Chapter 381: Emperor's Flowing Paste

Just then, the wind direction changed. He waved the bamboo tube in his hand, releasing large plumes of yellow smoke.

This was Liu Tiao's specially formulated poisonous smoke, highly effective for repelling insects, birds, and even humans. He Lingchuan had acquired the formula long ago and had conveniently replicated several versions over the past few days.

The purity of his concoction was certainly not as high as the original, but it only needed 70% of its power to achieve the effect of paralyzing and harming groups.

Once the smoke was released, large numbers of birds and bats wilted on the nets, trying to move but unable to.

This speed and efficiency were far superior to throwing bamboo chopsticks.

He Lingchuan and the three Shanshou picked them up and discarded them.

Another hour passed, and the first bucket of Emperor's Dew finally filled up. He Lingchuan joyfully poured it into a container in his storage ring, then emptied the bucket and set it up to collect more.

By the latter half of the night, the flow of Emperor's Dew noticeably increased, with some of the liquid even containing faint red threads.

He Lingchuan was tired, but a single lick was enough to re-energize him.

He recalled the theory of Tian Shengzi from the Tianxing Sect, and only then realized the mirror had been silent for a long time. He lowered his head and saw that the cracks on the mirror's surface had mostly disappeared, with only one thin crack remaining before it would be smooth as new.

If a broken mirror could be mended, the efficacy of Emperor's Dew was truly remarkable.

“I want it!” the mirror cried out from its very soul. “I want more!”

He Lingchuan couldn't be bothered with its strange antics. In fact, he had been busy until now and noticed that the attacking birds and beasts had decreased. This was probably because the total number of creatures residing in this area was limited, and ordinary wild beasts couldn't climb up, only able to howl at the nets.

Tonight, He Lingchuan had actually dealt with seventeen or eighteen avian demons. These creatures were abnormally agitated by the Emperor's Dew, and their attacks lacked strategy, making them easier to strike down.

The eastern sky began to lighten, and the amount of Emperor's Dew rain visibly decreased.

The commotion in the mountains and forests had also largely subsided.

After a night of chaos, everyone was too exhausted to continue.

This wild, fulfilling, and fruitful night was finally coming to an end.

He Lingchuan stretched with a long yawn. “Time to pack up!”

The mirror asked curiously, “The Emperor's Dew hasn't stopped yet, and you're already packing up the nets?”

The spiritual rain hadn't stopped, only weakened. This kid had made a fortune tonight; did he dare disregard the remaining rain?

The total amount of Emperor's Dew from six months ago might not even compare to the spiritual rain in the next half hour.

He Lingchuan remained calm. “If I don't leave now, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave later.”

Cultivators and demons had all collected Emperor's Dew throughout the night. Those who could resist swallowing it were planning to take it back for refinement.

If they waited until the spiritual rain ended, there would surely be many red-eyed bandits. After all, painstakingly collecting it all night might not be as convenient as simply snatching what others had collected.

He Lingchuan was keenly aware that the demons he had dealt with tonight were all low-level; no great demons had appeared. The reason was likely that great demons were also busy collecting spiritual rain in their own territories and temporarily had no time to plunder.

Once the spiritual rain ended, that would be a different story.

The protective heart mirror also said, “In the past, the morning after an Emperor's Dew outbreak was always the beginning of a great battle.”

He Lingchuan hummed in agreement and instructed the Shanshou and eyeball spiders to move quickly and pull in the nets.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. He had reaped a rich harvest tonight, so he shouldn't try to get the very last drop of spiritual rain.

Those who thought they could earn every last penny before leaving often ended up losing everything, even their funeral money.

Of course, it would be best to slip away now, but there were still many Emperor's Dew droplets clinging to the spiderwebs. He had to collect them into his storage ring before the sun rose, otherwise, it would all be wasted.

He Lingchuan didn't notice his own progress.

He wouldn't have thought this way before. To be able to resist various temptations, even a coveted gift like Emperor's Dew, was a sign of a strong Dao Heart.

Understanding when to accept and when to let go, when to advance and when to retreat — that's how one lives a long life.

The nets were only half collected when suddenly, an object fell from high above onto the gossamer cloak, causing the spiderwebs to tremble.

He Lingchuan looked up and saw it was an entire piece of natural Emperor's Dew paste, as large as a baby's fist!

He had been guarding all night and hadn't seen such a massive object. His joy was immense, and he immediately stepped forward to pick it up.

However, chaotic sounds of rushing through the air immediately followed from above.

His opponents had also arrived.

He Lingchuan had been fighting on the spiderwebs all night and had gained experience. He grabbed a Shanshou next to him and threw it upwards. Without even looking up, he lunged at the Emperor's Dew paste like a starving tiger.

With the Green Rabbit Jade Pendant he obtained from Tu Zhongli, his Swallow Return movement technique was even faster than before, aided by the elasticity of the spiderwebs. The enemies in the sky only saw a fleeting afterimage, and the piece of Emperor's Dew paste was gone.

They squawked furiously.

He Lingchuan, in the midst of his busy actions, turned his head and saw it was a large flock of white-browed crows.

These crows had a white spot in the center of their foreheads, which looked like a third eye. Three or four of them were noticeably larger than their companions, clearly indicating they were demons.

As they swooped down, they were blocked by the Shanshou, circled around, and continued to attack He Lingchuan. Their extended talons had inch-long curved hooks, sharp enough to disembowel a person.

He Lingchuan's keen eyes clearly saw that some of the crow demons had bloodstains on their talons, though he didn't know what they had just caught.

But these creatures were naturally fond of plundering, and seeing the Emperor's Dew, they attacked with reckless abandon. Two of them directly pecked at He Lingchuan's eyes.

He Lingchuan laughed in anger at these creatures, and with a backhand swing of his blade, he directly cut down three crows.

The furthest one, still four feet away, was also split in half in mid-air, its blood splattering on the spiderwebs.

“Hmph,” he grumbled. The Emperor's Dew on the nets was contaminated; it would take more effort to separate it later.

The deaths of their companions didn't deter this flock of crows. In a blink, four or five more attacked. They even understood division of labor, with some pecking at He Lingchuan's face and others trying to snatch his fingers, attempting to steal his ring.

These creatures aren't unintelligent.

The wind was just right. He Lingchuan casually took out a flask of strong liquor, took a big gulp, pulled out a fire starter, aimed it at the flock of crows, and *poof*, breathed out a jet of fierce flame!

Immediately, six or seven crows caught fire and flapped wildly in terror.

He Lingchuan calmly continued to slay them. Amidst flying feathers, the number of crows was reduced to only four or five.

It was then that they came to their senses and quickly flew higher. One of them spoke human words: “How dare you steal my things and kill my kin! Just you wait, we will surely flay you alive and eat your flesh!”

He Lingchuan raised his hand and flung a bamboo chopstick.

The demon quickly dodged and flew into the sky with the remaining flock, screaming as they flew away.

So demons also knew how to utter a few empty threats before leaving? He Lingchuan shook his head. However, the appearance of these creatures also proved his thinking was correct: this place was not suitable for staying long.

The spoils he had just obtained gave him an unexpected surprise.

It was He Lingchuan's first time seeing Emperor's Dew in a solid form. This substance was jelly-like, quivering when shaken, but its texture was opaque and its color uneven – a pale yellow with faint streaks of dark red, like bloodstains.

It also emitted a strange fragrance several times stronger than ordinary Emperor's Dew. He Lingchuan didn't dare to get close and sniff it, fearing he would lose his mind and swallow it whole.

He didn't want to test his endurance and quickly put it into his storage ring.

Ten miles away, in a mountain valley, over ten people had temporarily cleared a large open space, covering it with cattail palm leaves.

These leaves were like pleated fans, enlarged seven or eight times. When placed on open ground, they could collect Emperor's Dew. Collecting and bottling it afterwards was also very easy: one simply needed to fold the leaves, and the liquid would naturally flow into a bottle.

Everyone stood around the open space, waiting. Leading them was a black-clad youth, sitting in a tree with one leg stretched out and the other dangling, looking very leisurely.

At most, half an hour remained before the Emperor's Dew rain would stop, right?

As he just stretched, several crows suddenly flew overhead, screaming as they flew:

“There's still a lot of Emperor's Dew at Three Heart Lake!”

“A large chunk of Emperor's Dew paste has appeared at Three Heart Lake!”

Everyone paused their actions. The crows didn't stop and flew off into the distance, screaming.

The black-clad youth watched their retreating figures and said, “It seems these pesky creatures got a beating at Three Heart Lake.”

Otherwise, why wouldn't the crows keep it to themselves but instead widely announce it?

Of course, he also saw that two of them had scorched wings, as if they had been roasted by fire.

“Young Master, should we go to Three Heart Lake?”

“What's the hurry?” The black-clad youth looked to the east. “The crows are squawking so loudly; we surely aren't the only ones who heard them. Let others go investigate first.”

In fact, they weren't too close to Three Heart Lake. Even if they hurried there now, they might not be the first to arrive. So it was better to calmly collect the last drop of Emperor's Dew here, and then go join the fun to see if they could pick up some scraps.

Upon hearing this, everyone calmly guarded the open space.

Three miles east of Three Heart Lake, two fierce tigers were lying on a large rock, licking dew from their fur, when they suddenly heard crows squawking overhead.

The two tigers' ears twitched. They exchanged a look, got up, and leaped off the rock, disappearing into the jungle in an instant.

As the crows flew further and further away, more and more humans and demons received their message.

He Lingchuan was rolling up the large net when the protective heart mirror suddenly said:

“A crow is perched on a treetop to the west, constantly watching you.”

He glanced in that direction and indeed saw a white-browed crow perched on an old pine tree fifteen zhang away. It made no noise, no fuss, like a statue, simply staring directly at him.

This was a scout.

He made a move to draw his bow and arrow, and the creature immediately darted into the tree canopy.

“These things are very vengeful; they won't give up easily.” He Lingchuan recalled the flock of crows that had massacred villages and eaten people during the auxiliary army's northward march to Xiazhou. If he wanted to return safely to Fufeng City, he would have to find a way to shake these creatures off.

They had just finished rolling up the gossamer great net when suddenly, a Shanshou's cry came from not far away.

The sound was sharp and ghostly, still unnerving even in broad daylight.

He Lingchuan's heart tightened. The Shanshou sent to the perimeter had raised the alarm, indicating that creatures were rapidly approaching!

He leaped down from the big tree in several swift bounds, mounted his horse, and started to head back. But the crow on the pine tree flapped its wings and flew up, screaming as it flew:

“Over here, ahh, the Emperor's Dew is over here!”

Its voice was rough and loud, and it carried far.

He Lingchuan truly wanted to shoot it down with an arrow.

But this creature was very cunning, dozens of zhang above the ground, and always hovered behind the treetops, making it hard to shoot down.