Chapter 74

As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Gazing turned fierce, Zong Shou's qi and blood within his body gradually gathered and surged. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he saw Gong Xinran's figure suddenly blocking in front of him. Soul power surged, one hand stretched forward, and he coldly snorted, "Step back!"

The five fingers of that jade hand suddenly spread open. A small earth-yellow spirit array appeared out of nowhere. A powerful repelling force immediately forced the winged rat to retreat, flying backward.

In the next moment, a martial artist who acted in time cleanly and neatly killed the winged rat with a single sword strike.

"Phew! Just talking, almost forgot this is the Blood Valley."

Seeing the winged rat cut into pieces, Gong Xinran patted her chest with lingering fear and then looked at Gao Yi with concern, "Senior Brother Yi, are you tired? If you can't handle it, let's go back first, or take a short rest. Although my ancestor left some relics, it's not worth risking our lives."

Gao Yi let out a bitter laugh, turned his head with an apologetic look, and said, "No problem, just a momentary lapse. A few third-stage spirit beasts can still be handled. That winged rat was too cunning, and I was a bit careless—"

Zong Shou's gaze turned slightly cold, looking up and down at Gao Yi with a hint of hostility in his eyes.

Was it really just a momentary lapse? His experience as a peak martial cultivator in his previous life made him never lose control of the surroundings even while talking. The timing of the winged rat's attack was too coincidental. The nearby secret martial artists could have stopped it.

Half a day ago, he had already felt that Gao Yi and the others were looking at him strangely. At the time, he thought it was a delusion, and he was just following along. Qiantian Mountain and Longling City were too far apart, with no conflict of interest. Therefore, he always thought it was just his delusion.

It wasn't until now that he truly confirmed it. Gao Yi indeed harbored murderous intentions toward him! He just didn't know the reason—

There was no enmity between them, and jealousy over Gong Xinran didn't make sense. This senior sister clearly treated him like a younger brother. Given his background and character, there was no reason to care about a recognized failure like him.

Could it be for Gong Xinran's ancestor's relics? But Gao Yi, as the young master of the Gao family in Longling City, could obtain any rare treasures. A spirit master of the Dayou realm, even if the relics were precious, had been around for three thousand years. Was it necessary to seal his mouth before obtaining those relics?

His doubts grew, and he couldn't figure it out. Zong Shou didn't dare to be careless anymore. One mistake might lead to another. After a moment of thought, he took out some medicinal liquid and applied it to his body without showing any signs.

Then he took out several fine silver needles, each inscribed with runes, and quietly inserted them behind his ears and at the sides of his eyebrows.

Immediately, his hearing and vision were greatly enhanced. Previously, he could only see about five hundred meters ahead. Now, within a thousand meters, every detail was visible.

The volume of sounds he heard also increased nearly tenfold, as if when he first opened his soul sea. Every movement of the spirit beasts nearby, even the rustling of the wind and grass, was heard clearly.

Originally, it was to control the surroundings and avoid being ambushed. But when Zong Shou just blocked out some useless sounds, he heard a few faint whispers from the people in front.

"Pity... Young Master, this person... Don't ruin the big plan!"

"Damn!... Don't act on your own! This person's identity... It's not right for him to die at our hands... Can't escape the connection..."

"... That little girl likes him, forget it! Don't worry... The heir of Qiantian Mountain... A dying man, a failure, what can he do even if he knows?"

"But that thing... Is crucial... The fewer people who know..."

"This is simple... Let's talk about it when we go out... There are already people waiting outside... Even that person has come..."

The voices were muffled and unclear. Even with lip-reading, the information was incomplete. Only the occasional fierce glint in the eyes of the secret martial artists made Zong Shou's heart sink again.

When he tried to listen more carefully, the people all stopped talking. Gao Yi's face remained full of gentle smiles, showing no signs of abnormality.

A strong killing intent rose in his chest, but he suppressed it for a moment.

Susu had a wild animal's intuition and subconsciously leaned against Zong Shou, her hand also on her sword, her expression more alert.

The spirit beasts on Mount Moshan were rarer but more powerful, all approaching the peak of the third stage. Even the Cold Hell Tiger was a challenge. If they lingered too long and attracted a group of beasts, it would be even harder to escape.

Fortunately, it wasn't the beast tide period. The group was cautious, taking a secluded path up the mountain. They were lucky, encountering only four or five spirit beasts in total. Their strength was formidable, and they didn't encounter any dangerous situations.

After walking about two thousand meters, the group wandered around the mountain waist, searching.

Zong Shou was worried about Gong Xinran and wanted to pretend he hadn't noticed. It would be best to drag it until night when the mountain's beasts became frenzied, making these people temporarily give up on going down the mountain.

Until he saw Gao Yi and the others showing impatience, and even Gong Xinran gradually frowning, hesitating to speak. Zong Shou knew he couldn't delay any longer.

He sighed inwardly, scanned the surroundings, and after a moment, a hint of joy appeared on his face as he walked over.

Not far away, at the base of a large rock, there was a cluster of reddish-brown spirit grass, about half a person's height, with clear green leaves.

The spirit grass on Mount Moshan was slightly toxic. Zong Shou approached, took out a leather glove, and carefully pulled out a plant. He first infused a thread of true qi, then a drop of blood.

When the drop of blood was absorbed, red veins appeared on the leaves. After a brief recognition, he knew this grass was exactly the same as the Pulse Spirit Grass in his memory.

Among the hundreds of plants, Zong Shou identified about fifty. This number was more than enough for his alchemy, with plenty to spare. What was surprising was that the ends of the Pulse Spirit Grass had dozens of grain-sized, ear-like fruits.

Pulse Spirit Grass only bears fruit once every hundred years, and the cluster he held was clearly over three hundred years old, hence its robust growth.

"Indeed, it's an ignored thing. If it were ten thousand years later, even ten-year-old Pulse Spirit Grass would be rare."

This spirit grass had few uses but couldn't withstand being picked. Ten thousand years later, wild Pulse Spirit Grass was extremely rare.

If he had these in the future, they would be worth at least millions.

Zong Shou, satisfied, put them all in the satchel at his waist. Then he saw Gong Xinran, who had come to his side, smiling brightly, "You've found the Pulse Spirit Grass, Junior Brother, are you satisfied now?"

She then flipped her hand and handed over six talismans, "These are the Spirit Concealment Talismans I obtained from my teacher. Each can last for two hours and can hide one's presence. With your servant's help, you should be able to return safely."

Zong Shou shook his head and glanced at Gao Yi. Although his previous thoughts were just guesses and somewhat suspicious, Gao Yi had always been caring toward Gong Xinran, despite the hidden killing intent. He was still somewhat worried.

After a moment of thought, Zong Shou smiled and probed, "Why don't I go up with you? Or let Xue'er go with you. Since I have these Spirit Concealment Talismans, I can walk out on my own—"

"Master!"

Before he finished, Chuxue's eyebrows furrowed, and she called out urgently. Gong Xinran tapped his head with her fingers, "Nonsense! Even if the Spirit Concealment Talismans are good, accidents can happen. Without anyone following, how can I be at ease?"

Zong Shou inwardly smiled bitterly, knowing his suggestion was bound to fail. Even if he openly stated that he was already a martial artist and had a spiritual understanding of the sword, it wouldn't help.

Not only did Gong Xinran and Chuxue not agree, but Gao Yi's expression also became colder, with a dangerous gleam.

Without much hesitation, Zong Shou took out a stack of spirit talismans he had taken from Qi Xiao, regardless of their usefulness, and handed them all to Gong Xinran, "Then, Senior Sister, take these talismans. They're useless to me. The mountain is dangerous, and you might need them—"

Gong Xinran was initially hesitant, but when she saw the serious look in the young man's eyes and remembered his identity as the heir of Qiantian Mountain, who likely didn't lack spirit talismans, she smiled and put the talismans in her pocket.

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