Sensing his presence, the two moved to intercept Chu Lingguang, closing in from both sides.
With his current power, Chu Lingguang could have easily left them in the dust on his Han Gao Steed. But he didn’t. Instead, he rode openly into their view.
"Commander Chu."
"Chu Lingguang, you’re supposed to be at Wolf Valley Pass. What are you doing here in Blood Wolf Cave?"
The two were completely surprised; they never expected it to be Chu Lingguang.
Hu Yanlin felt a sour knot in his stomach. If not for the aura leaking from Chu Lingguang’s Han Gao Steed, he never would have noticed him. ’Has Chu Lingguang’s power really surpassed mine so completely?’
"I’m heading home to visit family. Since I was passing through, I thought I’d come and take a look."
Chu Lingguang explained.
He had placed Xie Xiaohuan’s head in a wooden box. After being specially treated, the box resembled a piece of luggage, emitting no smell of blood and preventing any decay.
"And what brings you two here?"
Chu Lingguang asked in return.
"Members of the Demon Suppression Bureau in the Hundred Thousand Mountains? We’re here to slay demons, of course."
Hu Yanlin said with a smirk.
"I assume you’re here for the same reason I am—to find the heart that can awaken all responses," Chu Lingguang said, cutting straight to the point. "Let me be honest. The experts from Yuanchu Mountain already scoured this entire area. If the heart had been left here, they would have found it long ago. There’s no way it would have just fallen into our laps."
"If you didn’t think the heart was still in Blood Wolf Cave, Commander Chu, why would you have come here alone?"
He Mingxuan retorted.
"Don’t you want to break through the True Martial Realm and experience the power of the Qi Refining Realm, Lord He?"
Chu Lingguang didn’t bother being coy.
The lure of the Qi Refining Realm was too strong for anyone to resist.
He had revealed himself deliberately, hoping to use this opportunity to ask He Mingxuan about the heart and confirm whether it was connected to the vine.
"Who wouldn’t?"
He Mingxuan said with a self-deprecating laugh.
"You were here last time with the experts from Yuanchu Mountain. Did you find anything out of the ordinary?"
Hu Yanlin asked.
"I did, but there’s also a lot I don’t understand. I’d like to discuss it with you both."
Chu Lingguang seized the opportunity to start the conversation.
The Demon Suppression Bureau was, after all, an indispensable department of the Great Yuan Dynasty. The Dynasty’s very survival depended on them; if demons were allowed to proliferate, the Court would eventually collapse.
In Chu Lingguang’s eyes, He Mingxuan was, at the very least, a man of great experience and knowledge.
He must have heard something about the heart that could awaken all responses.
As expected, once the three sat down and exchanged information, Chu Lingguang asked his question in a curious tone. He Mingxuan replied truthfully, "Legend speaks of another cultivation Skill. If a person forms a bond with an uncanny object, they can use its power to rapidly obtain physical responses. However, once you walk that path, you gradually transform into a demon, or even a ghost."
"I suspect the heart that can help one awaken all responses is one of these uncanny objects."
"Lord He, with your vast experience, have you ever seen such an uncanny object?"
Chu Lingguang asked, feigning ignorance.
"I have."
He Mingxuan nodded.
"What was it like? Tell us, quickly!"
Hu Yanlin was even more anxious than Chu Lingguang.
"When I was young, I saw a Turkic expert in a Demon Suppression Bureau prison who had a pair of wings growing from his back," He Mingxuan recalled. "Legend said the wings came from a beast in the Hundred Thousand Mountains known as a Fire Phoenix. Whether that expert ever broke through the True Martial Realm to reach the Qi Refining Realm, I can’t say. What I do know is that after he bonded with the beast, his power soared. He went from being an ordinary Qi Sea Realm cultivator to a being who surpassed many True Martial Realm masters, all in less than half a year."
"At Wolf Valley Pass, I encountered a vine called the Demon Cloud Vine. I personally witnessed it feeding on the blood of the Turkic people. It possesses a powerful consciousness. I wonder if it could be one of the uncanny objects you mentioned."
Chu Lingguang inquired.
"Any demon or anomaly that can bond with a human falls into the category of an uncanny object. But as for how to create that bond, and how to cultivate after it is formed, not even the Demon Suppression Bureau’s archives have any records."
He Mingxuan said.
Chu Lingguang had a sudden realization. ’Could the vine wrapped around my waist be an uncanny object? One that can form a bond with me?’
’But I don’t have the cultivation Skill for it.’
’And it seems to have major side effects.’
’It seems I’ll have to get rid of this vine after all.’
"If you’re inadvertently targeted by an uncanny object, is there a way to destroy it?"
Chu Lingguang asked.
"Of course. An uncanny object can devour a human, but a human can also devour it."
He Mingxuan said.
"You’ve seen an uncanny object?"
Hu Yanlin asked nervously.
"I think the Demon Cloud Vine in Wolf Valley Pass is one of them," Chu Lingguang said, feigning his experience. "Every time I get near it, I feel like a voice is calling to me. It’s as if all I have to do is reach out my hand, and it will burrow into my body and help me awaken all my responses."
"What? Really?"
Hu Yanlin exclaimed.
He was desperate to use an uncanny object to break through the True Martial Realm and become a Qi Refining expert.
"It might just be my imagination. It’s hard to explain."
Chu Lingguang said evasively.
"You must not touch any uncanny object lightly. If that Demon Cloud Vine really can bond with you, you need to be careful."
He Mingxuan warned.
"Mm."
Chu Lingguang nodded.
After that, the three of them parted ways.
Chu Lingguang mounted his horse and headed back toward Qiling Prefecture.
Once they were a safe distance apart, Chu Lingguang found a secluded spot, sat down, and forcefully ripped the vine from his waist.