Chapter 388 - 375: Spoils and Intelligence

Chapter 388: Chapter 375: Spoils and Intelligence

Back in his stone house in the market, Li Yuan sealed the door and windows, then activated the sound-dampening array.

He laid out the spoils from Skeleton Valley on the table, one by one.

He picked up the dark cyan bracers he had taken from the Demon Cultivator surnamed Qian. The bracers were heavy in his hand, their material incredibly tough. The tightly woven scales on the surface fit together seamlessly, emanating a faint, chilling aura. These were the scales of a Tier Two Demon Beast, the Nether Serpent, specifically for defending against sharp weapons.

Li Yuan placed the serpent scale bracers into his storage pouch and then picked up several black jade slips from the table.

These had been recovered from the storage pouches of the Qian-surnamed Demon Cultivator and another at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and they bore the unique Demon Qi Seal of the Dark Abyss Association.

Li Yuan circulated his perfected Demon Essence Skill. Five Divine Sense Lines transformed into extremely fine drills, slowly cutting into the seal along the patterns of Demonic Qi. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the seal disintegrated silently.

His Divine Sense probed inside, quickly reading the contents.

The jade slips contained a vast amount of information, all of it recent confidential directives and intelligence summaries. Li Yuan sifted through it item by item, extracting the key details.

The first piece of intelligence.

The Dark Abyss Association had confirmed that the "Earth Element Spiritual Embryo" was located in some ruins deep within the Ghost Mist Forest. The Evil Slaying Sect had issued a strict order and was mobilizing a large number of people to conduct a sweeping search of the forest.

The second piece of intelligence.

There was a large Dark Abyss Association stronghold in the northern part of the Ghost Mist Forest, far exceeding the scale of Skeleton Valley. Among the stationed Demon Cultivators were at least two at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. This was the Association’s core base inside the Ghost Mist Forest, responsible for coordinating all operations to find the Earth Element Spiritual Embryo.

The third piece of intelligence.

To counter the pressure from the Primordial Yang Sect, the Evil Slaying Sect had dispatched a true Golden Core Cultivator to hold the rear. The command post wasn’t in the Ghost Mist Forest but was established in Black Water Valley, southwest of Liangzhou.

The end of the jade slip included a description of Black Water Valley’s terrain: a canyon area perpetually shrouded in a black miasma, easy to defend and difficult to attack, which had now been completely occupied by Demon Cultivators. It served as the Dark Abyss Association’s largest supply depot and personnel staging area in Liangzhou.

Li Yuan pulled the Four States trade route map from his storage pouch and spread it out on the table.

His gaze swept across the map, quickly finding Black Water Valley’s location southwest of Liangzhou. He picked up a pen, drew a heavy red circle around the spot, and wrote the two words "Golden Core" beside it.

The Evil Slaying Sect’s Golden Core Cultivator hadn’t entered the Ghost Mist Forest directly, instead positioning themselves at a vital chokepoint for supply lines. This indicated that the upper echelons of both sects were still exercising restraint, maintaining a tacit agreement to keep their Golden Cores off the field. But staying off the field didn’t mean they weren’t applying pressure.

The fourth piece of intelligence was a historical secret about Mozhou, tucked away in the appendix of some survey reports on abandoned mining areas.

The report mentioned that Mozhou hadn’t been abandoned simply because its Spiritual Qi had naturally depleted, but as a result of internal strife within the Profound Nether Sect.

During the Profound Nether Sect’s golden age, it was divided into two major factions: the Profound Vein, whose main power base was in Mozhou, and the Demon Vein, primarily based in Liangzhou. The last Sect Master came from the Demon Vein and had attempted to develop a dual Spirit-Demon cultivation technique to unify the two factions. However, in the process of developing the technique, the Sect Master decided to drain most of the Spirit Veins in Mozhou and transfer the vast resources elsewhere.

This move triggered a fierce backlash from the Profound Vein, and it was suspected that a brutal internal conflict had erupted.

The intelligence concluded: the Profound Nether Sect’s fall had been extremely swift, meaning something incredibly important must have been left behind underground in Mozhou. The Dark Abyss Association’s leadership had ordered its members to be on the lookout for any clues related to ancient ruins in Mozhou.

Li Yuan put down the jade slip, connecting the various clues in his mind.

This historical intelligence perfectly corroborated what he had found underground in Mozhou before.

The purple entry, "Spirit Demon Fusion Technique," from the stone chamber beneath the Stone Wilderness was likely the product of that Sect Master’s efforts to develop a dual Spirit-Demon cultivation method.

Li Yuan put away the map and all the jade slips, then pushed the door open and walked out of the stone house.

’Time to turn in the mission.’

In a side hall of the administration office, Chen Yi was frowning at a pile of supply ledgers. He looked up when he heard footsteps.

"Took care of Skeleton Valley?"

"Took care of it." Li Yuan sat down across from him. "Five of them. Left no one alive. Burned the scene clean."

Chen Yi nodded, not asking for details. He was well aware of Li Yuan’s combat prowess; if Li Yuan said it was taken care of, it was undoubtedly done cleanly and efficiently.

"Did you use the Profound Nether Bead?"

"I released the Golden Core aura as requested. I kept the bead," Li Yuan said, his tone flat.

"Good." Chen Yi pushed the ledgers aside and took a white jade box that radiated a cold aura from his sleeve, sliding it in front of Li Yuan.

"This is the reward the Sect promised."

Li Yuan placed his hand on the jade box and gently lifted the lid.

Inside the box lay a coral-shaped Spirit Grass. Its leaves had a strange, translucent luster, and a three-colored light flowed within its veins, emitting a clear fragrance that seemed to penetrate one’s Divine Sense.

Origin Condensing Grass.

A Tier Three Low Grade Spirit Medicine. It was specifically used to help Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivators condense their Essence, Qi, and Spirit Three Elements—an extremely rare Core Formation aid that was priceless and unavailable on the market.

The moment his finger touched a leaf, the panel popped up.

[Equippable Item Detected: Origin Condensing Grass (Intact)]

[Equip Entry Preview: Three Elements Condensation (Blue)]

[Effect: Increases the degree of fusion between Essence, Qi, and Spirit; increases Essence, Qi, and Spirit by 10% each.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach 400 years of lifespan upon breaking through to a major realm.]

A blue entry.

Li Yuan stared at the panel before him, falling into a brief silence.

It was a difficult dilemma.

As a Spirit Medicine, the Origin Condensing Grass’s physical function was to be consumed at the critical moment of breaking through to Core Formation. Once its medicinal power dissolved, it could directly force a cultivator’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit to fuse, greatly increasing the success rate of Core Formation.

But if he equipped it in an entry slot, the physical Origin Condensing Grass would disappear. He would gain the "Three Elements Condensation" entry, permanently increasing the fusion of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and boosting each of the three fundamental attributes by ten percent.

The entry’s benefit was a lasting, foundational enhancement. But without the physical herb, he wouldn’t be able to rely on its immense medicinal power to force a breakthrough during the most dangerous moment of Core Formation. Forming a core required an instantaneous burst of medicinal effect to break the bottleneck. While the comprehensive boost provided by the entry was powerful, it might not be enough to break through the most extreme resistance.

Consume it and lose the entry; equip it and lose the medicinal power.

"I’ll take it."

Li Yuan closed the jade box and stored it deep within his storage pouch.

He decided not to choose for now. He still had a long way to go before true Core Formation. He would add the Origin Condensing Grass to his list of Core Formation materials for now. Once he gathered the other supplementary Spiritual Objects and could assess his overall success rate, he would decide whether he needed a long-term foundational boost or an instantaneous burst of medicinal power.

Seeing him put the box away, Chen Yi casually reminded him, "The medicinal properties of that thing are highly volatile. Add a couple of extra Restrictions when you seal it. The news from the exploration teams hasn’t been good lately. The Demon Beasts deeper in have gone mad, so you should also avoid going into the forest for a few days."

Li Yuan grunted in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

Night fell, deep and dark.

Inside the stone house, Li Yuan sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, circulating his Demon Essence Skill with his eyes closed.

Early on the morning of the third day, his Dark Evil Insight, which had been in a state of passive monitoring, suddenly detected an extremely intense fluctuation of Demonic Qi in the void.

This wasn’t a routine, scheduled contact, but an urgent message, its frequency short and sharp.

Li Yuan immediately focused all of his Divine Sense and began to decipher the Demonic Qi pulse in real-time.

The message was brief.

"Skeleton Valley exposed. All personnel eliminated. Suspect Primordial Yang Sect Golden Core involved."

The transmission ended.