The entire journey, Su Mo had been pondering one question: What creature made that sound that granted the red-eye effect?
If the third occurrence had been the same as before, he’d have assumed it was a wolf. Both the sound’s characteristics and the circumstances seemed to fit.
For instance, the wolf packs that had rushed here—had they come because of it?
But the third sound had been different, and its effects weren’t identical either.
If he had to distinguish between the two, Su Mo felt the later red-eye effect was an enhanced version of the first.
First, the rage effect still seemed present, but it mostly amplified strength rather than causing mindless fury.
Second, the targeting was more precise, no longer an indiscriminate area-of-effect influence.
He tried extracting the key elements:
Roar. Rage. Enhancement. Wolf… and… jackals!
A flash of inspiration struck him.
Could this be tied to some ancient deity, like before in the Jing Mountain ruins? The acquisition of Yin Fire had been linked to Tengshe, and according to the Undying Emperor, Su Mo was his “big brother” in a past life—inheriting Tengshe’s legacy.
That was why he could control Yin Fire.
If that were the case, could the red-eye effect also be an inheritance… one that had landed on two different creatures?
One was a wolf. The other… could it be a jackal? The creatures that had attacked them earlier were jackals, after all.
Jackals and wolves. Rage. Ancient deity. Legacy…
An image of a fierce beast surfaced in Su Mo’s mind:
A dragon’s head, a jackal’s body, a sword clenched in its jaws—ferocious, warlike, and bloodthirsty.
The second son of the Dragon’s Nine Sons—Yazi (睚眥).
He was stunned by his own speculation.
If this were true, the so-called treasure would have effects on par with Yin Fire.
Right now, his control over Yin Fire was still rudimentary, yet it had already helped him immensely. Its future potential was limitless. If he could also obtain Yazi’s legacy…
Damn, that’d be insane.
Of course, this was just a guess. The truth remained to be seen.
Three days later.
The group finally reached the mountaintop, only to find someone had beaten them there.
And to Su Mo’s surprise, he recognized one of them—Ya Xian from the Hundred Immortals Sect. With him was a foreigner Su Mo had never seen before.
Ya Xian was as elegant as ever, meticulously maintaining his image.
The moment he spotted Su Mo at the front of the group, he greeted him warmly:
“Little Brother Ye, long time no see! I hope you’ve been well.”
Su Mo stiffened, his exposed eyes flickering with panic.
But Xia Qingqing reacted fast, immediately correcting him:
“Hey, pretty lady, our Qingyi is a girl! What’s with the ‘little brother’ nonsense? Rude!”
Ya Xian’s expression froze.
“Such a cute little girl, yet so sharp-tongued. You should be calling me ‘brother.’”
“Pfft! You get to misgender Qingyi, but I can’t call you out? Hypocrite!” Xia Qingqing stepped forward, hands on her hips, firing on all cylinders. “Besides, Qingyi just dresses cool. Unlike you—looking like some overdramatic old witch.”
Ya Xian was left speechless.
To be fair, he wasn’t actually effeminate. Xia Qingqing was just flexing her literary skills, employing “hyperbole” and “embellishment.”
Instead of getting angry, he laughed, clapping at her fiery attitude.
“Hah! Delightful. Truly delightful. I do hope you keep thinking that way…”
Without explaining, he turned and walked into a nearby temple.
Xia Qingqing frowned, muttering under her breath:
“What’s that supposed to mean? ‘Hope I keep thinking that way’? As if Qingyi’s actually a guy… I’ve even slept holding her!”
Su Mo, standing closest, heard every word.
He awkwardly looked away, avoiding eye contact.
The others didn’t notice anything odd, and no one would ever suspect his current gender. They just assumed it was banter.
Still, everyone was curious about the man who’d spoken to Su Mo—and why he felt so terrifying.
It was an aura thing.
Before anyone could ask, Su Mo explained:
“That’s Ya Xian from the Hundred Immortals Sect. We’ve met once before. All I know is that he’s incredibly strong—likely B-rank.”
Yin Yan’yan gasped. “So that’s Ya Xian?!”
“You know of him?” Su Mo was surprised but not shocked.
Big families had access to more intel, after all.
It did make him realize he hadn’t leveraged his current identity well. With the backing of the Green Rain Society and the Ye Family, he should’ve had better intelligence channels.
After this, I need to fix that—for myself, and for Ye Qingyi.
Yin Yan’yan nodded. “Elders in my clan mentioned him. He’s one of the Hundred Immortals Sect’s core members—ranked third among the Thirty-Six Celestials.”
Su Mo already knew some of this.
The Hundred Immortals Sect was structured around 108 key figures: the Thirty-Six Celestials (天仙) and the Seventy-Two Earthly Immortals (地仙).
Both Ya Xian and the tentacle-summoner Hun Xian (killed by Nan Xuan in one strike) were high-ranking Celestials.
Su Mo motioned for her to continue.
“They say Ya Xian is an Awakened, and his ability is… bizarre. It’s called ‘Elegance’—he grows stronger by doing elegant things.” She looked utterly baffled. “I thought the elders were joking, but it’s real?”
Even Wu Heng and the others found it hard to believe.
Elegance? How was that even an ability?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Then again… the world was full of weirdness.
No wonder he was called Ya Xian (Elegant Immortal). It fit.
Like Hun Xian (Soul Immortal), who’d seen through Su Mo and Ye Qingyi’s body swap via soul essence.
For a moment, Su Mo wondered: If I’d actually joined the Hundred Immortals Sect back then, what title would I have gotten?
Yin Xian (Shadow Immortal)?
…Wait, no. That sounded too much like “sneaky.”
Hard pass.
…..
Following Ya Xian’s group into the temple, Su Mo’s team soon crossed paths with them again.
Strangely, neither side made any move to fight. Su Mo suspected it was due to the ruins’ restrictions—no one dared risk exposing their full strength.
Who knew what would happen if they did?
His gaze shifted to the main hall’s statue, and his heart leapt.
Just as he’d guessed—it was Yazi.
Half right. The treasure’s within reach now.
But the real question was:
What exactly was the treasure?