Chapter 264: Fire Cloud Sect
Chapter 264: Fire Cloud Sect
Among the four Second Rank magic tools, one of them was a shimmering golden brush, precisely a Second Rank talisman brush, which could be used for drawing Second Rank talismans. It seemed as if it was tailor-made for Yang Xueyi, the expert in talisman making.
The second item was a collar emitting five colors of golden, black, white, cyan, and red lights. This was a Five Elements Collar, capable of enhancing the power of the user's Five Elements spells and reducing the spell's consumption. Yang Xueyi possessed a middle-grade spiritual root, aligned perfectly with the Five Elements attribute, and practiced Five Elements cultivation techniques. Though she often employed the Wind Dance Swordplay with her flying sword, her true expertise lay in various spells, especially those related to the Five Elements. However, as a Refining Qi stage cultivator, she faced various limitations while casting spells. The spells were hard to cast instantly, their power was limited, and she could only use a limited number of spells.
Now that she had entered the Foundation Building stage, those limitations naturally vanished, and it was the perfect time for Yang Xueyi to showcase her spellcasting prowess. That's why she confidently told Meng Zhang that even without suitable Second Rank magic tools, her combat strength wouldn't be weak due to her extensive spell practice.
The Five Elements Collar was especially suitable for Yang Xueyi's abilities.
Next, there was a piece of emerald-green silk, as if woven from a cluster of clouds, known as the magic tool Biyun Cloth. The Biyun Cloth was both offensive and defensive. When released, it could attack and trap enemies, and when retracted, it could protect the user. Such a beautiful magic tool was especially well-suited for female cultivators.
Lastly, there was a small black pennant exuding a chilling aura. It belonged to the Yin Wind Pennant, which had a tendency toward Yin and cold attributes. Upon careful sensing, it seemed to carry the aura of a Ghost Path cultivator. As a female cultivator, Yang Xueyi naturally disliked such a ghostly magic tool. However, Meng Zhang, with his Lunar True Qi, could easily control it. The first four magic tools were assigned to Yang Xueyi, while the Yin Wind Pennant became Meng Zhang's possession.
After tidying up the storage bag, Meng Zhang began inspecting the items inside the three storage rings. Each of these rings had a vast capacity, nearly ten times larger than an ordinary storage bag. Within them were various mineral materials, most of which could be used in refining different magic tools. Despite the Endless Sea of Sand being desolate, it was not entirely devoid of resources. The region had its own distinctive minerals.
The mineral materials stored within the rings had undergone meticulous refinement. For instance, the Xuanjin Ore had been diligently processed to become highly pure Xuanjin...
Upon clearing out two particular materials, Meng Zhang's expression immediately turned unpleasant. One of these materials was a rare and precious underground Flame Crystal. These crystals were deeply buried beneath the ground, especially at the bottom of volcanoes, making them challenging to discover. The Earthfire Sect, which had risen to prominence by its unique cultivation techniques, possessed secret methods for mining these Flame Crystals from underground.
For Flying Swan Sect, unless they wanted their Gold Core Daoist Masters to act as miners, the only option to obtain Flame Crystals was through Earthfire Sect. The majority of Flame Crystals mined by Earthfire Sect were offered as tributes to the Flying Swan Sect.
Flame Crystals were extremely scarce on the market in the Endless Sea of Sand, and their prices were exorbitant. It was highly unlikely that this Fire Cloud Sect disciple had acquired such a large quantity of Flame Crystals from the market or Flying Swan Sect. The only remaining possibility was that they were linked to Earthfire Sect.
As one of the major cultivation sects in the Endless Sea of Sand and a vassal sect of Flying Swan Sect, Earthfire Sect's collusion with the sworn enemy Fire Cloud Sect was undoubtedly a sensational piece of news."If the matter of the Earthfire Crystals could still be excused by the Earthfire Sect, Meng Zhang's discovery of another material inside the storage ring nailed down the accusation of Earthfire Sect colluding with the Fire Cloud Sect.
This material is called Crimson Flame Oil.
Crimson Flame Oil is not a naturally occurring substance but rather something refined by the Second Rank tool refiner of the Earthfire Sect through special means.
The formula and refining methods of Crimson Flame Oil have always been kept strictly confidential and never leaked to the outside.
When refining metal attribute magic tools, especially those leaning towards fire-based magic tools, adding Crimson Flame Oil not only significantly increases the success rate of the refining process but also enhances the power of the magic tool.
For the Earthfire Sect, refining Crimson Flame Oil is an extremely arduous task, requiring the Second Rank tool refiners to invest a considerable amount of time and energy.
Even in an alchemy sect like the Earthfire Sect, Second Rank tool refiners are not numerous, and they are usually very busy.
The Earthfire Sect never sells Crimson Flame Oil on the market; it is never seen in the market.
The Flying Swan Sect has made numerous efforts and applied significant pressure for the Earthfire Sect to submit three bottles of Crimson Flame Oil each year. According to the Earthfire Sect, this accounts for over half of their annual output.
However, the Flying Swan Sect depletes the three bottles of Crimson Flame Oil they receive every year very quickly; it is simply not enough.
But within Meng Zhang's storage ring, he discovered dozens of bottles of Crimson Flame Oil.
Apart from the Earthfire Sect, there should be no other sect in the world capable of providing so much Crimson Flame Oil.
What exactly is the relationship between the Earthfire Sect and the Fire Cloud Sect? Is it merely a simple trade relationship, or is there a deeper collusion?
Regardless of the nature of their relationship, it is undoubtedly being concealed from the Flying Swan Sect, and they will not tolerate it. Once the Flying Swan Sect discovers it, the Earthfire Sect will undoubtedly face great difficulties.
Meng Zhang has now discovered this secret, giving him leverage to control the Earthfire Sect. As for how to use this leverage to maximize his own and Taiyi Sect's benefits, he will need to think carefully.
Meng Zhang and Yang Xueyi put the sorted items back and stored away the storage magic tools.
After careful inspection, neither the three storage bags nor the three storage rings had any obvious markings or hidden magical imprints.
Meng Zhang casually released a flame, turning the body of the Fire Cloud Sect cultivator into ashes.
As for the body of the Flying Swan Sect disciple, along with all the items on him, they had already turned to ashes and scattered with the wind.
Having just done all this, Meng Zhang suddenly felt a strong sense of unease in his heart, as if there was a mysterious power warning him.
He had experienced this feeling before when he was ambushed by Liu Dajin. Back then, he suspected that it was a unique ability among cultivators, a special warning.
The last time, Meng Zhang trusted this feeling and narrowly escaped with his life from the Foundation Building late stage Liu Dajin.
Now, with the experience, Meng Zhang had to follow this feeling in his heart.
He didn't even dare to fly into the sky and hastily said to Yang Xueyi, "Follow me quickly."
Before Yang Xueyi could respond, Meng Zhang immediately cast the Earth Escape Spell and disappeared into the ground.
Without any hesitation, Yang Xueyi also cast the Earth Escape Spell and followed Meng Zhang into the ground."
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