Climbing up the cliff, the moon was bright and the stars were numerous, with the incessant chirping of insects in the wilderness.
Yue Jinghua stored the bag of Dark Pills and the Jade Box within Mo Xi's Sea of Consciousness.
One hundred and fifty Third-level Dark Pills gathered together, forming Dark Energy that was enough to attract the attention of the nearby Dark Beasts and even the masters concealed within the Free Market.
The common man is innocent, but possession of the treasure incriminates him; if she was conspicuous in her previous life, in this life, Yue Jinghua understood even better how to conceal the sharpness around her.
As if nothing had happened, she descended the mountain and headed towards Old Xia Grocery Store as usual.
The doors of the grocery store were tightly locked. She pretended to ask around and only after learning that Old Xia had gone on a long trip did she randomly find a shop to sell the carcass of the Iron Spine Tiger, skin and bones included.
After returning to the inn where she was staying and checking the doors and windows, Yue Jinghua immediately entered Mo Xi's Sea of Consciousness.
In the Star Sea, the Jade Box bathed in the ethereal starlit sky.
The spiritual body of Qing Pu sat cross-legged and floated within the Star Sea, and when he saw Yue Jinghua, his good-looking eyebrows raised slightly.
Yue Jinghua understood what was on his mind; today, she indeed owed Qing Pu a favor.
The sudden spiritual attack from the gray-robed old man caught her off guard. At that moment, Yue Jinghua only felt a thunderous boom in her head and her whole body seemed to sink into a deep abyss of mud, unable to extricate herself.
In that dire situation, had Qing Pu been even a moment slower, she might have suffered from mental damage and risked losing her life.
"Thanks for your help just now. What Dark Skill did you use to strike down that gray-clothed elder?" The gray-robed elder's cultivation was poor, at most only at the Human Dark Fifth Layer, but he specialized in Spiritual Attacks. In this aspect, his strength was comparable to that of a Dark Jade Master.
Qing Pu adopted a proud and coy "was waiting for you to ask" demeanor, standing tall in his green Wizard Robe under the stars, which seemed to be draped with a layer of silvery gray, "That was a Spiritual Attack. Do you want to learn it?"
Yue Jinghua remained silent.
"It's easy if you want to learn; to study with a mentor, one needs to provide compensation. If you want to learn the technique I used to kill the descendants of the Shen Family earlier, take out the Dark Pills you got today."
"What?" Yue Jinghua was startled. A Third-level Dark Pill was worth a thousand Gold Coins each, which amounted to more than one hundred thousand Gold Coins.
"The long-lost spiritual attack technique of Canglong Continent—Divine Piercing Technique, just for one hundred and fifty Third-level Dark Pills. This price is already favorable, considering you've been feeding the cannibalism Pu these days," Qing Pu's phoenix eyes rose, and his long lashes fluttered like moth wings.
Yue Jinghua rolled her eyes, remained silent, and began to study the Jade Box that she had obtained from the gray-robed elder.
"No need to look anymore; that is a Divine Soul Jade Box left by a Bronze Summoner. It can only be opened by a Summoner of Bronze Level or above using their spiritual power special skill. It's impervious to water and fire, immune to sword and gun," Qing Pu's smugness intensified, eyeing Yue Jinghua until she was expected to burst into a thunderous rage.
But to his surprise, upon hearing this, Yue Jinghua silently pondered for a moment, then briskly threw the bag of Dark Pills over to him.
Qing Pu caught it unprepared, stunned for a moment, before tossing a summoning light sphere to Yue Jinghua.
Yue Jinghua popped the light sphere, and new lines of text appeared in her mind, "Divine Stab, a basic Spiritual Power Technique; at the basic level, it can directly attack the Divine Soul causing confusion and greatly reducing defensive power. When practiced to a high-level, it can kill people imperceptibly..."
On Canglong Continent, the strength of one's spiritual power largely depends on the strength of their will. Due to her experiences in her previous life, Yue Jinghua's spiritual power was unexpectedly strong. In her hands, the Divine Piercing Technique was mastered overnight.
After practicing the Divine Piercing Technique several times, Yue Jinghua felt that the Dark Energy within her Dantian was about to overflow, seemingly on the verge of a breakthrough.
Ever since advancing into Human Dark, Yue Jinghua had been trying every possible method to break through the last layer of Human Dark and strike at Dark Jade. Unexpecting to touch the edge of Dark Jade tonight, she quickly focused her energy into her Dantian and started cultivating the Nine Revolutions Creation Technique.
The Dark Energy inside her body continuously transformed; almost simultaneously, inside Mo Xi's Sea of Consciousness, the starlight condensed and a star slowly rose, its azure light shining brightly within the Sea of Consciousness.
Under the starlight, the Mo Xi Treasure Book fluttered without wind, and on the second blank page, which had never shown any signs of activity, text began to appear.
The night continued, all in silence.
Yue Jinghua did not realize that her unscrupulous deeds of killing and looting today had caused a significant upheaval somewhere in Hundred Beast Mountain.
The night was desolate, around midnight, the entire market was empty, with the occasional down-and-out, drunk mercenary, armor agape, burping alcohol, sprawled drunk on the street corners.
In a normally deserted and quiet area, several ghostly figures silently and in unison darted into Old Xia Grocery Store.
After a bout of searching, a few people emerged into the moonlight, revealing their figures.
A cold interrogation sounded: "Where is palace disciple Xia Shang?" A young man with a grim expression, surrounded by three or four white-clad guards, stood in the corner of the grocery store.
All these people were uniformly clad in white Magic Robes, with exquisite cloud-shaped embroidery on their lapels.
"Mr. Song, palace disciple Xia Shang is missing. The Summoning Treasure Book he mentioned in his letter is here," those white-clad guards searched the grocery store and found the damaged Bronze Summoning Manual.
"Find Xia Shang's whereabouts as soon as possible," the young man departed swiftly as the wind, disappearing in an instant.
That man quickly left the Free Market and hastened towards the direction of Hundred Beast Mountain.
Arriving at the cliff that Yue Jinghua once descended during the day, a chilly breeze rose from the ground, like the throbbing throat of someone catching a cold, emitting a whining sound.
A few withered leaves were whipped into a vortex, blocking the man's path forward.
The man's expression suddenly changed, and he prostrated on the ground, "Greetings to Divine Son."
Under the moonlight, a cold figure descended silently like the moonlight itself.
Purple pupils in the dark night shone like stars, forbidding any direct gaze.
The man presented the manual, "Divine Son, the Summoning Treasure Book requested by the Elder Council is here."
"Where did this Treasure Book originate from?" the man with purple pupils asked indifferently.
The young man named Song Mu mustered his courage and lifted his head, sneaking a glance at the purple-eyed man. He saw that between his brows seemed to bloom a sky full of stars, dazzling beyond measure, and a feeling of reverence spontaneously rose in his heart.
"It came from palace disciple number 101, Xia Shang, deployed in Shang Kingdom, who had previously been in charge of running the grocery store around Hundred Beast Mountain. He left the store this morning and has been missing since," said Song Mu, a Judge Envoy responsible for communication among palace disciples within Shang Kingdom's borders on behalf of the Divine Court.
"Song Mu, do you realize your crime?" the purple-eyed man placed a finger on Song Mu's shoulder. Without using any force, Song Mu felt his entire body stiffen, as if crushed by gravity, his blood flowing in reverse, sweat bursting out instantly.
"If you, as a Judge Envoy, can't even account for whether your palace disciples are alive or dead, what use does the Divine Court have for you?" In the arms of the purple-eyed man lay a wounded female Wind-calling Eagle.
Song Mu's body trembled uncontrollably, his throat stuck as if a fishbone lodged within, unable to speak.
Just when he was most anxious, the weight on his shoulders suddenly lightened, and the powerful Dark Power that had suppressed him vanished like smoke.
The purple-eyed man stood with his back to the wind: "Considering it's your first offense, I won't pursue it for now. These next few days, dispatch subordinates to monitor any activity around Hundred Beast Mountain, and keep an eye out for any large-scale transactions of Dark Pills. In addition, a precious relic is about to emerge in the capital of Shang Kingdom. You will accompany me there tomorrow morning, heading to Shang Kingdom."
Song Mu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately left to carry out the order.
After Song Mu departed, a faint light shone in the hands of the purple-eyed man. Beneath the light screen, the severe wounds on the Wind-calling Eagle healed rapidly.
What was even more unbelievable was that the female eagle's feathers turned from the initial dull gray to a deeper gray, advancing to the next rank.
Advancement, from a Third-stage Wind-calling Eagle directly to a Fourth-level Gray Lamenting Eagle.
"You did very well this time and lost your mate, consider this advancement a small reward. The Divine Court has always been clear about rewards and punishments," the fierce female eagle gently lowered her head, cooing a few times, her eyes filled with respect.
The purple-eyed man walked to the edge of the cliff, staring at the pitch-black abyss, and murmured: "The Summoner's Divine Soul Jade Box." It was as if he was asking or lamenting; his light sigh was carried far away by the mountain wind.
Ahead, in the direction of Shang Kingdom's capital, the clouds dyed red by the morning light began to brighten gradually.