Translator: CinderTL
After a moment's thought, Song Wen realized he had no further questions. He immediately activated the Black Hole in his Sea of Consciousness, devouring Xuan Qu's divine soul.
Then he turned and hurried back to Cloudstream Valley.
Upon returning, everything in the valley was as he had left it.
After checking the growth of the Bodhi Spirit Cores in the Spirit Field and exchanging a few words with Guan Lin, Song Wen retreated to his pavilion.
His first act was to retrieve Xuan Qu's storage ring.
Having already conducted a preliminary inventory, Song Wen swiftly located the treasures that interested him most.
The first item he pulled out was a jade slip containing the Profound Thunder Nine Heavens Art.
After carefully examining it, Song Wen remained uncertain whether he could master the technique.
However, comprehending this secret art would undoubtedly require a significant investment of time. Reluctantly, Song Wen stored the jade slip away and retrieved a bronze mirror.
This mirror was a mid-grade divine soul defense spirit treasure, making it quite valuable. However, it held little practical use for Song Wen himself; he could sell it for spirit stones instead.
Next, Song Wen extracted two more spirit treasures: a pair of wings as black as ink and an ancient, unadorned bronze gong.
The true marvel of these wings lay in their ability to seamlessly integrate offense, defense, and agility into a single entity.
This treasure was a thunder-attribute magical artifact, its quality comparable to a high-grade spirit treasure. Song Wen's eyes burned with envy, but since it was Xuan Qu's natal magic treasure, he couldn't refine it directly, leaving him with nothing but a futile sigh.
As for the bronze gong, it was a mid-grade defensive spirit treasure. Though less rare than the black wings and bronze mirror, it was perfectly suited for Song Wen's current needs.
Notably, Song Wen also discovered over two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones within Xuan Qu's storage ring, along with two crystalline stones he had never seen before.
These stones were roughly the size of a fist, crystal-clear and translucent, radiating spiritual light as if liquid energy flowed within. The Spiritual Qi they emitted was a thousand times denser than that of high-grade spirit stones.
"Could these be supreme-grade spirit stones?" Song Wen murmured to himself.
He cautiously extended his divine sense, attempting to draw out the stones' Spiritual Qi.
Instantly, a stream of pure, concentrated Spiritual Qi, as fine as silk threads, burrowed into Song Wen's body, flowing through his limbs and bones.
Wherever the Spiritual Qi passed, his meridians were nourished with unparalleled comfort.
Song Wen immediately confirmed that these two crystals were indeed the legendary supreme-grade spirit stones.
Although they bore the name "spirit stone," supreme-grade spirit stones were fundamentally different from ordinary spirit stones.
Firstly, supreme-grade spirit stones were extremely rare, found only in small quantities at the core regions of massive spirit veins, or perhaps formed through extraordinary natural phenomena.
Secondly, supreme-grade spirit stones were rarely used for trade. Instead, they were typically reserved for breaking through cultivation bottlenecks or rapidly replenishing spiritual power.
After cataloging the contents of Xuan Qu's storage ring, Song Wen released the Nether Fox and several Gu insects. Suddenly, he realized he had overlooked something crucial:
He had forgotten to prepare blood food for them.
Moreover, the Shadow King Gu, which had advanced to the fourth-tier in the Lower Realm, had now reached the peak of its fourth-tier strength. It was time to begin preparations to help it advance to the fifth-tier.
The Gu Rearing Manual obtained from Xiao Ying contained methods for advancing fourth-tier Gu insects, but the specific techniques varied depending on the type of Gu.
Upon closer examination, however, these advancement methods largely followed similar logic: either enhancing the Gu's strength with specially crafted medicinal pills, stimulating its potential by feeding it spirit grass, or refining its body using spirit mine resources.
After repeatedly consulting the Gu Rearing Manual, Song Wen decided to first refine a medicinal pill called the Beast Soul Pill to test its efficacy.
His choice of this particular pill wasn't driven by any special reason; it was simply because he was familiar with most of the Spirit Herbs required and found them relatively easy to acquire.
After checking his storage ring, Song Wen discovered he was only missing two ingredients:
First, the Spirit Herb Nine-Turn Grass. Second, a fifth-tier Demon Soul from a creature called the Yin Demon Spider.
Lacking these ingredients, Song Wen didn't rush out to find them immediately. Instead, he put away the Spirit Herbs and the Gu Rearing Manual, retrieved his Alchemy Furnace, and began refining the King Gu Pill.
This pill could enhance the strength of fourth-tier Gu.
The three newly advanced Shadow King Gu still needed a large supply of these pills.
However, the King Gu Pill required Bodhi Spirit Cores, and Song Wen had only about a hundred of the four-hundred-year-old cores left.
This underscored the importance of the Spirit Field Guan Lin was managing.
A month later, Song Wen, cloaked in a black cloak that concealed him completely, appeared at an inn in Great Tan City.
He retrieved Bai Wei's Communication Jade Slip and initiated a transmission.
Senior Bai Wei, have you ascertained the outcome of the battle at Luyang City? Song Wen asked directly.
Bai Wei responded swiftly.
Let's meet in person to discuss this in detail.
Song Wen was surprised, unsure why Bai Wei insisted on a meeting.
Senior Bai Wei, why not simply convey the information through the jade slip?
I have another matter to discuss with you, Bai Wei replied.
Song Wen meticulously reviewed his interactions with Bai Wei, searching for any offense he might have committed. He found none.
Logically, Bai Wei had no reason to harm him. Moreover, she had sworn a soul oath not to harm him in any way before delivering the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill.
After a moment's silence, Song Wen replied.
I will await you at Auspicious Jade Mountain, a thousand miles east of the city.
Having sent the message, Song Wen left the inn, soared out of the city, and arrived above Auspicious Jade Mountain. His gaze swept across the mountain ridge.
All nine pavilions along the ridge were occupied by courting couples, and Bai Wei was nowhere to be seen.
He waited a while longer.
A Giant Flying Ship slowly approached, with Bai Wei, clad in white robes, standing prominently at the bow.
Behind her stood another figure: a young woman in green robes.
This was none other than Xu Mengyu!
"Gou Jun, thank you for waiting," Bai Wei said politely as the ship came to a halt before Song Wen. "Auspicious Jade Mountain is crowded with prying eyes, little friend. Please board the ship so we can speak privately."
Without hesitation, Song Wen moved swiftly and boarded the ship.
Earlier, he had only suspected that Bai Wei meant him no harm. But with Bai Wei and Xu Mengyu appearing together, he was now certain of it.
After all, from Bai Wei's perspective, "Gou Jun" was merely a Void Refinement Stage cultivator. As a Body Integration Stage cultivator from the Spirit Jade Palace, killing a rogue cultivator at the Void Refinement Stage would be as easy as crushing an ant—no need for elaborate schemes.
"Greetings, Senior Bai Wei," Song Wen said, cupping his hands in a respectful bow as he landed on the deck.
"No need for formalities," Bai Wei replied. "Last time, when you healed me, your divine soul suffered damage. How is your recovery progressing?" she asked with genuine concern.
"Thank you for your concern, Senior," Song Wen replied. "With the spirit stones you provided, I acquired some spirit grass and medicinal pills. I'm mostly recovered now."
"That's good to hear." Bai Wei gestured toward Xu Mengyu. "Let me introduce you. This is my disciple, Xu Mengyu."
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (𝗥𝗗𝗖) on the Site till Ch1482. (424 Chapters Ahead)
💲Read upto Ch1292 for ABSOLUTELY 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀! ℕ𝕠 𝕃𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕟
⚡15 Novels | 9.2k+ Chapters | 15.4M+ Words [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]