Chapter 261: The Bloodstained Fingernail
"Sure enough, it's you!"
As soon as that newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator from Fenghua Sect was captured, his identity was laid bare. To this, neither Yun Chen nor Gu Mo felt the least bit surprised.
But the surrounding cultivators were completely shaken—not because Fenghua Sect had come to sabotage things, but because this time Fenghua Sect had actually succeeded.
A supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pill, just like that, had been destroyed. For the late-stage Core Formation cultivators present—especially those already aged and nearing the end of their lifespan—it felt as if the sky had collapsed.
With their talent and potential, reaching late-stage Core Formation was already the result of grinding away with time. As for breaking through to Nascent Soul, that was almost impossible.
Yet the appearance of a supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pill had given them hope. Ordinary Condensing Nascent Pills could not guarantee a breakthrough, but the supreme-grade could.
So those elderly late-stage Core cultivators had all been prepared to stake their entire fortunes competing for that pill. But now it was gone, and their path to the Nascent Soul stage was severed.
The hatred of someone who blocks your advancement is infinitely greater than the hatred of one who slays your parents. Thus, as soon as the culprit was captured, countless furious glares turned upon him.
If Gu Mo were to strike down this Fenghua Sect Nascent Soul right now, he would surely win thunderous cheers.
"Fenghua Sect, you're bold indeed. Destroying my supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pill—do you really think I don't dare kill?" Gu Mo's gaze was icy as it fixed on the captured Nascent Soul. By tying the incident directly to Fenghua Sect, he gave himself a righteous reason to retaliate against them in the future.
"I will compensate for your loss!"
The captured Nascent Soul did not bother to argue. Having been caught red-handed, there was no defense—only submission.
Had his target been Yun Tian Immortal City or another Nascent Soul-level sect, he could still have postured proudly, since Fenghua Sect's power ensured none of them would dare touch him. But to have offended a true disciple of Shennong Valley—that was different.
Disciples of a top-tier sect feared no one. If he dared show defiance here, that Shennong Valley disciple would certainly kill him. The killing intent in Gu Mo's eyes was far from a bluff.
"Compensate? Can Fenghua Sect afford it?" Gu Mo sneered.
At the rebuke, the Fenghua Nascent Soul fell silent. He knew very well the value of a supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pill. In the past, Fenghua Sect could never have paid such a debt. Now, perhaps, they could—but if they did, certain secrets could no longer be hidden.
Yet if they refused—either his life would be forfeit, or Fenghua Sect would have to go all out, tearing their face completely with this Shennong Valley disciple.
Neither option was good.
"I must consult with my senior brothers on this matter," the Fenghua Nascent Soul said.
"Fine. I'll give your Fenghua Sect one more chance. Don't let me be disappointed." Gu Mo chose to let it rest for now, intending to use this to probe Fenghua Sect's true background.
…
Fenghua Sect.
When He Zhangcheng heard the news, he was stunned. Their sabotage attempt had been exposed on the spot? Weren't they supposed to act in secret?
Now that the man and the evidence were both in hand, there wasn't even room for denial. And now the other side demanded compensation. A supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pill—how could they possibly pay? And of course, the demand wouldn't stop at the pill. There would be additional conditions.
"Senior brother, what business seeks me?"
At this moment, an elder appeared. This was Tan Jingxing, the strongest cultivator of Fenghua Sect. By relying on the sect's acquired legacy, he had recently broken through his bottleneck and advanced to mid-stage Nascent Soul.
He was the true source of Fenghua Sect's domineering arrogance in the Qinghe cultivation world. Now that their junior brother had been captured, to ransom him they would either have to produce legacy treasures or resort to force.
But either path required his final decision.
"Senior brother, the situation is like this…" He Zhangcheng recounted everything, then asked, "How should we respond?"
"This was handled… rather clumsily," Tan Jingxing rubbed his brow. But it was too late to dwell on blame. The choice before them now was clear: either yield and ransom him with treasures, or strike directly.
"Come. Let's meet that Shennong Valley disciple." Tan Jingxing sighed. Even as a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, he dared not act recklessly against a disciple of a top-tier sect.
Even if he could subdue the man easily, what would it matter? Unless he could kill him on the spot and leave no trace, attacking would only make Shennong Valley an implacable enemy.
Soon, two Fenghua Sect Nascent Souls went to Yun Tian Immortal City. But it was Yun Chen who received them, not Gu Mo—for Gu Mo had already handed the negotiations over.
As for Gu Mo himself, he had gone to the former Qinglu Sect's mountain gate, now claimed as Fenghua Sect's. With all three Nascent Soul cultivators absent, Gu Mo intended to infiltrate and investigate Fenghua Sect's hidden assets.
Circling the mountain, he found a secluded spot and summoned Little Black, the tombstone moss. Fenghua Sect's protective array was fourth-rank, so he naturally needed a fourth-rank Little Black to breach it quietly.
"Rest assured, Master!"
Little Black pressed its body against the barrier light screen, sprouting rapidly. The growing moss resembled a gaping mouth that slowly chewed and swallowed the barrier.
Soon, an opening appeared. Gu Mo flashed through it and entered Fenghua Sect.
Familiar terrain greeted him, and he went straight for the main peak. That was where the spiritual veins converged. Unless Fenghua Sect had reshaped them, the main peak of Qinglu Sect would remain the main peak of Fenghua Sect.
With his cultivation, the sect's Core Formation elders had no chance of detecting him. Coupled with Little Black's barrier-breaking abilities, Gu Mo easily reached Fenghua Sect's treasure vault.
Yet no relics of great power awaited him—only various cultivation resources. Clearly, all true treasures were in the hands of the three Nascent Soul elders.
"Hm? What's this…"
Sweeping his divine sense through the vault, Gu Mo suddenly discovered something unusual.
What drew his attention was a bloodstained fingernail. The nail was jet-black, radiating a mysterious aura, and though the blood upon it seemed ancient, it remained a vivid crimson with an unknown power flickering within.
Both the nail and the blood were extraordinary. Yet their opposing forces balanced one another, leaving the fingernail appearing inert.
But when Gu Mo attempted to place it in a storage tool, the item cracked under the unbearable strain. Startled, he quickly retrieved the fingernail.
At last he understood why such a remarkable object lay here unguarded: because storage tools could not contain it.
The last time Gu Mo had encountered such a situation was with Xirang in the Cave Heaven ruins. That heaven-and-earth treasure also could not be held by ordinary space items.
If storage tools could not bear it… what about the Black Mist Space?
With that thought, Gu Mo placed the bloodstained fingernail into the Black Mist Space. The appearance of this fingernail stirred not the slightest ripple within the Black Mist Space.
It was clear that the level of the Black Mist Space was far beyond any ordinary storage treasure. Even now, Gu Mo still did not understand its origins.
After successfully storing the bloodstained fingernail, Gu Mo casually swept the rest of the treasures from the Fenghua sect's treasury into his own storage space. Since he had come all this way, he might as well take as much as he could.
He then left the sect's treasury, intending to explore other areas. He wanted to uncover the origin of that fingernail, which was obviously tied to the inheritance the Fenghua sect had recently discovered in those ruins.
Yet, after a thorough search, Gu Mo found nothing. It seemed that the items tied to the ruin's inheritance had already been taken by the three Nascent Soul True Lords of the Fenghua sect.
At this, a killing intent surged in Gu Mo's heart. If the good stuff was all on those three, then all he needed to do was kill them and the secrets of the ruin's inheritance would fall into his hands.
And as luck would have it, those three were currently outside—this was the perfect chance to strike. Without hesitation, Gu Mo plundered the sect clean and swiftly departed, heading out to ambush the three Nascent Souls of the Fenghua sect.
"What happened here!"
When Gu Mo returned to Cloudsky Immortal City, what he saw was devastation everywhere. Clearly, a great battle had erupted here not long ago—a battle of the Nascent Soul level.
"True Disciple Gu!"
The moment Gu Mo appeared, Yun Chen hurried over to greet him.
"You're injured?"
Gu Mo's gaze swept across Yun Chen and immediately caught the instability in his aura. Without another word, he raised his hand and cast a Rejuvenation Spell, rapidly mending Yun Chen's wounds.
"Many thanks!"
As Yun Chen felt his injuries swiftly knit together, his eyes brimmed with astonishment. But remembering that this man was a true disciple of the Shennong Valley, he realized it wasn't all that surprising.
"We fought with the Fenghua sect. If they hadn't been in such a rush to leave, things would have been far worse," Yun Chen explained, recounting the sequence of events to Gu Mo.
At first, everything had gone smoothly, just the usual back-and-forth bargaining. But then, out of nowhere, the Fenghua sect's people changed their attitude and tried to seize someone by force.
Since compensation hadn't been agreed upon, Yun Chen naturally refused to let them take anyone away. But the Fenghua sect's stance suddenly hardened, and in the end, they struck directly.
A fierce battle broke out between several Nascent Souls. The Fenghua sect had three Nascent Soul True Lords, but Cloudsky Immortal City also had its share of experts. Though most were only guest elders, they had long benefited from the city's resources. With the city in danger, they could not sit idly by.
However, Tan Jingxing of the Fenghua sect suddenly revealed his cultivation to be at mid-Nascent Soul, suppressing Cloudsky Immortal City's side completely. Fortunately, for reasons unknown, the three Nascent Souls of the Fenghua sect did not linger long and soon withdrew.
"So the Fenghua sect had hidden cards prepared."
After listening, Gu Mo realized that the Fenghua sect's sudden change of attitude had occurred at the exact moment he had stored the bloodstained fingernail into the Black Mist Space.
In other words, the Fenghua sect had left some kind of restriction upon the fingernail, which could not normally be put into storage. The moment Gu Mo succeeded in doing so, the restriction was triggered, alerting the three Nascent Souls.
A treasured relic in their treasury being disturbed, combined with their absence from the sect at that time—no wonder the Fenghua Nascent Souls had flown into a rage.
If not for Cloudsky Immortal City holding them back for a while, Gu Mo might well have been blocked right at the Fenghua sect's gates.
One mid-Nascent Soul and two early Nascent Souls, bolstered by a fourth-rank protective sect formation—even for Gu Mo, such an opponent would not have been easy to handle.
"It seems the Fenghua sect truly means to make me their enemy."
Having understood the cause and effect, Gu Mo came to his conclusion.
From here on, striking against the Fenghua sect carried no more burden of hesitation.
That said, now was clearly not the right time. After all, they had already returned, and Gu Mo had no intention of attacking them head-on beneath their sect-protecting array—especially without knowing what other treasures from the ruins they might still hold.
If he was going to strike, he would first lure them out and kill them. As it happened, preparations for such a plan had long been in place.
"City Lord Yun, if you can gather the ingredients for a Condensing Nascent Pill, I can refine one for you free of charge." Gu Mo's eyes turned to Yun Chen. Cloudsky Immortal City had suffered a grave blow this time; Gu Mo naturally could not walk away without offering something in return.
"Truly!"
Yun Chen's face lit up with delight. The ingredients for the pill, the city naturally had—if not, his connections could quickly obtain them.
The ingredients were easy enough to find, but alchemists capable of refining a Condensing Nascent Pill were rare. Now that Gu Mo had given his word, it was practically guaranteed that the city would obtain one.
What's more, there was a high chance of receiving an upper-grade Condensing Nascent Pill, given that this man was an alchemist capable of producing supreme-grade ones.
An upper-grade Condensing Nascent Pill was worth over ten times an ordinary one.
"Only once," Gu Mo nodded. "After that, there will be a fee."
"A fee? Even better, even better!"
Rather than dismayed, Yun Chen grew even more excited at the mention of payment. It meant that as long as they provided the ingredients, this Shennong Valley true disciple would refine for them—just at a price.
An alchemist capable of supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pills would certainly have no trouble with other fourth-rank elixirs. Condensing Nascent Pills were useless to Nascent Soul cultivators, but those other elixirs that boosted cultivation were exactly what people like Yun Chen craved.
Overjoyed, Yun Chen immediately went off to prepare the ingredients.
Meanwhile, within the Fenghua sect—
A furious roar shook the mountains. It was clear that the three Nascent Soul True Lords had already discovered that their sect had been looted.
Gu Mo's raid had all but stripped the place bare. To say he had gutted the Fenghua sect's very foundation was no exaggeration.
Of course, if it had only been ordinary cultivation resources, the three Nascent Souls would not have lost control to this extent.
But the bloodstained fingernail was gone. And that was the true blow that broke them.
That fingernail had an extraordinary origin. From the few scraps of information they had gleaned within the ruins, it was very likely a relic of the immortal-demon kind.
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