Chapter 27: Spirit Blood Codex
Fang Chen first used his spiritual energy to probe for any abnormalities with the bottle. When he didn’t detect anything strange, he opened it. Inside was a white chubby worm. It was several times larger than the one he found inside Goddess Xiao. It was most likely the mother of the Generational Silkworm.
With a tremor of his spiritual energy, both the mother of the Generational Silkworm and the bottle turned to dust.
He then opened the pouch and discovered more than a dozen white stones the size of a thumb, each filled with rich spiritual energy.
"Spirit stones? This is good stuff." Fang Chen's eyes lit up. There was a section dedicated to spirit stones in Introduction to the Three Thousand Daos. It stated that spirit stones were vital for a cultivator’s path as they increased the speed of absorption of spiritual energy, which sped up cultivation.
In addition, spirit stones were also the currency of the cultivation world. In the eyes of cultivators, gold and silver held little value compared to spirit stones. The dozen of stones Fang Chen found were consistent with the description of low-grade spirit stones. Apart from the spirit stones, Fang Chen also discovered a manual with three words written on it: Spirit Blood Codex!
"This is his cultivation technique!" Fang Chen's eyes flickered.
Fang Chen looked through the pouch once more and found a special token next to where the manual was. It had the words “Dragon Ridge Lane” inscribed on it.
Dragon Ridge Lane? This might be a market of sorts that can only be entered with a special token. A gathering place for cultivators, perhaps? Or even a gathering spot of the Spirit Blood Sect, Fang Chen thought inwardly.
Even though the Daoist had died, Fang Chen still found a thread to follow from the items he left behind.
Flipping through the Spirit Blood Codex, his expression gradually turned serious as he realized that the codex followed the path of demonic cultivation. To start cultivating the techniques within, one needed a hundred portions of human blood to condense their Spirit Blood Immortal Vein!
Once the Spirit Blood Immortal Vein was condensed, one could start absorbing the blood essence of humans, and even the higher quality blood essence of cultivators!
"Strange. This Spirit Blood Sect should not be a demonic sect. What is their background? More importantly, why are their cultivators lurking in the capital?" Fang Chen's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness.
According to the cultivation method of the Spirit Blood Sect, it was likely that the Daoist had absorbed a shocking amount of human blood essence over the years during his stay in the capital. Fang Chen could not tolerate such atrocities in the capital.
He turned to Tie Ma and ordered, “Go call Xu Ge over."
Tie Ma nodded and left. He could tell this whole ordeal was not so simple. Otherwise, Fang Chen's brow would not have been furrowed the entire time.
Not long after, Xu Ge arrived in a hurry. When he saw the Daoist's body on the ground, surprise appeared on his face, and he asked, full of curiosity, “My lord, who is this person?"
"Remember his face. And relay my words to the others: everyone should strive to uncover the identity of this Daoist," Fang Chen instructed.
Xu Ge nodded immediately. "Rest assured, my lord. I will handle this matter properly."
Shortly later, he left, and Tie Ma then took charge of cleaning up the mess left behind, as well as disposing of the Daoist’s body while Fang Chen returned to his room.
In the room, Fang Chen was playing with the spirit stones in his hands. However, in the next moment, his soul left his body. It floated upward till it could oversee the capital in its entirety.
Other than the Grand Xia River and the Imperial Palace, everywhere else was shrouded in darkness. Fang Chen’s gaze swept over the entire capital as he tried to find any clues he could get his hands on.
Nothing suspicious...
Eventually, Fang Chen’s divine soul arrived above the Imperial Palace. Suddenly, he felt his heart skip a beat. There was something nearby that caused a sense of danger to rise up in his heart.
While he was unable to pinpoint the source of that feeling, he could vaguely tell that there was something lurking in the Imperial Palace!
With a thought, Fang Chen's divine soul returned to his body.
His gaze turned towards the direction of the Imperial Palace and a light flashed in his eyes. "There should be something hidden in the Imperial Palace."
If a cultivator of the Spirit Blood Sect was hidden in the Imperial Palace, it would be a big problem.
Fang Chen's thoughts raced, and he decided not to alert them. Instead, he would slowly investigate if a connection between the Imperial Palace and the Spirit Blood Sect existed.
He was only at the second stage of Qi Refining Realm, after all. Even if he could make Purple Lightning Talismans, he might not be able to handle an entire sect of cultivators.
In these five years, I never had such a feeling. It seems like cultivating has caused a slight change in my Divine Soul.
He didn't believe that it was a coincidence. For the past five years, he had never once sensed danger in the Imperial Palace, and yet, he could sense it now. That could likely be due to his advancement to the second stage of Qi Refining Realm.
Morning the next day.
Fang Chen arrived at Goddess Xiao's room. Seeing that she was dressed neatly, he said lightly, "I'll use our family’s carriage to send you away from the capital."
"Like I’ve said, I won't leave until things are sorted out," she replied.
"That person has accomplices. If they find out you're here, do you think you can leave this place alive?" Fang Chen sneered. "Moreover, with your strength, even if you discover something, you don't have the power to do anything.”
"I heard that you have a close relationship with the third prince. Isn’t he currently a captive in my Qingsong? The two of you haven’t been in contact for a long time." Goddess Xiao's eyes flickered.
Fang Chen's eyes revealed an air of mockery. "Are you using him to threaten me?"
"No, it’s not a threat. Just think about it; you've killed so many warriors from Qingsong. If they find out, how do you think they'll treat a captive from Grand Xia? Now that I'm in your hands, at least my father will step in to ensure the safety of your prince," Goddess Xiao said, her eyes darting around.
The main reason she wanted to stay in the capital of Grand Xia was not to uncover the origin of that mysterious Daoist.
She had recalled a legend in the morning. It spoke of a power system in stronger empires that far surpassed the martial artist system, and it was likely that very power she had encountered yesterday!
Fang Chen's sudden recovery of cultivation is likely due to that as well, Goddess Xiao thought as she felt a fiery excitement within. If she was able to obtain similar power, it would be a great joy for the Qingsong Empire, and their promotion to an eighth-tier empire would be imminent.
"Goddess Xiao, you know... if you die, the third prince will likely be executed, right?" Fang Chen asked.
Goddess Xiao's face immediately showed wariness. "Fang Chen, don’t be reckless..."
"Answer me." Fang Chen looked at Goddess Xiao.
"Yes, if I die, the captive will most definitely die with me!" said Goddess Xiao in a deep voice.
"That's it! Who would want the third prince dead?" Fang Chen wondered out loud.
"Are you saying... are you saying that the person who wants me dead is related to the crown prince? He wants to kill me to force the Qingsong Empire to kill the third prince?" Goddess Xiao was slightly surprised.
Obviously, she was quite familiar with the situation in Great Xia and knew some stories of the complications between the crown prince and the third prince.
"It's just a guess. But don't you think that that makes the most sense? The crown prince learned that I've recovered my cultivation and immediately sent someone to kill you. Isn't it because he's afraid that I'll go to the Qingsong Empire and bring back the third prince?" Fang Chen smiled. "Moreover, I think I remember now where I saw that Daoist.”
"It seems like your Grand Xia isn’t as simple as it portrays..." she said, her expression solemn.
But if your empire had such power, then why did you suffer such a miserable defeat at Three World Mountain in the first place? The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.
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