The sky of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range was constantly covered with thick, low-hanging clouds - so low that one could seemingly touch the clouds just by jumping.
It was early morning. Glistening dew hung on the leaves of the green shrubs, as if they had been sprinkled with crystal dust. A thin mist filled the ancient forests and mountain ranges. It was as if the mist was connected to the clouds low in the sky. It was a beautiful scene to behold.
As expected, Han Shuo and his party were the first rival party to arrive at the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range. Han Shuo had used his demon generals to scan the entire mountain range and found that no other divine guards from other corps had arrived yet.
After thinking for a while, Han Shuo asked Bollands to disperse the Divine Guards. He ordered the divine guards to divide into nine squadrons so that they could familiarise themselves with the terrain and situation in the mountain range, especially the hidden caves and rivers.
Most of the members of the Fifth Corps were newly recruited. They were unfamiliar with the terrain around the City of Shadows. As the first to arrive at the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range, Han Shuo thought that his divine guards should use the time to learn and familiarise themselves with the terrain there, so that they would be better prepared for the competition.
The divine guards in the other corps were mostly veterans. They had carried out many missions around the City of Shadows, and the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range would not be unfamiliar to them. Perhaps that was why they did not rush to the mountain range.
Following Bolland's orders, the Divine Guards split into nine squadrons and spread out around Han Shuo. They slowly explored the misty mountain range, memorising the terrain as best they could.
Wherever the divine guards went, the demon generals would follow. Han Shuo could observe the situation in the entire mountain range without having to move a step. The demon generals stealthily followed the nine squadrons as they thoroughly explored and familiarised themselves with the mountain range.
The Soaring Cloud Mountain Range was huge. It was even larger than Lasberg Fortress, which currently belonged to the House of Han. After two days of exploration, the demon generals had only explored half of the mountain range. The mountain range also contained all kinds of magical beasts and plants. But since this place was close to the City of Shadows, the magical beasts were not too strong. They posed no threat to Han Shuo and his divine guards.
Han Shuo was very interested in the strange plants that grew in the mountain range. Since Han Shuo's divine guards had nothing urgent to do but explore the area, Han Shuo ordered them to collect some bizarre plants for him while they explored. The divine guards were not pharmacists, and they could not tell which plant Han Shuo would be interested in. So Han Shuo asked them to collect plants with strange shapes and any plants that looked rare and unusual.
Han Shuo's instructions had proved useful. Plants that looked different from ordinary plants were usually extremely poisonous or possessed unique properties. The divine guards, who were scattered far and wide, carefully scanned their surroundings and managed to collect many unique plants that were useful to Han Shuo.
One of the divine guards collected a dozen or more shoots of Scarlet Grass. Its leaves were as sharp as blades and its stem was blood red in colour. It was as if blood was flowing in the grass.
"Where did you find this?" asked Han Shuo. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw the scarlet grass.
It was Blood Essence Grass, a very rare plant that could be used to improve blood circulation and vitality. An ordinary person who consumed the grass recklessly would bleed profusely from every orifice. But for someone like Han Shuo, who understood its properties well, he could dissolve the power in the grass and fuse it with his demonic yuan to form blood essence.
Blood essence was the fuel that powered the demon infant. It was also fundamental to the refinement of some demonic weapons and the use of some demonic techniques. With the dozen or more blood essence grasses, Han Shuo could form a few hundred drops of blood essence in his demonic infant without spending a lot of demonic yuan.
"Eh?!" Sanguis let out a cry of surprise and walked over to Han Shuo excitedly. His eyes grew redder and redder as he stared at the Blood Essence Grass. He said in a pleasantly surprised manner, "Master, I can sense that this plant contains a very miraculous energy. I think it will be very useful for me!"
Han Shuo turned to Sanguis and stared blankly for a moment. When he saw the redness in Sanguis's eyes, he finally came to his senses. Smiling, he said, "I almost forgot that you cultivate in the Bloodgod Mantra!"
Han Shuo put away nine of the Blood Essence Grass and handed the rest to Sangui. He said, "Consume it directly and absorb the energy within. It is more beneficial for you than for me!"
Sanguis hastily shook his head and replied, "Master, if it benefits you, you should have all of it.
Sanguis was very loyal to Han Shuo. Since leaving the Abyss Empire, Sanguis had taken Han Shuo as his only family, as it was Han Shuo who had given him a new life. So when Sanguis heard that the Blood Essence Grass was also useful to Han Shuo, he immediately refused the grass so that Han Shuo could have all of it.
Han Shuo shook his head and explained, "This is called Blood Essence Grass. The energy you sense in this grass can help me condense more blood essence. While for you, this energy can directly increase your strength. That's why I say it's more useful for you than for me," he said. When Han Shuo saw that Sanguis was about to retreat again, he interrupted, "You are my apprentice. The stronger you are, the better it'll be for me. As your master, I order you to stop retreating!"
Sanguis hesitated for a moment after hearing the words. Finally, he nodded and accepted the blood essence grass. He ate the grass raw right in front of Han Shuo.
Sanguis chewed and swallowed the dozen or more Blood Essence Grasses. Their thick and scarlet juice, which looked very much like fresh blood, left a trail from the corner of Sanguis's lips as he munched with great satisfaction.
Suddenly, Sanguis's eyes turned scarlet, as if filled with blood, and his face turned dark red, as if smeared with blood. A thin mist of blood slowly emanated from Sanguis. The mist did not dissipate, but curled around him. A faint but pungent smell of blood came from him.
Then, Sanguis's blood-stained eyes began to sparkle as the energy in the Blood Essence Grass slowly merged with the blood in his body. After a while, Sanguis took a deep breath. The mist of blood that lingered around him disappeared into his nostrils.
Sanguis burped as if he had just finished a large and delicious meal. He said happily, "Thank you, Master! This Blood Essence Grass is really useful for me. I can feel that my blood has become purer than ever!"
"That's great!" Han Shuo said with a faint smile as he nodded. He then turned to the divine guard and asked, "These grasses, where did you find them?"
The divine guard, who had been staring at Sanguis in amazement for half a day, suddenly snapped out of his daze. He hastily replied, "I do not know how to describe the place, but I can lead Your Lordship to it!"
The Divine Guard had lived on Elysium for many years, but he had never seen a being like Sanguis who could use the blood energy in his body, and use it so skilfully. To the Divine Guard it was new and baffling. He thought that only someone as unusual as Han Shuo could have such an unusual apprentice.
"Ok. Show us the way," Han Shuo replied calmly. The divine guard then led Han Shuo and Sanguis to where he had discovered the Blood Essence Grass.
The Blood Essence Grass was a unique plant that grew by absorbing the energy in blood. Energy could be found in the blood of every living thing. The stronger the organism, the more energy it had in its blood. If a creature happened to die next to the Blood Essence Grass, the blood from the creature's body would be absorbed by the plant, allowing it to mature.
Generally speaking, even if several creatures with mighty powers perished in close proximity, the blood energy from those creatures would only be able to nourish one or two shoots of Blood Essence Grass. For the Divine Guardian to find more than a dozen shoots in one go was very bizarre. Therefore, Han Shuo was interested in investigating the place himself.
Soon, the three of them arrived at a shallow stream. At its deepest, the water barely reached their ankles. The stream was lined with various kinds of plants, including several shoots of Blood Essence Grass that had yet to be collected.
The Divine Guardian pointed to the stream and said, "I have collected the grass from this stream. I saw that the grass had a strange colour and looked like it had blood in it, so I collected some. Look! There are still some shoots on the water. I did not collect them all because I did not know if the grass would be useful.
Immediately after the divine guard finished speaking, Sanguis shot forward and plucked all the remaining blood essence grass. He returned smiling and handed the grass to Han Shuo, "Master, I have eaten more than a dozen of the Blood Essence Grass. Master should keep these!"
Han Shuo did not refuse. He casually tucked away the few Blood Essence Grasses Sanguis had given him, his eyes fixed on the stream. His consciousness quietly gathered in that region to probe the secrets of the stream.
"Master, what are you looking for?" Sanguis couldn't help but ask when Han Shuo said nothing after putting the blood essence grasses away, just continued to stare at the stream.
Han Shuo did not answer. With a thought, the seventeen flying swords whistled and shot straight at the stream. Crackling and rattling noises came from the stream. The seventeen flying swords had cut off the weeds and dug out the stream. Broken rocks, dust, and mud were sent flying in all directions.
The seventeen flying swords then returned to Han Shuo as he suddenly flew into the hole he had dug. He emerged from under the stream carrying a blood red rock the size of a full grown man. The rock seemed to be made of blood. The red colour looked eerie and its appearance could make some feel uncomfortable.
After digging out the blood-red rock from under the stream, Han Shuo smiled faintly and said to Sanguis i, "You have been lacking a decent weapon all this time. Hehe, I finally have the material to make you one!"