The riverland where the Plum Blossom Sword Sect was located was called Plum-Break Riverland.
It was a unique region.
A mountain range stretched across the border and connected to a neighboring riverland called Jingwater Riverland.
Together, the two riverlands spanned over a hundred thousand miles of territory.
The Plum Blossom Sword Sect was built right on that mountain chain, drawing resources from both riverlands at once.
Within the twin-river region, many sects existed.
Aside from one or two backed by Upper Riverland powers, most of them submitted to the Plum Blossom Sword Sect.
That was why its influence was vast.
Its experts were numerous.
The sect had its own elite forces—
The Four Symbols Hall, filled with core sect powerhouses.
And it also had the Myriad Symbols Hall.
Myriad Symbols Hall was made up of experts from subordinate factions.
Every subordinate sect was forced to send one Moon Wheel powerhouse to serve there.
At first, those factions resisted.
But later, they fought for it.
Because the benefits were too good.
Myriad Symbols Hall had only fifty slots.
Yet it became something people would tear each other apart to enter.
Breaking through the Moon Wheel Realm was already difficult.
For a clan, producing one Moon Wheel expert was a major event.
But without peers to exchange insights with, and without a stimulating environment, progress usually stopped.
In Myriad Symbols Hall?
After completing missions, not only did you gain massive rewards—
You gained protection.
And access to higher levels.
When the Life Tablet Hall exploded with activity—
The Plum Blossom Sword Sect shook.
More than ten Moon Wheel elders' life tablets shattered almost back-to-back.
The sect immediately mobilized.
The Myriad Symbols Hall Master dispatched nearly the entire hall—dozens of Moon Wheel experts—rushing toward the Thousand Slaughter Riverlands.
Even if all fifty weren't present, more than forty went.
The sect's outposts also sprang into action, collecting intelligence like mad.
This couldn't be left alone.
The sect master himself wasn't currently in the sect.
He had gone to the Upper Riverlands to handle matters.
The Plum Blossom Sword Sect had a great location, rich in resources.
But in the Upper Riverlands…
This meant nothing.
If the sect could move into the Upper Riverlands, that would be true ascension.
A single person entering the Upper Riverlands was easy.
Moving an entire sect?
That was resource invasion on a massive scale.
It would trigger resistance.
And then it would come down to one thing—
Strength.
The sect master likely never imagined his son would die in a "trial."
Or that the situation would explode into such a catastrophe.
Lin Ye didn't know any of this.
And even if he did…
He wouldn't care.
Right now, he was fully immersed in comprehending the Nine Revolutions Asura Art.
His consciousness projection stood on Blood Peak.
As it circulated, the Blood Sea power surged around him.
Splash—
A pair of blood wings burst out behind his projection.
"So strong…"
Lin Ye felt the power contained in those wings.
As he grasped the technique, a rock formation rose from the Blood Sea nearby.
A skill name was carved into it—
Nine Nether Blood Wings.
A flight mystic art.
Moon Wheel cultivators could already fly.
But speed was always limited.
Short bursts could accelerate, but you still couldn't chase true flying beasts of the same realm for long.
Nine Nether Blood Wings would change that.
It would massively increase Lin Ye's aerial speed.
"Good."
Lin Ye was satisfied.
At the same time, he continued tempering his Asura Blood Armor.
If he could reach Fifth Grade soon…
Even facing hundreds of enemies, he would move freely—using the Calamity Ghost Sword to execute them one by one.
Six days later, the ship docked.
Luo Gui immediately sold the vessel.
Once dismantled, nobody could identify it.
He sold in a hurry, but still got thirty million spirit stones.
If he dismantled it fully and sold the core components, the profit could be even higher.
Keeping it would cost docking and management fees.
Not worth it.
They didn't run cargo.
They didn't need a giant ship.
Back in Spiritwater Riverland, the crowds had thinned.
Many people had already left, their harvests plentiful.
In Thousand Spirit City—
Xia Wei had spent days combing through records and finally determined the likely area on the treasure map.
"Upper Riverlands… that's troublesome."
She bit the end of her brush, headaches pounding.
The Upper Riverlands were dangerous beyond imagination.
If only one treasure map existed, maybe there was a chance.
But if others had pieces too…
Or if the process alerted someone powerful…
Conflict with Upper Riverland experts would be suicide.
"Still… if it's real…"
"It might be worth the risk."
She muttered to herself.
Nearly half a month had passed with her fully absorbed in decoding.
Having a map didn't mean you could use it.
You still had to solve the hidden riddles and marks.
Fortunately, Xia Wei had always loved this kind of work.
That was why she could run an auction house and serve as a top-tier appraiser.
A low growl echoed from the courtyard.
The Blacksteel Panther suddenly barked toward the gate.
"Hm? What is it, Little Black?"
It rarely made noise—why so lively today?
Xia Wei stepped out, blinking from the sunlight as if she hadn't seen day in ages.
Then she froze.
Two figures stood in her courtyard.
Lin Ye and Luo Gui.
"Lin Ye… you're back!"
Xia Wei's heart lifted.
Seeing him safe made her relax completely—like a knot she didn't know she had finally loosened.
"Mm."
Lin Ye answered flatly.
He patted the Blacksteel Panther's head.
It had been eating too well, moving too little.
Life here was too comfortable.
"You're a ferocious beast."
"And you just live in the yard all day?"
Lin Ye frowned.
He had wanted this beast for its herb-finding instincts.
But in just a few days it had gotten fat.
If this kept going, it would become useless.
The Blacksteel Panther drooped, shame-faced.
Inwardly, it swore to cultivate harder.
If it wanted to keep following Lin Ye, it couldn't stay lazy.
A young boy came out of his room.
"Greetings, Master. Greetings, Brother Lin Ye."
Luo Huai.
Before leaving, Luo Gui had assigned him tasks.
So the boy had been trapped inside copying and memorizing texts daily.
He knew how harsh Luo Gui could be.
Strict didn't even begin to describe it.
Xia Wei beamed.
"It's good you're back."
"I decoded the treasure map."
Lin Ye's eyes stayed calm.
"What is it?"
If it was just spirit stones or gold, it wasn't worth his time.
Better to sell it at a high price and move on.
Luo Gui leaned in too, eyes wide.
Xia Wei spoke carefully.
"The treasure's range… is likely within an Upper Riverland riverland."
"And what's inside…"
"It's very likely connected to the inheritance of one of the Six Saints."
"The Bone Saint."
Bone Saint inheritance.
Saint Realm.
Lin Ye's gaze sharpened instantly.
In his previous life, he had reached Ninth Layer of the Return-to-Abyss Realm—only one step away from the Saint Realm.
The Nine Nether Blood Sea itself came from a Saint-level secret tome he had obtained in a ruin.
If he could decipher that tome, he could step into the Saint Realm.
But he hadn't known how to crack it back then.
He had never even seen a true Saint Realm expert.
Yet this continent had a Saint inheritance?
That meant a Saint had once existed here.
Luo Gui sucked in a breath.
"Bone Saint…"
"The one who refined thirty million humans and thirty million ferocious beasts?!"
Xia Wei nodded slowly.
"He was ruthless. Bloody. Extreme."
"Then he was a demon," Luo Huai blurted, confused.
"You could say that," Xia Wei answered.
Luo Gui's voice lowered.
"But in the ancient war…"
"He killed countless chaos entities."
"He guarded the Abyss Gate alone—one man, one spear."
"In the end, he detonated himself at the gate and saved the continent."
The Bone Saint acted without caring about judgment.
Good or evil?
No one could define him.
The other five saints left inheritances.
Only the Bone Saint's inheritance had remained unknown.
If someone found it…
It would be a complete reversal of fate.
A path to stand above all sects.
Even Luo Gui's eyes heated.
Lin Ye's eyes brightened too.
"Bone Saint… slaughtered countless lives."
"That means…"
"There must be blood-asura treasures."
For Lin Ye, with the Nine Revolutions Asura Art in hand, reaching the Saint Realm was inevitable.
What truly tempted him—
Was blood-asura treasure.