a secret technique to help the Divine Soul Refine, the materials I asked you to find are for making the most basic Shape Refining Liquid," explained the silver cat.

"Now that I have all the items here, tell me, what should I do next?" Yuan Ming's heart leaped at the term "Divine Soul Refining," and he asked.

The silver cat didn't speak but lifted a paw and gently traced it across the table. A flash of silver light passed, and a white porcelain vial in the shape of a water drop appeared on the table.

"What is this?" Yuan Ming frowned.

"It's the Essence Blood of the White Feathered Crow," said the silver cat.

Upon hearing this, confusion arose in Yuan Ming's mind.

He knew about the White Feathered Crow—it was a common bird in the Ten Thousand Mountains, with a name that contains the word "white," though its feathers were not white but black, save for a tuft of white feathers at the brow. It was a scavenger with almost no offensive power, distinguishable only by its sheer numbers.

"My Divine Soul's Refinement is related to this? Could the subject of refinement be this bird? But it seems too ordinary!" Yuan Ming's heart filled with an uneasy suspicion.

The silver cat remained silent, simply gazing at Yuan Ming with unblinking, odd-colored eyes.

"Must it be this creature?" Yuan Ming asked, reluctant to accept it.

"Any Fierce Beast Essence Blood will do. It determines the form your manifesting soul will take on the outside. Even if its strength increases later, its basic form cannot change," the silver cat explained.

"Do you mean my soul will undergo a permanent change? Or do you mean it only manifests in the shape of the refinement subject while outside the body? When it returns to the physical body, it should return to human form, right?" Yuan Ming raised his guard.

"The latter," replied the silver cat.

Seeing the silver cat's impatient demeanor, Yuan Ming quickly interjected:

"One last question, there is no shortage of Fierce Beasts in the Ten Thousand Mountains, so why not choose Essence Blood from a stronger beast rather than this exceedingly common White Feathered Crow?"

"Strong? The truly powerful Fierce Beasts, or demon beasts, of the Ten Thousand Mountains are not something you can hunt. The ones you can hunt are, in my eyes, no different from the White Feathered Crow, perhaps even lesser," the silver cat said, its tone laced with undisguised sarcasm, speaking an unusually long string of words.

"Please forgive me, but since this concerns my future cultivation, I still need you to clearly tell me why choose the White Feathered Crow, without which I can't accept this arrangement," Yuan Ming pondered for a moment before asserting firmly.

The silver cat stared at Yuan Ming for a long while. Seeing that he was unwavering, it finally patiently relayed a message telepathically into Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

"Although your Divine Soul is stronger than others at the same level, your cultivation talent is quite poor. For a considerable time into the future, your first priority should be self-protection, and having strong detection abilities is the top choice," the silver cat didn't hide its intentions for training Yuan Ming.

"So, smaller flying creatures are more suitable for reconnaissance, having an advantage over beasts like wolves, tigers, and leopards. But there must be more reasons than that, right?" After hearing this and pondering briefly, Yuan Ming nodded in understanding and pressed further.

"The White Feathered Crow may be weak, but it's exceptionally alert. Unlike other birds, it has a natural intuition for death. What changes it will go through after merging with the Refining subject, and what abilities it will obtain, will largely depend on your luck," the silver cat added.

"You mean there are many uncontrollable factors after the Divine Soul Refining?" Yuan Ming's heart skipped a beat as he asked.

"The outcome will be determined by the nature of your Divine Soul and the innate characteristics of the Refining subject. Generally, it enhances perception, early warning of dangers, and so on. As for what it will become in the end, you'll know once the process is complete. That's all I'm going to tell you. How you choose is up to you," the silver cat, having spoken more words today than usual, clearly had no more patience left.

After hesitating for a long time, Yuan Ming nodded and said, "Well then, let's begin!"

"Take the items and follow me," said the silver cat.

With that, it turned and leaped out of the window, heading over the courtyard wall.

Yuan Ming quickly gathered his things and followed.

The silver cat moved through the trees and forests, often concealing itself among the leaves and gaps in the foliage.

At first, Yuan Ming hadn't noticed anything amiss, but after following for a while, he began to detect some oddities.

Before they left the jurisdiction of the Fire Refining Hall, Yuan Ming encountered many fellow disciples and servants from the mountain. Most of them noticed him and greeted him, but it seemed that not a single person noticed the silver cat's presence.

Even though the silver cat was right above him, perched no more than a few feet away on a tree branch, they had no inkling of it.

If Yuan Ming hadn't known about the silver cat from the beginning and been aware of its existence, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

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