Roaring Dragon-Chapter 75: Tracing the Clues

As night deepened, the Prince’s Mansion gradually quieted down.

Yang Dabiao and the others had settled into guest rooms. Thanks to his recent merit, Xie Jinhuan had been assigned a courtyard with its own little lake. For convenience, Linghu Qingmo was arranged to stay next door.

After a long day of travel, he was genuinely worn out. Upon returning to his room, Xie Jinhuan laid the already-sleeping Meiqiu beside his pillow, swallowed a Dragonblood Pill, and slipped into a medicinal bath to heal his injuries, quietly contemplating his next move.

The ghost bride’s grave-blasting was right around the corner. His only current goal was to scrape together thirty thousand taels of silver and one stalk of a sixty-year lotus rhizome.

No leads on the lotus yet, and the fastest way to get money? Dig into the guts of some fellow cultivator for a “donation.”

But who to dig into...

Han Jingchuan had thrown his own father under the bus, which indirectly led Xie into this mess—and might even be scheming something darker. That one had to be dealt with eventually.

Problem was, Han Jingchuan had a special position and had only just returned—his whereabouts unclear. No way to handle him tonight.

According to Taishu Dan and the others, his father had been ambushed by members of the Underworld God Sect. Those bastards? He’d kill every last one he came across.

But the sect was elusive, and he wasn’t even sure whether today’s killer was truly one of them...

His gaze shifted toward the Zhenglun Sword.

“Big Red ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Beauty?”

Splash—

Right after he spoke, a sound of water echoed from across the tub.

Looking up, there she was again—voluptuous, radiant, and soaking in the other side of the bath, flicking droplets of water with her fingers.

“Long night and no sleep? You could go knock on Mo-Mo’s door instead of calling for your big sis,” she teased.

Even for someone like Xie Jinhuan, used to absurd situations, it was hard not to crack. He instinctively stretched his foot toward the “mystic valley of no return,” but alas—his foot phased right through.

“You said two killers were involved with those seventeen corpses today?”

“Mhm.”

Ye Hongshang lifted her left hand. In her palm appeared a glowing orb, its interior like a miniature world—revealing human tissue and meridian structure in intricate detail.

Seeing this ghostly “phantom microscope” again, Xie Jinhuan’s expression turned serious. He leaned in to inspect and even reached out to touch it.

Turns out, he could interact with it—her ghostly tech really worked.

As his fingers stretched the image, the surface magnified rapidly. What once looked like dry, pale skin now resembled a mountain range, every hair follicle rising like a towering pillar.

“Damn... this is some power. What’s it called?”

“It’s called Realm.”

Ye Hongshang’s eyes gleamed with celestial light as she explained:

“‘Moving mountains and draining seas’ is just the outer display of strength. The essence lies in understanding the fundamental nature of the world. Think: ‘a world in a grain of sand, a bodhi in a single leaf.’

“To you, your ‘Ice Scale Armor’ may seem flawless. But in my eyes? You're parading around in mosquito netting. One thread of precise true energy could pierce through straight to your lungs.

“Cultivation techniques and the body alike—no matter how perfect they seem, the closer you examine, the more flaws you find.”

Xie Jinhuan nodded, keeping his eyes on the orb. As he zoomed in further, the mountainous landscape revealed delicate traces resembling dried-up riverbeds.

“What are these?”

“Residual traces left by Essence-Stealing Demonic Arts. People have different realms and techniques—even if the same spell is used, the marks are never identical.”

As she spoke, the orb shifted scenes, displaying seventeen separate but similar imprints.

Among them, four stood out—similar in form but subtly different in essence. It looked like someone imitating the original method. All four bodies belonged to young men under twenty.

The differences were clear enough that even Xie Jinhuan could see multiple killers were involved. He studied the patterns:

“This first guy... not quite as skilled, right?”

Ye Hongshang nodded approvingly.

“Correct. The first thirteen victims were killed by a wandering demonic cultivator—nothing refined about his technique.

“The last four were taken by Underworld God Sect elites. Their methods are almost identical to Taishu Dan’s, but they deliberately imitated the sloppier style.

“All the dead were teenage boys, likely chosen to extract untouched primordial Yang to extend their killer’s lifespan.”

“Primordial Yang...”

Xie Jinhuan raised a brow. “So the killer’s some kind of demoness?”

Ye Hongshang shook her head. “To supplement Yin with Yang. If it were a female demon, these four would’ve died with a smile, not looking like that. Male Yang energy is self-generating—normally doesn’t need to be harvested. Someone resorting to this likely can’t circulate energy on their own anymore. They’re probably dying.”

Xie nodded in thought, then rewound the orb back to the first thirteen victims.

“How do you know this one’s a rogue cultivator?”

Ye Hongshang struck a scholarly pose, pointing at the image like a busty tutor.

“Proper demonic Daoists start off cultivating with human blood essence. Even if they use blood essence pills, they mix in a bit of human blood to refine them.

“This guy, though, seems to rely exclusively on beast-based blood essence. That difference leaves impurities. His techniques lack refinement.”

“Look at these lines—thicker, inconsistent. That means coarse meridians, unstable qi flow...”

Xie studied closely and found her words true. The Underworld Sect killer’s marks were clearly smoother.

He’d encountered blood essence pills back in Danyang and done some research afterward.

Authentic blood essence pills were made from living humans, but it was nearly impossible to make them in peacetime. Most demonic cultivators these days made do with ninety percent beast blood and ten percent human blood—like comparing rhino horn to buffalo horn.

Even the Imperial Armory and alchemy institutions—let alone black markets—used pure beast-based variants. Using them was like taking “beast steroids” for muscle gain.

So, rogue cultivators who bought these pills would usually need to get human blood essence on their own and refine it with body-tempering herbs into something like a Demon Transformation Pill.

“This guy’s been juicing on beast pills and still made it to the fourth rank?”

“It’s possible—but unstable. That’s the wall most face. And only those with no one to guide them make such mistakes. When they hit the bottleneck, they turn to killing.”

That made sense. Xie Jinhuan nodded—this killer might not be too hard to trace.

Blood essence pills were forbidden goods. Making them required tons of livestock, and the blood aura was hard to hide.

Backed demonic cultivators had organizations supplying them in secret. Just like how Lin Wanyi’s poisons were shipped in by Southern Xinjiang—she never had to worry about exposure.

But rogue cultivators had no such backing. They wouldn’t dare refine the pills themselves. The only option was to buy.

And blood essence pills were strictly banned among civilians. In the capital, the only legal holders were the Imperial Apothecary, the Imperial Pharmacy, and the black market.

The official sources were too dangerous to touch. Which meant, if this guy needed pills—he had to go black market.

That thought lit a fire in Xie Jinhuan’s mind.

“I’ll hit the black market later. Check around for blood essence suppliers. Might dig up a lead.”

Ye Hongshang dismissed the floating orb. “It’s the black market. No one’s tracking who buys what. How’re you going to find anything?”

“He didn’t just buy once. Even if he only started this year, he’s been buying for at least eight months. You’re telling me none of the vendors remember that?”

That said, another thought occurred to him. He glanced her way.

“Hey... if a guy loses his primordial Yang, does that affect his cultivation?”

Ye Hongshang blinked innocently. “Yin and Yang balance is Heaven’s law. Man or woman, letting it out just feels great—as long as you don’t overdo it.”

Xie Jinhuan let out a breath of relief. “Good. Better to get it out of the way, then. Don’t wanna be targeted by some sex-crazed demoness.”

“Oh?”

Ye Hongshang’s eyes sparkled. She rose from the tub and leaned forward.

“Want big sis to help you out with that?”

Splash—

As she stood, a pair of snow-white curves crested the water.

Xie Jinhuan’s eyes narrowed—only to find she was wearing a flesh-colored wrap. Not a trace of cleavage.

“...Huh?”

Disappointed, he slumped back in the tub, arms resting along the edges, gaze defiant.

“Alright. Throw whatever tricks you’ve got. I’ll use it to test my weak points—see if I’m ready for the arena tomorrow.”