Zhang Ling's mind raced as he stared intently at Ding Ruozhao. To be honest, he didn't want to be enemies with this woman, but if she insisted on attacking him, he wouldn't be afraid.
Seeing his vigilant expression, Ding Ruozhao smiled, rolled her eyes, and sighed while touching the hair on her forehead.
"Oh, haha, did you think I would attack you? Ridiculous. The death of a traitor from the Ding family is insignificant. I'm looking for you not for revenge, but for a favor."
Ding Ruozhao's sudden smile surprised Zhang Ling. It was the first time he had seen such an expression on her face.
Could he have really misunderstood?
"Forget it, I'll be direct. Finding you does have something to do with this matter. Whether you killed that traitor from the Ding family or not is no longer important. My Ding family is facing a calamity and may be wiped out. I sensed you were here using a secret technique, so I inquired and found the inn where you were staying. I sent a disciple to invite you here."
Ding Ruozhao smiled, then regained her composure, sat back in her original seat, and gestured for Zhang Ling to sit down and talk.
Zhang Ling realized that he might have really misunderstood and his expression darkened before he sat down again.
"You want me to help your Ding family, and it's related to this?" Calming his mind, he glanced at the thunder pearl still on the table.
Ding Ruozhao nodded, and with a flash of white light, a pink storage bag appeared on the table.
"Inside are ten bottles of White Yang Pills and seven hundred thousand spirit stones. As long as you help me once, they're all yours."
White Yang Pills are grade-three spiritual pills, a rare type of pill suitable for cultivators in the mid and late stages of the Golden Core realm. They're very valuable, costing over four thousand spirit stones on the market.
Ten bottles of White Yang Pills are worth over four hundred thousand spirit stones. Adding that to the seven hundred thousand spirit stones, it's over a million spirit stones.
Zhang Ling glanced at the storage bag. It was indeed a considerable amount of wealth for a Golden Core cultivator.
Generally, it would take a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator forty to fifty years to accumulate a million spirit stones. If you include the cost of cultivation, it might take seventy to eighty years.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Golden Core cultivators aren't worth that much.
Due to lifespan limitations, time is precious for Golden Core cultivators. Most of their resources are used to improve their cultivation.
Not many Golden Core cultivators can directly take out more than fifty thousand spirit stones at once.
The wealth this woman offered would tempt most high-level cultivators.
However, Zhang Ling wasn't an ordinary cultivator. Although he was slightly tempted, he thought for a moment and shook his head.
He wasn't lacking spirit stones. Although White Yang Pills could help him in his cultivation, the pills he used weren't inferior, so he naturally wasn't tempted.
Moreover, judging from her expression, the favor she was asking wasn't ordinary. It probably involved some risk, which was why Zhang Ling shook his head.
Ding Ruozhao frowned slightly, with a hint of helplessness on her face. Seeing her expression, it seemed like something was really wrong. Zhang Ling narrowed his eyes and then said.
"Although I'm quite tempted by what you've offered, I also know my limits. I'm afraid my cultivation level won't be of much help. Why don't you be frank, so I can decide what to do?" Ding Ruozhao pondered for a moment and then frowned.
"This matter does involve some risk and is related to this thunder pearl. This type of thunder pearl is used to set up a special formation. Soon, the Azure Thunder Sect will gather some high-level members to enter a secret realm to assist an elder in forming a Nascent Soul."
"What, forming a Nascent Soul?"
Hearing about forming a Nascent Soul, Zhang Ling was also shocked.
Although he had guessed that the thunder pearl wasn't an ordinary object, he didn't expect it to assist cultivators in forming a Nascent Soul. This stirred up some waves in his heart and immediately piqued his interest.
Seeing the change in his expression, Ding Ruozhao continued.
"This type of thunder pearl is refined using the Azure Thunder Sect's secret technique, and each one is quite valuable. Thirty-six of them can set up a special Thunder Spirit Formation. However, this formation only works for cultivators who practice thunder-attribute techniques."
Zhang Ling frowned. It was only useful for cultivators who practiced thunder-attribute techniques, which instantly made him lose interest.
At the same time, he thought of the secret technique he was currently practicing, the Thunder Essence Spirit Nurturing Art, which also used thunder-attribute spiritual power to refine his own spiritual power. Could it have the same effect as this formation?
He thought about it and felt that it was possible. The Azure Thunder Sect was a branch of the Thunder Cloud Gate, and the Thunder Cloud Gate was a传承 of the ancient Yunxiao Sect.
It would make sense if there was a connection.
Zhang Ling was thinking when he heard Ding Ruozhao's voice again.
"This formation is quite troublesome to set up and needs a specific environment to maximize its effect. Moreover, if it's used in conjunction with a secret technique, it can increase the chances of a peak Golden Core cultivator forming a Nascent Soul by about twenty percent."
Twenty percent chance, that's so high, Zhang Ling thought in surprise. Forming a Nascent Soul is different from forming a Golden Core, and there are very few auxiliary spiritual objects.
For most sects and forces, nurturing a Golden Core cultivator isn't easy, but they can provide some spiritual objects and other resources. With these resources, the Golden Core cultivators in a sect will generally maintain a certain number.
Like the Azure Thunder Sect, according to his understanding, in addition to the two Nascent Soul cultivators, the Golden Core elders have always maintained around thirty.
But to nurture a Nascent Soul cultivator, ordinary spiritual objects won't be effective. It will not only cost a huge amount of resources, but also depend on the cultivator's personal opportunities and abilities.
Often, investing all resources ends up being a waste.
He had been here for over a month, and he hadn't heard that anyone in the Azure Thunder Sect was about to form a Nascent Soul. It seemed that either this woman was lying, or the Azure Thunder Sect had done a good job of keeping it a secret.
However, after thinking about it, he was more inclined to believe what this woman said. After all, it was a big deal for someone in a sect to form a Nascent Soul, and it would be done in secret to prevent sabotage by hostile forces.
The Thunder Essence Spirit Nurturing Art he was currently practicing had the effect of refining spiritual power, but he guessed that even if he succeeded in cultivating it, it wouldn't increase the chances of forming a Nascent Soul by much. He would be satisfied if it could increase it by half a percent.
Ding Ruozhao was constantly observing the changes in Zhang Ling's expression and naturally knew what he was thinking. She smiled and said.
"Don't think about it. That secret technique takes a long time to cultivate, and it will take a hundred years to be effective. It's called the Blood Thunder Curse, and it can only have the greatest effect when used in conjunction with the formation set up by the thunder pearl. Moreover, the Blood Thunder Curse needs the help of a special thunder-attribute demon beast to take effect."
Ding Ruozhao explained again.
