The gaze sharpened, and the surging blood within Zong Shou's body gradually gathered and swelled. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he saw Gong Xinran's figure abruptly block his path. Soul power surged, one hand extended forward, while a cold snort escaped her lips: "Step back!"

The jade hand's five fingers suddenly spread open. A small, earth-yellow spiritual energy talisman array materialized out of thin air. A powerful repulsive force immediately blasted the Winged Rat backward, sending it tumbling away.

Then, in the next instant, it was cleanly and swiftly cleaved by a sword wielded by a Martial Master who acted just in time.

"That was close! I was so focused on talking that I almost forgot this is the Blood Valley."

Watching the Winged Rat being cut into shredded meat, Gong Xinran patted her chest with lingering fear, then turned to look at Gao Yi with concern: "Senior Brother Yi, are you a bit tired? If you can't manage, let's head back, or we can rest for a while. Although my ancestor left some relics behind, there's no need to risk our lives for them."

Gao Yi ahead let out a wry smile, turning back with apologetic eyes: "It's fine, just a momentary lapse in concentration. I can still handle a few Third-Tier Fierce Beasts. That Winged Rat just now was truly too cunning. I was a bit careless—"

Zong Shou's gaze, however, turned slightly cold, looking up and down at Gao Yi with a hint of gloom, a faint malice flickering in his eyes.

Was that incident truly just carelessness? The experience from his past life as a peak Martial Cultivator ensured that even while speaking, he hadn't given up control of his surroundings. The timing of that Winged Rat's charge was too perfect. The nearby Secret Martial Masters weren't incapable of intercepting it.

Half a day ago, he had already sensed that the gazes of Gao Yi and the others upon him were somewhat amiss. At the time, he thought it was a delusion, that he was merely accompanying them for a short distance. Moreover, Qiantian Mountain and Dragon Spirit City were too far apart, and there were no conflicts of interest between them. Thus, he had always believed it was his imagination.

Only now was it confirmed. Gao Yi truly held murderous intent towards him! The only question was the reason behind it—

There was no past enmity between them. Jealousy over Gong Xinran didn't make sense either. His senior sister clearly treated him only as a younger brother. Given this man's background and character, there was no reason for him to care about a recognized failure like himself.

Could it be for the relics of Gong Xinran's ancestor? But Gao Yi was the young master of the Gao family in Dragon Spirit City; what kind of rare treasures couldn't his family obtain? Even the most precious relics left behind by a Day Roaming Realm Spirit Master, separated by three thousand years, were of limited value. Was it necessary to silence him before those relics could be acquired?

His confusion deepened, yet he could not find a satisfactory answer. Zong Shou dared not let down his guard even slightly; one attempt might not preclude a second. After a moment of thought, he took out some medicinal fluid and subtly smeared it over himself.

Then, he took out several needles as fine as a single strand of hair, inscribed with runes, and secretly inserted them behind his ears and at the sides of his temples.

Immediately, he felt his hearing and sight increase drastically. Previously, his vision could only clearly perceive things up to about five hundred zhang ahead. Now, everything within a thousand zhang was visible in minute detail.

The volume he heard in his ears also increased nearly tenfold, just like the sensation when he first opened his Soul Sea that day. Every movement of the nearby Fierce Beasts, even the rustling of the wind, all registered in his hearing.

Initially, this was to control his surroundings and prevent surprise attacks. But just as Zong Shou began filtering out some useless noise, he caught several wisps of discussion from the people ahead.

"What a pity... Young Master, this person... mustn't ruin the grand plan!"

"Damn it! ... Don't act on your own initiative! If this person's identity... dies by our hands, it will be improper... we won't be able to detach ourselves..."

"...That little girl likes him, forget it! Don't worry about it... The Crown Prince of Qiantian Mountain... a man destined to die, just a cripple, what does it matter if he knows?"

"But that thing... is crucial... the fewer people know..."

"This matter is simple... Let's discuss it when we get out... Someone is already waiting outside to receive us... even that person has arrived..."

The voices were vague and indistinct. Even with the aid of lip-reading, the fragments were incomplete. It was only the occasional flash of vicious intent in the eyes of those Secret Martial Masters that made Zong Shou's heart sink again.

When he tried to listen closer, those individuals immediately fell silent. And Gao Yi's face still held a gentle smile, showing no outward sign of anomaly.

A deep wave of killing intent rose in his chest, which he suppressed after a full moment.

Su Chuxue, possessing an animalistic intuition, subconsciously leaned closer to Zong Shou, one hand resting on her sword, her expression growing more vigilant.

The Fierce Beasts on Demon Corpse Mountain were even rarer but far more formidable, mostly reaching the peak level of Third-Tier. Even dealing with the Cold Nether Tiger had proven somewhat strenuous. If they delayed too long and attracted the beast horde, escaping would become even harder.

Fortunately, this was not the time of the beast tide, and the group moved cautiously, trying to take remote paths up the mountain. They were lucky, encountering only four or five creatures in total. Given their formidable strength, they faced no further danger.

After walking about two thousand zhang, the group began searching around the mountainside.

Zong Shou worried about Gong Xinran and intended to play dumb, pretending he hadn't noticed anything. It would be best to drag things out until night when the mountain beasts became frenzied, forcing these people to give up on descending for the time being.

Only when he saw the looks of impatience on Gao Yi's face, and even Gong Xinran gradually furrowing her brow, hesitating to speak, did Zong Shou realize he could delay no longer.

Sighing inwardly, Zong Shou scanned his surroundings. After a moment, a flicker of joy crossed his face, and he strode toward the side.

Not far off, beneath a massive boulder, lay a cluster of reddish-brown spirit grass. It was about half a person's height, with fresh, green leaves.

The spirit grass on Corpse Demon Mountain was slightly poisonous. Zong Shou approached, took out a leather glove, and carefully pulled up one stalk. First, he infused a thread of True Qi into it, followed by a drop of his blood upon the leaf.

As the drop of blood was absorbed, fine red veins immediately appeared on the leaf. With just a slight recognition, he knew this grass was identical to the Vein Spirit Grass in his memory.

He meticulously examined the several hundred stalks in this area and managed to select about fifty. This number was already enough for him to concoct medicine, more than sufficient. Curiously, the tips of these Vein Spirit Grasses bore dozens of millet-sized, wheat-spike-like flower fruits.

Vein Spirit Grass only bore fruit once every hundred years, and this cluster he held was clearly over three hundred years old, hence its vigorous growth.

"Indeed, an object nobody pays attention to. If this were ten thousand years later, even a ten-year-old Vein Spirit Grass would be rare."

This type of spirit grass had few uses, but it couldn't withstand continuous harvesting. After ten millennia, wild Vein Spirit Grass was already extremely scarce.

These stalks in his hand could fetch at least tens of millions in his future life.

Zong Shou, satisfied, placed them one by one into the pouch at his waist. Then, he saw Gong Xinran had approached him at some unknown time, smiling brightly at him: "Now that the Vein Spirit Grass has been collected, Junior Brother should be content?"

Then, with a flip of her hand, she offered six talismans: "These are Spirit Concealment Talismans I managed to acquire from my teacher before. Each one lasts for two hours and can hide one's tracks. With your maid assisting, you should be able to return safely."

Zong Shou, however, shook his head, glancing askance at Gao Yi. Although his previous thoughts were mere speculation, possibly painting a gentleman with the brush of a petty man—after all, while Gao Yi harbored hidden murderous intent toward him, he had always taken good care of Gong Xinran. Still, a sense of unease lingered in his heart.

After pondering briefly, Zong Shou smiled and tentatively suggested: "How about I go up with you, Senior Sister? Or I could let Xue'er go with you instead. Since I have these Spirit Concealment Talismans, I can walk out by myself—"

"Young Master!"

Before the words were finished, Chuxue's delicate eyebrows shot up, and she cried out sharply. Gong Xinran tapped his forehead with her fingers: "Nonsense! No matter how good these Spirit Concealment Talismans are, they are still vulnerable to accidents. How could I feel at ease if no one accompanied me?"

Zong Shou smiled wryly, knowing his suggestion was certainly impossible. Even if he declared that he was already at the Martial Master realm and his swordsmanship was spiritual, it would be useless.

Not only would he fail to pass muster with Gong Xinran and Chuxue, but Gao Yi's expression had also grown noticeably colder, tinged with a dangerous gleam.

Without much hesitation, Zong Shou settled for the next best option. He pulled out a stack of spiritual talismans he had seized from Qi Xiao, taking them all out regardless of their utility, and shoved the entire pile into Gong Xinran's hands: "Then Senior Sister, take these talismans. They are useless to me anyway. The mountain is dangerous; Senior Sister might be able to use them—"

Gong Xinran was slightly hesitant, but when she saw the genuine seriousness in the young man's eyes, and remembering his identity as the Crown Prince of Qiantian Mountain meant he likely didn't lack talismans, she smiled brightly and tucked the offered talismans into her embrace.