Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Scenic Landscapes

A blood-soaked figure staggered through the mountains.

"Cough, cough." Qin Ya faltered, coughing up a mouthful of dark blood. His brow furrowed as a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He whispered, "’Heh. I managed to break through the encirclement, but I still got injured. My cultivation is insufficient.’"

WHOOSH...

Just then, a massive, scale-covered lizard, twenty feet long, shot out from the woods. It opened its reeking, cavernous maw and lunged at Qin Ya.

"Vile beast!"

Qin Ya snorted coldly and struck out with his palm, unleashing a magnificent purple flame. The lizard was sent flying several meters, howling piteously on the ground.

Before long, the lizard fell silent. Qin Ya frowned slightly, looking down at his blood-soaked clothes. They had once been white as snow but were now stained crimson, reeking of blood.

’The stench of blood on me is too strong,’ Qin Ya murmured. ’And who knows how many Fierce Beasts are lurking in this forest. I’d better find a place to wash up first.’

He immediately hurried on his way. Along the path, he slew several more Fierce Beasts that had been drawn by the scent of blood. One of them was even equivalent to a Celestial Essence Realm Martial Artist. In his current state, it took Qin Ya a great deal of effort to finally kill it.

This, however, worsened his injuries.

Before long, Qin Ya found a stream. He cleaned his wounds, swallowed a few Healing Elixirs, and changed into a clean set of white clothes. Aside from a slightly pale complexion, he looked no different than before.

’The rewards this time were great, but my injuries can’t be ignored,’ Qin Ya murmured. ’I should find a place to recuperate and take stock of my haul.’

He searched the forest and, following a faint memory, found a mountain peak where disciples of the Dragon Emperor Hall once cultivated. There, he located a relatively hidden cave, free of Fierce Beasts.

BOOM...

Qin Ya struck the rock face above the cave. His figure flashed as he entered, and in that same instant, several massive boulders rumbled down, sealing the entrance. The inside of the cave was immediately plunged into darkness.

Suddenly, a purple light flared in the darkness. A ball of Purple Flame flickered in Qin Ya’s hand, casting a glow. He then took out several fist-sized Luminous Beads from his Storage Ring, instantly illuminating the entire cave.

’These things are rather convenient.’

Qin Ya smiled faintly. These Luminous Beads were among the many jewels gifted to him by Nangong Wen, the Emperor of the Yunxiao Empire. He hadn’t expected them to come in handy here.

He then found a clean spot, took out an Elixir, and began his recovery.

「A day passed.」

Qin Ya’s eyes snapped open. As his True Essence circulated, he clenched his fist, and a sonic boom cracked the air. He murmured, ’My internal injuries are mostly healed. What’s more, after that battle, my cultivation is showing faint signs of a breakthrough. Now, let’s see what the haul was.’

A slight smile played on his lips as Qin Ya began to take stock of the Profound Soldiers he had acquired. There were a hundred and fifteen in total: eighty-four Seventh-Grade Profound Soldiers, twenty-two Eighth-Grade Profound Soldiers, and seven Ninth-Grade Profound Soldiers.

The remaining two were... Pseudo-Spiritual Artifacts!

’That Seventh Elder was really something, managing to get his hands on Pseudo-Spiritual Artifacts,’ Qin Ya mused with some surprise, looking at a black-and-white bead and a white robe.

Spiritual Artifacts were exceedingly rare in the Azure Sky Realm, and anything even remotely associated with them was extraordinary. While a Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact wasn’t a true Spiritual Artifact, its value was far greater than that of a Ninth-Grade Profound Soldier.

One of the two Pseudo-Spiritual Artifacts was a black-and-white bead the size of a baby’s fist, called the Primordial Treasure Bead. It had once been the core of the Seventh Elder’s Grand Array of Mysteries of Yin and Yang, so it wasn’t particularly useful to Qin Ya.

The other was a white robe embroidered with an ink-wash landscape painting. It was named Scenic Landscapes. It was a defensive Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact with terrifyingly strong Defense Power. To wear this robe was like being clad in the very mountains and rivers themselves.

If Qin Ya wore this robe, even an Extraordinary Strong Person would be unable to breach his defenses for a time. It was arguably his greatest prize from this endeavor.

’With Scenic Landscapes, who in Hidden Dragon Valley can possibly stop me!’

A brilliant light flashed in Qin Ya’s eyes. He then took out several Marvels of Heaven and Earth sealed within Exquisite Jade. After a moment’s thought, he selected a fist-sized piece of Exquisite Jade and began to melt it with his Purple Flame Celestial Flame.

As the Exquisite Jade dissolved, a drop of golden liquid was slowly revealed.

"This is... Primordial Liquid!" A flash of delight crossed Qin Ya’s face.

Primordial Liquid was born in places where the world’s Primordial Qi was most dense, taking a thousand years to form. A single drop contained an immense amount of Primordial Qi so pure that even an ordinary Martial Artist could safely consume it.

With this drop of Primordial Liquid, Qin Ya was confident he could achieve his breakthrough within three days!

Putting everything else away, Qin Ya smiled faintly and swallowed the Primordial Liquid without hesitation. Instantly, an incredibly dense and pure stream of Primordial Qi surged through every corner of his body, making him feel as if he were immersed in a warm spring.

The golden Primordial Liquid reached Qin Ya’s True Essence Qi Sea and, like a drop of water hitting a hot wok, his entire Qi Sea instantly erupted into a boil.

「Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Inside the cave, the Luminous Beads cast a soft, green glow, illuminating the young man who sat on the ground like a monk in deep meditation. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, a glint flashing within them that was so brilliant it outshone the Luminous Beads themselves.

Qin Ya smiled calmly and whispered, "The Celestial Essence Realm... I’ve done it!"

His cultivation had already reached Earth Element Realm Perfection. With the help of the immense Primordial Qi from the Primordial Liquid, the breakthrough was a natural success.

’By my count, I’ve been in here for four days. I wonder what’s happened outside. It’s time to leave.’ Qin Ya smiled faintly and rose to his feet. After a moment’s thought, he shed his clothes, retrieved Scenic Landscapes from his Storage Ring, and put it on. Instantly, his entire presence transformed.

The white robe embroidered with an ink-wash landscape, the handsome and refined young man—they formed a perfect, harmonious picture. If Qin Ya had been holding a book of poetry, anyone who saw him would have mistaken him for a great and learned scholar.

Qin Ya smiled, satisfied. He could feel a hazy aura concealing his presence now that he wore Scenic Landscapes. Not only was the Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact’s defense astonishing, but it could also hide a Martial Artist’s cultivation level.

’Spiritual Artifacts truly are incredible, even a pseudo one.’

BOOM... He struck out with a palm, and the cave walls trembled.

Amid a shower of rock and dust, Qin Ya’s figure slowly emerged.

At that moment, a hawk-like bird of prey in the sky spotted him. With a cold glint in its sharp eyes, it flapped its wings and shot down toward Qin Ya like an arrow. Its claws, emanating an aura of metal and stone, thrust out to viciously seize his shoulder.

Qin Ya smiled indifferently. He circulated a sliver of his True Essence, and a nearly imperceptible white light flashed over the Scenic Landscapes robe. The raptor let out a piteous cry as its sharp talons twisted upon impact, the bones within them snapping and bursting through the flesh.

The defensive power of Scenic Landscapes was clear to see.