Chapter 449

'Yes!'

……

Three cards acquired.

Chen Mu quickly checked them.

One was a Concentration Card, one was a Comprehension Card, and the other was a Storage Card.

The expected 'Break Through Realm Card' was not obtained.

The Storage Card was picked up from the Fuhai Qiu's corpse!

Chen Mu read the card's information, and in the next instant, his lips curled upward.

Good, a Storage Card is excellent!

This Storage Card contains an alternate space one hundred zhang in length, width, and height!

The palm-space on Chen Mu's hand is only two zhang in length, width, and height.

Now this one is one hundred zhang—over three hundred meters!

'Good, good.'

Chen Mu decisively activated the card, which turned into a streak of light and sank into the back of his left hand.

An alternate space one hundred zhang in length, width, and height immediately attached itself to the back of his hand.

'Mmm... cough... cough...'

Not far away, the dying Elder Mo let out a faint groan, his eyelids violently trembling, as if showing signs of regaining consciousness.

Chen Mu did not hesitate at all, not even turning his head.

His right index and middle fingers had already come together and lightly stabbed the air toward Elder Mo's direction—casually, without a trace of martial aura.

Shh~

A razor-sharp sword qi shot out instantly.

The sword qi pierced the air silently, moving so fast it surpassed the limits of spiritual sense detection, as if directly spanning the hundred-meter distance and appearing out of nowhere before Elder Mo's forehead, just as he had barely opened a sliver of his eyes, his mind still foggy and confused.

Pfft!

A sound, extremely faint, like a ripe fruit splitting open.

A small, piercing blood hole appeared precisely at the center of Elder Mo's forehead.

His fleeting moment of clarity instantly froze and scattered; his face retained a dazed expression and a hint of shock that never fully formed. His head tilted slightly backward, then lost all life, slumping limply, utterly silent.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

'Yes!'

Chen Mu remained utterly calm, as if brushing off a fallen leaf.

The card was acquired, and he checked it.

Special Skill Card!

Its unique feature allows the user to enter the 'Heaven-Man Unity' state.

After use, it greatly enhances the efficiency of comprehending heavenly laws, one's own cultivation art, and bottleneck barriers.

'A valuable item!'

A glint of light flashed in Chen Mu's eyes.

This card's value, at certain critical moments, could even surpass an ordinary Break Through Realm Card.

The key to breaking from the Earth Altar Realm to the Heavenly Palace Realm lies in 'Ascending the Heavenly Soul Altar'—constructing a spiritual bridge connecting oneself to heaven and earth, where understanding of heavenly laws and clarity of one's own path are paramount.

With this 'Heaven-Man Unity' card as protection, his chances of breaking through to the Heavenly Palace Realm and his ultimate ceiling will both rise dramatically!

Chen Mu happily stored the card away.

Then his gaze turned to the central cavern, toward the massive corpse that, even in death, still radiated a faint pressure and vast life energy.

Fuhai Qiu.

This ancient beast's corpse was essentially a mobile treasure trove!

Its scales could be forged into top-tier armor or spirit weapon materials; its flesh, sinews, and bones contained potent life essence and traces of true dragon blood traits; its dragon gallbladder, dragon tendons, and reversed scales were rare treasures indeed.

Chen Mu naturally had no intention of letting it go.

Shh!

He reached out through the air and seized the 'Cloud-Piercing Sword' that had fallen beside him after Han Lao's death—its spiritual essence damaged but its blade still razor-sharp.

He infused it with true qi; the blade emitted a low hum, its silver light flowing.

Chen Mu flew closer to the Fuhai Qiu's corpse and began 'Butchering the Ox.'

His movements were precise and efficient, targeting only the most valuable and refined parts.

First, the outermost scales—each the size of a washbasin, marked with dark golden patterns, as hard as top-tier spirit iron.

Chen Mu's sword flashed like a shuttle, cleanly slicing along the base of each scale; one by one, the dark-gleaming scales were peeled off intact and neatly placed into a corner of the space on his hand.

He collected over a hundred of the most complete, energy-rich scales from the back and side flanks.

Next, the flesh.

Avoiding areas heavily contaminated by toxic blood, he cut out dozens of blocks of dark blue meat—each the size of a small house—from the Fuhai Qiu's spine and thighs, where the flesh was dense and rich in blood qi, emitting a faint fragrance and powerful life vibrations.

These flesh blocks contained essence invaluable to body cultivators or for crafting certain special pills.

Then, the dragon tendons!

Several main tendons within the Fuhai Qiu were incredibly resilient, glowing with a pale golden sheen, their elasticity and strength reaching an unimaginable level—top-tier material for crafting bowstrings.

Chen Mu spent some effort extracting them intact.

The dragon bones were Top Priority!

Especially the main dragon spine bone, thick as a palace pillar, its bone substance translucent like jade marrow, with faint golden marrow fluid flowing inside, radiating an ancient and noble aura.

Chen Mu carefully cut it into segments, each segment incredibly heavy, brimming with immense power and a trace of dragon aura.

Finally, the essence of the internal organs.

He sliced open the Fuhai Qiu's chest cavity and found its gallbladder—large as a millstone, still faintly pulsing, entirely deep blue, radiating bone-chilling cold.

This gallbladder is a sacred material for detoxification, crafting cold-natured pills, or cultivating certain special eye techniques.

There was also a small cluster of dark golden essence blood coalesced at the heart's core; though small, its energy level was extremely high, containing a trace of the purest true dragon bloodline power.

After all the essence materials were collected, the once-massive corpse of the Fuhai Qiu had shrunk considerably, appearing somewhat ravaged.

Chen Mu then severed its enormous head and, with great effort, extracted from it a fist-sized sphere, entirely brilliant blue, its interior as if containing a slowly swirling liquid star-river, emitting a soft blue glow and powerful life vibrations.

The life and power core of the Fuhai Qiu—the Jiao Pearl!

"Brilliant Blue Jiao Pearl…"

Chen Mu held it in his palm and immediately felt a cool, soothing yet vast and boundless water elemental force surge into his body through his arm, his spirit instantly invigorated, all minor fatigue from battle and dissection vanishing completely.

But what alerted him was that alongside this power came a faint, icy, almost imperceptible will—like it originated from endless deep seas—seeking to assimilate all wills, attempting to subtly influence his mind.

This was strikingly similar to the "Crimson Jiao Pearl" he had obtained before.

Both possessed powerful auxiliary abilities, yet both carried the terrifying hidden risk of silently corrupting the mind, potentially turning the bearer into its puppet or follower.

"Under no circumstances, except in a life-or-death emergency, should I ever use this pearl's power lightly."

With solemn gaze, Chen Mu stored the Brilliant Blue Jiao Pearl deep within his palm space, separate from the Crimson Jiao Pearl, and deliberately sealed it with true qi to isolate its invisible influence on the outside world.

After finishing with the Fuhai Qiu, Chen Mu turned his gaze to the pond.

Master Wan's corpse lay sunk in the poison-blood pond, long since corroded beyond recognition, but some of his personal belongings might still remain.

Using true qi to remotely draw it forth, he retrieved the mangled corpse, carefully searched it, and found a storage pouch, severely pitted by corrosion but made of unusual material, along with several partially intact poison-artifact tools and jade slips, which he collected together.