"So, what happened? For you to use the talismans, you must have faced someone you thought you couldn't handle. That means a Palace Stage cultivator, right?" Yi Jie suddenly asked, disrupting the imaginative fantasy those two were lost in.
Feng Xin nearly choked on his drool from the sudden question, while Yang Qing shot Yi Jie an aggrieved look for ruining his food fantasy—just as he was getting to the best part.
"I don't think the trouble had anything to do with the party targeting those from the Order," Feng Xin said, seemingly anticipating the direction of Yi Jie's thoughts.
"Its source was tied to the Green Fog Swamp Sect. Apparently, they had a run-in with the Blood Ghost Hands Syndicate. From what these two told me, one of their elders—a deacon named Dong Yanlin—was a member of the syndicate.
By the time I caught up with them, Dong Yanlin was already dead—wiped out by your spell. Yang Qing," Feng Xin said, a chiding glimmer in his eyes as he looked at Yang Qing.
"How much firepower did you pack into a reconnaissance technique? I saw the aftermath—it leveled half a kilometer! These two barely survived, and that was mostly thanks to their tupelo tree," Feng Xin said, recalling the scene where he had found Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen.
"The Green Swallow technique? Did you see the attack? How strong was it? What about its level of sentience?" Yang Qing fired off a rapid series of questions, his excitement palpable. Spittle flew everywhere, forcing the rest to step back and give him a wide berth.
"Calm down, will you? I didn't see it in action—only the aftermath. If you want details, you'll have to ask the survivors. But from what I could tell, its level of sentience was pretty high," Feng Xin hurriedly replied, trying to stop Yang Qing's barrage of questions.
"No wonder he drools so much. Why does he have that much saliva in his mouth?" Feng Xin thought, taking a few extra steps back. Even at his current distance, he didn't feel safe enough to dodge Yang Qing's spittle.
"Fine, fine… Huh? Why are you guys standing so far away?" Yang Qing asked in confusion once he had calmed down, only to realize the rest had put several meters between them.
"Mmmh… I wonder why the Green Swallow would attack in the first place," he muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "I built in self-preservation measures in case it encountered an attack it couldn't dodge, but speed is its strongest suit. If something had matched its speed, then our two elder friends here would have been long dead against a force of that level.
The only other reason would be if it encountered something steeped in negative yin qi or tremendous bloodlust, or blood qi used by blood refinement cultivators. The spell itself is formed from Yang-aligned qi—the natural antithesis of negative qi born from places steeped in death and grievances. The greater the density of that yin qi, the stronger the adverse reaction from the spell. I wonder what could have triggered it…"
Yang Qing's brows furrowed in deep thought. The Green Swallow spell was one of the repertoire of spells attached to his purple-grade art, the Universal Resonant Light Art. The spell was one of the earliest to learn as its yang nature suited his yin-yang peerless jade physique perfectly.
"Feng Xin, did you find anything in the area with a dense concentration of negative yin qi or blood qi?" he finally asked.
"If we're talking about dense negative qi, then without a doubt, it came from this. Even the guy chasing after us was after me because I had it in my possession," Feng Xin said as he retrieved the Ao Yin Saber from his storage ring.
The weapon was firmly sealed in place with the Four-Element Life Divergent Seals.
"Is that an Ao Yin bone!?" Yang Qing exclaimed, his voice filled with shock. "Someone was actually insane enough to forge a weapon from it? Those lunatics from the Blood Ghost Hands Syndicate never disappoint when it comes to sheer madness."
He picked up the bone saber, his expression darkening. Nearby, Yi Jie and Mao Yunru also frowned as they stared at it. The Ao Yin had that effect on people.
A creature built for slaughter and torment, the Ao Yin didn't just devour its victims' flesh—it also imprisoned their souls, subjecting them to a near-eternal torment. As long as the beast lived, its victims' souls would forever be imprisoned within its body.
Most had been wiped out from the continent long ago. Almost every sect, empire, and clan had united in their fear and hatred of the creatures. Though some had once attempted to enslave them for their own gain, most failed— getting corrupted instead, with their minds getting twisted into puppets of endless slaughter as they got tainted with the Ao Yin's bloodthirsty nature.
However, despite countless failures, one beast-taming sect had succeeded—the Myriad Beasts Sect, whose power and influence grew strong enough to rival the two Holy Lands of the Southern Continent.
Given the immense fear surrounding the Ao Yin and the devastating firepower it granted those who could control it, it didn't take long for the majority of the continent to unite against the sect. Even one of the two Holy Lands—the Flowing Valley Sect—stood among their enemies.
Citing the Myriad Beasts Sect as a grave threat to the continent, the Flowing Valley Sect and countless other factions banded together to eradicate them. The once-mighty sect was crushed, its inheritance and resources plundered.
Nearly 30,000 years have passed since its destruction, and to this day, few cultivators even know of its existence—save for the well-informed, and those whose existence and lineage predated its fall.
...
Suddenly, a powerful wave of energy surged through the area—appearing and vanishing in an instant, yet strong enough to nearly paralyze everyone present.
All eyes turned to one place—Yang Qing.
His hair had split into two colors—half green, half brown. One of his eyes resembled a radiant sun, while the other glowed like a luminous moon.
A few seconds later, the transformation faded, and he returned to normal.
"Sorry about that. I tried sneaking my spiritual sense in there and got attacked—but it's all okay now," Yang Qing said with an awkward laugh.
The remnant spirit of the Ao Yin had lashed out at him, just as it had with Feng Xin the moment he attempted to probe it. Instinctively, he had retaliated with a spiritual attack of his own for a brief second before severing his connection. However, a trace of his attack had leaked out, forcing him to halt immediately.
Yang Qing wasn't worried about damaging the bone—he had already determined it came from an Ao Yin in the late stages of the Palace Realm. Though its strength had waned over time, it still carried the power of at least an early-stage Palace Realm cultivator.
"The one who forged this weapon is truly insidious," Yang Qing said coldly. "To sustain the Ao Yin's spirit, they continuously fed it cultivators' blood and souls. From what I can tell, the number of victims reached into the thousands."
His expression darkened as he placed the bone saber on his podium. A golden sigil flared to life, sealing it further. The moment the seal landed, a faint, muffled roar of agony echoed from the weapon.
"I'll have to turn this over to Lei Weiyuan. He might be able to trace its creator through the seal techniques they left behind," Yang Qing continued before shifting his gaze to Feng Xin.
"So, what happened after you left the place where you found the Ao Yin bone? Did the Palace Stage cultivator attack you there?"
"No, I left without being targeted. Once I learned of the possible involvement of the Blood Ghost Hands, I contacted the Green Mountain branch for reinforcements. Fortunately, their branch leader, Hu Fang, was available and offered to handle it personally.
We agreed to meet halfway at White Fork Mountains. Flying with Ellie, I thought we'd make it in good time before anything unexpected happened—but we got caught anyway. I suspect the cleansing dew I used on a mirage dragonfly I picked up on the way may have had something to do with it.
Its leaking aura may have turned into a tracking beacon for that expert.
He caught up with us when we were less than 30 kilometers away."
... (40 Minutes earlier)
"Ellie, it looks like we're almost there. You did a great job, buddy," Feng Xin said as he gently patted Ellie's head.
In his hand, he held an old goatskin map. A small white symbol moved across its surface, heading toward a mountainous region labeled White Fork Mountain. The symbol represented them. The map was a precious monarch-grade treasure used by the Order for navigation—each one bound to its owner through their blood essence. Any place the owner had traveled before would be recorded in detail, while unexplored areas remained a blank canvas.
"At this speed, we'll be there in ten minutes or less," Feng Xin muttered to himself.
His pupils suddenly contracted as he glanced behind him. Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen immediately followed his gaze, startled by the rare look of alarm on his face.
For Haishi, the sight was even more unnerving. In their brief time together, she had never seen Feng Xin so much as flustered, let alone shaken. When she turned to look as well, she saw nothing—just open sky. That terrified her even more than if she had spotted something. If someone as strong as Feng Xin is rattled, then whatever's coming must be beyond reason…
A few tense moments passed before the rest finally caught sight of it—a red dot, speeding toward them at an alarming pace.
"Tsk, things just couldn't go smoothly, could they?" Feng Xin clicked his tongue in frustration. "A Palace Stage expert…"
His expression hardened as he turned to Ellie. "The moment you get an opening, use everything you have to get us out of here. If you can buy us even a minute or two, we might just make it."
With that, he reached into his storage ring and pulled out three purple talismans, his grip tightening as he grimly watched the approaching figure. Within moments, the pursuer closed the distance, stopping half a mile away.
A scarlet-robed man, seemingly in his late thirties, hovered in the air, with an unassuming yet suffocating presence about him.