"You four have the 'Shadow Spirit Escape Block'; naturally, you have nothing to fear. Too bad this bastard doesn't!" Nie Kong looked at Kou Qinglian with a half-smile.
Meeting Nie Kong's gaze, Kou Qinglian's spirit trembled, his face paling, and he instinctively looked toward the Heavenly Spirit realm experts from the Spirit God Hall. Though he was the Senior Disciple of the Medicine Platform in the Spirit God Hall, possessing the high-grade cultivation of Pill Spirit, he had grown up under the protection of his elders and had never experienced true life-or-death situations; even sparring with his peers was conducted in a friendly atmosphere. Encountering such a situation suddenly, he was thrown into a panic.
"..."
The old man in red and the others were struck dumb.
They had been entrusted by the Hall Master to bring Kou Qinglian out for tempering, expecting no real danger, only to run into Nie Kong in the "Frozen Snow Domain." Kou Qinglian’s cultivation had not yet broken through to Cave Spirit, making it difficult for him to utilize the "Shadow Spirit Evasion Block"; if a fight broke out, his death would be certain!
The complexions of the few men shifted between grim and uncertain. After a long silence, the old man in red gritted his teeth fiercely and flung the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate" toward Nie Kong: "Take it!"
Nie Kong snatched it, smiled faintly, and stepped aside: "Five of you, please proceed."
"Lou Kong, this 'Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate,' our Spirit God Hall will one day personally retrieve it from your hands." The old man in red’s face was ashen, and after a cold laugh, he, along with the other three Heavenly Spirit experts, shielded Kou Qinglian in the center, moving quickly and cautiously past Nie Kong’s side.
"I’ll be waiting!"
Nie Kong scoffed dismissively.
A faint ripple spread through the blood-red aura. Tai Yan couldn't help but ask, "Brother, we just let them all go?" Hearing this, the few figures who had just walked more than ten meters away changed color dramatically, spinning around abruptly to fix their gazes on Nie Kong, their eyes filled with anger and vigilance.
Seeing this, Nie Kong chuckled, "Those four have the 'Shadow Spirit Escape Block,' making them hard to keep. As for that piece of trash I could crush with one finger, letting him go is no loss."
"Nie Kong, you..."
Hearing such humiliation from Nie Kong, Kou Qinglian was so enraged he nearly passed out, but before he could finish speaking, the old man in red grabbed him, using "Body Merging into the Void" to whisk them away into the distance. The other four slowly retreated with wary expressions, only accelerating their pace once they were dozens of meters away.
Soon, the group vanished from sight.
Tai Yan instantly reverted to his human form, and the Gourd floated before Nie Kong, its radish-like fingers constantly poking and prodding the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate": "Nie Kong, what is this?"
Nie Kong sank his spiritual sense into the internal structure of the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate" to sense it for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction: "This should be a talisman artifact used for locating medicinal herbs, and it hasn't been long since it was crafted... It contains very powerful divine energy. It was likely made by those High Gods from the Spirit God Hall. We’ve made a good haul."
The real reason he let the group from the Spirit God Hall go—besides the difficulty of capturing the four Heavenly Spirit experts who carried the "Shadow Spirit Escape Block"—was a more critical one: he was not yet fully prepared for a war with the Spirit God Hall. Moreover, after this much time had passed, the Spirit God Hall might already harbor suspicions about the Wood Ancestor. If he were to kill Kou Qinglian now, the Spirit God Hall might launch an attack prematurely.
That would result in a net loss.
Putting away the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate," Nie Kong produced two "Spirit Return Jade Blocks" and handed them to Bai Yuqing and Yu Xuan, smiling: "Sister Bai, Yu Xuan, if there’s nothing else, you might as well come back with me first... Input your spiritual power into these, and you can reach my Spirit Mansion soon enough."
As for the dozens of women captured by Bai Yetian, Nie Kong was not worried. They were all Spirit Masters, and without Bai Yetian's threat, they should reach the nearest Ice Snow Kingdom soon. Time was a bit tight now; otherwise, Nie Kong would have liked to visit the Ice Snow Kingdom to see Miao Ge.
"I’ve been out too long; I was just thinking of returning to see Master and my parents," Bai Yuqing hoisted her greatsword onto her shoulder and accepted the jade block.
"Once we reach your Spirit Mansion, I'll contact my clan right away," Yu Xuan nodded, a faint blush still lingering on her face, making her look alluringly foxy.
"Excellent, let's go!"
"..."
The Spirit Mansion remained as tranquil as ever.
Arriving at the Spirit Mansion in the morning, Nie Kong instructed Tai Yan and the Gourd to take Bai Yuqing and Yu Xuan around to explore, while he himself headed to the Medicine Pagoda.
After hearing from his Master, Nie Xingyun, and Lian Tianxin about the recent situation on the Heavenly Spirit Continent, Nie Kong was overjoyed. In the half-month he had been gone, the sales of the Compendium of Materia Medica had soared, and printing houses across various regions were working day and night to keep up, yet the Pharmacopoeia remained constantly sold out, unable to meet demand.
However, the Compendium of Materia Medica was too specialized. When Long Xuechan visited next time, he could ask her to arrange staff to compile a condensed version of the Compendium specifically for Spirit Masters.
Hmm, he could also compile an introductory Pharmacopoeia for those novice Medicine Refiners.
These tasks could be completed by a dozen low-grade Medicine Refiners and wouldn't take much effort. But if the condensed and introductory versions of the Pharmacopoeia were released, it might allow every Spirit Master on the Heavenly Spirit Continent to possess a copy of the Compendium of Materia Medica, which would be immensely beneficial to Nie Kong in gathering the Power of Faith.
After feeling happy for a good while, Nie Kong finally collected himself and headed to the ninth-floor Medicine Garden Spirit God Hall.
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
Kou Xilai paced his room, his hair standing on end, his eyes crimson like a raging lion.
He had just received messages from Lu Qi and Kou Qinglian, finally learning that the coveted "Sleepless Heaven" had been snatched away, and not only that, but the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate" had also fallen into that person’s hands.
That person turned out to be Nie Kong, the old adversary of the Spirit God Hall!
What made matters worse, Kou Xilai couldn't blame Lu Qi and the others, because the reason the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate" was extorted by Nie Kong was entirely due to his kin, Kou Qinglian.
"This is a bit tricky!"
Lu Rong frowned, a bitter smile on his face.
The "Sleepless Heaven" had been specifically requested by the five High Gods, and in order to successfully capture the Medicine Spirit, they had expended vast amounts of divine power to jointly create the "Guiding Mechanism Medicine Plate." Now, not only did they fail to secure the Medicine Spirit, but the talisman artifact used to capture it was also gone. How could they explain this to the five High Gods?
Kou Xilai said in a deep voice, "They aren't unfamiliar with Nie Kong either; just tell them the truth, ask them to provide some substitute items— (Míng Dān)—and then search with all their might. Also, how is the progress of their 'Five Gods Heart Refining Formation'? This old man is getting impatient!"
"It will be clear soon enough!" Lu Rong replied.
"Good, I will wait for them a while longer!" Kou Xilai said fiercely.
"Hall Master, the Feather Spirit Clan..."
"Cut off all spiritual medicine supplies to Yu Qinglan! After we deal with Nie Kong, I will settle accounts with them properly!" Hearing Lu Rong bring this up, the anger Kou Xilai had managed to suppress only slightly erupted again. The reason the Feather Spirit Clan broke away from the Spirit God Hall was because of Nie Kong.
Nie Kong had become his obsession.
If this person was not eliminated, Kou Xilai would find it difficult to focus on his cultivation; trying to break through the third level of the Spirit Tribulation with such a state of mind would surely lead to death!
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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