Beating his thunder wings, he soared through the heavenly aperture. Zong Shou watched the mountains and rivers below retreating at a terrifying speed.

At the Night Roam realm, gliding through the air offered a different sensation. There was more composure, less caution. Yet, for some unknown reason, the sky above these few individuals remained perpetually overcast, flashing with lightning, casting an unsettling mood.

In no time, he arrived at the location of the spirit vein he had sensed earlier. The Three Profound Mirroring Spirit Art could only reflect spiritual energy fluctuations within a thousand li, offering no topographical data.

Upon arrival, Zong Shou discovered the location was dominated by a sheer mountain, three hundred zhang tall, with the subterranean energy nexus hidden deep within its belly.

Zong Shou felt a slight headache, but this situation was still within his manageable scope. His spirit essence diffused from the luan form, transforming into a cloud of dark mist. He gently drew in the pure spiritual energy, extracting a portion of the source spirit through his mouth, guiding it toward the mountain's surface layers, then constantly moving it around the vicinity.

As expected, the spirit vein was lured out, extending its feelers. Though this entity was agile and difficult to pin down, it possessed no true consciousness; it instinctively consumed the source spirit to continuously augment itself.

Zong Shou waited silently, holding his nascent soul absolutely still to avoid alarming it. Only when the source spirit he controlled was quietly siphoned away did he suddenly raise the three-storied exquisite pagoda into the air.

Instantly, a wash of brilliant light cascaded down. Countless streams of soul power from Zong Shou’s nascent soul formed talismans, driving into the pagoda.

Then, a source spirit mass, writhing like a gigantic python, was forcibly dragged out from within the mountain.

As Zong Shou poured in his soul power, activating the talismanic arrays, the pagoda’s suction strength increased sequentially, resulting in a tense, tug-of-war-like stalemate.

It took a full fifteen minutes before it was completely pulled into the base of the tower.

Zong Shou’s tension eased slightly, and he recalled the five-colored miniature pagoda, less than a foot high, back into his nascent soul, kept buoyant by his soul power.

A subtle joy surfaced in his heart. This first attempt had been a windfall; his luck was excellent.

It was only the 'Spirit Seizing Pagoda' he’d snatched from Ming Jue that felt slightly lacking.

This item was essential for Spirit Masters, usable for absorbing and confining spirit veins. The higher its grade, the more formidable its suction power, naturally allowing it to confine more veins.

For ordinary Nascent Soul stage Spirit Masters without sect backing, possessing even a first-rank Spirit Seizing Pagoda was fortunate. Ming Jue [Baidu Shenhuang Bar] hailed from the Demon Banner Sect and seemed highly valued by his elders, hence his possession of this third-rank device. Even a peak-realm Spirit Master would find it a worthy tool.

However, though Zong Shou’s initial cultivation of soul power talismans was superb, his spiritual arts were extremely clumsy. No matter how advanced the spiritual artifact, he could not unleash its full potential.

“A first-rank Spirit Seizing Pagoda can bind two spirit veins. Every additional level adds the capacity for one more. My tower has three levels, capable of confining four veins in total. I wonder if my luck will hold for the next discovery,” he mused.

The spiritual energy consumed by using the Three Profound Mirroring Spirit Art surpassed that of the Spirit Seeking Technique.

If he hadn't recently acquired over two hundred spirit stones from Ye Feilei, and scavenged some beast crystals from the remnants of Yun Xu and Qiu Ling’s possessions, Zong Shou would truly struggle to afford it.

This was why, in his past life, when he was dirt poor, every time he needed to find a spirit vein, he could only rely on blind luck, never daring to hire Spirit Masters to assist with the spellwork.

It wasn't until later, after earning a significant fortune in the virtual illusion, that he became wealthy enough to directly purchase several spirit veins matching his own cultivation method and spiritual energy attributes at the auction house.

“It is currently the Zishi hour, and dawn is still far off. After returning to meditate and recover, I can use the art one more time. My stock of spirit stones and beast crystals is still sufficient—enough for over twenty applications of the Three Profound Mirroring Spirit Art. I refuse to believe I won't find one.”

With the thought formed, Zong Shou once again transformed into a Thunder Luan, flying rapidly. In an instant, he covered thousands of zhang, soaring nearly three hundred li. Zong Shou’s silhouette suddenly paused, and he looked toward the southwest with doubt.

There was a faint presence there, flickering in and out of perception—at one moment obscure and dim, then suddenly erupting with vitality.

“Someone is over there? This aura… it seems familiar. Is that person from the Black Tortoise Sect?”

Zong Shou’s spirit sharpened, and without hesitation, he transformed into a gale, darting away. A few powerful flaps of his thunder wings brought him over a small mountain hollow. He saw a disheveled woman lying beside a stream, with a pair of fox ears atop her head and six snowy-white, bushy fox tails extending behind her.

The aura emanated from within this woman. Her surrounding gangqi fluctuated wildly, seeming extremely unstable. Her hair obscured her face, but the exposed skin on her arms and feet was a dark purplish-black. Wounds oozed traces of pus and blood.

This fluid stained the entire nearby stream a purplish-black hue; countless fish and shrimp floated dead on the surface, already more than half decomposed, some reduced to mere skeletons.

The poison flowed downstream, causing the vegetation on both banks to wither significantly. As far as the eye could see, almost everything was tinged purple-black.

Nearby fierce beasts dared not approach, keeping their distance, observing from ten li away with intense vigilance and apprehension.

When Zong Shou’s nascent soul descended upon the area, it let out a threatening growl, urging him to quickly take his kind and leave.

Zong Shou sighed inwardly, realizing this woman must be the one Hu Zhongyuan had mentioned, who had been secretly guarding the area for the past month.

It made sense why she was reluctant to meet him. It also explained why she was late when he fought Li Xieling that day, and why she hastily departed without even meeting him face-to-face.

It was remarkable that she could endure until now despite suffering such severe poison and grave injuries.

Judging by the scene, she had been unconscious for at least three days. If he hadn't stumbled upon her here by chance, she might have died and her remains completely decayed beside this stream.

“The poison is purplish-black; what kind of venom is so dominating? And her identity… Hu Zhongyuan [Baidu Shenhuang Bar] only knew that in recent years, Zong Weiran was always accompanied by a powerfully built martial arts guard. Her strength was only slightly inferior to the famous martial sects in Qiantian Mountain City. Her name was Ruoshui. Her origin and even her appearance were unknown. I don't know if this woman is her. But a Earth Wheel Seventh Meridian, a fox-demon body, so heavily injured… it's probably her.”

Zong Shou gently unfurled his soul power, stirring a slight breeze that brushed the girl’s hair aside. He was momentarily stunned. The girl had delicate features, but her face was covered in purplish-black pustules, making her appear utterly hideous, as if insects were crawling beneath her skin.

In this state, it was impossible to discern her true age.

After a brief pause of surprise, Zong Shou lifted the woman with his soul power. She seemed to sense something; her eyelids fluttered, and she actually awoke, opening her eyes. Her face was grotesque, but her eyes were breathtakingly beautiful—a pure, brilliant purplish-red, seemingly capable of piercing one’s very soul.

Her gaze, initially alert, instantly relaxed. Her consciousness, however, only remained lucid for a moment. She managed only one look at Zong Shou before falling unconscious again.

Zong Shou shook his head quietly and continued flying. Without transforming into his luan form, his aerial speed dropped tenfold. Carrying another person made the journey even slower. It took him a full half shichen to reach the peak where he had set up his formation.

Upon reaching the summit, Chu Xue and Hu Zhongyuan were anxiously waiting. They froze when they saw the woman Zong Shou was holding aloft with his soul power.

“A fox-demon body that has grown six tails. Who is this woman?”

Hu Zhongyuan instinctively glanced toward the girl's [Baidu Shenhuang Bar] face, but frowned, showing a flash of disgust, and quickly averted his gaze. A sudden thought struck him: could this be the person from Qiantian Mountain whose face many powerful figures had never seen?

As Zong Shou approached, Zong Yuan couldn't help himself, his face pale: “This smell is so foul! No, it’s repulsive—”

He couldn't bear it and retreated, floating dozens of zhang away before feeling slightly better.

A moment later, even Hu Zhongyuan and the Phantom Lion could not remain and retreated, while Chu Xue, though not moving far, covered her nose with her hand, her face etched with distress.

Zong Shou didn't notice at first and was rather displeased by their reaction. But when his own spirit essence returned to his body, he was immediately assaulted by an overwhelming, nauseating odor wafting from his nose.

It wasn't pure stench, but a smell so vile it made the blood and qi churn violently within him, inducing an instinctual urge to flee. He couldn't truly blame the two of them.

He glared coldly at Zong Yuan and Hu Zhongyuan, but without covering his nose, he forcibly suppressed the turbulent qi within his body. He then drew the woman closer to his chest.

As he reached out to check her pulse, a warning flashed through Zong Shou’s mind.

“Good heavens, it has infiltrated my shadowy soul without me noticing! This poison is truly potent!”

In his soul sea, thunder flashed, and the power of water and fire surged forth. Spiralized jinqi vibrated. In just a moment, a drop of purplish-black liquid was forcibly expelled by Zong Shou and sent into the nearby undergrowth.

Instantly, the vegetation within a three-zhang radius withered and rotted, leaving only bare earth.

Faint wisps of smoke even rose, corroding a portion of the soil itself.

Chu Xue and Hu Zhongyuan exchanged startled glances, seeing shared alarm in each other’s eyes. Such potent venom was excessively tyrannical! It seemed even slight proximity carried mortal danger.

Zong Shou, however, remained unconcerned. He still held the woman’s hand, and after a brief moment, he let out a sigh. Indeed, the poison had reached the marrow—the worst and most difficult condition to expel.

The only glimmer of hope was that the spirit vein integrated into her body was still supplying spiritual energy; her vital qi circulation had not ceased, offering a sliver of life, though it was a near-certain death scenario. In the next instant, Zong Shou drew the Thunder Fang Sword and plunged it directly into the woman’s left chest!