Chapter 39: What Did You Put in the Water? (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)

Shaohing could not help but marvel; such a creature was truly a masterpiece of heaven and earth.

Soon, however, her expression turned to shock. She saw a beam of clear light condensing rapidly, transforming into a cyan sword light that hovered between the illusory and the real, before slashing down toward the True Dragon!

Amidst the heavy dragon roars, a mixture of shock and fury rang continuously in her ears, striking her soul like a massive sledgehammer.

The moonlight within Shaohing's Niwan Palace surged, allowing her to barely resist, but Li Chaoge, beside her, could not endure it at all and fell unconscious.

Shaohing dragged her along, concealing their presence, and then focused her gaze on the battle unfolding in the sky.

It was not the back-and-forth struggle she had imagined. The White Dragon exerted all its strength, manifesting countless rays of rosy light into dragon shapes to attack—physical embodiments of the Dragon Clan's demonic arts. Yet, the speed of the descending cyan sword light did not slow in the slightest, shattering every dragon-shaped ray of light that stood in its path.

In the end, the White Dragon endured the strike. Its scales shattered, and crimson blood rained down like a storm. The wound was deep enough to reveal bone, and its aura was visibly waning.

Shaohing felt her heart racing with excitement!

"Even a True Dragon, blessed by heaven, or such an ancient celestial demon, can be easily slain!"

Shaohing glanced at the unconscious Li Chaoge, cast a self-defense spell upon her, and then turned toward the battlefield.

Her Yellow Sprout trembled as mana surged through her entire body, making her movements increasingly light and swift. She soon arrived at a certain location.

Shaohing's face was filled with excitement. She performed the Wind-Blowing Technique, using the wind to gather the crimson droplets of blood falling from the sky.

"How powerful the True Dragon's pressure is. If not for the moonlight in my Niwan Palace to defend me, I would have surely been knocked unconscious by the dragon roars. Even a second-realm Profound Transformation cultivator might not have escaped unscathed."

"And that True Dragon's cultivation is profound. Judging by that previous sword light, the cultivator fighting it is even a step superior. In such a battle, a cultivator capable of withstanding the dragon roars likely wouldn't dare approach, lest they be seen as a scavenger and eliminated first."

"But I am different. I am merely a first-realm Qi Induction cultivator. Whether it is the True Dragon or the master of that sword light, I am likely as insignificant as an ant in their eyes, posing no threat."

This was why Shaohing could collect the scattered dragon blood without any interruption.

By the time the red rain ceased, she had already collected half of seven porcelain bottles!

Although this was merely ordinary blood from a True Dragon and not the essence-rich essence blood, blood from a True Dragon of such cultivation was already incredibly precious, worth hundreds or thousands of times more than the Dragon-Companion Grass.

Shaohing applied a sealing spell to the mouths of the bottles and stored them properly.

She noticed that the White Dragon was still locked in combat with a cyan figure, though the battlefield was gradually shifting.

Following them might allow her to collect more rare materials shed by the wounded White Dragon, but the risk was too great.

Shaohing was certainly not the only one coveting the True Dragon's treasures. As the battlefield shifted, cultivators would inevitably move to investigate the previous combat zone. Even if Shaohing pushed her [Three Thousand Mile Moon] to its limit, she could not match the speed of the True Dragon and its opponent. If she were to run into other cultivators sweeping the battlefield while chasing them, she would truly be in peril.

Thus, Shaohing chose to withdraw. Using the moonlight, she quickly slipped back to the place where she had hidden Li Chaoge and saw that the girl was still unconscious.

If Li Chaoge were to die, the Qinghe Li Clan would surely not let it rest. And if Shaohing abandoned her and Li Chaoge survived, Shaohing's reputation would be utterly ruined upon returning to her sect. She didn't care what others thought of her, but there was no need to invite even greater trouble later just to avoid a current nuisance.

"I really can't just leave her."

To prevent her from waking up mid-way, Shaohing cast a Sleep Spell on her, hoisted Li Chaoge onto her shoulder, and prepared to flee.

But she suddenly realized that with the True Dragon appearing, the attention of any cultivator capable of staying conscious under the dragon roars would be focused on the main target, the White Dragon.

The third marker was where the True Dragon had left traces. Going there now would be like chasing the tail instead of the head. Since low-level cultivators were unconscious from the roars, that place would actually be relatively safe.

So, Shaohing pried open Li Chaoge's tightly clenched hand, took the parchment map, confirmed the direction, and hurried toward it.

Carrying Li Chaoge hindered her speed and made it difficult to utilize her遁术 (escape arts). After a long while, Shaohing finally reached the marked location.

She first looked around to ensure no one else was there. Relieved, she began her search and soon discovered a spot with thick demonic energy where five stalks of Dragon-Companion Grass were growing.

Shaohing harvested them all before releasing the Sleep Spell on Li Chaoge.

With a wave of her right hand, a cluster of water condensed and was guided onto the face of the unconscious girl.

"Cough, cough!"

Li Chaoge choked on the water and coughed twice before waking up.

Her soul had been shaken by the dragon roars; even after swallowing a Spirit-Nurturing Pill, her face remained pale and she lacked energy.

Li Chaoge remained sprawled on the ground, merely adjusting her position to be more comfortable, before asking weakly, "What... what did you put in the water?"

Since she still had the spirit to joke around, Shaohing's playful side was piqued, and a mischievous smirk appeared on her face.

"Phlegm."

"Ah!" Li Chaoge closed her eyes as if frightened, only to grumble resentfully a moment later.

"That damned True Dragon... why did it have to roar right when I was looking for the Dragon-Companion Grass? It even knocked me unconscious."

She had already seen the five empty holes and knew Shaohing had taken the grass.

As she spoke, the medicinal power of the Spirit-Nurturing Pill took effect, allowing her to recover enough strength to sit cross-legged. She looked solemnly at the gray-clad girl before her and said, "Thank you, Junior Sister Shaohing, for not abandoning me."

Shaohing bypassed the question and said frankly, "I dragged you here and have already searched once. Aside from the Dragon-Companion Grass, I saw no traces of a young dragon hatching. It seems the Spirit Dragon Liquid is out of reach."

"Not so!"

Li Chaoge took a compass from her storage bracelet and said with a proud smile, "No matter how powerful a True Dragon is, a young dragon is far too fragile when hatching. Therefore, the Dragon Clan created a technique to conceal their tracks."

"The compass gave no response at the first location, so I didn't mention it. But here, my 'Detection Compass' has sensed the fluctuations of a concealment spell."

On the bronze compass, the tip of the needle, which looked as if it were forged from black iron, flashed with white light, pointing in a specific direction.

Li Chaoge immediately flicked her sleeve, throwing a black spike toward that direction. A sound like shattering glass immediately rang out.

Shaohing, watching from the side, was deeply amazed, thinking to herself, *The cultivation world truly possesses many bizarre and unseen methods.*

She had explored that spot herself but had found nothing unusual.

Now, turning her gaze there, she saw a ground covered in broken cyan eggshells. They were quite large, and both sides of the shells were covered in ancient patterns.

Li Chaoge stood up, her voice finally tinged with excitement and joy: "Junior Sister Shaohing, it seems our luck is still good. Our misfortune has finally turned to fortune!"

Although she had only obtained one stalk of Dragon-Companion Grass, her fundamental goal for this trip had been the Spirit Dragon Liquid.

Just as Li Chaoge was about to step forward to collect the eggshells, she was suddenly swept away by a violent gust of wind!

(End of Chapter)