430 Hidden Threa
Qi Ming's body silently shuddered, a look of surprise flashing past his face. Compared to an Undead Herb of the Netherworld, the value of a Black Crystal was nothing.
"You jest, sir," he said. "Even Fairy Realm fighters are interested in a treasured item like the Undead Herb of the Netherworld. How could a small shop like ours have it?" Qi Ming collected himself, shaking his head with a smile.
Su Yu frowned. It looked like the news of the Undead Herb of the Netherworld that Cabinet Master Qiu had received was not from the Golden Light Pavilion, but rather from the discussions between the fighters within the pavilion. He had made a wasted trip and was undeniably disappointed, but he collected himself and said, "I have come too abruptly. Since you do not have such an item, I shall not hold you back any longer, goodbye."
Standing up and cupping his fists, Su Yu turned to leave.
Qi Ming sent him off out of politeness. But suddenly, his ears twitched, his expression changing as he anxiously ran after Su Yu. "Please wait a moment sir!"
"Something wrong?" Su Yu asked.
Qi Ming seemed to hesitate. "Sir, please forgive me for being cautious," he said. "I was merely ascertaining where you were here to gather information. To tell you the truth, we really do not have the Undead Herb of the Netherworld, but we do have infallible information as to where the Undead Herb of the Netherworld is."
Su Yu turned back, his gaze flickering. "Shopkeeper Qi, if you do not think that the value of the Black Crystal is enough to exchange for the information, I have other items to offer."
Shopkeeper Qi waved his hands. "You jest, sir. How could I reject an item as precious as the Black Crystal? It is enough to exchange for this information. But to tell you the truth, we are gathering a group of trustworthy, powerful fighters to head go gather the Undead Herb of the Netherworld! In other words, the Undead Herb of the Netherworld grows in an extremely dangerous area. We require a powerful group of fighters to succeed in obtaining the herb!"
Su Yu squinted. "You mean that you hope that I would follow you there?"
Qi Ming smiled, "Sir, you are an intelligent person. The Undead Herb of the Netherworld is incredibly precious, and we would not readily disclose its whereabouts to an outsider. I will not trade unless you will work alongside us."
Hearing this, Su Yu laughed at himself. "You seem to hold me in high regard. I am merely an Immortal Realm Level Four junior. I would only add to your troubles if I went."
Qi Ming gave a meaningful laugh. "You need not be so humble. According to my knowledge, the ability of a Rakshasa is incredibly close to a Heaven Master. For you to be able to kill one, your abilities must be quite remarkable."
In reality, the battle ability of the Rakshasa that Su Yu killed posed a threat even to Qing Zhu and Long Feiyu. It was not weaker than a Human King.
"I was merely lucky…" said Su Yu. "But if you are willing to trust me, Shopkeeper Qi, then it is not impossible for me to join you."
Qi Ming was elated. "Haha! With your help, our chances for success would increase by 30 percent!"
"Are we setting off now?" Su Yu was filled with anticipation.
But Qi Ming groaned. "Do not be too hasty, sir. This Undead Herb of the Netherworld is incredibly dangerous. Its death energy is at its thickest when there is no moon. Even Heaven Masters would be infiltrated by death energy if they got too close, causing their cultivation level to be damaged. Some would even die on the spot. Thus, we need to wait until there is a full moon, when the death energy of the Undead Herb of the Netherworld is at its weakest. Furthermore, with only me and you, this trip would be too risky. Before you came, the pavilion had already invited several powerful fighters. They will gather here ten days from now and head to where the Undead Herb of the Netherworld."
Ten days? Su Yu stroked his chin, nodding in approval. "If that is the case, I will meet up with you in ten days' time."
Saying this, he confirmed a few details with the shopkeeper before leaving the Golden Light Pavilion, searching for a place within the city with richer spirit energy to cultivate. During this time, he had many things he needed to settle.
******
After waiting for Su Yu to leave, Qi Ming's friendly smile turned cold. He turned and bowed as he said respectfully, "Master, the Undead Herb of the Netherworld is of utmost importance to our clan. Why would you let an outsider participate? If I am not wrong, this person is the notorious Black Snow Demon King. The rumors say that the number of Heaven Masters he has killed is not in the single digits. Now that he has shown us the Black Crystal, the rumors must be true! He must have survived the Dragon Abyss! This person poses some threat. Would it foil our plans now that we have invited him?"
On the back wall, a painting of a man looking down on the world with his hands behind his back suddenly sprung into life. He slowly turned around.
"This person has an aura of a lightning based technique," said the man in the painting. His tone was peaceful. "He would be immensely useful in dispelling the last seal. This person might play an unexpected role in whether or not we can take out the Mysterious Heavenly Map. While this person is rather powerful, he is not enough to pose a threat. But once all is said and done… we must silence this person."
Qi Ming bowed. "I understand."
******
Su Yu entered a state of meditation.
First, he took out the Gray Dragon Coffin. According to Yun Yazi, only vital energy not belonging to the Zhenlong Continent could make Ling Xiaotian gradually recover.
With a thought, Su Yu's body was covered with a blood-red color. It was the Bloodline of the Evil Ghost. A ghostly face had an azure ball in its mouth about the size of an eyeball. It was filled with rich, vital energy! It was a ball of vital energy Su Yu had secretly taken when Sheng Ge lent Su Yu her cultivation level. This was the reason Sheng Ge had suspected that she'd lost vital energy.
To prevent Sheng Ge from being suspicious, Su Yu did not take a lot—only enough to form a small ball. It was far from enough to save Ling Xiaotian, but it could demonstrate the effect that vital energy would have on Ling Xiaotian's recovery.
With a thought, he forced the vital energy into the Gray Dragon Coffin. After it was absorbed, it turned into white energy, slowly covering Ling Xiaotian's body. His flesh rapidly regained a red color, his withered body plumping up. Even his white hair gradually turned black. His weak life force was being steadily strengthened. The entire process seemed as though he was coming back to life!
An hour later, the white energy vanished, and Ling Xiaotian's body stabilized, and it did not wither again like it had the last time. Su Yu was elated. According to the original estimate, Ling Xiaotian might not have survived beyond this month, but now it seemed he could continue on for another half a year!
Vital energy was indeed the only way to save Ling Xiaotian. Unfortunately, even though his body had sufficiently recovered, he had not regained consciousness. Still, to achieve such a state was already surpassing Su Yu's expectations. He was satisfied.
Relaxing, he stored the Gray Dragon Coffin. Su Yu started to check his own body. Observing closely, he broke out into a cold sweat! Unbeknownst to him until now, there was a major threat in his body.
He had previously been struck by lightning from the Cosmos Thunder Sword. The white-green lightning bolt had entered his body and wrought havoc on his insides. Su Yu had forcefully used his purple lightning to suppress it at the most critical moment. Several days had passed since then. Now that he had time to examine himself carefully, Su Yu's heart thumped wildly.