In Xuanyuan Yiren's eyes, a strange light flashed: "Then how did you know? A place like this, don't tell me you read about it in a book again?"

Zong Shou immediately felt a headache coming on; he knew Xuanyuan Yiren would question the source. But thankfully, he was not as wary of Zong Weiran now as he had been before.

The position of Demon King of Qiantian Mountain was settled. As for Zong Weiran, that matter could be dealt with later. Since he had already taken discipleship under the Cang Sheng Dao, with its vast collection of scriptures and texts, he was certain he could perfect the Yuanyi Sword to a significant degree by then.

"I really did see it in a book."

As he spoke, Zong Shou shook his head and smiled wryly: "In the dying years of the sun, the Lingyuan fought the Xi Zi. Unable to defeat him, it severed its tail to escape, and the tail fell into the Burial Ground of Saints. In truth, this mist is formed from the blood of the Lingyuan. The Lingyuan is one of the progenitors of the spirit beasts, so its blood is most effective against spirit beasts and demons, but it is equally poisonous. There's much more; should I recite it for you?"

Xuanyuan Yiren snorted and turned her face away. She mused that she, too, had read widely, so how had she never come across this? She was determined to peruse the libraries of Linhai Academy and Qiantian Mountain later to ascertain if Zong Shou spoke the truth.

She then considered that since Xi Zi was the progenitor of the Cang Shan Dao, the knowledge regarding this place must have come from his senior brother who was at the Saint realm.

"In fact, this place is not entirely without danger, it's just that the timing is right."

Zong Shou then executed another spiritual art, pushing the dense fog further aside. Soon, the skeletons of many spirit beasts could be seen buried in the ground.

"Every time it reaches the hour of Zi (midnight), when the Yin energy of heaven and earth is at its peak, the poisonous mist here intensifies. At that time, even a fifth-tier expert would find it hard to bear and would need to seek shelter."

He then cast his gaze around the area: "This valley is about four hundred li in circumference. The lower you go, the lower the terrain, and the stronger the mist. The total number of spirit beasts here is probably no more than seven thousand. But rumor has it that the bottom connects to an Abyssal Hell below, and every day, spirit beasts and wicked spirits are drawn by the anomalous power of this mist and enter this place." Yiren felt a slight disappointment; the small number of spirit beasts here meant they couldn't be utilized on a large scale. Even if new ones entered, given the short timeframe, it would be difficult to accumulate much of this essence blood.

Shi Dan, however, felt a stir of emotion. Although she knew this place wasn't of great strategic use, Zong Shou wasn't hiding even this treasure trove, or the tail of the Lingyuan, from her, an 'outsider.' This demonstrated his profound trust in her.

Having such a sovereign, her previous defiance of her sect's orders to remain under Zong Shou's banner was well worth it.

"So, does this mean we have to hunt these venomous beasts these past few days?"

When she asked this, Xuanyuan Yiren showed slight confusion: "Then, when the Dragon Gate opens, you aren't planning to go, Zong Shou?"

"That's for you all, not me. How could I possibly miss the shadow imprint of the Martial Saint at the Dragon Gate?"

Zong Shou smiled, looking at the stunned crowd: "What are you all standing around for like fools? Do you expect me to personally deliver the essence blood to your mouths?"

Two fourth-tier Dragon-Horned Winged Horses weaved through the swamp. Being fourth-tier spirit beasts, they possessed immense combat strength and dragon blood. The figures riding them also exuded extraordinary auras, so no ignorant strange beasts in the swamp dared to seek trouble with them.

The one in front was Zong Yuan, keeping a vigilant watch on his surroundings and the ground beneath his feet as he rode.

In this land covered in mire, the mud itself was the most dangerous element. Any kind of monster could hide within it.

With bad luck, one could even encounter a seventh-tier spirit beast.

Such was his nature; even knowing that Zong Shou's combat power far surpassed his own, he still performed his duties with utmost diligence.

Seated on the Dragon-Horned Winged Horse behind was naturally Zong Shou, currently existing in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

Only a sliver of his divine sense remained alert to the surroundings, constantly monitoring the changes within his Sea of Consciousness.

It was unavoidable. Ever since advancing to the Huan Yang Spirit Master rank, he hadn't managed a solid night's sleep.

It was all because of the effect of the 'Swallowing Pure' twin talismans, which had caused a complete mutation in his Sea of Consciousness.

Previously, the vortex had a limit; although it devoured the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the scale was minute.

But since he condensed these two true talismans, the vortex gained a core, and its suction force increased by more than tenfold!

It no longer just swallowed ordinary Five Elements spiritual energy but directly consumed the 'Source Spirit'—the origin from which these energies sprang.

Even after condensing seven complete spiritual meridians within his Sea of Consciousness, the process showed no sign of stopping, causing the vortex to continuously expand and repeatedly compress itself.

Purely in terms of soul power, he should now already surpass Zong Ling, who had entered the Huan Yang realm fifteen years earlier and was nearing the condensation of nine talismans. His soul power exceeded that of a Spirit Master of the same rank by six times!

As a result, Zong Shou was constantly worried about what further changes might occur in his Sea of Consciousness, leading him to lose his life unwittingly in his sleep.

The only solace was the Yuanyi Sword. Since he had fully recovered the lost lands of Qiantian, powerfully annexed the Three Provinces, and brought more than a dozen directly governed cities under his rule, increasing his population by fifty million, the Dragon Qi within this sword had been continuously growing stronger, and the dragon form on its blade was becoming increasingly distinct.

The Di Feng Jue had also effortlessly surged into the sixth realm.

This was even with Zong Shou constantly suppressing it, deliberately avoiding engraving it for cultivation. If he practiced wholeheartedly, breaking into the seventh realm would be exceedingly easy.

However, the Nine-Layered Pagoda was even more formidable. It hovered motionlessly above his Sea of Consciousness, emitting thousands of auspicious rays that brushed down, strand by strand.

While repairing his divine soul, it also firmly suppressed this sword. The only surprising thing was that since that day he staged a show in the Iron Gang Stone Hall on Zhengan Peak, the invasive power of this so-called 'Royal Path Aura' seemed less potent, appearing much gentler, which was rather reassuring.

The sun gradually set, and the swamp grew increasingly cold. This was the most dangerous time for this location.

Yet, the two did not stop, urging their mounts forward with renewed effort. After about two hours, a mountain approximately three thousand zhang high appeared ahead.

"My Lord, Julong Mountain has arrived!"

Zong Yuan looked up and observed it closely. Aside from being exceptionally tall and vast, the mountain showed nothing particularly unusual; it backed onto the swamp on three sides, leaning against the great sea.

The only thing somewhat astonishing was how unusually vigorous and robust the vegetation on the mountain was.

Zong Shou also awoke. As soon as he opened his eyes, he smiled: "Indeed worthy of the name Julong (Dragon Gathering)..."

At the base of this mountain, dozens of spiritual meridians converged, and it was both the beginning and end points of seven large 'Dragon Veins.' The mountain's structure also possessed an unusual appearance.

If it weren't for the slightly incorrect location and the surrounding swamps where humans could not survive, this place would be an ideal location to establish a city or capital, benefiting from the nourishment of 'King's Qi.'

But even so, this place remained a top-tier burial site, what Feng Shui masters called a Blessed Land, ranking in the first class.

In fact, five thousand years later, when this swamp dried up, a great city did indeed rise here, and a major power emerged from this location.

The two arrived at the base of the mountain and first found a dry spot to sit. There were about four days remaining until the Dragon Gate opened. Furthermore, the mountain was covered in prohibitions set by that Martial Saint, and it was rumored that quite a few powerful spirit beasts used it as their lair.

Thus, neither of them rushed up the mountain.

Zong Yuan built a fire and sat down nearby. He took out a silvery-white liquid from a magnetic bottle and absorbed it into his body through his palm.

This was what the two had obtained during their hunt beneath the Sea of Clouds. Over several days, the group had searched and killed throughout the area below the Sea of Clouds, collecting a little over four hundred drops, which the two brought ahead.

In truth, Zong Shou had originally intended to come to this Dragon Gate alone, but Zong Yuan insisted on accompanying him out of concern. Considering the significant benefit the Martial Saint's shadow imprint would bring to him as well, Zong Shou had no choice but to agree.

What surprised him was that Xuanyuan Yiren was unwilling to follow. She claimed that as long as he taught her about the Martial Dao sword intent, it would suffice. As for the Lingyuan blood, if they missed this opportunity today, who knew if another chance would arise later. She seemingly paid no heed to the Martial Saint's imprint.

This righteous little woman was truly most interested in alchemy and medicine. This left Zong Shou, who had somewhat looked forward to a romantic excursion with her, deeply disappointed.

He also took out two drops of the silvery-white blood. One drop was allowed for Little Jin to devour. The other drop he absorbed into his palm himself.

This Lingyuan blood could increase one's vigor and strengthen their bloodline.

Spirit beasts who consumed it, without needing to do anything else, could awaken the innate memory of their ancestors' divine abilities.

Little Jin was such an example; with every dose consumed, the changes to its body increased.

The patterned markings on its skin became increasingly profound, resembling an innate spiritual array. The meridians inside its body had not increased; rather, they had become more streamlined. Yet, the efficiency of its demonic power circulation had greatly increased. In just a few days, its materialization ability had advanced by half a level.

Zong Shou, however, used this Lingyuan essence blood primarily to strengthen his body and comprehend the Martial Dao. Upon ingestion, he immediately refined it and then utilized the Profound Thunder Body Forging Art to temper his physique.

Unfortunately, this top-tier body-forging technique of the Cang Sheng Dao demanded absolute singular focus.

Even Zong Shou could not afford to be distracted by multiple endeavors. He could only continue to comprehend the Raging Thunder Sword Intent; this effort was not a distraction but rather greatly beneficial.

Over several days, his understanding of this sword intent also grew significantly. And the Thunder Winged Yang Snake benefited from this. It stirred several times, on the verge of breaking through, but was blocked by that invisible 'Heavenly Barrier.'

It took Zong Shou a full half an hour to consume one drop of essence blood. He felt his vital energy was severely depleted, but this session of body refinement yielded considerable gains to his physical body.

"In a few more days, I should be able to integrate the seventh and eighth earth meridians into my body..."

At this moment, he had already completed the fusion of the twin wheels and the three meridians within his body. With the foundation from his past life, Zong Shou's Martial Dao intent was already at an extremely high level. The barrier of the Martial (Martial Ancestor) realm posed no obstacle to him at all.