Chapter 242: Counting the Harvest and Returning

Huh—

His vision in front of him became momentarily hazy.

When his sight cleared, Yunhe had already arrived atop a vast sea of clouds.

He did not hesitate for a moment, turning into a streak of light that fled toward the distance.

Cultivators of the Cloud-Above Realm are still exploring the Cloud-Outside Realm, so Yunhe chose a small, unremarkable cloud island that was not recorded on the Cloud-Outside Realm map and descended onto it.

He commanded his magical artifact to swiftly carve out a cave dwelling, set up a formation, and then plunged straight inside.

This time the Luo Tian Secret Realm yielded great harvests, but he could not immediately inventory them; instead, he commanded the Corpse Soul Gu to summon the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying that kept its eyes tightly shut and remained motionless.

Yuan Ying!

Although when he captured this Yuan Ying, he had already scanned it several times with his divine sense and detected no trace of Yinming Ancestor's soul aura; during the seven days of travel the Yuan Ying showed no changes, yet Yunhe did not believe that such an old monster would leave him no way out.

So after extracting this Yuan Ying, he immediately made a slight movement, spitting out five Five-Element Heavenly Thunder Swords, using the thunder power on them to weave a net that tightly enveloped the Yuan Ying.

Then he wrapped his divine sense around the Yuan Ying, meticulously examining it inch by inch, strand by strand.

The Corpse Soul Gu, which had transformed into creatures resembling bizarre insects, also stationed themselves outside the thunder net, carefully sensing the soul aura.

Such meticulous inspection lasted for five days.

After five days.

There was no result.

But this did not let Yunhe relax; instead, his expression grew somber, his brows furrowed into a stern face.

Not finding it does not mean it doesn't exist; the other party may have hidden it deep enough.

If he cannot locate the method Yinming Ancestor used to hide it.

Yunhe's eyes flickered as he murmured low, "Then there is only destruction."

Although a Yuan Ying is precious, for Yunhe this corpse-transformed Yuan Ying could not provide any substantial benefit; no matter how valuable, if its safety cannot be assured, he dares not use it.

Thinking this, Yunhe took a deep breath, raised his hand, and brushed gently from top to bottom.

Zila—

A golden arc of light burst from the thunder net and struck the Yuan Ying.

In an instant.

The Yuan Ying, its body covered with corpse spots, flashed a charred black hue.

A Yuan Ying Cultivator's Yuan Ying is powerful, but its poor defense is also its weakness; moreover, being corpse-transformed, the damage inflicted by the heavenly thunder is considerable.

Seeing that the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying showed no change after being struck by a bolt of heavenly thunder, Yunhe's brows tightened further.

He casually waved both hands in succession, and bolts of heavenly thunder continuously fell from the thunder net.

In no time, the Yuan Ying, which even with its corpse spots had seemed somewhat cute and petite, was now covered in wounds.

Just as Yunhe was about to continue, his eyes suddenly narrowed, a cold glint flashing from within, revealing a chilling smile.

"Found you!"

As the heavenly thunder continued to strike, the Yuan Ying's aura waned, finally giving him a trace of the clue he dreaded.

Corpse Soul Gu!

Sizzle!!

A suction specifically targeting the divine soul, swirling with silvery‑white wind, gradually pulled a faint strand of soul aura from the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying.

If Yinming Ancestor's soul in its prime were present, the Corpse Soul Gu could not devour it, but now—

"Little friend! Yun Xiaoyou! Spare me, spare me a chance, I can recognize you as master and sign a master‑servant contract, I am willing to serve you as master! Think about it, if a Yuan Ying Cultivator guides you, your cultivation will surely accelerate! Moreover, moreover…"

"Also, don't you want to know why my master, the Woodcutter of Suspended Mirror Lake, can reincarnate through warfare? Why does she bring me? What relation do the three of us brothers have with the master? There are many secrets! Many hidden stories! I also know many concealed secret realms, and have left numerous treasures! As long as you, as long as you—"

Yinming Ancestor struggled and begged for mercy, shouting repeatedly, desperately trying to find a chance to make Yunhe spare him.

In fact, Yunhe also harbored much curiosity about this, especially the relationship between their brothers and Mu Haitang.

But curiosity does not mean one must obtain the answer.

Or rather, it need not be answered now.

Compared to these, Yunhe still prefers to see Yinming Ancestor completely vanish.

Xue Kui Ancestor failed to seize the chance to trap him, leaving a hidden danger, but Yinming Ancestor must not be given such an opportunity.

So without waiting for Yinming Ancestor to finish speaking, Yunhe commanded the Corpse Soul Gu to swallow the last wisp of Yinming Ancestor's soul!

Although it was only that final wisp of soul, it was the purest and most precious soul of a Yuan Ying Cultivator; after swallowing it, the Corpse Soul Gu immediately curled up, emitting a faint grayish glow.

If it can be digested smoothly, the Corpse Soul Gu will gain tremendous benefit!

Thus.

Yunhe finally retrieved a small jade box and placed the scarred corpse-transformed Yuan Ying inside.

"There is a corpse-transformed Yuan Ying, and also a refined corpse husk; I wonder if there is a chance to control a Yuan Ying refined corpse?!"

Having dispelled his final worry, Yunhe thought of how to maximize the use of this Yuan Ying refined corpse.

The most effective and best method, naturally, is to master the refined corpse of the Yuan Ying just as Xuanming Ancestor does!

Although a Yuan Ying refined corpse cannot compare with a true Yuan Ying Cultivator, it is still a Yuan Ying; crushing the vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators is no problem, and it might even land a few moves against a Yuan Ying Cultivator.

Even if it merely stands as a deterrent, its intimidation is fully maximized.

"However, controlling a Yuan Ying refined corpse is far more difficult than controlling a Foundation Establishment refined corpse; it will likely consume considerable time and cost, and success is not guaranteed."

Yunhe also understood the difficulty, but that did not hinder him from attempting.

"By the way, I still don't know whether Xuanming Ancestor has hidden any contingency in this refined corpse, so for now I'll send it to the Demon Beast Body side for another thorough check; once confirmed safe, I can attempt to intervene with the Gu insect control."

Thinking this, Yunhe transmitted this Yuan Ying refined corpse and the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying sealed in the jade box to the Yao Shou Shijie.

After completing these, he finally let out a long sigh, collapsed onto the ground, and fell into a deep snore‑filled sleep.

These days had taken a heavy toll on his divine sense; he slept for a full three days and three nights in one go.

When he woke up again, Yunhe felt refreshed and clear-headed.

Translation: He took out his storage bag and began to check and count the gains from this secret realm expedition.

Translation: First was an "Earth Essence Fruit"; once the materials were gathered, he could refine the "Breakthrough Pill". At that point, he only needed to raise his cultivation to the peak of the Mid Jie Dan Stage to try using this pill to break through to the Late Jie Dan Stage.

Translation: If his cultivation reaches the Late Jie Dan Stage, is the Yuan Ying Stage still far away?

Translation: Next were three "Thousand Silk Zen Heart Seeds", also main ingredients for pill refining, but they could be refined into the Enlightenment Pill, the "Wisdom Spirit Pill".

Translation: However, the materials needed to refine the "Wisdom Spirit Pill" are not easy to find, after all this is an ancient pill formula; but the main ingredients are already in hand, at worst just spending a bit more time to gather them.

Translation: Splash— (we'll keep the dash). Could also be "Clatter—". I'll use "Splash—".

Translation: Yunhe took out quite a few storage bags; even a rough count showed there were eleven or twelve.

Translation: Apart from one that came from Han Yongzhuo, the rest all came from those human puppets of the Blood Fiend Old Ancestor.

Translation: No matter what, those human puppets were also Golden Core puppets, and the storage bags still contained some good stuff.

Translation: Yunhe undid the seals on them one by one, poured out the contents, and then threw the storage bags back into the Thus line: Yao Shou Shijie.

Translation: He simply sorted the miscellaneous items into categories.

Translation: Setting aside other things, just the pile of Spirit Stones that formed a small hill numbered at least hundreds of thousands, not counting Medium-grade Spirit Stones and High-grade Spirit Stones.

Translation: After tallying up, Yunhe harvested two High-grade Spirit Stones, over four thousand Medium-grade Spirit Stones, and over three hundred thousand Low-grade Ling Stones, with a total value of nearly seventy thousand Spirit Stones.

Translation: Although it seems a lot, on average each storage bag actually contained only fifty to sixty thousand Spirit Stones, with the bulk still coming from Han Yongzhuo's storage bag, showing that the human puppets were still being heavily exploited by the Blood Fiend Old Ancestor.

Translation: Of course.

Translation: Spirit Stones were only part of the contents of these storage bags; there were also plenty of materials, Spiritual Plants, Magic Treasures, and so on.

Translation: If everything in these storage bags were converted to Spirit Stones, the total value would be at least 1.5 million Low-grade Ling Stones

Even though Yunhe possessed abundant resources, this was the first time he had seen so many Spirit Stones.

He truly experienced what it meant to be rich.

After gathering everything, the final and most precious harvest arrived.

Nascent Soul Pill!

The Nascent Soul Pill split into two halves.

A precious pill that increases the success rate of breaking the Golden Core and forming the Nascent Soul, rarer than a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure, its value cannot be measured in Spirit Stones.

Opening the jade bottle released a strong medicinal fragrance; just a whiff made Yunhe feel his cultivation shifting.

"With the Breakthrough Pill for breaking through to the Late Jie Dan Stage, and the Nascent Soul Pill for the Nascent Soul stage, if things go smoothly I have a decent chance to cultivate straight through to the Yuan Ying Stage in seclusion."

Of course, this is just a thought; forming a Nascent Soul is no small matter, and even with the Nascent Soul Pill he would still try to gather other Nascent Soul Supreme Treasures to increase his success rate.

"Moreover, this 'Merging Pill Technique'..."

Moreover, this "Merging Pill Technique"

The Merging Pill Technique can indeed restore pills that have been split by the Splitting Pill Technique, but using it requires an auxiliary material called Congealed Grease Dew; only then can the merging be done without any effect on the pills.

I still feel like I was tricked by the Gloomy Dark Old Ancestor.

Regardless, whether refining Breakthrough Pill or Wisdom Spirit Pill, both require gathering materials, and since he's still far from reaching the Yuan Ying Realm, there's no need to rush.

If it really doesn't work, we can forego the Congealed Grease Dew; at most it would only slightly affect the Nascent Soul Pill.

This effect actually doesn't significantly alter the pill's efficacy; Yunhe feels that if he has the opportunity, he still wants to achieve perfection.

After all, the Nascent Soul Pill is crucial for his breakthrough to the Yuan Ying Stage.

If the Golden Core Stage already counts as a powerful cultivator in the cultivation world, then the Yuan Ying Stage is practically equivalent to being among the few at the very top of the cultivation world.

And there's this Black Gourd.

After putting away the jade bottle, Yunhe took out that pitch-black gourd again.

He knows the functions of other gourds, such as the Scarlet Jade Red-Skinned Gourd and the Grass-Returning Jade Gourd, but this Black Gourd from Mu Haitang never told him what its effects are, and he doesn't even know its specific name.

But when holding this gourd, Yunhe can also feel its extraordinariness.

Since Yunhe's physical body is now comparable to a third‑level monster beast, holding this gourd feels remarkably heavy; with one hand gripping it, his arm shows faintly twitching veins.

More importantly.

He doesn't know how to use this gourd!

Because he doesn't know its name or its effects, he naturally can't use it.

In fact, the most extravagant thing is that Yunhe tried to use the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword to open this gourd.

Even if he doesn't know its function, opening it just to take a look shouldn't be a problem, right?

But who would have thought that his Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword couldn't leave even a nick on this Black Gourd?

Not to mention a nick, after rubbing the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword on it, not even a mark was left.

You know, any single sword from Yunhe's Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword set is at least a third‑level high‑grade magic treasure; factoring in the heavenly thunder power, even a single‑edged flying sword could rival a third‑level supreme magic treasure, yet it can't leave even a mark on it.

If it weren't for the result he obtained himself, Yunhe himself probably wouldn't believe it.

But this also shows the gourd's extraordinariness.

Could it be that over all these years the gourd hasn't stopped growing, but has simply been continuing to absorb nutrients and perfect itself in another layer of space?

Back then, that great divine ability person cut the gourd vine precisely for this Black Gourd, right?

The Luotian Gourd Vine is already mysterious, and if you add tens of thousands of years of growth...

Just what grade this Black Gourd has reached makes Yunhe a bit afraid to imagine.

Fourth level? Fifth level? Or perhaps...

It seems we still can't stop gathering information about the Luotian Gourd Vine and the Luotian Secret Realm.

However, to obtain information about the Black Gourd, one either has to go through some old monsters, or else start from the Cloud Upper Palace.

Neither is a good entry point.

He can't even contact such high‑level old monsters yet, and even if he did, if people knew he had the Black Gourd, they wouldn't know how he'd die.

As for speaking of the Cloud-top Hall.

This is the largest and also the longest‑standing old‑established faction in the Cloud Ascendant Realm; from the way Xuanming Patriarch and Old Ghost Lady tried to kill the "Star Child", Yunhe still discerned some differences.

Although the Corpse Demon Hall and the Hundred Ghost Sect are also major forces in the Cloud Ascendant Realm, they are completely incomparable to the Cloud Ascendant Hall—who gave them the nerve to hunt the "Star Child"?

Yunhe recalled when he first arrived in the Cloud Ascendant Realm; at that time the Corpse Demon Hall's corpse puppet gathered a group of cultivators to block Mu Haitang, and that corpse puppet ordered the Island Lord of Horned Flood Island, Mu Jiao Daoist, to chase down another Jie Dan Cultivator.

If the Corpse Demon Hall is at odds with the Cloud Ascendant Hall, how could they possibly command Mu Jiao Daoist?

Is it only because they have Xuanming Patriarch behind them?

But Mu Jiao Daoist is backed by the entire Cloud Ascendant Hall.

This matter clearly hints at something strange.

He shook his head.

Yunhe felt that he still lacked the qualification to get involved in such matters, and he also did not want to be entangled in events of this level.

For him now, the most important thing should be to first find a place to cultivate peacefully; once he breaks through the Yuan Ying Stage, the answers to many questions may surface on their own.

He rose, erased all traces he had left here, and after Yunhe used the "Mystic Demon Illusion Body" to revert to He Wen's appearance, he prepared to leave the Cloud Outer Realm.

The events that occurred within the Luo Tian Secret Realm must have left an impression on those Yuan Ying Cultivators, especially the Blood Lord Patriarch; therefore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided that it would be best to temporarily abandon the identity of Yunhe.

One month later.

He rode the teleportation array and returned directly to South Dormant Island.

(End of Chapter)