"Thank you."
Chu Bai turned his wrist, and the Blood Baleful Core, radiating warmth and a savage aura, vanished into his sleeve, tucked into the deepest recess of his Storage Bag.
He nodded to Mu Ku, acknowledging the favor.
He was about to turn back to his wine when a somewhat hesitant voice sounded beside him.
"This is an object of the divine path, containing a trace of a True Spirit's lingering nature. It is exceedingly rare... Might I borrow a moment of your time, Fellow Daoist Chu, to discuss something?"
Zuo Qiu set down his jade bowl. Though he tried his best to conceal it, his gaze lingered for a moment on the spot where the core had vanished, filled with an indescribable longing and gravity.
"Oh?"
Chu Bai raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing through the eyes concealed behind his mask.
Though the Blood Baleful Core contained the concentrated essence of Steel Bone's entire being and was a potent supplement for body cultivators, its killing intent posed a serious problem for immortal cultivators.
For an orthodox spell cultivator like Zuo Qiu to care so much about it, there clearly had to be more to the matter.
"Since you've asked, Steward Zuo, let's have a chat over there."
Chu Bai rose, casually picked up a jug of Greenwood Spirit Wine, and left the noisy crowd around the bonfire with Zuo Qiu, heading to a secluded cliff edge.
The night wind howled, carrying the rusty tang unique to the Blood Plains.
Zuo Qiu stared at the dark, distant horizon. After a long silence, he released a deep sigh, as though finally laying down years of guardedness.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, the Far North is not part of Great Zhou's territory. Some things that would be capital offenses to say