This matter was something Han Li had only inadvertently discovered during the period before entering the Demon Realm, after studying countless ancient texts related to it.
According to the records, the Bloodfang Rice should only be produced in a place called the Blue Waterfall Lake in the Demon Realm, which is extremely far from Phantom Night City. Normally, the local demons barely have enough for themselves, and it never circulates outside. How did the Bai family manage to obtain such a high-grade Bloodfang Rice?
As his thoughts churned, Han Li did not conceal the surprise on his face.
“What? Brother Han and Fellow Daoist Frost Li, are you also interested in this Bloodfang Rice? Unfortunately, this item has already been reserved by this Heavenly Lord. If you want any, you’ll have to ask Brother Bai for a share.” Heavenly Lord Luanlong glanced at Han Li and Frost Li, his eyes flickering slightly as he spoke. Then, he grabbed the Bloodfang Rice from the jade box and took a bite, devouring nearly a third of it in one go. He chewed slowly, shaking his head with relish.
A rich, peculiar fragrance instantly filled the entire hall.
“Oh? Does Brother Bai have more Bloodfang Rice?” Han Li asked, his expression shifting slightly.
Frost Li’s gaze also snapped toward the burly man and the purple-haired woman.
“Fellow Daoist Luanlong must be joking. I only had this single grain of Bloodfang Rice—there’s no second one!” The yellow-haired man laughed bitterly and flatly denied it.
“Brother Bai, I doubt many would believe that. Everyone knows the more Bloodfang Rice one consumes, the more significant the improvement to the physical body. Since you were able to obtain this rice, how could you only have one grain?” Han Li narrowed his eyes, speaking calmly.
Frost Li’s gaze turned slightly cold, clearly also unconvinced.
“To be honest with you all, our Bai family did coincidentally acquire a few grains of Bloodfang Rice, but the rest have already been consumed by my fifth sister and me. The one gifted to Fellow Daoist Luanlong was originally kept as a seed or for alchemical purposes. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have held onto even half of it,” the yellow-haired man hastily explained.
“If the Bai family obtained Bloodfang Rice once, they can surely do so again. As long as Brother Bai can help me acquire some, price is no object,” Han Li said after a moment of contemplation.
“If Brother Bai can help me obtain a hundred grains of this quality at once, I will assist the Bai family once more in their next time of need,” Frost Li spoke coldly for the first time, his voice hoarse and rough, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time.
Hearing their words, the purple-haired woman’s expression flickered slightly, as if tempted. But the burly man refused without hesitation: “Obtaining those few grains was pure coincidence. My fifth sister and I happened to meet a fellow cultivator from Blue Waterfall Lake years ago and exchanged treasures for them. Our Bai family has no means to acquire such rarities again. Let’s drop this topic—it’s simply impossible.”
Seeing the yellow-haired man’s firm stance, Han Li and Frost Li exchanged glances and refrained from pressing further.
Heavenly Lord Luanlong, though still chewing, also showed clear disappointment in his eyes.
Thus, the group spent the rest of their time meditating in the hall. An hour after consuming the Bloodfang Rice, Heavenly Lord Luanlong’s aura suddenly surged, and his face turned blood-red. Only after a long period of silent circulation did his complexion return to normal.
Witnessing this, Han Li marveled inwardly, growing even more intrigued by the Bloodfang Rice.
It seemed its effects far surpassed what the ancient texts had recorded.
Meanwhile, the yellow-haired man and the purple-haired woman privately discussed the mysterious disappearances of their clan’s disciples via voice transmission. However, with no clues left at the outpost, they failed to reach any plausible conclusion.
They could only set the matter aside for now and focus on recuperating.
After all, the disciples stationed here were only mid-tier, hardly significant in the grand scheme of the Bai family.
The group remained at the outpost for a full day and night. Once everyone had adjusted to peak condition, they mounted eight-legged demon lizards and departed the oasis, heading west.
Half a day later, the yellow-haired man leading the group glanced at the gloomy sky and the intensifying gray sandstorms before turning to the others.
“Fellow Daoists, that demon beast’s powers are formidable. From here on, we must proceed with caution. Conceal your auras and recall your demon lizards.”
Recognizing the critical moment, Han Li and the other Unity Realm cultivators complied without objection. They dismounted, stored their lizards in spirit beast rings, and followed the burly man in low-altitude flight.
Though spatial movement techniques were unusable in the desert, they could manage slow flight close to the ground—albeit at several times the usual mana cost.
Fortunately, the Bai family’s mine wasn’t far. After an hour of flight, a massive dune appeared on the horizon.
The dune stood thousands of feet tall, resembling a mountain shrouded in gray sand, with eerie, ghostly howls emanating from within.
Spotting it, the yellow-haired man signaled caution and led the group to land several miles away.
Bai Yunxin and the others followed without hesitation. Heavenly Lord Luanlong and Frost Li exchanged glances before silently descending.
Han Li trailed behind, his eyes glowing faintly blue as he studied a patch of sand a dozen yards away, deep in thought.
At that moment, the yellow-haired man extended a hand from his sleeve and made a grasping motion toward the spot Han Li was observing.
With a muffled *thud*, a house-sized clump of sand erupted from the ground, forming an earthen dragon that landed nearby.
After several more grasps, a pit over a dozen yards deep was revealed, exposing a bronze door at the bottom.
“Oh? What’s this?” Heavenly Lord Luanlong narrowed his eyes in surprise.
“The mine’s main entrance is atop the dune, but since the beast has claimed it, we’re using a backup entrance. Only my sister and I know of its existence. It’s hidden deep within the mine and lacks any arrays or restrictions, so the beast shouldn’t have discovered it yet. Entering this way might catch it off guard,” the purple-haired woman explained with a smile.
“I see,” Heavenly Lord Luanlong nodded, glancing skeptically at the structures atop the distant dune.
The yellow-haired man pointed at the bronze door, releasing an invisible force that pushed it open with a creak, revealing a pitch-black passage.
“Let’s go. The entrance is indeed untouched,” he said after scanning with his divine sense, leading the way inside.
The others followed.
As Han Li stepped through, his blue-tinted vision illuminated the dark passage like daylight.
The walls were lined with smooth, pale green stone slabs, completely isolating the tunnel from the surrounding sand. Remarkably, they bore no traces of arrays or restrictions.
After half an hour of walking, the group reached a dead end blocked by a strange crimson rock wall.
This time, the yellow-haired man didn’t act rashly. Instead, he produced a triangular ancient mirror, chanting incantations as he tapped it.
Black mist roiled on its surface, followed by a five-colored glow.
After a careful inspection, he relaxed and stowed the mirror, flicking his sleeve toward the wall.
A streak of black light shot forth, vanishing into the rock.
The crimson wall trembled slightly before silently sliding aside, revealing a scorching underground world beyond.
Red rocks, blackish-red ground, and countless purple-red stalagmite-like spikes dotted the landscape.
“Let’s proceed. Since the beast has claimed this mine, it’s likely lurking where the fire qi is densest. While most demon beasts cultivate in slumber, a Demon Venerable-level one is unpredictable. Moreover, my sister and I still haven’t identified its species or habits. Stay vigilant. Our goal is to wound or drive it away, but if we can kill it, the Bai family will split the materials equally with you all,” the yellow-haired man cautioned solemnly.
“Brother Bai, since when have you become so long-winded? We’ve heard this multiple times. Slaying a Demon Venerable would be ideal, but none of us will force the issue if it proves impossible,” Heavenly Lord Luanlong chuckled.
Han Li smiled faintly without comment.
Just then, the purple-haired woman suddenly spat out a white jade pendant with a faint blood streak.
“Don’t worry, Elder Brother. During my last encounter with the beast, though outmatched, I managed to obtain a trace of its essence blood. I’ve refined it into this Soul-Tracking Pendant, making its location easy to pinpoint,” she said with a light laugh.
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