Chapter 24: Blood God Grass

"What a treasure, what a treasure! In all my years alive, this is the first time I've seen a Spirit Medicine of this grade!"

Jiu Shixiong clutched the Spirit Box tightly, his face flushed red as if he were drunk, and his body trembled incessantly.

Xu Chen asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother, do you recognize this Spirit Medicine?"

Jiu Shixiong took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions, then transmitted his voice to the two of them: "After the Marquis of Xilu obtained this Spirit Medicine, he must have consulted quite a bit of information; otherwise, he wouldn't have known it was an item to assist in Spirit Transformation. Based on the color, style, and aura I just saw, I am certain this is a Blood God Grass."

"Blood God Grass?!"

Zhao Xuan gasped in shock, but she suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth, her face filled with indescribable horror.

Xu Chen, however, had a blank expression; he had never heard of it at all.

In his five years on the mountain, aside from his unreliable master returning once a year to offer a few pointers, and otherwise having to find senior brothers and sisters to ask when he didn't understand something, or occasionally hearing them discuss strange tales of the Immortal World or show off treasures brought back from training trips, he had spent almost all his time alone in the Medicine Garden collecting manure and cultivating. Not only was his worldly experience pitifully sparse, but he was also extremely lacking in knowledge about the Immortal World.

In fact, before this trip, he hadn't even seen a Second-Grade Spirit Pill.

Although he had seen many First Stage and Second-Tier Spirit Medicines, Spirit Materials, and Magic Treasures, he had never seen a Spirit Medicine with such an overwhelming aura of treasure.

Just from that one fleeting glance, he had felt his internal Qi spiral out of control and his Soul lose its defense; it truly opened his eyes.

"Correct, it is indeed Blood God Grass. Besides its appearance and aura being similar to rumors, the Princess of Xiyun also mentioned something very unreasonable earlier: that many soldiers and cultivators who entered the Ancient Tomb all turned into dried corpses. The environment for Blood God Grass to grow is extremely harsh; after a long growth period, it must be nourished by a large amount of flesh and blood to mature quickly. Precisely because of this, the Blood God Grass is extremely difficult to mature, and it can only be found in bloody, hidden places, of which the Ancient Tomb is one. It must be that the owner of that Ancient Tomb left behind Blood God Grass seeds, and after death, their body became fertilizer to nourish the spirit seeds. Then, by a stroke of luck, an anomaly appeared just during the maturation period, which led to it being discovered and excavated. A large number of soldiers and cultivators entered, and were then drained of their life force by the Blood God Grass to allow it to mature rapidly."

Although Jiu Shixiong's cultivation was not particularly high, he had been training down the mountain for many years and was well-informed, having dabbled in many strange tales of the Immortal World, so this deduction was quite reasonable.

"There are many pills and Spirit Medicines in the world that assist in Spirit Transformation and breaking through realms, but only two are truly the most effective: one is the Infant Transformation Pill, and the other is the Blood God Grass. As long as a cultivator reaches the peak of the Danyuan Realm, and there are no other personal issues or external interference, obtaining either one almost guarantees a successful Spirit Transformation and Infant formation."

Jiu Shixiong smacked his lips, took a sip to moisten his throat, and continued:

"The Infant Transformation Pill is considered a top-tier Third-Grade Spirit Pill, even scarcer than many Fourth-Grade Spirit Pills, and its value has always been equivalent to a Fourth-Grade Spirit Pill. Refining it not only requires dozens of world-class, hard-to-find immortal herbs and Spirit Medicines, but also requires powerful Divine Sense control and a deep reservoir of Origin Spirit Qi to succeed. It is said that the last time an Infant Transformation Pill appeared in the Song Kingdom's Immortal World was thirty years ago, and that time, the Yuqing Hall suddenly gained two Spirit Realm Great Cultivators, and their strength leaped to become one of the top ten large Immortal Sects in the Shenzhou region."

"The Great Elder has peerless talent, not a bit inferior to those old dogs at Yuqing Hall, but if he doesn't have an Infant Transformation Pill or some other miraculous encounter, relying solely on grinding effort to cultivate, I fear he will never have the chance for Spirit Transformation. Right now, he is searching everywhere for a way to break through. Last time, when he heard that the Soul Returning Wood in the Medicine Garden had bloomed, he was so happy that he rewarded the Junior Brother with three Spirit Talismans and a bottle of Great Origin Pill, but unfortunately, it didn't last long."

Speaking of this, Jiu Shixiong sighed and clutched the Spirit Box in his arms tightly.

"If we bring this Blood God Grass back, the Great Elder will surely succeed in Spirit Transformation. That way, our Taiyuan Sect will also have a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator to hold the fort, and in the future, we can follow him to eat well and drink well, eat Spirit Pills by the handful, and swap Magic Treasures to use!"

Xu Chen frowned and whispered, "Since this Spirit Medicine has fallen into the hands of the Marquis of Xilu, I imagine quite a few people saw it when the Ancient Tomb was opened. Even if the Princess of Xiyun doesn't say anything, I'm afraid the Pingxi King could eventually conclude it fell into our hands based on the reports from his subordinates in black. It will be very difficult to keep it a secret, and if the news leaks, I fear it will be hard for us to bring it back to the sect."

Jiu Shixiong's excitement instantly cooled, and he stood up abruptly, nodding: "Junior Brother is absolutely right. I was too excited just now and almost forgot about this. It seems we cannot wait until tomorrow; we must leave tonight."

Zhao Xuan also stood up, her pretty face solemn: "Correct, the sooner we leave, the better. Let's pack up and set off."

Thus, the three of them simply packed their things; they had nothing more than small bundles, and they were ready in no time.

"Senior Brother, what about the Princess of Xiyun?" Xu Chen asked.

Jiu Shixiong said, "Naturally, we must take her with us. After all, it is a promise we made to her, and she cannot die yet, otherwise, it will attract even more attention and suspicion from the Pingxi King and even the Ziyang Sect."

Zhao Xuan shouldered her bundle and said, "Then I will go call her!"

Jiu Shixiong nodded: "Junior Sister, take her and leave the inn first, pretending to go shopping or sightseeing. Junior Brother and I will follow to clear out those who are tailing us, then we will leave under the cover of night."

"Alright!" Zhao Xuan nodded and prepared to go out, but was immediately pulled back by Jiu Shixiong: "Junior Sister, wait. How many Great Origin Pills does Junior Brother have left?"

Xu Chen hurriedly took out the Jade Bottle, opened it to check, and smiled bitterly: "Only three left."

The Eldest Senior Brother's face twitched as he said, "Three pills, one for each of us. Junior Sister, remember, if there is too much commotion later, you take the Princess of Xiyun and leave first. We will follow behind. No matter what happens behind you, do not stop; go straight to Jingshi."

"Alright, I understand. Senior Brother, Junior Brother, you both be careful!"

Zhao Xuan took one Great Origin Pill from Xu Chen's hand, put it into her own medicine bottle, and then pushed the door open and slipped out of the room.

Not long after, they heard the sound of a door opening and closing in the next room, and after about half a stick of incense, two light footsteps went downstairs.

The two of them had been using their Divine Sense to monitor the movements of Zhao Xuan and the Princess of Xiyun. When the two of them walked out of the inn chatting and laughing, sure enough, several people dressed like merchants followed them out. Although these people were all mortals, they had knives and swords hidden on them, and their footsteps were light and their breathing steady; at a glance, they were mortal experts with decent martial arts.

"They really are like ghosts that won't go away!" Jiu Shixiong muttered softly.

However, the two of them were not in a hurry to act; they waited a while longer until the figures of Zhao Xuan and the other had gradually left the range of their Divine Sense, then Jiu Shixiong said, "Let's go!"

Xu Chen's Divine Sense range was actually much further than Jiu Shixiong's, so he whispered, "Senior Brother, you go first. I will bring up the rear to see if there are any others following."

"That's fine. Be careful yourself; I'm afraid there might be Ziyang Sect experts lurking nearby."

Jiu Shixiong pondered slightly for a moment, nodded, and gave a few instructions. Then he opened the window and, like a night bird, vanished into the night with a swoosh.

Xu Chen released his Divine Sense to continue following Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan. After waiting for a dozen breaths, he found no movement, so he went out and went downstairs, but paused slightly as he reached the stairs.

Because suddenly, he vaguely felt a trace of an extremely faint aura that seemed like an illusion, flashing and disappearing. However, when he used his Divine Sense to search again, he found nothing.

He stood quietly for a while, his Divine Sense covering the entire inn and a radius of several hundred feet, searching carefully. Finding still no movement, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurried downstairs.

Although he had doubts, the Blue Jade Bead in his Sea of Consciousness was motionless, which meant that either it was truly his imagination, or the other party had no malicious intent.

Of course, caution was still necessary, so he left the inn and took a detour around the city, while constantly using his Divine Sense to search and observe. By the time he caught up with Jiu Shixiong, they had already reached the vicinity of the city wall.

Watching Jiu Shixiong use a Magic Spell to knock out several patrolling soldiers and then soar into the air like a large bird to leap out of the city, Xu Chen confirmed once more that there was no one following behind, then cast the Floating Technique to soar into the air, quickly flying over the low city wall, which was only a zhang or so high.

Zhao Xuan and the Princess of Xiyun were already waiting outside the city. After the four of them reunited, they did not use their swords but cast the Floating Technique and headed northwest, soon disappearing into the vast night.

Not long after Xu Chen and the others left, two figures appeared silently on the city wall.

It was a young man and woman; the man was dressed in white and handsome, and the woman had delicate features and a graceful figure. Their robes fluttered in the night breeze, giving them an ethereal, otherworldly aura.

"It seems this Spirit Medicine has fallen into the hands of the Taiyuan Sect," the man in white said in a deep voice.

"Then why didn't Senior Brother make a move?" the woman asked in a clear, melodious voice.

"Hmph, it's because that fellow Cheng Zhong alerted the enemy. This is within the Song Kingdom, and thousands of miles deep. Although the Taiyuan Sect's strength is average, they have Danyuan Realm experts holding the fort; they are not comparable to civilian rogue cultivator families. If we cause too much of a commotion, the two of us will also suffer," the man in white snorted.

The woman in the colorful dress frowned tightly: "But these three are not strong; they are only in the Kaiyuan Realm. Senior Brother's move should be a sure thing."

"A sure thing?" The man in white glanced at the woman and said, "Have you forgotten how Cheng Zhong died?"

The woman in the colorful dress immediately dared not speak.

The man in white was silent for a moment and said, "These three must be hiding some strange treasure; otherwise, given Cheng Zhong's strength, he would have crushed them, but he died in a few quick moves. I suspect that one of the three must have used a powerful Magic Treasure or Magic Spell that attacks the Soul. We must not be careless."

The woman in the colorful dress said softly, "Then what should we do now? Just let them get away with it?"

The man in white shook his head: "How is that possible? Looking at the direction the four of them are heading, it must be the capital of the Song Kingdom. It just so happens that the Song Emperor is celebrating his hundredth birthday, and there will certainly be many cultivators from the Song Kingdom's Immortal Sects and the civilian sector going to offer congratulations. If we mix in, we won't arouse suspicion. We'll find them and then act according to the situation."

The woman in the colorful dress said in surprise, "Isn't it even harder to make a move once we reach the capital? If the news of the Spirit Medicine leaks, we will be even more helpless."

The man in white smiled and said, "Junior Sister, rest assured. With the Spirit Medicine in the hands of the Taiyuan Sect, they will only be more secretive. However, I never expected it to be something as good as Blood God Grass. It seems we are going to perform a great service this time. As long as we take the Blood God Grass back, the sect will certainly give a great reward; Magic Treasures and Spirit Pills will definitely not be lacking. Junior Sister will at least be able to get a Heqi Pill."

The woman in the colorful dress's eyes lit up, and she said with great joy, "Then I will soon be able to succeed in Foundation Establishment, and by then, I will be able to become Daolu with Senior Brother and fly together."

A look of excitement suddenly appeared on the handsome face of the man in white, and he reached out to wrap his arm around the woman's soft waist, laughing, "That goes without saying. Once we reach Jingshi, Junior Sister, remember not to act rashly; follow my arrangements for everything, and prioritize caution above all else."

The woman in the colorful dress leaned into the man's embrace, her face full of shyness, and said, "Qiu Ya will listen to everything Senior Brother says."

The man in white laughed heartily and said, "Since that is the case, let us return to the inn to rest first, and head straight to Jingshi early tomorrow morning."

Having said this, the man held the woman close and soared into the air, heading toward an inn in the city that was brightly lit.