Chapter 193 - 168: Nurturing and Taking Shape

Chapter 193: Chapter 168: Nurturing and Taking Shape

Seeing his miserable state, only three of the Princes and Princesses in the palace remained unfazed. The rest all turned pale.

From the moment they coveted the throne and entered the Floating Palace, their lives and deaths were no longer their own.

Just as the Tributor Immortal Masters at their side had told them, only one army could emerge from Huifeng Valley, and likewise, only one of them, the Princes and Princesses, would leave the palace unharmed.

And the one who finally walked out of the palace would be the next Monarch Qingyuan!

Seeing their fearful expressions, the woman seated at the head showed a hint of disdain in her eyes. She leaned close to the old man and whispered, "Steward Bai, do you know who this blood sacrifice is for?"

"Could it be for the descendant of some Elder from the sect?"

Hearing this, a stern-faced young man nearby turned to look at the old man, his eyes also filled with confusion.

Although it was just a small-scale blood sacrifice, the price was steep.

And its purpose was merely to nurture an atypical spiritual mechanism.

It really was a bit too extravagant.

Steward Bai glanced at the woman and said with a shake of his head and a smile, "How could I possibly know the affairs of my superiors? I just have to do my job well." After a pause, he added meaningfully, "You should know, it is unwise to ask too much."

"Yes."

The woman’s expression froze. She quickly bowed in acknowledgment, her gaze turning to the Square Prism.

「Time passed, day by day.」

One by one, the Princes and Princesses in the palace leaped from the great hall. In just a few days, only five remained, and the atmosphere grew somewhat tense.

Meanwhile, a smile appeared on the face of the old man seated at the head.

In his eyes, three zhang below Huifeng Valley, an aura that was black and red, neither mist nor water, began to coalesce. It would sometimes transform into sabers and spears, other times into armor and arrows, like a living pool of something, utterly strange.

And this was the atypical spiritual mechanism they were after.

Steward Bai retracted his gaze, glanced at the five Princes and Princesses below, and said flatly, "Relay my orders. Have them speed things up. A result must be decided within seven days."

"Yes, Steward."

The woman beside him nodded in acknowledgment, took out a Sound Transmission Jade, and whispered a few words into it.

Down below, the faces of the Princes and Princesses changed slightly, their eyes fixed intently on their own soldiers within the Square Prism.

Following the woman’s order, the Cyan Yang Sect disciples monitoring the area around Huifeng Valley passed the message into the valley.

The generals of the various armies, upon receiving the news, could no longer sit still. They all began discussing strategies with their subordinates. After all, this concerned their masters’ fate, as well as their own fortunes and futures.

’Succeed, and it’s decades of endless glory and wealth!’

’Die? Then it’s all over.’

Compared to Huifeng Valley, at Mire Marsh on the edge of Mist Marsh, the nurturing of the atypical spiritual mechanism was progressing significantly faster, all thanks to Tan Hu’s unrestrained interference.

Below Mire Marsh, atop a brass pillar covered in runes, a seemingly ethereal Profound Red Banner floated silently. From time to time, twisted black shadows—incorporeal and incomplete—would pass in and out of the banner.

Tan Hu looked down, grinning. "It’s almost ready." His eyes suddenly narrowed. ’You little pest, finally couldn’t hold back anymore, huh...’

As his words fell, his figure suddenly vanished.

The next instant, he appeared in the center of Mire Marsh beside a Cultivator wearing the uniform of a Cyan Yang Sect outer disciple, his palm pressing down on the man’s head.

As the outer disciple stared in astonishment, Tan Hu revealed a savage grin. Astral wind erupted from his palm, and the disciple’s head instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

Then, his hand, still wreathed in astral wind, reached into the bloody mist.

SCREE...

A dark red beetle, no bigger than a little finger, was pinched between his fingers.

"Heh, a Brain-Eating Worm."

Tan Hu sneered. His gaze swept the surroundings as astral wind surged at his fingertips, instantly turning the beetle into a pulp.

Other Cyan Yang Sect disciples in the area felt the familiar fluctuation of Spiritual Power and quickly gathered.

Arriving at the center, the disciples’ expressions shifted slightly as they saw the headless corpse on the ground.

Tan Hu glanced at them and sneered viciously, "All of you, listen up and stay sharp, or you won’t even know when you’re dead." With that, he ignored them, a whirlwind kicking up around him as his figure vanished.

Meanwhile, in the sky, a Flying Ship sped towards a certain location within the Mist Marsh.

The remaining Cyan Yang Sect disciples looked at each other, then turned and strode away, leaving the corpse lying in the mud. No one dared to touch it.

「Two hours later.」

The sounds of battle erupted once again.

Soldiers in tattered armor, their faces savage, converged on the center and began to slaughter one another.

When the soldiers dispersed, they left behind a field of mangled corpses.

As for the outer disciple’s corpse, it had been stripped clean by persons unknown.

「At midnight.」

The Flying Ship shot out of the Mist Marsh and hovered silently above Mire Marsh.

Inside the Flying Ship, Tan Hu sat cross-legged. Black qi swirled across his face, occasionally taking the form of a spider with a human face on its back. A phantom thread extended from its abdomen, connecting to the spot between his eyebrows.

Just then, a dense black fog suddenly began to rise from his body.

ROAR...

A deep, muffled roar echoed as the black fog surged. Two brilliant red orbs of light abruptly appeared, and in an instant, a monstrously ferocious aura erupted.

The spider froze for a moment. The human face on its back suddenly opened its eyes, revealing a look of terror.

Then, the black fog, so dense it was like a liquid, poured down and instantly engulfed Tan Hu’s figure.

「The next day, in the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land of the Wanzhong Mountains Range.」

*Huuu...*

Li Changsheng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes.

His gaze turned inward.

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer (99%)]

He had been constantly refining medicinal pills these past few days, and his Spiritual Power had finally accumulated to its peak. He only needed to nurture it for a few more days before he could refine the atypical spiritual mechanism and break through to the Vein Condensation Realm.

’Vein Condensation Realm...’

Li Changsheng’s heart surged with excitement.

Although the Vein Condensation Realm was only the second stage of cultivation, it was already considered a transcendent state.

Never mind its combat abilities; the three-hundred-year lifespan alone marked a fundamental difference from mortals.

’What is the purpose of cultivation?’

’In my view, it is, as the name suggests, ’long life’.’

’Everything else is secondary.’

’The atypical spiritual mechanism...’

Li Changsheng gazed out the window, his heart overgrown with weeds of impatience. Never before had he so eagerly awaited Lan Cai Shen’s arrival.

Just then, a clear, crisp jingle suddenly sounded from outside.

’Hm? No way! Is he really back?’

A look of astonishment on his face, Li Changsheng quickly got up and strode down the stairs.

When he reached the first floor and saw who it was, he was immediately disappointed.

Li Changsheng suppressed his feelings, poured the man a cup of tea, and asked, "Senior Brother Ma, are you here to deliver the Spirit Medicine needed for nurturing?"

"No."

Ma Rong shook his head. "The Jade Spiritual Bamboo will still be a while." He then took out a storage bag, tossed it to him, and said with a smile, "I’m here to deliver some spiritual ores to you, Junior Brother."

"Inside is Tier One Top-Grade Gold Attribute Spiritual Ore Red Gold Iron, and Tier Two Lower-grade Earth Attribute Spirit Ore Earth Crystal."

"Take a look, Junior Brother, and see if they’re to your liking."

Hearing this, Li Changsheng’s eyes lit up. He infused the storage bag with Spiritual Power and opened it.

Ores of various sizes appeared on the floor.

The Red Gold Iron was dark brown and full of honeycomb-like holes.

The Earth Crystal was a dim yellow, shaped like a river stone, and felt warm and smooth to the touch.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Li Changsheng was overjoyed. He then asked, "How many Spirit Stones for these?"

Ma Rong shook his head. "It’s a trifle..."

Li Changsheng quickly raised a hand to interrupt him, saying with a wry smile, "I can’t ask you for a favor, Senior Brother, and then have you spend your own Spirit Stones on it."