37: Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant

As he was searching for this Spirit Spring, he suddenly sensed the Aura of the Human Race. Although this was the border between human and Yao territories, it was still ultimately within the Yao Race's territory. Who would dare come to the Yao territory at such a delicate time? They were simply courting death.

In the past, one could actually see some members of the Human Race in the Cloud Sea Marsh. Otherwise, low-level Cultivators would come here to try their luck for an Opportunity. After all, on the outskirts, the danger wasn't that great, and the resources in the Cloud Sea Marsh were indeed much more plentiful than those in the Human Race's territory. The Yao Race wouldn't fall out with the Human Race over these low-level resources, so it wasn't considered dangerous.

However, after the incident with the Beast Taming Sect, everything changed. The Yao Sovereign of the Cloud Sea Marsh had already issued a decree that humans were forbidden from entering the entire Cloud Sea Marsh. Once discovered, they would be killed without mercy, leaving no way out. This person actually dared to enter at this time; it was unclear whether it was a case of "a person's heart is not enough, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant" or if he was "skilled and bold." Since Gu Yuchuan saw him, there was no reason to let him go. After all, he was also a member of the Yao Race in the Cloud Sea Marsh and naturally had to obey the Yao Sovereign's decree.

This Human Race member was a middle-aged man with sharp features and a monkey-like face, looking somewhat wretched. Judging by his Aura, he was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, making him an expert in this border area. Most of the Cultivators here were at the Qi Condensation Early-stage cultivator level, with even Middle Stage ones being very rare. No wonder he dared to enter; it turned out he really had some skill. Unfortunately, he had encountered Gu Yuchuan.

His movements were sneaky, and it was unclear what he was looking for. Gu Yuchuan was in no hurry to strike. In truth, the man looked too much like he was searching for some treasure. Risking entry at this time meant he surely had clues about a treasure, and that treasure must be decent. Gu Yuchuan also wanted to pick up a ready-made Opportunity. Why not snatch an enemy's Opportunity?

He followed the other party to the edge of a cliff. This Cultivator was named Ma Mingxi, a Loose Cultivator. He had previously discovered a nearly mature Marrow Jade here, which was why he braved the danger to return. This Marrow Jade was a good item; with a bit of refining, it could become a spirit-gathering object. Adding it to a Magical Artifact could also add a lot of divine mystery to the artifact. It was very precious and served a similar purpose to the Spring Eye Gu Yuchuan was looking for this time.

At this moment, Gu Yuchuan also detected this Marrow Jade through his Treasure Hunter ability. In the Simulation, he hadn't obtained information about this Marrow Jade, likely because he had arrived too late and the other party had already taken it away. Now that he had arrived a bit earlier, he happened to encounter it by chance. Indeed, he was a lucky little Horned Snake.

Since he had found this Opportunity, there was no need to keep following the other party, which was quite annoying. He immediately revealed his form, scaring the other man into stumbling back a few steps.

Under the sunlight, his green scales shimmered brilliantly, and within his triangular pupils, killing intent brewed, making one shudder—at least, that's how Ma Mingxi felt.

"Human Cultivator, I recall that our Cloud Sea Marsh issued a decree long ago forbidding Human Race Cultivators from entering. You have knowingly violated it. Today, you shall die here."

Ma Mingxi felt the Divine Might emanating from Gu Yuchuan like a prison and knew he couldn't resist. He immediately knelt down: "Senior, I was momentarily blinded by greed and came in. I'll leave right now. I'm just a Loose Cultivator with nothing of value on me. These three hundred Spirit Stones are my entire savings. Please, Senior, forgive me just this once."

Although he was very tempted by those three hundred Spirit Stones, there was no need to forgive the other party. If he just killed him, wouldn't everything be his? Besides, the man didn't look like an honest person and certainly had his own schemes. Sure enough, before Gu Yuchuan could speak, the man threw out a Storage Pouch. The Storage Pouch released a lot of Poison Mist in the air, and he took the Opportunity to flee quickly.

However, as soon as he looked back, he broke out in a cold sweat. Gu Yuchuan actually flew out riding his Poison Mist. His own attack had become the other's Spell. Anyone seeing this would be extremely shocked.

One must know that whether it was Soaring on Clouds and Riding the Mist or the Horned Snake's talent, Poison Mist, both could control the Poison Mist he had released. Under dual control, he was truly showing off his slight skill before a master. Gu Yuchuan didn't even say anything more; the Poison Mist enveloped the man, and in the next second, he turned into a skeleton. All his life essence entered Gu Yuchuan's body, bringing him one step closer to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

He searched around and found the Marrow Jade; it was indeed a fine treasure. When the time came to refine it together with the Spring Eye, increasing his cultivation speed by thirty percent wouldn't be a problem. This was a great joy; for a Cultivator, nothing was better than increasing cultivation speed.

As for finding that Spring Eye, it was much easier. He had found the Spring Eye twice in the Simulation, so there would naturally be no problem in reality. Without much effort, he found the Spring Eye. However, unlike the Marrow Jade, the Spring Eye couldn't be taken away at will; it had to be refined right here. Fortunately, refining a Spirit-Gathering Jade Pendant was very easy and required no special technique—just cutting the connection between the Spring Eye and the earth and then shaping it.

He just needed to insert the step of refining the Marrow Jade into it. In essence, this didn't really count as Artifact Refining; it was as simple as melting Dove Chocolate and pouring it into a mold to make a new chocolate. Any Cultivator could do it, and so could he.

He began refining immediately. His magic power cut the connection of the Spring Eye, and suddenly, the Spiritual Qi in the vicinity seemed to weaken slightly, but the change was negligible and couldn't really be felt—it might even have been psychological. Slowly, under the magic power, the Spring Eye and the Marrow Jade both turned into a mass of white liquid. They merged together, becoming a mass of liquid shimmering with a hazy light. Next was the shaping.

He did have some requirements for aesthetics. He even carved a Dragon pattern on the jade pendant, making it look lifelike. This matched his temperament as a Horned Snake. But now there was a problem: where would he wear this jade pendant? As a little snake, where could he wear a jade pendant?

After thinking for a moment, he used his magic power to fix it to his tail. Once he got home, he would make a pouch to hang it on himself, which would be much more comfortable. Now, he had finished what he came out to do today; it was time to go home. Before the war, he still needed to cultivate more, preferably succeeding in his breakthrough.

However, after returning this time, he first called Bai Li and Bai Ming over. With the great war imminent, their strength also needed to be increased as much as possible. With their current level of cultivation, it was too easy to die. That wouldn't do.