Chapter 75: Tracing the Clues

Night deepened, and the Wang Fu gradually grew quiet.

Yang Dabiao and others settled into guest rooms at the Wang Fu; because Xie Jin had just accomplished a great deed, the steward assigned him a courtyard with a small lake, and Linghu Qingmo moved into the adjacent room to keep watch.

After a day of exhausting travel, Xie Jin returned to his room, placed the sleeping Meiqiu beside his pillow, swallowed the Dragon Blood Pill, and began soaking in the medicinal bath to heal his wounds, silently planning his next steps.

The ghost bride’s tomb explosion is imminent; the only current goal is still to gather thirty thousand taels of silver and a sixty-year-old Lotus root!

The sixty-year-old Lotus is still out of reach, and the fastest way to earn money is to beg fellow cultivators for their hearts and souls.

Who to beg…

Han Jingchuan made his father take the blame, indirectly causing him to end up in this situation, and might even strike him from the shadows—he must be eliminated to prevent future trouble.

But Han Jingchuan holds a special post; since he just returned, his whereabouts are unknown, and this man cannot be dealt with tonight.

According to Taishu Dan and others, his father was ambushed by the Mingshenjiao ; he’ll kill every last one of these bastards he encounters.

But the Mingshenjiao ’s trail is hard to follow, and he doesn’t know whether today’s killer was even truly connected to the Mingshenjiao …

Thinking of this, Xie Jin looked at the Zhenlun Sword:

“Night, beautiful lady?”

Splash~

As he spoke, a splashing sound came from the opposite side.

Looking up, the lush, radiant beauty was again soaking in the tub on the far side, flicking droplets of water with her fingers:

“The night is long and sleepless—why not go find Mo Mo? Why call me sister?”

Even though Xie Jin had seen this scene before, he still struggled to hold himself back, and again nudged the hidden path with his foot—unfortunately, it still passed through the model:

“You said two killers were behind those seventeen corpses?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Ye Hongshang raised her left hand, and a spherical orb appeared in her palm, its interior like a miniature world, revealing exquisitely fine human tissue networks.

Xie Jin, seeing the “Ghost Bride Microscope” again, naturally grew serious, leaned closer for a detailed look, and even tried touching it.

The ghost bride sensed his intent—and indeed, he could touch it.

As he stretched his hands, the image inside the orb rapidly magnified; the once dry, withered skin now transformed into intersecting mountain ranges, each hair follicle like a colossal pillar.

“Heh~ This technique is impressive. What’s it called?”

“It’s called Realm!”

Ye Hongshang’s gaze, like a celestial goddess, explained earnestly:

“‘Moving Mountains and Filling Seas’ is merely the outward display of the powerful; inwardly, it’s an exploration of heaven and earth’s essence—you can understand it as ‘a grain of sand holds a world, a single leaf embodies enlightenment.’

“From your perspective, your Ice Scale Armor is flawless, but to me, you’re just parading around in a mosquito net. If you concentrate even a thread of finer true qi, you can pierce the gaps and strike straight at the lungs and organs.

“The same goes for martial arts and physical cultivation: any seemingly perfect thing, if you observe it with enough subtlety, reveals nothing but cracks and flaws.”

Xie Jin understood this principle and continued magnifying; as the image entered the interior of the “intersecting mountain ranges,” he saw fine lines within the peaks.

These lines extended in the same direction, forming traces like dried riverbeds.

“What are these?”

“Traces left by the Soul-Draining Demon Art. People have different realms and martial arts—even if they use the same technique, the traces won’t be identical.”

As Ye Hongshang spoke, the image inside the orb began switching scenes, showing seventeen nearly identical views in sequence.

Four of these traces resembled each other but differed subtly in essence—likely imitations by others using the same method; these four corpses were all young men under twenty.

Because the traces were obvious, Xie Jin realized the killer wasn’t one person, and he scanned back and forth:

“Is the first one weaker?”

Ye Hongshang nodded approvingly:

“Yes. The first thirteen died at the hands of rogue demon cultivators; their martial foundations were all mediocre.

“The last four died at the hands of Mingshenjiao experts—their martial patterns match Taishu Dan’s exactly, only disguised to mimic the rogue cultivators’ methods.

“The victims were all boys aged fifteen or sixteen; their goal was likely to steal the ‘unspent primordial yang’ to replenish their lifespan.”

“Unspent primordial yang…”

Xie Jin was curious: “Is this demon a female?”

Ye Hongshang shook her head: “Siphoning yang to nourish yin—if this were a female demon, those four men would have died in ecstasy, not like this. A man’s primordial yang is endlessly replenished; normally, no cultivation is needed. To use such a method, he likely can no longer sustain his own heavenly cycle—he’s near death.”

Xie Jin nodded, thinking the Mingshenjiao ’s old bastard would be hard to track, and shifted the image back to the first thirteen corpses:

“How do you know he’s a rogue?”

Ye Hongshang’s posture resembled a voluptuous private tutor, pointing at the traces with her finger:

“A proper demon cultivator begins from the start by warming his body with human blood and qi—even when using Blood Essence, he adds human blood.

“But this one has clearly relied solely on beast-made Blood Essence to solidify his physique, which differs from human essence, resulting in impure cultivation.

“Look at these traces—their thickness varies slightly, indicating coarse, uneven qi channels…”

Xie Jin studied closely and indeed found the traces left by the Mingshenjiao demons were far smoother.

Having encountered Blood Essence in Danyang, he had since researched its nature.

Genuine Blood Essence is made from living humans, but in peaceful times, producing it is too difficult; today’s demon cultivators mostly use nine parts beast blood mixed with one part human blood as a makeshift substitute—its effect is like the difference between rhino horn and water buffalo horn.

Blood Essence from the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Imperial Pharmacy, and even the black market is all extracted from beasts; using it directly is no different from taking beast-based muscle-enhancing drugs.

For this reason, demon cultivators usually buy it, then procure living human qi and combine it with various body-strengthening herbs to refine it into Transformation Demon Pills.

“This rogue has been eating beast drugs all along—and still reached the fourth rank?”

“He can, but his foundation is unstable. At the fourth rank, he hits a bottleneck. Only unguided rogues make this mistake—when they realize they can’t advance, they secretly begin killing.”

Hearing this, Xie Jin nodded slightly; the killer wasn’t hard to track.

Blood Essence is a strictly forbidden substance; its production requires massive livestock, and the blood aura is too heavy to conceal.

Demon cultivators with backing rely on secret organizations to supply them, just like Lin Wanyi’s poison cultivation—she receives all materials pre-processed from the Southern Frontier, uses them directly, and never risks exposure.

But rogues have no sect backing and dare not refine Blood Essence themselves; their only way to obtain it is to buy it.

Blood Essence is strictly banned from entering civilian hands; in the capital, the only places it can be found are the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Imperial Pharmacy, and the black market.

Acquiring it on official ground is too difficult—so this man, if he wants Blood Essence, can only go to the black market.

Thinking of this, Xie Jin’s heart stirred:

“I’ll go to the black market later and track down the Blood Essence supplier—maybe I can find some clues.”

Ye Hongshang retracted the floating orb: “If it’s the black market, you can’t trace the buyer’s identity. How will you find him?”

“He didn’t buy it just once. Even if he started cultivating this year, he must have bought it for eight months—I don’t believe the black market merchant has no memory at all.”

As Xie Jin spoke, he remembered the female demon and asked curiously:

“If a man loses his primordial yang, does it affect his cultivation?”

Ye Hongshang blinked: “Yin and yang harmonizing is the Dao. Whether male or female, losing it only brings pleasure—as long as you don’t indulge excessively.”

Xie Jin sighed in relief: “Then it’s better to lose it—keeps the demons from eyeing me.”

“Oh?”

Ye Hongshang blinked her eyes, rose from the tub, and pressed close:

“Want me to help you out?”

Splash splash splash~

As she stood, her plump white curves surfaced.

Xie Jin’s eyes narrowed slightly—but immediately realized the ghost bride was wearing a flesh-toned bodysuit, leaving no cleavage exposed…

?

Xie Jin was deeply disappointed, leaned back against the tub, arms resting on the edge, his gaze defiant:

“Fine. Use whatever tricks you have—I’ll test my weak spot and see if I can enter the arena tomorrow.”

(End of Chapter)