Chapter 10: sealed in jade box

“Senior Sister and Martial Brother came really early.” Qi Lin spoke familiarly, the ice soul sword tassel at his waist jingling. Qin Yue forced a smile, her gaze sweeping over the blue-robed youth from Han Ming Peak behind him: “Senior Brother Qi is escorting someone into the realm?”

“It is Martial Brother Zhao Leng,” Qi Lin said, stepping aside to reveal him.

Seeing that the youth’s eyebrows bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Zhao Yu, Qin Yue’s pupils slightly constricted. Han Ming Peak and Ziyan Peak had always been at odds in the way of the sword, so someone with the same surname Zhao might not be…

“Zhao Yu’s cousin asked me to convey a message,” Qi Lin suddenly turned to Qing Feng, “Thanks to your sword, he broke through his inner demons and has now successfully reached Foundation Establishment. When he returns from the battlefield, he will definitely seek you out again for guidance.”

“I await him anytime,” Qing Feng sneered, caressing his sword hilt. He said it was about breaking inner demons, but it was just that he couldn’t enter the Thousand Moon Realm and instead went to kill demons to accumulate malevolent energy. Foundation Establishment third layer? When he returns, he probably won’t even be able to catch his own shadow.

While Qi Lin was still chattering, a colorful auspicious cloud suddenly appeared in the sky.

A purple-robed Taoist stepped forth on his sword, and amidst the radiant light, twenty-seven gigantic sword phantoms emerged from the void, carving a moon-wheel light gate into the mountain wall.

The Thousand Moon Token in Qing Feng’s embrace suddenly grew scalding hot, buzzing as if to fly out of his hand.

“Three people per boat, for a period of three months,” the Taoist’s voice boomed like a great bell.

Qing Feng took one last look at Qin Yue, then clenched the jade token and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the mountain wall. After all eighty-one people had disappeared, two more Golden Core auras quietly snuck in.

Although the Thousand Moon Realm was boasted as safe, the death of a sword cultivator Disciple was a minor matter; losing the Sect’s face was a major one.

The Beast Taming Sect had no shortage of promising sword cultivators; only those who could endure life-and-death tempering were worthy of being called the Sect’s future. However, if a promising alchemy cultivator were to perish, that would truly be a heartbreaking loss.

The middle-aged Taoist looked at the admiring gazes of the Disciples below, his heart blooming with joy.

The rotten idea that Mo Tong came up with, though flashy and impractical, had a good effect in bluffing with these seven-colored sword lights. He completely failed to notice that when the two Golden Core streaks of light vanished into the mountain wall, the patterns on the entire cliff face began to glow with an eerie light.

…

When Qing Feng opened his eyes, a crimson blood moon hung overhead. The surrounding Qi seemed to be distorted by some rule, and even his breath carried an bone-chilling coldness.

“According to the route Apothecary Jin Shishu gave us, there’s a group of small demons a hundred li to the east,” Yan Yi said, unfolding a map. “How about we break through to the Foundation Establishment realm first? Is Martial Brother Zhu willing to come along?”

Zhu Jian, who was at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, smiled gently: “Since Senior Sister is leading, I shall naturally obey.”

However, the hand hidden in his sleeve slightly clenched, and his peripheral vision swept over the figure who was always dozing off.

“Wait,” Qing Feng suddenly spoke, “The spiritual herbs near the fox demon’s lair have long been picked clean.”

Yan Yi’s brow furrowed slightly: “Three months is enough time; raising our cultivation is more important for now.”

“You seek breakthroughs, I seek herbs,” the young man said with a cupped-fist salute and a smile. Before his words even finished, he had already transformed into an afterimage and fled.

Yan Yi was about to give chase but was stopped by Zhu Jian’s raised hand: “If I were to pursue on my sword, I might attract powerful demons.”

A faint smile played on his lips as he watched the girl stomp her foot in frustration, secretly thinking that this troublesome fellow was quite sensible.

While Qing Feng was soundly asleep, curled up in a rock cave, two Golden Core Elders in the clouds were observing a water mirror.

Elder Mo stroked his beard in confusion: “This young man from Chen Ming Peak is quite interesting. Instead of currying favor with alchemy cultivators, he runs off to play chess with the Duke of Zhou.”

“A good-for-nothing who can’t be helped!” Li Zhang Lao snorted coldly.

As he spoke, he popped a Clear Heart Pill into his mouth, completely unaware that his current harsh expression bore a seven-tenths resemblance to the sleeping young man in the water mirror.

“Indeed, quite interesting. This is the first time Deputy Head has heard of such a strange occurrence,” Elder Mo said, stroking his beard with a light chuckle.

“Precisely. Martial Brother Mo need not bother with this child; let him fend for himself,” Li Zhang Lao said, flicking his sleeve and turning, his robes stirring up a breeze. “There are twenty-three promising alchemy cultivators in this trial, and that girl Yan Yi still needs my personal supervision.”

Watching his fellow Sect member fly away on his sword, Elder Mo formed a hand seal and placed three monitoring talismans around Qing Feng.

As the green light flowed, the young man remained slumped, head bowed, like a lump of mud. Only the mountain wind from the cliff’s edge stirred his dust-covered robes.

When the two Nascent Soul pressures in his divine sense completely dissipated, Qing Feng’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

The forbidden-breaking talisman secretly clutched in his sleeve quietly turned to ash. When he raised his eyes, the dullness had faded from his pupils, which now reflected the rising morning sun with a golden, shimmering brilliance.

“The Sect truly regards Senior Sister Yan as a key cultivation target…” The young man brushed off the dew from his robes, a self-mocking smile gracing his lips.

The sheepskin map in his Qiankun Bag slowly unfolded, revealing the Thousand Moon Realm’s terrain spread out before him like a yin-yang fish.

Six thousand li to the north, a red mark stung his eyes.

Six Yang Blood Grass, a supreme treasure for rebuilding one’s foundation.

The mountain wind suddenly intensified, and the young man’s figure abruptly dispersed like quicksand. A hundred zhang away, a yellow light flashed on the branch of an ancient pine tree. Qing Feng had already transformed into the appearance of a rogue cultivator in green robes, and the profound iron sword hanging at his waist hummed and vibrated. He flicked his finger against the scabbard, startling the forest’s cold crows into darkening the sky.

As the roar of a demonic beast reverberated from the ground, Qing Feng was stepping on the seventh drifting cloud. Below, the mountain valley exploded with yellow sand filling the sky, and a Foundation Establishment realm lion demon, wrapped in a fishy wind, soared into the heavens, its sonic waves transforming into layers of crimson ripples spreading outwards.

“Noisy.” The sword light burst forth like a silver vase shattering.

The moment the lion’s head fell to the ground, an abrupt change occurred. Its flesh and blood transformed into a crimson elixir, suspended in mid-air. Qing Feng picked up the still-warm blood elixir, and a sweet, metallic taste suddenly rose in his throat; this elixir was actually drawing his essence blood on its own.

“The fusion of essence, qi, and spirit… it’s even more profound than Apothecary Jin Shishu described.” He closed his eyes, feeling the warm current surging through his meridians. His damaged Dantian actually sent a long-lost prickling sensation.

Distant beast roars rose and fell, one after another. The young man licked the blood from the corner of his lips, and a golden light blazed in his eyes.

Deep within the misty forest, the faint sound of dragging chains could be heard.

Qing Feng tightened his grip on his sword hilt. The dark red curse mark on his wrist squirmed like a living thing; Great Black’s incomplete demon soul was resonating.

Under the crimson setting sun, Qing Feng lightly tapped the ground with his toes. His yellow-clad figure, wrapped in a golden glow, streaked across the mountain mist like a shooting star.

He had long calculated it clearly: instead of getting entangled with blocking demonic beasts, it was better to collect two more spiritual herbs to feed Great Black. Although this Earth Escape technique was not as profound as the Divine Earth Movement technique, it could leave a thousand-li trail of smoke in the dust, which suited his current situation perfectly.

“Swish!”

As the yellow-robed figure brushed past withered branches, there was a sudden sound of iron scales rubbing in the shadows. Qing Feng’s eyebrows slightly raised; his Golden Core Qi had already condensed into an invisible barrier.

As expected, where the fishy wind abruptly rose, a red-scaled python with fangs as thick as a bowl appeared menacingly.

He flicked his fingers, and the demonic beast transformed into a crimson elixir, falling into his Qiankun Bag. A Foundation Establishment fifth-layer beast, it didn’t even warrant him pausing.

A faint medicinal fragrance wafted from deep within the secluded gorge. Qing Feng pinched his nose and drilled into the solution cave.

On the moss-covered rock wall, six blood-jade-like grass leaves were exhaling spiritual mist. It was precisely the Six Yang Blood Grass that Apothecary Jin Shishu had mentioned.

Just as he was about to reach out and pluck it, he suddenly felt the rock layer beneath his feet vibrate. It turned out to be a pangolin spirit that had guarded for a hundred years, breaking out of the earth.

“Noisy.” Sword qi flashed from Qing Feng’s sleeve. As the demonic beast crashed to the ground, he had already sealed the spiritual herb into a jade box.

His Qiankun Bag jingled. The dew on the thousand-year-old Seven-Star Flower had not yet dried, and the clear fragrance of the nine-petal wood spirit root wafted out again.

When he saw the moon-like ethereal blue light in the rock crevice, even he couldn’t help but curl his lips. A rare treasure like the Thousand Moon Yin Grass would probably make even Apothecary Jin Shishu envious.