Chapter 30: Bone-Stripping Jade Fruit (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

The arrow pinned the blood shadow firmly to the tree. Shaoheng watched as it writhed incessantly before finally transforming into a mangled, bloody humanoid shape.

The black Qi from the arrow crawled toward him. Within a few breaths, accompanied by the "hissing" sound of corrosion and Tang Dong's screams, the humanoid figure went completely still.

Shaoheng kept the bowstring drawn without slackening, not relaxing until she had driven three more arrows into the unsightly corpse without any further abnormality; only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and release the string.

"Finally, he's dead."

Shaoheng currently possessed only slightly more than three hundred cauldrons of magic power, making her somewhat lacking in foundational depth. Had Tang Dong been any more troublesome, she would have been the one forced to flee once her magic power was nearly exhausted.

She used her spiritual sense to retrieve the storage bag dropped from the corpse, then took a shroud from her own storage ring, waving her hand to wrap both the corpse and the wolf demon's carcass inside.

Only after applying sealing spells to them and placing them into another empty storage ring did she feel truly at ease.

Shaoheng had previously purchased several storage rings for emergencies. These rings were naturally of the lowest grade, capable only of holding inanimate objects; being able to be stored within a ring meant Tang Dong had completely lost all signs of life.

"Chasing this evil cultivator took me nearly a whole day. What a chore."

The scent of blood here was heavy, making it easy to attract ferocious demonic beasts for hunting. Shaoheng cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell on herself and immediately retreated at high speed.

After finding a concealed cave, Shaoheng swept away the accumulated snow, took out a prayer mat, sat cross-legged, and began to regulate her internal breath.

During the previous pursuit and struggle, Tang Dong had also left her with many injuries through his "Blood Refining Technique," but Shaoheng had used the profound Yin Cold Qi to temporarily freeze and suppress them. Now, after swallowing a First-Grade Spring-Returning Pill, she began to work on refining those crimson, foreign magic powers.

Once her injuries were no longer a concern, Shaoheng took out a sheepskin map to check her current location.

"I should be at the border of the Wenxing Sect and the Zhenyi Yuan Sect territories, in the Jianxi Mountains. If I return the way I came, it should take about half a day."

However, Shaoheng always chose the path of maximum profit. In addition to hunting demonic cultivators, she had also accepted four tasks to gather spiritual herbs, all of which could be found in the Jianxi Mountains. She would search and collect them on her way back, making full use of this time.

If the gathering tasks were completed successfully, she could amass thirty-eight contribution points.

"Rumble!"

The sky had already been dark and cloudy; now, following a clap of thunder, a fine drizzle began to fall. Before long, the intensity increased, accompanied by a pitter-patter sound.

Shaoheng looked out from the cave, her brows furrowing tightly.

If it were merely rain, she could use a Water-Repelling Incantation. But because the winter was too cold, most of the raindrops froze into ice pellets upon hitting the ground, which caused that clattering sound.

Shaoheng could use magic power to protect her body, but if it lasted too long, maintaining it would consume too much of her own energy, making it difficult to deal with any sudden emergencies.

After thinking for a moment, she stopped herself from stepping out of the cave, preparing to wait for half an hour to see when the freezing rain would stop, while simultaneously restoring her magic power to its peak.

Unexpectedly, after only about fifteen minutes, Shaoheng opened her eyes alertly.

Having been refined, her magical tools could be hidden within her Qi Sea. With a thought, three Jade Bee Needles were already between her fingers, ready to be shot at any moment.

"Who is it!"

The hurried footsteps of the newcomer were not concealed at all, and there was a rustling sound as they pushed through the bushes.

"Oh, there's someone here too?"

A face emerged from the bushes concealing the cave entrance—a youth roughly the same age as Shaoheng, about fifteen or sixteen years old.

The youth had quite good looks, with a hint of cunning in his round eyes. Seeing Shaoheng's expression, he immediately said, "Don't mind me, Fellow Daoist. I am a disciple of the Wenxing Sect, performing a sect mission. I only came in here to take shelter from this sudden freezing rain."

Shaohong channeled her magic power into her eyes to inspect the person's aura, only to find she could not see through it. While her heart grew wary, her expression appeared somewhat more relaxed.

"Please, come in, Fellow Daoist. I am a disciple of the Zhenyi Yuan Sect, also here in the Jianxi Mountains to perform a sect mission."

The girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this. She walked into the cave and, maintaining a distance from Shaoheng, took out a prayer mat and sat down.

She observed Shaoheng for a moment, then smiled. "Meeting like this is fate. My name is Zhu Wushuang. I see that Fellow Daoist possesses an extraordinary temperament; may I ask your honorable name?"

Shaoheng put on a persona of a shy girl, acting as if she were wearing a lambskin cloak, and replied, "You flatter me. My name is Yan Ning. I have been in the sect for nearly ten years, and I only just gathered the courage to perform missions outside the sect."

She secretly activated the Jade Bee Needles, hiding them in various corners of her sleeves; if anything went wrong, all thirty-six needles would be thrust out at once.

Zhu Wushuang laughed heartily. "It's alright, everyone has a first time. Seeing as Fellow Daoist Yan has been practicing for less than ten years yet dares to undergo training in the wild, such mental fortitude promises a bright path to immortality."

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, you look to be about my age. Are you not also out here training?"

Zhu Wushuang was not shy at all and laughed loudly, "Because we both have bright paths to immortality!"

Shaoheng returned the smile and then lowered her head.

Both meditation and breathing require total concentration; if disturbed by external objects, it is very easy for magic power to become chaotic, leading to damage to the meridians. The atmosphere between the two seemed fine, but neither closed their eyes to meditate; they could only chat occasionally while waiting for the rain to stop.

Half an hour later, there was no more sound outside the cave, and the freezing rain finally ceased.

Shaoheng offered a greeting, intending to leave first.

But Zhu Wushuang suddenly reached out to stop her, saying, "I observe that Sister Yan Ning's magic power is close to three hundred cauldrons. Do you wish to advance to the middle stage more quickly?"

When out in the world, Shaoheng used a Gray Cocoon to control her visible aura to just over two hundred cauldrons, which was not excessively low. Meeting other cultivators, they would only assume she was a disciple who had been practicing in a sect for seven or eight years.

Hearing this, Shaoheng immediately looked up, her eyes filled with a mix of longing and restraint.

"What is Fellow Daoist Zhu referring to?"

"A Second-Grade precious medicine: the Bone-Shedding Jade Fruit!"

Seeing the desire in her eyes, Zhu Wushuang did not play coy and said immediately, "I originally came to this mountain range to hunt for a snake demon's gallbladder, but I unexpectedly discovered a Bone-Shedding Red Flower nearing maturity deep within a snake den."

"The Bone-Shedding Red Flower is a First-Grade precious medicine that blooms once every ten years. But after three cycles of blooming and withering, it will bear fruit. That fruit is the Bone-Shedding Jade Fruit, which can cleanse impurities from the bones and muscles, temper the physical body, and increase one's cultivation!"

Zhu Wushuang rubbed her hands together and chuckled, "However, that White Snake Demon has likely absorbed the remains of the previous three Bone-Shedding Red Flowers. It is probably on the verge of breaking through to the late stage of the First Realm."

Shaoheng's expression turned fearful, her voice trembling as she said, "Fellow Daoist Zhu, with my shallow cultivation, I could never possibly deal with such a snake demon."

Zhu Wushuang quickly explained to soothe her, "Don't worry, Sister Yan Ning. Although I have not yet advanced to the late stage, once the Jade Fruit matures, I can manage to entangle with that snake demon for a while to distract it. You can take the opportunity to seize the Bone-Shedding Jade Fruit, and then we shall regroup."

"A single plant produces six Jade Fruits in total. When the time comes, I will give you one. With the potency of a Second-Grade precious medicine, it will be enough for you to attempt a breakthrough."