“Last night, when Master entered Wind Chime Cottage with Pei Yu, I was hiding in the shadows.”
“Later, when Master was taken by Chu Yi into Moon Embrace Pavilion, I followed and lurked in the shadows to observe.”
“Chu Yi has a high cultivation level and keen perception; I dared not get too close, so I could only rely on sensing Master’s aura and the fluctuations of the Soul Contract from afar.”
Shen Mo was shocked upon hearing this.
Han Yi had infiltrated Moon Embrace Pavilion?
“After Master left Moon Embrace Pavilion, I intended to follow, but Chu Yi seemed to sense something and used a Secret Art to probe. To stay hidden, I had no choice but to linger temporarily.”
“Speak in plain language.”
“After Master left Moon Embrace Pavilion, I wanted to follow, but Chu Yi seemed to notice something. She used a Secret Art to search, and to conceal myself, I could only stay there for a while.”
“Besides, when Master left, Qin Shuying had already arrived at the door. Compared to that, the Dragon Marrow Liquid, which relates to Mistress’s injury, was the core thing Master came out to find this time!”
“So after weighing the options, I temporarily left Master’s side to try to obtain clues or the actual item.”
Shen Mo was stunned.
Han Yi… had gone to steal the Dragon Marrow Liquid?
Because she judged that Chu Yi wouldn’t kill him for the moment, and Qin Shuying had already arrived, making it relatively safe, so she chose to seize what he needed most?
“Then how did you get injured?”
Han Yi looked at him quietly. Through the Soul Contract, she could feel the violent turmoil of pain coming from her Master.
“It’s nothing serious, just a scrape,” she shook her head, but her small face was noticeably pale from the memory. “I couldn’t beat her. Her eyes were so strange, like they could see through all my movements…”
“I could only run away as fast as I could and hide in the Rear Mountain Flower Grove. By using the water vapor and ice spiritual power there, I barely managed to shake her off a little. Later, when dawn was about to break, Han Yi dared to sneak back to find Master…”
After speaking, she pulled something out from the pocket of her dress and, holding it in both hands, offered it to Shen Mo like a tribute.
“Master, look! Although Han Yi couldn’t beat that bad woman and was a mess while running… I didn’t just do nothing!”
With a hint of pride as if showing off, she said, “I stole this from her!”
It was a palm-sized box, pure white like jade, cool to the touch, carved with intricate and ancient cloud patterns.
The craftsmanship was exquisite, the material top-grade, faintly radiating inner spiritual light.
It was clearly no ordinary item.
The lid was tightly shut, seamless, hiding whatever was inside.
A wild thought spread through his body like wildfire.
Could it be…
Could it be…?
Shen Mo took it.
But no matter how hard he tried, the lid of the Jade Box wouldn’t budge.
“I tried. It has an extremely advanced prohibition seal on it. There’s no way to open it,” Han Yi paused, “But Peak Master Qin should be able to.”
Shen Mo immediately picked up the Child Talisman on the table.
He gathered his Spiritual Power and slowly began to carve on it.
He recounted the events and then sent the message.
Time stretched infinitely in the anxious wait.
Every breath felt like a century.
Soon, Qin Shuying arrived.
There was no Spiritual Power fluctuation, no sound of breaking air, not even a stir in the atmosphere.
It was as if a quiet painting had been gently disturbed.
A tall, solitary figure like a lone pine tree had suddenly, solidly, materialized in the center of the room.
“The item.” She was concise, extending her hand.
Shen Mo didn’t dare hesitate. He quickly pulled the warm Jade Box from his bosom and handed it over with both hands.
Qin Shuying took the Jade Box. It was slightly heavy in her hand and cold to the touch.
She didn’t immediately try to open it. Instead, she first used her Divine Sense to carefully probe it.
The prohibition seal on the Jade Box was indeed advanced, not something brute force could break.
It was linked to the holder’s Spirit Soul or a specific bloodline aura.
She frowned almost imperceptibly.
“How did you obtain it? Explain in detail, don’t leave out any detail.”
Qin Shuying raised her eyes, looking at Han Yi, her voice icy.
Under her gaze, Han Yi instinctively straightened her small frame.
Though nervous, she clearly recounted how she had been discovered and chased by Chu Yi last night, and how she had stolen the Jade Box along the way.
It was basically the same story she had told Shen Mo.
Qin Shuying’s thoughts raced.
But regardless, with the item missing, Chu Yi would never let the matter rest.
Given her nature and resources, she would likely make a move soon.
She looked at Shen Mo. “What do you plan to do? Return this item? Or try to open it?”
Shen Mo rubbed his chin.
Return it?
Wouldn’t that be walking right into the trap?
And what if it was the Dragon Marrow Liquid inside… How could he let it go?
Open it?
Not to mention whether they could open it, once they did, alerting Chu Yi would have unimaginable consequences…
But thinking about Su Wan’er, he still gritted his teeth and said, “Open it.”
“Good.” Qin Shuying responded with no expression.
Using her sword as a pen, she laid down an isolation formation on the ground.
She set up an even more stringent Sword Qi Barrier inside the room, cutting off all internal and external Divine Sense, ensuring no mishaps.
Then she placed the gleaming white Jade Box in the center of the formation.
She extended her right hand, index and middle fingers together. At her Fingertip, a point of ice-blue Sword Qi suddenly gathered.
This was a highly advanced Heavenly Sword Peak Secret Art for probing prohibitions, named “Sword Heart Ripples.”
It used one’s own Sword Intent as a guide to simulate countless subtle oscillations of Sword Qi, probing the structure of the prohibition seal and the internal details without triggering the Core Restriction.
The Sword Qi, needle-like, approached the Rune on the box.
Her movements were slow, her mind fully focused.
Clearly, even for her, breaking the prohibition seal of this Jade Box was no easy task.
Time flowed in silence.
No one knew how long passed before the Sword Qi at her fingertip suddenly brightened.
It oscillated several times in a profound frequency, and the Rune flowing on the Jade Box’s surface abruptly halted.
A mechanical “click” sounded.
The lid of the Jade Box did not spring open, but at the seam where the lid met the body, the previously tight line loosened, revealing a gap thinner than a hair.
The energy leaking from it was rather peculiar.
It had the gentle, mellow richness of a natural treasure.
It was also the nourishing aura of the Soul-purifying Dragon Marrow Essence.
But mixed within was a sinister aura that sent chills down one’s spine!
Though only a trace, it instantly dropped the temperature of the entire room.
A cold shiver ran up Shen Mo’s spine, straight to his head. A nauseating churn stirred in his stomach.
Qin Shuying’s heart tightened. Her Divine Sense probed in first.
The moment it touched the contents of the box, her expression changed drastically.
Inside the box was a lump of evil substance wrapped in thick, dark red spiritual light.
It seemed to slowly writhe within, as if alive, emitting a nauseating stench and the blood aura of forcibly extracted and refined Yang Essence.
Its form was unstable, neither gas nor liquid.
Vaguely visible inside were countless tiny, twisted faces of young men, full of pain and despair, silently biting and struggling, only to be tightly bound and refined by the dark red light.
What was even more hair-raising was that, from that mass, she clearly sensed at least several dozen distinct pure Yang Essences belonging to different young men!
These auras should have been warm, but were now mixed with fear, resentment, and spite.
They had been forcibly fused together, forming an object of extreme yin and extreme evil, yet paradoxically possessing a vast source of life force!
Just one glance made Shen Mo feel his Spirit Soul throb and his Sea of Consciousness clouded.
This was a forbidden object refined from living humans, extracting their Yang Essence, soul, and life essence through evil Secret Arts!
Instantly, the notices of “disappearances of handsome young men” he had seen along the way, the strange vanishing of the City Lord’s male consorts, all the clues connected in his mind.
So the mastermind behind it, or at least one of the participants, was none other than this seemingly aloof and noble Immortal Maiden, Chu Yi!
What did Chu Yi need such an object for?
To cultivate some forbidden evil technique?
To perform some sinister ritual?
Or for some other purpose?
Earlier, she had worried that, having lost something so important, Chu Yi would conduct a massive search at any cost, even alarming Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion.
Now it seemed Chu Yi was probably more afraid than they were of this being exposed!
She would only investigate secretly, never daring to make it public.
The moment the aura leaked, Qin Shuying’s left hand moved like lightning.
An invisible Sword Qi barrier instantly shredded and purified the trace of leaked aura, while her right hand clasped down fiercely!
“Boom!”
A dull thud, and the lid of the Jade Box was forcefully shut.
Just then, another anomaly occurred!
Embedded in the inner wall of the box’s bottom, a communication talisman the size of a grain of rice had already activated upon light exposure. Ignoring all prohibitions, it shot into the void.
A Tracking Communication Talisman!
And the most top-tier, most covert kind!
The atmosphere in the small room instantly dropped to freezing point.
Yet no trace of panic appeared on Qin Shuying’s face.
She used her own Spiritual Power to add several more layers of seals outside the box, blocking most of the evil aura’s leakage.
Perhaps influenced by her, Shen Mo’s heart was also surprisingly calm.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“If she doesn’t come to me, I’ll go to her,” Qin Shuying paused, her gaze falling back on the sealed Jade Box, and she said slowly, “When she comes, we’ll use this box to trade with her for the Soul-purifying Dragon Marrow Essence.”
Trade an evil object for a life-saving holy medicine?!
Shen Mo’s heart jolted.
This… was this possible?
“Refining such a sinister object is a grave transgression against the world. Even if she is Yun He’s daughter, once this is exposed, she will become a target for everyone,” she said with a smile. “This box is now the most valuable bargaining chip in our hands.”
“Will Chu Yi really agree?”
“She has no choice. The evil object is in our hands, a sword hanging over her head. She must ensure its recovery. While the Dragon Marrow Liquid is precious, it isn’t something she can’t part with.”
Shen Mo reminded her, “Since she dares to refine this object, she must have accomplices or guardians around her. They might try to kill us to silence us.”
A sharp glint flashed in Qin Shuying’s eyes. “With me here, what’s there to fear? If they really dare to make a move, I’d welcome it.”
She paused. “Besides, inside Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion, in broad daylight, she wouldn’t dare.”
The moment she finished speaking, a powerful aura suddenly enveloped the room!
Chu Yi had arrived.
The aura wasn’t violent, but like an invisible tide, it instantly permeated every inch of the small courtyard.
A woman’s voice, impossible to read as pleased or angry, echoed in the Sea of Consciousness of the three:
“Qin Shuying, hand over the person and the item.”
Han Yi’s expression sharpened.
She sensed that at the four corners outside the small courtyard, besides Chu Yi, at least four extremely subtle but equally formidable energy fluctuations were silently lurking!
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