Chapter 26: Master, You're Here! Boom!
In the underground Cave Abode, the turbulent spiritual energy had only just settled. The mountain of spirit stones beneath Zhao Hao had shrunk by half.
Yet the palm-sized array plate at the entrance to the Cave Abode now gave a shrill screech, as if it were about to shatter!
Before Zhao Hao could react, a sinister voice seemed to sound right against his scalp. It pierced the rock and the array, pouring clearly into his ears.
"Zhao Hao, you have quite a few secrets, don't you?"
"If the Heavenly Sword Sect hadn't gone mad and demanded that we hand over you and Wu De by name, I wouldn't even have known you'd reached the ninth level of Qi Refining."
"Tell me, how did a disciple who joined the sect less than three months ago manage that? You must have obtained some extraordinary inheritance, haven't you?"
"Hand it over. You have no idea how great the gap is between a Qi Refining cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator. You can't escape."
That voice!
Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
It was Jia Ren!
The steward elder who had taken a drop of his lifeblood essence on his very first day in the sect!
A storm of towering waves rose in Zhao Hao's heart.
Jia Ren had clearly tracked him through the aura of that drop of blood. What was more, he didn't know Zhao Hao had reached Foundation Establishment. He thought the array held a mere ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
He wanted the "inheritance" Zhao Hao supposedly possessed!
Thoughts raced through Zhao Hao's mind as he swiftly weighed the trump cards he had on hand.
Fight head-on? He had only just reached Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual power had yet to fully stabilize. Jia Ren had been at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage for years, and his methods were strange. Zhao Hao's chances in a direct clash were slim.
He had to outwit him!
Use what Jia Ren didn't know!
Zhao Hao settled on a plan in an instant. He looked at the nearly twenty thousand spirit stones still in the Cave Abode, and resolve flashed in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he summoned the system panel.
[Main item: Ghost Bone (First-Rank Supreme Grade magic artifact)] [Please insert materials to be consumed...]
With a thought, Zhao Hao slammed six thousand two hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones into the Material Slot!
[Enhancement success rate: 100%]
"Enhance!"
[Ding! Enhancement successful! Ghost Bone (First-Rank Supreme Grade magic artifact) has advanced to a second-tier low-grade Spirit Artifact!]
Black light flashed. The short black sword let out a clear ring, and the aura it gave off was utterly different!
"Still not enough!"
Zhao Hao selected the Blood Vein Bone Armor next.
[Main item: Blood Vein Bone Armor (First-Rank Supreme Grade magic artifact)]
"Another six thousand two hundred and fifty!"
[Enhancement success rate: 100%]
"Confirm enhancement!"
[Ding! Enhancement successful! Blood Vein Bone Armor (First-Rank Supreme Grade magic artifact) has advanced to a second-tier low-grade Spirit Artifact!]
With two second-tier low-grade Spirit Artifacts in hand, one for attack and one for defense, Zhao Hao finally felt a little more confident.
He quickly put on the Blood Vein Bone Armor. The Spirit Artifact-grade soft armor molded itself silently to his skin. He pulled an ordinary inner disciple's robe over it, leaving no sign of anything unusual on the outside.
Once that was done, he used his perfected Mysterious Yin Breath Concealment Art to suppress his aura firmly to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Then he took a deep breath and slowly activated the Earth Escape Art.
Rustle.
Ten zhang away, the earth churned, and a figure emerged from underground.
Jia Ren held a Blood-Colored Compass in his left hand, its needle pointing unwaveringly toward Zhao Hao. In his right, he gripped a Soul Summoning Banner wreathed in black mist. Ghostly figures crowded its fabric, and judging by its aura, it was only one step from advancing to a second-tier low-grade Spirit Artifact.
When he saw Zhao Hao appear, the mocking look of a cat toying with a mouse was about to spread across his face.
But the next instant, his expression froze.
There was not a trace of fear on Zhao Hao's face. Instead, he looked delighted, as though he had seen his savior.
"Elder Jia?"
Zhao Hao's voice had just the right youthful brightness, along with a hint of relief at having survived a calamity. He even took a few steps forward.
"This is great! I just used a Sound Transmission Jade Talisman to contact Master and asked him to send someone to bring me back to the sect. I didn't expect you to arrive first!"
As he spoke, he actually took a jade talisman from his Storage Bag and waved it in front of Jia Ren.
Jia Ren's eyelid twitched.
Of course he recognized it. It was a Sound Transmission Jade Talisman specially made by True Person Corpse Heart.
Had this brat really contacted True Person Corpse Heart?
Jia Ren studied Zhao Hao, his expression shifting. The fourth-level Qi Refining aura he sensed from the brat did not match the ninth-level Qi Refining aura reported by the Heavenly Sword Sect at all.
"Junior Brother Zhao, your cultivation..." Jia Ren narrowed his eyes and probed, "Something isn't right. Even with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, you couldn't possibly have reached the ninth level of Qi Refining in so short a time, could you?"
At that, Zhao Hao immediately took on a "proud" look, with the air of a "young man who couldn't keep a secret." He edged a few steps closer, acting mysterious.
"Elder Jia, this... Master told me not to tell anyone..."
He lowered his voice, though he could not keep the boastfulness out of it.
"None of my senior brothers or sisters received treatment like this! After Master accepted me as his disciple, he summoned me privately. Not only did he personally guide me in my cultivation method, he also bestowed an incredibly precious spiritual liquid on me so I could break through as soon as possible!"
"I only just reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. I'd planned to wait until I reached Qi Refining perfection and surprise Master!"
"Spiritual liquid?!"
At those words, Jia Ren couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
That was a treasure even mighty Golden Core cultivators used in their training! True Person Corpse Heart had actually been willing to give it to a Qi Refining brat?
In an instant, Jia Ren filled in the whole story himself.
The spiritual energy in such liquid was extraordinarily pure. A Qi Refining cultivator could take it and turn it into his own spiritual power with almost no refining.
With a treasure like that to help him, plus the aptitude of a Heavenly Spiritual Root, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining in three months truly would not be difficult!
Only...
Forcing growth like that would ruin the brat's foundations! Forget Golden Core in the future; even his attempt at Foundation Establishment might fail.
Unless... True Person Corpse Heart had never intended for him to form a Golden Core!
The look Jia Ren gave Zhao Hao suddenly grew loaded with meaning.
Could True Person Corpse Heart have taken a liking to this "Heavenly Spiritual Root" body as well, intending to use it as a vessel for a future possession?
It made sense. A frail body could not withstand the descent of a Golden Core cultivator's soul.
Fatten the vessel first, then harvest the fruit. That was entirely in keeping with the Demonic Sect's way of doing things!
At that thought, the heat of Jia Ren's desire to seize the "inheritance" was doused as if by a bucket of cold water.
Steal a vessel from a mighty Golden Core cultivator? He wasn't tired of living!
"Heh..." Jia Ren forced a smile uglier than a grimace. "I see. As the branch master's personal disciple, with his support, it truly is an enormous stroke of fortune for you to advance so quickly."
Zhao Hao saw Jia Ren's expression change and knew his words had worked. He immediately struck while the iron was hot.
He said to Jia Ren with a nervous look, "Elder Jia, you absolutely mustn't tell anyone about my strength! Master told me not to reveal it! He called it... hiding my light and biding my time!"
"And those madwomen from the Heavenly Sword Sect were far too dangerous this time! If Master hadn't given me ways to save myself and escape, letting me kill that ninth-level Qi Refining woman in one move before fleeing with a second-tier Space Escape Talisman, I'd probably have lost my life there!"
"Master just sent me a message telling me to return to the sect and cultivate at once. I don't need to take part in the trials outside anymore."
A second-tier Space Escape Talisman!
A trump card that killed in a single strike!
Jia Ren abandoned every last thought of making a move.
He did not dare gamble on whether the brat still carried a second or third lifesaving trump card bestowed by True Person Corpse Heart.
The risk was too high and the reward too low. It wasn't worth it!
Jia Ren was about to find an excuse to leave when he suddenly saw Zhao Hao, who had seemed so innocent and guileless all along, light up. Zhao Hao looked past his shoulder toward the empty mountain woods behind him.
Then Zhao Hao's face burst into wild delight, and he shouted with all his strength:
"Master, you're here!"