"Damn it, Chu Yunxiao! Eight hundred and thirty thousand cultivators are tracking me? Among them, there are 2,117 Foundation Establishment stage cultivators tracking my alias Qin Tiedan?"
"Twenty-eight Nascent Soul cultivators are interested in my mysterious identity? And 213 Golden Core cultivators are inquiring about me?"
Upon reading the ninth and tenth pieces of information, Qin Wang felt a chill down his spine.
"From now on, I must be extremely careful. One wrong move and I'll be doomed!"
Taking a deep breath, Qin Wang pondered the final two pieces of intelligence.
"Each step must be carefully considered and flawless!"
With so many high-level cultivators tracking him, even a small mistake could lead to his death. It was terrifying.
"First, I need to deal with Witch King Banlin's soul-tracking spell."
Suppressing his worries, Qin Wang decided to head to Tian Nan Market to prepare the Misfortune Blood Bath Decoction.
With this in mind, he turned to Wanyan Meng, who was sitting cross-legged nearby. "Miss Wanyan, I need your help with something."
"What do you need help with? Just say it," Wanyan Meng responded, opening her eyes to look at him.
"I received information that someone is using a tricky tracking spell on me. Although I can't defeat them, I have a method to prevent them from tracking me. It involves using a drop of your blood, which contains a curse of 'misfortune' to counter their tracking spell," Qin Wang explained.
According to the intelligence, using the Misfortune Blood Bath Decoction would coat him in the curse, causing the Witch King Banlin's soul-tracking spell to backfire and bring misfortune upon him.
Wanyan Meng pondered for a moment, then asked, "Will one drop of blood be enough?"
"Yes, one drop is sufficient," Qin Wang confirmed.
The intelligence indicated that one drop was enough for a single decoction.
"Alright," Wanyan Meng nodded and extended her hand, producing three drops of blood which floated towards Qin Wang. "One drop might not be enough, take three."
"Thank you!" Qin Wang accepted the three drops, then retrieved a sandalwood box from his storage bag and floated it over to Wanyan Meng.
"What's this?" she asked, looking at the box curiously.
"This is an Illusion Spirit Fruit, compensation for your blood," Qin Wang said with a smile.
"It's just a few drops of blood," Wanyan Meng said with a laugh but accepted the Illusion Spirit Fruit, knowing it was a primary ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, and thus, invaluable.
"Miss Wanyan, I'm going to Tian Nan Market to buy some needed herbs. Stay here and cultivate; don't wander off. There are three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Murong family investigating Murong Zhan's death," Qin Wang instructed.
He planned to spread the news about Witch King Banlin in Tian Chu Immortal Court to the three witch kings of the Wu clan.
"Okay, you go ahead," Wanyan Meng agreed with a nod.
Qin Wang acknowledged her and left.
Tian Nan Market.
"That Qin Tiedan is incredible! The Tian Chu Immortal Court dispatched so many Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators but still couldn't find a trace of him!"
"Yeah, this guy is really strong. He must have entered Foundation Establishment in the Wan Ling Blessed Land to be able to kill Eighteen Princes Chu Ping."
"And that mysterious person exposed the fact that the Tian Chu ancestor obtained the Huashen inheritance of Tian Xiao's ancestor. Despite the bounty across the entire Southern Region, they haven't found him yet!"
"..."
In a scattered repair plaza, more than a dozen scattered cultivators were gathered in front of an herb shop, discussing the latest hot topic about the Tian Chu Immortal Court's bounty.
"Friends, I heard that Witch King Banlin of the Wu clan has made a deal with Emperor Chu Wuya and will use the 'soul-tracking spell' to locate Qin Tiedan and the mysterious person who exposed the Tian Chu ancestor."
"Can't wait to find out who this mysterious person is!"
At this moment, a middle-aged cultivator in a green robe, about fifty years old and at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, squeezed into the crowd and inserted his comment.
"Friend, where did you hear this?"
"Please tell us more!"
"..."
The surrounding scattered cultivators immediately surrounded the green-robed man upon hearing his words.
"I heard it over at the Western District. It's being talked about there. As for the specifics, I don't know much," the green-robed cultivator waved his hand and said.
"Is that so!"
"From what I know, the Wu clan's methods are indeed mysterious. If they use the soul-tracking spell, the mystery will soon be revealed!"
"..."
The gathered cultivators, hearing his explanation, stopped pressing for details.
The green-robed cultivator chatted for a while longer before leaving to spread the news elsewhere.
"News about Witch King Banlin in Tian Chu Immortal Court has spread. Once the three Wu clan kings arrive at Tian Nan Market, they should learn of it and hunt him down."
Five hours later.
Qin Wang, dressed in black, stood thirty miles outside Tian Nan Market, looking at the distant market with anticipation.
He had sacrificed a soul seed to spread the news about Witch King Banlin in Tian Chu's palace.
"Now, it's time to go back and prepare the Misfortune Blood Bath Decoction."
Muttering to himself, Qin Wang turned back.
While he had spread the news, Zhang Fujiang had already procured the 18 herbs needed for the decoction.
Night fell.
In a pitch-black night without a moon, in a cave 150 miles from Eagle Cliff, Qin Wang had Zhang Fujiang dig out another cave, inside which he placed a large wooden bath barrel filled with the freshly brewed Misfortune Blood Bath Decoction.
The decoction was dark gray, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance and a hint of blood.
Qin Wang undressed and jumped in, scrubbing himself with the decoction.
After half an hour, he stepped out.
An hour after Qin Wang bathed in the Misfortune Blood Bath Decoction.
In Tian Chu Immortal Court's capital city.
To the east, there was a thousand-zhang white jade plaza surrounded by luxurious palaces.
In the middle of the plaza stood a five-zhang square altar.
A middle-aged cultivator in his forties, with hanging brows and wearing strange attire, sat cross-legged in the center of the altar. Around him were tables, chairs, beds, and various household items.
Next to the altar stood a middle-aged man in imperial robes and several scholars.
The middle-aged cultivator kept forming seals, sending one gray spell after another onto the household items. Gray mist arose from the tables and chairs, swirling into a gray vortex the size of a bowl in front of the cultivator.
"Pff!"
Suddenly, the cultivator bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood into the gray vortex.
The vortex and the blood mixed, turning into a blood-colored vortex.
"Rise!"
The cultivator shouted, pointing at the vortex, which twisted and formed a pale red human figure. As the cultivator continued to cast spells, the figure's face became clearer, revealing the features of Qin Tiedan.
"It's him! Qin Tiedan!"
"This villain!!"
Emperor Chu Wuya, watching the Witch King Banlin cast the soul-tracking spell, clenched his teeth upon seeing the blood-colored figure's face.
Simultaneously, a middle-aged scholar next to the emperor cast a spell, instantly imprinting the figure into a jade slip for future pursuit.
"Go!"
Witch King Banlin sent another spell at the blood-colored figure, solidifying it and causing it to drift eastward.
"Your Majesty, this Qin Tiedan is in the east!"
"I will now track the location of the mysterious person who slandered Tian Chu. Your Majesty can send people to follow this soul to capture him!"
Banlin, his claw-like hand extended, grabbed the blood-colored figure and produced a large urn, intending to capture the figure within.
As Banlin moved to capture the figure, a gray mist suddenly emerged from it, traveling up his arm and entering his body, disappearing from sight.
"What... what is this?"
Sensing the gray mist, Banlin felt a sudden unease.
Emperor Chu Wuya's brows furrowed slightly as well.