Chapter 42: There really is something dirty on her (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)

Though Jiang Yunjiang was furious, she suppressed her emotions. To avoid being tracked and marked by the Dragon Clan's sorcery, she did not pause for a single moment. Only after she had escaped over fifty miles did she tear open a Void-Breaking Talisman to shift her position.

Leaving Mount Danyang, Jiang Yunjiang landed in a dense forest covered in winter snow. She touched her earrings, causing the magical artifact's effect to dissipate and sweeping away all her lingering aura.

At that point, she struck a nearby tree with her fist; the sheer, violent force caused it to snap instantly.

As the trunk fell, the accumulated snow on the branches tumbled down in succession, making a series of sounds that mirrored her turbulent emotions.

Once her expression had completely calmed, Jiang Yunjiang exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"How familiar. Lu Shaoheng will always do things that bring me nothing but displeasure, even if they offer her no benefit. It seems I should teach her a lesson."

Jiang Yunjiang gave a light sneer, but her expression suddenly changed.

"No, she is merely an outer disciple; she has been in the sect for less than four months. That longbow is of decent quality, likely a high-grade First-Rank magical artifact, with a market price usually above eighty spirit stones. Yet, an outer disciple only receives one hundred and twenty spirit stones worth of resources per year... Shaoheng would never do something so foolishly counterproductive."

Dan Hua asked, "Then what is your assessment?"

Jiang Yunjiang suppressed her previous anger entirely. After a moment of deep thought, she replied, "That artifact likely consumed the bulk of the spirit stones she received this year, but it is highly unlikely it was a gift from someone else."

"Based on my understanding of Shaoheng, it must mean she is no longer lacking in spirit stones. For an outer disciple to not lack spirit stones for cultivation without being from a cultivation clan, there are two possibilities: first, she has mastered a way to obtain spirit stones through a long-term, stable channel; second, she is earning resources by performing sect missions."

Dan Hua's remnant soul transformed into a phantom and settled beside Jiang Yunjiang.

Her face remained expressionless as she asked calmly, "Then which possibility do you think it is?"

Though Jiang Yunjiang was merely voicing her suspicions, her tone was incredibly decisive.

"Both! They exist simultaneously!"

"Most third-grade outer sect missions are menial chores and yield almost no contribution points... If they are second-grade missions, then Shaoheng's cultivation level is definitely far beyond twenty cauldrons of mana!"

This time, it was Dan Hua who showed doubt.

"But my divine sense does not make mistakes, and I already scanned once on the spirit boat. That girl undoubtedly has low-grade aptitude. Even with the assistance of spirit stones for cultivation, reaching over twenty cauldrons of mana in nearly four months is already an extremely fast pace for low-grade aptitude."

Jiang Yunjiang fell silent for a moment before, quite rarely, contradicting this former True Monarch of the Sixth Realm.

"When I return to the sect, I will find a way to investigate further—at the very least, I will clarify the source of her spirit stones."

If she could intercept them, it would be a benefit to her, providing materials for her own alchemy practice.

...

Amidst the white mist, after drawing her bow, Shaoheng watched Jiang Yunjiang flee in panic following her grand display and couldn't help but curl her lips into a smirk.

During her process of gathering medicinal herbs, thanks to her strong spiritual sense and close proximity, she had detected an unusual fluctuation just as the power of the white mist technique was being dismantled.

When she went to investigate, she happened to see someone with half their body submerged in the mist and half outside.

Hmph. Looking at that back of the head and the curve of the hips, she recognized it as Jiang Yunjiang.

She ordered Gray Cocoon to restrain its mana and used a Face-Changing Technique to mask her features, following closely into the mist, only to see that young dragon!

"Damn it! It's one thing that I couldn't get the little dragon, but how could I let Jiang Yunjiang get its essence blood?"

Shaoheng immediately released an arrow.

Although Jiang Yunjiang was shielded by a magical artifact, preventing Shaoheng from seeing her exact cultivation level, she could estimate a rough idea—she should still be in the early stage of the First Realm.

Since Shaoheng intended only to interrupt, out of instinctive caution, she only mobilized about twenty cauldrons of mana, and indeed, she caused Jiang Yunjiang to retreat in defeat.

Her thoughts raced through a thousand turns in an instant.

As Jiang Yunjiang fled, Shaoheng thought to herself that the woman likely recognized her and was also sprinting rapidly out of the white mist.

However, she realized that even though she had used [Three Thousand Miles of Moonlight], Jiang Yunjiang's speed was actually several times faster than hers, which left her feeling startled.

"My mana has already reached three hundred and twenty-five cauldrons. Judging by her recent strike toward the young dragon, she shouldn't have advanced to the middle stage of the First Realm yet. Even if she practiced a superior遁术 (escape technique), she shouldn't be this much faster than me."

Several memory fragments surfaced in her mind.

Jiang Yunjiang's secret observations of her before the spirit boat reached the sect, the strange, minute movements in front of the Beast Garden, and the ability to break through the white mist barrier set by the White Dragon...

Shaoheng reached a firm conclusion in her heart.

"There really is something dirty on Jiang Yunjiang!"

"Is it a split soul of some powerful cultivator? Or... a remnant soul?"

Shaoheng leaned toward the latter.

She had previously inquired about inner sect matters through Zhao Tang and learned that Jiang Yunjiang had entered the service of a Sixth Realm cultivator, but was not the sole true disciple.

Therefore, it was unlikely that such a cultivator would entrust a split soul related to their own spirit to Jiang Yunjiang for protection.

"A remnant soul residing in Jiang Yunjiang must have an ulterior motive. Given her opportunistic nature, besides intangible benefits like 'breaking the mist' or 'providing protection,' there must be tangible, palpable interests. Later, I can find a way to investigate what kind of resources Jiang Yunjiang has a high demand for."

Shaoheng was nearing the edge of the white mist, feeling a surge of joy.

But suddenly, the soft, ethereal white mist turned into a hard wall. She slammed into it head-on, instantly bruising her forehead.

She looked back and saw that the young dragon in the pool had indeed opened its eyes. Its pale gold vertical pupils lacked the coldness of a serpent; because it was newborn, they appeared somewhat naive and innocent, yet they clearly possessed the innate majesty of the Dragon Clan.

"Little dragon! I was the one who stopped the bad person trying to take your blood just now! I'm a good person! A very good person! Your savior!"

Shaoheng shouted loudly while gripping her longbow with her right hand, gathering all her Yellow Sprout mana in preparation for a full-scale attack.

The young dragon opened its mouth and let out a clear chirp, sounding somewhat like the crisp tinkling of a wind chime.

"I remember your voice from before. You are a 'good person'."

Though what entered her ears was a dragon's roar, Shaoheng could strangely understand the meaning, and the voice felt more like that of a young boy.

A... "good person"?

Shaoheng pursed her lips and replied with a forced, mirthless smile, "Thank you. You look like a good dragon too."

Another dragon roar followed.

"Why do you carry my father's aura? Are you a human slave sent by my father to protect me?"

"No, wait... you smell quite fragrant. Are you the blood-food my father sent to me?"

True Dragons are Heavenly Demons; they are not just sought after by human cultivators for domestication and conquest. They also create Dragon Marks, allowing them to bind living beings as slaves.

Even this young dragon, having only been born for a short time, possessed a cruelty wrapped in the guise of innocence through its awakened bloodline heritage.

(End of Chapter)