Chapter 19: Jiuyou Mountain

Kacha!

When those words left Lu Jin’s mouth, Huang Yun’s molars nearly shattered from the force of his clenching.

“I really don’t know!”

Lu Jin walked over and merely raised his hand.

“I know! I know!” Huang Yun panicked. “I heard my master say that there is a stalk of Soul-Breaking Grass in the Jiuyou Mountain, three hundred miles to the north!”

Hearing Huang Yun speak, the expressions of the disciples behind him shifted involuntarily. Their shifting gazes were caught by Lu Jin’s sharp eyes. He asked: “Is it dangerous there?”

Huang Yun rolled his eyes. He had originally hoped that the guardian beast protecting the herb would kill Lu Jin and avenge him, but now it seemed he had no choice but to reveal the secret.

“Yes! There is a guardian beast, and it is incredibly powerful. You can’t beat it!”

Lu Jin smiled. “I can’t beat it?”

Huang Yun snorted and fell silent.

“Jiuyou Mountain is vast. Where exactly does the Soul-Breaking Grass grow?”

“Xianyun Ravine.”

“Thanks.” Lu Jin nodded with satisfaction.

Empress Qinglian had tasked him with finding the Soul-Breaking Fruit within three months: finding a lead on the grass now was a major victory. He didn’t care about the guardian beast; for the Empress, he was willing to risk his life.

Lu Jin turned to look at Mo Chen and Zi Xuan. “I have matters to attend to. I shall take my leave!”

The two were stunned. “Brother Lu Jin, if you leave, we might…”

They clearly lacked the confidence to keep Master Fenglang in subjection.

“It doesn’t matter. Once Ling Tao is healed, you may leave.”

Mo Chen asked: “Is it that simple?”

Lu Jin replied: “It’s that simple.”

He then looked at the resentful Huang Yun. “I can kill you, but I can also heal you. So, do not entertain any crooked thoughts.”

As his voice fell, a strand of spiritual Qi, bolstered by the restorative power of the Great Derivation Dragon Transformation Art, seeped into Huang Yun’s body. Instantly, the man’s swollen face began to heal at a visible speed, returning to its original state!

“Wait… this…” Huang Yun was dumbfounded.

He never expected Lu Jin to possess such formidable auxiliary methods. If the man was this capable, why didn’t he save the patient himself? Perhaps he couldn’t treat the specific wounds of a Snake Catcher? Regardless, Huang Yun was deeply shaken. The other disciples were equally shocked: Lu Jin was not just a martial powerhouse, but a man of unknown, secret depths.

“Thank your Shizun for me.”

Lu Jin walked to the refining cauldron, struck it with a strand of Qi, and left.

As they watched him vanish, Mo Chen and Zi Xuan felt an instinctive surge of anxiety. They weren’t sure if they would be targeted for revenge once Lu Jin was truly gone.

However, an incense stick’s time later, Master Fenglang emerged. When he saw Huang Yun’s restored face and felt the strand of Qi Lu Jin had left in the cauldron, his eyes filled with absolute shock.

Gulp!

Huang Yun, standing behind his master, heard the rare sound of the old man swallowing hard in pure greed.

“Master, about this matter, should we—”

Slap!

Before Huang Yun could finish, Master Fenglang delivered a stinging blow that caused the recently healed face to swell up once again!

“Master!”

“Shut up! Light the cauldron for me at once! I’m going to begin refining the Heaven-Earth Mysterious Yellow Pill immediately!”

“What? The Heaven-Earth Mysterious Yellow Pill? But…” The disciples were horrified.

Huang Yun was beyond speechless. That pill was something his Shizun had spent his entire life pursuing. Just what was in that strand of Qi Lu Jin had left behind?

In a mix of tension and confusion, the group began to move. Mo Chen and Zi Xuan took the opportunity to leave with Ling Tao. They were apprehensive, but once they realized no one was going to stop them, they fled with excitement. Ling Tao had regained consciousness; upon hearing that a powerful Holy Tabernacle apostle had saved him, he was overjoyed and eager to meet his benefactor.

Meanwhile, after leaving Dafeng Hall, Lu Jin charged straight toward Jiuyou Mountain. Now that he had a lead on the Soul-Breaking Grass, he had to secure it immediately before things changed.

In the past, Lu Jin wouldn’t have dared to enter Jiuyou Mountain. The forest was filled with countless demonic beasts, each of them powerful. Anyone below the Jindan Realm would be courting death by entering alone. Even Jindan experts rarely ventured in without a group: the number of experts from various factions who died there every year was significant.

But now, Lu Jin felt no fear.

Swish!

By the time he landed on a peak within the mountain range, the sky had turned dark. Through the haze, the roars of beasts echoed, enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. Not long after he entered the forest, a massive explosion boomed from between the trees. His expression shifted.

“Is someone training? And…”

A weak, nearly imperceptible fluctuation reached him. His face twisted into a mask of disbelief.

“Is that that bitch, Liu Ruyan?”

The aura of the Supreme Bone shared the same origin as his own. Even after being separated from his body for so long, Liu Ruyan had still failed to completely refine it. When the aura erupted, Lu Jin could still feel a faint, familiar resonance.

“I didn’t expect to run into her here!”

“In that case, how could I let you go!”

Swish!

Lu Jin took to the air again, flickering toward the source of the fluctuations.

Boom!

Deep in the forest, in a cleared area of chaos, a figure sat cross-legged. Waves of energy pulsed from her, causing the lush green forest around her to wither and die at a visible speed.

“Now that your Great Plundering Immortal Art has reached this level, you can plunder and devour energy at any time: your cultivation speed will increase tenfold!”

Master Fox’s voice rang in Liu Ruyan’s ear.

“Thank you for your guidance, Master Fox!”

Liu Ruyan’s voice was filled with excitement. To reach this stage, she had slaughtered an entire sect and plundered their essence blood. Combined with the Barrier-Breaking Five Elements Pill refined by Ji Yaoyue, her cultivation had successfully stepped into the 3rd-grade of the Jindan Realm.

Her actual combat power could rival a 4th-grade Jindan.

“Shizun, I now have the strength to kill Lu Jin! When the time comes, I will plunder every bit of fortune he possesses!”

Master Fox’s shrill laughter echoed: “Do not forget what you promised me.”

“Rest assured, Shizun, I would never forget!”

Liu Ruyan looked up toward the dark sky. A figure was flying toward her. When she recognized the newcomer, her eyes lit up with joy.

“Senior Brother Yang Dianfeng!”