Corpse Liberation Immortal Cattail

Most of the Spirit Medicines near the riverbank were at least second-tier.

The Spirit Medicines swayed gently in the river wind, exuding a deadly temptation toward Cultivators.

Clearly, this was all a method used by the Blood River Monsters to lure Cultivators.

Once a Cultivator was tempted into trying to pick a Spirit Medicine, he would be locked on by a Blood River Monster, which would break free of the Blood River's restraints and devour the ration delivered to its doorstep.

And in this dangerous stretch of the upper riverbank, there were no frequent mine-clearing scouts like those Biyou Palace Disciples from before.

There was no one Su Bai could rely on as before to pick Blood Infant Fruits for him.

The farther upstream he went, the less likely he was to see any Disciples from the Three Sects.

Apparently, the Three Sects' Disciples had all suffered at the hands of the Blood River Monsters.

Thus, Su Bai could only stare helplessly at those few third-tier Spirit Medicines.

Even so, relying on Clear Heart Sword Intent's ability to foresee danger to a certain extent, Su Bai avoided lethal threats and specifically picked Spirit Medicines whose danger level was acceptable to his senses.

Though the picking process had been perilous, the results had all been good.

After several hours, he had harvested a bounty fit to fill bowls and basins, filling three Storage Bags with Spirit Medicines.

Su Bai calculated their value, and it had already exceeded five thousand Spirit Stones.

He tucked the three Storage Bags full of Spirit Medicines close against his body.

Su Bai took out a new Storage Bag and hung it at his waist.

"Though I prepared in advance, this really is my last Storage Bag."

Su Bai had not expected that he could rely on Clear Heart Sword Intent to pick so many Spirit Medicines in the most dangerous riverbank areas.

As a result, the Storage Bags he had prepared beforehand were somewhat insufficient.

"Once this Storage Bag is full, will I have to find someone to borrow a few more from?"

Su Bai scratched his head and continued forward.

Before long, the roar of surging water reached his ears.

The vegetation along the riverbank grew ever denser. The leaves were so red they seemed ripe enough to drip, while even ordinary weeds could grow over three meters tall.

Without using the Object Manipulation Technique to sweep aside the grass before him, he could not see the Spirit Medicines around him at all.

Though the plants flourished luxuriantly, strangely, there were no animals anywhere in the entire Blood River Secret Realm, much less Demonic Beasts.

"I should have reached the upper reaches."

The surrounding vegetation was exceptionally tall and dense, obstructing his vision, so Su Bai leaped up and climbed a tall tree.

Following the direction of the water's roar, he looked into the distance and saw the Blood River Source.

It was an enormous Blood Waterfall, more than a hundred meters wide.

It poured endlessly from a hazy, chaotic-colored fissure in midair, crashing violently into the river below.

Countless bloody splashes scattered onto the riverbanks on either side of the source, nourishing the soil. Even from so far away, Su Bai could see the dense Spiritual Energy filling both sides of the source.

There were likely immeasurable Spirit Medicines growing there.

Within that surging waterfall, monsters of every color could occasionally be seen howling as they drifted downstream.

Now and then, one or two monsters were hurled onto the shore by the waterfall's current, only to be forcibly dragged back into the Blood River under the restraint of some mysterious force.

"Truly terrifying beyond measure."

"No one would be foolish enough to pick Spirit Medicines there, right?"

Su Bai estimated the distance to the source. It would probably take two or three hours to conduct a rough search.

That way, searching the riverbank area would take only a single day.

He could use the remaining two days to search deeper into the inland area on the right, and by the way, see whether he could find Black-faced Li Xuan and whether there was a chance to obtain that Top-grade Magic Artifact Long Sword.

After climbing down from the tall tree, Su Bai continued searching upstream.

Because of the surrounding vegetation, searching for Spirit Medicines became much more difficult.

In the end, Su Bai simply drew his Low-grade Magic Artifact Long Sword and used it like a woodcutter's blade to hack through the growth.

"Hm? A Nirvana Heart Aperture Flower?"

Irritably sweeping down a patch of weeds with his magic sword, Su Bai saw a Spirit Medicine the size of a head. The sight instantly cleared away the vexation in his heart.

The Nirvana Heart Aperture Flower was a third-tier Spirit Medicine worth more than eight hundred Spirit Stones.

More importantly, Su Bai sensed no danger at all in picking it.

"Some fish always slip through the net..."

Su Bai dashed forward and swiftly picked the Spirit Medicine, which was still dozens of meters from the river's surface.

Afterward, cautious by nature, Su Bai still quickly retreated from the riverbank as usual.

At the same time, a terrifying sense of crisis enveloped him.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

A crocodile-like Blood River Monster had emerged from the river without anyone knowing when. Opening its jaws, it spat out a large mass of pitch-black liquid from afar.

Fortunately, Su Bai had moved quickly, his feet swift as the wind.

Splat! Splat! Splat! The black liquid landed where Su Bai had been standing. Once vast amounts of Secret Realm vegetation were contaminated, they rapidly withered and dissolved, instantly creating a patch of dead ground dozens of meters wide.

"These beasts have ranged attacks too?!" Su Bai patted his chest and stared at the monster slowly sinking into the distant river.

He put away the Nirvana Heart Aperture Flower in his Storage Bag.

Su Bai moved away from that patch of dead ground and began searching for Spirit Medicines with even greater vigilance.

That Nirvana Heart Aperture Flower began Su Bai's streak of good fortune along the upper riverbank.

One second-tier and third-tier Spirit Medicine after another was found by Su Bai.

After excluding those Spirit Medicines that carried fatal threats, there were still quite a few that could be picked, and Su Bai's Storage Bag rapidly filled.

Three hours later, the roar of the Blood River Source's waterfall drew ever nearer.

Following the scent of Spirit Medicine, Su Bai used the Object Manipulation Technique to part the grass before his eyes, and an open space about ten meters wide appeared not far away!

A fourth-tier Spirit Medicine—the Corpse Liberation Immortal Cattail! It brazenly occupied the entire area, growing domineeringly at its very center.

"This is... the Corpse Liberation Immortal Cattail?" Su Bai had not expected to encounter a fourth-tier Spirit Medicine.

If Wang Jue had not casually mentioned this Spirit Medicine before, Su Bai truly would not have recognized its origins or appearance.

The Corpse Liberation Immortal Cattail was a fourth-tier Spirit Medicine worth more than five thousand Spirit Stones.

It was a Spirit Medicine unique to the Blood River Secret Realm. Rumor had it that only during the earliest period after the Blood River Secret Realm had been discovered had high-level Cultivators from sects managed to harvest this Spirit Medicine.

It could replace the main medicinal ingredient in several kinds of Foundation Establishment Pills, and it was also one of the Spirit Medicine Ingredients for certain Golden Core Stage spirit pills.

After his surprise faded, Su Bai stopped in his tracks and even began to retreat slightly.

Forget picking that Corpse Liberation Immortal Cattail—even standing where he was and looking at it, a terrifyingly lethal sensation began silently creeping over him.

Though this place was still forty or fifty meters from the river's surface, Su Bai had a feeling that the moment he stepped into that clearing, he would die.

What kind of horrifying monster was hidden beneath the Blood River, capable of launching a fatal attack against him from such a distance despite the world's suppression?

"This is about as far as I should go."

That fourth-tier Spirit Medicine seemed like a warning, cautioning Su Bai to stop here and not draw any closer to the source.

Su Bai was exceedingly sensible. He turned around, moved away from the riverbank, and headed right.

After walking several hundred meters and getting far from the riverbank, the surrounding vegetation began returning to normal, and his view opened up as well.

Su Bai checked his fourth Storage Bag. It was nearly full too.

This final Storage Bag was basically filled with Spirit Medicines found in the Upper Reaches of the Blood River. Their grades were higher, and this single Storage Bag alone was worth more than six thousand Spirit Stones.

The combined value of the four Storage Bags had already exceeded eleven thousand Spirit Stones.

"Li Xuan, who took first place before, killed quite a few people and plundered them, yet the Spirit Medicines he brought out were only worth seven or eight thousand."

"By that calculation, I've already surpassed him securely."

"But if I did not possess Clear Heart Sword Intent, I would have no way to risk searching the riverbank. No one else could replicate this method of searching."

Having completed his task ahead of time, Su Bai naturally felt far more at ease. He cast the Feather Fall Technique and darted lightly toward the upper reaches' inland depths.