1972 Xuanyuan Cave

“Can it fly while carrying heavy items?” Han Sen asked, examining the bird.

“Yes; it is much stronger than Baron cla.s.s Jade Night Cranes, but it has no legs and its wings are damaged,” Yun Suyi repeated. “It can’t fly any faster than an average Baron. And its fighting abilities cannot compare with a Viscount mount.”

“I’ll take him.” Han Sen did not plan on letting the mount do any fighting, so it’d be suitable for simple travel.

A damaged Jade Night Crane was not expensive, and it was just a little more pricey than basic xenogeneic gene material. Yun Suyi gave Han Sen a very good deal.

The Jade Night Crane was very tame, and Han Sen was quickly able to learn how to command it. He could control it in flight easily.

Because it had no legs, it always landed on its belly. And because the wings were partially disabled, it never could fly completely straight. Its speed left much to be desired, as well.

Fortunately, Han Sen did not have high expectations. So, after he made the purchase, he rode the crane back to his island.

Jade Night Crane was flying again, and it looked excited to be doing so. It kept squawking, and with amusing dedication, it diligently took Han Sen to his desired destination.

“Poor thing. It got hurt because of its master, and then it was abandoned. And now he is okay and can obey commands. Many creatures with high intelligence can’t do that.” Han Sen sighed.

Back on his island, Han Sen let the crane land. But before it touched down, Han Sen jumped off.

The crane’s belly hit the ground as it frantically flapped its wings. The creature had tried to keep itself level when it landed, but the attempt didn’t go very well.

Han Sen gave it some food and let it stay on the stone. Then, Han Sen returned to the house. Before he went to Xuanyuan Cave, he wanted to come to grips with his powers. He took stock of his possessions.

Earl cla.s.s Spell geno armament. Duke beast soul rabbit shoes. Earl beast soul Red Mist Mink Glove, and King weapon Ghost Teeth Knife.

With Ghost Teeth Knife there, his Teeth Knife skills would still be the best to use. Teeth Knife wouldn’t have any breakthroughs, though, so he planned to focus on a different geno art.

Using the energy flow from the Jade Turtle Spell, the feelings of Sky Palace, and some parts of Coin, he planned to make up a brand new geno art.

“My Coin focuses on powers that suppress. Why don’t I just modify Coin and make it better? But I can only use Coin, or a geno art that looks like Coin, when I’m in my Dollar ident.i.ty. Otherwise, people might take notice. So, if I can’t make something too similar to Coin, what kind of geno art should I make?” Han Sen thought about it, and he soon came up with an idea.

Jade Turtle Spell focused on suppressing one’s speed. Once you got hit with it, you could not fly. Han Sen wanted to use that aspect as a focus for his new geno art creation. He wanted to merge elements of Sky Palace and Coin. As for modifying Coin, that was something he could do later.

Han Sen kept testing his ideas in the room and learned a lot. Combining them wasn’t proving too difficult. He created his new geno art through repeated testing.

After pulling an all-nighter, he formulated a prototype of his new geno art. It was something he had no difficulty casting. All he had to do was improve the minor details of its design.

“Let’s call this geno art Turtle,” Han Sen decided.

Because he could not find a target to use it on, Han Sen didn’t know exactly how effective Turtle would be.

Han Sen took a break to rest, and when it was daytime, he walked out the door. The legless crane was resting beneath a tree. Han Sen fed it again, then rode it to where he was supposed to meet with Thousand Feather Crane.

Outside of Xuanyuan Cave, Han Sen saw Thousand Feather Crane, First Day, and the Yun sisters.

Yun Sushang immediately apologized for her sister’s presence. “Suyi wants to follow us in our exploration. I will be in charge of her safety, so if something happens, do not worry. Do whatever you need to.”

Since she had said that, no one objected. They left their mounts outside and headed into Xuanyuan Cave.

Xuanyuan Island looked like a small volcano. The volcano’s entrance led them into a gigantic volcano cave world. The cave led off in a number of different directions, and there were swathes of xenogeneics inside.

Xuanyuan Cave xenogeneics were very special. The most special ones among them were called Xuan Jade Spirits. Xuan Jade Spirits could travel through walls and appear in any comer they chose. They were difficult to avoid.

So, once people entered the cave system, they had to be careful. They could be attacked by Xuan Jade Spirits at any time.

At any moment, a mouth or claw could come shooting out of the rock.

“Brother Han, this is your first time in Xuanyuan Cave. Be careful. Xuan Jade Spirits can appear without any warning.

We might not be able to help you in time, if they get you,” Yun Sushang said.

Han Sen nodded, and he opened his Dongxuan Aura. He kept everything envisioned in his head. Any movement within a radius of ten meters would not escape his notice.

They walked a mile into the caves without spotting a single xenogeneic, but Han Sen did not let his guard down. He kept the Dongxuan Aura running the entire time.

Suddenly, though, Han Sen saw a black jade hand come out from the ground. It tried to grab Yun Suyi by her legs. The Xuan Jade Spirit’s nails were black like daggers. If it got hold of Yun Suyi, it could rip her legs off without much trouble.

Because they hadn’t met Xuan Jade Spirits for a long time, Yun Suyi had dropped her guard. She was only a Viscount, as well. She was not strong enough to react with the immediacy required.

Han Sen summoned Spell in front of him and fired her guns. After the popping noise of gunfire, two of the Xuan Jade’s claws were broken by the bullets.

Where the bullets. .h.i.t, symbols were left behind.

The Xuan Jade jerked its injured hands away and retreated into the stone. It left no sign of its pa.s.sing. The surface of the stone was perfect, as if the creature had never been there in the first place.

Han Sen noticed he was able to feel where the Xuan Jade hands would come from. There was thick stone and rock all about, but he felt as if he received a signal from beyond it. Han Sen could feel exactly where they were.

“Is this a power that Spell possesses?” Han Sen was shocked. When Spell hit something, it was like she was placing a tracker. The tracker didn’t deal damage, but it was very useful.