"Hahaha, good! You're quite straightforward, True Person!"
Jiuyou let out a hearty laugh, the sound echoing through the great hall, booming in the hearts of the surrounding disciples.
"Your old friend has a companion I've known for centuries—Senior Blood Vine, a Nascent Soul cultivator from Ten Thousand Blood Island. When the time comes for Heavenly Abyss Mountain, he'll join forces with us as well. That way, our alliance will have four Nascent Soul cultivators!"
Blood Sea True Person nodded faintly at this, saying nothing. Judging by his expression, he seemed to recognize Senior Blood Vine, the easy smile still lingering at the corner of his mouth.
"So Brother Jiuyou is also acquainted with Fellow Daoist Blood Vine. Since we're all on the same path, I'm naturally happy to see it—the more, the merrier. In that case—"
He raised his cup, toasting Jiuyou from afar.
"Pleasant cooperation."
Jiuyou rose to his feet as well, giving a slight nod before draining his cup in one gulp.
"Pleasant cooperation."
The atmosphere in the hall was warm and congenial, with host and guest both enjoying themselves.
Half an hour later, Blood Sea True Person mounted his escape light, taking Xie Yunqing with him as he left Soul Wraith Island and returned to the Blood-Colored War Vessel.
Under the gaze of everyone present, the massive blood-red warship was enveloped in a layer of red mist, then transformed into a dazzling beam of blood light, tearing through the sky before vanishing at the edge of the horizon.
Only after the blood light had completely dissipated did Jiuyou's smile gradually fade.
He stood outside the great hall, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze deep and unreadable as he pondered something unknown.
Canfeng cautiously sidled up and whispered, "Ancestor, about Blood Sea True Person…"
"Enough." Jiuyou raised a hand to cut him off, his tone flat. "I have my own plans. Just guard the island well—no mistakes."
"Yes."
Canfeng quickly bowed in acknowledgment, daring not to ask further.
Having given his orders, Jiuyou's form flickered, transforming into a deep cyan escape light before quietly leaving Soul Wraith Island.
He told no one of his destination.
Along the way, Jiuyou took out a communication jade slip and secretly sent a message to Senior Blood Vine, informing him of his success in recruiting Blood Sea True Person, a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.
There was little point in hiding this anyway. With so many rogue cultivators having witnessed Blood Sea True Person's visit today, the news had already spread. Besides, they'd meet again at Heavenly Abyss Mountain eventually—it couldn't be concealed.
Less than half a day later, Senior Blood Vine's reply arrived.
His tone carried obvious surprise.
"Oh? Brother Jiuyou actually has such skill, able to recruit Blood Sea True Person? Truly impressive!"
After a pause, a slightly excited voice came through.
"If what Brother Jiuyou says is true—that Blood Sea True Person will also bring an Nascent Soul elder from his sect with him—then we'll have four Nascent Soul cultivators working together! When the time comes, snatching a few thousand-year Life-Extending Fruits will be as easy as turning over our hand, won't it?"
At this point, Senior Blood Vine shifted his tone, a hint of caution creeping in.
"But Brother Jiuyou, that Blood Sea True Person is a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator after all. We need to keep our wits about us."
Jiuyou listened to the transmission from the jade slip, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, but he said nothing more.
He put away the jade slip, his escape light unceasing, heading straight for that nameless desolate island where the Nascent Soul remains lay.
A few days later.
Above the nameless desolate island.
Jiuyou's figure hovered in the air, his robes rustling in the sea breeze.
He looked down at the unremarkable little island, a trace of barely perceptible anticipation and curiosity hidden beneath his calm gaze.
The last time he came here, he was only focused on saving Xie Yunqing and collecting the storage pouch, never conducting a thorough search. Reflecting on it afterward, how could a cave dwelling with an Nascent Soul cultivator's remains only hold a single storage pouch? Where had all the truly valuable items gone?
Either Xie Yunqing and his people had gotten there first, or... this island held another secret.
Jiuyou dove downward, plunging straight into the desolate island.
His Divine Sense instantly spread out like a tidal wave, engulfing the entire island.
The island wasn't large—in no time at all, he had scoured it from top to bottom, every detail meticulously examined. Every blade of grass, every stone, every crevice was under his control.
Yet the result made him frown slightly. The island showed no signs of anything unique whatsoever.
Unwilling to give up, Jiuyou delved deeper into the previous cave.
The cave was cold and damp; the Nascent Soul remains had long since disappeared. Whether Xie Yunqing had taken them or some demon beast had snatched them after the island's restrictions were broken, he didn't know.
Jiuyou couldn't be bothered with that.
His Divine Sense expanded once more, this time even more meticulously, combing through every inch of the cave like a fine-toothed rake, penetrating deep into stone crevices, leaving no anomaly unchecked.
His perseverance paid off.
Under this careful inspection, he truly did find something.
In the southwest corner of the cave, behind an extremely concealed rock wall, a faint, nearly imperceptible spiritual light seeped through. It was so weak it seemed ready to fade at any moment. Had his Divine Sense not been powerful enough and his search not thorough, he would never have noticed it.
Jiuyou's Divine Sense instantly locked onto that spot.
He stared at the rock wall, his gaze sharp, contemplating for a moment.
With a wave of his hand, thick fog churned, and a Qi Refining Stage Soul Wraith Puppet flew out, landing directly before the rock. The puppet raised its leg and stomped down hard.
Boom—
The rock didn't budge.
The puppet smashed and kicked, struggling for a long time, but the rock wall remained utterly unresponsive.
Jiuyou's brow furrowed slightly.
After confirming there was no danger, he stepped forward, extending his Divine Sense into it for a careful examination.
Only then did he realize: it wasn't just this one rock—the entire stone wall was covered by an extremely concealed formation. The formation was obscure and intricate, seemingly requiring a unique method of mana manipulation to open.
And behind the stone wall, a faint yet overwhelmingly pure and dense celestial spiritual energy was seeping through the formation's gaps.
Jiuyou's spirits lifted.
He had no intention of wrestling with the stone wall.
Mana surged within his hand; deep cyan mist instantly appeared. A cyan chain shot out, carrying the immense mana of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and slammed violently into the stone wall.
Boom—!
Stone fragments flew, dust billowed everywhere.
The stone wall shattered like paper, the rubble pulverized into powder by the shockwave before it could even hit the ground.
The moment the stone wall broke, that pure, dense celestial spiritual energy burst forth like a breached dam!
Jiuyou took a deep breath, feeling his entire body invigorated, his spirits soaring.
"Such dense spiritual energy..."
His eyes lit up as he slowly stepped into the haze of dust.
Through the flying particles, the scene before him left him momentarily stunned.
Behind the stone wall lay a modestly sized secret chamber. In the center of the chamber, a spring of spiritual water gurgled, its waters crystal clear, shimmering with lingering spiritual energy.
But the pure, refined energy didn't come from this spring.
Jiuyou's gaze shifted forward.
On the stone wall at the far end of the chamber was carved a lifelike dragon head. The dragon raised its head, exhaling as if breathing, its craftsmanship exquisite, as if it might come alive at any moment.
That utterly pure spiritual energy was seeping from the dragon's mouth, and he could faintly hear a "drip-drop" sound, like falling droplets of water.
Jiuyou stepped closer, his gaze fixed on the dragon head.
His Divine Sense probed inside.
Upon this examination, he immediately found the clue.
Hidden within the stone wall was a tiny space. Inside that space was another small pool of spiritual water, and it was from this pool that the purest spiritual energy surged forth, scrambling to escape.
Jiuyou's pupils contracted, then a barely concealed look of joy flashed in his eyes as his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Could this be... Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk?!"
His voice carried a mix of surprise and delight.
Legend had it that Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk was a supreme treasure formed when celestial spiritual energy condensed to its purest, liquefied form. Just a few drops could instantly restore a Nascent Soul cultivator's full mana. In life-or-death combat, this was equivalent to an extra life!
It was a rare and invaluable treasure of heaven and earth, sought after but rarely found.
"To think I'd come across something this good here today," Jiuyou murmured, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Even if there's no hidden ancient teleportation array here, just this one trip alone has already been worth it."
His hands moved without hesitation.
First, he took several specially made small jade bottles from his storage pouch. These bottles were crystal clear, engraved with spirit-locking runes designed to hold precious spiritual liquids and prevent energy loss.
Then, he applied his mana, gently activating the dragon head.
From the dragon's mouth, a milky-white spiritual liquid flowed slowly, thick as syrup, emitting a refreshing, soul-stirring fragrance. The liquid traced a thin silver line through the air, landing precisely into the waiting jade bottles.
Jiuyou watched the liquid intently, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
An incense stick's time later.
The Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk hidden in the stone wall had been completely extracted, not a single drop left, filling eight whole bottles.
Jiuyou picked up one of the small jade bottles and brought it to his nose. That pure, uncontaminated rich spiritual energy rushed in through his nostrils, instantly spreading through his limbs and bones, lifting his spirits and washing away the fatigue of days of travel.
"Fine treasure... truly a fine treasure."
He carefully stored the jade bottles away and conducted another thorough search of the secret chamber.
Unfortunately, aside from the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk, there were no other discoveries.
As for the ancient teleportation array he had suspected might exist, there was no trace of it either.
Jiuyou stood in the center of the secret chamber, hands clasped behind his back, brow slightly furrowed.
"If the legendary continent really exists, it must be extremely far from the Tianyuan Sea. Even a Divine Transformation cultivator would need special methods to cross it. Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't possibly traverse such a vast distance."
He pondered for a moment, his gaze narrowing.
"The only possibility is an ancient teleportation array."
"If it truly exists... where could that ancient teleportation array be hidden?"
He let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Forget it. Since there's nothing here that piques my interest anymore, I'll head back first. Focus on refining my techniques, improving my cultivation, and diligently practicing that Appearance-Changing Art."
"The trip to Heavenly Abyss Mountain is the top priority now."
With a thought, Jiuyou's form dissolved into a deep cyan mist, vanishing from the secret chamber.
A moment later, a deep cyan escape light streaked across the sky, hurtling toward Soul Wraith Island at full speed.