Chapter 135: So It Was Him
In the deepest part of Profound Frost Cave, all was silent.
Time passed slowly, bit by bit.
The Red Lotus Flame blazed fiercely.
At a certain moment, a large portion of frost suddenly melted.
Shen Mo's expression brightened slightly, and he quickly inspected the situation.
"So, the ice dragon's body is already hollow. No wonder it melted so quickly."
Shen Mo shook his head slightly.
Looking inside through the hollow, he saw that most of the ice dragon's body had already been emptied.
Only a few bones remained.
The tendons were almost gone as well.
All that was left were a few pockets of frozen ice dragon blood still clinging tightly to the inside of the body.
He roughly estimated that there was just enough blood to fill two more vats.
"Not sure if that will be enough for what I need."
Shen Mo sighed lightly.
He had thought it would be a great source of blood.
The upkeep for his demon armor required a constant supply of blood, and even this might not be enough to satisfy the insatiable beast.
...
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Shen Mo sat quietly in his room, refining the medicinal power of the Great Replenishing Pill.
This particular bottle of Great Replenishing Pills was not the one Murong Yue had given him.
Instead, it was something he had taken from Feng Lianshan's storage ring after killing him.
Feng Lianshan hadn't used them all, leaving two pills behind, which now benefited Shen Mo.
Just as his life panel had predicted, after swallowing the Great Replenishing Pill, Shen Mo immediately felt the bottleneck that had trapped him for so long begin to loosen.
At a certain moment, the bottleneck broke open.
His internal energy surged.
The Infernal Gold Core within him expanded significantly.
Heavy, brilliant, flames rising, smoke swirling.
It was far more powerful than the average cultivator's Gold Core.
"Core Formation stage, fully achieved!"
Shen Mo felt a rush of excitement and immediately got up, heading outside.
Breathing in the fresh air, he smiled.
Shen Mo quickly walked out of his residence.
After only a few steps, he overheard two stewards nearby discussing something.
"…I heard that recently there's been a strange fragrance filling the air near White Rock City, but no one knows what's going on."
"Many people say it's the birth of a great treasure, and some even speculate it could be Thousand-Mile Fragrance, a rare treasure perfect for nurturing Nascent Souls! Quite a few Core Formation cultivators have already headed there."
"What a shame. If only we were at the Core Formation stage, we'd go try our luck too. Who knows, that kind of fortune might fall right into our hands!"
"Any elders from our sect going?"
"No way. Think about how fast our sect has expanded recently. With so many industries and cities to protect, there's no elder with free time. Naturally, they won't get involved."
"That's true… What a pity. That must be an incredible treasure."
Shen Mo's interest was piqued.
He approached them casually and asked, "What's the situation in White Rock City right now?"
The two stewards were startled, but upon seeing that it was Shen Mo, they quickly bowed respectfully.
Then, they relayed everything they knew in detail.
"Young Sect Master, are you planning to take a look?" one of them asked.
Shen Mo nodded slightly. "It does seem interesting. Go inform Elder Song and Hall Master Wei that I'm heading to White Rock City, and they don't need to worry about my safety."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Shen Mo took to the air, heading north toward White Rock City.
As the Young Sect Master, his identity and status were too important for him to simply disappear without notice.
By informing Song Chaofeng and Wei Xiongtie, if they wanted to look for him later, they would at least know where to start.
...
White Rock City.
This city was located to the north of Profound Frost City, roughly in the central region of Xuanjiang Prefecture, rather than the southern region where Qingxuan Sect was based.
White Rock City had once been under the control of Blood River Sect.
But after Blood River Sect was destroyed, the city became the center of a power struggle among Qingxuan Sect, White River Sect, Storm Rain Sect, and Purple Star Sect.
The four sides had been in a deadlock for a long time, and none had been able to fully claim the city.
Considering that such a stalemate would consume a huge amount of manpower and resources, and with Qingxuan Sect expanding rapidly and having many industries to defend, Murong Yue had convened a meeting of the elders and decided to temporarily withdraw from White Rock City, pulling out the two stationed elders.
As a result, White Rock City had become divided among three factions.
However, despite this division, a large portion of the city remained unclaimed.
These unclaimed territories had become the playground of rogue cultivators.
Powerful Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators formed various gangs, recruiting others and carving out their own territories in White Rock City.
Today, the city was in utter chaos.
Murder and robbery in broad daylight had become commonplace.
At this moment, a young figure arrived at the entrance of White Rock City.
He wore a half-mask with fire patterns, covering his eyes and nose, leaving only his mouth exposed.
There were many people wearing masks like him.
He didn't stand out.
This young man was Shen Mo.
Even before approaching White Rock City, he had already donned the mask.
In this way, he concealed his face, avoiding unnecessary trouble.
"Indeed, such a fragrant aroma!"
As soon as Shen Mo arrived at White Rock City, he immediately caught the rich fragrance in the air.
Just a light sniff filled him with a sense of relaxation and delight.
Even the rotation speed of his Infernal Gold Core had accelerated.
"The scent of Thousand-Mile Fragrance."
Shen Mo's spirits lifted.
"But how should I find it? This treasure is definitely underground, and without any clues, it's going to be difficult to locate."
He took a few casual steps and noticed several corpses lying on the roadside.
Not far away, the sounds of clashing weapons and fighting rang out.
Clearly, two groups of rival cultivators had started a battle.
Some rogue cultivators cast their eyes on Shen Mo, showing fierce intent.
However, after Shen Mo swiftly killed a few of them, the rest of the rogues immediately transformed from hungry wolves into obedient sheep, bowing in submission.
He continued walking for a while until he suddenly sensed someone following him.
Shen Mo smirked, then abruptly moved at high speed, circling around several times.
In no time, he had shaken off his pursuers.
After a few more turns, he casually walked into a teahouse.
"Shopkeeper, a bowl of cold tea."
Shen Mo sat down and spoke calmly.
"Coming right up, Daoist! Please wait a moment!"
The shopkeeper wasn't a powerful cultivator, just at the Body Refining stage.
His cultivation level was quite low, barely at the mid-stage of Body Refining, not much stronger than an ordinary strong mortal.
Soon, a bowl of cold tea was brought to him.
Shen Mo's mask only covered the upper half of his face, allowing him to drink freely.
While sipping his tea, he also listened to the conversations of the cultivators in the teahouse.
"Look at that girl, she's a real beauty. How about we…"
"Shh, didn't you see the person next to her? He's a disciple of Qingxuan Sect. That sect's riding high right now, we better not provoke them."
"Qingxuan Sect… are they really that powerful? I don't remember hearing much about them."
"Are you kidding me? You don't know Qingxuan Sect? Are you even from Xuanjiang Prefecture?"
"No… I'm from the neighboring Jiande Prefecture. My sect was wiped out…"
"Uh, brother, that's rough."
"Come on, tell me, what's Qingxuan Sect? I only know about the Five Sects of Xuanjiang."
"Heh, if you're talking about Qingxuan Sect, you have to mention one person: their Young Sect Master, Shen Mo! This guy once dominated the Hundred Sects Grand Tournament, defeating countless geniuses to take first place! Let me tell you another thing: he's only at the early Core Formation stage but managed to kill a peak Core Formation cultivator. Now, tell me if that's impressive or not!"
"Wow, that's incredible!"
"..."
Shen Mo couldn't help but chuckle.
He hadn't expected that even here in White Rock City, deep in the central region of Xuanjiang Prefecture, people were talking about his deeds.
But a Qingxuan Sect disciple?
From the corner of his eye, Shen Mo glanced toward a pair of young men and women sitting in a corner of the teahouse with their backs to him.
The man was tall and dashing, while the woman was petite and delicate.
Out of curiosity, Shen Mo subconsciously checked their life panels.
"So, it's him?"
He laughed quietly to himself.
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