Shi Qingyun caught the fan fluttering in midair again and flicked it to the side.
The blood on the fan splattered onto a nearby rock. With a swish, Shi Qingyun snapped the fan shut and held it in his hand.
He surveyed the battlefield and recalled the details of his attack, thinking, Not bad. This Sun and Moon Seal I comprehended from that Heavenly Roc packs quite a punch in actual combat! All the effort I spent comprehending it wasn't wasted!
As he carefully assessed his timing and speed, his feet did not slow. He hurried over to the two corpses and began searching them without the slightest distaste.
Before long, a small mountain had piled up in front of Shi Qingyun, containing all kinds of precious herbs, spiritual medicines, and even some artifacts.
Shi Qingyun could not help marveling inwardly. People from major powers really did carry plenty of treasures! In the end, though, he had reaped all the benefits.
"Truly, murderers and arsonists wear belts of gold, while those who build bridges and mend roads leave not even bones behind! Those artifacts may be useless to me, but exchanging them for treasures I can use will bring in another batch of cultivation resources."
Shi Qingyun felt no discomfort whatsoever from having just killed people. Perhaps it was because he had long since prepared himself.
From the moment he stepped onto the path of cultivation, Shi Qingyun had known that countless corpses and resentful souls would pile up beneath his feet, lifting him into the highest realm. He had long since been ready for that.
Otherwise, how could a child raised under the red flag remain so calm after killing, without even a ripple in his heart?
Shi Qingyun crouched and carefully took inventory, checking which of these cultivation resources he could use.
Aside from some cultivation resources, most were miscellaneous items or things he had no use for. He could only exchange them.
Just then, however, a map made from beast hide caught Shi Qingyun's attention.
The beast-hide map was dull and lusterless throughout, but when Shi Qingyun unfolded it, the lines depicted inside seemed to come alive.
Mysterious radiance flowed through them as the lines intersected, gradually forming a lifelike map. It seemed to portray the terrain of the entire secret realm, clear and complete.
Wasn't the dark valley on that map, made from some unknown beast's hide, the very place where he stood?
A pair of wings had also been drawn above the black valley, presumably a mark left by the Azure Luan people.
Shi Qingyun guessed that this map was probably how those two had found this place so quickly!
On reflection, it made sense. After all, who knew how deeply they had explored Qilin Cave? Their knowledge of its conditions was already extremely detailed, so producing such a map was nothing strange.
At that thought, Shi Qingyun grew excited. He studied the symbols drawn elsewhere on the map. Each one represented a fresh, juicy trove of cultivation resources.
After putting away everything on the ground, Shi Qingyun approached the large pit and peered inside. It was quite deep.
He wanted to see what lay below that was worth so much effort from the Azure Luan and had made those two so delighted.
Shi Qingyun leaped into the pit, his body plunging rapidly downward.
Nimbly sliding along the rock wall, Shi Qingyun soon reached the bottom. The underground chamber was not particularly large; he could see all the way across it at a glance.
As soon as he entered, Shi Qingyun spotted a crimson blood pool nearby, occupying almost half the underground chamber.
Dense divine essence permeated the air above the blood pool, and the liquid within kept bubbling up.
Blood-black stones of varying sizes covered the ground beside it.
Faint, barely visible wisps of mist drifted around the blood pool as well, but Shi Qingyun sensed no danger from them and paid them no mind.
Shi Qingyun clearly felt the pool's attraction and had no doubt that it would benefit him.
Looking around, he saw nothing but gray desolation surrounding the blood pool. Only the pool brimmed with a rich aura of life, presenting two utterly opposite extremes.
Shi Qingyun guessed that the blood pool had absorbed all the life essence from its surroundings. He did not know how that had happened, but finding out the cause was hardly important.
What mattered was securing this beneficial blood pool first. Everything else could wait.
With that thought, Shi Qingyun willed the clothes he wore to vanish inch by inch. He could not help marveling at how convenient this treasured garment was.
Shi Qingyun stepped into the blood pool, one step at a time, and the crimson liquid seemed to gain awareness.
It slowly clung to his body, creeping upward from his ankles.
By the time Shi Qingyun reached the center of the blood pool, the crimson liquid had enveloped him.
It wrapped Shi Qingyun into a blood cocoon, while the surrounding crimson liquid continued climbing onto it.
Inside the blood cocoon, Shi Qingyun felt strands of crimson energy entering his body, bringing a comfort he had not felt in a long time.
His strength slowly increased, and his heartbeat grew louder and louder as Shi Qingyun absorbed those beneficial red strands with all his might.
Shi Qingyun became a black hole, endlessly gulping down the energy like a whale. While he was still thoroughly enjoying himself, something changed outside.
The blood pool gradually shrank, and the crimson liquid enveloping Shi Qingyun dried up.
Shi Qingyun broke out of the blood cocoon, and a crimson outfit appeared on his body.
A long sash cinched his waist, its ends swaying gently in the wind.
He glanced at the pool beneath his feet, its liquid now drained of its former color, and felt rather helpless. He had absorbed it all so quickly.
Shi Qingyun was truly at a loss. He had expected a surge in his strength, yet he had consumed everything this soon.
His physical strength had increased by several thousand jin in that short span, but Shi Qingyun was still somewhat dissatisfied.
He even began wondering whether he possessed some special constitution. Such rich divine essence had increased his strength by so little.
Still, he stopped dwelling on it and took out the beast-hide map, checking the location of a treasure pool relatively close to him.
Then he raced toward it!
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Chapter 23: Gathering Treasure Liquid, Forging a Treasure Body
There were plenty of treasure pools on that map. Wouldn't everything be fine if he seized them all?
For that reason, although Shi Qingyun was somewhat dissatisfied, he did not dwell on it. He had absorbed it all himself, after all. As long as it benefited him and did no harm, that was enough. Surely absorbing it into his body would not hurt him.
Moreover, Shi Qingyun could feel that although his physical strength had not increased much, his body possessed an unprecedented sense of ease.
Both his five senses and his mysterious intuition had become much sharper.
He also had a strange instinctive feeling that his constitution was undergoing a transformation. It had not manifested yet because he lacked enough energy; it would require considerable energy and time.
That intuition had actually surfaced during his original baptism, but he had not paid it much attention then, merely assuming he possessed some special constitution!
That was why Shi Qingyun was so impatient to compete for the blood pools. He wanted to see what his constitution could transform into.
Without a doubt, once his constitution transformed again, his strength would skyrocket.
Shi Qingyun raced like the wind and lightning, weaving between towering trees and mountains. Yin and yang energy bolstered his feet, letting him leap among giant trees and massive rocks as though walking on level ground.
This time, Shi Qingyun was simply trying to cover ground. Though his cultivation realm did not yet allow him to fly, the speed he displayed was already considerable.
Shi Qingyun spent half a day traveling, but the results were gratifying. He had reached the blood pool that was relatively close to him.
Crossing so many towering mountains and steep ridges to reach another location in half a day proved that Shi Qingyun's speed could not be underestimated.
Upon spotting the blood pool's location, Shi Qingyun slowly approached the cave entrance, extending his perception to its fullest to examine his surroundings.
Fortunately, within the range of his perception, he detected no suspicious presence.
Shi Qingyun thought he had gotten lucky. No one had claimed this place yet.
Without dwelling on it, Shi Qingyun strode forward and headed straight for the blood pool. This was what he wanted most right now; he could not concern himself with anything else.
Only the blood pool mattered to him. Everything else could wait until he had time.
Shi Qingyun reached the bottom of the pit. The surroundings were much like those of the previous blood pool, except this pool was somewhat larger.
It also contained more divine essence. Shi Qingyun took a bag from his waist, its opening tied shut with a cord.
The bag was dark throughout, with an ancient, primeval air. It seemed to be made from beast hide, though Shi Qingyun could not identify which fierce beast or exotic species it came from.
The cord tied around the bag was exceptionally tough as well. It seemed to be some divine metal or precious material, supple yet sturdy.
Facing the blood pool, Shi Qingyun loosened the cord around the bag. Several runic markings immediately appeared on its surface, and the bag released a tremendous suction force.
The bag slowly floated above the blood pool. Its faintly visible runes shone brilliantly, and it swelled in the wind, its suction growing even fiercer.
Above the blood pool, the large bag opened its "gaping maw" and sucked up the pool below.
Under that tremendous suction, streams of crimson liquid twisted around one another before flowing into the bag overhead.
Shi Qingyun stood to the side, keeping watch for anyone approaching, while secretly rejoicing. He had never expected to obtain such a storage treasure.
He had looted this treasure from the Azure Luan clansman who had fought him. Shi Qingyun had never imagined that someone so weak would possess such a thing.
As soon as Shi Qingyun obtained the storage treasure, he bound it to himself with his blood and qi. He had no other choice: he had yet to open a grotto-heaven and could not leave his own imprint on it.
He could only use this primitive method. Shi Qingyun washed away the Azure Luan clansman's imprint with his blood and qi, then left his own blood-and-qi mark. Fortunately, this method proved effective enough that he could already use it.
Shi Qingyun could not help marveling at how wondrous chance encounters truly were!
This storage treasure spared him a great deal of trouble. It was also what had given Shi Qingyun the idea of collecting the blood pools.
As Shi Qingyun waited, the bag took only a short while to gather all the treasure liquid from the blood pool.
Shi Qingyun immediately extended his hand. The treasure bag floating in the air slowly shrank and drifted unsteadily toward him.
He caught the storage bag, fastened it to his waist, and immediately left.
He did not want to clash with anyone at this moment. Though he was unafraid, his most pressing task was finding treasure liquid to aid his constitution's transformation.
Shi Qingyun rushed toward the next location. He could feel that unusual sensation emanating from his body.
He had begun paying close attention to his constitution's transformation and was rather impatient to witness it.
The sun rose in the east and set in the west as time passed little by little.
Busy as he was, Shi Qingyun did not notice time slipping away. He spent those days searching for treasure liquid.
Whenever he reached a place containing treasure liquid, he swept it all up as quickly as possible, then made a swift getaway!
Shi Qingyun's luck was excellent over those days. He never encountered a pool whose treasure liquid had been claimed by someone else, sparing him a great deal of trouble. Reaping rewards without having to fight truly made him rather happy.
Moreover, Shi Qingyun had already found many blood pools, large and small, and accumulated a considerable amount of treasure liquid.
At the same time, he was somewhat puzzled. Were the people from the Primordial Divine Mountain all this wealthy?
No one had even come to collect treasure liquid like this.
Just as Shi Qingyun pondered this while traveling, sounds of fighting reached his ears.
Somewhat curious, Shi Qingyun drew closer. He wanted to see what had happened to cause such a commotion.
Before you continue