105: Bewitching Grass

Lin Feng immediately sat cross-legged within the pavilion, closing his eyes to meditate on it.

Cultivating the Blood Evasion Technique was not difficult; the difficulty lay in the resolve and the cost one had to bear. The key was knowing how to precisely control the degree to which one burned their essence blood, and how to cope with the period of weakness that followed the escape.

Several hours later, Lin Feng opened his eyes, a flicker of insight and determination flashing within them.

After leaving the Myriad Laws Pavilion and returning to his Immortal Cave, he first carefully prepared several types of Medicinal Pill for strengthening his foundation and replenishing his Qi and blood.

Subsequently, in the quiet room, he followed the technique and carefully forced out a trace of essence blood, condensing it into an extremely tiny rune in his palm that emitted a faint, bloody light.

Feeling the energy contained within the rune and the slight, ensuing sense of weakness, Lin Feng took a deep breath and dissipated the rune.

"Essence blood is precious and should not be used lightly. But if that moment truly comes..."

Lin Feng turned to look at the Shadow Scale Snake beside him. Its usually cold scales had been faintly hot over the past few days, the dark golden patterns in its snake eyes were brighter than usual, and its body twisted slightly from time to time, appearing exceptionally restless.

Lin Feng reached out and gently stroked its head. The Shadow Scale Snake subconsciously shrank back, then rubbed its head against his fingertips.

"Signs of advancing..." Lin Feng muttered to himself, his brow furrowed slightly.

He recalled Xiao Qinghan mentioning that exotic beasts like the Shadow Scale Snake, if they had enough Opportunity, had the hope of Awakening deeper Bloodline talents, and the unique hallucinogenic power of the heart-bewitching grass might be the key to stimulating its Awakening.

It was just that this grass was quite rare. However, given the Shadow Scale Snake's current state, he obviously could not wait any longer.

Over the next few days, Lin Feng quietly inquired for information within the Sect market.

The results were disappointing.

In the nearby area, only the "Fire Saliva Soil" unique to the Chiyan Sect could Cultivate the highest quality heart-bewitching grass.

What was more troublesome was that in recent years, the heart-bewitching grass had almost disappeared from the market. There were rumors that the Chiyan Sect had been concentrating the heart-bewitching grass it produced and supplying it to a mysterious, large Sect.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then put on the hidden star pendant and injected spiritual power into it. The aura around him immediately became dim and indistinct, maintained at the level of the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

He disguised himself slightly, then left the Sect, riding his Flying Sword toward a notorious black market near the edge of the Chiyan Sect's sphere of influence. It was said that there had been traces of heart-bewitching grass there.

The black market was located in a hidden area within a desolate valley, where the Spiritual Qi was thin and the inhabitants were a mix of dragons and snakes.

Lin Feng's footsteps landed on the rough ground, making a faint rustling sound.

He stopped in front of a stall. The stall owner was a thin, wizened old man with turbid eyes, and a few herbs of unknown name were scattered in front of him. Lin Feng picked up a common hemostatic vine and twisted the withered leaves between his fingertips.

"Old man," he lowered his voice, "I heard that there was still 'heart-bewitching grass' circulating in the market a while ago. Is there any news about it recently?"

The old man lifted his eyelids, rolled his eyes over him twice, and chuckled.

"heart-bewitching grass? Little Fellow Daoist asks at the right time," he said slowly. "That thing is precious and was long ago scraped clean by those above."

He lifted his chin vaguely in a certain direction. "It all went over that way. Even if there were any fish that slipped through the net, it's not something ordinary people can touch; the price is terrifying."

Lin Feng put down the herbs and a Low-Grade Spirit Stone. "Thank you."

He had just turned around, not yet having taken two steps, when an angry shout came from not far away: "You dog! How dare you try to fool your grandfather!"

Immediately following a muffled "boom," a fireball exploded nearby, and the splashing sparks ignited the animal skins on a nearby stall, instantly sending up black smoke.

"They're fighting."

"Get out of the way!"

"My goods!"

Screams, curses, the clanging of Magical Artifacts being unsheathed, and the chaotic footsteps of people pushing and trampling one another all mixed together.

A burly man was bumped by the crowd and staggered back, his elbow slamming toward Lin Feng's ribs. Lin Feng twisted his waist and narrowly avoided it.

Before he could stand firm, on the other side, a Cultivator trying to block the splashing debris suddenly sacrificed a small, earthy-yellow shield. It instantly transformed into a thick wall, and with a "bang," it solidly blocked the narrow passage through which Lin Feng had originally intended to retreat.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Lin Feng caught a glimpse of a fist-sized fireball, obviously out of control, flying toward his position.

Lin Feng shook his head. Since there was finally a clue about the heart-bewitching grass, this was by no means a place to stay for long, and it was not worth getting involved in the sudden chaos before him.

He retreated, and with a few flashes, he escaped from the center of the conflict.

Taking advantage of the gap where people were in disarray and no one noticed, he flipped his palm, sacrificed the wine immortal gourd, and quickly rose into the air.

He piloted the gourd, maintaining it in mid-air, and scanned the chaos below.

He saw that the two people who had started the incident were still entangled, and the scope of the impact was spreading. More people were being drawn in, either taking advantage of the chaos to loot or fleeing in panic. The entire market was in a state of disarray.

Shortly after he rose into the air, at the edge of the chaos below, a man in a red robe with his aura restrained to the extreme, who had originally been leaning lazily against a rock wall, watched the chaos coldly, as if it had nothing to do with him.

His name was Zhao Guang, and he was a Disciple of the Chiyan Sect. Half a year ago, Sect Master Yan Huang's favorite grandson, Yan Li, had been plotted against, and the crimson sun pearl treasure had been snatched away, shaking the Sect.

Sect Master Yan Huang had been filled with both grief and rage. Although he hadn't found the exact culprit, he had confirmed that the culprit was likely piloting a light golden, gourd-shaped flying Magical Artifact with extremely fast flight speed.

Although half a year had passed and many people in the Sect had gradually forgotten about it, Sect Master Yan Huang had never given up the investigation. His direct Disciples, like Zhao Guang, had been sent to investigate various bustling, lawless places outside the Sect.

Zhao Guang had been guarding this place for nearly two months, facing the petty squabbles of these low-level Cultivators every day, and had long since become numb; he even harbored a trace of doubt in his heart regarding his Master's obsession. Perhaps the murderer had long since fled thousands of miles away, or perhaps the clue was simply wrong.

However, just now, that sudden rising, eerily fast, light golden streak of light in the sky...

"A light golden gourd... That's right. It's him." Zhao Guang stood up quickly. The boring wait of half a year was cast to the winds, replaced by the excitement of discovering prey and the thrill of being about to make a great contribution.

He didn't hesitate at all; his right hand quickly reached into his robes, tightly gripping the jade talisman that he had kept on his person for half a year.

His fingertips exerted force, and the jade talisman shattered in response.

He locked his eyes on the golden speck of light in the sky that was about to disappear, a ferocious arc curling at the corner of his mouth. "Run? Let's see where you can run this time. Master will arrive in an instant."

Yan Huang, who was far away in the Chiyan Sect, suddenly opened his eyes while meditating, monstrous rage bursting forth from them.

"Little beast. You've finally shown your true colors." His figure flickered, and he transformed into a crimson streamer, rushing out of his Immortal Cave and galloping toward the black market.

Lin Feng had long since left the black market, but not long after, the pressure behind him became increasingly clear.

He urged the wine immortal gourd with all his might, pushing his speed to the limit, trying to shake off that invisible lock.

However, the Divine Sense tracking of a Core Formation Cultivator was far beyond his imagination. No matter how he changed direction, that aura always followed closely, and the distance was rapidly closing.

Finally, above a desolate mountain range, that terrifying aura descended with a boom.

The surrounding air suddenly became heavy. Lin Feng felt his spiritual power become sluggish, the speed of the wine immortal gourd dropped sharply, and he found it difficult to even move his fingers.