Chapter 164: Chapter 154: The Truth, Part 4

"..." A chill ran down Lin Hui’s spine. He suddenly felt that if he wasn’t pleasing enough to the eye, he’d be torn to shreds on the spot. ’I wonder if my speed will be enough to escape...’

"Let’s go. Let’s keep going up and see," Tian Long urged.

Lin Hui was at a loss for words. He didn’t want to believe what Tian Long was saying, but his rational mind told him it was all probably true.

After all, with no one to restrain them, the Original Blood could have developed any sort of temperament.

They were at the very apex of Tuyue, second only to the Fog People. No power could hold them in check.

After a brief pause, he continued upward.

As he neared the summit, a stream of Original Blood descended, each one a perfect illustration of what Tian Long had described.

Anyone who so much as blocked the path was killed. Anyone who didn’t lower their head fast enough was killed. Anyone who moved too much, or looked even a little unsightly, was also killed.

He even saw an armored woman who wore a light fragrance get her armor torn off, stripped naked, and dragged away on horseback.

Incident after incident thinned the ranks of armored travelers on the path. Those who remained were all veterans who followed the rules to the letter. A deathly silence hung over them; no one dared to make a sound, move recklessly, or raise their head. At the slightest noise, they would instantly freeze like statues.

Only after the disturbance passed would they resume their climb.

Lin Hui didn’t know why they insisted on going to Cloud Port, even if it meant braving such immense danger.

But just as he had his, everyone had their own reasons. Their own desperate circumstances.

Just as he was about to reach the summit, he finally stopped.

"Let’s go back," he sent via a quiet voice transmission.

"What? Changed your mind? You’re not going to see the real Cloud Port?" Tian Long asked, surprised.

"There’s no need anymore," Lin Hui sighed. He glanced around. A dozen or so armored people had been making the trek with him, but now only three remained, including himself.

"Cloud Port is the only safe way out of Tuyue. These people must have compelling reasons to leave, which is why they’re risking death to make it up here." Tian Long seemed to have noticed his confusion.

Lin Hui asked no more questions. Following Tian Long’s guidance, he turned and slowly descended the mountain, mimicking his exact movements from the ascent.

The descent was much safer.

The whole way, he forced himself to think of himself as a humanoid automaton, maintaining a fixed speed and posture, concerned with nothing but the act of walking.

It was a simple way to make it to the foot of the mountain.

Once at the foot of the mountain, he immediately shed his armor, activated his Body Technique, and sped away from the oppressive path to Cloud Port.

This time, he didn’t head back to the Moon Tower. Instead, he sped off in the opposite direction.

After witnessing those psychopathic Original Blood, he felt the farther he got from them, the better.

"Now that you’ve seen the truth, what are your plans?" Tian Long asked. He was perched on Lin Hui’s shoulder, one wing raised to block the fierce headwind.

"I’m... thinking about how I can completely avoid danger and find a true sense of security," Lin Hui said calmly.

"The most direct way," Tian Long replied, "is to kill the Original Blood and the Fog People. We can leave the Evil Soldier Wheel of Longevity to maintain order in the districts and rebuild everything from scratch."

"Can the Evil Soldiers function without a master?" Lin Hui asked.

"No, they’ll go on a rampage. But we can replace the current master with a Fog Person who’s friendlier to ordinary people," Tian Long replied.

"How strong are the Original Blood?"

"The Original Blood are born noble, but they have their outcasts. Not all of their children are qualified to inherit the status and power of an Original Blood. Only those who awaken Evil Energy can become one. And the Evil Energy of the Wheel of Longevity is the power to steal lifespan," Tian Long said grimly.

He turned to look at Lin Hui, who was listening with rapt attention, and continued.

"You can probably guess what this ability does just from the name. It makes an Original Blood who has awakened Evil Energy incredibly hard to kill. Some of the older ones have lived for two or three thousand years. In the last century, only three have awakened this power. The rest are all considered rejects. These rejects are cast out of the Moon Tower to live on the surface. That’s the origin of many of the diluted Original Blood bloodlines."

"Are there any limits to this ability? Can it be resisted?" Lin Hui asked quickly.

"Of course," Tian Long replied. "As long as you reach the Bright Extreme Grandmaster realm as a Martial Artist, or the Perfection Level of a High Priest of Summoning, you can block it. At that level, your Willpower has been tempered to its absolute, unshakeable limit, allowing you to resist attacks from Evil Energy."

"Bright Extreme... what level is that?"

"That is the highest realm for a Martial Artist. After a Grandmaster surpasses the Small Three Harmonies and Great Three Harmonies stages, they have a chance to reach it. It is the realm of the strongest Supreme figures within the Three Sects—their supporting pillars and the source of their profound power. They are stronger than a High Priest, but slightly weaker than a Palace Master," Tian Long replied.

He paused and gave Lin Hui a strange look.

"You practice martial arts yourself, don’t you? How could you not know this?"

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he had a flash of realization.

"Oh, right. I forgot you’re from the Outer City. In that case, it makes sense you wouldn’t know. If you don’t start cultivating Inner Strength from a young age, the highest you can reach is below the Circulation realm."

’Let’s just drop it.’ After seeing and hearing so much, Lin Hui felt his mind was a jumbled, weary mess.

The Original Blood, the Moon Tower, the Deep Domain, the Wanfu Meat produced by the giant Wheel of Longevity... one revelation after another had completely shattered his worldview.

"Then what should we talk about? Surely you realize now that only by joining us can we create a better future?" Tian Long said with a small smile.

"..." Lin Hui was at a loss for words. From what he had encountered, the Good Heart Sect really did seem to be the only faction with such intentions.

He was enemies with the Wanhua Sect, and the Qinghe Sect was clearly some kind of problematic cult. Only the Good Heart Sect seemed to have a clean record, and they were even gathering like-minded individuals from all corners.

He truly had no reason not to join.

"Fine. I’ll join you," Lin Hui sent via voice transmission, his tone heavy. "But I don’t fully agree with your aspirations and principles. The Original Blood are despicable and Wanfu Meat is clearly a problem, but if people can’t stand it, they can just leave. They shouldn’t enjoy the protection of the Fog People without being willing to pay the price. That in itself is unfair."

"You’re right," Tian Long sighed. "That’s why at first, the powerful members of our Good Heart Sect chose to leave, to carve out their own territories in the mist. But... every single one who tried was wiped out by the Fog People from the major cities before they even encountered any powerful monsters. The casualties were catastrophic. The Good Heart Sect lost more than half of its foundational strength in that one blow. Later, after we recovered and investigated, we discovered that all the Fog People in the Taixu Federation have a pact: they will not allow any new, unsanctioned territories to exist in the surrounding areas. They destroy any that appear."

"..." Lin Hui was once again at a loss for words.

"So, it isn’t that we chose this path. They forced us onto it," Tian Long sighed. "It’s the only path we can walk."

"I understand now..." Lin Hui sighed as well.

By now, he was far from the Moon Towers. Looking back, he could only see them in the distance, like white pillars piercing the misty sky.

"Alright, you go home and think it over. I should be heading back, too." Tian Long leaped from his shoulder, patted his rear, and flew off into the distance.

"Wait!" Lin Hui suddenly called after him. "Can I ask where in the Core Area I can buy Elixirs, Elixir Recipes, or Treasure Medicines that boost one’s vitality?"

"Elixirs and Treasure Medicines?" Tian Long said, baffled. "In the Core Area, you go to Bailin Residence. They have the most complete stock of medicinal ingredients and the best prices."

"I’ve been. It’s not enough," Lin Hui said in resignation. "You practically have to fight for any Treasure Medicine, and even then, you have to place an order long in advance just to get a tiny amount. It’s too slow."

Right now, he had to push himself to the limit just to get the Blood Seal’s evolution time to a six-to-one ratio with reality—one month in the real world equaled six months of evolution time for the Blood Seal.

This was his limit, not counting the occasional Treasure Medicine he managed to acquire by chance.

It was the limit of not only his supply channels, but also what his own body could withstand.

That’s why he desperately needed to get his hands on more Treasure Medicines—high-quality items like Yun Lingzhi, Purple Cloud Ganoderma, and the Illusory Dragon Lotus.

"That’s tough," Tian Long frowned. "No one sells the really good Treasure Medicines. The major factions keep them for their own use. If you want any, your only option is to join one of them, earn merit, and have them distributed to you."

"And that’s why I agreed to join you, isn’t it?" A perfectly timed smile touched Lin Hui’s lips. "Doesn’t your organization have access to these kinds of resources?"

"..." It wasn’t that Tian Long had never seen someone recover quickly after learning the truth, but he’d never seen anyone bounce back *this* fast.

"We do, yes. The sect has its own branch of the Medicine Department. But you haven’t contributed a single thing; we can’t just give you resources directly. These Treasure Medicines, which are nearly impossible to buy on the outside, are tightly controlled assets. You understand."

"Can’t I trade for them? An exchange of complementary resources?" Lin Hui asked.

"You don’t understand," Tian Long explained. "That kind of trade could expose our identities. Some resources have unique properties that can be traced back to their origin and the faction that produced them. That’s a risk. The more contact we have, the greater the danger of exposure. The Medicine Department controls vast resources, so it’s a part of our organization that absolutely cannot be revealed carelessly. You need to build sufficient trust and earn enough merit just to be qualified to purchase medicine from them. And the currency isn’t Feather Blood, but ’Great Merits,’ which are unique to the sect."

"Then how do I earn Great Merits?" Lin Hui asked. "By completing missions?"

"More or less. To start, you can only take on solo missions. After completing three, you’ll have made your initial pledge of loyalty, and then you can try team missions. You get one Great Merit per mission, plus other rewards to balance things out."

"I understand..." Lin Hui nodded.

"Alright. Head back now. I’ll submit your application. You’ve seen what you needed to, and this isn’t a place to linger..." Tian Long urged.

He turned and sped away. His figure flickered in and out of existence as if he had used some kind of Secret Technique, covering over a hundred meters in just a few flashes before disappearing into the distance. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Lin Hui turned around. He felt a pang of regret that he hadn’t made it into the Moon Tower, but this trip to the Inner City had been well worth it.

’In this environment, under these conditions... you either eat Wanfu Meat and risk the decay, or you join the Good Heart Sect and fight back against it all. There are no other choices.’

He turned and started back toward the Outer Ring.

At the same time, his mind was racing, considering how he could use the Blood Seal. Tian Long’s words had made it clear: when facing an Original Blood, only a High Priest at the Perfection level or a Bright Extreme Grandmaster could resist having their lifespan drained by Evil Energy.

Ultimately, strength was all that mattered. And the key to increasing his strength lay in his Body Tempering cultivation.

The Body Tempering from his Typhoon Swordsmanship could strengthen him in every aspect, including his Heart and Spirit.

Accelerating his Body Tempering required Treasure Medicines like Purple Crystal. What he had was sufficient for now, but the pace still felt too slow. If he could obtain more stackable Body Tempering resources from the Good Heart Sect, he could speed up the process even more.

Lin Hui had tried searching for Body Tempering medicines other than Purple Crystal, but their effects were far inferior. Worse, they were full of toxins, forcing him to spend time taking antidotes. This added to the burden on his already overloaded body and delayed his intake of other Elixirs, making it a counterproductive effort.