Chapter 163: Blood Treasure

Yu Ci darted through the forest, only three to five li from his target—just over a mountain ridge.

The one within the Dragon Fish’s sensing range was the same female cultivator he had seen earlier at the Mountain-moving Cloud Boat dock. She had looked quiet and shy. For some reason, she was now resting there to regulate her breathing.

Yu Ci understood that, given the current situation, cultivators who came to this dock were mostly heading to Sky Rift Valley to hunt demons and beasts. Each one had some skill and couldn’t be underestimated. But that female cultivator gave off an extremely delicate, inoffensive vibe, entirely different from the others, leaving a deep impression on him. To sit and recover alone in such a remote wilderness? She was probably a greenhorn with little experience—an idea that made Yu Ci shake his head.

But more than anything, Yu Ci was curious—several hours had passed since they got off the Ferry Cloud Shuttle. Why was she still near the dock? Had she been circling around all this time?

She seemed like someone with a decent temperament. Perhaps if he asked, he could get an answer.

The mountain was within sight. The female cultivator was still meditating with her eyes closed in the Dragon Fish’s senses, showing no sign of awakening.

The strange, familiar beast roar from earlier had disappeared at some point, and Yu Ci still couldn’t figure it out. He had heard hundreds, if not thousands, of roars in Sky Rift Valley. Over thirty had left a strong impression. There was no way he could identify the exact one in a rush—huh?

Just as he was about to crest the mountain, Yu Ci suddenly lunged forward and dove into the shadow of the trees ahead.

On the peak opposite him, a figure had just risen into the air.

The two peaks were more than ten li apart in the dark night—normally too far to make anything out. But if someone rose high into the sky, right into the moonlight, half-submerged in the crescent moon, that was another story.

Tonight’s moon was waning, casting a faint yellow light, dim overall. Yet after that figure appeared, the moonlight inexplicably grew clearer, brightening even the dark corners of the forest. The whole world suddenly seemed far more luminous. Even a cloudless full moon might not have cast such brightness.

Yu Ci stared wide-eyed. He had recognized the figure.

Silhouetted against the moon, body slightly turned, the figure’s outline was faint—but the delicate shape, floating skirts, and high-pinned hair clearly belonged to none other than Bi Chao, the current master of the Mysterious Moon Sect, the very person Yu Ci had just been searching for! Had she been circling around too?

Bi Chao stood suspended beneath the moon, moonlight bathing her like an immortal in flight. But Yu Ci suddenly felt that the moonlight itself was being manipulated by her. It turned into an illusory wave of light, descending from the sky and washing over the forest below. That was likely why the moon appeared brighter.

The sensation was abrupt, but not imagined. It was something Yu Ci discerned through subtle fluctuations in the surrounding forest’s energy, his soul sense amplified and diffused by the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror.

Moonlight, like a tide, spread over the forest. That fine-scale movement might even reflect back to the sky, allowing Bi Chao to detect it. This technique seemed to use lunar energy to cast a soul-sense-like detection spell—its range already exceeded five li and was still expanding.

Yu Ci was impressed. Compared to this, the Divine Map was perhaps more comprehensive, detailed, and far-reaching—but it relied on external tools. Bi Chao, on the other hand, achieved this entirely through her own cultivation and technique.

Yu Ci’s mountain had not yet been caught in the detection range, though his own soul-sense area was beginning to overlap with hers.

This was where the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror’s mystery showed its worth. Now, Yu Ci’s spiritual perception naturally passed through the mirror first before spreading out. That process lent it the mirror’s unique power, turning his soul energy into illusion-like projections—difficult for others to detect.

But the Dragon Fish was getting too close to the spreading moonlight tide… Wait, where was she?

Yu Ci’s heart jolted. The seemingly fragile female cultivator within the Dragon Fish’s range had vanished without a trace—gone without a single sign.

He stood stunned. If he hadn’t been tracking her constantly via the Dragon Fish and remembered clearly, he might’ve thought she had only been a dream during his meditation!

“D*mmit…”

Unease crept over him. Something major was clearly going on in these hundred li of forest. Maybe it really had been reckless to come out tonight unprepared. And now, that tide of moonlight under Bi Chao’s control was creeping toward his location.

Though Bi Chao had acted modest in front of him during the day, after hearing the female cultivator’s whisper in the scented carriage, Yu Ci wasn’t sure what would happen if they met alone in the wilderness now. He dared not linger. Forget the “frail female cultivator”—he summoned the Dragon Fish, held his breath, and skimmed low across the forest floor, racing down the mountain.

Ten li away, Yu Ci looked back. Bi Chao’s figure was still visible in the moonlight, but now she had ceased the detection spell and was circling in the air—seemingly still getting no results. Then, with a flicker of light, she darted off—heading straight in his direction!

Yu Ci quickly concealed himself, calming his breath. He could see clearly that although her direction was roughly the same, she was flying at a diagonal—at least ten li off from his position—and quickly vanished into the distance.

She was heading east… Really leaving?

Yu Ci had the Dragon Fish track her for a bit. Sure enough, Bi Chao didn’t slow down and soon passed beyond the 50-li sensing range, flying eastward for real.

The moon above dimmed quickly, returning to its former hazy yellow within half a quarter-hour.

Yu Ci turned his gaze toward the sky behind the mountain ridges. After a brief thought, his mind sharpened. 

“Little guy, go!”

*****

“You ignorant brat! Courting death! Pig-headed moron! Unbelievably stupid!”

Inside a grand hall carved from the mountain, steam practically rose from the bald heads of the elders as they raged. One could probably toss a spark and ignite the place.

All the dock’s permanent staff were assembled here. 

Aside from the elders, everyone else wore helpless expressions as the most respected and hot-tempered of the bunch twisted his face in fury, cursing:

“Told you to curb your killing! Told you to recuperate! But no—you just had to cause trouble outside! If it weren’t for that favor I owe Yu Zhou from a few years back, you think I’d waste energy healing a reckless brat like you? I should’ve thrown you into Sky Rift Valley and let you tear each other apart with the demon beasts! That would’ve suited your damn temper…”

“Senior Elder speaks true. But there’s a powerful demon active in our area right now. It’s going to make travel risky, and we also need to tighten up the dock’s defensive formations.”

Yu Ci smoothly changed the subject. 

The elder’s fat, twitching face showed he was still boiling, but Yu Ci gave him no chance to explode again—he stuffed the next topic right in his mouth: “Less than eighty li from the dock, demon beasts and even powerful cultivators are clashing. That’s basically at our doorstep. With the nearby creatures stirred into chaos, we can’t ignore the threat.”

Yu Ci hadn’t crossed over the mountain himself, out of caution, but he’d sent the Dragon Fish. Through its perspective, he examined the area in detail. There were traces of battle everywhere, the corpses of powerful beasts torn apart. Including the shadow he’d slain and the origin of that roar, nearly ten demon beasts had gathered in that area. Even with ongoing unrest in Sky Rift Valley, this was too dense.

No one could say for sure why this was happening, but even the loudmouthed elder took it seriously. Everyone present remembered the chaos at the start of the Sky Rift Valley upheaval—hiding in the mountain while beasts trampled overhead was a nightmare no one wanted to relive.

Yu Ci turned to Zhao Xiqiao. “Manager Zhao, your thoughts?”

Zhao Xiqiao, a treasure appraiser, was holding a gray lump—a blood treasure—and looked deeply serious.

“This blood treasure is of fine quality. If I’m right, it came from a type of demon called an Earth Soul Fiend. These fiends are masters of underground movement, ambush specialists. They’re also adept at tracking life force for surprise attacks. A mature Earth Soul Fiend absorbs the resentment of its prey into its flesh and blood, forming this ‘Rotwind’ blood treasure. Its breath carries sinister resentment, capable of wounding the soul. A fiend able to produce such a treasure is likely close to the Core Refinement stage.”

He felt he was underestimating it, but couldn’t bring himself to believe that Yu Ci, only at mid-stage Divine Connectivity, could kill a higher-tier fiend—even a wounded one. All he could do was nod.

“Still, thanks to Brother Yu’s prowess, it was slain. Otherwise, once it recovered a bit, it might’ve slaughtered nearby beings to restore itself. To a Earth Soul Fiend, this mountain complex is like flat land—it could come and go at will. Most of our defenses would be useless. Total chaos!”

At that, both Zhou Hu and Yan Hao nodded. They knew the dock’s defenses better than anyone. A Earth Soul Fiend could easily slip past them in the first wave of attacks.

“Let me see that!” The elder barked. 

Zhao Xiqiao quickly put on a flattering smile and handed the blood treasure over.

The elder turned the bumpy lump over in his hands, studying it before nodding.

“The sinister aura’s mostly gone, but its internal structure is naturally formed, full of stored yin energy—great for cultivation and even nourishment. I just so happen to need something like this…”

“Elder, please!”

Zhao Xiqiao immediately cried, “I wanted to trade this ‘Rotwind’ blood treasure with Brother Yu—”

The elder shot him a glare. “What treasures do you have besides a bunch of materials for crafting and alchemy? If this caught my eye, even if you took it, I’d still buy it from you. Trying to flip it for profit, are you?”

That shut Zhao Xiqiao up. 

The elder then turned to Yu Ci. “I’ll trade you the Light Concealment Escape Technique for it.”

As he spoke, he saw Yu Ci’s indifferent expression and nearly exploded again. Barely restraining himself, he grumbled, “This technique comes from the Heavenly Escape Sect. Their ‘Triple Shadow Escape’ is famed across the world. Though this one’s not as good, it’s still better than ordinary five-element escape arts…”

Yu Ci wasn’t particularly interested in blood treasures or escape techniques, but he knew better than to provoke the old man again. He smiled and cupped his hands. “Much appreciated, Elder.”

Just as he finished speaking, a loud bang echoed from the corner of the hall, shaking the whole room. Everyone froze, and then a voice came from a hidden mechanism:

“Open up! There’s a demon beast riot in Sky Rift Valley—it’s a beast tide! They’re about to crash down on us! You shouldn’t just sit back and watch us die—”