CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 87: EARTH CORE SPIRITUAL LIQUID_1

Steered by the Spirit Storage Rat, Shen Mo flew swiftly on his sword and quickly reached his destination.

Before him lay a vast lake.

I wandered around all day and saw nothing but desolate scenery, he thought. I really didn’t expect there to be a lake here.

Although... the color of this lake water...

The lake stretched out before him, its water as red as blood—a shocking, eye-catching sight.

"Is the treasure you mentioned hidden here?" Shen Mo asked.

"At the bottom of the lake," the Spirit Storage Rat replied.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo brandished the Dragon Sparrow Sword and struck immediately.

BOOM!

The immense sword Qi transformed into a stream of light, slicing open the entire lake surface and causing the water to surge like raging waves. Seizing this opportunity, Shen Mo swiftly plunged into the depths of the lake.

This is...

Reaching the lake’s bottom, he quickly discovered a pale blue, milk-like liquid lying quietly at the earth’s core, completely incongruous with the surrounding lake water.

It’s Earth Core Liquid! Shen Mo instantly recognized the treasure. It was an exceedingly precious Grade II spiritual medicine. In the Market, it was listed at ten Spirit Stones per drop, but it was virtually priceless due to its rarity. This Earth Core Liquid possessed a wondrous efficacy in enhancing cultivation and aiding realm breakthroughs. It was beneficial even for cultivators at the Qi Gathering Realm or the Spirit Sea Realm. This particular Spiritual Liquid only grew at the heart of lakes in special environments, accumulating over many years.

There should be ten drops of Earth Core Liquid here, Shen Mo mused. This is a great harvest.

He used his Mana to collect the Earth Core Liquid from a distance, then with a stomp of his foot, he flew to the shore.

He had barely landed when he heard an extremely furious beastly roar. Following the sound, Shen Mo saw that a giant ape, nearly two stories tall, had appeared by the lakeside.

A Vajra Ape? Shen Mo was quite familiar with this type of demonic beast. It was a common category of demonic beast, its body as tough as vajra, with coarse skin and thick flesh. Ordinary swords and axes could hardly injure it, hence its name. Apart from a very few with atavistic bloodlines, it was difficult for these beasts to cultivate to Class II. However, the one before him had clearly reached the Class II standard.

Many high-grade Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures often have demonic beasts accompanying them, Shen Mo considered. Could this Vajra Ape be the guardian beast of the Earth Core Liquid?

Seeing the enraged Vajra Ape, Shen Mo felt not fear but delight. It looks like an additional gain for me.

The Vajra Ape roared and charged straight at Shen Mo, apparently wanting him to drop the Earth Core Liquid.

Facing the Vajra Ape, which hurtled towards him like a small mountain, Shen Mo remained calm and threw a punch.

BOOM!

Shen Mo’s seemingly ordinary arm struck the Vajra Ape’s rapidly charging body. The Vajra Ape trembled all over and was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

A mere demonic beast, just entered Class II, dares to attack me! He slowly retracted his fist, his eyes filled with cold indifference.

Shen Mo was no longer the novice cultivator from a few months ago, who could only kill a demonic beast half step to Class II with the help of numerous talismans. Now, even a demonic beast in the middle-stage of Class II would find it difficult to gain an advantage against him.

HUFF! HUFF!

The Vajra Ape scrambled up from the ground. When it looked at Shen Mo again, its eyes no longer held the mindless fury from before. Instead, there was a trace of fear and panic.

Don’t bother running. Just become a sacrifice for my soul flag, Shen Mo thought, seeing its changing gaze and understanding its intentions.

Before the Vajra Ape could turn to flee, Shen Mo retrieved the Soul Refining Flag from his storage bag! After the Blood Sacrifice, the Soul Refining Flag needed to absorb a Soul General to be considered complete. However, due to his cultivation within the sect, Shen Mo hadn’t had the chance to refine any souls. Now, with no one around, it was a good opportunity.

SWISH!

With a slight flick of his wrist, the Soul Refining Flag unfurled. The long banner fluttered, red light blazing, like countless blood-red threads that coiled around the Vajra Ape, binding it completely and rendering it immobile.

"Absorb!" Shen Mo silently recited the Soul Refining Spell recorded in the Soul Refining Flag Manuals and uttered a low command.

The blood-red threads tightened, and even the incredibly robust Vajra Ape could not withstand it. Droplets of blood slowly seeped out from beneath its tough hide. After a moment of agonized screams, the Vajra Ape was finally pierced through by countless threads of blood.

When the Vajra Ape fell dead, its soul was successfully captured by the Soul Refining Flag. An ape-shaped mark had also appeared on the blood-red banner.

ROAR!

With a flick of Shen Mo’s finger, the mark on the soul flag immediately radiated golden light. Simultaneously, a spectral Vajra Ape, enveloped in the aura of a Blood River, appeared before Shen Mo. The ape soul let out a continuous, long howl, its presence imposing.

After a series of tests, Shen Mo was satisfied and put away the soul flag.

After the Soul Refining Flag captured the Vajra Ape as a Soul General, the strength of this Class II Vajra Ape hasn’t diminished in the slightest, he reflected. In the future, if I need to summon a demonic soul to fight enemies, I can call it forth at any time.

However... the amount of Mana required to summon a Soul General using the Soul Refining Flag is astonishingly large.

Summoning a Soul General at the level of the Vajra Ape, three or five is fine. But if I actually summoned several dozen, or even hundreds, I suspect the Mana in my body would be exhausted before three breaths passed. This is considering that all three Dantian in my body are active, and my Mana reserves are several times more abundant compared to cultivators of the same rank. An ordinary first-stage Qi Gathering Realm cultivator would likely be unable to bear such consumption.

After this first experience refining a Soul General and making some calculations, Shen Mo came to a conclusion. The Soul Refining Flag wasn’t as convenient to use as he had initially imagined; he couldn’t command it as effortlessly as his own limbs. Nevertheless, it was a valuable life-saving trump card.

"Earth Core Liquid?"

Just as Shen Mo was lost in thought, a startled cry suddenly reached his ears. Then, six figures streaked across the distant sky, arriving like beams of light.

"Fellow Daoists, this item already has an owner," Shen Mo said, frowning at the sudden appearance of uninvited guests. He quickly stored the Earth Core Liquid in his hand into his Universe Bag.

"An owner?" A sneer touched the lips of a woman in a fluttering blue robe, wielding a silver-white soft sword. "In this Mountain River Realm, the rule of ’first come, first served’ doesn’t apply."

Behind her, five female disciples from the Profound Moon School also drew their respective magic artifacts. Their stance made it clear they intended to rob him.

"May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?" Shen Mo ignored the female cultivators behind the blue-robed woman, his gaze fixed firmly on her. Clearly, she was the leader of this group from the Profound Moon School.

"Profound Moon Sect, Zhong Mei." Zhong Mei quirked an eyebrow, unafraid to reveal her identity.

"Senior Sister Zhong, my sect and yours are both among the Five Great Sects. If you rob me so blatantly, it might lead to awkward encounters should we meet again in the Red Flame Country, wouldn’t it?"

"Who said we’re robbing you blatantly?" one of the women in the group, a strikingly beautiful female cultivator, frowned and said, "I discovered the treasure in this Blood Lake long ago. However, a demonic beast was guarding the shore, making it difficult to retrieve, so I went back to gather my sisters... I didn’t expect you to get here first."

"Layue, don’t waste your breath on him," Zhong Mei interjected, drawing her silver-white soft sword and pointing it at Shen Mo. "So what if we are snatching it openly? You have two choices now. Either hand over the Earth Core Liquid, or we’ll corner and capture you, forcing you to use your Realm Breaking Talisman to leave the Mountain River Realm prematurely. If you choose the first option, you’ll only lose the Earth Core Liquid. But if you’re not sensible, you won’t be able to take anything you’ve gained in the Mountain River Realm with you."

Although the rules of the Mountain River Realm permitted competition, killing, and resource snatching, what Shen Mo had said did carry some weight. Some disciples from the Three Major Sects might want to venture outside their sect and travel in the cultivation world of the Red Flame Country in the future. If so, it would be inevitable for them to have some interaction with the other major immortal sects. Therefore, even when contending within the Mountain River Realm, most would still give some face.

However, this "giving face" was mostly a form of mutual restraint practiced among the top disciples of the Three Major Sects. In Zhong Mei’s eyes, Shen Mo did not belong to this category. He was alone, most likely an ordinary disciple who hadn’t found anyone willing to team up with him. Someone like him would likely achieve little within the Riverside Sect in the future, let alone making a name for himself in the cultivation world of the Red Flame Country or having the ability to trouble those he’d offended.

If that’s how it is... alright then, Shen Mo thought. Seeing the attitude of these Profound Moon School female disciples, he decided not to waste any more words.

Shen Mo didn’t, as they expected, take out the Earth Core Liquid and offer it with both hands.

Instead, he summoned the Dragon Sparrow Sword!

If I let a group of women rob me here today, then these past few months would have been for nothing.