Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1254: Daylight robbery

Bemused by the treatment, Yang Qing chuckled briefly before asking Haishi to continue with their journey. Regardless of the intention behind it, the ’escort’ that the Wan elder had given them had significantly cut into the estimated time Yang Qing had for reaching Yunnan Province. In terms of speed, the ferry the elder used was four times faster than Haishi.

Granted, Haishi was still only in the core formation realm—mid-stage at that—so despite being a flying spirit beast with commendable speed, her flight was limited by her cultivation realm.

If they were to compete in both speed and endurance over long distances, Yang Qing would surpass Haishi on all fronts.

Yet even with his speed, when compared to the ferry the Wan clan elder used, even he was still slower. By his estimation, at its highest speed, that ferry was likely as fast as a sixth or seventh-stage palace realm expert. And that elder, in his eagerness to fulfill his duty, had used nothing but that top speed to cover the 4,000 kilometers in just under twenty minutes.

Thanks to that, they wouldn’t reach the tea house by midnight, as Yang Qing had originally estimated. If they really pushed and took no breaks—something Yang Qing fully intended—they would likely arrive two hours ahead of schedule.

Now that he had a tangible trail to follow, every second mattered—not that it hadn’t mattered before, but because of the clues he had found in the gorge, it mattered more now than ever. Before, he had nothing to go by other than ifs, buts, and maybes. But now he had something. And hopefully, that something would lead to something else. To him, the quicker he reached the Velvet Orchid Teahouse, the better his chances were of finding another thread to pull at in his investigation.

With the destination already imprinted into Haishi’s mind via a spell, she poured her entire being into completing the task. Just like before, Yang Qing supplied her with the qi needed to maintain her highest flying speed. Not only that, but his qi also helped renew and refresh her mind and body in the process, reducing any accumulated fatigue she might incur.

Bolin and Wenling, who had nothing to contribute, took the opportunity to pick up their conversation from where they’d left off. Yang Qing was surprised at how quickly they’d hit it off. Bolin had always struck him as a loner—highly reserved and not one to connect with strangers easily. Given where he’d lived, his attitude was understandable.

As for Wenling, he had assumed the same. She’d been living in the gorge all by herself and hadn’t seemed all too bothered by the solitude.

If she had not met Yang Qing, there was a chance she might have spent her entire life there. Or maybe not... after all, she seemed like someone who preferred to avoid trouble if it was beyond her ability to handle. And given how things were shaping up in the Azure Sapphire Kingdom, trouble would have surely found her.

Yang Qing took a brief moment to admire the growing camaraderie between the two spirit beasts before finally closing his eyes. He, too, had something he needed to do during this short respite, which was: go over everything he had collected so far on Bai Chen’s would-be kidnapper.

The evidence he’d gathered was enough to form a profile of the figure. While that didn’t necessarily equate to uncovering the whereabouts of Bai Chen and his disciple, it would at least help Yang Qing determine the kidnapper’s character and nature—which, in turn, would give him a better idea of the odds that Bai Chen, his disciple, and the others were still alive.

From what he’d learned so far, there were a few things he could tell about the person, one of which was that they were highly talented. Whether it was the exquisite rune implanted in Wenling’s body, which had successfully entrapped Bai Chen’s disciple despite the latter possessing a monarch-grade artifact, or guiding Xie Han’s cultivation and helping him break through to the palace realm—it all pointed to someone with exceptional talent and a profound understanding of the Dao.

Especially the feat of helping Xie Han reach the palace realm.

Secondly, in terms of cultivation base—judging from the fact that they didn’t target Bai Chen directly, and also based on the brief exchange during Yang Qing’s attempt to capture the spiritual imprint—that figure was likely a fourth or fifth stage palace realm expert. Yang Qing leaned toward the fourth stage, given the indirect methods they used to kidnap Bai Chen. At the fifth stage, considering the abilities they had displayed, they could have gone after Bai Chen head-on if they’d truly wanted to.

Yes, Bai Chen had a powerful cultivation art backing him, likely giving him an edge against his peers, but that advantage wouldn’t have been enough against the one who kidnapped him. Yang Qing had briefly seen Bai Chen in action during his fight with a double-headed blood-carnage vulture. While his skills were solid, they were far outclassed by the one behind that spiritual imprint implanted in Wenling.

Thirdly, the owner of that spiritual imprint seemed to possess nebulous yin qi—and was highly skilled in manipulating it. Nebulous yin qi was rare and notoriously difficult to control. If it had been stored inside any other spirit beast’s body besides Wenling’s, they would have died the moment even a single wisp of it touched their soul. That kind of qi would have invaded the soul and frozen it solid.

But Wenling didn’t face that risk, thanks to her constitution, which was adept at handling all forms of yin qi—including nebulous yin qi. Though brief, Yang Qing had noticed a script tied to a filtering function within the rune embedded in her soul. That function likely regulated the amount of nebulous yin qi flooding into her soul. Given the sheer volume Yang Qing had drawn out of her, had it been in direct contact with her soul, Wenling would have needed to hibernate for years just to digest it enough to no longer feel bloated by its presence.

Speaking of the nebulous yin qi... thought Yang Qing, as he pulled out the wooden token Vice Warden Shao An had given him.

It was an octagon-shaped token carved from wood, engraved with four mythical creatures: the black tortoise to the north, the azure dragon to the east, the vermilion bird to the south, and the white tiger to the west.

When Shao An had handed him the token, every part of it—from the creatures’ designs to the wood itself—had been a uniform red-orange hue. But now, there was a distinct change. Specifically, on the black tortoise.

Its body pulsed gently with a deep, dark blue light that flowed from its head across its shell, down its snake-like tail, then back the way it came, repeating the cycle in a slow, rhythmic loop.

That flow had a mystical charm to it that gave the illusion that the black tortoise inscribed on it might leap out of the token and come to life.

The culprit behind said change had been the nebulous yin qi Yang Qing had extracted from Wenling. Given where it had come from, Wenling wanted nothing to do with it. As for Yang Qing, while he had been tempted to make use of it, he harbored some reservations because of its source. He had decided to seal it away and have Ren Shu examine it briefly to ensure there was nothing wrong with it. After that, he’d either sell it to the Order in exchange for something he needed, use it for cultivation, or perhaps use it to enhance the environment of his abode. A little nebulous yin qi mixed into the surroundings would surely raise its quality, especially when mixing in with the ambient universal qi he released whenever he cultivated.

However, all that planning went right out the window.

While he was in the middle of correcting Wenling over her earlier accusations, Shao An’s token had left his storage ring on its own and swallowed up all the nebulous yin qi. Though neither of them had intended to use it, both Wenling and Yang Qing cried out and instinctively reached out to stop the token. But it was too late. It devoured everything. Not even a single wisp was left behind.

And a few seconds later after that deplorable act, that dark blue light had appeared on the black tortoise.

Shao An hadn’t told him what the token did—only that he should bring it with him when he left. So he did. He figured it was some kind of defensive artifact meant to keep him safe, not the inconsiderate, fast-acting, gluttonous object it had turned out to be.

If he was being honest, he was feeling slightly resentful.

All that nebulous yin qi could have earned him a tidy sum from the Order. He would have gotten rich and fleeced the Order at the same time—a perfect win in his book. And if he didn’t want to trade it, he could’ve used it to spruce up his abode. Or, better yet, had himself a taste of what nebulous yin qi could offer. Maybe it could have even pushed him to the fourth stage of the palace realm. That would’ve given him a little extra chest to puff out when he saw Yi Jie after they came out of Tribulation Mountain.

He could already picture it:"Oh Yi Jie, as expected of my chief inquisitor—finally a first-stage palace realm expert. What an aura! You’ve just broken through, but in terms of aura alone, as much as it pains me to admit, I can’t even compare. Oh, you think I’m lying.. here, let me show you to prove it..."

Then he’d casually release his fourth-stage palace realm aura, drown Yi Jie in it, and soak in the look of envy and shock on his face.

He had it all planned out.

But now... all of that had gone out the window, thanks to that gluttonous token.

"Hopefully I didn’t lose my dream for nothing," Yang Qing murmured painfully as he put the token away. Feelings aside, his instincts told him that his chances of finding Bai Chen likely lay with that token—even if he still had no idea how to use it. For now, he’d just leave it be. And if it wanted to steal from him again (which he sincerely hoped it wouldn’t), he’d let it. Hopefully, by the end of all this, if it helped him find where Bai Chen was, then that daylight robbery would be worth it.

"No it wouldn’t," Yang Qing whimpered, as his stomach twisted at the memory of his destroyed dream.