Maps and Advancement

The next day, Drunken Spring Pavilion.

"Come play, little brother~ I'm Blue Orchid, number three~"

"I'm Begonia, the begonia from 'a pear blossom pressing down on Begonia'~"

"Big brother, have you forgotten little sister Chun Tao~?"

Lin Nan expressionlessly pushed through the shoving and tugging of a group of gorgeous women, quickly making his way to private room number two.

Creak.

The door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.

Inside, Li Nianru was covered in bandages. She was wolfing down a bowl of chilled tofu pudding while listening to music. When she saw Lin Nan storm in furiously, her face filled with confusion.

"If you come to a place like this again, I'm cutting ties with you."

Lin Nan strode up to Li Nianru and slammed his palm onto the table.

Bang!

The loud smack startled the singing girls onstage.

Li Nianru hurriedly waved her hand. The frightened girls looked as though they had been granted a pardon and promptly ran out.

"What do you mean, a place like this? I'm a woman. I'm not afraid of gossip. Besides, don't you like it?"

"You know me. I'm an upright man, not one for women!"

Li Nianru shot him a sidelong glance and barely resisted the urge to hit him.

With a solemn expression, Lin Nan pulled over a stool and sat down. He picked up a bowl of chilled tofu pudding from the table and began eating. It was icy and slightly grainy on the tongue.

"Enough nonsense. Where's my mission reward?"

"See? So impatient."

Li Nianru reached into the leather pouch behind her, pulled out a yellow box and a roll of yellowed parchment, then pushed them in front of Lin Nan.

"After the Blessed Life Cult was destroyed, I applied for these rewards within the Martial Alliance: one Limit-Breaking Pill and a map of the area around Black Dragon City."

A Limit-Breaking Pill...

Lin Nan's brow twitched.

Limit-Breaking Pills were said to be supplementary pills capable of helping martial artists break through a minor realm. They were extremely expensive, yet the Martial Alliance actually had a channel to exchange for them.

He had failed to obtain one from the Cold Mountain Goddess mission, only to get one through the Martial Alliance.

And then there was the map of Black Dragon City...

"Don't underestimate this map of Black Dragon City. It's worth several hundred taels on the market. This is experience countless martial artists paid for with their lives, filling in one pitfall after another," Li Nianru said seriously.

Lin Nan quickly spread the map across the table and gave it a cursory glance.

The map bore numerous markings, divided into four levels: [Safe], [Threatened], [Dangerous], and [Forbidden Zone].

The eastern outskirts of the city contained the Azure Dragon Mountains he had visited before. At the foot of the mountains was "Azure Dragon Reclining by the Stream." The location of the Cold Mountain Goddess Temple nearby was marked [Threatened], while Black Dragon City's sole official road extended outward from the mountain range.

The northern outskirts contained the Emerald Spring River. Some areas along both banks were marked with crosses and labeled Safe Zones or Threatened Zones.

The western outskirts were the West Suburbs, where villages lay scattered like stars, with small crosses interspersed among them.

As for the southern outskirts, where the commoners lived...

Beyond the entirety of the southern outskirts lay a thin-mist region. Within it was an arc-shaped city wall. Beneath the wall were densely packed crosses, scattered like countless stars—so dense that there were barely any gaps between them.

"Are these red crosses Threatened Zones?" Lin Nan's heart tightened.

Li Nianru finished off a bowl of tofu pudding, then wiped her mouth.

"The south of Black Dragon City happens to connect to the Sea of Mists, so there are quite a few demons, monsters, and evil entities there..."

"...To deal with those evil entities, the lords of the inner city built another massive wall in front of the outer city. It's called the Thin-Mist Defense Line, specifically meant to isolate the demons and monsters in the south."

No wonder...

That explained why the wealthy were unwilling to live in the south, and why evil entities occasionally knocked on doors in the Tile-House District where the southern commoners lived.

Lin Nan vaguely understood the value of this map. If he had it in advance, he could fully try hunting demons and monsters in the wilderness to obtain yin energy points.

He had never considered hunting demons and monsters in the wild before. First, his martial cultivation had been insufficient. Second, he had lacked a map. If he got entangled by demons or monsters and could not make it back, he would be in serious trouble.

With a map, as long as he hid in Safe Zones when spending the night in the wilderness, he could avoid many dangerous areas—provided no demonic disturbances had occurred in those Safe Zones.

With that in mind, he carefully put away the map, intending to study it in detail after returning.

"What happened to that Night Fetus in the Blessed Life Cult's main headquarters?" he asked.

"Of course it was dealt with," Li Nianru said. "A commander from the Martial Alliance came and killed the Night Fetus, but the commander was seriously injured as well and returned to recuperate."

"A commander actually came?" Lin Nan was slightly surprised.

The Martial Alliance was divided into five ranks: Alliance Leader, Suppression General, Commander, Heavenly Guard, and Earthly Guard.

Among them, commanders were already among the strongest Martial Masters. Even such a major figure had been seriously injured.

"What exactly are the people of the Blessed Life Cult trying to do?" Lin Nan asked.

"It was an experiment." Li Nianru's gaze turned distant as she continued, "They wanted to create a Night Fetus, then control it."

"A Night Fetus is the resentment of one yet unborn, one of the second-rank evil entities. Legend says that in years of great disaster, when corpses of the starved covered the land, a pregnant woman might die with injustice in her heart. The child in her womb would never see daylight, its resentment would not disperse, and a Night Fetus would be born."

As Li Nianru spoke, a chill gradually surfaced in her eyes.

"Using the blood essence of women born on yin days at yin hours can induce the growth of a Night Fetus. It is an evil art."

"Those people truly deserve a miserable death."

Lin Nan's expression gradually turned cold as well.

For an experiment to control ghosts, the Blessed Life Cult was willing to kill so many people. They had utterly lost their humanity.

"The Blessed Life Cult matter isn't over yet. Qin Bo, the Qin Family steward, was merely a spokesperson. The true cult leader is still hiding in the outer city, and we need to continue investigating thoroughly. We destroyed one of his outer-city hideouts, so he won't let this go."

"Do you have any preliminary suspects?"

"Elder Qin of the Qin Family. His power is immense, second only to the city lord."

Li Nianru sighed. "After today, the two of us should meet less often for the time being, so as not to let anyone notice anything suspicious."

"Fine."

After the Blessed Life Cult incident, Lin Nan also wanted to lie low for a while and improve his martial cultivation, turning his resources into actual strength.

"Speaking of which, I never expected you to actually learn the Origin-Revering One-Qi Art..."

Li Nianru gave him a complicated look. She suddenly felt that the move she had casually made seemed to have produced an unexpected effect.

When she had taught him the Origin-Revering One-Qi Art, she had only wanted to tease him. With his bones and aptitude, it should have been absolutely impossible for him to learn it. Yet...

Only now did Li Nianru realize that she had underestimated Lin Nan.

Not only had he begun to grasp stance arts, but he had even trained several external arts, including Wave-Treading Step, to the first level.

Li Nianru opened another bowl of iced red bean paste and spoke as she ate.

"The Origin-Revering One-Qi Art differs from other low-grade mortal martial arts. It can lead directly to realms above Martial Master. Once you reach perfection in the Sinew and Bone Realm, you'll need a Divine Intent Diagram to assist you. Come find me then."

"A Divine Intent Diagram? What's that?" Lin Nan froze for a moment.

"You'll know once you reach perfection in the Sinew and Bone Realm."

Li Nianru gave a sly smile and did not explain further. Instead, she waved her hand and shouted toward the singing girls outside.

"Come in! Keep playing, keep dancing!"

Lin Nan was left speechless.

By the time he returned to the White Snake Martial School residence, it was nearly dusk.

Lin Nan was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed, feeling as though his entire body was about to fall apart.

Looking at the jade talisman hanging from the ceiling beam, countless complicated thoughts flashed through his mind.

The Blessed Life Cult leader... major figures in the inner city... the southern city where evil entities lurked...

The sense of security he had only just established crumbled once more.

"This world... these powerful people... it shouldn't be like this!"

Lin Nan closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his mind, looking at the information on the [Creation Furnace]:

[Furnace Master: Lin Nan]

[Age: Twenty]

[Art: Origin-Revering Stance (Spirit Serpent Stance) (Level Six (540/1200))]

[Fist Art: White Snake Fist Transformation Force (Mastery)]

[Movement Art: Wave-Treading Step (Level One 20/500)]

[Hard Body Art: Golden Astral Body (Level One 3/500)]

[Palm Art: Blazing Fire Palm (Level One 20/500)]

[Fist Art: Earth Fiend Fist (Level One 1/500)]

[Finger Art: Azure Wood Finger (Level One 1/500)]

[Usable Yin Energy Points: 6.]

Of the six yin energy points, two had come from worshipping the gods in the Blessed Life Cult this time, while the other four had come from eating Taisui Flesh over the past month.

With a thought, the flames in his mind surged. All six yin energy points were refined into six hundred proficiency points and poured into his stance art.

In an instant, countless scenes of practicing stance arts flashed through his mind.

[Art: Origin-Revering Stance (Spirit Serpent Stance) (Level Six (1140/1200))]

"It's almost at the Sinew and Bone Realm. Why not make one final push?"