Chapter 766: Fright

The next moment, a figure wearing the robes of a Celestial Treasure Upper Sect Elder, his expression solemn, broke through the mist and landed steadily before the two of them. It was none other than Gong Nansong.

“Elder Gong!”

Ruan Lingxiu’s eyes lit up at the sight of him, and she hurried forward to pay her respects.

Gong Nansong’s sharp gaze swept across the devastated battlefield, finally landing on Lü Hanyin’s corpse, which was pinned to the reef by the Profound Dragon Spear. His brow furrowed as he asked in a deep voice, “Just now, I sensed the auras of the Cloud Water Upper Sect clashing with someone here. What happened? This person… is it Lü Hanyin?”

He had clearly recognized the Demon Sect Elder.

Ruan Lingxiu briefly recounted what had happened: how they had found Lü Hanyin, joined forces against their enemies, killed Zhang Huaguo, and forced Feng Yu to retreat. She then explained how the three from the Cloud Water Upper Sect had appeared, intending to forcibly seize the Nine Nether Yin Fiend, only to be scared away by Elder Gong’s aura.

When Gong Nansong heard “Nine Nether Yin Fiend,” his eyes also lit up slightly. But upon hearing that Chen Qing had killed Lü Hanyin in a direct confrontation, he couldn’t help but give Chen Qing a deep look.

Slaying a Powerful Elder of the Demon Sect was a great accomplishment!

Ruan Lingxiu’s gaze was ice-cold as she looked in the direction the trio from the Cloud Water Sect had fled. “Those three certainly ran fast,” she said coldly. “Otherwise, if we had killed them all here today, it would have solved the problem once and for all. We could have framed the Demon Sect for it. As long as we cleaned up properly, the Cloud Water Sect wouldn’t have been able to find anything.”

This was no empty threat. Since the Cloud Water Upper Sect had been the first to act without honor, they felt no need to abide by such principles either.

Without concrete evidence, there was nothing the Cloud Water Upper Sect could do.

Hearing this, Gong Nansong’s expression turned strange. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but his face suddenly paled. He couldn’t help but cough, and a trickle of dark red blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

“Elder Gong, what’s wrong?” Chen Qing immediately sensed something was amiss and took a step forward to ask.

‘Gong Nansong came as reinforcements, so how could he be so seriously injured?’

Ruan Lingxiu also wore a look of confusion and concern.

“Let’s leave this place first. We’ll talk once we find somewhere quiet.”

Gong Nansong waved his hand, forcibly suppressing the churning qi and blood within his body.

Chen Qing nodded and strode over to the bodies of Lü Hanyin and Zhang Huaguo, bending down to search them carefully.

He found two Jade Boxes and five Porcelain Bottles on Lü Hanyin.

From Zhang Huaguo, he found his customary weapon—a black, short ruler—and two bottles of Elixirs.

After quickly stowing these items away, Chen Qing left the gloomy and cold Ghost Cry Ravine with Gong Nansong and Ruan Lingxiu, finding a secluded, uninhabited island nearby to settle on.

Gong Nansong swallowed an Elixir and entered a meditative state to regulate his breathing.

Chen Qing and Ruan Lingxiu began sorting through their spoils.

Zhang Huaguo’s black ruler possessed considerable spirituality; it was actually a Low-Grade Spiritual Treasure. Although they didn’t know its specific name, the fact that Zhang Huaguo had kept it as his trump card meant its power was surely impressive.

The rest were two bottles of True Essence Pills. When they were uncorked, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. A count revealed a total of thirteen pills, which were worth a small fortune.

One had to understand that for rogue cultivators, or even for the experts of Black Water Giant City, True Essence Pills were hard currency. To have accumulated so many showed how wealthy he was.

The two Jade Boxes from Lü Hanyin’s body were even greater treasures.

Upon opening the Jade Boxes, a dense medicinal aroma mixed with pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi rushed out. Lying quietly inside were two medicinal herbs of different shapes, both of which were an astonishing fifty years old!

Both Chen Qing and Ruan Lingxiu were greatly and pleasantly surprised.

A strange light flickered in Ruan Lingxiu’s beautiful eyes. “The older a Treasure Medicine is, the more its value multiplies,” she said softly. “The medicinal properties of a fifty-year-old Treasure Medicine are potent and mellow, far beyond what a thirty-year one can compare to. Its value is at least several times greater. If we were to exchange these two Treasure Medicines, they would be worth no less than twenty thousand Contribution Points!”

Next, they inspected the five Porcelain Bottles one by one. They didn’t contain Elixirs, but rather a deep blue Spirit Liquid that emanated an aura of ultimate yin and cold. It was the very Cold Marrow True Dew that Ruan Lingxiu had mentioned before!

Her eyes couldn’t help but light up at this, a look of longing on her face.

Seeing her reaction, Chen Qing immediately divided the spoils. “The Cold Marrow True Dew is yours. The two Treasure Medicines are mine. I’ll also take Zhang Huaguo’s short ruler and the True Essence Pills. What do you think, Junior Sister Ruan?”

“Alright.”

Ruan Lingxiu nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation, quite satisfied with the arrangement.

She hadn’t contributed as much as Chen Qing in the fight, so receiving the Cold Marrow True Dew she urgently needed was already an unexpected windfall.

Chen Qing’s distribution was fair and reasonable. Both of them had scored a fortune this time.

As for the Nine Nether Yin Fiend, Ruan Lingxiu didn’t ask, and Chen Qing didn’t bring it out. The two had a tacit understanding on the matter.

After putting away the spoils, Chen Qing silently began to review the earlier conflict with the trio from the Cloud Water Upper Sect.

He especially dwelled on Li Muyun’s silent and traceless “Tidal Profound Sound Break.” The memory still sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

That bizarre Sound Attack Divine Technique had ignored his formidable Flesh Body and abundant True Essence, directly assailing his Sea of Will.

‘My Flesh Body is strengthened by the *Dragon Elephant Wisdom Vajra Body*, and my True Essence has a solid foundation from the *Taixu Scripture*. I have reliable Spear Techniques and Divine Techniques, so I’m not lacking in offense or defense. But my Divine Sense… that’s still my weakness.’

Chen Qing’s heart turned cold as he clearly recognized his own weakness.

Once one’s Cultivation reached the True Essence Realm, the role of Divine Sense became increasingly prominent, especially when fighting opponents of the same or higher levels.

Today had served as a wake-up call. If he couldn’t remedy this weakness, he was bound to suffer a great loss if he encountered an expert specializing in this area in the future.

Gong Nansong meditated cross-legged for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn before his complexion improved slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes, meeting the questioning gazes of Chen Qing and Ruan Lingxiu. “I ran into Qi Yu and other masters from the Demon Sect,” he explained. “I fought with that Demoness and suffered some injuries.”