In twenty four hours, Jin Ren would die in Su Lian's own safe house. There would be no time for Su Lian to plant her false evidence.
When the father died screaming in agony mere hours after Su Lian's "miraculous" healing, Jin Hao would blame the Jin Family who tortured him, or worse for her, he might blame the very "healers" who had just treated him.
Either way, her leverage was gone.
"Excellent work, Lan," I said softly. "The reward for the Watcher will be doubled."
"Thank you, Young Miss," Lan bowed. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes," I said, standing up and smoothing the wrinkles from my dark cultivation robes. "Is my plain carriage ready at the rear gate?"
"It is, Young Miss. The coachman is blind and deaf to anything but the road, as requested."
"Good." I walked toward the door. "I will return before noon. Tell no one, not even my father, that I am gone."
"Understood," Lan said, though a flicker of worry crossed her face. "Please be safe, Young Miss."
I slipped out of the room, moving through the pre-dawn shadows of the Su Estate.
I reached the rear gate. The plain carriage was waiting. I climbed inside, rapping twice on the wooden panel. The carriage lurched forward, heading toward the northern gates of Clearwater City.
I leaned back against the cushions, closing my eyes.
In my past life, months after his dramatic rise to power, Jin Hao had been drunk on power and wine, boasting about his incredible luck. He had bragged to Su Lian about a fated encounter.
He had gloated about an abandoned mountain to the north, a place where no sane cultivator ever ventured due to the toxic miasma.
He had boasted about stumbling into a hidden cave at the base of that mountain and finding a legacy that made him unkillable.
He had intended to brag to impress Su Lian. Now, that arrogance was going to cost him his greatest advantage.
The carriage rode for two hours, leaving the cultivated lands of the city behind and entering the desolate terrain of the Northern Wastes. The air grew thin and smelled of sulfur.
"Stop here," I commanded.
The carriage halted.
I stepped out into the gray light of early morning. Looming ahead was a jagged peak known as the Serpent's Tooth, its base shrouded in a yellowish fog.
"Wait for me," I told the coachman.
I enveloped myself in a sphere of pure water attribute energy, a perfect shield against the toxic miasma.
I walked into the fog.
I navigated the treacherous rocks, my memory acting as a flawless map. Past the twin boulders shaped like cracked skulls. Through the ravine of dead whispering pines.
After twenty minutes of walking, I found it. A sheer cliff face, covered in thorny dead vines.
I raised my hand, sending a blade of compressed water crashing into the vines, shearing them away. Behind the dead vegetation was a narrow fissure in the rock, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
I slipped inside.
The fissure opened into a naturally illuminated cavern. Glowing moss clung to the ceiling, casting a pale green light.
In the center of the cavern sat a simple stone pedestal. Resting upon it were two items.
I walked forward, my heart beating with the thrill of the ultimate theft.
The first item was a teardrop shaped pendant that pulsed with an oceanic blue light. As I reached out and touched it, a wave of resonant energy washed over my soul.
It was a Soul Treasure. The Tear of the Sea God.
I knew its function from Jin Hao's boasts. It was a passive artifact that, when worn, synchronized with the user's Dantian, effectively doubling their maximum combat power output for short bursts without straining the meridians.
I slipped the silver chain over my neck. The pendant rested against my collarbone, its cool energy sinking into my skin, merging with my Golden Core.
I turned my attention to the second item. It was a jade slip glowing with a soft white light.
I pressed it to my forehead, injecting my spiritual sense.
It was a Divine Grade cultivation technique, an auxiliary art meant to be practiced alongside a primary elemental scripture.
The Immortal Jade Marrow Scripture.
As I read the introductory lines, I understood why Jin Hao had been so impossible to kill in the past.
This was a supreme healing art. It focused on drawing ambient spiritual energy directly into the bone marrow, altering the fundamental structure of the body.
Once mastered, it granted an 'Undying Body.' It allowed the user to regenerate from catastrophic wounds, severed limbs, crushed organs, in a matter of seconds, turning them into an unstoppable juggernaut in a war of attrition.
"A fitting prize," I whispered, storing the jade slip safely in my spatial ring.
I had crippled his future invincibility.
Jin Hao would be left relying solely on his offensive power, making him fragile. He would bleed like any other cultivator.
I turned to leave, satisfied with my plunder.
But as I took a step back, the Azure Dragon's Genesis Scripture humming in my veins reacted. The water attribute Qi I was circulating pulsed erratically, drawn downward.
I paused, looking down at the dusty stone floor beneath the pedestal.
There was an almost imperceptible resonance. The Immortal Jade Marrow Scripture was a life attribute technique. It thrived on vitality. And I could sense a hidden well of vitality buried directly beneath the stone.
Jin Hao had never mentioned anything else.
I knelt down. I placed my hands flat against the stone floor. I channeled my water Qi, turning it into a high pressure drill. I bored into the stone silently, letting the water erode the rock away.
Two feet down, the stone gave way to a hollow pocket.
I reached into the dirt and pulled out an object.
It was a simple bangle made of gray metal. It possessed no glowing aura, no overwhelming spiritual pressure.
But as I brushed the dirt from it, my fingers brushed the inner rim.
A jolt of information shot directly into my mind, bypassing my spiritual sense entirely.
The Five Elements Convergence Bangle.
I gasped, falling back onto my hands.
It was a training tool. When worn, the bangle forced the ambient spiritual energy of the world through a five element purification cycle before it ever entered the user's body.
It increased the user's passive and active cultivation speed by five times.
Five times.
It was an artifact that defied the balance of the heavens. It reduced decades of meditation to mere years. It was a cheat so profound it made the Soul Treasure look like a child's toy.
A victorious smile broke across my face. I slipped the dull gray bangle onto my wrist. Instantly, the ambient Qi in the cavern rushed toward me, funneling through the metal band and pouring into my Dantian with the force of a rushing river.
I stood up, brushing the dust from my knees.
I walked out of the fissure, my water shield parting the toxic fog effortlessly. I made my way back down the treacherous rocks to where my carriage waited in the gray morning light.
I climbed inside, the heavy doors shutting the desolate landscape out.
"Back to the Su Estate," I commanded.
PS: Hey guys, we haven't had any bonus chapters in this novel until now. We just need 29 more Power Stones to unlock one. Come on, let's make it happen, haha.
PS: There are 10+ Advance chapters available on the Patreon for those who want to read ahead. www.patreon. com/Drrajnovel