With 160 Sovereign Points at his disposal, Wei delved into the system store with a clear purpose. His current methods were effective, but they were one-dimensional. He needed more options, both for killing and for controlling a battlefield. He decided to invest in two distinct systems.
First, he navigated to the 'Cultivation Techniques' section. He spent 50 points on a manual called the 'Thousand Phantom Threads Art'. The description promised the ability to manifest and control incredibly fine, durable threads of spiritual energy that could bind, ensnare, and slice through opponents. It was a versatile art, perfect for capturing foes or creating deadly traps.
Next, he went to the 'Artifacts' tab, filtering the selection to 'Needles'. His eyes landed on a set of thirty-six obsidian-black needles called the 'Venom-Quenched Soul Needles'. For 100 points, he acquired a low-grade spiritual artifact set. Their primary strength was their affinity for spiritual sense; they were designed to be controlled with pure thought, allowing for unparalleled speed and subtlety. Their unique composition also allowed them to channel the most corrosive poisons without degrading.
The moment he confirmed the purchase, two things happened simultaneously. The complete knowledge of the Thousand Phantom Threads Art flooded his mind, while a small, ornate wooden box, cool to the touch, materialized silently on the table before him. He opened it. The thirty-six needles lay nestled in black velvet, seeming to drink the light from the room.
Wei stood and walked deeper into his pagoda, entering his sealed poison den. As he entered, a shadow detached itself from the rafters. It was Xiao Yu, his Jade-Eyed Shadow Serpent. The beast was a walking vessel of a potent neurotoxin, but it nudged its head affectionately against Wei's hand.
"Time to practice, old friend," Wei murmured, stroking the serpent's cool scales. "Let's see what these new toys can do."
He decided to master the needles first. He sat cross-legged, the box open before him. Closing his eyes, he extended his powerful spiritual sense, a force far more refined than mere spiritual energy. He focused his entire will on a single needle. It trembled, then slowly, jerkily, lifted into the air. Controlling it with thought alone was like trying to thread a normal needle in a hurricane. It demanded immense concentration.
He spent the first full day just mastering one needle. He sent it flying through the air, his spiritual sense its only guide. He made it dance and spin, then perform impossibly delicate tasks—carving his name onto a single grain of rice, tracing the veins on a leaf without piercing it. By the end of the day, the needle moved as if it were an extension of his own body.
On the second day, he began practicing the Thousand Phantom Threads Art. He extended his hands, and from his fingertips, dozens of shimmering, near-invisible threads of spiritual energy shot forth. He commanded them to wrap around a heavy cauldron, lifting it effortlessly. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent the threads lashing out at a training dummy. They wrapped around its neck and limbs, and with a sharp tug, the dummy was sliced into clean, perfect pieces. He spent hours weaving the threads into nets, whips, and razor-sharp wires, his control growing with every moment.
On the third day, he combined his training. As he practiced manipulating the threads, he simultaneously commanded the needles with his spiritual sense. A dozen needles would fly in intricate patterns, all while he used the threads to ensnare Xiao Yu in a harmless, temporary cage. The serpent would test him, striking with lightning speed, only to be met by a shimmering wall of needles or a binding whip of spiritual thread.
Just as he was getting a feel for his new arts, a frantic spiritual presence rushed towards his peak. It was Elder Mei, the sect's beast master. She landed in his courtyard in a flurry of embroidered silks, her usually composed, elegant face pale with distress.
"Wei! I need your help!" she exclaimed, forgoing all pleasantries. "It's my Azure-Winged Griffin. He's dying!"
Wei met her in the courtyard, his own aura calm and steady. "Slowly, Mei. What are the symptoms?"
"He's weak, refusing to eat. His feathers are molting, and there's a black rot spreading on his talons. I pour my life-force energy into him, and he only seems to get worse! It looks... it looks like a poison."
Wei's interest was piqued. He followed Mei to her peak. In the central enclosure, a magnificent griffin lay on its side, its breathing shallow. A foul, necrotic stench hung in the air. Wei approached the beast, placing a hand on its flank and extending his senses.
He felt no poison. Instead, he detected a rampant, parasitic fungus, a rare strain called 'Iron Rot Spore'.
"This is not a poison," he said, turning to Mei. "It is a deep-tissue fungal infection. Your healing arts focus on life force, which this fungus also consumes. You were feeding it."
Mei's face fell. "Feeding it? By the heavens... Can... can you do anything?"
"The core of the fungus, the 'mycelial heart', must be destroyed. I need to excise it and administer a counter-agent directly. It will be... delicate."
Returning to his pagoda, he moved with practiced efficiency, creating a shimmering silver paste from several anti-parasitic herbs and the venom of a Golden Tree Frog. He returned to Mei's peak, the box of needles in his hand.
"Keep him calm," Wei instructed, his face serious. "If it thrashes, I could sever a spiritual channel."
As Mei soothed the griffin, Wei took a deep breath. He opened the box, and with a single thought, all thirty-six black needles rose into the air, hovering silently. He stood ten meters away from the beast, his eyes closed in concentration.
The needles became a swarm of black hornets. Guided by his spiritual sense alone, they plunged into the griffin's afflicted talons with a precision that made Mei gasp. They did not pierce the flesh randomly but slid between the scales. His mind was the scalpel, his spiritual sense the guide, mapping the griffin's internal structure perfectly.
He used twenty needles to create a containment field, their tips vibrating at a low frequency that disrupted the fungus's ability to spread. The remaining sixteen needles converged. Wei's brow was beaded with sweat. This was more difficult than any poisoning. The needles moved like a weaver at a loom, meticulously cutting the black, pulsating mycelial heart of the fungus away from the bone marrow. With a final, sharp pulse of his will, he extracted the corrupted mass. It emerged from the talon as a foul-smelling, inky black substance that dissolved into dust.
Then, he mentally commanded the needles to coat themselves in the silver paste he had brought and guided them back inside, applying the medicine directly to the raw, damaged marrow. The entire process took a grueling hour. When he was finished, he withdrew the needles, leaving no visible wounds. The griffin let out a long sigh and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
"The rot will recede within a week," Wei said, his voice steady. "He will make a full recovery."
Elder Mei stared at him, her eyes wide with shock and gratitude. "Wei... I... I don't know how to thank you," she stammered.
"There is no need," Wei said. "The arts of killing and healing are merely two sides of the same coin."
"Wait," she insisted. "This is not a small matter. That fungus... the Iron Rot Spore... it is not native to our lands. It is found only in the Shadowfen Marsh, a territory of the Blackwood Sect."
Wei's eyes narrowed. "You're saying someone brought this here? Deliberately?"
"I am," she said, her voice turning hard as steel. "Someone attacked my beast. An attack on my companion is an attack on me. I owe you a life debt. Help me find who did this."
This was the opportunity he was looking for. A legitimate reason to hunt.
"I will look into it," Wei said. "If the Blackwood Sect is growing bold, the Sect Master must be informed."
He left her there, his reputation on Silent Bloom Peak subtly but irrevocably changed. Upon returning to his pagoda, he immediately consulted the system.
[System Notification: Healing actions do not grant Sovereign Points. The path of the Venomous Sovereign is paved with the fallen.]
The cold, mechanical logic was exactly what he expected. His path was clear. This "investigation" into the Blackwood Sect was the perfect cover. Under the guise of seeking justice for Elder Mei, he would find new targets, harvest new poisons, and accumulate the points he needed to truly ascend.
His gaze drifted towards the south, in the direction of the Shadowfen Marsh. For the first time in decades, Elder Wei prepared to leave the sect, not as a reclusive scholar, but as a hunter seeking his prey.