Neither his imposing, domineering aura nor the slightest expression on his face betrayed any flaw.
The Martial King's display once again struck everyone present with awe, especially those who had just targeted the Martial King Manor.
They had merely felt that the Martial King Manor's involvement in the Primordial Divine Mountain's affairs had cost the mountain face, and had wanted to make trouble for the manor.
Who could have imagined that the Martial King had been hiding in the void? Now they could only pray that, out of consideration for the clans behind them and the Primordial Divine Mountain's might, he would leave them alone!
The Martial King walked over to the swordsman and said, "Youngster of the Celestial Clan, your perception is quite sharp! You actually sensed my presence."
The Celestial Clan swordsman merely cupped his hands toward the Martial King. "You flatter me, Martial King. I was simply fortunate. I hardly deserve your praise."
The Martial King asked casually, "Has the Celestial Clan become involved as well? Didn't you establish long ago that there was no Qilin Inheritance here?"
As though he had not heard the questioning edge in the Martial King's voice, the Celestial Clan man waved a hand casually. "I merely heard that a genius rarely seen even in ten thousand years had joined in from the Martial King Manor. My interest was piqued, so I came to take a look."
"As for the Qilin Inheritance, we've searched for so many years. Perhaps it really doesn't exist. That phantom might have been nothing more than a bluff!"
The Martial King neither agreed nor disagreed. Over all these years, the people of the Primordial Divine Mountain had never stopped investigating the Qilin Cave for even a moment.
He simply did not know why they had stopped watching the Qilin Cave these past few years. As for the Qilin Inheritance, they probably had not found it.
If they truly had, a bloody storm would sweep through the lower realm. Even the giants of the Upper Realm would covet the Qilin Precious Technique.
Seeing the Martial King's expression, the Celestial Clan man knew that he had not believed him. But it did not matter. These were not affairs he could involve himself in anyway.
The Martial King left the man's side and turned toward the people of the Martial King Manor. As he passed him, however, he asked, "I assume you've seen Yi as well. What do you think of his talent?"
As though doing so unintentionally, the Martial King raised his voice a little.
Hearing his question, the man folded his arms again, returning to his earlier carefree demeanor. He rubbed his chin with his right hand, seemingly giving the question serious thought.
Only after a while did he answer with a broad smile. "He's better than the geniuses of the Primordial Divine Mountain! I believe he'll break through to the Venerable Realm soon."
The others listening nearby did not dare make a sound. They could only silently listen to the exchange. After all, the Martial King was an Array Formation Realm expert, while the other man belonged to the Celestial Clan, which they did not dare offend either.
Though they were all powers of the Primordial Divine Mountain, they were divided into various factions, and the Celestial Clan was undoubtedly among the foremost.
Yet at the Celestial Clan man's words, various unusual gleams flashed through the eyes of everyone present.
Naturally, they knew why the Martial King had asked that question. With a genius like this, they either had to offend him utterly and pull up the weeds by their roots, or befriend him.
Otherwise, once he grew into his strength, disaster would come knocking.
But Shi Yi's talent was so great that even someone from the Celestial Clan acknowledged it. No wonder the Martial King had personally been protecting him from the shadows!
The Martial King paid no attention to their reactions, nor did he respond to the Celestial Clan man again. He merely gave a few instructions to several clan elders from the Martial King Manor.
Then his figure flashed, and he vanished from the spot once more.
Only a short time had passed between the Martial King's appearance and disappearance, but the atmosphere was considerably more relaxed now. His appearance had still served to intimidate the people of the Primordial Divine Mountain.
They no longer dared act too arrogantly or pressure the people of the Martial King Manor.
On a small hillside, space twisted slightly, and Shi Qingyun's body was spat out of the distortion.
Shi Qingyun hurriedly steadied himself.
He looked around and found no one nearby. He figured they must have been separated during the spatial transportation.
Surveying the space he had entered, he saw green mountains and flowing streams all around, with flowers and grasses flourishing everywhere.
From time to time, unknown birds swept past, leaving trails of clear, crisp cries.
At the sight of this secluded paradise, much of the worry in Shi Qingyun's heart eased.
No matter how he looked at it, there was none of the danger he had sensed outside.
Still, Shi Qingyun stayed alert and began carefully searching for a path.
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Chapter 21: Searching for the Qilin Blood Pool
Stopping and starting along the way, Shi Qingyun kept looking left and right, constantly searching for something.
"I have to say, this secret realm really is full of treasures. There are all sorts of spirit herbs everywhere. I've already found so many in such a short time."
"No wonder people swarm in whenever a secret realm opens. Even if they can't obtain its treasures, picking up a few scraps is still better than staying outside."
Thinking this, Shi Qingyun looked at the storage ring on his hand, feeling rather pleased. These were all things he had plundered "along the way."
Although none of the herbs he had gathered were precious medicines, obtaining so many spirit herbs was already quite good. Enough of anything could still fill a belly.
His cultivation would demand more and more resources in the future, so he had to start stockpiling them now.
As Shi Qingyun plundered his way along, practically wishing he could scrape the very ground clean,
he soon reached a valley. From a distance, he noticed that there was hardly any vegetation around it, only exposed, dark yellow rock.
This immediately caught Shi Qingyun's attention and left him somewhat puzzled.
The place where he stood was still lush and green, yet the moment that greenery reached the valley, the color abruptly changed!
A distinct black line divided the two into entirely different worlds.
This strange sight immediately piqued Shi Qingyun's interest. Perhaps such an unusual place held something extraordinary.
With that thought, he cautiously approached, keeping himself ready at all times. Opportunity often came hand in hand with danger. The moment anything seemed wrong, he was prepared to flee.
Before long, he reached the valley entrance. Just as he was about to enter, he heard voices talking.
He immediately realized that someone had entered ahead of him and promptly jumped behind a large rock to hide.
He cautiously peeked out to see who they were. Fortunately, his senses had improved, so even the distance did not hinder his "eavesdropping."
Shi Qingyun immediately spotted two young men with wings on their backs, standing before a large pit and discussing something.
They're from the Primordial Divine Mountain. Have they found something?
Judging from the smiles on their faces, however, Shi Qingyun guessed that they had found some treasure.
He extended his perception and closed his eyes to listen closely. Fortunately, the valley was extremely quiet, and their voices echoed through it without any attempt at concealment.
Shi Qingyun heard their conversation perfectly clearly.
"We're so lucky! No one's claimed this precious pool yet."
"Let's hurry and absorb it! This pool is a rare treasure for the Blood Moving Realm."
"Mm. You first, or me?"
"There's no need to be so cautious. Who would dare steal something from our Azure Luan Tribe?" one of the men said dismissively.
Through their exchange, Shi Qingyun pieced together the situation.
Their words also told him that only the two of them were here. A sharp gleam immediately flashed through his eyes. Isn't this my chance?
While the two were still discussing who should go down first, Shi Qingyun concealed his aura behind the rock and quietly crept toward them.
Whether the two trusted their own strength or the intimidating prestige of their status, they failed to notice anything amiss even after Shi Qingyun had spent so long approaching.
While they were still chattering away, Shi Qingyun, who had already drawn close, suddenly sprang up and stamped hard on the rock before him.
He lunged fiercely at the two men, a dark crescent-shaped object spinning above his left palm.
As swift as wind and lightning, Shi Qingyun slammed the Moon Seal into one of the men.
The young man only had time to let out a scream before crashing to the ground. The other young man's shout rang out alongside it.
"Qing Xing!"
The two men had spotted Shi Qingyun the instant he attacked, but he was too fast. Before they could react, one of them had already been brought down!
Fortunately, the young man who had suggested they both go down together reacted quickly and dodged. Seeing his fallen companion, he could only cry out; there was no time to check his condition.
He fixed his eyes on Shi Qingyun and snarled, "Who are you? You dare attack us? Aren't you afraid of retaliation from our Azure Luan Tribe?"
Shi Qingyun did not speak to him at all. He slowly raised both hands. A black crescent appeared above his left hand, and a red sun appeared above his right.
"Sun and Moon Seal!"
Shi Qingyun pressed his palms together, and the black and red energies swiftly fused into a single mass.
The fused mass of black and red energy slowly condensed into a seal.
The sun and moon were engraved on its two faces. It radiated an eerie aura, as though eternity could be attained beneath that seal.
A terrifying aura poured out of it, violently tearing at the surrounding air and producing dreadful sounds.
Shi Qingyun thrust the Sun and Moon Seal hard toward the remaining man, and it shot toward him at high speed.
The man sensed a lethal danger from that mass, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Shock and anger filled his heart. He had never imagined that the person before him truly intended to kill him.
With no time to think further, he hurriedly unleashed his innate precious technique. His blood essence evaporated rapidly within him, and red strands of blood floated around his body.
"Lifeless Flying Wings! Slash!"
The young man beat his wings and flew into the air. Two intersecting, blood-red slashes swept out from his wings!
A divine bird seemed to accompany those blood-red slashes, roaring as it charged toward Shi Qingyun.
The Sun and Moon Seal closed in swiftly. In an instant, the divine bird collided with Shi Qingyun's Sun and Moon Seal, and a tremendous boom echoed through the valley.
The man flapped his wings, slowly blowing the dust away. He was in terrible shape now. He had never expected Shi Qingyun to fight so dishonorably, forcing him to burn his blood essence to respond.
But he should be dead after an attack like that! The winged man believed he had already blasted Shi Qingyun to death.
Yet before he could relax, Shi Qingyun's figure appeared behind him.
A black fan appeared in his right hand.
Swish!
The fan snapped open. Shi Qingyun flung it out, and it spun past the man.
A red line appeared across the man's neck, and then he toppled over, stiff and straight.
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Chapter 22: Cultivating in the Blood Pool
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