Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen contacted Zhou Siyi using the Communication Jade Slip.
The two met outside the Human Serpent Workshop.
Zhou Siyi was visibly delighted to see Song Wen.
"Junior Brother, what brings you here?"
"I was worried about your safety, so I came to check on you," Song Wen said.
"I'm doing just fine, Junior Brother. There's no need to worry," Zhou Siyi replied.
"Senior Sister, everything in Forgotten World Ridge is stable now. Why don't you come back to Qingluo Mountain with me?" Song Wen suggested.
Zhou Siyi said, "Junior Brother, Daoist Mu once helped me. I promised her that I would serve at the Human Serpent Workshop for twenty years, so I can't leave just yet. Besides, the workshop has many elixirs and spiritual herbs for spirit beasts. Here, I can quickly enhance the strength of my Shadow Gu. Ten years ago, the Shadow Gu had already reached the mid-stage of the third rank. Perhaps in a few more years, it will break through to the late-stage of the third rank."
Song Wen said, "Senior Sister, don't pour too much energy into raising human serpents and gu insects, lest your own cultivation falls behind."
Zhou Siyi replied, "Don't worry, Junior Brother. The He Huan Sect has treated me well, providing me with generous benefits. I lack neither Spirit Sense nor elixirs."
"That's good to hear," Song Wen said.
Zhou Siyi added, "I owe it all to you, Junior Brother. Without your support, the He Huan Sect wouldn't have treated me with such respect."
After chatting for a while longer, Song Wen left Pure Lake and returned to Qingluo Mountain.
With only seven years left before the opening of the Divine Blood Hall, Song Wen no longer focused solely on cultivation. Instead, he began preparing life-saving measures.
First, he crafted Substitute Puppets—the more, the better. Song Wen ended up making a total of twenty.
Next were defensive treasures. Although the Blood Sea Seal could be used for both offense and defense, he couldn't just reveal his life-bound treasure at the slightest sign of danger.
With a flick of his hand, a small shield about an inch in size appeared in Song Wen's palm.
The shield was pitch black, covered in snake-like scales.
This shield was a top-grade treasure called the Dark Scale Shield. It was a gift from Ding Yan, who had been ordered by Song Wen to acquire a top-grade defensive treasure from another sect.
According to Ding Yan, he had obtained the shield by chance, but his cultivation wasn't sufficient to wield it, so he offered it to Song Wen.
In return, Song Wen rewarded him with a low-grade soul defense treasure, and Ding Yan left overjoyed.
Next were escape methods.
Two Minor Teleportation Talismans.
Two Qinggang Swift Movement Talismans.
Although the latter was far less miraculous than the former, it could still be useful for fleeing.
Apart from these, Song Wen's most proficient escape technique was naturally the Blood Escape Technique.
Using the Blood Escape Technique required consuming vital blood. At his current level, Song Wen could escape about three hundred miles at the cost of all his vital blood.
After crafting the Blood Sea Seal, he could directly absorb vital blood from it. Excess vital blood in his body could also be refined into the Blood Sea Seal.
The amount of vital blood within the Blood Sea Seal was as vast as an ocean to Song Wen.
With his current cultivation, even at full power, he could only mobilize about twenty percent of the blood energy within the Blood Sea Seal.
Thus, he no longer lacked vital blood and didn't need to carry it separately as he had in the past.
Finally, Song Wen carried some highly toxic substances, just in case.
Time flew by, and seven years passed in the blink of an eye.
To avoid any mishaps, Song Wen set out for the Tuocang Mountains a month before the Divine Blood Hall was set to open.
As they ventured deeper into the Tuo Cang Mountain Range, the traces of cultivators became increasingly sparse.
The mountains stood tall and majestic, layer upon layer.
Between the ridges, countless towering trees rose like swords pointing towards the heavens.
The forests were teeming with various poisonous creatures and demonic beasts.
There were venomous pythons as large as water vats, tigers several zhang long, and packs of hungry wolves...
In the sky, eagles occasionally soared out to hunt.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Song Wen did not provoke these demonic beasts.
He carefully avoided them, focusing solely on his journey towards the Divine Blood Hall.
Four days later, a colossal mountain came into Song Wen's view.
The mountain soared a hundred li high, piercing through the clouds.
At the foot of the mountain, five figures were already hovering in the air.
The five were Gou Jun from the Corpse Demon Sect, Tai He and Xi Ling from the Nine Palaces Sect, Xue Cangqiong from the Crimson Blood Sect, and Gui Ni from the Profound Yin Sect.
Although Song Wen had never met the other three except for Gou Jun and Tai He, these three were renowned figures in the Immortal Cultivation World, and Song Wen could recognize them at a glance.
In front of the five, there was a sheer cliff that rose a thousand zhang high.
The cliff was pitch black, smooth as a mirror.
This cliff was the entrance to the Divine Blood Hall.
After Song Wen's Spirit Sense advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage, his Spirit Sense range reached three hundred li. With the enhancement of the Shadow Gu, he could now detect a range of four hundred and fifty li.
This already surpassed the four hundred li Spirit Sense range of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator.
Therefore, although Song Wen had detected the five, even Gou Jun, who had the highest cultivation among them, had not noticed Song Wen.
Concerned that the five might pose a threat to him, Song Wen found a hidden cave and concealed himself, not rushing to reveal his presence.
Additionally, Song Wen found it strange that the Nine Palaces Sect had sent two people at the same time.
Previously, for the sake of the Bronze Key Coffin in the Nether Soul Hall, Tai He had risked sending Xue Mei to retrieve it.
Xue Mei was his cauldron for advancing to the late Nascent Soul stage. If anything were to happen to Xue Mei, Tai He's efforts of over a hundred years would be in vain.
Song Wen had thought that Tai He's decision was due to the Nine Palaces Sect's urgent need for the Bronze Key Coffin.
For the sake of the Divine Transformation method, he had no choice but to take the risk.
Now, with both Tai He and Xi Ling arriving together, it was quite intriguing.
Did they already possess two Bronze Key Coffins? Or were they plotting something else?
Two days later.
Four more figures arrived.
They were Yang Yu from the Beastmaster Sect, Lan Chen from the He Huan Sect, Mi Hai from the Mixed Yuan Temple, and Mo Yexue from the Profound Heaven Sword Sect.
The top cultivators from the eight major sects, both righteous and evil, had gathered here. However, the expected tension did not arise. Instead, both sides greeted each other quite amicably.
Only Tai He and Xi Ling, when they looked at Mi Hai, had a slightly hostile glint in their eyes.
"May the Buddha have mercy. Fellow cultivators Xi Ling and Tai He, it seems you hold some resentment towards this humble monk?"
Tai He said, "Bald monk, twenty years ago, you, along with Xiao Chan and Fayan, ambushed me and my senior sister Xi Ling, causing us severe injuries. It's time to settle this debt."
Mi Hai clasped his hands together, his expression unchanged.
"Fellow cultivator Tai He, that ambush was orchestrated by Fayan. Now that Fayan is dead, why not let the grievances fade with the wind?"
Tai He sneered, "Mi Hai, you bald monks are all hypocrites, daring to act but not to take responsibility. You even shift all the blame onto a dead man."
As he spoke, Tai He directly took out his Plaguefall Banner.
Xi Ling also summoned a flying sword.
It seemed the two were ready to take action at any moment.
Seeing the situation, Mi Hai knew that he was outnumbered. Moreover, behind Tai He and Xi Ling stood three top-tier demonic cultivators.
No one could guarantee that these three wouldn't seize the opportunity to strike.
Thus, Mi Hai turned his gaze towards Lan Chen, Yang Yu, and Mo Yexue.
If the three righteous cultivators spoke up in his support, Tai He and Xi Ling wouldn't dare to act against him.
After all, everyone had gathered here for the Divine Transformation method within the Divine Blood Hall. It was unlikely that they would engage in a full-blown fight before even entering the Divine Blood Hall.
However, to Mi Hai's disappointment, none of the three—Lan Chen, Yang Yu, or Mo Yexue—stepped forward to support him. Instead, they slowly retreated several dozen meters.
(End of the Chapter)
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