Three days later, Yuan Ming arrived at the Toad Valley on time. In the first stone house in the valley, he found Zhao Tong, who was lying down and reading a book with great interest.

“Senior Zhao, did you get the Yin Marrow?” Yuan Ming asked as soon as they met.

Zhao Tong glanced at Yuan Ming and closed the book reluctantly. He stretched and yawned lazily, then took out a transparent glass bottle from his pocket. Inside the bottle was a sticky black liquid that slid back and forth on the bottle wall.

“Don’t worry, I got it. But it costs 200 contribution points, and the deal is done. No tricks.” Zhao Tong said with a smirk.

“Swindler!” Yuan Ming frowned and muttered to himself, then tentatively asked, “Isn’t that too much… How about you lend me 200 first, and I’ll pay you back when I have it?”

As expected, Yuan Ming received a disdainful look from Zhao Tong.

“Lend you 200? Are you kidding? It’s better to just rob me directly! My shop doesn’t offer credit! Think about whether you have anything valuable to mortgage.” Zhao Tong said impatiently.

Yuan Ming frowned and pondered. Besides the incense burner, he did have some valuable items, such as the spiritual herbs he recently obtained from the misty island. Even if he exchanged them for contribution points, there was still a considerable gap from 200 points.

Apart from that, there were also some treasures left by Master Heimu.

“I think your storage bag is pretty good. Why not mortgage it first and redeem it when you have enough contribution points?” Zhao Tong raised an eyebrow and suggested.

“If you can get the Yin Marrow from Elder Wumong, you must have already settled the account. I bet you’ve been eyeing my storage bag for a long time, haven’t you?” Yuan Ming said with a stern look.

“If you have other valuable things, just exchange them. What’s the use of saying so much?” Zhao Tong said indifferently.

“The storage bag was temporarily lent to me by the Third Elder. It can’t be used as collateral.” Yuan Ming shook his head.

Naturally, he hid the storage bag left by Master Heimu and didn’t dare to reveal it in front of others.

“In that case, just save up and think about it. It’s my bad luck if this thing ends up rotting in my hands.” Zhao Tong shrugged helplessly.

“Take a look at this.” Yuan Ming said, raising his hand and touching the storage bag at his waist.

A piece of Fire Jade Marrow appeared in his hand.

“Wow, Fire Jade Marrow! This is a good thing. Where did you get it?” Zhao Tong’s eyes lit up and he immediately exclaimed.

“I got lucky and found it while doing a mission outside.” Yuan Ming said casually.

“Found it? What kind of luck do you have to find such a treasure? Can you find another one for me?” Zhao Tong eagerly asked.

“Are you going to exchange or not?” Yuan Ming gained confidence when he saw the greed in Zhao Tong’s eyes.

“Of course I want to exchange!” Zhao Tong immediately smiled.

“What’s with that swindler face of yours?” Yuan Ming pretended to frown.

Zhao Tong restrained his smile and solemnly placed the Yin Marrow in Yuan Ming’s hand. “Mr. Yuan, you need to refine the Body Tempering Liquid, don’t waste your precious time. I can’t afford to delay it!”

“And give me the Ghost Face Grass and Purple Core Pollen.” Yuan Ming said.

“I’ve prepared them already.” Zhao Tong immediately bent down and picked up a cloth bag from his feet, handing it to Yuan Ming.

After receiving it, Yuan Ming handed him the Fire Jade Marrow without hesitation and turned around to leave.

“Hey, did you forget that you still owe me 2 contribution points?” Zhao Tong quickly reminded.

“What did you say? I can’t hear you because of the strong wind…” Yuan Ming’s voice drifted away as he quickly ran towards the valley entrance.

…

At night.

Yuan Ming looked at the Ghost Face Grass, Purple Core Pollen, Black Scale Fruit, and Yin Marrow on the table and asked, “Can you tell me now what these things are for?”

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

“How does it feel to have an out-of-body experience?” The cold and ethereal voice of the silver cat echoed in Yuan Ming’s mind, but it didn’t answer his question.

“I tried it once before, and it felt good. I had a surreal feeling, but I couldn’t stray too far from my body. It didn’t seem very useful.” Yuan Ming honestly replied.

“If you stray too far from your body, you would have already lost your soul.” Although the silver cat was communicating through telepathy, its tone was full of sarcasm.

“I wanted to ask last time, why is that?” Yuan Ming asked.

“The soul in the Qi Refining stage is intangible and fragile, unable to withstand the external Gang winds, especially in autumn.” The silver cat explained.

“Why is that?” Yuan Ming was puzzled.

These things were not mentioned in the information he had read about soul cultivation before.

“Autumn belongs to the Metal element. Figure out the rest yourself.” The silver cat’s tone seemed a little impatient.

“Oh, I understand. Wind belongs to the Water element, and Metal generates Water. That’s why there are often executions after autumn in the Central Plains. Perhaps it’s because the Gang winds are strongest after autumn, which can quickly dissipate the souls of the deceased and prevent lingering spirits from harming the living. But why…” Yuan Ming said thoughtfully.

“Shut up, I didn’t come here to explain these things to you.” Yuan Ming’s words were interrupted by the silver cat’s impatience.

“You were the one who mentioned the out-of-body experience. But if being out of the body weakens the connection with the main body and is limited by Gang winds, what’s the use of it?” Yuan Ming said.

“To astral project, you need something to anchor yourself, and use secret techniques to help your soul refine its form. The spiritual materials you’ve gathered are for concocting the most basic body-refining elixir,” the Silver Cat explained.

“Now that everything is here, tell me, what should I do next?” Yuan Ming’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of soul refining, and he asked.

The Silver Cat didn’t respond, but lifted a paw and lightly scratched the table. A streak of silver light flashed, and a droplet-shaped white porcelain vial appeared on the table.

“What is this?” Yuan Ming asked, frowning.

“It’s the essence blood of a White Feathered Carrion Crow,” the Silver Cat replied.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming was filled with confusion.

He knew of the White Feathered Carrion Crow. Despite its name, it was not white but covered in black feathers, with only a tuft of white feathers at the center of its forehead. It was one of the most common birds in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a scavenger with virtually no offensive power, but it was extremely numerous.

“My soul refining is related to this creature? Could it be that the creature for refining is this bird? That’s too ordinary!” Yuan Ming had a bad feeling about this.

The Silver Cat didn’t respond, just stared at Yuan Ming with its heterochromatic eyes.

“Does it have to be this creature?” Yuan Ming asked, unwilling to accept this.

“Any beast’s essence blood can be used. It determines the form your soul will take when it manifests. Even if it strengthens in the future, the basic form cannot be changed,” the Silver Cat explained.

“Do you mean that my soul will undergo a permanent change? Or is it only when the soul manifests that it will take the form of the refined creature, and when it returns to the body, it will revert to human form?” Yuan Ming asked cautiously.

“The latter,” the Silver Cat replied.

Seeing the Silver Cat’s growing impatience, Yuan Ming quickly asked, “One last question, there are plenty of beasts in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, why not choose a more powerful beast’s essence blood, but choose this extremely ordinary White Feathered Carrion Crow?”

“Powerful? The truly powerful beasts, or rather, demon beasts, in the Hundred Thousand Mountains are not something you can hunt. As for the beasts you can hunt, in my eyes, they are no different from the White Feathered Carrion Crow, and may even be inferior,” the Silver Cat said, not hiding its mockery, and unusually spoke at length.

“Sorry, this matter concerns my future cultivation. Please clearly tell me why you chose the White Feathered Carrion Crow, otherwise I cannot accept this arrangement,” Yuan Ming said firmly after a moment of thought.

The Silver Cat stared at Yuan Ming for a long time, seeing that he was unmoved, it finally patiently explained again.

“Although your soul is stronger than those of the same level, your cultivation aptitude is too poor. For a considerable time in the future, you must first consider self-preservation. Strong detection ability is the first choice,” the Silver Cat didn’t hide its intention of training Yuan Ming.

“So, smaller birds are more suitable for reconnaissance than beasts like wolves, tigers, and leopards. I think there must be more reasons than this, right?” Yuan Ming asked after a moment of contemplation.

“The White Feathered Carrion Crow, although weak, is extremely sensitive. Unlike other birds, it has a natural intuition for death. As for what changes will occur and what abilities will be gained after the fusion and refining, it depends on your luck,” the Silver Cat added.

“Do you mean that there are many uncontrollable factors after the soul refining?” Yuan Ming asked, his heart pounding.

“The result will be determined by the characteristics of your soul and the characteristics of the refined creature. Generally, it will enhance perception and provide early warning of danger. As for what it will ultimately be, you will know after it is completed. That’s all I have to say, how you choose is up to you,” the Silver Cat said, its patience clearly worn thin after speaking so much today.

After a long hesitation, Yuan Ming nodded and said, “In that case, let’s get started!”

“Take your things and follow me,” the Silver Cat’s voice rang out.

With that, it turned and jumped out of the window, heading towards the outer wall of the courtyard.

Yuan Ming quickly packed up his things and followed.

Along the way, the Silver Cat moved through the trees and bushes, often disappearing among the leaves and gaps in the forest.

At first, Yuan Ming didn’t notice anything amiss, but after a while, he noticed something strange.

Before leaving the Fire Refining Hall’s territory, Yuan Ming encountered many fellow disciples and servants on the mountain. Most of them noticed him and greeted him, but it seemed that none of them noticed the Silver Cat’s presence.

Even when the Silver Cat was just a few feet above his head on a tree branch, they didn’t notice it at all.

If Yuan Ming hadn’t been following the Silver Cat from the beginning and knew of its existence, he wouldn’t have been able to detect it at all.

(End of Chapter)