Chapter 327 — Lovesickness Is the Most Bitter

Shen Mu raised the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl and examined it. The body of the azure dragon within the pearl was the color of jade, with a clear and crystalline feel, its brows and whiskers also azure, like a dragon of jade. The azure dragon soul swam within the pearl, exceedingly joyful.

This was the dragon soul of a true dragon, not a variant breed like the crested fire pheasant dragon, the dragon qilin, or the green ox, but a pure-blooded azure dragon.

Even through the pearl, Shen Mu could sense an extraordinarily powerful divine force. Although the Root-Tendril Monster had drawn some of the power from the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl, the pearl seemed able to continuously absorb the qi drifting free in nature, replenishing its own energy. It was most peculiar. "Truly a fine treasure. The dragon soul within—could it be a dragon god?

" Shen Mu circulated the Mystic Body Three Elixir Art, and his qi automatically transformed into azure dragon qi. He tried to activate the power within the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl, only to find he could not. Astonished, he said, "Perhaps only the unique methods of True Heaven Palace can command the power of the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl.

With only my azure dragon qi, I would likely just be serving up a meal for the azure dragon soul.

" To wield the might of the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl, one needed to establish communication with the azure dragon soul within. Likely only the True Heaven Palace's methods of "all things have spirit, all things have gods" could make contact with the azure dragon soul. "The holy lands of the Western Lands truly have great abilities!

" he praised inwardly. The poison on the dragon qilin had lessened considerably, and it could already stand.

It hastily wagged its tail, its long dragon tail sweeping up dust all around, and cried, "Cult Master, give me the pearl!

" Shen Mu ignored it, and casually tossed the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl to little Xiong Qi'er, laughing, "Here, you play with this. " Xiong Qi'er caught the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl and smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, big brother! " The dragon qilin's saliva streamed down in torrents. It wagged its tail at Xiong Qi'er: "Big sister, let me play with the pearl! Don't worry, I absolutely will not eat it, I dare guarantee it!

" Shen Mu hastily took out several jade bottles and placed them beneath the creature's mouth to catch the dragon saliva, thinking, "Catch a few more bottles, sell them when we return to the capital, and I will have money again. .

. Mm, this time I will first return to the village and bring Ling'er over. She manages money far better than I do.

" He caught more than ten bottles. Xiong Qi'er put the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl into her little pocket, and only then did the dragon qilin's saliva stop.

Shen Mu threw Xiong Qi'er a glance. Though young, Xiong Qi'er was clever as ice and snow, and she took out the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl again.

The dragon qilin's tail wagged with a whooshing sound, and its saliva streamed down once more. Shen Mu caught more than twenty bottles of dragon saliva, well satisfied, but fearing that too much dragon saliva would affect its quality, he signaled Xiong Qi'er to put the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl away. The two white bats had also recovered, and Xiong Xiyu had regained her strength.

Shen Mu led them eastward.

Xiong Xiyu had been poisoned too deeply. Had she been poisoned only just now, when the toxicity was shallow, treatment would have been simplest, but the Silk-Entwining Poison she had contracted had seeped deep into her spirit stores, making it very difficult to purge completely. To others, this would already be called an illness beyond cure, but Shen Mu felt there was still medicine to be found.

Along the way he searched everywhere for spirit medicines and refined spirit elixirs, using no fewer than ten kinds of spirit elixirs in succession and changing the prescription ten times, until at last he had completely purged the Silk-Entwining Poison from the four great spirit stores: the Spirit Fetus, the Five Elements, the Six Harmonies, and the Seven Stars. They traveled more than ten days without ever encountering pursuit from Yu Bochuan and the others. Presumably, with the Qingxuan Water Dragon Pearl taken from them, they reckoned they could not contend with Shen Mu and his group without it, and had likely returned to the Western Lands to fetch reinforcements.

Suddenly, the murmur of flowing water reached them.

Shen Mu's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "We have reached the source of the Yong River. " They had not gone far when a stream appeared upon a cliff, and beneath the cliff the drop was several thousand zhang deep. Xiong Xiyu and the others hastily looked north and south, and saw that the ruins, coming from west to east, suddenly presented an enormous sheer face, a natural chasm spanning north and south for countless li!

The chasm split the ruins in two.

The ruins to the west were several thousand zhang higher than the ruins to the east!

"What power formed this sheer face?

" Xiong Xiyu murmured.

"A great earthquake.

" Shen Mu's face showed no expression whatsoever as he said, "An unimaginable earthquake. " Xiong Xiyu could not help but shiver. Shen Mu leaped down from the cliff, treading upon air, walking down step by step. Xiong Xiyu, bringing her daughter, hurried to follow. When they reached the midpoint of the cliff, they saw that stream merge with other streams falling from the sky to become a great waterfall, and further down, the waterfall had scoured out a large pool.

The river water poured out from the mouth of the pool. This river was not wide, its surface only two or three zhang across, but continuing onward, other small streams gathered into it, and the water gradually grew swift and turbulent, the river surface ever wider. Xiong Xiyu looked back, and saw upon the cliff face of that chasm behind them countless waterfalls rushing down, their waters gathering here into a great river.

The Yong River!