Two days passed, and it was deep into the night…
Water-like moonlight and diamond-like stars decorated the night sky.
A band of Blood Skull experts were sitting on the ground among numerous oddly-shaped, huge rocks.
After marching for two days straight, many of them had consumed a significant amount of spiritual power, and thus had to stop to recover with spirit stones.
The poisonous spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth filled every corner of the Void Illusion Mountain Range. Fortunately, since every Blood Skull member had their own protective spiritual tool, they didn’t have to worry about it.
However, every one of them had spent an enormous amount of spiritual power traveling at a high speed, hoping to catch up to Ma Jiu and his men and raid their base within the shortest time possible.
The higher their cultivation base, the less spiritual power they consumed, therefore the easier it was for them to recover.
All the Heaven stage Blood Skull members spent a long time replenishing their spiritual power with spirit stones.
Dressed in simple yet pretty blue battle garments, Pei Qiqi was sitting with her back against a large rock, looking at the vast starry sky, her mind drifting away.
Showered in bright, silky moonlight, her jade-like skin seemed to be wreathed in a shimmering, precious luster.
It was like a beautiful, painted scroll that was emanating an enigmatic power.
Several meters away, Cai Yuan, who was talking to his sister in a soft voice, couldn’t help but shoot a glance towards her. Infatuation could be seen in his eyes as his gaze landed on Pei Qiqi’s desirable physique.
Cai Yue, however, glowered at him, hating him for being so vulnerable to Pei Qiqi’s charisma.
In her eyes, her brother was without doubt the most talented young man in Shatter City, or even the entire Realm of Split Void.
Ever since she was a little girl, she had admired her brother, and wanted to temper her battle prowess in the Void Illusion Mountain Range and win the respect of the Blood Skull elders like her brother had.
However, since she was a girl, her father, Cai Lan, had never had the heart to let her do that, and thus ordered her to stay in Shatter City at all times.
Even if she acted on her own and went to the Void Illusion Mountain Range, powerful experts would always be there to accompany her in case she encountered danger.
She was so envious of her brother’s life that she even dressed herself as a boy on most occasions.
Therefore, seeing her precious big brother repeatedly risk his own life to save Pei Qiqi, she felt as if someone had pierced her heart with a knife.
She believed that it was because of this woman that her brother was no longer flawless.
Cai Yue pursed her lips and said with a disdainful expression on her face, “What do you see in her, big brother? She’s nothing but a woman who’s a bit good-looking and knows some spatial magics.
“She’s got a terrible temper; she doesn’t get along with people and she won’t make a virtuous wife. Why do you like a woman like her?”
Cai Yuan fondled her hair in a doting fashion and said with a smile, “You’re still a kid. You don’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand?” Cai Yue let out a snort as she pushed away his hand and said angrily, “I’m already a grown-up! I’ll soon enter the Heaven stage and be at the same level as you. Don’t you take me as a child! I know everything! That woman plays her little games with you just because you’re the young lord of the Blood Skull; she wants to use you!”
“It’s not like that.” Cai Yuan’s eyebrows furrowed as he said, “She’s never asked me to do anything for her. I only did those things because of myself, because I wanted to be around her. As a matter of fact, she’s turned me down more than once, but I…”
With those words, Cai Yuan let out a sigh and said, melancholy filling his face, “Alright, alright, you just need to understand she has nothing to do with my decisions. I know that I might be after the wrong girl. She doesn’t belong to the Realm of Split Void, much less Shatter City. Sooner or later, she’ll definitely leave this place.
“Perhaps, I can only untie the knots in my heart and give up to fate when she’s gone.”
Cai Yue said angrily, “I wish she would leave as soon as possible!”
With another sigh, Cai Yuan shot a glance at Pei Qiqi, his heart filled with bitterness and helplessness.
At that moment, Pei Qiqi, who had been staring into the sky for a long while, suddenly asked without turned her head, “When will Mr. Hua come back?”
Sitting next to her, Nie Tian was ripping apart and munching on large pieces of spirit beast meat. With a full mouth and bulging cheeks, he mumbled, “I don’t know.”
Pei Qiqi’s gaze landed on Nie Tian. Watching him wolf down his food, she frowned and said in her heart, “What a bottomless pit!”
Although she had been wallowing in her thoughts, she had taken note that Nie Tian had been eating for a long time. She had always considered her junior martial brother, Li Ye, to be a glutton, and often mocked him because of it.
However, compared to Nie Tian, he was nothing.
Pei Qiqi intentionally lowered her voice and said, “Do you know that Mr. Hua doesn’t have many years left?”
Nie Tian chewed up the meat in his mouth and washed it down with a gulp of water. Then, he nodded and said, “Yeah, I know, and he’s been looking for a way to solve that problem.”
Shaking her head, Pei Qiqi said, “If only it were that easy. If you can, encourage him to stay in Shatter City for the last period of his life next time you see him. Because of him, my master travels all year long, searching from place to place for a solution for him. However, last time he was here, he didn’t even spare a few minutes to see my master. My master was very disappointed.”
“You don’t need to worry too much,” Nie Tian said. “He’s already found a way to extend his lifespan. He just needs a little more time for it to work.”
Of course, Pei Qiqi didn’t know that Nie Tian was the very solution Hua Mu had found for himself, and that Nie that Tian would be able to use his mysterious bloodline talent to extend Hua Mu’s lifespan when his cultivation base was high enough and his bloodline was developed to a certain degree.
“He’s found a way already?” Shock could be seen in Pei Qiqi’s eyes. “How can you be so certain?”
Nie Tian smiled and said, “He told me himself.”
“If only that…” Pei Qiqi remained skeptical as she asked after a moment of hesitation, “How did you manage to transmit your soul intent to me via a cluster of psychic power back when we were in the valley? Also, that cluster of psychic power seemed rather strange. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I practice a special psychic incantation. Sorry, I’d rather not disclose any more details about it.” Nie Tian said.
“…Good, a guy who likes to deliberately mystify things.” Pei Qiqi said coldly.
“Yee?!” At that moment, Nie Tian suddenly experienced a feeling that rich flesh power was being generated within his stomach. Just as the wisps of rich flesh power that had originated from the spirit beast meat slowly flowed towards his limbs, the green aura that had been coiled at the bottom of his heart grew greedy.
Very soon, the wisps of flesh power seemed to have been attracted by a giant magnet and converged toward Nie Tian’s heart!
As soon as they entered Nie Tian’s heart, they were violently pulled toward and swallowed by the green aura.
“What’s happening?” After sensing things for a short while, Nie Tian’s eyes lit up as he learned what was happening to him.
When he had entered the Heaven stage, not only had his spiritual sea had undergone great changes, but imperceptible changes had also occurred to his fleshy body.
Not long ago, when he had used the Blood Refining Incantation to refine and absorb the flesh essence from the Golden Stone Rhino’s blood, he felt that he had filled himself to the point where he couldn’t absorb another smidgen of flesh power.
However, during the last few days, every time he had consumed food, the newly-generated flesh power had rapidly dispersed into his muscles and bones.
Evidently, his body was now ready for new rounds of tempering.
Similarly, since the green aura that had coiled at the bottom of his heart once again became violently active and competed with the other parts of his body for the flesh power, it meant that it was also ready for a new upgrade.
After coming to this realization, Nie Tian quietly took out the Blood Pill Li Jing had given him before he had left the Realm of Flame Heaven and stuffed it down his throat.
While the other Blood Skull members were replenishing their spiritual power with spirit stones, Nie Tian secretly stimulated the efficacy of the Blood Pill.
Copious amounts of flesh power continuously poured into the green aura in his heart. It wasn’t long before every last wisp of flesh power was devoured by it.
However, the green aura was still swimming without even stopping for a second, as if it was still waiting for more food so that it could grow into a gigantic python that could engulf Heaven and Earth.
“Alright! Let’s move out!” At that moment, Gu Yu’s voice rang out, urging everyone to hasten on with their march towards the Dark Moon’s base.