Chapter 48: Night Talk in Zhaoge (Requesting monthly tickets! Requesting follow-up subscriptions!)

Shaohing pondered inwardly: "No, that's not right. On that day, my anomaly allowed the sun, moon, and stars to coexist simultaneously. Therefore, the possibility of a backlash from clashing when I absorb both solar radiance and lunar essence at the same time should be very low. I have already accumulated a significant amount of lunar essence within my body; I can try absorbing a small amount of solar radiance first to verify this."

"Furthermore, there were special changes when I absorbed lunar essence; what about solar radiance?"

Shaohing stopped obsessing. She sat cross-legged on her meditation mat, eyes tightly shut, calming her mind and spirit as she meditated upon the Great Sun.

In a trance, she entered an ethereal realm. A scroll appeared before her eyes, composed of the true intent of immortal arts.

Within the image was a three-legged black crow clad in golden flames, its wings embracing a blazing sun. The two seemed to be one, poised to merge in the next instant.

As Shaohing visualized, the sunlight streaming through the window seemed drawn by some calling. Crimson-gold droplets condensed out of thin air, then converged into dozens of trickling streams that wound around her body like silken threads.

As the solar radiance entered her body, the sealed Niwan Palace on Shaohing's forehead glowed brilliantly. In the next moment, silver-white lunar essence surged forth.

The two responded to one another, achieving a miraculous balance.

The lunar essence kept her spiritual platform clear and stainless, while the solar radiance tempered her physical body to be resilient. The two immortal arts surfaced in Shaohing's mind simultaneously, their individual characters deconstructing as her understanding of them deepened.

When the sun set and the moon rose, Shaohing ended her cultivation, opened her eyes, and let out a long breath.

Suddenly, a ripple came from her storage ring. Shaohing took out a blue-and-white conch shell and held it to her ear. As she tapped the tip of the shell with her fingertip's spiritual power, Li Chaoge's voice immediately rang out.

"Junior Sister Shaohing, the inquiries have been settled. Shall we meet in person?"

This conch was a small trinket made by a tool refiner; it was not a formal magical tool, but once activated with spiritual power, it could transmit messages within a certain range, though the content of each transmission was limited.

However, the price of this communication conch was similar to that of a transmission talisman, yet its durability far surpassed talismans, making it more widely used.

Shaohing replied, "Let us meet at Autumn Maple Terrace."

She put away the conch. As she stood up, the golden-haired little monkey hopped over, tugging at her hem and chirping softly.

"Alright, I'll take you out for a stroll too, Duobao."

Under the accumulation of cultivation resources, Duobao had already broken through to the mid-stage. His body had grown larger, the silver mark between his brows had become clearer, and the entire monkey had become much more lively.

Without the need for a leash, the little monkey obediently followed at Shaohing's feet.

Pushing the door open, Shaohing left the disciples' courtyard and soon arrived at a viewing platform.

The area was planted with Danfire Maples. As spring and winter transitioned, the maple branches were covered in a thin layer of snow, yet clusters of maple leaves still hung from the limbs. Their color was a deep crimson, with edges that glowed like embers, providing illumination at night.

This was a place where disciples used to relax in their leisure time, but now that night had fallen, there were few people around.

Shaohing looked ahead and soon spotted Li Chaoge's figure, walking quickly to her side.

"Senior Sister Li."

Li Chaoge turned to look at her. The two women found a stone table to sit at and cast a sound-proofing spell before beginning their conversation.

The young woman toyed with the hair by her temple as she spoke, "Regarding the inner sect matters you asked me to look into, I managed to find out through two clan uncles."

"That inner sect senior sister named Jiang Yunjiang has joined the sect of True Monarch Tianbai. This True Monarch has obtained the *Mystic Jade Pivot Thunder Canon*, one of the Five Canons, and is currently in seclusion preparing to break through to the Seventh Realm."

"And this True Monarch has set a requirement for her four disciples: whoever obtains more of the precious 'Moon Fragments' within the Profound Moon Secret Realm will be granted the opportunity to comprehend this extraordinary scripture."

As Li Chaoge spoke, her eyes were filled with envy.

She let go of her hair, resting her chin in her hands as she sighed, "That is one of the Three Scriptures and Five Canons—a high-grade Daoist scripture! If one can earn her recognition and begin practicing the technique from the first three realms, according to the sect's history, the lowest achievement is becoming a Sixth Realm Nascent Soul True Monarch."

"Having a good master is truly a massive blessing."

Upon hearing this, Shaohing roughly understood why Jiang Yunjiang's attempts to probe her after returning to the sect had seemed somewhat weak and listless.

Jiang Yunjiang had merely re-established contact with Yan Ning and the others, offering a few cultivation resources to gain their support, while deliberately spying on Shaohing's every move in her daily life.

However, the Law Enforcement Pavilion was strictly regulated, with explicit rules forbidding the disclosure of mission information taken by disciples; even an inner sect disciple like Jiang Yunjiang could not get an exception. Since Shaohing's speed in accepting missions was even faster than the cultivation speed of Yan Ning and Qin Ji, they could only watch as she continuously left the sect, returned, left again, and returned...

Shaohing had originally thought Jiang Yunjiang might have another trick up her sleeve, but she didn't. Fearing the woman might play dirty, Shaohing had asked Li Chaoge to use her family connections to gather information.

"Jiang Yunjiang was the last of the four disciples to join True Monarch Tianbai, and her cultivation time is short. Even with high-grade aptitude, she cannot advance to the late stage of the First Realm in just half a year. Her disadvantage is too great."

"But with her unyielding temperament, the closer we get to the opening of the Profound Moon Secret Realm, the more urgent and diligent her cultivation will become. She will be too busy tending to herself to bother finding trouble for me."

Shaohing pondered, having guessed about seventy to eighty percent of the situation.

Then she thought, "So Jiang Yunjiang is also participating in the Profound Moon Secret Realm. In that case, I..."

Shaohing's right fist tightened slightly, a fierce light flashing in her eyes.

"Naturally, I must seize the opportunity to kill her."

When the Profound Moon Secret Realm opened, disciples from both the Woxing Sect and the Zhenyi Yuan Sect entered together to search for opportunities and treasures. Shaohing had investigated previous openings; the number of deaths was not small. While some lost their lives to the dangers within the realm, more died due to conflicts between cultivators.

Shaohing believed her cultivation was a level above Jiang Yunjiang's. Combined with months of experience and physical tempering, she was certain she could suppress Jiang Yunjiang and beat her to death. Her only concern was that "dirty thing."

Li Chaoge saw that although Shaohing's face was expressionless, her eyes flashed with a sharp light. She curled her fingers and tapped them on the stone table.

"Junior Sister Shaohing, I have brought the information you wanted. So, what about that thing you promised me earlier?"

She licked her lips, her eyes burning with anticipation.

Coming back to her senses, Shaohing took a jade bottle from her storage ring and handed it to Li Chaoge.

"Senior Sister Li, you truly make me sad. Would I ever lie to you? When I was collecting precious herbs at Mount Danyang, that White Dragon was forced into retreat by the cultivator Qing Ying. I was extremely lucky to encounter a patch of soil soaked in dragon blood; after refining it, I obtained three drops."

"Giving you one drop really is a bit painful."

"Sigh, but who told you to be my Senior Sister Li?"

Li Chaoge gave her a playful glare and hurriedly took the jade bottle. As she applied her spiritual sense, she indeed felt a terrifying True Dragon pressure within the bottle.

She quickly stowed it away and sighed, "If I had known I could collect dragon blood, I would have stayed longer that day."

"Let me tell you, Junior Sister Shaohing, dragon blood has miraculous effects on alchemy. For instance, if a drop of the Dust-Descending Pill could be added, the medicinal potency could be harmonized to upgrade it from First Grade to Second Grade. And also..."

"Hey, Senior Sister, stop right there."

Shaohing sensed the agitation and clamor of Ao Chuan within the dragon markings on her forearm—as if he wanted to pounce out at any moment to devour Li Chaoge—and spoke up to interrupt.

(End of Chapter)