Chapter 137: Poisoned Corpse and Questioning

Fairy Hong Ling was dressed in a fiery red dress, ethereal and elegant. She came up to us with a smile on her face.

"Friend Han, Friend Huo, long time no see."

Ji Chang smiled slightly, and said with a cupped hand: "Fellow Daoist Hong Ling, how are you? It's been many years since we last met, and you are still as charming as ever."

Fairy Hong Ling smiled softly and responded, "Fellow Daoist Han, thank you for your praise."

Huo Youyi also stepped forward and greeted Fairy Hong Ling.

Ba Huawu seemed a little reserved. He followed the two of them and bowed respectfully to Fairy Hong Ling.

He presented a generous gift on behalf of his master, Master Badan.

Master Badan intended to establish a family, so he attached great importance to the Hu family in Yuzhou.

Although he was unable to come in person this time, the gifts he brought were much more valuable than the ones he gave when he came to celebrate for the Zhou family on behalf of Ji Chang.

Fairy Hong Ling smiled gently, her eyes moving around, as if she could see Ba ​​Huawu's nervousness.

Fairy Hong Ling sent someone to receive the gift and said with a smile, "My dear friend Ba, there is no need to be so reserved."

As she spoke, she waved her slender hand and led the three people to the Hu family residence.

"Please." Fairy Hong Ling made a gesture of invitation and walked towards the gate of the Hu family first.

Ji Chang and the other two looked at each other, followed the footsteps of Fairy Hong Ling, and entered the Hu family.

The celebration banquet will be held in half a month.

Therefore, after Ji Chang and his companions chatted with Fairy Hong Ling for a while, they went to their residence under the guidance of the maid of the Hu family.

The moment Ji Chang stepped into his residence, a familiar scent greeted him.

The layout, decoration, and even the faint scent of sandalwood were exactly the same as the last time he visited.

An hour later.

Hu Qingsong came to Ji Chang's courtyard.

"Friend Han, long time no see."

Hu Qingsong's complexion is much better than in previous years. He no longer has the depressed feeling he had after breaking his arm.

"Friend Hu, how are you?" Ji Chang returned the greeting, his eyes naturally falling on Hu Qingsong's arm.

Hu Qingsong understood, smiled, raised his arm, and said easily: "My arm has healed."

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Hu." Ji Chang said sincerely.

The two had a pleasant conversation when the topic turned to the Hu family's assets in Baishuixian City.

Ji Chang smiled and asked, "Since Fellow Daoist Hu has recovered, when do you plan to return to White Narcissus City?"

However, Hu Qingsong smiled and waved his hand: "To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist Han, my niece Hong Ling has now been promoted to a second-level weapon refiner."

"After the celebration banquet is over, I plan to let her take care of the business in Baishuixian City."

When Ji Chang heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Over the years, the Hu family's assets in Baishuixian City had been abandoned due to the lack of foundation-building cultivators to look after them.

Ji Chang originally thought that Hu Qingsong would go back and take care of it for a while after his injury healed.

But unexpectedly, the Hu family was actually planning to let Fairy Hong Ling, a younger generation with little experience, to take care of it.

Could it be that this is to train the younger generation, or is there some other intention?

Ji Chang remembered that the ancestor of the Hu family, Hu Rending, did not live long.

The two chatted for a while, and then Hu Qingsong stood up and said goodbye.

The main reason he came this time was to visit Ji Chang.

Over the years, Hu Qingsong has been busy healing his injuries, and his interactions with Ji Chang have naturally decreased a lot.

He knew very well that any relationship requires time and energy to maintain. If there is no contact for a long time, even the deepest friendship will gradually fade.

Therefore, he took time out of his schedule to visit, hoping to continue this friendship.

In addition to his long-standing friendship with Ji Chang, Ji Chang is also a second-level alchemist, and his value is still quite high.

The most important thing is that Hu Qingsong put a lot of effort into maintaining his friendship with Ji Chang.

Fine magical instruments such as the Five Fire Fan were given to Ji Chang as gifts.

However, looking back, Hu Qingsong still feels that this was a very worthwhile investment.

Over the years, the Hu family has also commissioned Ji Chang to refine a number of second-level elixirs.

If there were no such friendship, if one wanted to ask a second-level alchemist for help, not only would one have to pay a bribe, but it would also cost a lot to maintain the relationship.

If the relationship is not deep, it will be fine even if you invite someone.

If you are not focused when refining the elixir, not only will the refining process be slow, but the failure rate will also be high.

If the alchemist is bribed by his enemies, no one would dare to take the pills he made.

Therefore, a trustworthy alchemist is very important, no matter for a casual foundation-building cultivator or a foundation-building family.

In the following few days, Ji Chang did not stay in his residence to practice, but went around visiting the cultivators who had already arrived at the Hu family.

This is not because Ji Chang likes to join in the fun, but because at such celebrations, it is easier to meet some foundation-building cultivators with whom he has never had any interaction in the past.

Ji Chang can take advantage of this opportunity to plant the peeping mark on their bodies to peek into the inheritance in their hands.

Moreover, during such celebrations, monks of the same level would gather together and often hold trade fairs in private.

Ji Chang took this opportunity to acquire two second-grade mid-level golden spiritual objects.

With these two golden spiritual objects, plus the golden snake fruit in Ji Chang's hand, and other auxiliary materials, Ji Chang is already able to refine a second-level medium-grade corpse puppet into an iron corpse.

And perhaps there will be other gains at the Danshan gathering in the near future.

It seems that this time, the two second-grade medium-quality corpse puppets in Ji Chang's hands can be refined into special refined corpses.

A few days later, when the celebration began.

Ji Chang walked into the hall with a few familiar Taoist friends.

After presenting the gift and congratulating, Fairy Hong Ling led Ji Chang to a seat near the front and whispered softly, "Fellow Daoist Han, please take a seat."

Ji Chang glanced at the position of the seat and his heart couldn't help but move slightly.

The seat was actually quite near the front, and those sitting in front were all foundation-building cultivators from the Jiadan family.

And those sitting in the back were all cultivators from prestigious foundation-building families.

You know, these families are not as declining as the Wang family of Jiaozhou, but each of them is very powerful and has a place in the cultivation world of Zheng State.

Ji Chang couldn't help but feel a little frightened.

Although he had a close relationship with the Hu family, after all, he was just a casual cultivator in the early stages of foundation building and a lower-grade second-level alchemist.

With such an identity, sitting in such a front position in such an occasion is really inappropriate.

If someone becomes jealous of you, it would be an unexpected disaster.

Ji Chang couldn't help but think: "Could it be that I didn't agree to be a guest of the Hu family a few years ago, so I was roasted on the fire like this."

Of course, it is also possible that the Hu family really felt that they had a deep friendship with Ji Chang, which is why they treated Ji Chang with such courtesy.

However, in the world of cultivating immortals, if one does not have sufficient strength, Ji Chang would not be able to accept such courtesy.

So Ji Chang quickly declined, saying, "Fellow Daoist Hong Ling, how can I, Han, be allowed to sit here?"

As he spoke, he glanced around the scene and took the initiative to walk to where Huo Youyi was sitting. Those sitting in this area were all casual foundation builders, so Ji Chang would not look too abrupt if he sat there.

Fairy Hong Ling was stunned for a moment when she saw this, but then she returned to normal.

Perhaps she also sensed something was wrong and let Ji Chang go.

After Ji Chang sat down, Fairy Hong Ling left.

Huo Youyi joked, "Fellow Daoist Han, it seems that you have a special relationship with Fellow Daoist Hu. Such a good seat makes me very envious."

There was a hint of teasing and mockery in her words.

After hearing this, Ji Chang couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He knew that Huo Youyi was joking, but if this were to get out, it would inevitably cause misunderstanding.

So, he quickly explained: "Fellow Daoist Huo is joking. Fellow Daoist Hong Ling and I are just friends, nothing else."

Huo Youyi was a sensible person. Seeing that Ji Chang was a little embarrassed, she stopped teasing him and turned the topic to the spiritual wine that the Hu family had prepared for the celebration banquet.

"Speaking of which, the Hu family really made a big investment this time. This spirit wine has a clear color and high quality. It can almost be called a second-level spirit wine."

Huo Youyi took a sip of the wine in the cup, and the slight taste of alcohol stained her pretty face, with a hint of intoxication in the blush.

Upon hearing this, Ji Chang also picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

Just as Huo Youyi said, this wine was sweet and mellow in the mouth, with a long aftertaste, and was obviously a top-quality wine.

He could not help but nod his head in agreement and said, "Fellow Daoist Huo is absolutely right. This spiritual wine is indeed extraordinary."

Huo Youyi smiled lightly, with a hint of pride in her eyes: "However, in my opinion, although this spiritual wine is good, it is still slightly inferior to the fine wine I brewed myself."

Ji Chang glanced at Huo Youyi who was secretly proud of herself, and couldn't help but complain in her heart.

"If the Hu family monks heard this, they would be secretly jealous."

……

After the celebration banquet, Ji Chang did not stay in the Hu family for long.

After saying goodbye, Ji Chang and Huo Youyi went towards Xiaodan Mountain together.

Counting the time, this year's Danshan Rally will be held in less than two months.

After the Hu family celebration banquet was over, Ji Chang could just go and attend.

Although Huo Youyi is a second-level mid-grade spirit wine master, he is also a second-level low-grade alchemist, and is naturally a member of the Danshan Society.

Huo Youyi had not originally planned to attend this year's Danshan gathering, but when she saw Ji Chang was preparing to go, she changed her mind and decided to go along the way.

This is mainly because it is much safer to travel with Ji Chang, a familiar foundation-building cultivator.

Although there are not many foundation-building cultivators in Zheng State's immortal cultivation world, it is rare to encounter one unless in places like the black market.

However, for a female cultivator like Huo Youyi who is in the early stage of foundation building and has mastered the second-level wine-making and alchemy skills, the probability of encountering a calamity cultivator is much higher.

You know, even for a cultivator from a family of foundation-building cultivators, it is very difficult to have a Taoist companion in the foundation-building stage.

Not to mention that Huo Youyi also mastered two immortal cultivation skills.

There is a high probability that she is being targeted by some foundation-building families.

If it were in the past, Ji Chang would have worried that traveling with Huo Youyi would lead to a lot of trouble.

But for Ji Chang, who now has three second-level refined corpses in his hands, he is actually happy to be ambushed by the foundation-building cultivators.

This is just right to increase the number of second-level refined corpses in hand.

You know, even if it was a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building, it wouldn't be difficult for Ji Chang to deal with it.

If he were to encounter a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, Ji Chang would have no problem escaping with his minor skill of hiding in the poisonous mist.

……

Half a month later, the two arrived at Xiaodan Mountain.

The journey was quite safe and we didn't encounter any robbery or ambushes.

It is estimated that even if they encountered robbery cultivators on the road, they would not have the courage to step forward and kill them when they saw the two foundation-building cultivators.

Xiaodanshan Trade Fair.

Alchemists from all over Zheng State gathered together, and the dazzling array of spiritual objects on their stalls was dazzling.

Ji Chang was in the middle of it, with his eyes sharp as torches, carefully searching for the second-level poison spiritual object he needed.

He moved among the crowd, stopping from time to time to look at the stalls that interested him.

After some searching, although he did not see many suitable gold-based spiritual objects, Alchemist Ji Chang acquired several poison-based spiritual objects.

Refining the corpse puppet into a poisonous corpse is also a very good choice.

There is no need to have all the refined corpses in your hands be iron corpses. Having more types of refined corpses can actually enrich your means of fighting the enemy.

Among the several poisonous spiritual objects purchased by Ji Chang, there was a spiritual herb that emitted a faint fragrance and whose leaves emitted a strange blue light.

This spiritual medicine was obtained from a foundation-building cultivator whom Ji Chang knew.

That person was none other than Wang Changsheng, the foundation-building cultivator of the Wang family.

Compared with previous years, Wang Changsheng seemed to have become more haggard.

I don’t know if the Wang family of Jiaozhou still has hope of rising again.

After attending the trade fair, the Danshan Rally officially began the next day.

As per convention, Sun Yihai, president of Danshan Society, was the first to explain the alchemy technique. After Sun Yihai finished his sermon, several other alchemists of Danshan Society who had considerable attainments in alchemy also began to preach.

However, Master Badan did not attend the Danshan gathering this year, so naturally I did not have the opportunity to hear Master Badan preach.

Ji Chang knew through peeking at the Dao Seed that Master Badan had been practicing in seclusion these years, trying to break through to the late stage of foundation building.

If Master Badan successfully breaks through to the late stage of foundation building, it won’t be too difficult for him to establish a family with his alchemy skills.

After all, most of the foundation-building families in Zheng State do not have cultivators in the late foundation-building stage, nor do they have second-level top-grade alchemists.

Ji Chang listened to the sermons for more than a month and gained a lot.

By the time he fully understood what he had gained from listening to the teachings, Ji Chang estimated that he would be able to reach the level of a second-level intermediate-grade alchemist.

……

After the Danshan gathering ended, Ji Chang did not stay for too long. He returned to Baishuixian City with Huo Youyi and several other fellow Taoists.

Since there are more people returning, it is naturally less likely that any robbers will target them.

After returning to Baishuixian City, Ji Chang rested for a few days and then went into seclusion to refine the corpse again.

Because he had refined an iron corpse before, Ji Chang chose to refine an iron corpse first.

After more than a month of refining, he finally succeeded in refining a second-grade mid-level iron corpse.

Compared with the previously refined second-grade inferior iron corpse, the power of this new iron corpse is obviously superior.

Even without the blessing of the Golden Scale Gu, its defense has surpassed the level of the previous iron corpse with the blessing of the Golden Scale Gu.

Just when Ji Chang was preparing to refine the poisonous corpse, Fairy Hong Ling came to Baishuixian City to manage the Hu family's business.

On this day, she specially visited Ji Chang and asked an unexpected question.

"Friend Han, are you related to the deaths of Zixuan Sanren and Cheng Yaolong?"

(End of this chapter)