Chapter 223

Though the Southern Wilderness has towns, most are concentrated near its fringes and sect outposts; between its hundred thousand mountains, ferocious beasts abound, and it's common to travel a thousand li without seeing a soul.

Meiqiu flew high ahead to scout, while three human figures followed closely, crossing the open desert devoid of cover, then dived into the sky-blocking southern wilderness forest.

Nangong Ye had been continuously consuming Nourishing Qi Pills to recover, but after prolonged exertion, he was now at his limit; after entering the mountains, his speed slowed, and he moved among the towering trees, searching for shelter.

Xie Jinhuan, carried without exertion, now held the plump, soft body in his arms, his gaze constantly fixed behind him; only after confirming they couldn't be caught did he check on the person in his arms.

On the road, he had already scanned her condition—he saw her soul had been struck hard, knocking her unconscious; fortunately, the Wu Sect specializes in soul cultivation and also trains as martialists, making them exceptionally resilient; with rest, she should recover.

Only now, upon closer inspection, did he realize the serene beauty he held from behind had her full bosom pressed against his arms, soft and yielding…

?

Xie Jinhuan sensed something wrong, pulled her lower, and glanced up at Bing Tuozi.

Seeing Bing Tuozi hadn't noticed this breach of propriety, he exhaled in relief, yet felt a strange unease.

After all, what image did Nangong Xianzi hold in his mind?

The legendary beauty swordsman famed across Dajiangnanbei, the second-ranked peak elder of Danzhou, the supreme first-rank warrior who slew countless demons, the dream bride he'd heard of since childhood…

He couldn't say before, but now, Bing Tuozi's demeanor matched Nangong Xianzi perfectly…

Xie Jinhuan had once harbored doubts, but Bing Tuozi's elaborate disguises had kept him uncertain; only now did he understand why past oddities had felt so awkward.

Given the situation, he accepted it calmly, but Seeing Mo Mo would likely find it unbelievable—and Bing Tuozi couldn't accept it either…

What should he do…

Maybe ask Bai Mao Xianzi to issue a "Sacred Edict"—a master's command is heaven's will…

Xie Jinhuan knew Bing Tuozi's temperament; if he called her "Nangong Senior" now, she'd immediately flee ten thousand li in shame and fury; so he thought, then looked up:

"Mistress Mu, did Xiazhenren secretly teach you thunder arts?"

"?"

Nangong Ye, focused on surrounding threats, had also begun to feel uneasy after entering the forest, unsure how to explain.

Hearing Xie Jinhuan say this suddenly, she paused slightly:

"Hmm… yes."

"I knew it! Last time on Mount Zihui, Xiazhenren secretly sent me away—I wondered what he was up to. You just said it had to do with the Qingming Sword Manor's legacy. I guessed Xiazhenren saw you looked just like the Xianzi and favored thunder arts, so he taught you a few moves, right?"

"…"

Nangong Ye never expected this brat could fabricate so vividly; she nodded like Meiqiu:

"Exactly."

Xie Jinhuan turned his gaze to the immortal he shouldn't be holding:

"Then how did Hua Shijie, a martialist, learn poison mist? Could that also be from Xiazhenren?"

Seeing her disguise still intact, Nangong Ye felt a flicker of relief and hastily fabricated:

"I've always competed with her—I leaned toward Daoist arts, she toward Shamanist arts; I dabbled a bit in the past. Sect matters are hard to explain in detail—let's find a place to rest first."

"Oh…"

Xie Jinhuan said no more; winding through the forest, he found a recessed crack beneath a cliff.

They slipped inside; Xie Jinhuan laid Hua Xianzi on the ground and checked her pulse.

Nangong Ye's heart pounded as she watched Xie Jinhuan's expression.

But Xie Jinhuan's posture and bearing, honed since age three, could never betray a flaw.

Seeing this, Nangong Ye pretended nothing was exposed and steadied Hua Yuehua beside her:

"Rest for a while—I'll watch over her."

Xie Jinhuan didn't object; he moved to the perimeter and gazed up at the canopy.

Pupu pupu~

Meiqiu had eaten another Grain-Avoidance Pill, but after flying all day, she was hungry; landing on his shoulder, she shook her head and opened her mouth, clearly demanding her share!

But Xie Jinhuan had no way to grant Meiqiu another divine gift; he fed her a handful of dried meat strips, then told her to resume sentry duty, sat down before her, and pulled out two objects to examine.

The objects were taken from the last unknown old ghost: one was a black cylindrical tube, finger-length, containing several torn sheets of unusual material, inscribed with cultivation technique pathways.

The ghost bride, Like a Shadow, appeared before him, glancing briefly:

"Fragments of the Zhu Man Sacrificial Shamanist Scripture—a culmination of ancient Wu Sect cultivation techniques, compiled by the Corpse Ancestor, destroyed entirely after the war. The Qiyue Manor's techniques seem derived from this forbidden book."

Xie Jinhuan knew Wan Yi's technique was powerful, but its side effects were monstrous—someone had tampered with it, possibly turning her into a vessel for evil.

If all these were fragments from the Corpse Ancestor's compilation, then he likely designed this divine technique as a curse; after the war, various factions, unaware, fought over it; the Qiyue Manor's ancestors got lucky and acquired a portion…

Xie Jinhuan judged this item, though rare, was no blessing; he stored it away, then turned to the other object—a broken iron shard.

The iron shard seemed chiseled from something larger; its flat side bore faint patterns, and its texture was extremely dense.

Ye Hongshang examined it closely, her eyes slightly puzzled:

"This appears to be Fishscale Copper, from Qilin Cave—like Purple Gold Stone, it can forge Immortal Artifacts, but this piece has already been refined."

Xie Jinhuan, just by texture, knew it was chiseled from a pre-forged Immortal Artifact; but Immortal Artifacts cost absurdly—usually palm-sized tools like Yin-Yang Rulers, Exorcism Clubs, or Command Fire Tablets; raw ore required a full cart.

For something like Zhenglun Sword, a large-scale Immortal Artifact with two traits, the materials were even more extreme; without Bai Mao Xianzi's ability to seize them, no one could have gathered them.

But this iron shard was fist-sized, and utterly unidentifiable as coming from any known object—so the original must have been enormous.

Could it be the Emperor's Cauldron…

Xie Jinhuan had never seen the Emperor's Cauldron; he turned to Bing Tuozi:

"This seems to be Fishscale Copper—can you tell which artifact it came from?"

Nangong Ye, lost in thought while pinching the demon girl's cheek, turned back, then her gaze sharpened as she examined the iron shard:

"It really is Fishscale Copper—where did you get this?"

"Just now, after eliminating that unknown old ghost—I picked it up."

"You had time to pick up things then?"

"Just a matter of practice. I can't fight for nothing..."

Nangong Ye was also impressed by Xie Jinhuan, so he immediately studied it carefully:

"Immortal artifacts are more precious than the Five Directions Divine Gifts, but this thing... the crack has no array patterns, it seems to have just been knocked off from an unimportant part. I can't tell what the original object was either."

Xie Jinhuan顺势 wrapped his arm around Nangong Sword Immortal's lower back:

"Then we'll investigate later. Such a huge piece, can it be forged into an immortal artifact?"

Nangong Ye's whole body tensed, but thinking of how that rascal had just performed, he let him touch:

"When an immortal artifact is smelted, various materials must be added to form it in one go. The difficulty is extreme; once destroyed, it cannot be repaired."

"This piece of fish-scale copper has already been refined. It cannot be cast into another immortal artifact, but it can be forged into a protective item. A protective item made from immortal artifact fragments is so tough that even a Demon-Slaying Pestle would struggle to pierce it."

Xie Jinhuan understood the meaning—this was an alloy with a special formula. After an immortal artifact was damaged, re-smelting it could not pre-form the array patterns; the attributes were lost, but the durability remained.

A fist-sized iron block, after being smelted and flattened, could be made into a heart-protecting mirror, arm guards, and the like. The coverage was small, but it would surely be unbreakable by all methods, truly a top-grade equipment.

"That old ghost, why didn't he melt it down to make a heart-protecting mirror? If they had such a thing, we wouldn't have been able to shatter it."

"Without the Blazing True Fire, how could this thing be smelted? Put it in a furnace to burn; the furnace would burn away before this thing did."

"Oh, that's true..."

"By the way, where did you get that Yellow Scale Seal you pretended to cast a fire technique with just now? That's a magical tool produced by the Yellow Scale Observatory."

"I obtained it by chance while slaying... eliminating demons and monsters in the past."

Whoosh whoosh~

Outside, the night wind howled. Three figures sat two and lay one, chatting casually.

Nangong Ye held the iron block and studied it carefully for a moment. His heart was also puzzled: how had they run into so many supreme-grade ruthless people today?

Lu Wu Zhen said the world is a gu pot because resources are too scarce and cultivators are too numerous, yet breaking through realms relies heavily on resources.

Phoenix Feather Grass, Hu Gu Teng, and other precious materials grow one stalk per year. Originally there were five, but after the Wu Sect incident, only four remained. Without these items, only those with talent comparable to Xie Jinhuan or Ye Sheng could possibly cross the Heaven-Man threshold on their own.

For this reason, over the past one hundred and twenty years, at most five hundred supreme-grade cultivators have appeared in the world. Counting those who died of old age, were lost, or never used their potential, the actual number is far lower. The density is naturally extremely low. Great Qian still has the most top-tier cultivators; divided among the thirty-two provinces, each province has only one or two people.

If the news spreads after the Winter Solstice, it won't be strange if the Fire Phoenix Valley produces however many supreme-grade cultivators. After all, this thing appears only once every sixty years, giving cultivators a chance to enter the Fifth Realm. Those who know the news about supreme-grade items must come to try their luck.

But it isn't even October yet. Lu Yan relying on divination and the Imperial Fire Token to run here early to seek treasure is one thing, but how did the other three arrive...

Nangong Ye pondered silently, unable to figure out the inside story. Suddenly halfway through, he felt the hand behind his waist slowly slide down, kneading and rubbing.

?

Nangong Ye glanced at Bu Yuehua. Seeing the demoness hadn't woken, his eyes grew slightly cold:

"What are you doing?"

Xie Jinhuan was just bored. Seeing Seeing Bing Tuozi turn her head, he immediately leaned over.

Pop pop pop~

?!

Nangong Ye shrank back, gesturing toward the demoness beside them:

"Senior Sister Hua is still here. She saved you and got injured, and you're so heartless?"

Xie Jinhuan thought he couldn't just pop Bu Sword Immortal either. She was resting; he couldn't just stare at her. Helplessly, he said:

"Surviving a calamity makes one a bit excited. We'll talk about it when we get back."

What are you going to talk about when you get back?

Nangong Ye felt that after returning, this rascal who was seeking credit would knock him silly. But since he had taken so many good things, he couldn't just lift his skirt and deny responsibility. He merely showed a tiny bit of disgust between his brows and shifted to the side.

The two played around like this. After resting for half an hour, their Qi Seas had recovered more than half thanks to the medicine.

Still in a place of danger, they dared not stay longer. Xie Jinhuan hugged Bu Sword Immortal again, while Nangong Ye carried the two of them, flying northward once more...

(End of this chapter)