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Xunuo soon fell into the river and moments later found himself in the lair of the Clam Spirit. The Clam Spirit, which had been poised in the center of the cave with its shell wide open, ready to feast, immediately snapped its shell shut upon seeing Xunuo and darted to a corner, remaining completely still.
Xunuo paid no mind to the creature. Standing in the center of the cave, three Porcelain Bottles appeared before him. He first poured an entire bottle of Revival Powder into his mouth, then opened another bottle of Reattachment Ointment and smeared it all over himself. With a serious expression, he opened the last Porcelain Bottle and took out a Unity Pill.
Xunuo sighed inwardly, knowing that this was not the time to feel heartache. After this battle, his magical energy was depleted, and his Essence Blood had spilled out, leaving him severely weakened. If he could not receive timely treatment, he could not say he would fall from the Realm, but advancing further would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens. Although Unity Pills were exceptionally precious, Xunuo understood well what was more important—his life and cultivation.
Moments later, the three Porcelain Bottles vanished without a trace, and Xunuo sat cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes to enter a meditative state.
More than ten days later, Xunuo opened his eyes and awakened from his meditation. At this moment, his injuries—whether it was the side charred like coal or the side frozen solid—were all healed completely. Even the gash on his back that had nearly split him in half was as good as new. His hair and beard had also returned to their original state.
However, Xunuo knew that these were merely superficial signs. For a Cultivator, external injuries could heal quickly as long as they did not threaten life immediately. But injuries that affected one's fundamental energy could only be slowly mended and nurtured to avoid future complications.
Having refined a Unity Pill this time, Xunuo had only restored about seventy to eighty percent of his energy. The medicinal power of the Unity Pill should have been enough for him to break through his Bottleneck. However, this time it was insufficient to fully restore his energy, indicating just how severe his injuries were.
If Xunuo wanted to completely heal and recover his True Essence Magic, he would need at least another three or four months of rest. Yet just after refining the Unity Pill and feeling that he had regained about seventy to eighty percent of his peak magical energy, he decided to exit his seclusion.
The time until his appointment with Dongfang Yunqing was short. However, compared to attending the Dome Mountain Jin Family Trade Fair, Xunuo would rather allow his injuries to heal fully and replenish his magical energy than risk future cultivation setbacks by participating in this Trade Fair.
The reason Xunuo resolutely chose to leave seclusion for his appointment with Dongfang Yunqing was due to an unnamed fear within him. This fear stemmed from how those two Black-Clad Youths could find him after such a long time. If he could not figure out this issue and find a solution, Xunuo believed that disaster could strike at any moment. The best—and only—teacher who could help him understand this problem was Dongfang Yunqing.
Xunuo also resolved that he must first address this issue before anything else could proceed. If he could not find an answer from Dongfang Yunqing, he would seek answers at the Dome Mountain Golden Family Trading Conference.
Before this, Xunuo wanted to summarize this battle. Previously, after returning from the Great Ten Thousand Mountains, Xunuo had made a brief summary of gains and losses, but it was not detailed; it was more about recognizing personal shortcomings. However, this brief reflection had greatly benefited Xunuo in this battle. Therefore, Xunuo decided that from now on, every battle would be followed by a summary.
First, Xunuo recognized a significant flaw—one that could be considered a fatal bad habit: the lack of using Divine Sense. This habit stemmed from spending too much time among mortals without accurately positioning oneself, leading to an underestimation of various dangers. It was precisely this bad habit that caused Xunuo to fail to notice the two Black-Clad Youths at the first moment.
If those two Black-Clad Youths had been more experienced in combat and had suddenly attacked in the Su Family Garden, even a small Fireball Talisman could have resulted in Xunuo's demise.
Thus, Xunuo resolved that from now on, regardless of the situation, Divine Sense must be expanded. At the very least, it should cover what Xunuo considered a safe area.
In fact, Xunuo had already begun doing this. Upon entering the Water Cave and encountering the Clam Spirit, the Clam Spirit could not see Xunuo with its eyes. Instead, it sensed Xunuo's familiar and immense Mind Power, which frightened it into retreating to a corner.
Another point that Xunuo had long recognized was that while strong in Divine Sense, they were weak in magical power. This left Xunuo feeling quite helpless. Xunuo speculated that this might be due to their chosen Cultivation Method or perhaps limitations imposed by their physical constitution and Spiritual Root. If there was no way to fundamentally change this situation, then efforts must be made to find something that could quickly replenish magical power.
In this life-and-death battle, Xunuo was limited by magical power and unable to fully utilize Heavenly Shadow Spike. Possessing a precious treasure yet ending up with a pyrrhic victory was frustrating. Although the Unity Pill had potent effects, it needed to be refined before it could be converted into magical power. If used directly without refinement, Xunuo might perish before even defeating the enemy. While spiritual stones could directly convert into magical power, it was a slow process—too slow for the rapidly changing dynamics of combat. Especially in life-and-death struggles where a single misstep could lead to death, there was no room for delays.
Additionally, Xunuo's tactics were somewhat flawed. Knowing full well that it was a life-or-death scenario yet allowing the opponent to strike first resulted in a critical blow against them. Although this led to the opponent underestimating Xunuo and ultimately falling victim to a surprise attack, Xunuo understood that if the opponent had been more aggressive or had continuously activated their Flying Sword, they would have long since met their end under its blade without any chance for retaliation.
This kind of reliance on luck—hoping for the opponent's underestimation or lack of combat experience—was not something Xunuo dared to count on twice. Therefore, based on their assessment of the situation, ensuring that the opponent never had the opportunity to strike first became another crucial lesson for Xunuo.
As for the subsequent ambush and desperate fight, Xunuo believed there were no major mistakes made. Particularly because they succeeded in ambushing their opponent; one reason was due to the opponent's arrogance, but more importantly, it was because their trump cards remained undiscovered by the enemy. This realization led Xunuo to decide that they must maintain a low profile moving forward. The more hidden cards one has, the greater the chances of survival.
The final point was that currently, there was an extreme imbalance between offense and defense. On offense, Xunuo possessed the Heavenly Shadow Spike—a powerful weapon that provided significant advantages. Especially now that they had acquired Five Shadow Needles, their offensive capabilities were diverse and nearly unmatched among cultivators of similar rank. However, compared to their sharp offensive power, Xunuo's defensive capabilities and escape methods seemed severely lacking and were not on the same level.
This comparison was evident during Xunuo's battle with the two Black-Clad Youths. The opponent's sword easily shattered both Xunuo's Intermediate Defense Talisman and Protective Shield—two layers of defense that nearly cost them their life. In contrast, when all Five Shadow Needles were unleashed against them, they merely sparked against the opponent’s armor without breaking through their defenses.
Finally, the Essence Blood was exhausted, and the Five-Strike Barrage was employed. The tactic of striking five times at a single point successfully broke through the defenses.
Xunuo couldn't help but lament how ineffective his Heavenly Shadow Spike had been. Now he understood that the gap between the two sides lay in their defenses.
The defensive Talisman sealed off defensive spells. The strength of this defense could not be compared to that of a Defensive Artifact.
At this thought, Xunuo's heart stirred, and he recalled that piece of armor he had obtained as a trophy. He flipped his hand, revealing a black sphere the size of an egg.
Xunuo tossed the sphere into the air. Once it reached a certain height, it suddenly froze in place. The next moment, as if a piece of Black Curtain was hanging from the sphere, it transformed with a swish into a suit of armor.
When Xunuo first saw the Black-Clad Youth donning this armor, he found it strange but had no time to examine it closely. Now, up close, he could see it exuded an air of eerie mystery. The armor was entirely jet black, emitting an uncanny glow. It was tightly fitted, leaving no gaps. The eye area was covered with two bright red crystals. The entire headpiece was plain and unadorned, even to the point of being ugly; it resembled an inverted round-bottomed pot placed on his head. Only the area around the mouth and nose bulged slightly, while the eye area was slightly recessed, covered by two glowing red crystals. There were no other protrusions or indentations, just a gleaming black surface.
The shoulders were exaggeratedly raised and jutted outward. There were several spikes several inches long at the elbows, knees, and where his fists clenched, protruding aggressively. This armor seemed more suited for close combat. On both the front and back of the armor were plates covering the entire chest cavity.
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