Chapter 2384: Capture the Fugitive! . . .
Huang Xiaolong didn't intend on refining the White Boned Dark Lotus that very instant. Instead, he kept it into the space in his Darkness Holy Ring before bringing the two of them out of the cave.
The moment they left the cave, they headed towards the borders of the Black Corpse Continent. Since he had obtained the White Boned Dark Lotus, there was no longer a need for them to remain on the continent.
Even though the herbs he had found on the continent aided in his advancement of his saint attributes, the Black Corpse Continent was indeed a little too dangerous. Moreover, Huang Xiaolong felt that the consumption of high-grade holy spiritual jade stones was a little too heavy to bear.
Half a month later, they left the Black Corpse Continent.
Of course, Huang Xiaolong didn't plan on leaving the Profound River immediately. Instead, he planned to look for a safe spot with an abundance of holy spiritual qi to enter secluded cultivation.
Previously, Huang Xiaolong had obtained more than four hundred stalks of precious herbs! He planned to enter seclusion to refine them all at once, along with the White Boned Dark Lotus.
Since they were holy herbs, Huang Xiaolong knew that their medicinal properties would be brought out to the fullest if he refined them into holy pills. However, the time required to refine all of them into pills was something he couldn't afford!
He needed dozens of years if he wanted to turn them all into pills!
Since the Cangqiong Holy Manor was about to open, Huang Xiaolong couldn't afford to maximise his holy herbs!
Throwing all the concerns to the back of his mind, Huang Xiaolong ignored the wasted resources and decided to refine the herbs.
If the Heavenly Master, Lord Long, Tyrant Chu, and Elder Crow knew about Huang Xiaolong's actions, they would probably rush over to the Profound River to give him a good beating.
Whatever the case, Huang Xiaolong knew that he had to be careful when refining the herbs. The energy contained in a single herb was shocking, and he could only refine them one stalk at a time.
Time quickly passed.
Soon, fifteen years passed.
When Huang Xiaolong completely refined the White Boned Dark Lotus, the glow around his body expanded infinitely, and it was as though he had turned into a mini sun. The rays of resplendent light emitted by his three holy souls blinded everyone present.
As the light started to fade, Huang Xiaolong slowly opened his eyes.
Exhaling a long breath, a terrifying wave of energy swept over the lands. The sun dimmed and rivers overflowed. The wave of energy destroyed everything it swept across, and a massive forest turned into a barren wasteland.
The three saint bloodlines in Huang Xiaolong's body were like boundless oceans. Endless might swirled around in them as they were like mighty slumbering beasts. His organs received no small amount of benefits, and they were as strong as holy artifacts. His godheads were even more terrifying as the energy contained in them became even more condensed. Exuding brilliant rays of light, they were like suns in the midday sky.
"Young Master, you..." Chen Zhi and the Departing Sword Sage started at Huang Xiaolong in disbelief.
"Ninth Order Venerable Realm?!"
The two of them stared at each other in shock, unable to believe their eyes.
All they received in response was a faint smile from Huang Xiaolong. During his time in seclusion, Huang Xiaolong had not only refined the herbs he had obtained in the past, but he had even refined the high-grade holy herb, the White Boned Dark Lotus! Moreover, he retrieved the level ten origin spiritual pills he received during the apprenticeship ceremony! If he wasn't able to enter the Ninth Order Venerable Realm, Huang Xiaolong would rather smash his head into the wall of the cave he was in to kill himself!
After all the resources he consumed, he managed to enter the early-Ninth Order Venerable Realm.
Right now, even if Huang Xiaolong didn't use his three holy souls, taking care of Second Tribulation half-True Saints would take nothing more than a snap of his finger. As for weaker Third Tribulation half-True Saints, he would be able to take them down after a short battle.
"Let's go. We'll continue to search for holy herbs!" Huang Xiaolong loosened his bones, and he chuckled.
Continue to search for holy herbs?!
"Young Master, did you...?" The Departing Sword Sage stuttered and a terrifying thought flashed through his mind.
"That's right. I refined them all." Huang Xiaolong dropped a casual bomb on them.
When they heard what he said, it was as though a bomb went off in their heads.
He managed to refine all of them?!
They were talking about more than four hundred stalks of holy spiritual herbs! There was even the White Boned Dark Lotus! In fifteen years, the youngster was able to refine them all! One had to know that even mid-level True Saint Realm experts would take several tens of thousands of years to refine them all!
Of course, neither of them knew that Huang Xiaolong had three holy souls. They had no idea he also possessed the Holy Mandate Imprint. They were also in the dark on Huang Xiaolong's three saint bloodlines and saint physiques.
After his time in seclusion, Huang Xiaolong's saint attributes charged into the top seventy ranks.
If Chen Zhi and the Departing Sword Sage were to learn that Huang Xiaolong had refined several thousand rank ten origin spiritual pills along with the herbs, they would probably die from fright.
Three more years passed....
One fine day, several figures showed up in the space above the Profound River. At long last, Huang Xiaolong, Chen Zhi, and the Departing Sword Sage were out!
Taking a long breath, Huang Xiaolong stared into the horizon with a cloudy gaze. It was as though they had woken up from a dream.
"Young Master, should we return to the Profound City?" Chen Zhi asked.
"Let's go!" Huang Xiaolong nodded and the three of them tore through the air.
Huang Xiaolong's gains were enormous after a single trip to the Profound River. He had broken into the Ninth Order Venerable Realm and managed to fully transform his three holy souls. He had also managed to push his Grandmist Parasitic Medium to the eleventh stage!
The results could be said to have exceeded Huang Xiaolong's expectations.
The only thing Huang Xiaolong found a pity was that he hadn't managed to find grandmist holy spiritual aura during the last three years of his adventure. He couldn't locate the any holy lake either. The only things he managed to find were fifty stalks of holy herbs.
Initially, Huang Xiaolong had found nearly two stalks a day! As he slowly found it harder to obtain holy herbs, he decided to leave the Profound River.
Before they could approach the Profound City, the three of them discovered tons of disciples from the Holy Grounds patrolling the area.
"I've heard that more than a dozen disciples from the Scarlet Flame Holy Gate were killed! Chen Zifeng, Song Cheng, and several other Holy Princes were wiped out! Even Deputty Hall Master, Chen Zhi, went missing!
"That's not all! The Blue Whale Race, the Qianyuan Holy Gate, and several other superpowers reported that their disciples were missing! More than a thousand of them were said to be killed by some brat named 'Thirteen'! Experts from the Scarlet Flame Holy Gate and the Blue Whale Race were stationed at the gates of the Profound City in order to catch the culprit! After all, one had to enter the city in order to head over to the Profound River. It seems like they don't plan on leaving..."
"Who is the daring kid, who made a move on so many powers? Is he crazy?"
Discussions entered the ears of Huang Xiaolong and the others.
"Young Master, do we...?" The Departing Sword Sage felt a wave of unease rolling about in his heart and he thought of laying low for some time.
After all, there were tons of experts looking for them now. There were even True Saints waiting for them to show themselves!
"There's no need for that. Let's go." Huang Xiaolong replied with a placid expression as he made his way towards the city.
Chen Zhi and the Departing Sword Sage hesitated for a moment before following behind Huang Xiaolong.
The moment Huang Xiaolong showed his face, he attracted the attention of the experts stationed around the city gates.
"That's Thirteen! He's back! Hurry up and notify the Hall Masters!"
Excited howls filled the air when they noticed Huang Xiaolong's presence.