Chapter 389: Harvest (I)

Chapter 389: Harvest (I)

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

In the mountain forest, a light breeze stirred, carrying with it a thick stench of blood and rot. Scattered across the ground were chunks of flesh that still twitched, as well as a severed head that blinked, not yet entirely devoid of life. A figure suddenly burst out from the dense woods and arrived before the shattered corpse.

Fortunately, that person was not very strong, or I would have capsized in a gutter this time.

Li

n Zheyu felt a lingering sense of fear in his heart.

He swept his gaze over the corpses on the ground and saw the hideous head whose eyes were still filled with murderous brutality. The head had not yet fully died.

"What formidable vitality," Lin Zheyu could not help but remark.

The vitality of a half-yao was even greater than that of a yao martial artist. Such an evil creature not only possessed a powerful life force, but its defense was also astonishing. Before transforming into a half-yao, even Lin Zheyu's full-strength strike could barely split the man in two. After the transformation, he could only rely on the Blood Burning Saber Technique, burning his life to unleash overwhelming power to kill him. If he had been a pure demon, he would likely have been even more monstrous.

Rustle.

Lin Zheyu walked step by step toward the head on the ground, his feet crunching against fallen leaves.

Slash.

A flash of blade light split the still-living head into two with a crack, ending its life completely. Lin Zheyu did not linger. He quickly searched the remains and vanished into the forest. Only after sprinting more than a dozen kilometers did he stop by a clear stream.

After cleaning the dirt from his clothes, Lin Zheyu began counting the items taken from the middle-aged man and the yao martial artist. The unnamed martial artist was rather wealthy, carrying over 500,000 taels in silver notes along with five bottles of spirit liquid. There were also various powders and medicinal pills.

"The spirit liquid on this fellow does not seem as pure as what I obtained before," Lin Zheyu muttered in confusion.

He checked again and confirmed that it was indeed less pure than the spirit liquid he had received from Senior Sister Gu Ye and Senior Sister Wang Shuxian. The five bottles obtained this time contained a stronger Baleful Yin force and various impure energies, which even Lin Zheyu could sense.

To carry over 500,000 taels yet use such inferior spirit liquid, his background is probably not very good

.

He now felt wary of the many mysterious tracking methods in this world. If the martial artist he killed had a powerful background and possessed some special means to trace him, it would be troublesome. Fortunately, that person likely had no strong backing, or he would not have been so shabby.

A Force Transformation realm martial artist being poor could be explained by spending silver on cultivation resources, but using such inferior spirit liquid clearly showed he was not doing well. After storing the items taken from that martial artist, Lin Zheyu began examining the belongings of the yao martial artist. He picked up a black compass made from some kind of jade. Blood qi surged into it, but nothing happened. When he poured a drop of spirit liquid onto it, a light appeared on the Ink Jade Disk.

"That yao martial artist used this to find my location?" Lin Zheyu was astonished.

He placed the Ink Jade Disk on the ground and stepped away. The single point split into two. When he had held it earlier, the two points had overlapped and appeared as one.

"What a wondrous item. Can it be used as long as there is spirit liquid?"

Lin Zheyu toyed with the Ink Jade Disk. This was the first item he had obtained that closely resembled the legendary enchanted artifacts.

"I wonder what its maximum range is. How does it lock onto a person's location? How does one set the target?" Lin Zheyu was filled with curiosity.

He studied it for quite some time but found nothing. Upon closer inspection, he could see countless intricate and elegant mysterious runes engraved into complex formations on the Ink Jade Disk.

Are dharma artifacts so common that even a Force Transformation realm martial artist can possess one?

After thinking for a moment, he vanished and returned seconds later with a passing beast. He cut a small wound and let its blood drip onto the Ink Jade Disk, which quickly absorbed it. He then released the beast and threw a stone at it to drive it farther away.

"Strange. It has no effect? Is it meant to be set this way?" Lin Zheyu muttered. After further study yielded nothing, he put it away.

After returning, he would ask Elder Yang and the others to see whether they knew the origins of this Ink Jade Disk. Lin Zheyu continued counting the remaining items. Ignoring the worthless objects, medicinal pills, and powders, the yao martial artist carried over 20,000 taels of silver and three purple stones the size of eggs. These three stones were spirit stones.

"Three spirit stones,

eh?

This time, the Origin Force was well spent." Lin Zheyu grinned.

He felt that these three spirit stones contained noticeably more energy than the two he obtained previously. Although this type of spirit stone held much unusable and corrupted energy, it suited him best. After putting away the spirit stones, Lin Zheyu turned his gaze to the final item. It was a blood lotus crafted from special talisman paper, smaller than his palm.

Lin Zheyu picked it up and examined it before placing it back down. The moment he held the blood lotus, an inexplicable sense of dread arose in his heart, as though some terrifying presence had locked onto him.

This thing is rather strange! Something of unknown origin is best not carried casually

.

He took out the Ink Jade Disk from his robe, which he also regarded with caution.

I will keep the silver and spirit stones. The rest will be stored somewhere and checked again in a few months.

He placed the talisman blood lotus into a leather pouch, tidied up, and disappeared.

More than four hours later, Lin Zheyu arrived in the forest over ten kilometers from Wuling City. He found a concealed spot, memorized the location, and buried the pouch containing the blood lotus, carefully camouflaging it. Then he moved to another place and did the same with the Ink Jade Disk.

After dealing with the two potentially troublesome items, Lin Zheyu made a wooden basin from a tree and placed all the medicinal pills he had obtained into it, as long as they were not poisonous. He no longer had much need for miscellaneous pills. Spirit liquid or spirit stones, when combined with Origin Force, were far more useful than any elixir.

Worried that the pills would not provide enough energy, Lin Zheyu drank a bottle of spirit liquid. The moment it entered his body, the Baleful Yin force and other impure energies within it clashed with his blood qi.

"It's better not to drink spirit liquid next time, especially ones this impure," Lin Zheyu muttered as his blood qi churned.

After preparing everything, he immersed his right hand in the basin and sent out a thought.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to cultivate the Blood Burning Saber Technique.

In an instant, his spirit blurred and entered the consciousness space. He had not originally intended to enhance the Blood Burning Saber Technique with Origin Force, planning instead to refine it through daily practice.

After this battle, however, Lin Zheyu realized the importance of the Blood Burning Saber Technique. Without it, he would have truly been in danger. Although his movement techniques were astonishing, without true strength to reduce air resistance, he was still slower than Pei Xuan. Escape would have been impossible. His Perception Domain also became useless after Pei Xuan transformed into a half-yao, and an unknown force field appeared around him.

Lin Zheyu could only rely on his refined movement techniques in close combat to contend with him. After transforming into a half-yao, Pei Xuan's strength and combat power were not much greater than Lin Zheyu's, but his recovery and defense became monstrous. Even if he stood still, Lin Zheyu could not sever his neck.

During the battle, relying on his terrifying defense and recovery, Pei Xuan abandoned defense entirely and attacked madly. Lin Zheyu could not inflict a fatal blow. Fortunately, Pei Xuan's confidence in his defense made him careless, allowing him to strike. By using the Blood Burning Saber Technique and burning nearly 90% of his life essence to unleash several times his usual attack power, he finally gained the strength to kill him.

A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 6]

[Skills: Tortoise Breath True Technique (Sixth Stage: 0%), Blood Burning Saber Technique (Third Stage: 100%), Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art (Second Stage: 0%), Primordial Wuji True Technique (First Stage: 23%)]

If I encounter an opponent of similar strength again, using the Blood Burning Saber Technique will not leave me in such a miserable state,

Lin Zheyu thought as he looked at the data.

1 unit of Origin Force not only brought the Blood Burning Saber Technique to Perfection, but also greatly improved his control. The efficiency of burning life essence and the resulting power both increased by nearly 30%.

The Primordial Pills and cultivation herbs I carry are insufficient. If I had more, I could enhance the Primordial Wuji True Technique as well,

Lin Zheyu thought.

He only had enough Primordial Pills for about six months. To enhance the technique with Origin Force, 1 unit required at least a year's worth of cultivation resources.

After tidying up and discarding the leftover liquid, Lin Zheyu checked that no foreign aura lingered on him before heading toward Wuling City. As for the strange blood lotus and Ink Jade Disk, he planned to check on them again in a few months to avoid being targeted again.

"Strange. Where did I provoke an enemy of this level?" Lin Zheyu muttered softly.

Even now, Lin Zheyu had not figured out why that yao martial artist wanted to kill him. The strength he displayed was only at the Marrow Refining realm, and most of the people he interacted with were of that level. Even the strongest enemies he could have provoked should only have been at the Force Transformation realm. Yet this time, someone at the peak of the Force Transformation realm appeared. After transforming into a half-yao, he was nearly comparable to a Grandmaster.

I should go out less for now and first cultivate the Primordial Wuji True Technique to Perfection before advancing to the Force Transformation realm,

Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

After entering Wuling City, the cries of vendors and the bustling noise filled his ears, presenting a scene of prosperity and peace. It was like a completely different world from the demon-infested forests outside the city.

Crackle.

Lin Zheyu strolled through the streets and alleys. Everywhere he looked, residents were worshipping deities and setting off firecrackers. It seemed to be another festival day. In Great Wei, there was practically a festival every few days. The wealthy celebrated each one grandly, while the poor only prepared lavish meals for major festivals. On ordinary festival days, they would simply set off a string of firecrackers and light a stick of incense. Lin Zheyu paused to observe the worshippers, then shook his head in disappointment and left.

I cannot sense any power of faith. It is even more elusive than spiritual qi or Baleful Yin force. However, the concentration of Baleful Yin force in the city seems to have decreased today. Is it because of the power of faith?

Lin Zheyu wondered.

Extending his perception, he could sense that the Baleful Yin force entwined with the spiritual qi in the air had indeed lessened.

"Interesting..."

Lin Zheyu murmured with a smile as he turned into a nearby apothecary.

This time, he needed quite a number of herbs, many of them rare. He first had to check whether they could be purchased in Wuling City's apothecaries. After visiting more than twenty shops, he placed orders for large quantities from each and would collect them later. However, three herbs were still missing, and they were Cold Bone Grass, White Frost Flower, and Devouring Phoenix Profound Leaf.

I will return to the sect first and ask the herb dealers at the black market tonight.

If they were unavailable, it would be troublesome. Devouring Phoenix Profound Leaf and Cold Bone Grass were the crucial main ingredients. Without them, the resulting physique would be greatly weakened.