บท 16: treasure
Mo Yan Yu sat regally in her palanquin, her hand absentmindedly toying with a blue smoke bomb as she drifted into deep thought.
Over the past few days, the image of Shi Yan had frequently surfaced in her mind, impossible to dispel. The mere recollection of the possessiveness in his eyes left her restless and uneasy, filling her with a desire to capture Shi Yan and tear him apart.
With Karu's death, the medicine slaves who had followed her became useless and were released early.
Now, she was accompanied only by eleven warriors of the Mo family, all at the Houtian stage. This small force was far from sufficient to allow her to continue the search for Shi Yan's whereabouts; she had to wait for reinforcements from the family.
Suddenly, a plume of blue light shot into the sky five miles ahead, swirling in a dense mist before slowly dissipating.
"Finally, they're here!" Mo Yanyu's expression lit up with excitement as she quickly hurled the blue smoke bomb into the air, where it exploded into a misty blue light above her head.
The warriors by the ground dragon's side were all beaming, eager to leap into action.
In less than fifteen minutes, three figures flew towards them from the distance. The leader, a man with a flowing beard and a cold smile, quickly approached Mo Yanyu and laughed loudly, "Yuer, where is Master Karu?"
"Uncle, Master Karu is dead." Mo Yanyu braced herself and explained, "We encountered a small thief along the way. The thief was only at the Houtian stage, but somehow managed to decapitate Master Karu."
Mo Chaoge's face darkened, and his expression turned grim. "Did you retrieve the items from Karu?"
Mo Yanyu shook her head. "They were taken by that boy as well."
"Fool!"
Mo Chaoge cursed under his breath, his face sinister as he coldly huffed, "We received information that Karu stole a fragment of a map to the 'Heaven's Gate' from his master. His master, Mu Xun, has been searching everywhere for him to retrieve that fragment. It's said that the 'Heaven's Gate' leads to a divine realm where spiritual and even saint-level martial techniques are hidden. That's why I rushed here with two elders—to obtain that fragment. And you didn't even keep an eye on him! You truly are a fool!"
"What?" Mo Yanyu's face was filled with shock. "How could something like this happen?"
"If Karu hadn't stolen the map, do you think he would have agreed to leave the Valley of the Medicine King with you? Did you really think he was drawn to the wealth of our Mo family? Hmph, he was simply afraid of Mu Xun's pursuit and sought refuge in our alliance." Mo Chaoge's face grew even more sinister as he pondered for a moment before ordering, "Tell me everything that happened in detail. That boy is likely still in the Dark Forest. We must find him! The map is of utmost importance, and our Mo family must obtain it!"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mo Yanyu recounted everything truthfully, omitting only the two incidents where Shi Yan had violated her.
"Fool!" Mo Chaoge cursed again, furious. "You didn't chase after him? That boy is only at the Houtian stage. Regardless of how he managed to kill Karu, he must have paid a heavy price. He might even be severely injured. If you had chased him, you could have easily killed him! Fool!"
"I was afraid of greater losses, so..." Mo Yanyu lowered her head in shame.
"Afraid of him? When he's only at the Houtian stage?" Mo Chaoge stomped his foot in anger. "You've wasted the family's resources! What are you waiting for? Show me the way! You, you, you! Drive the ground dragon back to the merchant alliance along the safe route. The rest, follow me to continue the search!"
...
Shi Yan had been pursuing for two days, but hadn't seen even a shadow.
Beneath the cool moonlight, Shi Yan leaned against an ancient tree, frowning as he momentarily abandoned the idea of continuing the pursuit.
Taking the backpack he had seized from Karu, Shi Yan opened it and stared at its contents.
Inside was a poison manual, a few bottles of poison concocted by Karu, and two basic martial techniques, "Black Shield" and "Profound Yin Art."
Apart from these, there was only a yellowed map fragment, depicting two peaks resembling a woman's bosom. Shi Yan had studied it for two days but found nothing of interest and had thus dismissed it.
Among the martial techniques, "Profound Yin Art" required the gathering of Yin energy. After pondering for two days, Shi Yan still didn't know where to find such energy, so he disregarded it as well.
However, the "Black Shield" technique didn't require any special materials; it could be cultivated simply by circulating essence energy according to the meridian diagrams.
Taking out the "Black Shield" manual from the backpack, Shi Yan closed his eyes and committed the technique to memory, deciding to give it a try.
The "Black Shield" was purely a defensive technique, forming a layer of black light on the body's surface using internal essence energy to ward off attacks. As a basic martial technique, it required no particular threshold for cultivation—anyone with flowing essence energy could practice it.
After stowing the backpack away, Shi Yan surveyed his surroundings and then quietly climbed the ancient tree, hiding himself among its dense foliage before beginning to cultivate the "Black Shield."
Having reached the Xiantian stage, his meridians were unobstructed. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, essence energy surged through his meridians.
Closing his eyes and focusing his mind, Shi Yan silently guided his essence energy according to the "Black Shield" meridian flow diagram.
Threads of essence energy flowed through his body like streams. Shi Yan carefully controlled them, suddenly accelerating their flow.
"Boom!"
A faint black light suddenly emanated from his body, the light becoming tangible and resilient as it slowly pushed aside the surrounding leaves, forming a membrane as thin as a cicada's wing that enveloped him completely.
Shi Yan felt reassured, knowing he was on the right path. He increased the speed at which the essence energy flowed.
The black light emanating from his body gradually expanded from half a meter to a full meter, mirroring the effect Karu had achieved when he used the "Black Shield."
After a long time, Shi Yan exhaled deeply, his essence energy having completed six major cycles within his body, and slowly opened his eyes.
Success!
Shi Yan smiled, realizing that the "Black Shield" technique wasn't difficult to master.
In just one night, he had grasped the essentials. With increased essence energy, he would only need to speed up its flow to enhance the "Black Shield's" defensive power.
Looking up, he saw the moon setting, and it seemed dawn was near.
Not in a hurry to leave, Shi Yan calmed his mind and once again channeled essence energy through his meridians. When the energy reached the first acupoint in his left arm, Shi Yan focused his thoughts, causing the energy to spin within the acupoint.
Three breaths later, he altered his thoughts, and the essence energy began to flow in reverse, bringing a sharp, tearing pain through the meridian!
This was a unique phenomenon during the cultivation of the "Rampage" technique.
Gritting his teeth to endure the pain, Shi Yan continued to forcefully guide the essence energy, repeating the process in his right arm.
The muscles in his left arm contracted, gradually withering. A misty white vapor began to emanate from his left arm...
Within the white mist lurked fear, violence, and despair—negative emotions with a sinister power to corrupt. These emotions were temporarily confined within the mist, but once unleashed, they could directly attack an opponent.
The sun hung high in the sky.
Among the leaves of the ancient tree, Shi Yan was drenched in sweat, his eyes sharp as knives, fixed on his left arm. The arm was enveloped in mist, with threads of wicked energy coiling around it like a demon, making him feel an uncontrollable urge to act on his violent thoughts.
Gasping for breath, Shi Yan controlled his inner urges, slowly withdrawing the essence energy from his arm, letting it return to his dantian. The arm gradually returned to normal, the misty white vapor reentering his acupoints and finally disappearing.
Leaning wearily against the tree trunk, Shi Yan's face was pale, and his mind conflicted.
The "Rampage" technique could unleash the negative energies stored in his acupoints, but these same energies could also disrupt his mind. It was a double-edged sword, powerful in battle but dangerous to his sanity. The technique had incredible destructive power but was extremely risky.
However, recalling how the "Rampage" technique had effortlessly shattered Karu's "Black Shield" and the strange effects it had on Karu's mind, Shi Yan resolved to master it fully, curious to see what would happen if all the negative energies in his body were released.
He had a feeling that once he fully mastered the first level of the "Rampage" technique, his body would undergo significant changes, potentially increasing his strength by one or two levels.
"Swish, swish, swish!" The sound of something cutting through the air suddenly came from a distance.
Shi Yan frowned, quickly concealing his aura and halting the flow of essence energy in his body, silently observing the area below.
Before long, seven figures in gray clothing and pale masks stopped beneath the ancient tree, seemingly waiting for something.
Six of the figures had silver stars
on their masks, while the leader bore a golden star, indicating a higher status.
"They should be here soon." The leader with the golden star surveyed his surroundings and whispered, "This time, our main task is to ensure the well-being of our brothers and sisters in the forest. We must keep a close eye on the situation."
"Senior, should we report the boy's whereabouts as well?" A silver-starred figure suddenly asked.
"No." The golden-starred leader shook his head. "That boy is very strange. Let the family handle him. We just need to focus on our assigned mission."
Upon hearing this, Shi Yan's heart sank, and a trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
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