’I wonder if the Demon Cloud Vine, having eaten a heart that can awaken all responses, will mutate and become a threat to humanity?’
"It must be fate."
’Perhaps this was heaven’s arrangement,’ Chu Lingguang thought. ’A heart that even the experts from Yuanchu Mountain couldn’t obtain—why should it have fallen into my hands?’
He gradually forgot about the message inside the Jade Box.
He also focused on assisting Lin Shirong in managing Wolf Valley Pass, ensuring a sufficient amount of ore was shipped out every day.
「Three months passed in a flash.」
BOOM!
Beneath the mountain.
Chu Lingguang tried to emulate Lin Shirong, using his Dantian Power to draw upon the Spiritual Qi from beneath the mountain in an attempt to damage his surroundings.
He shattered a chunk of ore.
The effect was similar to Lin Shirong’s.
’The power in my Dantian is still confined to the True Martial Realm. It’s what’s known as True Qi. If I want to transform True Qi into Spiritual Power, my Dantian must first be able to contain it.’
’I’ve already tried all sorts of methods, but none have worked.’
’Other than using Potential Energy to draw in Spiritual Qi, there’s simply no way to convert Spiritual Qi into Spiritual Power. Even if I absorb it into my Dantian, it just turns into ordinary True Qi.’
’It seems that trying to achieve a breakthrough on my own, just by relying on the abundant Spiritual Qi here, is impossible.’
Chu Lingguang muttered to himself.
He opened his right hand.
A vortex appeared in his palm.
It absorbed the surrounding Spiritual Qi, and the vortex grew more and more solid. Just as it was about to collapse, he threw it out.
BOOM!
A crater appeared in the large chunk of Profound Iron ore before him.
’Even with the power of thirty-nine Qi Vortexes, I still can’t convert Spiritual Qi into Spiritual Power. The force it releases is hardly different from the power I absorbed outside Wolf Valley Pass.’
His Mental Realm was at the fourth level, the Unity of Heart and Will, which allowed Chu Lingguang to perceive three hundred and sixty-three "responses." After several months of cultivation, he had finally awakened the power of thirty-nine of them. This enabled him to form a vortex between his hands that could absorb the surrounding Essence of Heaven and Earth Power, and even Spiritual Qi, converting it into a force even stronger than his Dantian Qi Sea.
Unfortunately, his realm was still at the True Martial Realm level.
He had not achieved any breakthrough along with this new power.
The days passed quickly.
Another three months passed in a flash. Half a year had now gone by since Chu Lingguang took up his post at Wolf Valley Pass, and it had been over a year since he had been able to go back and visit Guo Wei and Second Aunt.
He planned to return for a visit to see Guo Wei and the others after guarding the pass for a year.
"Sir, this is bad! The Demon Cloud Vine has gone on a rampage and eaten more than ten Turkic people!"
A Captain rushed in to report while Chu Lingguang was reviewing official documents.
"Oh? Take me to have a look."
Chu Lingguang had no pity for the Turkic people. It was said that among them were hidden Turkic Nobility, who might even know who the traitors in the Court were.
Unfortunately, neither hard nor soft tactics worked on them.
So, he could only leave them here to fend for themselves.
A short while later, Chu Lingguang arrived at the foot of the mountain, in the area where the Spiritual Qi was densest.
He saw the mangled corpses of several Turkic people.
He also saw three terrified Turkic people hiding behind a pile of rocks. Chu Lingguang didn’t see the usual dull look on their faces; the Mafei Soup was clearly not working on these three.
He released a Spiritual Sense Fluctuation to inspect the three of them.
He discovered that all three had traces of cultivation.
One of them had once possessed the strength of the Qi Sea Perfection realm, but his Dantian was now shattered. He was relying solely on a Breathing Technique to maintain his stamina and stay alive.
The Breathing Technique cultivated by the Turkic people was called the Divine Beast Breathing Method. It was used in conjunction with Beast Blood to increase their Qi Power day by day.
But there was no Beast Blood for them to consume within Wolf Valley Pass.
As a result, their cultivation progress with the Divine Beast Breathing Method became extremely slow.
Under these conditions, it was truly remarkable that the man had survived this long.
"Hm? No, that’s not right!"
But in the blink of an eye, Chu Lingguang noticed the problem.
A powerful Spiritual Sense Fluctuation focused on the man.
"The Day and Night Breathing Technique!"
"You’re the Turkic Nobleman hiding among the captives!"
Chu Lingguang exclaimed in shock.
Only someone with his level of power and keen Sea of Consciousness Power could have detected the traces of the man practicing the Day and Night Breathing Technique. The man was extremely cunning, able to conceal it with the Divine Beast Breathing Method.
An ordinary person would never have been able to discover his secret.
The man said calmly, "You must be mistaken, Sir."
But Chu Lingguang just smiled.
In truth, the Day and Night Breathing Technique alone wasn’t enough to determine if the man was the Turkic Nobleman. However, with his powerful Sea of Consciousness Power, he could tell if the man was lying.
Especially after noticing the bloodstains at the corner of the man’s mouth, he once again released his Spiritual Sense Fluctuation. As it penetrated the man’s body, the thick, metallic scent of blood wafted out from within him.
"What a ruthless method. With no Beast Blood to nourish you, you actually resort to drinking the blood of your own people."
Chu Lingguang was utterly shaken.
The Demon Cloud Vine wouldn’t attack someone unprovoked, unless they deliberately annoyed it or accidentally angered it.
According to his men, Turkic people were often killed by the Demon Cloud Vine. Because they were Turkic people, Chu Lingguang hadn’t cared at all whether they lived or died.
He had originally just assumed they were disobedient and insisted on provoking the Demon Cloud Vine.
Now, under the probe of his powerful Spiritual Sense Fluctuation, he finally realized that the deaths of the Turkic people were meant to provide this noble scion with nourishing blood.
It allowed him to endure the torment and continue to cling to life.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sir."
The man feigned ignorance.
The other two also pretended to be confused.
"Hand them over to Grand Commander Lin. Take them to the Imperial City. The higher-ups will have their ways of making them talk."
Chu Lingguang said with a cold smile.
"Yes, sir!"
The Captain immediately had his men take the three away.
The three men didn’t struggle, allowing Chu Lingguang’s subordinates to drag them away.
But they were unaware that a powerful Sea of Consciousness Power remained fixed upon them. Beneath their calm exteriors, their hearts were pounding with panic.
The three were soon brought before Lin Shirong.
"The fact that he cultivated the Day and Night Breathing Technique is not enough to determine if he’s the person the Court is looking for."
Lin Shirong knew that the Day and Night Breathing Technique had been leaked to the Turkic people long ago, and quite a few of them practiced this technique.
"Lin, my Sea of Consciousness Power..."
Chu Lingguang whispered into Lin Shirong’s ear.
Lin Shirong’s expression changed after hearing this.
SHING!
A flash of a blade.
The three Turkic people were decapitated, and Lin Shirong sheathed his long blade.
"You..."
Chu Lingguang was completely blindsided. ’Could Lin Shirong be the traitor? Is he killing them to silence them right in front of me?’