“That is no longer relevant.”

Facing the Saint Blood Perfected One’s scolding, Song Wanxiong remained seated cross-legged, his voice indifferent.

“In the past, your Demon Blood Sect committed every evil under the sun. Sending you to fight Ye Guxing was merely borrowing a knife to slay a man. Regardless of who lived or died, it would have been an act of heavenly justice.”

Song Wanxiong paused, his tone turning dismissive. “Unfortunately, Saint Blood, you were too weak. You failed to even force Ye Guxing to reveal his true strength. I had assumed you would at least cripple each other.”

The Saint Blood Perfected One snorted coldly. “You three Golden Core cultivators gathered together, yet you fled like rats! You allowed that brat Ye Guxing to block your mountain gate, and you couldn’t even secure your position as Sect Leader. Now, you turn around and pin your hopes on me?”

He sneered in disgust. “You are truly shameless. You dare speak of ‘heavenly justice’? If you represent justice, does that make my Demon Blood Sect a gathering of benevolent sages?”

“Discussing the past is meaningless,” Song Wanxiong replied calmly. “You should see the current situation clearly. Men can lie, but the Blood Refining cultivation cannot.”

“Now that I have led the entire Spirit Beast Sect to cultivate Blood Refining, past grudges are void. From this moment on, we can only be each other’s most reliable allies. Our targets are the other four sects—and the entire Southern Domain.”

The Saint Blood Perfected One ceased his complaints. He stared at Song Wanxiong for several breaths before finally speaking.

“Put that way, you are right.”

“Having cultivated Blood Refining, the Spirit Beast Sect truly has no path of retreat.”

“My Demon Blood Sect has always been pragmatic. We do not dwell on old grievances, only immediate benefits…”

Song Wanxiong smiled faintly. “To make treachery and ruthlessness sound so pleasant… Saint Blood, you have a talent.”

“Enough idle talk. What is your plan?”

The Saint Blood Perfected One grew impatient. “And what benefits do I get?”

“I intend to increase my strength, kill Ye Guxing, annihilate the other sects, and dominate the Southern Domain,” Song Wanxiong declared. “Join me. When the time comes, I will allow your Demon Blood Sect to re-establish itself.”

The Saint Blood Perfected One sneered. “I can overlook the past, but don’t try to fool me with distant promises. I ask only this: what can you give me right now?”

“What if I help you restore your Golden Core cultivation?”

Song Wanxiong’s gaze locked onto the old man, his eyes narrowing slightly to probe for weakness.

“My Golden Core cultivation?” The Saint Blood Perfected One retorted coldly. “Do I need you to restore it? I have my own methods!”

“No need?” Song Wanxiong smiled enigmatically.

Is he putting on a brave front, afraid I’ll devour him? Or does he truly have hidden means?

“It is not that I don’t need it—if you have surplus essence blood, I can certainly use it,” the Saint Blood Perfected One amended.

He pushed a subordinate forward and removed the man’s bamboo hat, revealing a long, horse-like face. “This man has ties to me. Help him cultivate to the late Foundation Establishment stage. Help me nurture a capable subordinate. That isn’t difficult, is it?”

“Not difficult. Not difficult at all…”

Song Wanxiong glanced at the horse-faced Daoist without much interest. He smiled thinly. “Starting this year, the Spirit Beast Sect’s Immortal Destiny Grand Ceremony will be held annually. The intake of mortals will increase significantly. Furthermore, we will scour the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range for every beast and demon beast.”

“A rare opportunity, Saint Blood. Do you not wish to join the feast?”

The Saint Blood Perfected One paused, then let out a sharp laugh. “Well, well! A righteous sect, truly upright and honorable! Who would have thought the Spirit Beast Sect would fall to this?”

His grin widened. “Since you are so generous, how could I refuse? When does the banquet begin?”

So, he still has some ability to protect himself… Fine, I won’t eat him just yet.

Once he restores his Golden Core, he will be a useful weapon.

Having assessed the situation, Song Wanxiong became vague. “When I am ready, I will invite you.”

“You have visited this forbidden ground more than once. When the time comes, I will send someone to find you.”

Truthfully, Song Wanxiong couldn’t bear to hand over his painstakingly collected essence blood for Saint Blood to enjoy.

“Do not forget,” Saint Blood said calmly. “I will be in secluded cultivation within the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range.”

He turned to the horse-faced Daoist. “Li Quan, you will remain with the Spirit Beast Sect. Song Wanxiong’s collection of essence blood will naturally include a share for you.”

“Reach the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment quickly. I will have tasks for you then.”

“Yes, Sect Leader,” Li Quan bowed deeply.

Once the Saint Blood Perfected One and his entourage had departed, Song Wanxiong summoned a Deacon to take Li Quan away.

The roar of the waterfall continued unabated. Song Wanxiong remained seated by the water.

After a long silence, he extended his divine sense, plunging it deep into the freezing Cold Pool.

“You heard everything, did you not?”

In the pitch-black depths of the pool, a pair of enormous eyes slowly ignited.

“You spoke right beside my ear. How could I not know?”

Song Wanxiong’s divine sense continued to transmit his thoughts. “The Mystic One Sect seeks the Nascent Soul realm. The Little Sky Net Sect seeks to curry favor with the Upper Sect. Both have targeted Wanchun Valley. They will not give up. Within ten years, they will surely move again.”

“I will blend in amongst them. I will find an opportunity to use them—along with Ye Guxing and Wanchun Valley—as fuel for my own cultivation… Once you lend me your strength again and help me achieve the Nascent Soul, I will dominate the Southern Domain. Why would I need to heed anyone else’s face?”

His expression remained stoic, but the message he conveyed to the owner of the giant eyes was extensive.

“The Upper Sect…”

A cold, ambiguous voice echoed from the depths.

“We must still investigate the mystery of Wanchun Valley’s earth veins. The object the Upper Sect desires… they do not send their own to retrieve it. Instead, they set a thirty-year deadline and use local Southern Domain sects as proxies. It is highly irregular.”

“Rest assured, I have already sent agents who do not cultivate Blood Refining to investigate,” Song Wanxiong responded. “Given time, we will uncover the truth.”

The entity beneath the Cold Pool fell silent. Only the thunder of the waterfall remained, white spray dancing and vanishing into the mist.

Another night, another clear moon.

Inside his residence at the Spirit Field Department, Han Yu sat holding two pieces of Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart. He slowly opened his eyes.

The two pieces of wood were drained, useless for cultivating the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method. He stored them away.

Inside his Storage Bag, he now had eight spent pieces of Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart, and three fresh ones still sealed in jade boxes.

Normally, two pieces would last him two or three months. They shouldn’t have been consumed this quickly. However, Han Yu was now cultivating the Green Wood Protection Technique alongside his main method.

This secret art specialized in absorbing wood-attribute aura. It shared the same elemental origin as the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method. The pure wood Qi within the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart was the perfect fuel for it.

Consequently, his consumption rate had skyrocketed. Aside from replicating the Qi Gathering Pill, essence blood, and Mystic Heart Fruit for his daily cultivation, Han Yu dedicated all his remaining mysterious replication energy to the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart.

The results were gratifying.

The wood aura accumulated by the Green Wood Protection Technique formed an automatic defensive barrier. Its strength was significantly higher than the ring-shaped defensive Magical Artifact provided by the sect.

Han Yu had tested it against his flock of crows. The barrier remained immovable even under a barrage of more than a dozen Wind Blade Techniques.

Based on Han Yu’s understanding of Magical Artifact grades, this defensive power was at least equivalent to a high-grade artifact from the late Qi Refining stage.