Translator: CinderTL
"Back in the Ant Nest, it's likely that we all fell under the Ant Queen's illusion. We mistakenly took a second-tier Phantom Wing Butterfly for a fourth-tier one," Xue Mei said.
Lan Chen nodded slightly.
Although she felt somewhat unwilling, she understood that Xue Mei's speculation was correct.
At that time, when Song Wen injured the Phantom Wing Butterfly, the Ant Queen was furious. Clearly, this fourth-tier Phantom Wing Butterfly was very important to her. However, when the Ant Queen gifted the Phantom Wing Butterfly to Lan Chen, she made it seem like a trivial matter.
The only possibility was that the Phantom Wing Butterfly the Ant Queen gave was not a fourth-tier one.
Lan Chen once again turned her gaze to the severely injured Phantom Wing Butterfly on the ground.
"Yin Shuo, since you were the one who brought out this Phantom Wing Butterfly, it naturally belongs to you. What do you plan to do with it?" Lan Chen asked.
Song Wen was momentarily at a loss. He didn't know what purpose this Phantom Wing Butterfly served, so naturally, he had no idea how to handle it.
The main reason he had risked taking it was because he had heard Xue Mei's request.
However, it was impossible for him to simply hand over this demon to Xue Mei.
Song Wen wasn't one to do something without benefit.
Moreover, Lan Chen was also interested in this demon, and Song Wen needed her help with something. Thus, this demon became a bargaining chip between him and Lan Chen.
"Lan Chen, Xue Mei, both of you want this Phantom Wing Butterfly. What exactly is its use?" Song Wen asked.
Xue Mei replied, "The greatest use of this demon is to raise it as a Spirit Beast and use it to cast illusions. The illusions cast by the Phantom Wing Butterfly can be so realistic that they are indistinguishable from reality. You saw it yourself—even when you fought it up close and severely injured it, you didn't notice anything amiss. If it hadn't been too injured to maintain the illusion and revealed its true form, you might never have discovered that the Ant Queen you were fighting was actually it."
After a brief pause, Xue Mei continued.
"Yin Shuo, this demon is of little use to you. Why not give it to me and Lan Chen?"
"There's only one fourth-tier Phantom Wing Butterfly. How will you and Lan Chen divide it?" Song Wen asked.
Xue Mei said, "Although there's only one Phantom Wing Butterfly, Lan Chen and I seek different things. A live Phantom Wing Butterfly has endless uses, but a dead one is also of great value. The Demon Core of the Phantom Wing Butterfly can help me cultivate my illusion techniques."
"And its soul can be used to refine a Wisdom Light Pill. Consuming this pill can enhance one's Divine Sense and may even help break through the bottleneck of the Divine Sense realm. Lan Chen specializes in Divine Sense control, so the stronger her Divine Sense, the better."
At this point, Xue Mei looked at Lan Chen and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, Lan Chen, you want the Phantom Wing Butterfly to extract its soul and refine a Wisdom Light Pill, right?"
"Fellow Daoist Xue Mei is correct," Lan Chen replied.
Her gaze at Xue Mei couldn't help but carry a hint of suspicion.
Xue Mei knew too much—so much that it was somewhat intimidating.
Lan Chen then remembered that it was Xue Mei who had first informed her about the Phantom Wing Butterfly in the Gold-Eating Ant Nest.
Now it seemed that Xue Mei had been coveting the Phantom Wing Butterfly from the very beginning.
"Wisdom Light Pill?" Song Wen's eyes lit up.
Upon hearing that this pill could enhance Divine Sense, Song Wen immediately became interested.
Xue Mei said, "Fellow Daoist, don't overthink it. As far as I know, this pill requires many rare spirit materials, and the soul of a fourth-tier Phantom Wing Butterfly is just one of them. Even if you had the pill formula, it would be extremely difficult to gather all the necessary Spirit Herbs, let alone successfully refine the pill."
Upon hearing this, Song Wen's interest waned.
He could rely on the "Forbidden Divine Art" and devouring souls to enhance his Divine Sense realm. The difficulty of refining the Wisdom Light Pill was too great, making it of no value to him.
"Lan Chen, Fellow Daoist Xue Mei, if you want this Phantom Wing Butterfly, that's fine. But shouldn't you also offer something in exchange?"
Both Lan Chen and Xue Mei revealed a faint smile.
"Fellow Daoist, feel free to state your request."
Song Wen said, "Rest assured, I won't ask for too much. Each of you only needs to pay me one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, and this Phantom Wing Butterfly will be yours. Additionally, I hope Lan Chen and Fellow Daoist Mo can agree to one thing."
One hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones per person was indeed a significant amount, but the Phantom Wing Butterfly was extremely rare, even extinct in the outside world, making it a highly sought-after item.
Mo Yexue was slightly taken aback. This matter had nothing to do with her, and she was somewhat surprised that Song Wen had mentioned her.
However, she didn't speak up, merely watching quietly as the three negotiated.
"Fellow Daoist, feel free to state your request," Lan Chen said.
One hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones was not a big deal for Lan Chen, the founder of a sect.
Therefore, she was only concerned about the other request Song Wen had mentioned.
"I hope Lan Chen and Fellow Daoist Mo can promise me not to reveal that Fellow Daoist Xue Mei and I are capable of using Thunder Magic."
Upon hearing this, Lan Chen immediately recalled that Song Wen had once mentioned to her that he entered the Divine Blood Hall to search for a cultivation technique.
The fact that Song Wen and Xue Mei could cultivate both righteous and evil techniques was likely related to their cultivation method.
It seemed that the two of them were practicing the same technique.
Lan Chen didn't respond immediately but instead turned to look at Mo Yexue.
She had no interest in the cultivation techniques of Song Wen and Xue Mei and could easily agree to Song Wen's request, but Mo Yexue's consent was also needed.
Perhaps out of consideration for her relationship with Lan Chen, Mo Yexue agreed without hesitation.
"Fine, I can make a soul vow never to reveal this matter."
Lan Chen said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Mo."
Subsequently, both Lan Chen and Mo Yexue made soul vows, and Lan Chen also handed over one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones to Song Wen.
Xue Mei also took out one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones and gave them to Song Wen.
She was able to produce so many Spirit Stones entirely because of the kills she had made—Xue Cangqiong and Tai He.
Before this, she had been practically penniless. Even the Spirit Stones she used for her Nascent Soul formation had been obtained from Song Wen.
After Lan Chen and Xue Mei divided the Phantom Wing Butterfly, Song Wen asked, "Fellow Daoist Xue Mei, do you know where this Small Secret Realm we're currently in is located?"
Upon hearing this, Lan Chen and Mo Yexue also looked at Xue Mei with anticipation.
They had long since realized that Xue Mei's knowledge of the Divine Blood Hall far surpassed that of others.
The information Xue Mei possessed was crucial for their exploration of the Divine Blood Hall.
If they could obtain some information about the "Fallen Immortal Blood," that would be even better.
Xue Mei once again released her Divine Sense, scanning the surroundings, and then shook her head.
"There are no distinctive landmarks here, so I don't know which area of the Divine Blood Hall this is."
The three of them were not disappointed. It was clear that this Small Secret Realm was quite vast, so it was normal for Xue Mei to not recognize the place immediately.
The four of them did not rush to explore. Instead, they stayed in the cave to rest and recuperate.
Lan Chen, Mo Yexue, and Xue Mei had all been poisoned quite severely and needed to detoxify.
Song Wen, on the other hand, had suffered some significant external injuries and needed time to heal.
Additionally, all four of them had depleted their Spiritual Power to some extent and needed time to recover it.
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
Only then did the four of them emerge from the cave and hover in the sky.
"Friends, which direction should we head in?" Song Wen asked.
Lan Chen raised his hand and pointed to the west.
"The spiritual energy in this direction seems slightly denser. Let's investigate this way first. What do you all think?"
"Agreed!"
(End of the Chapter)
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