Chapter 15

A roadside food stall. "Brother Ping didn't seem to use his full strength in today's fight, did he? Your cultivation technique hasn't reached perfection yet, right?" Ergouzi asked. "Indeed, it only just reached the initial success stage," Ping Lijia replied. "Not bad, not bad! Although it's still not enough against me, I never expected you to be able to defeat a demonic cultivator in the Golden Core Late Stage!" Ergouzi laughed heartily. "You flatter me, Brother Yang. It was just sheer luck," Ping Lijia said with modesty. "Brother Ping is being too polite. Just call me Ergouzi, it sounds much closer. Come, drink!" Ergouzi said. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Brother Ergou, cheers!" Ping Lijia could not hold his liquor well and merely took a polite sip. "Brother Ergou gave up the chance to join a noble family today. I wonder what plans you have for the future?" Ping Lijia picked up a few bites of food. "I heard you plan to join a sect. Have you considered which one?" Ergouzi countered instead of answering. "I haven't decided yet. I suppose I'll just join whichever one I happen to encounter," Ping Lijia said. "Then I shall go with you. Whichever sect you go to, I will go as well," Ergouzi said. "Why must you always follow me? You could probably choose a much better sect," Ping Lijia asked. "To be honest with you, Brother Ping, I have a strange ability—I can sense people who might be of help to me. When I was young, I felt an old neighbor was kind, and later when I had gone two days without food, she gave me steamed buns. I felt the uncle surnamed Zhang next door was kind, and later he saved me from a monster beast in the mountains. The day before yesterday, I felt you were particularly kind, and I believe you saved me." Ergouzi spoke as he ate. "I saved you?" Ping Lijia was utterly bewildered. "Originally, I intended to challenge that Xie Wuhai. Under normal circumstances, I figured I would win. But after seeing his demonic arts, I knew I would die." "Although I have boundless strength and could beat you, I cannot withstand blood qi. When I saw him unleash that blood qi and realized he couldn't pull it back, I figured you were the one who saved me," Ergouzi explained. "I see..." Ping Lijia felt the explanation was a bit far-fetched, but he let it go. "Where does Brother Ping plan to go next? I see your realm is too low; would you like me to take you out to gain some practical experience?" Ergouzi asked. "Experience? Does Brother Ergou know of any good places?" Ping Lijia asked. "I heard you came from Mobei City? The Mobei Ruins are fantastic! There are several secret realms with abundant Spirit Qi, making them the best places for cultivation. However, I'm not sure of the exact opening times; we'll have to go to Mobei City and ask around," Ergouzi said. "Are you going to the Mobei Ruins as well?" Ping Lijia asked. "Yes, I heard there is a divine tree in one of the secret realms that cannot be cut down, and I want to go see it," Ergouzi said. "That works. Let's head over tomorrow, then," Ping Lijia said. "Alright, we'll set off together tomorrow morning! Haha." The two ate and drank for a while before returning to their respective inns. Zhu Wu lay down to rest, a faint fragrance lingering in the room. "Tian Cuicui! Ah right, the jade pendant is still with me. It seems my return will have to be delayed." "Did she come to my room? This fragrance doesn't seem to be hers, either..." Zhu Wu thought to himself. Suddenly, a streak of blood qi crashed through the window, aiming straight for the bed. Zhu Wu instantly rolled onto the floor. "Who is it?" Zhu Wu hurriedly scrambled to his feet and rushed out the door. A hazy, indistinct shadow of blood was fleeing toward the city gates. "Xie Wuhai? That should be impossible—he was injured so heavily today. Is it an accomplice?" "Striking just once and then running away—are they trying to lure me out of the city?" Zhu Wu wondered whether he should give chase. "Forget it. Just in case there's an ambush, getting some rest is more important." Zhu Wu sat cross-legged on the bed to regulate his breath. "Wait, this fragrance... it's poisonous!" Circulating his true qi, Zhu Wu realized that the scent was a toxin capable of disrupting the flow of true qi, far superior to spirit hemp powder. "Good thing I didn't chase after them just now, or I really would have been in bad shape!" Zhu Wu felt a lingering sense of shock and hastily circulated the *Materia Medica Secrets* to neutralize it. "How careless of me. I'm someone who knows how to use poison, yet I never considered the consequences of being poisoned myself." "True Qi As One..." Fortunately, the healing effect was relatively good. "Now that they realize I didn't give chase, I wonder if they'll come back?" Zhu Wu accelerated his breath regulation while keeping a watchful eye outside the window. About the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, more than a dozen streaks of blood qi lunged in from the window. Zhu Wu hastily leaped aside to dodge and bolted out the door. He saw a figure in a Black Robe raise a sword to thrust at him, which Zhu Wu managed to evade. After all, the poison had not been completely purged, making him a fraction of a second too slow; the sharp edge of the sword grazed his ribs. "All Vegetation is Troops!" Grass arrows shot toward the Black Robe, only to be scattered by the blood qi before they could reach him. Two more streams of blood qi lunged forward, and Zhu Wu hurriedly leaped out of the house. "If you want the jade pendant, come to the southern woods of the city!" The Black Robe instantly transformed into a streak of blood qi and sped away. Zhu Wu looked down at his waist—the jade pendant was gone. "This is troublesome. I heard this pendant is very important to Tian Cuicui; I can't just lose it like this." "Who's there? What are you doing?" It sounded like the inn waiter. "Drifting Dragon Steps!" "True Qi As One! Materia Medica Secrets!" Zhu Wu sprinted hastily while continuing to flush out the remaining poison. "No good. Before returning to Mobei City, I need to get some similar poison from the black market." Calculating his next move in his heart, Zhu Wu headed toward the south of the city. The southern part of the city bordered the monster beast mountain range. The grades of the monster beasts in this part of the mountain range were still classified as first, second, and third rank, but they were in no way comparable to beasts of the same rank in the Heduan Mountains. Here, a second-rank monster beast might already possess a beast core, those above the seventh rank might have developed spiritual intelligence, and those above the ninth rank might have taken human form. Their strength went without saying: a second-rank beast here was comparable to a fifth-rank beast in the Heduan Mountains, and a third-rank beast was comparable to a seventh-rank beast. Of course, those capable of developing spiritual intelligence were exceedingly rare—hardly seen once in several centuries, let alone those capable of taking human form. Zhu Wu chased his way out of the city and saw the Black Robe waiting for him among the trees. The Black Robe saw Zhu Wu leave the city and sprinted deeper into the woods once more. Zhu Wu hurried in pursuit. "That Black Robe should have been able to kill me earlier. Not doing so must mean he was afraid of causing a big commotion, right? Luring me out is probably to make it look like an accident. That means there should be an ambush up ahead..." Zhu Wu thought to himself. "As long as there aren't more than three people, using Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders should be no problem..." Zhu Wu deliberately slowed his pace to heal himself as much as possible. After chasing for a short while, the Black Robe in front stopped. Another figure emerged from behind, cutting off his retreat. "Only two people?" Zhu Wu surveyed his surroundings and estimated. "What are you trying to accomplish by luring me out?" Zhu Wu stopped and said. A blood net descended from behind, while a surge of blood qi struck straight at him from the front. "I can't let myself get trapped..." Thinking this, Zhu Wu dodged toward the front left. "Huh? Didn't he ingest the Hundred Flowers Dispersion? How is he still so agile?" the rear Black Robe asked in a deep voice. "He did ingest it. He's not as agile as he was during the day," the front Black Robe replied. The blood qi was like arrows, attacking from front and back with airtight density. "All Vegetation is Troops!" The vines could only block a portion of the blood qi. "Hellfire!" "Heavenly Fire Meteor!" The two Black Robes continued their assault. "True Qi As One! Yueying! Phantom Moon! Phantom Moon! Phantom Moon! Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders!" Holding nothing back, Zhu Wu hurriedly reversed his true qi. "What? This brat really is trouble!" Both Black Robes were injured. The consequence of underestimating the enemy and failing to account for defense was precisely this. However, since the poison was not fully purged and his true qi could not operate at full capacity, his offensive power was considerably lower. "Let's not drag this out—kill him quickly," the rear Black Robe said. "Blood Blade!" In an instant, the blood qi transformed into dozens of blades slashing at Zhu Wu from all directions. "Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders! Drifting Dragon Steps!" Zhu Wu unleashed his true qi directly at the front Black Robe, then lunged forward instantly to snatch back the jade pendant. "Blood Mist!" "Blood Blade!" Although severely injured, the front Black Robe counterattacked instantly, and the rear Black Robe struck again. "Ah!" Zhu Wu felt a sea of crimson all around him, as if trapped in an illusion, while several strands of blood qi slashed across his body. "Delicious fresh blood..." "True Qi As One! Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders! Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders!" Daring not to hesitate, Zhu Wu attacked the front Black Robe once more. The Black Robe dissolved into blood qi, completely incinerated by the lightning's glare. "All Vegetation is Troops! Golden Bell Cover!" Most of his true qi was depleted; though not critically wounded, he lacked the strength to attack the rear Black Robe. Hard-engaging a wave of blood blades, Zhu Wu hurriedly assessed his current situation. The rear Black Robe seemed stronger than the front one, and with most of his true qi now exhausted, he could not afford a head-on clash. "Yueying!" Zhu Wu hurriedly sprinted back into the woods. "Right now, escaping is the only option. Let's see if there are any monster beasts I can use..." "Blood Blade!..." "Blood Blade!..." The Black Robe kept up a relentless pursuit, clearly intent on a fight to the death. "Are all demonic cultivators this desperate? Could it be... that killing people and drinking blood enhances their cultivation?!" Zhu Wu suddenly realized why demonic cultivators killed. "Why am I so unlucky today? How come I haven't run into a single monster beast by now?" Zhu Wu wanted to use a monster beast to stall the Black Robe; as long as he could catch his breath for a moment, he would be able to injure him. "Third-rank Fire-Eating Bees!" After running a bit further, he finally spotted them! "Phantom Moon! Phantom Moon! Phantom Moon!" Zhu Wu unleashed illusion techniques back-to-back against the swarm of bees. A single layer of illusion was virtually useless, but three layers barely managed to have some effect. The swarm of Fire-Eating Bees rushed toward the Black Robe. "Heavenly Fire Meteor! Hellfire!" The Black Robe hurriedly moved to block them. Seizing the opportunity, Zhu Wu hid behind a tree and immediately began regulating his breath. Fire-Eating Bees could not actually eat fire, but they were not easily burned by it either, earning their name from their ability to pass right through sources of fire. The Black Robe was stalled for quite a while before finally burning all the Fire-Eating Bees to ash, after which he resumed his pursuit. "True Qi As One, Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders! Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders! Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders!" Zhu Wu exerted every ounce of his strength, launching continuous attacks. "Ugh!" The Black Robe suffered significant injuries. "Drifting Dragon Steps!" Zhu Wu hurriedly bolted through the woods once more. Fortunately, it was a forest; regardless of whether someone was in the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage, moving fast wasn't all that easy. Though he couldn't tell the Black Robe's exact realm, he was definitely above the Golden Core Late Stage—far stronger than Xie Wuhai. "If I run into another swarm of Fire-Eating Bees, I'll have a chance to finish him off!" Zhu Wu thought to himself. Unfortunately, another half-hour passed without encountering any more monster beasts. "What's going on? Even if they're all sleeping at night, I shouldn't be unable to bump into a single one," Zhu Wu thought with a sense of bewilderment. A precipice. Another precipice. There was no path forward for Zhu Wu. The bottom of the cliff was so deep it was bottomless to the eye. "Let's see where you can run now!" "Blazing Prairie! Fire Meteor!" It seemed his earlier injuries prevented him from using his most powerful attack. Yet to Zhu Wu in his current state, it was already formidable enough. "All Vegetation is Troops! All Vegetation is Troops!" Luckily, he was in a forest; with his true qi bottomed out, Zhu Wu managed to conjure a meager ring of vines. The vines were incinerated instantly. Zhu Wu retreated to the edge of the cliff—there was no path ahead, behind, to the left, or to the right. "Protagonists who jump off cliffs are bound to have miraculous encounters... I'm the protagonist, right?..." Zhu Wu opened his eyes as dappled sunlight filtered down through the tree branches overhead. "Pain! Pain! Pain!" As he regained consciousness, a wave of all-over pain drilled straight into his mind. "Squeak, squeak." Lifting his head slightly, Zhu Wu saw a small, white monster beast sitting on his chest, letting out squeaking cries. It looked a bit like... a cat? A fluffy cat with an adorable expression? Zhu Wu couldn't figure out what kind of monster beast this was; he had never seen it before. Perhaps it was a cub, which was why it wasn't in the illustrated beast compendium. Seeing Zhu Wu wake up, the small monster beast held a bluish fruit in its two paws and offered it to him, crying, "Squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak." This blue fruit... what kind of spirit fruit was it again? Zhu Wu had no impression of it and didn't seem to have seen it in the compendium either. Zhu Wu swallowed the spirit fruit, and an icy sensation spread throughout his body, slightly easing the pain. He checked his true qi and found it had recovered slightly; he immediately began circulating his true qi to repair his injuries. After a while, feeling somewhat improved, Zhu Wu slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. The surroundings were still a forest, though the trees were thicker and taller. Green moss blanketed the ground, burying dead branches and rotting leaves beneath a damp surface. Scattered among the trees were small shrubs, and that blue fruit must have been picked from one of them. The sound of flowing water came from somewhere in the distance. Spirit Qi drifted through the forest, albeit rather thin. Zhu Wu stared at the cat-like little monster beast, and it stared right back at him with wide eyes. "Spiritual intelligence? Is this a monster beast that has awakened its spiritual intelligence?" Zhu Wu suddenly realized. "Where are its parents? They should be nearby, right?" He glanced around worriedly, but saw no traces of any large monster beasts. "What should I do? Will I be treated as food?" Zhu Wu chuckled self-deprecatingly with a helpless air. Slowly, Zhu Wu reached out a hand to stroke the little monster beast. The creature reacted with vigilance, turning slightly sideways and raising a paw. Zhu Wu took its paw and shook it as if they were shaking hands. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak." The little monster beast nodded, looking quite pleased. Zhu Wu then stroked its fur, and this time the creature did not turn away. "You look like a little cat, I'll just call you Mimi," Zhu Wu said with a smile. "Mimi." "Squeak, squeak." Zhu Wu rummaged through his storage ring, intending to find something to feed the little beast, only to find not a single pill or spirit herb left. He casually pulled out a piece of low-grade spirit stone and sighed, "Sigh! I don't even have enough money to buy pills!" Suddenly, Mimi grew excited at the sight of the spirit stone, lunging forward and snatching it up. Before Zhu Wu could react, Mimi grabbed it and shoved it straight into its mouth. "Huh? You eat spirit stones?" Zhu Wu opened his mouth wide in astonishment, raising a hand to fish it out, but the stone had already slid down into its belly. Zhu Wu stared at Mimi, checking to see if it was acting normally. Mimi happily rubbed its belly with both paws. "Looks like I was worrying for nothing." "Wait, since it eats spirit stones, it probably knows where spirit stones can be found. In that case..." Zhu Wu fantasized. "Mimi, do you know where there's more of this?" Zhu Wu pulled out another piece and held it in his palm. "Squeak, squeak." Mimi reached out to grab it, but Zhu Wu raised his hand slightly. "Do you know where any are?" "Squeak, squeak." "Looks like I can't count on it," Zhu Wu sighed, handing the spirit stone over to Mimi. Mimi couldn't speak, so there was no helping it. Once a beast awakened its spiritual intelligence and cultivated, it would be able to speak. But judging by Mimi's size, it was still a long way from talking. Clutching the spirit stone, Mimi swallowed it down as well. Zhu Wu began regulating his breath. As evening approached, his injuries had improved enough for him to walk. However, the wounds inflicted by the blood blade seemed to retain a wisp of demonic qi, causing sharp pain whenever he made a large physical movement. "Good thing it didn't hit any vital organs, otherwise I probably wouldn't even be able to circulate my true qi," Zhu Wu estimated. He began walking in the direction of the sound of running water. Along the way, he occasionally spotted some wild fruits, including that blue fruit. They carried little Spirit Qi and were only good for emergency hunger relief; using them for cultivation was out of the question. Beside a small stream. Zhu Wu stared for a moment—there were fish. "All Vegetation is Troops!" Using water weeds to form a fishing net, Zhu Wu hauled out a few fish. "Wait, I don't know any fire-type cultivation techniques yet..." "Astonishing Lightning! Astonishing Lightning! Astonishing Lightning!..." After more a dozen attempts, Zhu Wu finally managed to use lightning to ignite the firewood he had prepared. The aroma of grilled fish drifted through the air. Mimi immediately wanted to pounce on it with excitement. "It really is a cat, huh?" Zhu Wu thought to himself. Well-fed and rested, Zhu Wu found a large tree fork to serve as his resting spot for the night. Seeing that Zhu Wu had fallen asleep, Mimi scurried off into the forest. When Zhu Wu woke up, he saw Mimi holding out a red fruit toward him. "Torch Fruit! A seventh-rank spirit fruit!" Zhu Wu recognized it instantly. "For someone with a fire spiritual root, this fruit is practically a treasure." Without a single moment of hesitation, Zhu Wu ate it and began refining it. A scorching sensation flooded his body, and even the lingering demonic qi felt less painful. "Demonic qi... lightning... perhaps I can give it a try," Zhu Wu thought. He went back to the stream to catch and grill more fish, eating his fill alongside Mimi. "Mimi, stay back," Zhu Wu said, waving a hand at the creature. "Astonishing Lightning!" Controlling a faint wisp of true qi, Zhu Wu zapped himself with it. "Ow!" Zhu Wu cried out in pain, and Mimi jumped in fright. "Materia Medica Secrets!" Zhu Wu cast a healing spell, then checked the wound tainted by the demonic qi. "Haha, it works!" Zhu Wu beamed with joy. Though the demonic qi hadn't been completely eliminated, it had faded significantly. "Astonishing Lightning! Materia Medica Secrets!" "Astonishing Lightning! Materia Medica Secrets!" "..." Repeating this more than a dozen times, Zhu Wu's injuries were completely healed. He clenched his fists, feeling strength coursing through his entire body. "Body refinement?" Zhu Wu suddenly realized. "Astonishing Lightning! Materia Medica Secrets!" "Astonishing Lightning! Materia Medica Secrets!" "..." Zhu Wu kept it up until nightfall, then went into the stream to wash away the charred layer on his skin. My lord, there is more to this chapter; please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content ahead! "Hahaha, right now I feel like I could trade punches directly with Brother Ergou!" Zhu Wu chuckled to himself. Catching fish, grilling fish, sleeping. Waking up at dawn, Mimi brought him another cyan-colored fruit. "Huh? How come it's different every time? This is a sixth-rank Cyan Lotus Seed..." Puzzled, Zhu Wu ate it and began refining it. Catching fish, grilling fish. Zapping himself with lightning no longer yielded any improvements—after all, proper body refinement didn't work like that. Zhu Wu began practicing *All Vegetation is Troops*. Perfection! Now, if he faced a demonic cultivator, his chances of winning would increase by more than half. At dawn, Mimi brought a tiny yellow fruit. "Buddha Fruit! Eighth-rank!" Such a fruit was priceless and unavailable on the market because it grew underground, while its branches and leaves resembled dead twigs. With no distinctive scent to identify it, finding one was nearly impossible, and its effects were unclear; ordinary cultivators had no idea where the benefits lay, so virtually no one wanted it. Still, Zhu Wu didn't mind. Since it didn't cost anything now, it would be a waste not to eat it. "Mimi, oh Mimi, exactly where do you keep getting these spirit fruits?" Zhu Wu asked. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak." "Sigh, still no way to communicate. Whatever." He continued his cultivation. He continued fishing. Whether it was his realm or his techniques, making further progress had become difficult. "It's time to go out. But where is the road? Following the water flow should work, right?" Thinking this, Zhu Wu began walking alongside the small stream. "Mimi, you surely don't intend to come out with me, do you?" Zhu Wu asked. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak." Zhu Wu rummaged through his storage ring and found a little over ten low-grade spirit stones remaining. "Looks like I can't buy anything with this..." After pondering for a moment, Zhu Wu put them into a small pouch and hung it around Mimi's neck. Mimi nodded happily and bounced up and down. "This is all I have for now. I'll get you more if I have the chance later," Zhu Wu said. Ahead of the stream was a cliff cave. The cliff was sheer and unscalable. Sunlight illuminated the cave entrance, and the stream rushed into it with a gurgling sound, accompanied by an eerie draft blowing outward, as if an air pocket within was being battered by the current. "This is... the perfect cultivation ground!" Zhu Wu cried out in pleasant surprise. Releasing his true qi to sense the heat and cold currents at the cave mouth, Zhu Wu found a spot and sat down to begin cultivating. Days passed. In his dantian, Zhou Rui's core separated and solidified like mercury bathed in moonlight, while Zhu Wu's own true qi condensed into a solid state like purple bronze draped in rosy clouds. The two cores shone brilliantly, revolving around each other. "Golden Core Early Stage." He had broken through! Zhu Wu felt the changes in his own true qi. "True Qi As One... no longer needed; it is already in a state of oneness." "True Qi Transformation... Wood." The golden core was the color of a green leaf. "True Qi Transformation... Wind." The golden core was the color of platinum. "True Qi Transformation... Fire." The golden core was blood-red. "True Qi Transformation... Earth." The golden core was the color of an orange peel. "True Qi Transformation... Water." The golden core was the color of the deep ocean. "Yang moving through Yin meridians, Yin traveling through Yang channels... Yin and Yang as One!" The two cores fused into one, each containing the other, intertwining and revolving around each other. "I wonder what kind of improvement I'll get if I dual cultivate with Zhou Rui again?" Zhu Wu thought to himself. "Once I get out, I'll head to the capital. No, I should make a trip to Mobei City first—I wonder if Brother Ergou found that secret realm. Right, I also need to go home and take a look; I've been out for so long, I don't know how things are at home." Now he could fly on a sword; he should be able to scale this unscalable mountain cliff! Zhu Wu felt the ambient energy of heaven and earth—there was still a surplus, he could continue cultivating! Better go catch some fish first, though! Grilled fish, finish eating, sleep. At dawn, continue cultivating... Repeating this for over a month, the *Materia Medica Secrets* reached perfection. *Golden Bell Cover* reached perfection. *Annihilation of Ten Thousand Thunders* reached perfection. *All Vegetation is Troops* reached perfection. "Golden Core Middle Stage," breakthrough. "Eh? Has Mimi grown a bit larger?" Zhu Wu looked at the pouch in front of Mimi; the spirit stones inside were already gone. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..." "Looks like getting you spirit stones will have to be my first priority once we get out." Half a month later, "Nine Realms - Flowers in a Mirror, Moon in the Water," breakthrough. "Golden Core Late Stage," breakthrough. "The surrounding Spirit Qi has been exhausted; it seems further breakthroughs are no longer possible here," Zhu Wu said to himself, feeling the state of the surrounding Spirit Qi. Catching fish, grilling fish. Having eaten fish for nearly two months straight, Zhu Wu was starting to feel a bit nauseous. Fortunately, after breaking through to the Golden Core stage, he needed less food; once he reached the Nascent Soul stage, he would be able to consume even less. "Mimi, I'm leaving. What do you plan to do?" Zhu Wu asked. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..." Though he couldn't understand the words, Mimi sensed the meaning of separation. "Once I get out, I'll find spirit stones for you right away. How about that?" Zhu Wu asked again. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..." Mimi seemed somewhat pleased. "Judging by your reaction, I take that as a yes. Alright, once you learn how to speak, I'll take you out to play. How does that sound?" Zhu Wu said again. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..." "It's a deal, then!" Zhu Wu looked up at the cliff, waved goodbye to Mimi, and soared upward on his flying sword. Finally out! Zhu Wu stood suspended in mid-air, identifying his current location and the direction of the capital, then flew toward the capital. Let's take on a few missions from the City Lord's Mansion first; I can't let my spirit stones drop to zero. A month later, he finally had over a hundred mid-grade spirit stones. The black market. Zhu Wu spent sixty spirit stones to purchase the earth-grade mid-tier *Ice and Snow*, which was compatible with his water spiritual root. My lord, there is still more to this chapter; please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content ahead! The bottom of the cliff. Mimi's pouch was loaded with thirty stones. "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..." Mimi was overjoyed for a long while. Ignoring it, Zhu Wu began practicing *Ice and Snow*. Ten-odd days later, *Ice and Snow* reached the initial success stage. Bidding farewell to Mimi, it was time to go to Mobei City. Mobei City Lord's Mansion mission board. "Investigate an ancient tomb? Is it that same one from before?" Zhu Wu accepted the mission. "Excuse me, has anyone named Ergouzi ever come to take this mission?" Zhu Wu asked the steward in charge. "Ergouzi? Seems like there might have been?" the steward said uncertainly. "The one with two sabers at his waist." "Ah, yes. He came about two months ago, said he was going off to wait for a secret realm to open, and hasn't been back since." the steward replied. "What's the deal with this ancient tomb?"

"This stopped for a while, but later rogue cultivators kept falling victim in the ruins one after another. The timing was irregular; we could only confirm that there is something wrong with the ancient tomb, because the entrance has been sealed several times yet still keeps getting broken into."

"Then I'll go take a look. Thank you." With that, Zhu Wu flew toward the ancient tomb.

"There really is something wrong—the smell of blood is so strong!" Zhu Wu caught the scent the moment he reached the entrance.

The entrance was battered and torn, clearly having been patched up a few times.

Stepping into the cave, the exterior looked just as it had before.

Zhu Wu inspected the place once, then sat down with his back against the inner wall, staring at the coffin.

Two days passed.

Footsteps echoed from outside the cave, and Zhu Wu hurriedly got up and hid to one side.

A rogue cultivator walked in, glanced around, and headed toward the coffin, beginning to search through it.

Inside the coffin were a few ragged clothes and nothing else.

"Ah!" the rogue cultivator cried out.

Zhu Wu looked closely and saw that the rogue cultivator's finger seemed to have been injured.

"Damn it, something bit me..." Before the rogue cultivator finished speaking, he slowly collapsed.

"Poison?" Zhu Wu was startled.

Suddenly, a bloody figure appeared.

"Xie Wuya!" Zhu Wu almost cried out.

At that moment, Xie Wuya looked half-human, half-ghost as he walked toward the rogue cultivator.

"Mirror Image!"

"Myriad Thundering Annihilation! Frozen Wasteland!"

"Myriad Thundering Annihilation! Frozen Wasteland!"

Before Xie Wuya could react, Zhu Wu instantly channeled his true qi.

"It's... you..."

Xie Wuya dissolved into a mass of bloody mist and completely vanished.