Blood Recognition

A spirit boat quietly flew out from the Lingxiao Sect, diving into the clouds and vanishing from sight.

"Senior Sister, so this spirit boat requires at least the fifth level of Qi Refining to operate?"

Standing in the center of the boat and gazing at the graceful figure before him, the young man looked suddenly enlightened.

He had spent his day watering the medicinal fields at the Ziyuan Secret Realm and providing some updates to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion before returning to the sect to join his Senior Sister on a mission to Cloud Mist Mountain to exterminate demon beasts.

After nearly a year of watering, the medicinal herbs were nearing maturity. Because the Chu Kingdom and Yue Kingdom had ceased hostilities, the demand for pills had dropped, leading the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to request a reduction in watering frequency—from ten times a month to twice—though Chen Changming's compensation remained unchanged.

Since he did not know how long this trip to Cloud Mist Mountain would take, Chen Changming had informed the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion of his whereabouts, stating that if he could not return in time, he would be two days late with the watering, which he would make up the following month.

The young mistress of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had readily agreed.

In any case, her original intention had been to make a fortune from the war, but since plans had failed to keep pace with changes, she was in no hurry now.

She also had her own channels of information and knew that while the various immortal cultivation sects of the two kingdoms appeared calm, they were actually preparing in the shadows, and it was hard to say when another great battle might erupt.

"That's right, this spirit boat requires embedded spirit stones and also demands a certain level of cultivation to operate."

Luo Lan turned back and said with a smile.

The young man nodded. He was still a long way from the fifth level of Qi Refining, and if his supply of Spirit Gathering Pills didn't keep up, he had no idea when he would finally break through.

"By the way, Senior Sister, this is a treasure I seized from Leng Shankui. I tried dripping blood on it, but I couldn't claim ownership. Do you know why that is?"

Chen Changming's heart stirred as he took out the Blood Spirit Cover and spoke.

During his cultivation breaks over the last two months, he had tried to claim it by dripping blood several times, but he had failed every time.

This left him feeling baffled.

The cloak magic treasure gifted to him by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had worked with a single drop of blood, but this Blood Spirit Cover did not.

"Treasures from the deceased all carry the original owner's spiritual imprint. Depending on the cultivation level of the deceased, the time it takes for the imprint to vanish automatically varies. For someone with Leng Shankui's cultivation, his Blood Spirit Cover would take at least a year to fade completely..."

Luo Lan smiled, grabbed the Blood Spirit Cover, and a ball of light surged in her hand, completely enveloping the item.

A few seconds passed.

The light vanished, and Luo Lan handed the Blood Spirit Cover back to the young man while simultaneously passing him a small booklet. She laughed, "This little technique for erasing a magic treasure's spiritual imprint is something you can practice once you reach the fifth level of Qi Refining."

"Many thanks, Senior Sister."

Chen Changming was overjoyed.

Not only had his Senior Sister helped him erase the spiritual imprint left by Leng Shankui, but she had also gifted him the technique for erasing such imprints himself.

"Drip your blood on it now, just one drop will do."

Luo Lan said nonchalantly, as if she had only performed a trivial task.

Chen Changming bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

The Blood Spirit Cover flashed violently, and in an instant, he felt a connection form with the treasure.

With a thought, the object rose into the air, hovering above his head and casting down curtains of red light that shielded him.

"Junior Brother, this Blood Spirit Cover consumes quite a bit of spiritual energy. You must not use it recklessly, lest it drag you down..."

Luo Lan cautioned him.

In her eyes, her Junior Brother was only at the third level of Qi Refining; using a magic treasure like the Blood Spirit Cover felt like a small horse pulling a heavy cart, making it very easy to exhaust his internal spiritual energy.

"Understood, Senior Sister."

Chen Changming did not try to show off and obediently put the Blood Spirit Cover away.

Cloud Mist Mountain was quite far from the Lingxiao Sect; even by spirit boat, it would take a full day.

At dusk.

In a forest a few dozen miles outside the Lingxiao Sect, a man's voice suddenly rang out.

"Senior Brother Liao, according to the information from our informant, Chen Changming left for Cloud Mist Mountain with Luo Lan on a spirit boat this morning..."

"Damn it, that brat really knows how to cling to a powerful backer, hooking up with that crazy girl Luo Lan."

A youth in blood-colored robes cursed angrily.

Another youth spoke timidly, "Senior Brother Liao, only you can handle Luo Lan."

"I can only hold her off for a while; if that girl fights with her life on the line, even I get scared. When that happens, the three of you move in to kill the brat surnamed Chen."

Liao Changhai thought for a moment before speaking.

The three youths in blood-colored robes nodded in quick agreement.

"You three—two at the fourth level of Qi Refining and one at the fifth—is this lineup enough to deal with a Chen Changming who has some skill in swordsmanship?"

Liao Changhai asked, squinting his eyes.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother. If the three of us working together can't even kill an outer sect disciple of the Lingxiao Sect at the third level of Qi Refining, we'd have no face left to return to the Blood Demon Sect!"

One of the youths said with high spirits.

The other two also patted their chests, giving their word to Liao Changhai.

Liao Changhai was quite satisfied with the sight; he had given his word to Elder Leng, and with this assassination mission dragging on for so long without completion, he had been losing face.

Now that he had finally waited for Chen Changming to leave the Lingxiao Sect, the opportunity had arrived at last, and he absolutely could not afford to fail!

When the spirit boat arrived outside Cloud Mist Mountain, the sky had already turned dark, studded with a myriad of stars. The mountain ranges stretched out like pythons, boundless at a single glance.

"We've reached Cloud Mist Mountain. Let's rest at the camp for the night and head into the mountains tomorrow morning."

As the spirit boat touched down on a flat stretch of land outside the mountains, Luo Lan pointed toward the piles of bonfires flickering in the distance and smiled softly, "The beast tides in Cloud Mist Mountain have been quite fierce lately, so the major sects nearby have all sent disciples over..."

Chen Changming lifted his gaze, seeing rows of orderly bonfires situated between various encampments.

Banners of the different sects stood tall, fluttering in the night wind.

"Lingxiao Sect, Cloud Water Sect, Purple Bamboo Gate, One-Word Sword Gate, Qingxiao Sect..." Chen Changming read them off one by one, a novel sense of curiosity rising in his heart. He had never come into contact with these sects before, nor did he know the strength of their disciples.

"Oh, right." Luo Lan stowed the spirit boat and began walking toward the camp, lowering her voice as she spoke, "Junior Brother, you must be extra careful if you see anyone from the Qingxiao Sect."

"Why is that, Senior Sister?" Chen Changming asked.

"Our two houses have always been at odds. It is said that the founding ancestors of the two sects were originally from the same school, but they turned into bitter enemies over a woman. Later, the three of them each established the Lingxiao Sect, the Qingxiao Sect, and the Cloud Water Gate. The grudge between our Lingxiao Sect and the Qingxiao Sect began back then..."

Luo Lan whispered.

Chen Changming nodded, his expression turning serious.

Looking in a certain direction, he saw several beautiful women dressed in cloud-patterned robes approaching. Luo Lan raised an eyebrow and huffed indignantly, "The Cloud Water Gate is full of hussies. You need to be careful, Junior Brother; many of them are femme fatales who do nothing but seduce men!"

"I understand."

Seeing the hint of gunpowder in his Senior Sister's tone, Chen Changming nodded hurriedly.

"Luo Lan, have you taken a liking to bringing children out to play house?"

A stunningly beautiful and alluring woman from the Cloud Water Gate walked at the very front of the group, swaying gracefully as she let out a peal of giggles.