Wu Yingying

After a night had passed, Yun Mo took Wen Qingxuan, now dressed in a red skirt, and Wu Ling, carrying his War Staff, to trade with people in the Guardian Land.

They wanted to see whether anyone had spotted a swarm of Nocturnal Bees.

Thanks to their black robes, no one else in the Guardian Land had any idea that these were the three people who had shared the locations of heavenly treasures yesterday.

But even after searching for a while, they came away empty-handed.

"These people really know how to dream. They want to trade an ordinary healing herb for a spirit medicine? What a fool's fantasy." Wu Ling frowned.

"Well, it is a healing herb." Yun Mo was equally speechless. He turned to Wu Ling. "How much longer until your sister gets here?"

Last night, Wu Ling had spent some Spirit Points to exchange for a Communication Paper Crane through his token. The crane could carry a message and deliver it to a specified person on the Spirit Road.

"She was already somewhere near the Guardian Land last night, so she should be here soon. But she sounded furious in her reply and wanted me to help her get revenge."

Wu Ling was rather bewildered. Knowing his sister was safe had relieved him, but even he could feel the anger seeping between the lines.

Had she suffered some terrible loss?

"Good. Once she arrives, we'll set off for the place we planned to visit." Yun Mo nodded.

They had already mapped out the next leg of their journey. On the map, their destination looked like a field of medicinal herbs, where they could find spirit medicines every few steps. It was a place brimming with opportunities.

Presumably, there would be no shortage of body-tempering medicines there either.

By Yun Mo's reckoning, those who ultimately earned a king-rank evaluation probably all had bodies as strong as someone at the Spirit Wheel Realm. In other words, physical strength at the Spirit Wheel Realm should be enough to sweep through the Spirit Road.

Their group had three people with that potential. Once they quickly raised their strength, they could make tokens their primary target.

The early stretch of the Spirit Road was relatively less brutal. In the latter half, the fighting would probably become savage.

Of the thousand-plus people participating in the Spirit Road Trial, perhaps only a few dozen would reach the end. Those who earned a king-rank evaluation would be fewer still.

Just as Yun Mo was about to leave, Wen Qingxuan stopped him. "Look over there."

"Hmm?"

Yun Mo and Wu Ling turned, following her gaze toward a small stall where several people had gathered, shouting and arguing.

They narrowed their eyes and spotted a Broken Great Bow on the stall.

The bow was pitch-black and heavily mottled, its string snapped, with not a trace of spirituality remaining. Yet the aura it gave off was affecting the people arguing around it, filling their eyes with crimson and vicious hostility.

"Is that... baleful energy?" Wu Ling murmured.

"To think its baleful energy is strong enough to influence people's minds." A flicker of surprise crossed Yun Mo's eyes. He continued, "I can't tell what that snapped bowstring is made of either."

Wen Qingxuan looked at Yun Mo, no longer as aloof as before, and said softly, "It's dragon tendon. The bow itself is made from fusang divine wood."

Yun Mo and Wu Ling exchanged a look. Neither had expected to encounter such a supreme treasure here.

Although the bow was damaged, there was a strong chance it could be repaired as long as its body was still sound.

A question arose in Wu Ling's mind. "How could something so divine appear on the Spirit Road?"

Yun Mo accepted it readily enough. "The Spirit Road itself is just a tiny broken continent that the Five Great Academies refined and brought under their control. Even Sovereigns can't break free of the divine contest laws here. It's not all that strange for supreme treasures to have been left behind undiscovered."

Wen Qingxuan explained as well, "Actually, the Five Great Academies have never had any intention of exploring the Spirit Road. They merely use its unique features to train their disciples."

"Breeding venomous creatures in a jar until only one survives, you mean." Yun Mo corrected her, making her roll her eyes.

Wu Ling froze, then understood and burst out laughing. "The Spirit Road, the Venom Road. Very fitting! Hahaha!"

"Let's go. Since we've stumbled across a supreme treasure they haven't recognized, this is our opportunity."

The three approached the stall. The closer they came, the more strongly they sensed the dense, bloody baleful energy.

"I offered you a hundred Spirit Points for that herb, and you still think it's too little?"

"I only want things that can cure poison. I don't want Spirit Points or anything else. All of you, listen: everything on this stall can only be traded for something that cures poison."

Hearing the argument at the stall, Yun Mo brushed the Storage Ring on his hand. Something that cured poison?

He walked up to the stallholder and asked, "What do you want for this bow?"

The stallholder glanced at the three newcomers, hesitation crossing his face. He could sense that the bow was unusual, but it was simply too damaged. Besides, he desperately needed something to cure the hidden problem in his body.

"Three spirit medicines that can cure poison."

"Hmph! I think you've lost your mind. You want poison-curing spirit medicines for everything, don't you?"

A man whose eyes had turned completely red was losing patience. He had argued with this stallholder for ages, but the man refused to budge. There were plenty of herbs on the stall, including many he wanted, yet for some reason, the constant demand for poison cures stirred a towering rage within him.

He was beginning to resent the fact that he had nothing to cure poison.

Crimson surged in the stallholder's eyes too as he glared at him. "Will you get lost already? Stop interfering with my conversations! I told you, I don't want anything except poison-curing medicine."

"Fine, fine, fine! I'll remember your face. You'd better never leave the Guardian Land!"

The man flung his sleeve and stormed away. But once he was far enough from the stall, the redness faded from his eyes. He froze, bewildered by what he had just done and why he felt as though he had lost control.

Watching this, Yun Mo could not help marveling at the aura the bow possessed.

He feigned hesitation, then swiftly put the bow into his token. Afterward, he took an unfused level-one token from his robes and tossed it to the stallholder.

"I asked for medicine that cures poison. Why are you giving me a token?" The stallholder turned toward Yun Mo, crimson anger spreading through his eyes again.

Sensing that anger, Wu Ling's eyes turned cold. He was about to speak, but Yun Mo stopped him with a

look.

Yun Mo told the stallholder, "There's something in that token that cures poison, more than enough for your needs. Just check it. As for the token, consider it a gift."

Yun Mo had not taken out the Antidote Pill directly, choosing instead to trade it inside a token. After all, he was not wearing his black robe now, so people could easily remember that he possessed pills.

He was not afraid of these people, but to avoid disruptions to their journey, it was better to keep a low profile where he could. Wealth was best kept out of sight.

Once they reached the later stages of the Spirit Road, however, that would no longer matter.

The stallholder restrained his impatient frenzy and sent his awareness into the token.

A moment later, shock flashed through his eyes, and he exclaimed inwardly, An Antidote Pill! How could something like this exist on the Spirit Road? Can this man refine pills?

"Well? Enough for your needs?"

The stallholder took a deep breath and suppressed his shock. Ignoring the surprised looks around him, he said in a muffled voice, "Yes. Thank you!"

The others were stunned by his reaction. Why had he suddenly become so agreeable? Could the token given to him by the man about to leave contain poison-curing medicine?

Yun Mo nodded and led Wen Qingxuan and Wu Ling straight away.

"I never thought we'd get that bow so easily. Can you tell what grade it is?" Wu Ling asked with a sigh of wonder.

"No. When I put it away, I tried touching it, but its baleful energy showed signs of erupting. The poison that stallholder wanted to cure was actually baleful poison. He simply didn't know it came from this bow."

Wen Qingxuan arched an eyebrow. "Since you took the bow, shouldn't you give us some compensation?"

Hearing her words, Wu Ling could not help glancing at the stunning girl. Her face seemed to be growing more expressive.

He joined in the teasing. "Exactly. I think you ought to stand night watch for at least two months. Otherwise, take out the bow and split it with us."

Yun Mo glanced at Wu Ling and tipped his chin ahead. "You'd better deal with your sister first."

"Uh... Yingying?"

Wu Ling looked ahead and spotted Wu Yingying sitting where they usually rested. She kept waving the Snow-White Short Blade in her hand, occasionally muttering angrily.

Dressed in blue, Wu Yingying whipped her head around at his call.

Her bright eyes flickered. First, she was startled by Wen Qingxuan's beauty and noble bearing. Then she took in Yun Mo's calm demeanor, and only afterward did she notice Wu Ling.

"Wu Ling, where the hell have you been?" Wu Yingying lunged at him, all flailing claws, and snapped, "Didn't I leave marks telling you to hurry up and follow me? Why didn't you come?"

"I really didn't see them. I might have been transported somewhere very far from you. No matter how many marks you left, I couldn't have reached you. Besides, didn't I spend money on a paper crane and find you now?" Wu Ling said helplessly. He was utterly powerless when it came to his sister.

"Hmph! Then come with me right now. I need to find someone and settle the score." Wu Yingying clenched her pearly teeth and spoke bitterly.

"Hmm? Who do you want revenge on? Did someone get the better of you?" Wu Ling eyed her suspiciously. Had she lost her token?

"Get the better of me?" Wu Yingying's pretty face stiffened, and she ground her teeth. "Of course not! Just come with me. Why all the pointless questions?"

Her attempt to cover it up only convinced Wu Ling that something had happened. "Then tell me where you're taking me first. You must have a destination, right? Whoever got the better of you certainly won't stay in the same place."

Wu Yingying's Snow-White Short Blade appeared again. "I don't care. We'll definitely find him if we follow that road. I'll make him pay!"

"So someone really did get the better of you?" Wu Ling laughed. His sister was normally very sharp. This time, she really must have been beside herself with anger.

"What?" Seeing the smiles on Wu Ling's face and those of Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan behind him, Wu Yingying finally realized she had let it slip.

"Ah! Wu Ling!"

"Hiss! You little brat, you're serious! You nearly cut my hand!"