Chapter 120: Chapter 116: The Uses of the Demon Core
"Excellent!" Feng Xiaoyi exclaimed, her eyes flashing with admiration. "I was right about you. You truly are a decisive and remarkable man. Our Holy Sect doesn’t bother with excessive formalities. Since we are both in agreement, our master-disciple relationship is hereby established. Afterward, I will send a letter to the Bright Law Hall to inform them of this matter and officially register you under my name. I hope that in the future, our relationship will become a celebrated tale."
"Everything is as Master arranges. Your disciple will obey." Du Youqian smoothly changed his form of address.
He then picked up the kettle Hai Tang had used to boil water, channeled his Magical Power to heat it, and brewed a cup of tea. He held the celadon cup in both hands and presented it to Feng Xiaoyi.
"Master, please drink this tea."
Feng Xiaoyi accepted the cup with a smile and drank it all in one gulp. Beaming, she said, "My good disciple, now that our relationship is official, your master must give you an initiation gift."
As she spoke, her left hand continued to heat the clay pot, while her seemingly soft, boneless right hand reached behind her, produced a Storage Treasure Pouch, and delved inside to search for something.
Du Youqian quickly said, "To receive Master’s personal, earnest instruction is the greatest gift of all. There’s truly no need for you to go to any great expense."
’A Core Formation Ancestor can’t be too stingy with her gifts, can she?’ he thought, full of anticipation.
’For an initiation gift, if not a Treasure, there should at least be an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact, right?’
’Of course, if Master is a bit short on funds, I wouldn’t turn my nose up at a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Flying Sword either.’
’If all else fails... you could just give me Spiritual Jade. I wouldn’t mind a few hundred, and a thousand or two would be even better.’
Du Youqian’s control over his expression was quite good. He didn’t stare with open desire, appearing calm and reserved instead.
But Feng Xiaoyi’s bright eyes seemed to see straight into a person’s heart. With a charming smile, she pulled a short, transparent, diamond-shaped, crystal-like rod from her Storage Treasure Pouch.
Du Youqian extended his Divine Sense to perceive its structure and aura, then fell into silent contemplation.
"Can’t recognize it, can you?" Feng Xiaoyi said with a laugh.
Du Youqian shook his head. "Your disciple’s knowledge is shallow. I truly do not recognize this item. I must ask Master to enlighten me."
Feng Xiaoyi pursed her lips, a hint of smugness in her eyes.
"Why don’t you take a guess, my good disciple?"
Seeing that she didn’t seem to be deliberately toying with him, Du Youqian relaxed his guard slightly and decided to try and interact with his new master on more normal terms.
"My guess is... it’s one of the Treasures of Heaven and Earth."
"You little slicker!" Feng Xiaoyi chided with a laugh, showing no displeasure. "Be more specific. What is it used for?"
"Er... then your disciple will have to blindly guess that it’s an Alchemy Material."
"Hehehehe!" Feng Xiaoyi laughed for a moment before revealing the answer. "This is thousand-year-old Tridacna Gel. It’s a gel secreted only by a special type of tridacna clam found on the deep seabed near the Void Sea. To find one that is a thousand years old is even more difficult."
"Furthermore, the process of collecting it is extremely troublesome, and only a Core Formation Great Power can dive to such depths."
"So you can imagine just how rare this thing is."
"However, its uses are not very widespread, so although it’s rare, it’s not considered overly precious."
As she said this, her large, sparkling eyes shot Du Youqian a teasing glance. "Are you grumbling to yourself right now, wondering why your master would give you something with so few uses? Wondering if your master is a bit too stingy?"
Du Youqian quickly defended himself, "How could I! Every one of Master’s actions has profound meaning. If I don’t understand, it’s only because my own wisdom is limited. But as time goes on, I will surely come to understand your painstaking efforts."
"You little slicker." Feng Xiaoyi gave Du Youqian a flirtatious eye-roll, but her smile was one of pure delight. It was then that Du Youqian knew the flattery skills he’d honed while climbing the official ranks in the Wu Kingdom hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Feng Xiaoyi’s next words struck Du Youqian like a clap of thunder right beside his ear, nearly shattering his composure.
"This Tridacna Gel has a little-known use: it’s for coating and preserving a Demon Core."
Du Youqian opened his mouth, about to make a defense, but then he caught the hint of a smile on Feng Xiaoyi’s lips.
After a moment’s thought, he changed his tune. "Master truly has Mighty Powers. Your disciple can hide nothing from you."
"Heh, since I had the thought of taking you as a disciple, how could I not investigate you thoroughly? Two months ago, I sent several people to investigate your words and deeds in the Mortal World, your every move during your four years of house arrest, and everything you did at the Evil Pool after your escape."
Du Youqian lowered his head. "Then Master must have been quite satisfied with your disciple."
"Heh." Feng Xiaoyi didn’t answer directly. Instead, she held up the Tridacna Gel and continued her explanation. "After a certain number of years, a Demon Core will begin to decay and lose its power. But if you coat it with Tridacna Gel, you can preserve it for several hundred, or even over a thousand more years. The Demon Core you obtained has likely already begun to decay, hasn’t it?"
Du Youqian naturally wouldn’t try to deceive her. "That’s right. It is a Fire-Wind Dual System Demon Core. Unfortunately, it has already started to lose its power, and I haven’t yet decided how to use it."
Feng Xiaoyi offered some guidance. "There are several common uses for a Demon Core. You can refine it into an Outer Pill to temporarily boost your strength to the Fake Pill level; use it as an ingredient with other materials to perform Alchemy for a Tier Three Top Grade Elixir; smelt it into a Treasure to increase its power or enhance a specific function; power a Puppet; or feed it directly to Dao Soldiers to improve their quality."
She paused deliberately at this point. Du Youqian showed no trace of impatience, waiting quietly for her to continue.
Feng Xiaoyi focused on heating the clay pot for a moment before smiling. "There is one other use. With a special technique, you can extract its power to enhance your own Spirit Root. However, this is also the most difficult and hardest to achieve method. Even I don’t know much about it. If you’re interested, you can go to the Collection Room to borrow the relevant scriptures in the future."
"Thank you for the guidance, Master!" Du Youqian said with genuine sincerity.
"Take it." Feng Xiaoyi stopped teasing him and handed the small piece of Tridacna Gel to Du Youqian.
Du Youqian accepted it with great care, placed it in his Storage Treasure Pouch, and thanked her once again.
"You don’t have to hide the matter of the Demon Core. The rules of our Holy Sect don’t forbid disciples from acquiring their own opportunities. Of course, we don’t forbid others from trying to snatch them, either," Feng Xiaoyi said proudly. "But since this Demon Core is now known to me, your master, you no longer need to worry about anyone trying to take it from you."
Du Youqian seized the opportunity to ask, "That Demon... where exactly did it come from?"
"It’s not yet time for you to know," Feng Xiaoyi gently changed the subject. "But you, on that day, why did you give up on Gathering and Replenishing Xi Mengran? I’ve always been very curious about that."
Du Youqian paused in thought for a moment before answering truthfully, "I just felt that the probability of obtaining her Spirit Root through Gathering and Replenishing was too low. It wasn’t worth lowering my own standards for, and I might have ended up deeply offending Meng Xiao and you, Master."
