paranoianovel Chapter 160 The Golden Toad
Chapter 160 The Golden Toad
Chapter 160 The Five-Transformation Golden Toad
Liu Chengzhi looked very carefully, and after reading each name of a medicinal herb, he would frown and ponder for a moment, as if trying to verify it with his memory.
It took about an incense stick's time to look at all the dozens of medicinal herbs on the list.
He put down the list in his hand and asked, "Junior Brother Chu, are these ingredients for some kind of elixir?"
"That's absolutely right!"
Chu Xuan nodded, not hiding anything, "I'd like to ask a senior to help me refine pills. This list contains all the necessary medicinal herbs. Senior Brother Liu, does Wanbaolou have a way to procure them all?"
Liu Chengzhi said, "Some low-grade medicinal herbs, such as You Tan Zhi and Qing Ling Cao, are easy to find. Xuan Xin Guo, Xue Wen Hua, and Yin Sui Cao are quite valuable, but my Liu family has some in our collection, so we should be able to gather them in a few days. However, the heart's blood of the Five-Transformation Golden Toad will probably be a bit difficult! Junior Brother Chu should know this better than I do."
Chu Xuan nodded.
As the manager of the Beast Garden, he naturally had a better understanding of exotic beasts than Liu Chengzhi.
The Five-Shedding Golden Toad is a fourth-tier exotic beast!
There wasn't a single fourth-tier beast in the entire Beast Garden.
Once a beast reaches the fourth tier, it becomes a local overlord, far more ferocious than a third-tier beast, making it extremely difficult to tame. Furthermore, keeping one as a pet incurs staggering daily costs, making it simply not worthwhile.
The Five-Transformation Golden Toad is an anomaly among fourth-tier exotic beasts.
Because they mostly grow in highly poisonous and cold places, they are not only ferocious in nature, but their entire bodies contain potent toxins. Their venom glands secrete a golden-yellow, viscous liquid with a pungent, fishy odor; it corrodes the skin upon contact and can even corrode one's own spiritual energy.
Extremely dangerous, yet extremely low value!
Once the Five-Transformation Golden Toad dies, the poison on its body loses its corrosive effect on the protective energy and becomes no different from ordinary poison!
As for its heart's blood, it is not very valuable. Even if a martial artist kills the Five-Transformation Golden Toad, he only takes the venom and claws, and discards everything else.
Therefore, the Five-Transformation Golden Toad can be considered a rather useless mythical beast, its value being even less than that of many third-tier mythical beasts.
The gains are far outweighed by the risks.
Even martial artists who specialize in hunting exotic beasts would avoid them if they encountered them, let alone provoke them!
Liu Chengzhi said, "However, if Junior Brother Chu is not in a hurry, my Liu family can issue a reward at Wanbaolou. Perhaps someone still has some in stock! But the uncertainty is too great, and I cannot guarantee whether we can buy it."
Chu Xuan nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Senior Brother Liu! The price is negotiable."
"Alright, I'll head to Wanbaolou right away!"
Liu Chengzhi nodded, put away the list, and prepared to leave.
He could tell that Chu Xuan valued these medicinal herbs highly.
Now that the Liu family has decided to bet on Chu Xuan, they will naturally support him wholeheartedly.
Only if Chu Xuan becomes stronger can the Liu family be safer.
Otherwise, in another ten years or so, once the Liu family patriarch passes away, the entire Liu family will be devoured.
"No rush!"
Chu Xuan stopped Liu Chengzhi and said, "I have some things here, and I'd appreciate it if you could help me take care of them too, Senior Brother Liu."
As he spoke, he went into the inner room and brought out a large package.
Most of the items inside were what he had obtained from looting corpses over the past year, with the remainder being medicinal herbs he had acquired from the Qian family.
It's useless to him now, so we might as well exchange it for contribution points.
"These—these—"
Liu Chengzhi looked at the huge pile of spiritual herbs, secret manuals, and other miscellaneous items, and was speechless.
Too much stuff!
This doesn't look like it came from any legitimate source.
Chu Xuan sighed, "It was a gift from a friend! I told them I didn't want it, but they were too enthusiastic! It's no use for me to keep it, so Senior Brother Liu, please help me get rid of it."
"I see."
Liu Chengzhi suddenly looked enlightened.
Chu Xuan is currently ranked ninth on the Popularity Ranking, and he is a prominent figure in the outer sect. People have heard that there has been a constant stream of visitors coming to visit Chu Xuan.
Liu Chengzhi immediately began to carefully distinguish between them.
About an hour later, a rough price was estimated for these items.
"Junior Brother Chu, the most valuable of your items are these few spiritual herbs, which will bring in 10,000 contribution points. As for the rest, they are all low-grade items and not worth much, but fortunately, there are enough of them to make up for 2,000 contribution points each. That's a total of 12,000 contribution points. What do you think?" Liu Chengzhi asked.
"Can."
Chu Xuan nodded.
"Alright, I'll take these things with me. I'll bring you the contribution points next time."
This wasn't the first time the two sides had cooperated, and now their relationship had progressed even further. The Liu family wouldn't be so greedy as to covet his contribution points.
After seeing Liu Chengzhi off, Chu Xuan did not intend to wait.
They were just about to improve their physical constitution, only one last step away. Relying solely on the Liu family was unreliable; who knew when that would be?
He went directly to the Inner Palace to inquire about the heart's blood of the five-molted golden toad.
As he guessed, there was nothing.
This stuff is too niche; it might appear occasionally, but it's usually bought by inner sect alchemists for experiments or to be made into poison.
Undeterred, Chu Xuan went to the Mission Hall and posted a bounty mission.
After that, he went to the Zangfa Pavilion and looked for the senior steward Cui.
"A five-molted golden toad? What do you need that for?"
"I'm puzzled," said Steward Cui.
"A friend of mine needs it," Chu Xuan explained simply.
Deacon Cui nodded and said, "The Five-Tailed Golden Toad isn't exactly rare. Most are found in cold, damp places like the Black Miasma Swamp, Poison Bone Ravine, and Cold Yin Cave. These places are perpetually filled with poisonous creatures; even a martial artist with the Qi Refining stage will experience dizziness, weakness, and blocked meridians if they inhale them. You'd better advise your friend not to go—"
Chu Xuan nodded, thanked the other party, and then took his leave.
No wonder he's a veteran; he knows so much!
We've done everything we can. Now we just need to see if there's any news from the Liu family or the Mission Hall.
If it's not there yet, he'll have to go there himself!
Of course, Chu Xuan wouldn't take any risks; he needed to make thorough preparations beforehand.
For the next period of time, Chu Xuan focused all his energy on cultivating the Thousand Faces Illusion Technique, and carefully saved his essence points, not wanting to use them.
Occasionally, under the cover of night, they would enter the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range from behind the Beast Garden to hunt a few exotic beasts.
Unfortunately, there were only a few big cats and a few small cats.
Within a hundred miles of the Beast Garden, there could be no high-level exotic beasts at all; even third-tier exotic beasts are extremely rare, practically the last ones to slip through the net.
Soon, a month had passed.
Neither the Liu family nor the Mission Hall gained anything.
During this time, Liu Chengzhi did come once, bringing him contribution points. When talking about the heart's blood of the Five-Transformed Golden Toad, he subtly told him that the chances were probably slim.
As for the Mission Hall, Chu Xuan raised the price three times in a row, increasing the reward from the original two thousand points to six thousand points, but not a single person accepted the mission!
There are only a few dozen Gang Jin martial artists in the outer sect, and most of them are just beginning to enter Gang Jin!
The Five-Transformation Golden Toad is extremely dangerous even for martial artists who have mastered the Gang Jin (罡劲) technique; no one is willing to take that risk.
After all, the venom of the Five-Transformed Golden Toad can corrode the protective qi, which means that the protective qi that martial artists rely on for survival is of no use to it.
"It seems I'll have no choice but to go myself!"
Chu Xuan sighed.
Fortunately, he had made a lot of preparations during that month, thoroughly studying the information about places like the Black Miasma Swamp, Poison Bone Ravine, and Cold Yin Cave.
To avoid attracting attention, he also purchased various detoxifying and restorative pills in batches.
Now, only the last step remains.
[Energy Value: 4719/10000]
These essence points are the fruits of his hard work over the past month, which he has painstakingly collected and accumulated through various means, including frantic supplementation.
Thankfully, that's enough!
【Thousand Faces Transformation Technique (5521/10000)】
Without hesitation, Chu Xuan added all his essence points to the Thousand Faces Illusion Technique.
The moment Chu Xuan reached the maximum experience points, a sudden realization dawned on him.
With a thought, Chu Xuan began to channel his internal energy, using the Thousand Faces Illusion Technique to cleanse the muscles and bones of his face.
His facial features, skin, and bones trembled almost imperceptibly.
When he opened his eyes again, his original features had completely faded away.
His eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips all changed, and even his skin texture became dark and rough, making him completely different from the previously reserved Chu Xuan.
Chu Xuan raised his hand and stroked his face; the touch felt real and natural, without any stiffness or awkwardness.
Because this is neither an illusion nor a disguise, what is presented is the most real flesh and bones. Even a True Essence expert could not see any clues even upon close inspection.
Immediately afterwards, Chu Xuan's figure swayed, his aura changed slightly again, and his appearance changed once more, transforming from a rough middle-aged man into a taciturn young man!
Then, he became a hunched old man.
The switching is seamless and feels natural.
"sharp!"
Chu Xuan couldn't help but sigh, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
With this Thousand Faces Transformation Technique, he was finally free from being confined to the Hundred Beasts Garden, no longer needing to worry about being watched, and could come and go freely.
Over the next two days, Chu Xuan familiarized himself with the Thousand Faces Illusion Technique.
On the third day, news came again from the Liu family.
The heart's blood of the five-molted toad was not found, but someone discovered the five-molted toad—
The meaning is quite clear: he'll probably have to go find it himself.
Chu Xuan could accept this.
After all, he and the Liu family had only reached a cooperation agreement, far from being on the verge of life and death together.
Before he demonstrated sufficient value, the Liu family's support for him was limited, not enough to arrange for several powerful experts to personally risk their lives to hunt down the Five-Transformation Golden Toad for him.
As for getting a True Essence expert to take action, that's even more impossible.
For the Liu family, True Essence experts are also core pillars. Although hunting a Five-Transformation Golden Toad is nothing to a True Essence expert, who knows if they will encounter other unexpected events or be ambushed.
Losing a True Essence expert would be a devastating blow to the Liu family.
Of course, the main reason is that Chu Xuan is only ranked ninth on the Wind and Cloud Ranking. If it were Luo Yun, who is ranked first on the Wind and Cloud Ranking and has the Nine Forms Root Bone, even the ancestor of the Liu family would probably have to personally take the heart blood of the Five-Transformation Golden Toad!
After packing up all the prepared items, Chu Xuan did not immediately go down the mountain, but instead went to the Mission Hall to accept a mission.
Go to the outer edge of the Azure Mist to find a spiritual herb called the Illusion Heart Fruit, which is worth 500 contribution points. If you fail to find it within a month, the mission will be considered a failure, and you will have to compensate 500 contribution points.
The Azure Mist is an ancient and primeval forest deep within the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range. It is shrouded in thick blue mist year-round, making it impossible to see a person more than five steps away. Ancient trees reach for the sky, and vines cover the area.
The mist can disrupt perception, making it easy to get lost and causing people to go around in circles.
The forest is filled with highly poisonous plants such as strangler vines, poisonous sac flowers, and bewitching grass; contact with them will cause unconsciousness. Hidden in the shadows are ferocious beasts skilled in stealth and ambush, including shadow-patterned leopards, shadow foxes, and venomous flying snakes.
It can be said that for martial artists below the True Essence level, it is simply a dead end!
Even true essence experts who venture deep into it may get lost and never be able to get out.
Deep within the azure mist, even more ferocious beasts and demons exist.
Chu Xuan accepted this mission not to go to the Azure Mist, but rather—
He didn't know if anyone within the Xuan Yang Sect harbored ill intentions towards him. In any case, among the top ten on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, he had the least powerful background, so he had to be wary!
Even if no one has any ill intentions, we still need to be wary of Blood God Cult spies, right?
Scam as many people as you can!
Anyway, if the mission fails, the only compensation is 500 contribution points.
After receiving the mission, Chu Xuan swaggered away from the sect and headed down the mountain.
Not long after Chu Xuan left, news of his arrival and departure from the mountain was quickly spread by Fei Niao.