A cultivator who has succeeded in their cultivation can calculate the information of the owner of the blood based on the blood itself, and use it for sneak attacks, curses, and so on.

Therefore, before Meng Jingzhou sold his blood, he erased all the information contained in the essence blood. Nobody could trace it back to him, not even Su Yiren.

"What is this?" Li Haoran asked with some confusion, not clear about what Su Yiren was planning to do.

"This is blood I obtained from a black market auction. It cost me a hundred thousand spirit stones."

Meng Jingzhou looked strangely amused. When he sold his blood, it had been ten thousand spirit stones a drop. This price hike was outrageous, wasn’t it?

To be a member of the Meng Family and still lose money, what a shame.

"This blood should be true blood of a pure-blooded member of the Demon Race. It has the effects of enhancing cultivation, invigorating yang, and replenishing qi. I thought to buy it as a gift for my husband. If the immortal herbs can amplify the effects of this blood, that would be even better."

Li Haoran was very touched after hearing this. He hadn’t expected Su Yiren to be so considerate of him.

Lu Yang also recognized that this was Meng Jingzhou’s essence blood. He didn’t remember Old Meng’s blood having the effect of increasing cultivation. If Old Meng’s blood did have that effect, he himself would drink three big bowls of it first.

Senior Su, have you started to spout nonsense with your eyes wide open just to lure Li Haoran into bed?

"It’s not possible. I can only help living beings enhance their cultivation. If we could find the owner of the blood, that might work," the Immortal Herbs firmly put an end to Su Yiren’s thoughts.

"I see." Su Yiren’s mood noticeably dropped.

Lu Yang stole a glance towards Meng Jingzhou, considering whether to tell Su Yiren the truth and give Old Meng a chance to improve his cultivation. This could also count as a stroke of luck for Old Meng.

Meng Jingzhou quickly shook his head in tiny, rapid movements, rejecting the opportunity.

A scene formed in Meng Jingzhou’s mind:

In the dead of night, as he lay in bed sleeping soundly, Su Yiren crept into his room in the dark. The moonlight outlined Su Yiren’s exquisite figure. With resolve, Meng Jingzhou said "I cannot do anything to betray Junior Brother Li", to which Su Yiren replied, "It will hurt only for a second, very quickly".

Despite Meng Jingzhou’s struggles, he was eventually overpowered by Su Yiren, who tied him up and started to draw his blood...

What kind of situation was this?

During the happy chatter, the crucian carp was devoured by everyone, leaving only a cleanly picked fish skeleton behind.

The crucian carp had a stroke of immortal fate by accidentally consuming immortal herbs, resulting in a surge in its cultivation, reaching a twenty-year realm that no fish in its species had ever achieved before. But little did it know, all of this was a scheme of the human race. Pierced by an immortal sword, the human cultivators divided and consumed it, not even leaving a complete body behind.

After enjoying the delicacies of the East Sea, Lu Yang and the others went downstairs to pay the bill. Lu Yang noticed a statue placed on the counter—a middle-aged man with a goatee.

"Who is that statue of?" Lu Yang asked casually.

"He is the Island Master of Penglai, Three Mountains Taoist," said Li Haoran. "There are many legends about the Three Mountains Taoist in the East Sea. For example, when fishermen encounter storms and rains at sea, the Three Mountains Taoist happens to pass by and saves the entire boat with a wave of his hand.

He said that in the future, when they go out to sea to fish, they can silently pray to him for a safe journey."

"There are also legends of farmers having a bountiful harvest in autumn, but then a sudden downpour threatens their crops. Once again, the Three Mountains Taoist appears and the situation is similar to the story of the fishermen. One of these legends might be the original, and the other could have changed through word of mouth."

"Or, there’s a tale of an epidemic breaking out somewhere, and the Three Mountains Taoist bestows nectar springs, curing diseases and saving lives."

"Or else it’s about a cultivator encountering a bottleneck in their cultivation, restless in spirit, and the Three Mountains Taoist appears, helping the cultivator break through..."

"Anyway, there are so many legends, all of them have been around for four or five thousand years, and nobody knows how much truth there is in the legends. But among the cultivators of the East Sea, the Three Mountains Taoist is the object of worship, adored by families and households."

"Speaking of efficacy, it’s definitely not especially miraculous. Even if he incarnated into tens of thousands, he couldn’t fulfill everyone’s wishes. Not even immortals have such great abilities."

"But the Three Mountains Taoist has long been famous, and faith has become a habit. Having something to place one’s soul into, whether it’s effective or not, is no longer important."

"Among the three islands of Penglai, Penglai is revered the most, and this is not without reason linked to the Three Mountains Taoist."

"I heard that the Golden Buddha Kingdom wanted to spread their teachings to the East Sea, but because of the Three Mountains Taoist, they ended in failure."

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Lu Yang thought of Fan Chong, "Fan Chong, being a disciple of the Three Mountains Taoist, bullies others using his master’s influence. It seems to me that this Three Mountains Taoist isn’t as good as the legends portray."

Li Haoran was unable to explain this question either, shaking his head helplessly and saying, "Perhaps the Three Mountains Taoist, always keeping a low profile, does not strictly discipline his followers?"

He looked at Su Yiren, who also shook her head, "I have met the Three Mountains Taoist once, and he was very considerate in his dealings with others. Even when meeting cultivators of middle to low rank, he did not act too arrogantly. He wasn’t much different from the image in folk tales; I also cannot imagine why Xuan Ling the Taoist and Fan Chong would behave that way."

Fairy Eternity suddenly spoke up with some puzzlement, "What’s the deal with this Three Mountains Taoist, concocting so many outlandish legends? If he doesn’t have such great abilities, he shouldn’t stir up all this fuss."

In the spiritual space, Fairy Eternity lay on a seabed, floating on the sea surface, her fishtail flapping away.

Lu Yang suddenly remembered that although the current Fairy Eternity behaved in an extremely unreliable manner, she was also an object of faith during ancient times, even creating the Mother-child River and Twin River to fulfill the fertility wishes of her devotees.

"Fairy, is there any reasoning to this?"

"I don’t know much about the power of faith," said the fairy. "Qinghe understands this better. She told me that as the source of faith, one must control the legends well. You must not create an all-powerful image of yourself. Take me for example, if a devotee asks for a child, I did have the ability to create the Mother-child River, so I would fulfill such requests."

"If a devotee asked for power, I did not wish to grant it, I would clarify this from the start to avoid a continuous stream of devotees hassling me for power, which would be very annoying."

Lu Yang nodded, not quite understanding.

"You all don’t look like cultivators from our East Sea," observed the shop owner, noticing that Lu Yang and his companions seemed very interested in the statue of the Three Mountains Taoist, which was uncharacteristic of local cultivators.

Lu Yang nodded. They were disciples of the Five Elements Sect, indeed not East Sea cultivators.

"Would you like to offer your respects to the Three Mountains Taoist? He’s very efficacious." The shop owner looked very devout.

Lu Yang and the others thought it over and decided that honoring the local culture by paying respects might be good.

Lu Yang pressed his palms together, bowed deeply to the statue of the Three Mountains Taoist, and silently wished earnestly, hoping that the legendary figure of the East Sea could bless them, "May our journey through the East Sea be safe and without incident."

Meng Jingzhou and the others followed suit, paying their respects as well.

...

Inside the core area of Penglai Island, at the heart of a ninth-grade spirit vein.

A man with a goatee was sitting in meditation on a mat when he suddenly spat out blood with a "wa" sound, his expression one of shock and uncertainty.

"Which deity is offering worship to me?"