Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 483: Preparing for Battle

Zhao Changhe had a good idea of where the forbidden land was, or at least where it might be.

The Atlas of Mountains and Rivers clearly depicted it, located not far east of the Spirit Tribe’s sacred mountain. It was the site where the Spirit Tribe once raised the Blood Ao, the Ao Pool. The atlas even mapped out the internal paths of the Ao Pool, indicating that the Black Tortoise of the time had likely personally visited the place back in the day—perhaps due to being kin, in a sense?

Yet, based on what Sisi and the others had said, it seemed like they had no knowledge of this Ao Pool at all.

Given that the forbidden land appeared to have raised a Blood Ao, it was likely that they had taken over the Ao Pool, found a Blood Ao egg or something similar, and raised a new one. Whoever it was that had found the Ao Pool was clearly a god or demon from the previous era who suffered severe injuries and was barely clinging to life. To avoid being discovered by the Spirit Tribe, they likely set up some kind of barrier or formation to conceal the Ao Pool’s existence. And over time, the current Spirit Tribe members had forgotten its existence altogether.

This is likely how the forbidden land came into being—there was probably not much more to it. The fact that the real envoy approached from that direction also supports this theory.

Sisi had no idea Zhao Changhe had access to such information and was both shocked and delighted. “You... you really have an idea of where it is?”

“Yeah. In fact, I’d say I’m at almost certain”

“Are you actually the true sacred envoy sent by our ancestral god to guide us?”

Zhao Changhe could not help but laugh and teased her, “Then the saintess should serve me well.”

Sisi bit her lower lip and remained silent.

Yue Hongling sensed that the lovesick fool’s gaze was turning soft and watery. If she were not standing nearby, she believed that Sisi might have even kissed him already.

Zhao Changhe had indeed managed to pull off some inexplicable miracles this time, and he really seemed like a heaven-sent savior to Sisi. While Yue Hongling herself had helped in the battles, she could not compare to Zhao Changhe’s seemingly endless supply of strange and miraculous insights. If he insisted he was the true sacred envoy, Sisi would likely believe him.

Zhao Changhe continued, “Hongling and I will go check it out. You should stay here. The Spirit Tribe is in chaos, and they need you as their backbone to unify them. Even if Hongling and I can’t win and have to flee, with the support of your entire tribe, we may still have a chance.”

Sisi pursed her lips. “That entity is powerful... Perhaps you should train a bit longer before going? Once I’ve secured control over the Spirit Tribe, you’ll have unlimited resources...”

Zhao Changhe replied, “We need to go now. It was wounded by the bone sword earlier, so it’s not at full strength. This is our best opportunity.”

Sisi pressed her lips tightly together, then, after a moment, handed him the bone sword without a word and turned back to rejoin the battle, directing all her worry into the struggle against the elders.

“Xiang Simeng! You’ve defied your elders and created chaos in the tribe! How will you face the Ancestral God in the afterlife?”

“The ones who need to repent before the Ancestral God are you!” Sisi’s eyes turned fierce. “Die!”

“The... The Profound Mysteries? This... This is impossible...”

Zhao Changhe no longer paid any more attention to the typical villainous last words coming from the battlefield, nor did he feel the need to join the fight that was clearly in their favor. Instead, he leaped over the edge of the cliff, descending it rapidly.

Yue Hongling followed, understanding that Zhao Changhe intended to track down Shi Wuding.

Below, the vegetation was broken and stained with blood, showing clear signs of someone tumbling down the mountain. However, there was no trace of the person himself. Shi Wuding’s sword, however, which had been knocked from his grasp earlier, lay nearby.

“As expected, he’s gone.” Zhao Changhe picked up the sword, handed it to Yue Hongling, and sighed. “I have a feeling he’ll come back to mess with us.”

“Most things rarely go perfectly. If he seeks revenge, we can simply face him head-on,” Yue Hongling replied. “Besides, he’s gravely injured. He won’t be causing us trouble anytime soon. If we can secure control over the Spirit Tribe quickly, we won’t have to fear a lone Shi Wuding.”

“True.” Zhao Changhe continued to search through the undergrowth.

Yue Hongling asked curiously, “What are you looking for?”

Zhao Changhe replied in a low voice, “Shi Wuding didn’t seem to have a storage ring. If he was carrying any pouches with medicine or valuables, they may have fallen earlier. I’m looking for Sharp Blade Grass... This is my last chance to strengthen myself before the final confrontation.”

Yue Hongling could not help but feel a bit impressed. Zhao Changhe was not only meticulous but also truly seizing every possible moment to improve his cultivation.

Little did she know, Zhao Changhe was extremely anxious at this moment.

Knowing the location of the forbidden land was located was one thing, but it was still a massive question as to who the person in the forbidden land was and why they used the Vicious Blood Art...

If it was Lie himself, he might as well forget about it. Even in a weakened state, someone of Lie’s caliber would be untouchable. His understanding of martial arts, the Dao, and the principles of the world were simply on an entirely different level.

However, Zhao Changhe doubted that the other party was Lie. The disparity in their aura was too large, and while the Bloodied Mountains and Rivers they unleashed was stronger than his own, it was not at the level of the technique’s creator.

Still, even if it was not Lie, it felt like a hopeless fight. The ability to remotely observe everything through an envoy already indicated that the entity was beyond his league. The other party had even been able to face off against the three of them at once with just a projection. With that being the case, how terrifying was their true body?

Last time, when he fought the corpse demon, he had been able to call in allies from the Rankings of Heaven and Earth to gang up on it. But what about this time?

Well, this time, he had the corpse demon, who would at least be eager to cooperate on this matter.

Zhao Changhe was still deeply uneasy, and he had been trying to contact the blind woman since earlier, but she had not responded at all.

As he continued searching, he asked the corpse demon, “What do you think of that blood figure earlier?”

The corpse demon replied coldly, “From their divine descent alone, not much is apparent, but it’s definitely stronger than those from the Ranking of Heaven that ganged up on me last time.”

“Could it be Lie?”

“Lie? Not even close.” The corpse demon, despite his bitterness towards Lie, seemed to have a certain respect for his power. “It can’t be Lie. I’m also trying to figure out who it is. It’s strange. Lie never took on any disciples back then. I can understand how future generations could learn his techniques from what he left behind, but where did this person get Lie’s techniques...”

“Could it be that Lie originally derived his techniques from the Blood Ao? And whoever this person might be, having been with the Blood Ao for so long, has come to grasp a similar concept?”

The corpse demon was silent for a moment before replying slowly, “The one who had the most contact with the Blood Ao back then was me... Lie could only kill the Blood Ao when I wasn’t around.”

In other words, since it had never managed to figure anything out itself, how could whoever this person was do so?

Zhao Changhe sneered, “If you’d been there, Lie probably would’ve taken you down along with the Blood Ao.”

“...” The corpse demon changed the subject, “Still, your theory isn’t without merit. People are different, after all, and each person draws unique insights.”

“Do you think you could take him on?”

“I don’t know. It depends on his condition,” the corpse demon said with a hint of sarcasm. “It’s a pity you haven’t reached the second layer of the Profound Mysteries. Otherwise, you wouldn’t need to feel so uncertain.”

Zhao Changhe fell silent.

His clash with the blood figure left him feeling as if he were slicing at water with a blade—an overpowering sense of futility. His attacks seemed to have little effect, while Sisi’s bone sword clearly worked.

The reason was simple: the bone sword had absorbed a substantial amount of frigid, murderous sword qi from the formation earlier, making it a force capable of piercing the heavens and rending space. Dragon Bird did not have access to such energy reserves, nor a concentrated, piercing form of attack like that.

But this could not be blamed on Dragon Bird; it simply reflected his own lack of power. Even with enhancements, he could not display such might.

With the addition of Sharp Blade Grass, coupled with what he had previously gained from the Heavenly Blood Jade, he could at least attain the second level of the Blood Asura Body, if not the second layer of the Profound Mysteries. This critical transformation would sharpen his attack, from the broader slashing of a saber to the piercing precision of a sword, which was something he had been aiming to master.

He was nearly there. He just needed the final component. If he could find it, it would increase his chances in the upcoming battle, providing at least a bit more assurance.

“Over here!” Yue Hongling called from several zhang away. “I found some medicine bottles!”

Zhao Changhe rushed over to her side and saw several medicine bottles. The bottles were cracked, but thankfully, the medicine inside had not spilled.

Zhao Changhe opened one bottle and studied its contents, his expression uncertain.

His knowledge of pharmacology was already quite advanced, and he could identify most of the contents as medicine for recovering injuries and restoring energy. However, one of the pills seemed to be for honing sword qi, likely containing Sharp Blade Grass.

It should have been a stroke of good luck, something to be overjoyed about... But there was something strange about this pill.