Blood-Colored Pattern

Grace was finally enjoying some real peace and quiet.

Her cultivation was already on the verge of perfection, just one last push away. So she barely spent any time training now and instead spent her days reading in the Celestial Library.

She needed to sharpen her medical skills—she'd have to take the qualification exam when she returned.

Of course, how high she'd test would depend on whether she could smoothly advance to Spirit Sovereign!

Every evening, Evan Xiao would come to take her out to treat the Celestial Empress, and then bring her back.

He seemed pretty busy, though—he never came by at any other time.

On this day, Grace had spent half the day reading medical books in the Celestial Library on the fourth floor of the Sanctum Tower. She started feeling hungry, stretched lazily, and headed downstairs to pick some fruit to fill her belly.

But when she reached the second floor, she found Evan Xiao was already there.

He was half-squatting in front of one of the treasures, which was shrouded in a barrier of forbidden light, staring at it in a daze.

"What brings you here at this hour?" Grace walked over and asked.

"Mm." Evan Xiao was still staring at that thing.

He was looking at that chess-like artifact.

It seemed to be made of some kind of wood, with a smooth surface.

"What are you looking at?" Grace asked curiously.

Evan Xiao pointed at it and said, "Look here."

Grace leaned in beside him for a better look. From an angle she usually didn't notice, there was actually a blood-red pattern.

"Huh? I never noticed it had a pattern like this!" After all this time, it was Grace's first time discovering it.

"I've seen this pattern before, in the Divine Tomb," Evan Xiao said.

"Divine Tomb? What's that place?"

"An ancient battlefield, with a god-slaying formation built by Fiends," Evan Xiao replied.

Grace: "Whoa..."

"Deep inside the Divine Tomb, there's a door no one can open," Evan Xiao said. "I saw the other half of this mark on that door, so I suspect this artifact might be the key to unlocking it."

Grace: "Ah..."

"The seal on the Demon Sealing Well hasn't been broken, but Fiends have still appeared." Evan Xiao's eyes grew cold. "I suspect they came from the Divine Tomb!"

"So... so... you mean...?"

"How do we get this thing?" Evan Xiao turned to ask Grace.

As he turned, he realized she was standing so close their faces were nearly touching.

He instantly froze, a shiver running through his whole body.

Grace also sensed something was off and scooted to the side, saying, "We have to finish the Divine Apothecary's task first!"

"How do we finish it? I'll help you."

"The latest task is to rescue Elder Whitestone from the Divine Apothecary's era," Grace said, pointing to another treasure shrouded in forbidden light. "Then I'll be able to get this cauldron."

"So, what do you have to do to get it?" Evan Xiao asked.

"No idea," Grace replied. "You only find out the next task after you finish the current one!"

Evan Xiao frowned. "After the Spirit Festival, I'll go to the Northern Sea and help you rescue Whitestone."

"Thank you so much!" Grace grinned.

...

After their conversation, the two went downstairs together.

They'd only walked a few steps when Evan Xiao suddenly stopped.

His gaze landed on an open box sitting in the corner.

Then he walked over and picked up a Jade Pendant from inside.

"Why is this Jade Pendant here with you?" Evan Xiao held it up in front of her and asked.

"Oh, that? Terry the Tortoise from the Verdant Order sold it to me," Grace said. "He mentioned it used to belong to the Crown Prince—wait, is it really yours?"

"It is," Evan Xiao said. "It's a great defensive artifact—I lost it."