Chapter 1359: Undercurrents
A ball of faint white light floated out from the forest. It contained a longboat that stretched over sixty meters wide.
The boat was divided into two stories and seemed to be crafted entirely from fine jade. The boat was engraved with simple cloud designs. Gold and silver talisman characters also floated from its surface, producing an unordinary aura.
The jade boat shuddered. Suddenly, the silver and golden talisman characters exploded, turning into a white cloud that wrapped around the boat. The entire boat appeared like an unremarkable white cloud.
The huge cloud soon circled in the air and silently rushed off.
Although the cloud appeared to be gently flying through the air, it traveled at extreme speed, tearing through three hundred meters in an instant. Its speed was comparable to an ordinary Deity Transformation cultivator.
As Xiao Hong stood on top of the boat, she looked around and praised, “Not bad. Although a spirit boat suitable for travel can’t be considered rare, one this fast is a top-grade good. As expected for the Long Clan, an owner of a human auction house.”
Long Dong politely said, “Hehe, Fairy Xiao praises me too greatly. Your clan is one of the seven great demon clans. You must’ve seen every kind of treasure. My Spirit Cloud Boat’s speed can’t be more than acceptable in your eyes. However, the boat does have quite a space. There are at least a dozen rooms. Apart from one person needing to keep watch on the outside, everyone else can rest in a room. If it goes smoothly, we’ll arrive in half a year. With some cultivation, it’ll pass by quickly.”
Xiao Hong nodded, “That is good. We’ll take ten days turns keeping watch while the others can do as they wish on the boat. Everyone should select their rooms first.”
The others raised no objections and found a satisfactory room on the boat.
Since it was their place to rest and meditate, they placed down other restrictions in the room to protect them from prying eyes.
Then after a short discussion, the watch rotation was decided.
As it so happened, Han Li was the last position in the rotation. That gave him forty days before he had to keep watch.
With all of that arranged, Han Li didn’t chat more with the others and headed into his room instead.
The others had done the same, apart from Long Dong, who held the first watch.
With Long Dong alone on board, his lips twitched and he made his way to the front of the boat. He flipped his hand and produced a green mat.
He then sat down on it cross-legged.
The blood marked youth quietly muttered, “Half a year... I look forward to the day that arrives.” Then, he slowly closed his eyes and wore an odd smile on his face.
In a room ten meters wide, Xiao Hong and the white-browed youth took a seat across from each other.
“What? You’re saying that young girl Xie Ying possesses Heavenly Phoenix Blood and is a disciple of the True Spirit Noble Clan?” The youth said with an astonished face.
Xiao Hong solemnly said, “Why is Fellow Daoist Li so surprised. Your Dark Falcon Clan is also a rare species of bird. You must’ve felt something. As for our Black Phoenix Clan, although we are a side branch of the phoenix clan, the purity of our heavenly phoenix blood is far greater than what that girl possesses. But there is no doubt about the presence of phoenix blood in her body.”
The white-browed sighed and wore an odd expression, “So it was like that! When I first saw that girl, I felt ill at ease, like there was a slight sensation of fear, so I was somewhat at a loss when we entered the forest. So why did Fairy Xiao tell me this?”
“It’s just that if the girl has other true spirit blood on her, it would’ve been fine. But she has the Heavenly Phoenix Blood of the myriad bird king. Brother Li should understand what this means.” Xiao Hong sweetly smiled, but her eyes were ice cold.
The white-browed youth grew silent for a moment before letting out a cold laugh. “Of course I understand. But don’t forget how important the elders told us to treat this mission. If we let personal matters get in the way of the clan’s mission, then our lives are forfeit, regardless if we managed to acquire Heavenly Phoenix Blood.”
Xiao Hong chuckled, “When did I say I wanted to attack her before the mission was over. We’ll have to first make sure that the mission is completed. Then we’ll strike.”
“Strike after the mission is over? Oh, if it doesn’t affect the mission, that’ll be possible. But will the other two help her? Even if we take back the True Phoenix Blood, how will we divide it? The blood can’t be evenly divided.” The white-browed youth blinked and he shook his head.
Xiao Hong gritted her teeth and said, “The Heavenly Phoenix Blood is useful to us both, but its effects are more pronounced on those from the Black Phoenix Clan. How about this? If Brother Li helped me acquire the spirit blood, I am willing to reward him with three black flame pills. As for the other two, I have a plan to deal with them. Furthermore, the Black Leaves Forest wasn’t a safe area to begin with. They might not safely return.”
“Three Black Flame Pills? You aren’t joking?” The white-browed youth said with delight.
Xiao Hong wryly smiled and said, “I have some status in the Black Phoenix Clan. Although the pills are considered priceless, after many years, I’ve managed to accumulate enough ingredients for three. I planned on using them to enter Spatial Tempering stage.”
After a moment of thought, the youth frowned and said, “So it was like that. I’ll lend you a hand after the mission is over. However, the blood won’t be easy to take. Especially true blood from the true spirit noble clans. It will be difficult to acquire after they fused it into their human bodies.”
“Don’t worry, the Black Phoenix Clan have a particular method of extracting true blood. It had been well researched. I have an eighty percent chance at the very least.”
When the white-browed youth heard this, he nodded, “Since you are so confident, then fine.”
...
In the other room, the young white-robed woman Xie Ying clasped her hands with an incantation gesture. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed. There was a meter-wide azure halo slowly floating behind her head.
Upon closer inspection, the halo was perfectly round with foot-tall white flames flickered from its edges. There was also a hollow silhouette meditating at its center.
From its appearance through its radiance, it appeared similar to the woman, but was several times smaller. Its eyes were shut and its hand was held in an incantation gesture.
At an unknown time, the young woman’s mouth began to stir and an indistinct smile appeared on her face. At nearly the same time, the image in the halo wore a similar expression.
...
As Han Li paced in the secluded room, he wore an expressionless face and his eyes flickered as if he were lost in thought.
In the corner of the room, there were two small objects on the jade table.
There was a kitten sized leopard with its four legs lazily stretched out on the table next to the items.
Sitting on the small leopard’s head was a monkey only several inches tall. Black light lit up from its fur and it looked at Han Li with intelligent eyes.
Han Li suddenly stopped pacing and he flipped his hand to produce a white jade slip and a small bottle.
The bottle was simply decorated and had three ancient characters engraved on it. Under closer inspection, the words read Earth Cleansing Pill.
Han Li stroked the bottle with a finger and then sighed. In a flash of light, the bottle disappeared. All that remained was a jade slip.
The jade slip was something that was given to him by several mysterious cultivators before he left Deep Heaven City.
Han Li fiddled with the jade slip for a while before placing it against his forehead.
The jade slip continued a huge map, but it seemed to be mostly incomplete. The map’s lacking areas were shining with faint golden light.
Although he looked through it continuously, Han Li couldn't help but continue as if he was trying to find something inside it.
...
Countless kilometers away from Deep Heaven City, there was a hidden underground room where a monk and a Daoist sat across from each other next to a stone table.
The Daoist appeared over forty years old. He had big eyes, thick eyebrows, and faintly golden skin.
The monk appeared old and had a white beard that was a half-foot long. Wrinkles littered his face and his eyes were thin lines as if he couldn't open them.
“It is about time for them to meet together and head on their way.” The old man said weakly.
“Yes, but there is something that eludes me. Why did Brother Jin Yue suddenly changed from his original plan after he left seclusion? Why did you send those Juniors to a foreign land?
Those people were supposed to be the most outstanding of the newly ascended cultivators. You should clearly understand that the mission to receive intelligence from the foreign land may seem simple, but it is truly dangerous. The demon clans would send equivalent people, but in truth, they seem to have other plans.” The Daoist priest spoke with a puzzled face.
“The various races have become restless. You should know this.” The old monk said.
When the Daoist Priest heard the old monk, his heart trembled and he wore a solemn expression. “Of course. But there is a newly appeared profound heavenly treasure that is listed on the chaotic myriad spirit roll. Furthermore, it is a profound heavenly treasure that ranks in the top three. The Profound Heavenly Execution Sword!”