My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

This was also the state of meditation, the first level of the Sutra of Calming the Mind.

In the quiet of his bedroom, he could feel the flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power. It was like fine, scattered threads of silk that would occasionally coalesce into crystalline droplets, seeping into his body. Passing through his Meridians, they were fully converted into Mana before returning to his Dantian.

Zhao Zuo’s breathing grew steady and slow. As he sensed the majestic, boundless flow of Energy between Heaven and Earth, he focused his thoughts and attention on the Spiritual Power, gradually entering a state of seeing all life.

The amount of Mana within him was increasing at an extremely rapid pace.

The next day, around noon, Zhao Zuo finished his lunch and headed for the Earth Fire Chamber. At first, he would immediately start his Cultivation after eating Spirit Rice, careful not to waste even a wisp of its pure Spiritual Power. Now, however, things were completely different.

The Moyun Sect’s Inner Sect was located on the edge of a Third Tier Spirit Vein, where the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power was naturally quite high. The paltry amount of Spiritual Power provided by Spirit Rice was less than what he could absorb in just five minutes of Cultivation.

Inside the Earth Fire Chamber, Liu Heng had already started melting Spirit Iron to forge the rough casts for Lower Grade Magical Artifacts. Zhao Zuo immediately took out the tools for inscribing Spirit Patterns from his Storage Bag but didn’t begin his own work right away.

"Do you have any leads or clues about that matter I mentioned last night?" Zhao Zuo pressed.

"Yes, I do." Liu Heng answered immediately, though inner conflict and confusion roiled within him. He hadn’t slept well last night; he just couldn’t wrap his head around why Zhao Zuo would need poison.

’Is he planning to poison and assassinate an Inner Sect Disciple?’

’If he gets caught, he’ll have his Cultivation crippled and be sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor in the Spirit Stone mines. This is insane!’

The thought had kept him from sleeping a wink. After all, his very life and fortune were inextricably tied to Zhao Zuo. If Zhao Zuo fell, Liu Heng’s own end would be no better.

"So, tell me. What kinds of deadly poisons are there?" Zhao Zuo asked.

"Poisons can be divided into two types," Liu Heng replied. "The first kind dissolves into its surroundings. Its advantage is that it’s difficult to detect and easy to administer, but its disadvantage is that it’s slow-acting and its toxicity is relatively weak."

Zhao Zuo immediately ruled out this option. He wanted a lethal poison, one that caused Instant Death and could decide the outcome of a battle, not a slow-acting one that required a long preparation time.

"And the other type?"

"The other is coating the surface of a Magical Treasure with venom. It’s characterized by intense toxicity, but the venom’s effects weaken over time. It also can’t be used with Magical Artifacts of the Water or Fire Series." Liu Heng looked back at Zhao Zuo to explain, a flicker of conflict in his eyes.

This was easy enough to understand. High temperatures and flames would destroy the poison’s components, while a Water Series Magical Artifact would wash off some of the venom from a blade’s edge, weakening its toxicity.

’It would work with the Sky-Breaking Saber, though,’ Zhao Zuo thought.

"Younger Brother Zhao, poisons aren’t actually as... useful as you might think."

"Elaborate," Zhao Zuo said, intrigued.

"Let’s take a poison mixed from the juice of Life-taking Grass as an example. Its toxicity is incredibly potent—it’s said it can even kill a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Perfection stage. But that’s only on the condition that the Cultivator hasn’t prepared any Antidote Pills."

"In reality, as long as someone has a Middle Grade, One Tier Antidote Pill, they can quickly suppress and alleviate the poison’s effects until it can no longer cause fundamental harm to the body," Liu Heng said slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Poisons and Poison Pills are only effective on the condition that the enemy hasn’t prepared any antidotes. But basically every Cultivator in the Late Period of Qi Cultivation carries Antidote Pills with them, just in case."

"So even though poisons are available for purchase, their potential usefulness is quite limited," Zhao Zuo summarized after listening.

"Exactly. Righteous Cultivators aren’t skilled at Poison Refining to begin with. The known venoms only possess a single type of toxicity, not the Mixed Poisons made from numerous poisonous herbs and Demon Beast venom. That’s why they’re so easily suppressed and neutralized by an Antidote Pill," Liu Heng explained with a frown.

Zhao Zuo nodded. What Liu Heng said made a lot of sense. He used himself as an example: his own Storage Bag was fully stocked with all sorts of life-saving Pill Medicines, including Antidote Pills of various grades. Anything he could think of, others could surely think of as well.

"Younger Brother Zhao, venoms and poisons are mainly used for hunting Demon Beasts these days. They aren’t very effective in combat. Besides, Cultivators have a natural resistance to toxins. It’s already extremely difficult to prevent an enemy from having enough time to swallow an Antidote Pill."

Zhao Zuo listened intently to Liu Heng, analyzing his words for valid points. After thinking it over and over, he had to admit the man had a point.

"If Younger Brother Zhao wants to assassinate someone, high-powered Magical Artifacts and Talismans would be more effective."

Liu Heng shared many of his own experiences and observations, finally arriving at his conclusion.

"That makes sense, but..." Zhao Zuo trailed off. This operation was a coordinated effort with Shen Yunjiao. Powerful Talismans and Magical Artifacts carried the risk of friendly fire. If he missed the enemy and ended up hitting his ally instead, the loss would far outweigh any potential gain.

"I still need you to prepare the poison," Zhao Zuo said again.

"I wonder, who is the opponent Younger Brother Zhao intends to deal with...?" Liu Heng asked, his gaze betraying his lack of confidence. He had to confirm whether Zhao Zuo was planning to target an Inner Sect Disciple; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to rest easy.

"The target I want to deal with isn’t a disciple of the Moyun Sect, but... a Demon Cultivator outside the Moyun Market. Rest assured, this matter won’t bring you any trouble." Seeing his subordinate’s evasive gaze and lack of confidence, Zhao Zuo quickly guessed the reason.

"You can be absolutely sure, I’m not crazy enough to assassinate one of our own within the Moyun Sect."

Zhao Zuo had intended to reassure Liu Heng, but to his surprise, his words only made the man panic more.

If it was just assassinating a fellow disciple, the worst that could happen was getting one’s Cultivation crippled and being sent to the Spirit Stone mines. But if they made an enemy of a Demon Cultivator, they could lose their life.

"What are you so scared for? I’m not planning on making you fight, too," Zhao Zuo said, confused.

"But if something happens to you, my head will explode," Liu Heng reminded him bluntly.

"It’s a horrible death. Not even your bones would be left."

Seeing Liu Heng’s reaction, Zhao Zuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Can’t he have a little faith in me?’

"Rest assured, I won’t fail, and I certainly won’t lose my life."

"But... sigh. All right, I’ll spend the next two days gathering the most potent venom I can get my hands on!"

Liu Heng hesitated... then steeled his resolve, clenched his fist, and spoke with the grim air of a man facing death. He had no idea what had happened to Zhao Zuo. Just the day before, he had been so afraid of Demon Cultivators that he refused to take a single step outside the Moyun Sect, and now he was saying he was going down the mountain to fight one to the death.

But now, he no longer had a choice.

"That’s more like it. And don’t get anything too expensive—under five thousand Spirit Stones. You can front the cost for now," Zhao Zuo said.

"...?"

Liu Heng was stunned and bewildered. It took him a few seconds to realize he hadn’t misheard. It seemed he wasn’t going to be able to hold onto his Spirit Stones after all.

"As you know, I’ve spent all my Spirit Stones on Artifact Refining materials. But don’t worry, I’ll pay you back later. I’m not going to take advantage of you," Zhao Zuo said earnestly, patting Liu Heng’s shoulder.

"Of course I believe Younger Brother Zhao. The Spirit Stones aren’t important. You just have to come back alive!"

Between losing Spirit Stones and losing his life, Liu Heng had quickly made his choice.

"When we work with one heart, we can cut through gold!"

After tossing out a few more pretty words, Zhao Zuo called for Liu Heng to continue hammering the Lower Grade Magical Artifacts. The two began their work, but for some reason, Zhao Zuo noticed that Liu Heng seemed distracted as he hammered, and his efficiency had dropped slightly.

’This won’t do. It’s seriously slowing down my Spirit Stone earnings.’ Zhao Zuo felt he had to do something to put Liu Heng more at ease.

"You don’t have to be so worried about my safety," Zhao Zuo said reassuringly.

"No, no, no, I’m worried about my own life!" Liu Heng shot back, then immediately asked another question.

"By the way, what’s the strength of that Demon Cultivator...?"

"Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation."

Liu Heng’s hand trembled, and the Forging Hammer nearly smashed down on his fingers. The expression on his face became one of utter, soul-crushing despair.

........

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