Chapter Thirty-Seven: The City of Shadowed Night

After Lu Qian had left, Pu An turned to Li Lin with a smile and said, “As you wished, now that he’s left the mountain, you can send someone to intercept and kill him.”

“Thank you, Brother Daoist,” Li Lin replied, a flicker of envy in his eyes.

This was true power—the kind that came from strength and cultivation. The allure of such authority was irresistible.

“Oh, by the way,” Li Lin suddenly recalled, “Lu Qian has a senior sister who is extraordinarily beautiful. Her figure is simply that of a peerless enchantress. Would you be interested, Brother Daoist…?”

“You want to use me as your pawn?” Pu An shot him a cold glance, sending chills down Li Lin’s spine.

“I wouldn’t dare—I was only thinking of your benefit,” Li Lin stammered.

Pu An snorted, but the mention of a beauty had clearly piqued his interest. A mere minor cultivator at the Qi Refining stage was hardly worth his notice. Still, he had no desire to be anyone’s tool.

In the apothecary garden, lush with verdant plants and dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, the once eerie and forbidding Medicine Mountain now seemed tranquil and inviting.

Complex interests and hidden dangers pervaded the Tongyou Monastery; human hearts were unpredictable. Even among so-called immortal sects, intrigue and scheming were rampant.

“A mere mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator—how insignificant that really is,” Lu Qian sighed deeply.

Novices and menial workers did not count as true disciples. There were over a thousand cultivators at Qi Refining and above. The Qi Refining stage was only the lowest rung of power; only upon reaching the Nourishing Qi stage could one hope to avoid being targeted by others.

“Flame Sun Breathing Technique, Nine Heavens Moonlight Blood Refining Method…” Lu Qian murmured to himself.

He had once been content, thinking his spells were sufficient. The Yin Talisman Sword, the Serpent Transformation Art, and the Paper Doll Technique were already quite formidable. Yet, against a Nourishing Spirit expert like Pu An, they were still inadequate—insufficient even for self-preservation.

Both the Flame Sun Breathing Technique and the Blood Refining Method were body-forging arts, able to further strengthen an already powerful physique, remedying weaknesses and cultivating both inside and out. They were trump cards in their own right.

Everyone assumed he excelled at spells, but the thought of crushing an opponent in close combat with a single punch was exhilarating.

On this mission to seek fire seeds, he would also see if he could find any monster bloodlines—preferably from creatures ranked above the Seventy-Two Earth Fiends. By fusing such blood into his body, he could complete his physical cultivation.

With this plan in mind, Lu Qian felt a surge of determination.

He returned and reported the situation to Li Du.

“None? Nonsense! That fellow is going too far,” Li Du fumed, his beard bristling, then sighed in resignation. Complaining was useless; the other side was clearly unwilling, and there was nothing to be done about it. Seeking help elsewhere would be futile—the Hall of Spiritual Treasures’ stewards had no authority over the storerooms, nor over fellow stewards.

“In a while, you’ll head down to Netherfire Valley to collect one. At this time, there should still be some left. Get a good one,” Li Du instructed.

“Remember, the whiter the flame, the higher its quality.”

“Understood.” Lu Qian nodded.

He still had about thirty Daoist merits left; he would exchange them for some powerful items before heading down the mountain. This time, he wouldn’t need to travel with anyone. He would go alone, leaving a paper doll behind to handle other matters. If collecting the fire seed were not so challenging, and if true fire weren’t a bane to paper dolls, he’d have sent one in his stead.

The next day, at the Hall of Enforcement.

“How much do you know about Pu An?” Lu Qian asked Yu Ci and the others nearby.

He had invited them over to gather information before leaving the mountain.

“I don’t know much,” Yu Ci shook his head, “but I’m familiar with Netherfire Valley. It’s six hundred li away, wreathed in flames all year round, and the climate is extremely harsh.”

“Oh, and at the foot of the mountain is Dark Night City, a lawless zone—full of all sorts. Be careful.”

It was a place where humans, demons, and spirits mingled—a chaotic mix. Most were insignificant rogue cultivators, so the monastery paid them little heed. Tongyou Monastery only sent people to harvest fire seeds there once every ten years. Apart from that, the city held no value.

If they tried to claim it as their territory, it would only become a burden, so they’d always left it alone.

“If I’m killed there, there won’t be any evidence, will there? I’ll have to be extra cautious,” Lu Qian silently thought.

“I know about Pu An,” Yan Xinglei suddenly spoke up. “He specializes in bedroom arts. It’s said that all those from whom he’s stolen yin to replenish yang have come to no good end.”

The last time Lu Qian had prepared a prescription for him, all of Yan Xinglei’s body hair had fallen out.

“Don’t the elders care about people like that?” Tang Bing protested angrily.

As one of the only two women in their small circle, she got on well with Han Li. When Han Li first caught Pu An’s eye, Tang Bing had even been happy for her, not knowing she was falling into a demon’s hands.

“Hmph, in this sect, strength is everything. Who cares about a mere novice?” Wang Ming sneered.

“I heard Pu An possesses a painting of court ladies—maybe he kills to cultivate a magical artifact,” Wang Ming added.

Magical artifacts differed from mundane weapons, often boasting unique powers far more formidable than ordinary arms, and they were correspondingly precious.

Lu Qian committed all this to memory, bade the others farewell, and made his way to the ghost market.

He purchased five feet of corpse-grass paper, fox blood, and some natural powder that could instantly restore spiritual energy.

Natural powder cost three Daoist merits, equivalent to three months’ basic stipend for a Qi Refining disciple.

Unfortunately, Lu Qian had not yet mastered the Nether Spirit Fire; if he had, he could have concocted this potion himself and made a fortune.

Taking the token Li Du had given him, Lu Qian left the mountain.

Riding a flying horse, he rushed onward, traveling day and night. The six-hundred-li journey passed quickly.

In the distance, a city came into view.

This was Dark Night City.

But Lu Qian did not enter. Instead, he found a hidden spot outside the city to conceal his body and sent his spirit into a paper doll to scout the situation.