Returning home.

The young man leaped off the flying sword, stopping two miles away from the county town.

In theory, he didn't need to dismount the flying sword; with a cultivator's realm and abilities, no one in the city could detect his presence if he didn't want them to.

Feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Although his hometown didn't have Spiritual Energy as abundant as the Purple Cloud Palace, and the cultivation speed wasn't as swift as in the sect, there was no mental pressure while cultivating at home, and he didn't have to think about too many things.

Standing on a small hill, he glanced at the distance, where many villagers were already up early. Some carried hoes, others held bamboo baskets, and some who got up in the dead of night to pick vegetables were now pushing small carts toward the county, bustling about.

Standing high and motionless, the sky was already getting light. Despite a whole night's pursuit and hunting, Jiang Feng's face showed no signs of fatigue; instead, he was full of energy.

Raising his hand, he slightly activated the True Body of Ancient Intent and Six Harmonies within him, and soon a small amount of crimson blood appeared in his palm, spinning, merging, intertwining, and circulating there.

Yet, no matter how he drove the cultivation technique, these Essence Blood couldn't fully merge. Although the color was very close to turning into a single drop, upon closer inspection, one could still discern slight color differences, marking off areas.

Just like those indistinguishable lipstick shades.

"Sure enough, this level of cultivation technique never comes easy."

"Learning it was easy, not too difficult, but theory and practice are two different things. Essence Blood is indeed a good thing, but the fusion process is exceedingly difficult."

"Seven or eight hours have passed since yesterday, resulting in just this little progress, and this is Essence Blood at the level of Foundation Establishment Peak to Core Formation Stage."

"If the realm continues to improve, it might take dozens of days to refine just one drop before it can be used, but the principle is exactly what Yu Ying said."

Turning his palm.

Although the Essence Blood in his palm was scant, if the Evil Cultivators knew its scent, they would probably risk their lives to rush up and fight Jiang Feng, trying to snatch it from him.

The Divine Soul is the essence of a person's soul, and Essence Blood is naturally the physical essence of a cultivator. Even draining someone dry, you only get a little; those under the Core Formation Stage might not even have a full drop, only half.

To anyone, Essence Blood is a true treasure, regardless of righteousness or evil, regardless of power; it's just that everyone uses it differently.

All elixirs that temper the body require one medicinal primer, which is Essence Blood.

Essence Blood doesn't necessarily require the cruelty of using a living person as a sacrifice; it can be forced out from within oneself, or the Spiritual Beast with deep cultivation can condense it after death, but overall, it still refers to "physical essence."

For those in reputable sects, the way they handle Essence Blood after acquiring it is through various methods of refining, mixing all kinds of Immortal Herbs and Spiritual Objects to neutralize the violent power of the Essence Blood. Most elixirs for improving strength and realm are made through such methods.

As for other powers, they're not that particular.

For instance, Jiang Feng now.

Since yesterday, Jiang Feng had been patrolling his territory like a lion. After obtaining the list and general movements from An Xuan, he directly carried the iron wire and chose to head out, traveling hundreds of miles, hitting each one along the way.

The boundary is different from the sect. In the sect, everyone considers the camaraderie and is courteous. Even in a major event like the martial arts assembly of the Nine Peaks, there are many examples of people choosing to concede to avoid conflicts, but here is not the sect.

This is the boundary, the junction of Dongyue, the Southern Border, and Long Country, a gathering of all kinds of powers, both demonic and spiritual. He wouldn't say that every cultivator exiled here has a death wish, but they definitely can't be considered clean.

Of course, Jiang Feng didn't just attack everyone he encountered. During this day, he met fools like those in Lou Family Village, who still threatened him despite knowing they were no match and would get killed, as well as some who were very aware of the situation.

Several Southern Border Disciples also causing trouble collided with him. After being knocked down in two or three moves, they kowtowed sharply, hugging his leg and crying bitterly, talking about having eighty-year-old mothers and three-year-old hungry children to feed.

Uh, although Jiang Feng could see at a glance that this guy was eighty percent still a fledgling, with such words and a strong desire for repentance, he didn't pursue responsibility further, made them return the stolen goods, and let it go at that.

He's quite sentimental.

But even so, he ended the day with more than a dozen lives in his hands. From just over a dozen people, only a few drops of Essence Blood could be condensed, indicating the high difficulty of cultivation. With a squeeze, the Essence Blood slowly seeped into his skin.

All Evil Cultivators choose similarly to Jiang Feng when obtaining Essence Blood, opting to directly refine it within their bodies. His brow slightly furrowed; although it wasn't the first time, every time he absorbed others' Essence Blood or souls, he could see fragments of memory inside, disordered and filled with deep grievances.

"Tsk."

A hint of displeasure crossed his face.

A surge of hostility crazily rose in his heart. Clearly, the Yin Souls dying tragically were trying to affect his mind, but soon the Heavenly Clarity and Serenity True Technique started to work within him, and that surge of hostility was quickly suppressed and disappeared.

"Hoo~ Now I understand why they call this group Evil Cultivators."

"Even with a firm mind, in such an environment and influence, it's hard to uphold one's heart, not to mention as the Essence Blood increases, the physical burden will become greater, and trouble will eventually arise."

"Those who survive are the elite. If it weren't for this mental method and my body being enough to bear it, I might have been driven mad by now."

Shaking his head, the refining process of the essence was long and tedious. He wasn't in a hurry at this moment and continued walking on the deserted mountain paths, looking around.

Finally, he found that he was less than half a mile from the city gate, but still no movements nearby, so he had to speak up himself.

"Brother, yesterday you were eating my dust all day."

"Having finally caught up, and still not saying a word; if you continue to delay, I'll soon enter the city."

"When that happens…"

There was still no significant response from behind.

He tilted his head slightly. His intuition couldn't be wrong, and though he could not currently track them with his Divine Sense, the person was always trailing him.

Seeing this, Jiang Feng neither probed further nor tried to drag the person out, merely raising his eyebrows.

Because a very familiar scent was permeating the air, even the Xu Huoyao sleeping within him started cheering excitedly, appearing exceptionally invigorated.

Clearly, some strange woman had arrived.

Stifling a laugh from escaping, a strange glint flashed in his eyes, and he shouted into the distance.

"Hey! Southern Border Demoness, how dare you enter our territory! Looking for death!"

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