CHAPTER 376: CHAPTER 361: INVENTORY OF GAINS!

Canglong Nation, Beast Taming Sect.

Following Zhong Chuming’s demise under the Dao Protection Treasure bestowed to Zhouyang by Master Cyan Yang, his Lifebound Soul Lamp within the Beast Taming Sect extinguished as well.

The death of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator outside is a significant event in a top Major Sect like the Beast Taming Sect.

Even a Major Sect like the Beast Taming Sect, excluding those Golden Core Stage Cultivators dependent on them, has only around twenty or thirty Golden Core Stage Cultivators within the sect itself.

As one of these twenty or thirty individuals, Zhong Chuming’s sudden death outside, especially while executing sect duties, necessitates a thorough investigation.

Considering the enemy could kill Zhong Chuming, who possessed a Tier Five Lower Grade Demon Beast "Gen Mountain Turtle", and the best investigative method is for a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator to perform the "Circular Light Retrospect" Divine Technique to review the murder scene, the investigator naturally has to be a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

The Beast Taming Sect currently has two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and due to one Supreme Elder being in closed-door cultivation, the task of investigating Zhong Chuming’s death falls to another Supreme Elder.

This Supreme Elder of the Beast Taming Sect tasked with investigating Zhong Chuming’s death is named Xu Hanwen, known as "Master Celestial Serpent," named for the Tier Six Spirit Beast "White-scaled Celestial Snake" he tamed.

"Master Celestial Serpent" Xu Hanwen has cultivated for a millennium, reaching the Third-Layer Nascent Soul, and after setting out from the Beast Taming Sect, he arrived at the location of Zhong Chuming’s demise in less than a day.

By this time, Zhong Chuming’s body had been reduced to ashes by Zhouyang, and the massive corpse of the "Gen Mountain Turtle" had been divided into several parts and taken away in Storage Rings.

Of course, Xu Hanwen didn’t care about these things; to him, they weren’t important at all.

After watching the scene for a while, he directly performed the "Circular Light Retrospect" Divine Technique to review the scene of the time.

"Circular Light Retrospect, Trace Back the Past!"

In mid-air, Xu Hanwen, who appeared gentle and elegant like a gentleman, formed seals with both hands and pointed at the ground below, releasing a gentle white Spiritual Light that swept across the entire battlefield.

Then, a white Light Mirror emerged before Xu Hanwen, within which time swiftly reversed, revealing everything that happened before Xu Hanwen’s arrival.

Through the white Light Mirror, Xu Hanwen clearly saw how Xu Song and Zhouyang scavenged corpses and destroyed them, escaped in a certain direction, and finally a purple Divine Thunder descended from the heavens.

Boom!

When the white Light Mirror revealed the appearance of the purple Divine Thunder, it seemed as if struck by a tremendous external force and abruptly exploded.

"It was actually the [Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder], no wonder Junior Zhong had no chance to escape and perished!"

"But what on earth is that fellow’s origin, for a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect to bestow such a Dao Protection Treasure upon him?"

"Did Junior Zhong’s death have anything to do with the Profound Sun Immortal Sect?"

In mid-air, "Master Celestial Serpent" Xu Hanwen gazed at the ravaged land below, lost in contemplation.

The Beast Taming Sect is not weak, but compared to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, it falls short. If Zhong Chuming’s death is related to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, Xu Hanwen will have to consider the cost of seeking revenge.

"Hmph, whether it’s related or not!"

"Since my Beast Taming Sect’s Golden Core Stage Cultivator died under their Profound Sun Immortal Sect’s Divine Technique, regardless of whether it was executed by their disciple, it’s undoubtedly connected to them!"

"And that Golden Core Ghost Cultivator, doesn’t their Profound Sun Immortal Sect always present themselves as righteous sects? I shall visit the Profound Sun Mountain Range and see what they have to say!"

With a light snort, after making his decision, Xu Hanwen immediately sent his investigation results back to the sect, requesting that the sect dispatch two Golden Core Cultivators to pursue Zhouyang’s group, while he went ahead to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect’s mountain gate.

Meanwhile, within the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, when Zhouyang activated the Purple Jade Talisman sealing the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder", the creator of the item, Master Cyan Yang, sensed its usage.

After correlating this with the Beast Taming Sect’s recent pursuit of Zhouyang, he quickly realized what trouble Zhouyang had caused.

"This little rascal truly never settles down!"

With a bitter expression, Master Cyan Yang immediately announced his retreat, anticipating the arrival of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect.

Thus, with Master Cyan Yang in retreat, Xu Hanwen, "Master Celestial Serpent", arrived, finding no one to confront.

The Profound Sun Immortal Sect had another Nascent Soul Stage Zhenren receiving Xu Hanwen, who merely claimed ignorance, refusing direct confrontation due to his junior’s critical closed-door cultivation.

Moreover, the Zhenren insisted Zhouyang was not a disciple of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, and his actions were unrelated to the sect; they would not interfere if the Beast Taming Sect wished to pursue him.

"Master Celestial Serpent" Xu Hanwen was naturally dissatisfied with this answer, but the Profound Sun Immortal Sect’s immense power deterred him from genuine conflict, leaving him seething as he returned to the Beast Taming Sect’s mountain gate.

Not mentioning how the Beast Taming Sect reacted, Zhouyang, after killing Zhong Chuming, hurried non-stop towards the Broken Cloud Mountain Range.

Because no one blocked their way, they managed to cover the less than a hundred thousand mile distance in just a day.

However, entering the Broken Cloud Mountain Range didn’t mean absolute safety. Only by entering that fog area within the Broken Cloud Mountain Range could Zhouyang feel at ease.

The fog area is located deep within the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, and if a Golden Core Stage Cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect were to be found there, it would be quite a show.

It’s important to know that demon beasts harbor much stronger hatred towards those Beast Taming Cultivators compared to ordinary cultivators.

Thus, as Zhouyang ventured deeper into the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, relying on the cover of "Hidden Spirit Incense" and the "Illusory Cloud Ship," he eventually settled on a Tier Three Spirit Mountain within the fog area.

This Tier Three Spirit Mountain was originally occupied by a solitary Tier Three Demon Tiger, which Zhouyang had the "Golden-winged Thunder Eagle" kill, temporarily occupying the mountain for shelter.

Of course, this kind of action could only be concealed for a while. Over time, the Tier Four Demon Beast that the Tier Three Demon Tiger served would surely notice the change of ownership of the Spirit Mountain and come to investigate.

But Zhouyang only needed to delay for a few days. He would leave as soon as Xiao Ying woke up and her injuries healed.

Xiao Ying was unconscious for a full three days before waking up.

"Ying’Er, how are you feeling? If you need anything, just tell your husband, and I will definitely get it for you!"

Inside the temporary cave dwelling on the Nameless Spirit Mountain, Zhouyang, who had been keeping vigil by the stone bed, hurriedly stepped forward to hold his Dao companion’s hand with concern after seeing Xiao Ying awake.

Hearing her lover’s heartfelt and sincere concern, Xiao Ying felt warmth in her heart, feeling that everything she had done was worth it.

She did not rush to answer Zhouyang’s words, but first closed her eyes to inspect her injuries internally. Afterward, she opened her eyes, gently shook her head, and said, "Husband, rest assured, my injuries are not serious. With half a month’s meditation and exercise, I should be able to use magical power to fly again!"

"Then rest well, and if you need anything, please be sure to tell your husband. I will be outside standing guard for you."

Zhouyang looked at his Dao companion with concern and slightly nodded. After reiterating his words, he exited the stone chamber and guarded outside for his Dao companion.

Half a month’s time is not long, but for Zhouyang and others who have not yet escaped from danger, it’s not short either.

To give himself some response time, Zhouyang specifically sent Xu Song to lurk in the direction he arrived from, so if the Beast Taming Sect’s cultivators chased after them, he would receive advance warning to relocate.

At the same time, he examined the spoils obtained from killing Zhong Chuming to see if he could find anything useful in the current situation.

Zhong Chuming had quite a few good things on him. As a Golden Core Stage Cultivator of the Beast Taming Sect, one essential treasure he carried was a Spirit Beast Ring.

This Spirit Beast Ring had a huge space, capable of holding spirit beasts with a body length of over a hundred feet, and the living environment inside was far superior to that of a Spirit Beast Bag.

Additionally, Zhouyang found a high-level Spirit Beast Bag on him, which contained a Tier Four Middle-Grade Flying Spirit Beast "Divine Wind Eagle."

The "Divine Wind Eagle" was still alive; however, due to the "Demonic Soul Contract" it had signed with Zhong Chuming, Zhouyang did not intend to tame this demon bird and could only release it to kill and disassemble for materials.

Then there were various magical artifacts, spirit talismans, spirit pills, and other treasures.

Among them, Zhong Chuming had refined a Tier Five Middle-Grade Lifebound Spiritual Artifact "Wooden Cyan Spirit Banner," a Tier Five Lower-Grade Flying Sword, a Tier Five Middle-Grade Spirit Talisman "Great Sun Golden Light Talisman," a Tier Five Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman "Life-saving Talisman," a Tier Five Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman "Celestial Fire Meteor Talisman," and seven or eight Tier Four Spirit Talismans.

There was also a Tier Five Lower Grade Spirit Pill "True Origin Pill" for Golden Core Stage Cultivators to refine their cultivation, a Tier Five Lower Grade Spirit Pill "Life-Restoring Pill" for healing, more than fifty Tier Four "Essence Pills," over two hundred Tier Three "Essence Pills," and a dozen other Tier Four Spirit Pills.

Besides these items, Zhouyang also found a Tier Four High-Grade Demon Pill and two Tier Four Middle-Grade Demon Pills in Zhong Chuming’s storage ring.

But what thrilled him the most was the discovery of a piece of "Purple Heart Jade Marrow" in Zhong Chuming’s storage ring.

He had originally intended to visit the center of the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, "Liuyun Immortal City," to see if he could buy one or two pieces of "Purple Heart Jade Marrow" to bring back to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.

Unexpectedly, he ended up finding it among Zhong Chuming’s possessions.

Of course, the most precious thing on Zhong Chuming was not any of the above items, but rather the demon corpse, demon pill, and demon soul left behind by the "Gen Mountain Turtle" after its death.

As a Tier Five Lower Grade Demon Beast, the demon pill of the "Gen Mountain Turtle" could be used to refine an "Outer Dao Golden Core," serve as the main ingredient in many Tier Five Spirit Pills, and even become raw material for refining a "Jade Liquid Golden Pill."

Just this one Tier Five Demon Pill alone was worth as much as a Tier Five Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact, not to mention the turtle shell that could be used to refine Tier Five Defense Spiritual Artifacts and the large amount of Tier Five Beast Meat rich in spiritual qi.

Finally, Zhouyang gained fifteen thousand spirit stones from Zhong Chuming’s storage ring, including four top-grade spirit stones.