Chapter 168

"So that's how it is!"

Inside the cave dwelling, Yunhe's face showed excitement as he looked at the three talismans in his hand, his joy evident.

At his level of Cultivation Base, he rarely shows his true emotions outwardly, but this achievement truly made him unable to contain his joy.

Because he had been pondering the Dragon Scale Pattern for so long, he finally gained something today!

His Cultivation Base broke through to Golden Core, greatly enhancing his spiritual sense, allowing Yunhe to gain more cognition and understanding of the patterns on the dragon scales.

And at this moment, after trying who knows how many methods, he finally engraved that pattern and made it into a third-rank talisman!

He lightly touched the Talisman Paper made from demon beast hide in his hand; after several attempts, he had confirmed that only the paper made from the hide of that rotting wood jiao, which is barely of the same lineage as a true dragon, could barely bear it.

The hides of other demon beasts simply could not do that.

As for the effect of this talisman,

"Just go try it and you'll know."

The next moment.

He directly flew out of the cave dwelling, flew out of Yun Palace City, and arrived above the boundless sea of clouds.

After breaking through to the early Golden Core stage, Yunhe no longer needed to rely on a flying Spiritual Artifact to fly freely and at will; both his escape speed and short-distance maneuverability saw considerable improvement.

Yunhe drew out one of the talismans and took a slight breath.

Through exploring and interpreting the talisman patterns, he had roughly judged the function of this talisman, though the specific effect would need to be tested to know.

Immediately after.

He lightly rubbed his fingertips, infusing a strand of magical power into the talisman, and without hesitation slapped it onto his body as it burned.

Buzz—

A faint, strange pattern surrounded his body.

Afterwards, Yunhe clearly felt that his body had become as light as a cloud.

And as he circulated his magical power and formed hand seals to unleash the Five Elements Escape Technique.

Swish—

In an instant, Yunhe felt his vision blur briefly then quickly clear again, and his figure almost vanished in a short breath, escaping several li away.

This escape speed!

"Although the Five Elements Escape Technique is not as fast as the escape speeds some demonic cultivators achieve by harming themselves, it is absolutely a top-tier escape technique."

Adding to that the talisman he had just drawn, this speed was something Yunhe previously wouldn't even dare to imagine.

During the duration of the talisman's effect, Yunhe turned into a flickering five-colored light, constantly testing his current escape speed outside Yun Palace City.

The result, naturally, left him especially satisfied.

"The 'Cloud Escape Talisman,' though it merely touches a bit of the void's power, its effect is indeed outstanding, nearly matching the fastest escape techniques of 'Lightning Escape' and 'Wind Escape,' right?"

Adding Yunhe's own Five Elements Escape Technique, the combined effect is far greater than the sum of its parts.

He casually gave this talisman a simple name.

But this does not mean he does not value it.

"This talisman, solely considering its function and effect in escaping, can be considered a middle- to high-grade third-rank talisman. If I continue to study the Dragon Scale Pattern, I should be able to further strengthen it until I touch the void's power!"

Yunhe, hanging in the air, had his eyes gleaming.

"By combining the Cloud Escape Talisman with the Golden Shadow Talisman to create illusions, plus the Five Elements Escape Technique, my escape ability should be unrivaled among early Golden Core cultivators."

And this escape ability should also give him some confidence when facing Golden Core cultivators before he successfully refines his natal magic treasure.

After testing the effect of the Cloud Escape Talisman, Yunhe returned once more to Yun Palace City.

That is, not long after he returned to his cave dwelling, someone came knocking.

Yunhe, who was just about to go to the spirit insect chamber to check the growth progress of the Crimson Shadow Golden Winged Bees, felt the outer restriction of his cave dwelling being triggered.

He arrived at the door.

He met a pair of captivating, cat-tail eyes blinking.

Light black gauze draped over her fair, long legs as she stood tall; her delicate melon-seed face was flawless like soft jade and icy fragrance, her eyes shimmered with peach blossom thoughts of autumn waters, pink cinnabar spots dotted pure red, and the corner of her mouth bore a striking vermilion beauty mark.

"Greetings, Senior Yun! I am Ning Manrou of the Secret Puppet Sect; I boldly came to disturb you, please forgive me." As she spoke, Ning Manrou gave a graceful bow, her sweet voice like a gentle breeze, refreshing the heart.

Secret Puppet Sect?

Yunhe recalled that while preparing to seclude himself for a breakthrough to Golden Core, he had apparently bought some puppets from a cultivator of that sect.

Yunhe's gaze swept from top to bottom, then from bottom to top, landing on her lovely face, and he asked calmly:

"What is it?"

"I, representing the Secret Puppet Sect, congratulate Senior Yun on your successful Golden Core breakthrough; may your longevity flourish and the Grand Dao be within reach!"

She bowed again, saying with a hint of apology: "I should have come earlier to congratulate Senior Yun, but I know Senior Yun's cultivation progress needs time to consolidate, and there are certainly many Golden Core seniors to meet, so I was delayed; I hope Senior Yun will not blame me."

Seeing this, Yunhe raised his eyebrows and let out a low chuckle.

"It's fine. Speak, what do you seek from me?"

"Yes. I have heard that Senior Yun is looking for 'Blood Crystal Wood'?"

This matter is not considered a secret among some Golden Core cultivators who know Yunhe and some merchant guilds.

On the contrary, it surprised him somewhat.

Although Blood Crystal Wood is much easier to find compared to Firewood Paulownia, he had searched for a long time without any result.

She, however, quickly gave an answer.

"Senior Yun should know that our Secret Puppet Sect specializes in crafting and controlling puppets; an important part of the materials used is various kinds of spiritual wood, so although Blood Crystal Wood is rare, some of our seniors have fortunately obtained some."

Yunhe suddenly understood, and it made sense.

"Do you have any?"

Ning Manrou bit her lip and softly said: "We originally had some."

"Oh?"

However, Ning Manrou revealed a pitiful, lovable look, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. Although she had not used any bewitching technique, seeing her like this inevitably aroused pity and sympathy.

Just that.

When Ning Manrou felt disappointed, Yunhe's expression remained calm as he looked at her.

Even then, her attitude faintly revealed a hint of dissatisfaction and a chill on Yunhe's face.

Her heart suddenly startled, she quickly composed herself, lowered her head, not daring to look into Yunhe's eyes, and said:

"Senior, you are unaware. Recently, the Sect Leader of my Secret Puppet Sect passed away, and appointed me as the next Sect Leader. However, some within the sect objected, joining with a guest elder of the sect to loot the treasury and steal the sect's secret canon; the Blood Crystal Wood you need is among them, truly hateful to the extreme!"

"So?"

Yunhe coldly eyed the woman before him; her previous conduct left him with a poor impression.

Ning Manrou now dared not look into Yunhe's eyes at all; hearing his flat tone, she hurriedly continued:

"Fortunately, the former Sect Leader had foresight, leaving a special mark on the secret canon and some precious materials; I will be able to track down this traitor in a short time! Therefore, I hope to invite Senior Yunhe together with our sect's Elder Feng to surround and annihilate this traitor! By then, I will personally present the Blood Crystal Wood with both hands!"

Speaking, she did not forget to wipe away her tears.

She also finally revealed the full purpose of her trip.

"Wasn't it you, Daoist Ning, who sold me the puppet last time?" Yunhe suddenly asked this out-of-the-blue question.

Hearing this, Ning Manrou blinked, not understanding what Yunhe meant by the question, but she still answered:

"Yes, indeed, it is not me."

"How much Blood Crystal Wood is there, and what are their ages?" Yunhe asked again.

She understood this question quite well, after all, Blood Crystal Wood counts as considerable wealth even within the sect.

"There are three sections, all main trunks; two are three hundred years old, and the other reaches a rare eight hundred years!"

Yunhe rested his hand on his chin, lightly rubbing it, his eyes flickering as if pondering something.

Seeing this, Ning Manrou clearly realized Yunhe was weighing the pros and cons, and hastily added:

"That traitor is only at late Foundation Establishment cultivation base, while the guest elder he allied with is an early Golden Core cultivator. If we add you, Senior, we would have at least two Golden Core cultivators; after success, I can, on behalf of the sect, give you all three sections of Blood Crystal Wood."

Hearing this, Yunhe still gave no answer, merely continuing to wear a thoughtful expression.

Until Ning Manrou could not hold back and wanted to ask again, Yunhe finally said:

"Not enough. I want to borrow your sect's secret canon for making puppets to have a look, but I can swear a heart-devil oath not to spread it."

Upon hearing this, Ning Manrou felt a mix of shock and surprise, her expression wavering, yet she seemed to quickly make up her mind and nodded firmly:

"Good! As long as you, Senior, do not spread it, I can agree to this."

"Very well. Once you, Daoist Ning, have located the enemy's whereabouts, come find me again."

Having said that, Yunhe no longer paid any attention to Ning Manrou's reaction, immediately turning and walking into the ward.

And the ward of the cave dwelling automatically closed after he left.

Watching everything disappear before her eyes, Ning Manrou stood rooted in place for a long time.

This ambiguous answer left her unsure whether Yunhe had agreed or not.

Saying she agreed, she gave no clear answer; but saying she didn't agree, then after locating the position she would notify him.

She lifted her gaze to the ward, spiritual light flickering in her beautiful eyes, gently brushed down her hanging black hair, and turned to leave.

However, she failed to notice that.

After she left, a figure shot out from Yunhe's cave dwelling, tailing her.

It was Yunhe himself.

Given his nature, he would not so easily believe a one-sided account.

Moreover, the other party's behavior was akin to getting something for nothing.

What is meant by "after success"?

If the undertaking fails, then nothing will be obtained.

If it succeeds, it's hard to say what he will ultimately gain.

Moreover, to agree to let someone peruse a sect's secret canon after only a brief hesitation—is this really a sect leader?

But after searching so long for the fire-attribute divine wood without success, even the Blood Crystal Wood needed for the "indirect salvation" method was not as easy to find as he imagined; now he finally obtained some somewhat reliable-sounding news, giving up just then would be somewhat unrealistic.

Therefore.

Since he has decided to get involved in this matter, he naturally needs to gain sufficient understanding; relying solely on this person's words is not enough to earn Yunhe's trust.

However, Ning Manrou also seemed quite careful; after returning to the Secret Puppet Sect's temporary station in Yun Palace City, she activated an isolating ward, preventing Yunhe from freely probing with his divine sense.

Nevertheless, before she activated the ward, Yunhe still scanned the area at great speed; such a sweeping glance is not particularly provocative, so it would not draw much attention, yet it allowed him to confirm that within the station there was indeed an early Golden Core cultivator, likely the guest elder Ning Manrou mentioned.

At early Golden Core, Yunhe reckoned that even if he couldn't win in a fight, escaping would be absolutely no problem.

Yunhe, hiding in the shadows, hesitated slightly.

He lightly patted his spirit beast pouch.

A figure appeared before him.

Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse!

Given his status, it would be somewhat difficult to obtain any further information from Ning Manrou's mouth.

Then let's change the "person," change the identity.

He sat cross-legged in a secluded spot, controlling the Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse as it walked toward the Secret Puppet Sect's station.

"I'd like to see, when facing another Golden Core cultivator, what reaction you will have."

(End of Chapter)