Dark Currents

An incense stick later, Qin Jue arrived at a stinking courtyard in the south of the city. This was the Beast Taming Workshop.

"Kid, renting a mount?"

A manager with a face full of flab leaned lazily against the black ironwood counter, idly playing with a gleaming leather whip in his hand. He glanced at Qin Jue, saw his plain clothes, and casually pointed toward the beast pens behind him.

"If you're in a hurry, pick a Gray Wolf. Fifty gold, with a two-hundred-gold deposit."

He pointed the whip at a row of restless shadows in the corner. "If you're short on cash, pick a Black Scale Horse. Five gold, with a ten-gold deposit. Let me tell you, you'll pay if you damage it, pay if you kill it, and pay if you lose it!"

"One Black Scale Horse."

Qin Jue couldn't be bothered to waste words with him. He took out his money pouch, counted out fifteen gold, and tossed it onto the counter.

Looking at the deflated money pouch, Qin Jue furrowed his brow slightly and thought, If this trip comes up empty, I won't have any cultivation resources next month!

Putting the matter out of his mind, Qin Jue turned and headed for the beast pens.

"Neigh—!"

As soon as Qin Jue approached, a fine-scaled black steed suddenly whipped its head around. Two streams of hot white breath burst from its nostrils, and its powerful hind hooves dug deep furrows into the ground. It looked exceptionally unruly.

This horse was called a Black Scale Horse. It carried a trace of the low-tier Fierce Beast Ironclad Earth Dragon's bloodline, could bear eight hundred pounds, and travel a thousand miles in a day. However, it was wild by nature. Even an ordinary martial artist at the Hundred Refinements Third Layer might not be able to subdue it without enough strength.

Qin Jue's expression didn't change. His right hand shot out like lightning, five fingers clamping like iron pincers onto the Black Scale Horse's nape tendon with pinpoint accuracy!

Buzz!

The qi and blood in his body trembled faintly. A burst of hidden force flowed from his palm into the horse, instantly crushing its ferocity.

The Black Scale Horse, which had been about to kick out, stiffened all over. The fierce light in its eyes vanished at once, and it lowered its head docilely, giving two ingratiating whinnies.

"Go."

Qin Jue swung onto the horse in one swift, clean motion.

At his low command, the Black Scale Horse drove off with all four hooves and shot out of the Beast Taming Workshop like a black bolt of lightning, galloping along the main road toward the city gates.

Two days later.

The scenery around them grew increasingly desolate. Withered weeds stood more than half a person tall, and the air was thick with the smell of rotting leaves and damp earth.

They were less than thirty miles from Silver Moon Bay.

Qin Jue lay low over the horse's back, calmly watching the road ahead as his mind rapidly weighed everything he knew about Silver Moon Bay.

Silver Moon Bay was a vast backwater inlet on the Tongtian River, crisscrossed with waterways and overgrown with marshes. Poisonous miasma shrouded it year-round, making the hundred-mile radius a paradise for Fierce Beasts.

"Ordinary spirit herbs only give off a fragrance that carries a few dozen yards, but this scent can travel dozens of miles. It can't be ordinary. Besides, whenever a spirit herb appears, a strange beast must be guarding it, or a natural formation concealing its presence. It wouldn't make such a grand spectacle."

"This doesn't look like a treasure appearing. It looks more like..."

Qin Jue narrowed his eyes. "A crack has appeared in a sealed Origin Energy node!"

Just then—

"Caw—! Caw—!"

A dark cloud suddenly burst above the gloomy forest ahead. Hundreds upon hundreds of Iron-Beak Black Crows seemed to have been startled. They shot into the sky in a frenzy, shrieking piercingly.

Immediately afterward,

a strange wind blew toward him.

It carried no trace of a foul stench. Instead, it was laced with a pure, refreshing fragrance that made his mind brighten as soon as he breathed it in!

"This is..."

Qin Jue abruptly pulled on the reins, his nostrils twitching.

As the fragrance entered his body, the qi and blood that had lain dormant within him began circulating on their own. The fatigue from the journey vanished, and his organs felt refreshed, as though washed by a clear spring.

"What pure Heaven and Earth Origin Energy!"

Qin Jue's pupils contracted sharply.

This wasn't some strange fragrance at all. It was an Origin Energy Tide, the phenomenon that occurred only when Heaven and Earth Origin Energy grew incredibly dense!

He looked up. Dozens of miles away, a visible layer of milky-white light was slowly spreading across the sky above Silver Moon Bay. It pulsed like a heart, and with each pulse, vast quantities of Heaven and Earth Origin Energy surged outward.

"The Origin Energy here is at least ten times denser than in the outside world!"

Qin Jue's fingers tightened slightly around the reins.

For a martial artist, this was practically a sacred cultivation ground. Just breathing in and out here could increase one's cultivation. If he could find the source...

Rumble!

At that moment, the ground shook violently.

Qin Jue furrowed his brow and looked back.

A rolling cloud of dust came surging down the main road behind him, like a long dragon!

Seven or eight riders rushed toward him. The mounts beneath the leading riders were even bigger than Black Scale Horses: Blood-Red Savage Horses! Their bodies were as red as fire, their muscles knotted. Each hoofbeat boomed like thunder. They could bear five thousand pounds, and their explosive power was three times that of a Black Scale Horse.

Qin Jue swept his gaze over them and quickly sized up the situation.

Every rider wore fine clothes and radiated powerful auras. They clearly came from no ordinary background.

One of them had a faint jade sheen to his skin. He was unmistakably at the Jade Bone Realm of the Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer! Another, a burly man with a face full of flab, had a faint haze of blood steaming above his head. He was a Blood Melting Realm expert at the Hundred Refinements Seventh Layer!

"Quick! It's just up ahead!"

"With an omen like this, a great treasure must have appeared!"

The group moved swiftly and caught up with Qin Jue in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, you on the Black Scale Horse up ahead! Get out of the way!"

Seeing Qin Jue blocking his path, a Brocade Youth at the front flashed with viciousness.

"What kind of loser dares to block this young master's way? You're asking for death!"

He suddenly squeezed his Blood-Red Savage Horse's flanks. The beast roared and surged forward, intending to send Qin Jue and his mount flying together!

At the same time, he flicked his wrist. A whip woven with gold threads shot out like a venomous snake, its shrill crack tearing through the air as it lashed straight at Qin Jue's face!

Whoosh—

Before the whip tip even reached him, its fierce gust had already scraped painfully against his skin.

If that whip landed, an ordinary martial artist at the Hundred Refinements Third Layer would have his skull smashed to pieces!

Qin Jue remained expressionless, sitting motionless on the horse as though he'd been scared senseless.

Just as the whip tip was about to strike his brow, Qin Jue moved!

Clang!

The Cold Iron Sword slid three inches from its sheath. A streak of cold light flashed, landing precisely on the whip tip!

Buzz!

A strange, vibrating force traveled along the sword. The whip's fierce, domineering power crashed into it like a clay ox into the sea, shattering in an instant! The whip, which had been straight as a spear, went limp and bounced harmlessly aside.

"Hm?"

The Brocade Youth felt his wrist tremble violently as a powerful recoil shot through him. Half his body went numb, and he almost dropped the whip. His eyes filled with shock!

He'd used only three-tenths of his strength, but even so, a shabby kid riding an inferior Black Scale Horse shouldn't have been able to stop him!

He was about to lash out when a companion beside him snapped,

"Liu Yun, don't waste time with him! Senior Brother Ning has already ridden ahead. Hurry up and catch up!"

"Hmph!"

Liu Yun swept Qin Jue a cold glance, as if committing his face to memory, then gave his whip a vicious flick. "You're lucky this time, brat! Don't let this young master run into you again!"

With that, the group kicked up a cloud of dust and raced away.

Qin Jue watched them disappear into the distance, then expressionlessly returned his sword to its sheath.

"With Silver Moon Bay in turmoil like this, things should get interesting. I hope this trip brings an unexpected reward."

He murmured, then gave the reins a sharp flick. The Black Scale Horse neighed in pain and became a streak of black, charging at full speed toward Silver Moon Bay!

Several miles away.

Liu Yun caught up with the front of the group, still fuming. "Damn it, some penniless brat dares to block this young master's way! If we didn't have business today, I'd have broken one of his arms!"

He rubbed his still-numb wrist, but unease stirred in his heart. That sword strike had been downright strange.

"Enough."

The white-clad youth at the head of the group, who had yet to speak, said coolly.

Without turning his head, he kept his eyes fixed on the strange sight in the distance. Beneath him, the Cloud-Treading Beast's four hooves stirred the wind as it moved as easily as if on level ground.

"Senior Brother Ning." Liu Yun immediately dropped his anger and put on a fawning smile.

The man before him was Ning Wuque, a genius of the Ning Family's main branch! He ranked ninth among the experts of Qingcang Academy's Outer Prefecture, and his Cold Ice Force had long since reached mastery. If not for the rare treasure, he wouldn't have brought along collateral-branch disciples like them.

"Plenty of factions are watching this treasure. Don't waste time on an ant." Ning Wuque's tone was indifferent.

"Yes, yes."

At that moment, a thin young man from the rear of the group rode up, hesitating. "Senior Brother Liu, that guy just now... His back looked familiar to me. Why is that?"

Liu Yun shot him an impatient glance. "Familiar, my ass! Every poor wretch in the world looks the same!"

"No..."

The thin young man furrowed his brow, thinking hard. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice. "I remember now! His build looked just like the one who badly injured Young Master Zhiyuan in the Outer Prefecture a few days ago... Qin Jue!"

"Qin Jue?"

Ning Wuque, who had been riding forward with cool indifference, finally turned his head slightly. A hint of amusement crossed his face.

"The one who injured Ning Zhiyuan? Zhiyuan really is a good-for-nothing to have disgraced himself like that. Still, when you beat a dog, you have to look at its master."

He turned back, a cold smile playing on his lips, and lightly flicked the reins. The Cloud-Treading Beast abruptly picked up speed.

"If that really was him, then on this trip to Silver Moon Bay...I wouldn't mind crippling him along the way."