Spirit Pool

More than twenty blood wolves were forcefully slain by Su Hao and the others.

"Big brother, I knew you'd have a way. Otherwise, how could you be so fearless? If I cause trouble in the future, you'll cover for me." Meng Xianxian flashed her gleaming little tiger teeth.

Su Hao's face darkened. He stepped forward and gave her forehead a vicious knock. "If there's a next time, I'll throw you into a nest of demon beasts."

The group cleared the battlefield. Though the battle had been dangerous, the gains were immense as well. More than twenty blood wolf demon cores all fell into Su Hao's hands. If he swallowed them all, his cultivation would advance by a great stride. Together with the lotus seed he had obtained from Danyangzi, he might even break through directly.

Those demon butterflies also contained potent essence, but unfortunately, under the effects of Su Hao's snake venom, they had melted outright. Even their demon cores had rotted away and could not be used.

After lingering there briefly, the group swiftly climbed to the top of the cliff. This was a flat-topped mountain. A huge boulder stood atop it, surrounded by overgrown weeds. Hidden amid the weeds was a pitch-black cave entrance, extremely well concealed.

Led by Xia Xiaojiu, they cautiously entered. Every one of them was taut with tension, giving it their utmost attention.

"It's so dark in here." Meng Xianxian spoke without the slightest restraint. Her voice carried through the cave, startling several blood bats into flight.

"Get her out of here immediately," Xia Xiaojiu roared in a suppressed voice.

Even Su Hao was speechless. He stepped up, covered the little girl's mouth with one hand, then slung her over his shoulder.

Though Meng Xianxian was carefree by nature, she had never had physical contact with an unfamiliar man. Su Hao's sudden move made her face flush red at once, and her cultivation could not help surging.

"If you still want to drink my soup, shut your mouth. Otherwise, don't even dream of tasting it for the rest of your life," Su Hao threatened.

That move worked better on Meng Xianxian than anything else. She immediately covered her mouth with both hands, forcing herself not to make a sound.

Under those circumstances, they continued onward. They took out a fire starter, its faint flame casting a weak glow.

The entrance outside was only wide enough for two people, yet the cave interior was quite spacious, filled with countless branching paths and twists and turns. If Xia Xiaojiu had not been here before and left markers behind, they would certainly have gotten lost.

At the same time the group entered the cave, three figures—two men and one woman—were making their way through the Mist Forest, following the direction in which Su Hao's group had gone.

All three emanated terrifying cultivation, having reached the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. The woman among them, cold-faced yet seductively built, had even reached the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. She was exceptionally formidable.

The seventh layer of Qi Condensation marked a qualitative ascension in one's level of life. One could ride qi to glide, making one's speed extraordinarily fast.

"We have been ordered by Elder Liu Dao to take his life. However, this matter must not be made public. Slaughtering disciples of our own sect without a Life-and-Death Token is a grave crime. If we are discovered, we will be punished as well."

"Besides, although the East Gate has fallen on hard times, Xiao Wuji is no one to trifle with. If we are exposed, we'll be left carrying the can."

The group pursued the footprints in the snow while speaking rapidly.

Before long, they too arrived beneath the cliff and saw the demon beast corpses strewn across the ground. The miserable sight immediately made them frown.

The woman's expression turned even graver. "There were more than twenty demon beasts in the blood wolf pack, in addition to countless bloodsucking demon butterflies. For them to kill them and leave unharmed, there must be an expert among them. We must be extremely careful."

As her words fell, she flicked one hand. A flash of golden light shot forth and burrowed into her robes, concealing some unknown means.

After doing all this, she swept her cold gaze around and immediately found traces, then ascended to the mountaintop.

"Senior Sister Cloud Demon, there's a cave entrance over there. The footprints outside have been cleared away, but my nose can clearly smell their scent," one of the men said.

"Very good. The art you cultivate is peculiar, making you extraordinarily sensitive to scents. You are best suited for this sort of tracking. We pursued them all the way here without a single error, and you deserve great credit. Once this matter is over, I will certainly put in a good word for you before Elder Liu," Cloud Demon said, flicking her sleeve. Though she was a woman, she carried the commanding aura of a leader.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Cloud."

The man was immediately overjoyed.

The three entered the cave.

The cave entrance sloped downward. Only after descending a full thousand meters did Su Hao and the others hear the sound of flowing water again, while the space before them opened up.

A pool lay below, with water erupting from underground.

Moreover, the water that erupted actually contained spiritual qi.

More importantly, this spiritual qi was dense and pure, far superior to that of the outside world.

Spirit stones came in four grades: low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade. Spiritual qi was likewise divided into grades; the higher its grade, the faster it could be absorbed and refined.

By Su Hao's perception, the spiritual qi here was sufficient to reach the middle-grade level.

Xia Xiaojiu swept his gaze over it. Seeing that the spirit pool was still gushing, he immediately rejoiced. "You sensed it, didn't you? Beneath this pool is a natural point where spiritual qi erupts, also known as a spirit spring. By my guess, it may well connect to the Spirit Creek Sect's spirit root. This is a rare treasure ground."

The Spirit Creek Sect got its name because it had discovered a spirit root. The root was like a creek—yet this creek was not water, but densely gathered spiritual qi.

If this place truly connected to that spirit root, then it truly was a rare treasure ground.

"I'm hungry." Meng Xianxian had already been put down by Su Hao. Staring at the pool, her large eyes shone as she grew somewhat impatient.

The others could not be bothered with her. They immediately drew near, then, without the slightest hesitation, jumped into the pool one after another with splashes. Bald Chicken happily floated on its back within the water. No one noticed that the spiritual qi in the pool was already entering its body.

Bald Chicken's foundation was like a pool that had already been built; it only needed to be filled with "water" to restore its cultivation.

This pool was extremely deep, its bottom impossible to see, making it difficult to find the source where the spiritual qi gushed forth. However, the spiritual qi soaking through the water could strengthen the body through bathing, and cultivating here was ten times faster than in the outside world.

"There is only one hour. After one hour, this spirit pool will stop gushing, so we must seize the time," Xia Xiaojiu reminded them.

Everyone nodded and entered cultivation.

Meng Xianxian stayed away from them, soaking in a corner. To everyone's surprise, with every breath she took, the spiritual qi in the pool turned into white mist, like little dragons continuously pouring into her mouth at an astonishing speed.

"This girl's cultivation technique is no simple matter." Su Hao narrowed his eyes. Even the techniques he had given Lin Yaoyao and Xia Xiaojiu only achieved this degree of speed.

Those things had been treasures from the Immortal Realm, things ordinary people could never obtain.

For Meng Xianxian's technique to achieve such speed showed just how extraordinary it was. Either she possessed immense fortune, or her identity and origins were far from simple.