Chapter 389: Demon Beast Essence Blood

Seeing this, Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but ask, "Wan, who exactly is locked up in here?"

But Wan Hai didn’t answer. Instead, he gave a stern warning, "Junior Brother, remember this: there are some things you don’t need to know, so don’t ask too many questions."

That being the case, Shen Daoxing said nothing more.

Shen Daoxing then collected the bowl and chopsticks that had been tossed out of the opening, placed them back in the food container, and turned to follow Wan Hai outside.

As he was leaving, Shen Daoxing felt something staring at his back. It was clearly the fellow in the cell.

But Shen Daoxing couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge it and didn’t turn back to look.

Just like that, Shen Daoxing followed Wan Hai off the mysterious Suspended Island, using Sword Control to return to his residence.

At this time, the other outer sect disciples had not yet returned, leaving Shen Daoxing there alone.

Shen Daoxing wasted no time. He returned to his room, did a one-finger handstand in the center, and resumed cultivating the Venerable Body Refining technique.

Time flowed by, and the days passed. The parasol tree in front of Shen Daoxing’s house bloomed, its pale purple petals drifting down to cover the courtyard. He had a rare few days of peace. Although he had to clean the Cyan Nether Sword Sect every day, the Sword Sect had no other demands for him, and he was happy with the freedom this afforded.

「More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.」

Shen Daoxing bent his knees slightly, drew back his fist to build up power, then suddenly thrust it forward.

CRACKLE!

Black arcs of lightning flickered in the wind from his fist, and the very space around him seemed to be pulled and stretched by the force of the blow.

BOOM!

Then, an explosive bang erupted in the air.

The Cyan Nether Sword Sect was truly a uniquely blessed place, its Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi incredibly dense.

Under the constant cleansing and tempering of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, Shen Daoxing’s Venerable Body Refining had already entered the first major realm, reaching the Body Forging stage. A faint, pale gray light had begun to emerge around his body—it was Body Refining Gang Qi.

It was a Protective Gang Qi that had formed naturally through his Body Refining. Without any conscious control, this layer of Gang Qi would surround his entire body and protect him.

’However, if I want to advance my Venerable Body Refining, I can’t just keep cultivating in my room. Venerable Body Refining emphasizes the process of tempering. I need to constantly fight to refine my body’s strength, and I must also supplement this by bathing daily in large quantities of Demon Beast Essence Blood and precious spiritual medicines to recover. Only then can I achieve the best results.’

With this in mind, Shen Daoxing slowly pushed open the door to his room.

At that moment, numerous outer sect disciples were outside, sparring in pairs or discussing their cultivation experiences.

Just then, several disciples came over to greet Shen Daoxing. After a month, he had become quite familiar with them.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Shen Daoxing rose into the air on his sword and slowly made his way to the Suspended Island where the Merit Hall was located.

The Merit Hall was the very heart of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. All missions within the sect were issued from here, and disciples took on these missions to earn Merit Points. At the same time, they could also use their Merit Points here to exchange for Elixirs, Cultivation Techniques, weapons, and all kinds of other cultivation resources.

Shen Daoxing walked slowly into the Merit Hall. The vast hall was bustling with an endless stream of Inner Sect Disciples coming and going.

Behind a counter in the center of the hall, a young senior female disciple was smiling as she attended to everyone.

Shen Daoxing stepped forward, bowed politely to the senior disciple, and then requested a list of precious spiritual medicines of all grades.

Next, Shen Daoxing planned to use Essence Blood Baths to supplement his Venerable Body Refining technique. This required large quantities of spiritual medicines and Demon Beast Essence Blood, which he could conveniently exchange for here at the Merit Hall. Doing so would save him a great deal of time.

But when Shen Daoxing glanced at the prices on the list, he was dumbfounded.

He saw that a single fifth-grade Profound Ginseng cost five hundred Merit Points.

To put that in perspective, he only earned seventy Merit Points a month for cleaning the sect. Even with the extra tasks from Wan, his monthly total was barely over two hundred Merit Points.

’These spiritual medicines in the sect are way too expensive! And the Demon Queen’s Essence Blood is even more terrifying—the Essence Blood from just a late-stage Spirit Transformation demon beast costs a thousand Merit Points for a single small vial!’

Shen Daoxing was floored. ’If I have to rely on cleaning the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, how long will it take to earn enough?’

Fortunately, Shen Daoxing had mined a large amount of Spirit Vein Ore in the Celestial Essence Ore Vein back in the Tianze Nation. If he sold it to the Merit Hall, he should be able to obtain a good number of Merit Points.

Shen Daoxing looked down at the list again and saw that ten taels of ordinary Celestial Essence Ore could be exchanged for one hundred Merit Points, while ten taels of the highest-grade ore could be exchanged for two hundred Merit Points.

The ore that filled his entire Space Ring was undoubtedly a massive fortune.

Shen Daoxing then touched his Sumeru Ring, but just as he was about to take out the Celestial Essence Ore, his hand suddenly froze.

Because right now, his status was merely that of a Servant Disciple.

For a Servant Disciple to be able to produce such a large amount of Celestial Essence Ore would be far too suspicious.

His current identity was sensitive and could not withstand scrutiny. He absolutely could not allow the Cyan Nether Sword Sect to discover he was a disciple of the Penglai Lineage.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Daoxing ultimately abandoned his plan to exchange for spiritual medicines and Demon Beast Essence Blood at the Merit Hall. He turned and walked out.

’Looks like I’ll have to make a trip down the mountain,’ he thought. ’I’ll have Elder Mu and Qian Gui help me find the Spiritual Medicine and Demon Beast Essence Blood I need. The only problem is, they don’t have the immense resources of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. I’m afraid that even with enough Celestial Essence Spirit Stones, gathering everything I need will not be easy.’

’It’s still going to take a considerable amount of time, but it’s far safer than exposing my identity.’

With no more hesitation, Shen Daoxing rose into the air on his sword and prepared to return to his residence.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!

Just then, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat tucked in Shen Daoxing’s robes suddenly started squeaking.

Although the Celestial Profound Sacred Land probably wouldn’t dare to cause trouble at the foot of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect’s mountain, Shen Daoxing had left Chi Yi with Xin and Elder Mu for their protection, just to be safe. That was why he had only brought the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat along.

However, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat was, after all, a renowned Fierce Beast from the Great Wilderness. Shen Daoxing didn’t dare let it wander brazenly around the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. It would be disastrous if some powerful figure from within the sect were to capture it.

Because of this, Shen Daoxing had kept the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat with him at all times for over a month, never letting it go anywhere.

But the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat was not a creature that could sit still. This past month of confinement had left it completely stir-crazy.

With another squeak, it took advantage of a moment of Shen Daoxing’s inattention and, in a flash, shot off like a black arc of light.

Shen Daoxing froze for a second. ’The Cyan Nether Sword Sect is no place to be running wild!’ He had no choice but to rise into the air on his sword and hurriedly give chase.

Meanwhile, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat’s eyes were shining brightly, as if it had discovered something. It streaked across the sky as a black arc of light, flying with single-minded determination.