A Spirit Boat quietly flew out of Lingxiao Sect, slipped into the clouds, and disappeared.
"Senior Sister, so this Spirit Boat needs someone at the fifth Qi Refining level or higher to pilot it?"
Standing in the middle of the Spirit Boat and gazing at the graceful figure before him, the young man looked enlightened.
Today, he had first gone to the Ziyuan Secret Realm to water the medicinal fields, then reported some things to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. Only after that had he returned to the sect to join Senior Sister on their trip to Cloud Mist Mountain to carry out a Beast-slaying mission.
After nearly a year of watering, the spirit herbs were almost mature. Since Yue Kingdom and Chu Kingdom had ceased hostilities, demand for pills had dropped, so the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had asked him to water less often. His schedule had changed from ten times a month to twice a month, but his pay remained the same.
Since Chen Changming had no idea how long their trip to Cloud Mist Mountain would take, he had informed the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion of his whereabouts. He told them that if he couldn't return in time, they could put off watering for a couple of days and make up for it the following month.
The young lady of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion readily agreed.
She had initially planned to make a fortune from the war, but things hadn't gone according to plan. Now, there was no need to hurry.
She also had her own channels for gathering information. She knew that though the major cultivation sects in both countries seemed peaceful at present, they were secretly making preparations. Another great battle could break out at any time.
"That's right. This Spirit Boat needs Spirit Stones embedded in it, and you also need a certain level of cultivation to pilot it."
Luo Lan turned around and said with a smile.
The young man nodded. He was still a long way from reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining. If he couldn't get enough Spirit Gathering Pills, he had no idea how many years it would take him to break through.
"By the way, Senior Sister, this is the treasure we seized from Leng Shankui. I tried using my blood to claim it, but it didn't work. Do you know why?"
Chen Changming's heart stirred, and he took out the Blood Spirit Cover.
Over the past two months, he had tried several times to claim it with his blood during breaks in his cultivation, but he had failed each time.
He couldn't make sense of it.
The magical cloak the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had given him had worked as soon as he dripped blood on it, but this Blood Spirit Cover was different.
"Every treasure left behind by someone who has died bears its former owner's spiritual imprint. The time it takes for the imprint to disappear on its own depends on the dead person's cultivation. Someone with Leng Shankui's level of cultivation would leave an imprint that takes at least a year to vanish completely..."
Luo Lan smiled, picked up the Blood Spirit Cover, and raised a ball of light in her hand, completely enveloping the treasure.
A few seconds later, the light faded. Luo Lan handed the Blood Spirit Cover to the young man, then passed him a small booklet as well. With a smile, she said, "This little technique for erasing a treasure's spiritual imprint is something you can cultivate once you reach the fifth level of Qi Refining."
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
Chen Changming was overjoyed.
Senior Sister had not only erased the spiritual imprint Leng Shankui had left behind, but had also given him a technique for removing spiritual imprints from treasures.
"Go ahead and drip your blood on it. Just one drop is enough."
Luo Lan said it casually, as if she had done no more than a trivial favor.
Chen Changming bit his fingertip and let a drop of blood fall.
The Blood Spirit Cover flashed brightly. In an instant, he felt a connection form between him and the treasure.
At a thought, it rose into the air and hovered above his head. Streams of red light fell from it, shielding him.
"Junior Brother, this Blood Spirit Cover consumes quite a lot of spiritual energy. Don't use it carelessly, or it'll drain you dry..."
Luo Lan cautioned him.
In her eyes, Junior Brother was only at the third level of Qi Refining. Using a magical treasure like the Blood Spirit Cover was like asking a pony to pull a heavy cart; it could easily drain all the spiritual energy in his body.
"Understood, Senior Sister."
Chen Changming didn't try to show off. He obediently put the Blood Spirit Cover away.
Cloud Mist Mountain was quite far from Lingxiao Sect. Even by Spirit Boat, the journey took a full day.
At dusk,
a man's voice suddenly rang out in a forest dozens of miles beyond Lingxiao Sect.
"Senior Brother Liao, according to the message from our informant, Chen Changming took a Spirit Boat to Cloud Mist Mountain with Luo Lan this morning..."
"Damn it, that kid sure knows how to cling to someone powerful. He's hitched himself to that crazy girl Luo Lan."
A young man in a blood-red robe cursed.
Another young man stammered, "Senior Brother Liao, you're the only one who can handle Luo Lan."
"I can only hold her off for a while. That girl scares me when she fights for her life. When the time comes, the three of you kill that Chen boy."
Liao Changhai considered it for a moment before speaking.
The three young men in blood-red robes hurriedly nodded in agreement.
"You three—two of you are at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and one is at the fifth. With a lineup like that, you can deal with Chen Changming, who has some skill with the sword, right?"
Liao Changhai asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't worry, Senior Brother. If the three of us working together can't kill an outer sect disciple of Lingxiao Sect who's only at the third level of Qi Refining, we won't deserve to return to Blood Demon Sect!"
One of the young men declared confidently.
The other two thumped their chests and promised Liao Changhai the same.
Liao Changhai was quite satisfied. He had agreed to Elder Leng's request, and the assassination mission had remained unfinished for a long time. It was an embarrassment to him as well.
He had finally gotten his chance now that Chen Changming had left Lingxiao Sect. He absolutely couldn't afford to fail!
By the time the Spirit Boat reached the outskirts of Cloud Mist Mountain, night had fallen. Stars filled the sky, and the mountain ranges stretched away like giant pythons, vanishing beyond the horizon.
"We've reached Cloud Mist Mountain. Let's go to the camp and rest for the night. We'll enter the mountain tomorrow morning."
The Spirit Boat landed on a flat patch of ground outside the mountain. Luo Lan pointed to the many campfires burning in the distance and smiled. "The Beast tide has been especially fierce around Cloud Mist Mountain lately. The major sects nearby have all sent disciples here..."
Chen Changming looked up and saw orderly campfires between the various camps.
Sect banners 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 strange sense of novelty rising in his heart. He had never encountered these sects before and had no idea how strong their disciples were.
"By the way." Luo Lan put away the Spirit Boat and headed toward the camp. Lowering her voice, she said, "Junior Brother, be extra careful around people from Qingxiao Sect."
"Why is that, Senior Sister?" Chen Changming asked.
"Our sects have never gotten along. They say the founding patriarchs of our two sects originally came from the same school, but they fell out over a woman. Later, the three of them each established Lingxiao Sect, Qingxiao Sect, and Cloud Water Gate. The feud between Lingxiao Sect and Qingxiao Sect began back then..."
Luo Lan spoke in a low voice.
Chen Changming nodded, his expression turning serious as well.
He looked in a certain direction and saw several beautiful women in cloud-patterned robes approaching. Luo Lan raised an eyebrow and snorted in annoyance. "Cloud Water Gate is full of young women. Junior Brother, you need to be extra careful. Plenty of them are femme fatales who do nothing but seduce men!"
"I understand."
Seeing the spark of anger in Senior Sister's tone, Chen Changming hurriedly nodded.
"Luo Lan, have you started bringing children out to play house?"
A stunningly beautiful and seductive woman from Cloud Water Gate walked at the head of the group, swaying gracefully as she went. She laughed brightly as she spoke.