Chapter 1352: Gathering Completed

The two made their agreement.

Dongbo Xueying immediately departed.

Fengyun Yiyi emerged from the side and walked over to the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor.

“Did it work out?” Fengyun Yiyi asked.

“Offered nine corpses of Void lineage Hunyuan lifeforms as gifts, and it worked,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor replied with a faint smirk, glancing at Fengyun Yiyi. “Did you not offer any gifts at all?”

Fengyun Yiyi remained calm. “Obtaining food is easy for him. He can easily trade for many Void lineage Hunyuan lifeform corpses on his own. The reason he agreed to you is because the ‘Silent Ice Mountain Master’ is also something he desires! Otherwise, do you really think such a small gift would make him risk his life with you?”

“I know, you’re just jealous,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor retorted.

Their relationship was peculiar.

Both had climbed step by step from the mortal realm. In terms of cultivation, they were the two highest in Chiyun City.

“Have you decided?” Fengyun Yiyi asked. “To achieve Hunyuan through ultimate bloodline awakening?”

“Yes, I’ve decided,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor nodded.

“Are you content with that?” Fengyun Yiyi pressed. “With your accumulated strength, you might one day achieve enlightenment and break through by force, becoming one of the strongest ‘Lords’ among Hunyuan experts… Even if you can’t break through by force, if a Lord takes notice of you, they might reincarnate you into a Source World. Though the Source World’s will would still suppress you, you’d have a chance to eventually master it and become a World-Class Hunyuan lifeform.”

Lord-Class Hunyuan lifeforms were the highest tier.

World-Class Hunyuan lifeforms were still respectable—at least within their own Source World, they were invincible!

But High-Class Hunyuan lifeforms… were relatively weaker.

“At my level of cultivation, the cost to reincarnate me into a Source World is immense! Far, far greater than for weaker cultivators,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor shook his head. “I’ve been in the Sacred Realm for so long, yet no Lord has ever hinted at such a possibility.”

He had long since given up hope.

He understood well.

Source Worlds… even suppress their own native powerhouses. For example, figures like the ‘Sacred Master’ or ‘Old Man Stone’ who survive the Great Destruction and enter a new era are forced into slumber! This is the Source World’s will suppressing overly powerful beings, allowing new lifeforms time to grow.

For someone like the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor, whose strength was too immense and terrifying, the Source World’s resistance to his reincarnation would be overwhelming. The cost of success would be astronomical.

Even if successful!

He would either be forced into slumber or sealed within the Source World’s core… In short, the stronger one was, the more terrifying the restrictions. How powerful was a Source World? Suppressing a half-Hunyuan lifeform was effortless.

“Even if I achieve Hunyuan through bloodline awakening, becoming a High-Class Hunyuan lifeform, I believe that with my foundation… I can still cultivate to the ‘World-Class’ level, and perhaps even reach ‘Lord-Class’ one day,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor declared confidently.

Fengyun Yiyi said nothing.

In truth, bloodline awakening meant transforming into an innate Hunyuan lifeform! Their growth path was that of innate Hunyuan lifeforms, a path with far less potential.

For example, even the most supreme innate Hunyuan lifeforms, like the ‘Thousand-Eyed Being’ or the ‘Ten-Thousand-Tentacled Dragon Mother,’ could wound Lords like Yuan, yet they still perished.

But Lords…

Though few in number, not a single one had ever fallen!

The difference between the two paths was clear.

Yet, achieving ‘Lord’ status was far more difficult.

“Paths are walked step by step,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor said. “Unlike you, I never gained the attention of many Hunyuan experts, nor have any Lords promised to reincarnate me into a Source World.”

Fengyun Yiyi shook his head. “Breaking through by force—that is my path.”

To master both paths to the half-Hunyuan level was terrifyingly rare. In the Sacred Realm, he was the only one.

“Your path is even harder,” the Nine-Headed Serpent Ancestor turned and left, his heart heavy with sorrow. Despite his strength, no Hunyuan expert had ever invested in him. He could only rely on himself.

—

Dongbo Xueying returned to his abode and examined the fifteen Void lineage God-Emperor Perfection-level Hunyuan lifeform corpses he had collected. His mood was excellent.

“Six more to go.”

“These six are quite rare, but the Nine-Headed City Lord hasn’t publicly sought them. He likely just gathered them from a few friends,” Dongbo Xueying mused. Historically, Chiyun City and the other four cities had some exchanges, even sending teams to trade treasures.

What was rare in one city might be common in another.

This was why Fengyun Yiyi had confidently claimed he could help gather them all.

“I, Feixue, seek to collect six Void lineage God-Emperor Perfection-level Hunyuan lifeform corpses, one of each kind. Each corpse can be exchanged for triple the usual food.” Dongbo Xueying described the six types clearly and transmitted the message to all cultivators in Chiyun City via communication treasures.

Triple the food!

For such rare specimens, double was already generous.

Dongbo Xueying, with his vast resources, didn’t mind the cost.

“Brother Feixue.”

“Emperor Feixue.”

“Feixue…”

Messages flooded in.

All were eager to trade for food!

With over three thousand experts in Chiyun City, more than a hundred possessed at least one of the six types.

Dongbo Xueying promptly contacted them in order, confirming the exchanges.

“The collection is complete,” Dongbo Xueying soon announced to all.

—

Such triple exchanges were rare opportunities.

Once offered, everyone rushed to trade. Unfortunately, Dongbo Xueying only needed one of each! For the six types, some were stronger, equivalent to two ordinary corpses. In total, he spent twenty-five God-Emperor Perfection-level Hunyuan lifeform corpses to acquire all six.

“All twenty-one Void lineage Hunyuan lifeforms of the Sacred Realm, at the God-Emperor Perfection level, are now complete,” Dongbo Xueying was in high spirits. In his underground hall, he gazed fervently at the arrayed corpses.

Unable to resist, he began meticulously studying and comprehending each one.

—

Northriver Emperor also received Dongbo Xueying’s public message.

First, the open offer—then the swift announcement of completion.

“Triple the food.”

In his abode, Northriver Emperor reviewed the message. “For this Ying Shan Xueying, obtaining food is so effortless. Well, though it’s hard for me, the process of hunting is also a tempering of the self.”

Indeed.

It was a life-and-death trial! All cultivators understood this, yet none enjoyed being forced to hunt repeatedly.

“Thousand-Eyed Water Pearl.”

Northriver Emperor flipped his hand, revealing a dewdrop-like ‘water pearl’ in his palm. “This Ying Shan Xueying has always wanted this. Hmph… This is a relic of a terrifying Hunyuan lifeform capable of transforming into the likes of the Broken Tooth Mountain Range. I can’t let him obtain it easily.”

Northriver Emperor knew the pearl was useless to him—it only had value in the forbidden ‘Fang Corridor.’ Currently, it offered no aid to his cultivation.

Yet, as his most prized treasure, he was well aware of Dongbo Xueying’s desire for it.

“I won’t beg him. I’ll make him come to me, and then he’ll pay a steep price,” Northriver Emperor schemed.

This item originally belonged to Dongbo Xueying.

Northriver Emperor had broken his oath and seized it by force. Now, he intended to exploit it for maximum gain.

However…

Time passed.

Ten thousand years, a million, ten million, a hundred million…

Northriver Emperor was forced to go hunting, yet Dongbo Xueying never came to him.