Chapter 237: Refinementblood Crystal – Then It's Settled

Chapter 237: Refinementblood Crystal – Then It’s Settled

The cold, silvery moonlight bathed Silent Calamity Island, illuminating the Snowleaf Grass at its center—a delicate, luminescent white herb. Su Li cherished this cluster of Snowleaf Grass. It was one of the few spirit herbs capable of surviving the curse.

As she approached, its leaves visibly wilted by a third, but she wasn’t worried. She knew exactly what to do.

Water it with blood!

The curse’s intensity was tied to vitality. Its power ebbed and flowed with Su Li’s own condition. If she weakened, the moon eclipse’s influence would shrink accordingly. By exploiting this, she could confine the curse to the island, sparing the fish in the sea.

Su Li slowly raised her hand. Between her slender fingers, a small dagger materialized. She wasn’t doing this solely to save the sea creatures—more importantly, this was the only way she could currently control the curse.

Perhaps this resistance held no real hope of breaking the curse, but the act of resisting itself carried meaning.

“Hmph!”

She grunted, her eyes flashing with pain. Wu Blood contained immense vitality, one of its functions being to rapidly heal her wounds. For the Wu Clan, even minor blood loss wouldn’t weaken them.

Which meant she had to keep cutting herself!

Each slice tightened her brows, but her movements never ceased.

Wu Blood trickled steadily into the soil. The Snowleaf Grass’s wilted leaves immediately perked up. Thanks to the underground river, the forest on the island’s far side would soon flourish too.

Sea winds carried biting cold, spreading the cinnamon-scented blood aroma. The once-quiet island erupted into chaos. Birds shrieked, circling frantically in the sky. Insects and beasts hiding in grass and tree hollows crawled out, their movements rustling the underbrush.

The scent alone had driven them all wild.

“So fragrant!”

Xiao Chen had just finished chopping his first spirit-sealing cloudwood when a rich, cinnamon-like fragrance drifted over.

Strange aromas often signaled the emergence of celestial treasures! Thinking of the moon-stained jade marrow fungus, his heart raced.

Better safe than sorry. Xiao Chen glanced at the sky—only the third quarter of the Hai hour. The Zi hour was still half a day away.

Perfect. Time was plenty. Plans changed—time to gather herbs.

After all, Su Li herself had said he could take any spirit herbs on the island. Spiritwood couldn’t compare to spirit medicine’s allure. Time to pluck this treasure.

Yet when Xiao Chen followed the scent to the island’s center, he found a crimson-stained clearing.

Su Li stood at its heart, clad in white, trembling slightly. Hearing footsteps, she turned abruptly.

“Don’t come closer!”

Her voice cracked like thunder: “I said to leave before the Zi hour! Why are you still here?”

As she spoke, a strange blood-colored aura flickered around her, pulsing with her ragged breaths.

“Senior, please don’t misunderstand.”

Xiao Chen halted, bowing respectfully. “It’s still the Hai hour. The Zi hour hasn’t arrived.”

His gaze swept over her, instantly alert. Her condition was clearly off—dark, unfathomable energy radiated from her.

Suddenly, the Snowleaf Grass trembled violently. Its once-luminescent leaves turned an eerie crimson.

“Run!”

Su Li’s nails dug into her palms. Crimson blood trickled down her pale wrists: “Leave Ji’e… cough!”

Before she could finish, violent coughs cut her off.

The ground quaked. Red soil swelled and cracked.

Then, Datura Flowers erupted from the earth, blooming at impossible speed. Their petals glowed seductive crimson, their stamens ink-black, writhing under the moonlight like living things.

Where they spread, even stone hissed with corrosion, releasing a pungent stench.

The moon eclipse had erupted early!

“No time! Close your eyes—don’t look at me!”

The moment Su Li spotted the Datura Flowers, panic flooded her delicate features.

Anyone witnessing the moon eclipse would bear its full curse. A century ago, cultivators who saw the Datura Flowers bloom had screamed as their skin ulcerated, peeling away like rotting tree bark.

She’d never let that horror repeat.

Her despair and terror accelerated the curse’s eruption.

A hundred-meter blood lotus erupted beneath her feet, layers of petals blazing like fire.

Thorned brambles surged skyward, their barbed spines gleaming coldly under the moon. They formed a half-circle, locking her in midair—both a protective barrier and a restrictive shackle.

A moonbeam struck Su Li’s forehead, forcibly awakening her bloodline memory.

In this agony, a new Blood Crystal slowly solidified over her chest, its faint glow illuminating her pale face.

Then—plop!—it fell into the crimson flower sea below.

“What?”

Cultivators had sharp eyes. Xiao Chen saw clearly: the Blood Crystal was identical to the mysterious one beneath the moon-stained jade marrow fungus, only deeper in color.

He never expected the Blood Crystal to originate from Su Li.

Under the moonlight, countless Datura Flowers bloomed.

A sudden wind carried the petals toward Xiao Chen, engulfing him in an instant.

Su Li struggled helplessly, then closed her eyes in resignation.

She didn’t notice the petals seemingly vanishing into thin air.

Had someone observed from above, they’d see Xiao Chen’s location acting like a vortex, devouring the petals.

These weren’t true Datura Flowers, but heavenly mana warped by the curse. Put another way, vast quantities of heavenly qi were rushing into his body.

Under normal circumstances, such an event would be unheard of in the cultivation world.

Xiao Chen’s last such experience had been when harvesting the moon-stained jade marrow fungus—discovering a hidden Blood Crystal. That memory still felt fresh.

…

Feeling the surging mana, Xiao Chen silently activated his cultivation manual’s refinement technique.

When the feast comes to you, refusing’s rude.

Under the bright moonlight, Datura petals surged toward Xiao Chen like tidal waves, sweeping the fallen Blood Crystal to his feet.

On contact, a vitality force dozens of times stronger than the previous crystal’s flooded his body like a tsunami.

The effect was overwhelming. Xiao Chen’s entire body flushed crimson, his blood vessels swelling from head to toe.

Too much of a good thing could kill.

“Damn!”

Xiao Chen rarely cursed. He immediately sat cross-legged, unleashing the newly acquired Starlight Body Tempering Secret Technique.

Now it was a race—whose refinement speed could outpace the Blood Crystal’s vitality?

“Curse, show me your limits.”

Amplified a hundredfold, Xiao Chen’s life-essence core spun wildly, activating 108 acupoints simultaneously, forming miniature vortices within him.

The moment vitality entered, nearby acupoints absorbed it.

But as the vitality dwindled, the Blood Crystal accelerated its output.

This mechanism ensured even powerful Wu cultivators could attempt breakthroughs.

But now, it tormented Xiao Chen. Despite his efforts, his refinement speed lagged.

Crack!

He pulled out a Land Vein Nectar from his Han Hai Ring, swallowing it whole, bottle cap and all, before hurling the bottle aside.

A spiritual elixir capable of healing golden core damage could certainly boost cultivation speed.

With the elixir’s aid, his life-essence core’s absorption quickened.

Without hesitation, he swallowed a Purple-Gold Bodhi next.

This herb enhanced cultivation aptitude, improving his mastery of cultivation manuals—indirectly accelerating his progress.

With these two spirit herbs, Xiao Chen forced another 50% increase in refinement speed.

Finally, he withstood the torrent, rapidly expanding his life-essence core.

Thus, shortcuts always carried risks.

Thankfully, Xiao Chen had spirit herbs and the curse’s hundredfold cultivation speed. His edge prevailed.

After surviving the worst, the rest became smooth sailing.

One true mana, two true mana… ten, twenty… a hundred true mana!

As the last vitality vanished, Xiao Chen gained a hundred new true mana—equivalent to a year’s cultivation saved.

“Haaah~!”

He exhaled a thick breath. Unlike the previous rushed finishes, this time he felt full—almost bloated.

Most crucially, the Blood Crystal’s true mana boost was merely a side effect. Its primary function was amplifying vitality reserves.

Xiao Chen felt his vitality had at least doubled. His blood flowed like roaring waves.

Simultaneously, his five viscera and six bowels felt subtly strengthened.

Just like the previous Blood Crystal, where part of the vitality had “melted” into his meridians, this time it permeated not just meridians but his organs too.

“Who knows what happened to that missing vital energy? What exactly did it do?”

Xiao Chen himself felt a bit clueless about this matter.

But it didn’t matter. No matter what happened, things would ultimately turn out fine.

With the divine veil protecting him, he didn’t need to be as anxious as other cultivators, constantly fearing whether such abnormalities might bring negative consequences.

The real question Xiao Chen needed to solve now was—how to obtain more Blood Crystals.

At this point, although he still had many doubts, two things had become crystal clear.

First, for any body cultivator, Blood Crystals were an incredibly precious treasure.

Unlike what Xiao Chen had originally thought, genuine Blood Crystals didn’t require large quantities.

At the current rate, just six more would allow his life-essence core to directly ascend to the Golden Core Perfect Completion stage.

This speed could easily surpass his cultivation realm on the path of orthodox cultivation.

Second, Blood Crystals weren’t natural products—they originated from Su Li.

This meant that wanting more Blood Crystals equated to Xiao Chen needing to find ways to take something from a Golden Core True Sovereign.

Considering the gap of an entire major cultivation stage between them.

Under normal circumstances, this was completely impossible.

But Su Li’s current situation seemed far from normal.

Clearly, this might be an exploitable weakness.

Xiao Chen quickly recalled everything he had experienced since arriving on the island, preparing to deliver a brilliant deduction.

……

Ah, after calming down and thinking, he decided against it. He wasn’t proficient in this at all.

He had no intelligence to work with—thinking about this and that was pointless.

Su Li wasn’t some ferocious beast that would devour him.

So why not take a straightforward approach—charge ahead boldly!

Don’t misunderstand—his “charge” didn’t mean using force.

There was at least a full major cultivation stage between them. Even if Su Li appeared pale and weak, he shouldn’t entertain any reckless thoughts.

Making his decision, Xiao Chen strode forward decisively.

Facing Su Li, who had already returned to the ground and was staring at him, he clasped his fists in a respectful gesture: “Senior, this junior dares to request another transaction.”

In this world, everything had a price. It was just a matter of sky-high demands and ground-level counteroffers.

He had many Fourth Stage Spirit Herbs, especially Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits. He was certain the other party wouldn’t remain indifferent.

……

Silence enveloped the surroundings, so quiet that the distant sound of waves cleansing the reefs could be heard.

Hmm?

What was going on?

Xiao Chen felt bewildered. She neither agreed nor refused—what did she mean?

Su Li remained silent, lost in thought.

Time rewound to when the moon eclipse had just erupted, activating the bloodline under the moonlight.

For a century, every time the moon eclipse occurred, she was forcibly bound under the moonlight, forced to endure the endless influx of Wu Clan legacy surging from her spirit sea, no matter how excruciating her headaches became.

This painful process lasted for several hours until the new dawn arrived.

Precisely because of this, she had developed a fondness for watching sunrises, witnessing the dawn’s light piercing the endless darkness.

But today, the moon eclipse had ended unusually early.

When the thorned brambles receded and the petals withered into nothingness, she still felt dazed.

Had the moon eclipse truly ended?

Standing firmly on the ground, Su Li still couldn’t quite believe it.

Had the moon eclipse really ended?

She gazed blankly at Xiao Chen, who was sitting cross-legged nearby in deep meditation—not only showing no signs of distortion but even radiating abundant vital energy, looking perfectly fine.

As she looked at him, it felt like seeing the dawn itself.

He had completely resisted the moon eclipse!

Snapping back to her senses, Su Li’s first instinct was to immediately subdue Xiao Chen.

She had reason to do so. If she could find the method to lift the curse from him, she could finally escape this endless pain and loneliness, returning to a normal life.

She had the power to do so. With her Golden Core Late Stage cultivation, suppressing a mere Golden Core cultivator was effortless.

“Boom!”

A distant wave crashed against the reefs.

Su Li fixed her gaze on Xiao Chen, then shifted her eyes toward the horizon.

Since stepping onto Silent Calamity Island, she had vowed never to harm any innocent person because of her own sake.

The injuries she had caused before weren’t from her true will.

But now, if she resorted to any means to escape the moon eclipse, it would mean gaining freedom at the cost of carrying the curse forever.

To some, this wouldn’t matter at all.

But Su Li was different. Having already lost her sect, she didn’t want to lose her conscience as well.

“Senior, this junior dares to request another transaction.”

The sudden words interrupted Su Li’s thoughts.

She easily deduced that Xiao Chen had chosen to refine the Blood Crystal to stop the moon eclipse.

Judging from the shattered jade vial fragments on the ground, he had even consumed some secret medicine to suppress the curse.

If solving the curse was difficult for you, why did you still choose to help me?

Was it for the transaction?

What did you want?

“Alright!”

Su Li finally nodded: “What transaction?”

Hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately relaxed.

As long as she was willing to negotiate, the transaction was already half done. The rest was just a matter of price.

“Two… uh, three Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits for one Blood Crystal—how about that?”

To show his sincerity, she didn’t quote an unreasonably low price.

However, even so, Su Li’s brows furrowed immediately upon hearing it.

Xiao Chen’s heart sank. So three spirit fruits were indeed too few?

He himself felt it was a bit insufficient, but these were Fourth Stage spirit fruits, rare ones that enhanced cultivation aptitude.

Besides, this was the first offer, so he didn’t want to start too high.

“Three Purple-Gold Bodhi?”

Su Li bit her lip. She naturally knew about the famous Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits produced by Pudu Temple—they weren’t easy to obtain.

Except for a few major powers, even Golden Core cultivators found it extremely difficult to trade for them.

But it didn’t matter. She was at least Golden Core Late Stage, and she could afford this price.

As long as she first found a way to lift the curse, she could slowly repay the debt in the future.

“Alright, three it is!”

After hesitating, Su Li lightly nodded: “But I don’t have any Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits on me right now. Can I owe them to you first?”

Hmm?

Wait, what did you say?

Xiao Chen was stunned, completely confused by this question.

What did you mean by “owe them first”? How was this making sense?

Their confused gazes met, then they both realized—it was a misunderstanding.

“No problem, it’s settled then!”

Xiao Chen immediately jumped in, not caring whether it was a misunderstanding. Better to confirm the transaction first—the spirit fruit matter could be discussed later.

“Alright!”

Su Li’s eyes brightened: “Then it’s settled.”

Saying this, she didn’t dwell on the spirit fruit issue but continued staring at Xiao Chen, as if trying to memorize him completely.

Was this the end of the negotiation?

But who was giving the spirit fruits to whom?

Looking at the dazed Su Li in front of him, Xiao Chen wanted to ask further.

“I…”

Su Li spoke first, pausing as she firmly pressed her red lips: “I have something to say. It might be a rather boring story. Would you like to hear it?”

A clear expectation shone in her eyes.

She hadn’t spoken to anyone in such a long time.

“Of course!”

Xiao Chen nodded, taking out two jars of moonlit spring wine: “I’m all ears.”

Incidentally, these two jars were obtained from Qingyang Spirit Mine in Hezhou, left untouched until now. Taking them out now felt somewhat unworthy.

His Storage Ring naturally contained higher-grade spirit wine—the White Jade Xiao Qinglong purchased from Hundred Grasses City.

But that might reveal he came from the Inner Sea. Better to avoid it.

The night was filled with conversation.

The next morning, Xiao Chen finally learned about Su Li’s Nine Yin Calamity Spirit Body, the moon eclipse curse she bore,

and the reason she appeared on Silent Calamity Island.

“You mean there’s a supervisor formation outside?”

Xiao Chen felt slightly surprised. Hadn’t he already been exposed? And wouldn’t he be exposed again when leaving?

“It doesn’t matter. They wouldn’t care whether others enter or leave here.”

Su Li was well aware: “That formation is meant to monitor me. Unless I leave, it’s just a decoration.”

Fair enough.

This kind of thing was nothing new to Xiao Chen.

It was thanks to their negligence that he had the chance to obtain Blood Crystals. Otherwise, if a Golden Core True Sovereign had appeared to drive him away immediately, there would have been no opportunity.

“Well, that’s all I wanted to say for now.”

Su Li stood facing the rising sun, the morning light casting a faint golden edge on her flowing white hair.

She turned to Xiao Chen, as if wanting to ask something.

But after opening her mouth, no sound came out.

“Hmm?”

Xiao Chen asked curiously: “What is it?”

Su Li slightly shook her head: “Nothing.”

She looked toward the stone house: “Can I ask one more favor?”

Xiao Chen: “What is it?”

“Could you help me finish carving the second statue?”

Su Li blinked: “No payment required.”

Although she had already seen hope of lifting the curse, she still wanted a new statue. Perhaps after a hundred years, this had become a habit.

“Of course!”

Xiao Chen nodded: “Just don’t complain if my carving isn’t pretty.”

It was already an agreed matter. Since he had taken the moon-stained jade marrow fungus, he might as well complete it.

Thinking back, he wished he hadn’t picked that matured jade marrow fungus earlier if he could have obtained Blood Crystals.

But it wasn’t a big issue. Three should be enough to refine a complete core pill.

When he advanced to Golden Core in the future, he would be fully prepared. As long as he could exchange for one Stage Breakthrough Spirit Pill, it would suffice.

For the next month, Xiao Chen stayed on the island, chatting with Su Li during his cultivation.

Whether to study the curse or simply to obtain Blood Crystals, they needed to experience at least one more moon eclipse.

Cultivation days always passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

The fifteenth day approached once again.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end