Elian meticulously examined the contents of the storage items with his divine sense, ensuring there were no tracking imprints left behind. Once satisfied, he stored the items and quickly retrieved Mo the Wanderer's inheritance, preparing to leave.
Before departing, he glanced at the Grand Metal Sword Array and contemplated.
"Mo-Wang Peak is now within Blackhawk Ridge's territory. I don't have the means to claim it, and if the Deng family investigates, they might eventually find this place."
"Instead of leaving it here, I should dismantle the Grand Metal Sword Array and take the formation plate and array tools back to my family. The tier-three spiritual vein can remain with the Purple Mansion demon clan of Blackhawk Ridge."
"This way, the Deng family might assume their men were killed by the demons of Blackhawk Ridge."
Acting on his thoughts, Elian dismantled the Grand Metal Sword Array and collected the formation plate and the Grand Metal Heaven Sword.
Afterward, he incinerated the remains of the two Deng brothers until not even bones remained. To ensure caution, he altered his route, taking a circuitous path 500,000 miles toward Azuregreen Sect before heading back in the direction of Chu Kingdom.
Shortly after Elian left, the appearance of the tier-three superior-grade spiritual vein drew the attention of the Black Python Demon clan nearby.
The Black Python clan, overjoyed at their discovery, seized the spiritual mountain and renamed it Black Python Mountain, establishing it as their demonic abode. Unbeknownst to them, they had unwittingly taken the blame for Elian's actions.
Months later, a Golden Core elder of the Deng family followed the trail left by their life-binding soul token to Black Python Mountain. Enraged, the elder slaughtered the entire Black Python clan.
Sensing the slaughter of its kin, the Black Eagle Demon King retaliated. As a dominant force in Blackhawk Ridge, a territory that bordered Azuregreen Sect, its power was undeniable.
One night, the three demon kings of Blackhawk Ridge pursued the Deng elder for over 600,000 miles. The conflict escalated, sparking a full-blown war between the Deng family and the Blackhawk Ridge demons.
For Elian, however, these developments were distant concerns. With Yaya by his side, he bypassed Azuregreen Sect and traversed two million miles before finally reaching the frontier of Chu Kingdom.
Instead of returning directly to Yu County, Elian made his way to Tianxu Mountain to consult Jiang Linglong.
"In this trip to Yan Kingdom, I killed two members of the Deng family," Elian began, recounting the events to her once they met.
Jiang Linglong listened attentively. After examining the spoils he had brought back, she nodded in satisfaction.
"These items show no signs of tampering," she assured him with a faint smile.
"Even if they did, there's no need to worry. Yan Kingdom is several million miles away. Unless it's a soul-tracking token or a similar treasure, even a Golden Core cultivator's divine sense wouldn't reach you from such a distance."
Elian sighed in relief upon hearing her words. He then produced a few jade slips and recorded the alchemical and formation inheritances he had obtained, offering them to Jiang Linglong.
"This opportunity yielded two valuable inheritances. They might be of use to you."
Jiang Linglong glanced at the jade slips and offered rare praise.
"The alchemical text is indeed excellent."
After studying the texts briefly, her gaze shifted back to Elian.
"We cannot delay the matter of repairing my spiritual root any longer. I plan to launch an attack on Sky Python Lake in ten years."
"Ten years," Elian repeated, his expression serious. He nodded.
"I'm confident I can break through to the Purple Mansion stage within that time. I should be able to offer some assistance then."
"Breaking through to Purple Mansion and fighting alongside us would already be significant," Jiang Linglong replied, a trace of amusement flickering in her autumn-like eyes.
Elian felt an inexplicable stirring in his heart as he met her gaze, and he quickly changed the subject.
"That little one has an Ice Spirit Root. Perhaps you have an appropriate cultivation technique for her?"
"Yes." Jiang Linglong nodded, her smile softening as she regarded Yaya.
"Lin Qianshu also has an Ice Spirit Root and practices an ice-elemental technique. I'll have her copy it for you."
"Thank you," Elian said, bowing slightly. The technique, cultivated by Lin Qianshu, who had reached the pinnacle of Purple Mansion, would be more than sufficient for Yaya for a long time.
After spending three days recuperating on Tianxu Mountain, Elian bid farewell to Jiang Linglong and returned to Linghu Isle.
Upon his return, he finally had a moment to assess his gains from the trip.
The loot he had taken from the Deng brothers, though limited, was immensely valuable.
The spoils included 50,000 spirit stones, a jade slip containing a rare divine ability, several bottles of potent pills, a jade slip for refining a natal magic artifact, and three tier-three magical treasures.
The divine ability recorded in the jade slip was the rare eye technique "Jade Spirit Eyes." Among the pills, the most valuable was the Green Jade Breakthrough Pill, which Deng Yuanwu had acquired at great cost during the Yan Kingdom trade fair.
The natal artifact jade slip detailed the creation of the Clear Moon Skyward Sword, a versatile weapon compatible with any spiritual root. Its universal applicability made it worth a staggering 100,000 spirit stones. By comparison, the Chen family's natal artifact, the Crimson Flame Spirit Sword, had cost only 20,000 spirit stones.
The tier-three treasures included Deng Yuanjie's Boat, Deng Yuanwu's magical blade, and his defensive treasure.
"What a harvest," Elian mused, delighted.
He decided to keep the Jade Spirit Eyes for his own cultivation and replace the family's Seven Star Demon-Slaying Boat with the Sky Traversing Boat, which was faster. The remaining treasures were set aside to bolster the family's foundation, to be allocated as needed.
Finally, Elian turned his attention to the greatest rewards of his journey: the two inheritances left by Mo the Wanderer.
Though Jiang Linglong had shown little interest in the Deng brothers' possessions, she had acknowledged the extraordinary value of Mo the Wanderer's alchemical and formation texts.
Elian carefully opened the formation text and grew increasingly ecstatic as he read.
The text, titled "Primordial Formation Compendium," was authored by an ancient cultivator named Chen Qianyuan.
The compendium detailed 107 tier-one formations, 31 tier-two formations, and 7 tier-three formations. Among the tier-three formations were two upper-grade ones, including the Grand Metal Sword Array.
"With this compendium, the Patriarch's expertise in formations could advance by leaps and bounds," Elian thought, unable to suppress his excitement.
The Patriarch's talent in formations surpassed even Elian's. With this text, there was a genuine possibility he could become one of the top three formation masters in Chu Kingdom.
Setting aside the formation text, Elian examined the alchemical text and trembled with excitement after just a brief glance.
This alchemical tome, also authored by Chen Qianyuan, contained over a hundred alchemical recipes.
The tier-one and tier-two recipes were less noteworthy, but among the nine tier-three recipes, five were lower-grade.
Among them, the recipes for Purple Glow Pills, Profound Jade Pills, and Cloud-Pattern Fortune Pills were already familiar to Jiang Linglong, making them relatively less rare.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D