The God Devouring Insect chirped as it flew out. Its sensing range was very limited, so it could detect anomalies only within a 100-meter radius. Lin Zheyu saw the God Devouring Insect dive into a clump of grass. He quickly stepped forward, holding his long blade as he pushed aside the grass.

Suddenly, a strange cry rang out, and a fist-sized figure darted out of the grass. Lin Zheyu twisted his wrist, and a flash of blade light swept across in an instant. The sharp edge split the figure cleanly in two. In that same moment, he felt a strange energy flow along the Purple Thunder Demon-Slaying Saber and into his body.

"What the hell is that?" Lin Zheyu was startled.

Golden blood qi surged instantly and wrapped around the strange energy that had entered his body. The energy was extremely faint and highly concealed. Even with Lin Zheyu's powerful perception, he would not have noticed it if he had not been paying attention.

The instant the strange energy was wrapped by the golden blood qi, the blood qi boiled like a drop of water falling into a pot of scorching oil. Lin Zheyu ignored the demon god seed on the ground and quickly closed his eyes, activating his inner vision to observe the movement inside his body.

Even while wrapped by blood qi, the strange energy still pressed forward toward Lin Zheyu's head. He rapidly mobilized a large amount of blood qi power to block it. Fortunately, the strange energy was gradually worn down as it forced its way through layers of blood qi. It became smaller and smaller until it reached his chest and finally vanished completely.

Lin Zheyu let out a long breath. It had finally disappeared. The information contained within that strange energy was almost identical to what he had previously sensed from the blood lotus.

So this is the power of demon gods. How strange. Other martial artists in the Marrow Refining realm do not possess blood qi as powerful as mine. They probably could not block this strange energy. What would happen if this energy were to rush into the mind? Lin Zheyu pondered.

Fortunately, he had not killed the strange tree fused with the blood lotus last time. That tree was far stronger than this so-called demon god seed. If he had slain it, an even stronger strange energy would likely have flowed into his body. That would have been troublesome.

These strange energies are still energy. I wonder what their quality is like. Could they be used as energy to increase Origin Force?

In his view, these energies were somewhat strange, but the essence of the energy contained within them should be similar to that contained in spirit liquid. Since the energy from the spirit liquid could be used by him, why could these strange energies not be used as well? However, these strange energies seemed almost alive, as if guided by a will rather than being ownerless energy. Lin Zheyu had never tested it and did not know whether energy-containing spiritual will could be directly absorbed. If he had the chance in the future, he could try it.

Shaking off his thoughts, Lin Zheyu looked at the demon god seed he had just killed. The so-called demon god seed was actually a vicious beast the size of a fist. Though small, it possessed formidable strength and was at least in the Blood Qi realm. The God Devouring Insect was already lying on the corpse, rustling as it gnawed on the flesh.

"So the demon god seed is actually a vicious beast. Did the beast fuse with something like the blood lotus to become a demon god seed, or was it specially cultivated into one?" Lin Zheyu guessed.

He grabbed the God Devouring Insect and pulled it away from the demon god seed's corpse. The insect clacked loudly and even opened its ferocious mouth to bite Lin Zheyu's palm. However, his defense was extremely strong. The tiny God Devouring Insect bit down with all its strength but failed to scrape even a bit of skin.

Lin Zheyu cautiously touched the corpse with his long saber first. When no strange energy appeared, he crouched down and carefully touched it with his hand. After confirming there was no problem, he finally relaxed. He picked up the corpse split into two halves, and placed it into the specially made leather pouch given by Lei Liwei.

"It wasn't too strong, yet the reward is extremely generous. There is definitely a catch. Finding a single demon god seed gives fifty contribution points. That is comparable to killing five Marrow Refining realm demon puppets. I wonder whether it is worth it for others." Lin Zheyu chuckled and shook his head.

When he returned later, if he ran into Li Yin, he would remind her. Among the few of them, Lin Zheyu only had a relatively good relationship with Li Yin. The others concealed their intentions well, but they could not hide them from his keen perception. He had long noticed the small schemes in their hearts. He simply did not care to deal with them.

After dealing with the demon god seed, Lin Zheyu continued his patrol. Because he only patrolled near the defensive line, he found just three of the so-called demon god seed beasts. Their strength varied, but all were around the first to fourth transformation of the Blood Qi realm. Their bodies were also very small. The largest was only about the size of a newborn infant. Each was tiny yet possessed an extremely strong ability to hide. Even he would not have been able to detect them without the God Devouring Insect.

Sounds of beasts and creatures echoed in the forest. The figures of vicious beasts could be seen everywhere, along with the occasional roar of demon puppets. The roars of the demon puppets were far fewer than before. Most of them had hidden themselves and did not come out to move about, even at night. When Lin Zheyu passed a swampy mud pool, the corner of his mouth curved slightly. With a light tap of his toes, he shot toward the mud pool.

With a muffled sound, a purple blade flashed across. The sharp, long blade cleaved into the mud pool, and a ferocious demon puppet head shot into the air. At the same time, the mud pool burst apart, and the headless demon puppet's body rushed out under the drive of instinct. Lin Zheyu kicked out with his right leg and sent the headless body flying to the side.

"An unexpected gain. Another ten contribution points earned," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

He felt that the sources of Baleful Yin force near the defensive line were like a chive field. Every so often, new demon puppet chives would grow out. Those able to lurk here were generally not weak. Most were in the Marrow Refining realm and brought him generous rewards. Lin Zheyu picked up the demon puppet head from the ground and continued strolling slowly through the forest.

***

In the forest, Wu Yi stood silently on a branch of a large tree, watching Lin Zheyu's departing figure from afar. When he sensed that Lin Zheyu had come somewhat close, he quickly retreated a little farther away.

"I have been a bit too cautious. Even I cannot sense anything at this distance. If he were a Shamanic cultivator, it would be even more impossible for him to notice me. Shamanic cultivators mainly cultivate the body. In terms of spiritual sense perception, they cannot compare with immortal cultivators."

Wu Yi smiled and felt that he had been overly careful. It was precisely this habit of caution developed over many years that had allowed him to live until now.

"Something is strange. His strength is clearly great, yet he acts so cautiously, patrolling only near the defensive line. Could he have discovered something? I should mark him first. I cannot let prey that has come to hand escape," Wu Yi said to himself.

He formed a hand seal in the air. Spirit power surged out from his body and, under his control, formed a special mark in midair.

"Go!" Wu Yi gave a light shout, and the mark flew toward Lin Zheyu.

After leaving, the mark sank into the air and disappeared. Wu Yi chuckled twice and vanished from the spot. Lin Zheyu knew nothing of Wu Yi's presence. His Perception Domain extended only about 200 meters. Beyond that distance, he could still sense disturbances, but it was not the same as the Perception Domain. In addition, Wu Yi had used a concealment spell, making it even harder for Lin Zheyu to detect him.

As Lin Zheyu walked, his brows faintly furrowed.

Again! No, this time it is different. It does not have the strange energy of the demon god seed.

He continued forward without revealing anything, but the blood qi within him surged and wrapped around the energy that had mysteriously appeared within him.

This energy is different from the aura of demon gods. Is it a method used by an immortal cultivator? Lin Zheyu wondered inwardly.

He controlled his blood qi energy and did not immediately extinguish the foreign energy. He only wrapped it up. This energy was extremely well concealed. However, Lin Zheyu had just experienced the demon god seed's strangeness and was already highly vigilant.

The instant the energy mark entered his body, Lin Zheyu discovered it and quickly wrapped it in golden blood qi to prevent it from sinking in. With the peculiar nature of the energy mark, if it had merged into his body, he might not have discovered it at all.

Could this be that fellow's method? If it is his doing, then this energy is very likely meant for tracking, Lin Zheyu guessed.

Lin Zheyu split his attention. As he moved forward, he activated his inner vision to observe the energy that had invaded his body. As he watched, he discovered that the energy had formed a stable structure shaped like a mark. The strange energy that had entered his body earlier had shown no visible structure at all. In his view, it had been nothing more than a simple stream of energy, only somewhat strange.

Is that person still around? L 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

in Zheyu pushed his perception to the limit yet discovered nothing. The other party might possess powerful concealment methods that can evade his perception. It was also possible that the person had already left after placing the energy mark.

"Leaving a mark means he does not intend to act immediately. He is waiting for the right moment. But he is not the only one waiting. I am waiting as well. I have long wanted to meet a legendary immortal cultivator and see what makes them so special," Lin Zheyu said to himself. He did not destroy the energy mark that had entered his body, for fear of alerting the enemy. At the same time, he intended to use this energy mark to accomplish a few things.

Time slowly passed. Until dawn arrived, that person never made a move, confirming Lin Zheyu's guess.

A rustling sound came from the forest. Li Yin's slender figure appeared among the trees.

"Want some roasted meat?" Lin Zheyu asked with a smile, looking at Li Yin.

"No, thank you."

Li Yin forced a faint smile. Her face looked somewhat pale, and many wounds remained on her body. It seemed she had gone through a fierce battle the previous night. She slowly walked over and sat beside Lin Zheyu. Removing her outer clothing and revealing her fair skin, she remained only in a chest wrap as she began treating her injuries.

"When you searched for demon god seeds last night, did you feel anything strange?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"No. Although they were well hidden, with the help of the God Devouring Insect, it was easy to find them quickly." Li Yin shook her head. A trace of confusion appeared on her face. In her view, Lin Zheyu would not ask such a question without reason.

"Have you discovered something?" Li Yin asked after finishing treating her injuries and putting her clothes back on.

"A little. There is something wrong with the demon god seeds. After killing them, they produce a certain kind of special energy. I think after you return tonight, it would be best to have the elders of your sect examine you and check whether there are any problems with your body," Lin Zheyu said.

Li Yin thought for a moment and expressed her thanks sincerely, "So it is like that! Thank you for the reminder, Young Master Lin."

Last night, she had already felt that something about herself was not quite normal. It was not her body but her spirit that felt strange. Odd thoughts would appear out of nowhere. The feeling had not been very obvious at the time, but after hearing Lin Zheyu's reminder, she carefully thought back and indeed found that something was wrong.

After Lin Zheyu's reminder, Li Yin did not continue searching the forest for demon god seeds once she had treated her injuries.

Meanwhile, Guo Yu and Zheng Shan were nowhere to be seen. They were probably immersed in the joy of searching for demon god seeds. After all, these creatures were not very strong, only somewhat fast. Though well hidden, with the help of the God Devouring Insect, they were still quite easy to find.

The sun sank toward the west. Dim golden light filled the sky, reflecting off the clouds and the earth and bathing the entire world in a warm orange glow. In a hidden corner, Wu Yi watched Lin Zheyu's departing back and revealed a disdainful smile.

The tracking mark has no problem. It seems this person does not know much about the methods of immortal cultivation. That makes sense. After all, he is just a rogue cultivator without a sect. Although he must have inherited something, it is probably not anything too impressive.

Wu Yi was completely relaxed.

The message had already been sent out. Now he only needed to wait for the right opportunity.