"Looks like I'll have to take on a mission and make a trip out."
Qi Yuan pondered.
According to the information revealed by the intelligent micro probe bug, there were three locations with Black Demon Ancestral Blood: two within the territory of the Black Demon Abyss, and one outside it.
"Looks like I'll need to seek Ziyuan Xiaolu's help." After thinking it over, Qi Yuan contacted Ziyuan Xiaolu via a messaging jade slip.
After about three incense sticks of time, Ziyuan Xiaolu's lovely silhouette appeared outside his immortal's cave. She wore a dark blue horse-face pleated skirt, looking adorable with a subtle hint of charm.
"Senior Brother Blood Robe, why did you call for me?"
Ziyuan Xiaolu seemed quite happy.
"It's like this: today, I dreamed of a treasure, and I want to take you treasure-hunting. It's just that I don't know where the land from my dream actually is. You know the Black Demon Abyss pretty well, so I came to ask you."
Qi Yuan casually made up an excuse.
Hearing this, Ziyuan Xiaolu grew rather excited.
After all, for a major affair like treasure-hunting, Senior Brother Blood Robe was willing to share it with her—which proved he truly trusted her.
"Please tell me, Senior Brother Blood Robe, where is it?"
"Here!"
Though Qi Yuan didn't know how to paint, he excelled at copy-pasting.
Without a second thought, he showed Ziyuan Xiaolu a corner of the fragmented images he had seen.
A projection of a landscape formed in midair.
Everywhere lay black soil and black seas, with only a single mountain peak rising straight into the heavens, tightly wrapped in chains, greeting the eye.
Ziyuan Xiaolu blinked at the projection, looking at Qi Yuan in disbelief. "Senior Brother Blood Robe, are you sure it's here?"
"Yes, I'm sure. The scene in my dream was very vivid. One look tells you this place is extraordinary, full of treasures," Qi Yuan said earnestly.
Ziyuan Xiaolu took a deep breath. "There really are countless treasures there, but... that's the Treasure Pavilion of the Black Demon Abyss."
"...Ah?"
Qi Yuan was speechless.
Seriously? They built the Treasure Pavilion there?
"Could we sneak inside and steal a few things? What I want to steal... er, take is in the Treasure Pavilion, or perhaps in the ruins beneath it." Qi Yuan still harbored a sliver of hope.
Seeing this, Ziyuan Xiaolu panicked with anxiety. "Senior Brother Blood Robe, you must never entertain such thoughts! That isn't just the Treasure Pavilion—it's also our Black Demon Abyss's Origin Ancestral Land! Our Black Demon Abyss was born from the ruins there! If we trespass blindly, even as Demon Scions, we won't escape death!"
Rarely had Ziyuan Xiaolu worn such a solemn expression, her little face tightly strained with worry.
Hearing that, Qi Yuan felt a pang of disappointment.
It seemed this source of Black Demon Ancestral Blood was likely... the very Black Demon Ancestral Blood possessed by the Black Demon Abyss.
The first site had already been claimed. What about the second?
Qi Yuan held out little hope.
After all, with the might of Yang God Heavenly Venerables—especially those in the realm of Great Ultimate Reason—there were practically no secrets left within the Black Demon Abyss.
"What about this place?"
Qi Yuan copied the second scene and showed it to Ziyuan Xiaolu.
Ziyuan Xiaolu tilted her head and pondered for a moment. "I know this place."
"Take me there. Thanks!"
"Let's go!"
The two departed Ziyuan Heaven and took a teleportation array toward other territories of the Black Demon Abyss.
About a day passed, and they transferred through six or seven teleportation arrays.
In the end, the two stopped at a basin.
"This is the place. Senior Brother Blood Robe, we have to hurry. This Fanjing Heaven isn't friendly toward our Ziyuan Heaven," petite Ziyuan Xiaolu said, standing beside Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan looked at the basin before him, disappointment welling in his eyes.
"The treasure is gone."
Both his perception and his eyes told him the Black Demon Ancestral Blood here had long been moved away by someone.
No need to think—it had definitely been moved back to the Treasure Pavilion.
"Huh?" Ziyuan Xiaolu looked a little disappointed.
Right then, Qi Yuan's figure turned into a streak of light, shuttling through the spatial rifts beneath the basin.
After roughly a hundred breaths, he reappeared beside Ziyuan Xiaolu. "Still, it wasn't completely empty-handed. I found some of this!"
Qi Yuan held out his hand, and a large puddle of blood-red water appeared.
This blood water was identical to the blood river in the Ancestral Blood Pavilion, containing numerous intelligent micro probe bugs within it.
All of these probe bugs had data stored inside them. If Qi Yuan received it, he might obtain quite a bit of useful information.
"This is... ancestral blood spiritual water?" Ziyuan Xiaolu was surprised; she hadn't expected the treasure Senior Brother Blood Robe was seeking to be this.
Qi Yuan glanced at her and asked, "Do you know if other places have it?"
"Mm. Do you need this, Senior Brother Blood Robe? If you do, I can help you collect some!" Ziyuan Xiaolu offered earnestly.
Ancestral blood spiritual water was usually only found at the Ancestral Blood Pavilion, used to test one's cultivation progress in the Ancestral Blood Art and thereby earn merit.
Such a thing was practically useless.
After all, wouldn't a person know which layer of the Ancestral Blood Art they had cultivated to? Did they really need testing?
Thus, ancestral blood spiritual water had virtually no other purpose.
"How much will it cost? I'll pay you!" Qi Yuan's eyes lit up upon hearing that.
If he acquired enough ancestral blood spiritual water and more intelligent micro probe bugs, he might uncover the whereabouts of more Black Demon Ancestral Blood, or perhaps even locate the giant bug's terrifying carcass.
That was fine stuff. Back during famine eras on Blue Star, it could have fed everyone for ten thousand years without running out.
Though of course, it might just crush Blue Star under its weight instead.
"It's very cheap, practically worthless. I'll cover it," Ziyuan Xiaolu said cheerfully.
"Don't. Free things are actually the most expensive. Your granddaddy here is a rich man now; I can't be stingy anymore."
With the Moluo Clan wiped out, Qi Yuan had acquired a monstrous hoard of treasures.
As he spoke, he generously yet painfully fished an Immortal Jade from his storage bag. "Is one Immortal Jade enough?"
Seeing this, Ziyuan Xiaolu couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle. "Enough!"
Sure enough, it was Senior Brother Blood Robe's usual style.
Anyone else saying those words would have pulled out at least ten thousand Immortal Jades by now, wouldn't they?
Yet Senior Brother Blood Robe spoke so grandly, only to bring out this tiny bit.
For an ordinary Yin God, a single Immortal Jade might hold considerable value.
But for a Demon Scion, Immortal Jades were like spirit stones in the eyes of a Golden Core cultivator.
Qi Yuan felt a bit embarrassed seeing her reaction.
Clearly, one Immortal Jade wasn't enough.
He quickly salvaged the situation to avoid awkwardness: "This one Immortal Jade is just a deposit!"
"Alright!" Ziyuan Xiaolu smilingly accepted the Immortal Jade, her grin turning even brighter.
Having made their arrangement, Ziyuan Xiaolu returned to Ziyuan Heaven to collect ancestral blood spiritual water.
Qi Yuan, meanwhile, accepted a mission and prepared to make a trip out.
The final location wasn't in the Black Demon Abyss.
According to Ziyuan Xiaolu's judgment, it was located at Tianxuan Cliff.
Tianxuan Cliff was a curious land within the Sixth Heaven.
Curious lands were the most peculiar places in the Sixth Heaven.
All manner of rumors and speculations surrounded them.
However, the explanation most widely accepted was that curious lands were borders where realms outside the Sixth Heaven met the territory of the Sixth Heaven.
For one thing, one could not see the stars that illuminated the heavens from within a curious land.
For another, in the Sixth Heaven, powerhouses in the realm of Great Ultimate Reason could retain all their strength when venturing into other worlds, yet in certain curious lands, even a Great Ultimate Principle would suffer a drop in cultivation.
Add to that the various inscrutable dangers within curious lands, including the occasional sighting of the terrifying Holy Light Clan, and generally speaking, very few Yang Gods ever set foot in them.
Or rather, very few cultivators were willing to explore curious lands.
"Will heading to Tianxuan Cliff lower my cultivation in the Myriad Dao Martial God realm?"
Qi Yuan pondered. Without hesitation, he boarded a teleportation array and headed toward the location of Tianxuan Cliff.
The giant city closest to Tianxuan Cliff was named Tianxuan City.
The city took its name from Tianxuan Cliff.
It could also be considered a massive transportation hub.
Three behemoth holy lands—the Black Demon Abyss, Shenluo Heaven, and Guiyu Heaven—were all located not far from this city.
Cultivators from the lower realms also frequently came to this city for procurement and trade.
Dressed in a black robe, Qi Yuan arrived in Tianxuan City via the teleportation array.
Without lingering in the slightest, he directly turned into a streak of light and shot toward Tianxuan Cliff.
About a hundred breaths later, a burly woman clad in gold appeared in Tianxuan City.
The aura radiating from her was profound as an ocean, clearly at the peak of the Mythological Realm.
She was merely a step away from becoming a Yang God.
Crushing the messaging jade slip in her hand, she sneered, "Moving so fast, without stopping at all."
Just now, she had received word that the newest Demon Scion from the Black Demon Abyss's Ziyuan Heaven had taken a mission and was heading toward Tianxuan City.
The factions within the Black Demon Abyss were tangled and complicated; information regarding the movements of a Demon Scion leaked out easily.
The higher-ups of the Black Demon Abyss knew, but merely turned a blind eye.
After all, from the perspective of time, if one powerful bloodline died in the Black Demon Abyss, perhaps another powerful bloodline would arise in the future.
A powerful bloodline that hadn't undergone tempering was better off returning to the furnace to be remade, dying early so a newcomer could inherit an even greater bloodline.
"He must be terrified of you, Senior Sister!" a handsome young man beside her said.
"Hmph. Among the younger generation in the Black Demon Abyss, only Hei Jian amounts to anything. The rest, save for Bing Jian, are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs,"
the gold-clad woman said coolly, murder lacing her voice.
"Just as well. On my path to Yang God in Guiyu Heaven, my Ten Thousand Soul Banner needs a spirit emissary. He barely qualifies!"
Murderous intent flickered in her eyes.
Guiyu Heaven's Creation Treasure was the Ten Thousand Ghost Soul Banner.
The cultivators of Guiyu Heaven all cultivated Ten Thousand Soul Banners.
Within a Ten Thousand Soul Banner lay endless deceased souls, constantly billowing black smoke.
And because a magical treasure like a Ten Thousand Soul Banner devoured so many deceased souls, the chaotic stray thoughts within could even distort the owner's personality.
Thus, cultivators of Guiyu Heaven were also known as demonic cultivators, mostly slaughter-crazed lunatics with screws loose in their heads.
"Once I refine him and break through to the Yang God realm, I will challenge Hei Jian.
"This time, I will not lose!"
The gold-clad woman's face twisted savagely.
A thousand years ago, she had challenged Hei Jian and was defeated in three strikes.
That had become a tremendous humiliation.
Hei Jian had stepped into the Yang God realm long ago, while she remained stranded in the Mythological Realm.
Right now, she was naturally no match for Hei Jian.
Yet for the past thousand years, she had cultivated relentlessly, scouring ownerless minor worlds to slaughter and collect divine souls.
Once all twelve spirit emissaries were in place and she broke through to the Yang God realm, she was confident she could defeat Hei Jian and wash away her former shame.
Hei Jian was her objective; Blood Robe was merely provisions.
Meanwhile, Qi Yuan's figure appeared outside Tianxuan Cliff.
Unlike the bustling clamor of Tianxuan City, this place seemed exceptionally quiet and desolate, with practically no cultivators in sight.
"Except for cultivators evading enemies, very few ever come here."
Qi Yuan considered this, then proceeded into the curious land.
In an instant, he encountered the exact same scenario as entering the Liufeng Realm.
He was too large to squeeze in.
It was the will of the curious land, or rather the worldly rules, preventing him.
His Yang God immortal dao power had to be suppressed down to the Mythological Realm before he could enter.
Naturally, had it been any ordinary world, he could have chosen not to enter, or even devoured the world outright.
Yet so long as it dropped, an ordinary Yang God entering this world would only possess Mythological cultivation.
It was as if some supreme Great Dao rule had laid down this decree.
Of course, in ordinary worlds, Great Ultimate Principles were unrestricted.
Qi Yuan restrained his cultivation and stepped into Tianxuan Cliff.
"Sure enough, the Myriad Dao Martial God realm remains unrestricted."
Qi Yuan felt a thread of security.
Thanks to the Ancestral Blood Art, his Myriad Dao Martial God cultivation wasn't far behind his immortal dao cultivation.
By now, it was already at the peak of the Great Heavenly Position.
This gave Qi Yuan plenty of reassurance.
"Fire."
After a moment's thought, Qi Yuan spoke, casting the simplest fire dao technique of the immortal path.
A wisp of flame appeared before him.
"Channeling dao techniques feels somewhat sluggish... It seems the claim that curious lands are borders where other worlds or universes meet the Sixth Heaven holds true."
Qi Yuan swept his gaze across Tianxuan Cliff.
The area of this curious land was twice the size of Arch Star.
The ground below looked like a disorganized mess, resembling a junkyard littered with metals riddled with holes.
Qi Yuan's formidable divine soul swept past, sensing roughly several thousand cultivators residing there.
Qi Yuan couldn't care less about these cultivators.
His goal was the Black Demon Ancestral Blood recorded by the intelligent micro probe bug!
Following the records in the imagery, he descended to the lowest depths of Tianxuan Cliff.
It was a realm of primal chaos, where chaos had condensed into all manner of metals.
Roughly half an hour later, Qi Yuan beamed with joy, a smug look spreading across his face.
"This trip wasn't in vain!"
Deep ahead lay a fist-sized blood crystal.
If not seeing it with his own eyes, one could have devoured the entire curious land without ever finding this blood crystal.
This blood crystal had condensed from Black Demon Ancestral Blood.
"This should be enough for me to cultivate for quite a while, right?"
Qi Yuan grew eager.
Converted into Black Demon Ancestral Blood, this blood crystal amounted to nearly a hundred drops.
He estimated that if he digested all of it, he could push the Ancestral Blood Art to the tenth layer within a month.
In that case, his Myriad Dao Martial God cultivation would be comparable to a Great Ultimate Principle.
"Let's head back!"
Stowing the blood crystal away, Qi Yuan prepared to return to the Black Demon Abyss to continue cultivating the Ancestral Blood Art.
This excursion had gone far too smoothly.
No plots or schemes, and no murder for treasure.
"Sure enough, a man who smiles often always enjoys good luck.
"Exploring a curious land was like child's play for me—no danger whatsoever!
"It might not be thrilling, but it's steady and reassuring. Just the kind of secret realm I like!"
Qi Yuan disliked fighting and killing.
Nor did he like having treasures he fancied targeted by others, requiring him to endure untold perils to obtain them.
While hard-won treasures were prized more, Qi Yuan was different: he preferred things falling effortlessly into his lap.
"I'll strive to cultivate the Ancestral Blood Art to completion within ten years!"
With that thought, Qi Yuan exited Tianxuan Cliff.
Yet the moment he stepped out, his expression abruptly turned solemn.
He looked toward Tianxuan City in the distance, his vigilance rising.
"I sense powerful murderous intent. Is it aimed at me?"
Upon reaching Qi Yuan's realm, if someone harbored murderous intent toward him or chanted his name, he would perceive it.
Right now, he caught the scent of such an aura.
"Dammit, I just slipped out to hunt for some treasure, and already someone wants to ambush me!
"Sure enough, a harmonious cultivation world is just my illusion!
"This is the bloody, brutal cultivation world!
"For no rhyme or reason, I just happen to have a face that naturally taunts people, provoking others to come kill me!
"No good, I'm still far too weak!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Qi Yuan ducked right back into the curious land.
He decided he wouldn't leave until he had trained the Ancestral Blood Art to the tenth layer.
Facing a formidable enemy daring to plot against him, he had to proceed with utmost caution.
He needed to boost his strength swiftly and take this dead seriously!
Chapter 435