“Not only are this old man’s chances distant and indistinct, but the same also holds true for the other Geomasters. We can only see if there is an opportunity to take advantage of the situation to gain some small benefits.”
Seeing an unimpressed expression on Ye Qing’s face, Yuan Qinghuan continued, “Well, since this old man came already, I will not do so for nothing. When I roamed around as usual, I discovered several dragon caves with Peak Spirit Veins hidden in them. As long as Alliance Chief sends a few quasi-Emperors with me, I will help Alliance Chief find a few Peak Spirit Veins after this matter is over.”
Although Peak Spirit Veins were precious, how could they compare to a King Spirit Vein? Ye Qing was not really interested. As he looked at the clear seawater below, he waved his hand and said, “We will speak about that later.”
Following Jiang Tian’s motions, Worldly Wind Water Banner made the situation underwater evident. A few of the mountains that were masked by cloudy water became distinct.
The various Geomasters observed the earth vein and could not help sighing. Ye Chen occasionally heard things like “nine stars locking the dragon” and “great auspicious land,” and concluded that there would definitely be a great dragon.
However, he could not make out anything. All he saw were scattered mountains, no stars or dragon.
Ye Chen could not help but ask anxiously, “Xiao Chen, what is the ‘nine stars locking the dragon’?”
Xiao Chen was currently observing the heavenly phenomenon. He retracted his gaze and answered, “The nine stars refer to nine stars of the sky. In the language of Dragon Seeking Art, these are the mountains representing these stars, which normally occur around the dragon cave.
“Of the nine stars, there are three major auspicious stars—Tanlang Star, Jumen Star, and Wuqu Star. When regular dragon caves have only one great auspicious star, the quality of the Spirit Vein would already be excellent. With three appearing together, that is incredible.
“The Zuofu Star and Youbi Star are minor auspicious stars. They are the signs that appear the most. Dragon caves with these stars normally have good-quality Spirit Veins. If one did not have even a minor auspicious star, then even if it were a Holy Spirit Vein, it would not be of good quality.”
Zi Ying listened, entranced. Then, she interjected, “If there are auspicious stars, then there must be ominous stars. So based on what you said, the Pojun Star, Lianzhen Star, Lucun Star, and Wenqu Star are all ominous stars.”
Xiao Chen raised his head and looked at Zi Ying. He said with a smile, “You are rather intelligent. That is right.”
Ye Chen asked out of curiosity, “Nine stars gathered. There are auspicious stars and ominous stars. Why are so many of the Geomasters saying that it is a great auspicious sign and ignoring those ominous stars?”
Xiao Chen raised his head further and looked at the sky. Then, he spoke some words that contained some double meaning: “These are the wonders of geomancy. Look at the four ominous star mountains; they are all lower than the three major auspicious star mountains. They are even shorter than the two minor auspicious star mountains. The aura of such ominous stars would be completely suppressed, unable to unleash any might. On the contrary, it will lend power to the auspicious stars, bolstering them. These form the rarely seen ‘nine stars locking the dragon.’”
Not far away, Ye Qing heard what Xiao Chen said. Then, he turned to Yuan Qinghuan who was beside him and asked, “Mister Yuan, is this Little Friend Xiao Chen right?”
Yuan Qinghuan felt somewhat embarrassed. He only replied after a while, “More or less, more or less. However…”
Yuan Qinghuan still wanted to say something, but he discovered that Ye Qing had already left, walking towards Xiao Chen with great strides with a smile.
“Unexpectedly, Little Friend is quite knowledgeable about seeking dragons and fixing veins,” Ye Qing said after he came over.
Xiao Chen demurred in a soft voice, “Just the tip of the iceberg. I’m still far from comparable to the Geomasters present here.”
Ye Qing did not think that. He said, “There is no need to be so humble. If you really do understand seeking dragons and fixing veins, there will be many chances of cooperation between you and my Ye Clan.”
“Alliance Chief, Shi Tianyu is calling everyone over. He said that it is about time to prepare for washing the sea.”
Ye Qing was about to say a few more things. However, when he heard the report, he smiled apologetically and led the Martial Emperors with him over to where Jiang Tian was.
Washing the sea meant clearing out all the seawater, leaving an empty space.
Although there were internal conflicts between the various factions, no matter who obtained the Spirit Vein below, it would bolster the strength of the Northern Sea Alliance.
In order to wash the sea, everyone needed to work together.
The leaders of the ten major factions of the Northern Alliance gathered where Jiang Tian was, prepared to act to eliminate all the seawater and make it convenient to fix the vein.
After seeing that Jiang Tian had already finished checking the situation at the bottom of the sea, Shi Tianyu asked somewhat impatiently, “Old Brother Jiang, can we begin?”
Jiang Tian shook his head and replied, “There is no rush. I want to check on the heavenly signs first.”
When the other Geomasters heard this, they all could not help revealing envious gazes. Not all the Geomasters knew the lost ancient skill of astrology.
Xiao Chen, who was standing on the deck not far away, quietly moved to a corner that no one paid any attention to when he heard these words, taking advantage of the timing while the many Geomasters and cultivators gathered around Jiang Tian.
He closed his eyes and formed hand seals. The Magic Energy in his sea of consciousness burned as he executed one of his Magic Skills, Starry Heaven Storm.
Xiao Chen did not really intend to unleash the Starry Heaven Storm.
However, he wanted to use this Magic Skill to make the original astrological signs vaguer and blurrier. He covered up some of the stars’ light to disrupt Jiang Tian’s observation and judgment.
Sweat dotted Xiao Chen’s forehead and rolled off like rain. The Magic Energy that filled his sea of consciousness surged out like a mountain flood. Soon, most of it drained.
Jiang Tian did not notice. After seeing the sign of the nine stars locking the dragon below, he was already sure that this was a greatly auspicious dragon cave. The Spirit Vein would definitely be of high quality.
Observing the stars was only a habit. After taking a cursory look at them, Jiang Tian did not notice anything strange. He said, “We can proceed now. You saw my Worldly Wind Water Banner, right? Drain away all the seawater where there is a Worldly Wind Water Banner.
“At that time, fellow Geomasters, subduing this dragon will depend on our own abilities. That will prevent the harmony between us from being spoiled.”
At the last sentence, the other Geomasters smiled embarrassedly. Rely on their own abilities? Who here could beat Jiang Tian? That was as good as not saying anything.
Ye Qing, Shi Tianyu, and the other leaders, about ten people, looked like they moved instantly. An afterimage faded as they all arrived at the surface of the sea.
With a shout, these ten people made their moves at the same time and held their right palms up to the sky.
Loud rumbling resounded like thunder. A shocking scene appeared. With the might of ten Greater Heavenly Martial Emperors, the seawater split apart like land would in ten places.
Each Martial Emperor controlled a portion of their own and lifted an incredibly huge amount of seawater like it was a mountain.
Then, these Martial Emperors casually tossed the water aside into the distance. When the seawater landed more than thousands of kilometers away, it created a thunderous sound that made everyone’s hearts race and deafened their ears.
Xiao Chen paled somewhat. He walked to the side of the deck and looked at the vast sea below. It looked like a large piece of it was gouged out, leaving a space more or less the size of Lingyun Island.
He could not help but feel very shocked. The strength of a Greater Heavenly Martial Emperor was truly incredible. If he had not seen it for himself, he would never have imagined how strong these people were.
After Shi Tianyu and the other Greater Heavenly Martial Emperors emptied the water, the Geomasters did not remain idle. They each took out their own dragon-seeking Secret Treasures. They maintained the current geography, isolating away the seawater.
Jiang Tian descended and headed for the core of the nine stars locking the dragon. The other Geomasters quickly followed behind with grave expressions.
The Minor Heavenly Martial Emperors and the quasi-Emperors on the deck stored up power and shot downwards like sharp arrows.
Nine Geomasters landed on the nine star mountains one after another, preparing to open the dragon cave.
The mystery that boggled everyone for a long time—exactly what rank of Spirit Vein was hidden in the dragon cave—would be clarified.
At this moment, everyone’s eyes were focused on the dragon cave locked down by the nine stars.
Only Xiao Chen looked up at the Starry Heavens. The Pojun Star, Lianzhen Star, Lucun Star, Wenqu Star—the four ominous stars—that had been glowing faintly now became very bright.
As for the five auspicious stars—Tanlang Star, Jumen Star, Wuqu Star, Zuofu Star, and Youbi Star—all became dim and dark.
The number of people who recognized the nine stars was not many. Furthermore, the Starry Heavens was incredibly vast with countless stars. The other one who could make out anything amid the dazzling starlight was only Jiang Tian, whose attention was no longer on the sky.
Auspicious and ominous were hard to differentiate. Situations in geomancy were never set in stone.
Aside from Jiang Tian, who was above the dragon cave, the other Geomasters held their dragon-seeking Secret Treasures and stood above the nine star mountains.
An anxious and tense atmosphere spread out to every corner of the grand scene. Everyone showed grave expressions.
Jiang Tian made the first move. He raised his hand, and cracks appeared on the seabed. Lights of various colors shone out from cracks.
The other Geomasters executed their various means, preparing to force out the Spirit Vein in the dragon cave below.
The lights flashed and showed nine different colors before they stopped changing colors.
Dense Spiritual Energy surged into the surroundings, causing multicolored spiritual rain to fall.
Rain fell continuously, and the gigantic pit in the sea emanated a strong sense of vitality after the spiritual rain permeated every patch of mud.
When everyone felt the pure Spiritual Energy in the rain, they were overjoyed.
“Nine-colored lights. This is a King Spirit Vein!”
Everyone was shocked, even though they already expected this. However, when they saw the nine-colored lights and the nine-colored spiritual rain, the shock in everyone’s hearts was indescribable.
Just how rare were King Spirit Veins? They were so rare that they were an indicator of the strength of a Holy Land.
Without a King Spirit Vein, no matter how strong a sect was, it would not be considered a Holy Land. It was just like how a Rank 9 sect required a Holy Spirit Vein.
The leaders of the ten factions gathered at the eighteen tall mountains in the south.
Upon seeing the nine-colored lights, everyone showed somewhat complicated expressions.
The Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor’s Shi Tianyu smiled and said, “Brother Ye, with this King Spirit Vein, the Northern Sea Alliance will definitely become stronger. In the future, you won’t have to work so hard anymore and can take a rest.”
These words revealed Shi Tianyu’s ambition and desire.
How could Ye Qing not hear them? He retorted coldly, “Brother Shi, you are really kind. However, it is still early to say such words.”
Shi Tianyu smiled like a maniac and said, “Early? With Mister Jiang here, I don’t believe that anyone has a chance to snatch this King Spirit Vein.”
“The two of you should not fight first. It is very important to subdue this King Spirit Vein. Even with Jiang Tian here, we still cannot be careless. Otherwise, if we fail, it would be the loss of the entire Northern Sea Alliance.”
A rather old man among the ten saw that the atmosphere between the two was quite tense, so he spoke up to remind them.
When the two heard this, they snorted coldly and stopped speaking.
Suddenly, Ye Qing frowned. He extended his hand and wiped off some of the spiritual rain. His pupils contracted, and shock flashed in his eyes.
The spiritual rain on his finger was actually scarlet.
Ye Qing looked up, and his expression changed. The nine-colored spiritual rain had vanished. In its place in the sky was torrential scarlet rain. It appeared ice-cold and ruthless, eerie and entirely sinister.
