Chapter 615: The Tragic Holy Fire Manor
Given Xiao Chen’s current combat prowess, if a regular Inferior Grade Martial Monarch did not burn their Quintessence, they would not be a match for him. When meeting with someone like the blue-robed old man, an Inferior Grade Martial Monarch who could use an Extreme Yin Flame to burn his Quintessence, Xiao Chen was still somewhat weaker.
If Xiao Chen could advance to Martial Monarch and refine all his Essence into Quintessence, that blue-robed old man would not even last ten moves against him, not even if the old man burned his Quintessence.
As things stood now, the blue-robed old man only had the advantage of Quintessence. In terms of Martial Techniques, Cultivation Technique, and combat techniques, he lost out to Xiao Chen. If Xiao Chen used the Purple Thunder True Fire to burn Quintessence, the blue-robed old man would not even last three moves.
A fervent look appeared in Xiao Chen’s eyes. He looked around and said, “Let’s not speak about this first. Ao Jiao, where is that Spirit Vein’s origin? I am now itching to get on with it.”
Walk ten kilometers in the northeast direction. You should be able to see a mound after this point. The Thunder Emperor’s restriction is left there. I will help you open it.
Ten kilometers was not far. Xiao Chen looked around for a while. Although he was in a hurry to go over, he was not that impulsive.
He sat down cross-legged on the ground again and continued treating his wounds, making sure that no injuries remained, so that he could go over in his best condition.
After one hour, Xiao Chen opened his eyes once again, feeling very spirited. He pushed off the ground and turned into a flood dragon rushing forward.
Not long after Xiao Chen took off, he ran into some trouble. Ten-odd ferocious fire spirits blocked his way.
Xiao Chen had seen fire spirits in the Scarlet Blood Flame Prison before, so he did not panic. He knew how to deal with these fire spirits that did not feel any pain.
He sent out a clump of Purple Thunder True Fire from his right hand. A purple light flickered in his eyes and the flame sitting on his palm gained a dazzling glow. He had brought out his Origin Flame as well.
The Purple Thunder True Fire that contained an Origin Flame had a completely different might from before. Looking at the fire spirits flying over, Xiao Chen shouted, “Life Bestowal Spell!”
The flames immediately started taking shape, eventually turning into ten sharp short swords. Xiao Chen waved his right hand, and the short swords immediately shot out.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The extremely Yang purple flame short swords pierced the chests of these fire spirits, causing them to explode instantly. Suddenly, the hard-to-deal-with fire spirits dissipated into countless sparks.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, his right eye twinkling with purple light. The short swords in the air turned into ten beams of light and returned to his right eye. By using the short swords made from the Purple Thunder True Fire, he swept through all the fire spirits in his way. After fifteen minutes, he arrived at the mound that Ao Jiao mentioned.
The mound was not very large, no more than two hundred meters tall and three hundred meters wide. It was black and looked very ordinary. Countless such mounds existed in this place.
“The Spirit Vein’s origin is under this?”
Xiao Chen walked around the mound but could not feel any Spiritual Energy or anything special. No matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary mound.
Ao Jiao nodded and said, Yes, this Spirit Vein’s origin does not have a Spirit Gathering Formation to suppress it, so it normally leaked Spiritual Energy. Back then, the Thunder Emperor took away half. He feared that others would discover it, so he casually laid down a restriction. Wait for me.
“Xiu!”
The moment Ao Jiao finished speaking, she emerged from the Lunar Shadow Saber. The saber immediately became dimmer.
Xiao Chen had not seen Ao Jiao in person for a long time, so he carefully checked her out. He discovered that she had not changed at all. She was currently a head shorter than Xiao Chen and still looked like a petite girl. Her figure was still as fiery hot as before.
Seeing the mound before her, Ao Jiao revealed a nostalgic expression. She sighed before quickly forming hand seals with both hands. When she finished, she pointed at it with her right hand and whispered, “Open!”
The solid mound split in half before Xiao Chen’s shocked stare. Surging Spiritual Energy poured out from the crack.
“Don’t stand there flabbergasted! If the two people from the Holy Fire Manor feel this Spiritual Energy, you will be in deep trouble.”
Xiao Chen understood the risk. His figure flashed quickly, turning into a purple beam of light and instantly entering the crack in the mound. Ao Jiao followed after and again formed hand seals with both hands. The mound closed noisily, becoming ordinary again.
—
In the distance, the two old men heading for the Netherworld Flame Seed both frowned at the same time. After one advanced to Martial Monarch, they would start cultivating Mental Energy, becoming extremely sensitive to changes in Spiritual Energy.
In that instant, both of them felt a sudden surge of intense Spiritual Energy.
The gray-robed old man said, “First Brother, should we go and take a look?”
“The Heavenly Extermination Lake was the Imperial Capital of the Tianwu Dynasty. What we sensed might be the result of a treasure appearing. I will go and take a look. You handle the Netherworld Fire Spirits first,” the blue-robed old man said after thinking for a while.
—
The crack was very dark. A spiritual mist pervaded the entire place. Dew condensed from Spiritual Energy covered the walls. It looked like the mist had not dissipated for a thousand years.
There was no need to cultivate in this place. All one had to do was open their mouth and take a deep breath. Doing so would result in an instant increase in cultivation. However, Xiao Chen did not dare to.
This spiritual mist contained a lot of impurities as there was no ventilation in this cave. These impurities would cause significant harm to the physical body. So Xiao Chen could only sigh at the sight of this spiritual mist.
Xiao Chen continued walking forward. At the very end, the spiritual mist disappeared. An underground river appeared before him, instead. As the water gushed, a fragrant Spiritual Energy assaulted his nose. The entire river consisted of spiritual liquid.
He sighed, “This is really wasteful on another level. With just one such river gushing endlessly, after five thousand years, how much Spiritual Energy had been wasted?”
Ao Jiao, who followed behind, curled her lips up in a smile. “How ignorant! This is just the lowest-grade Spirit Vein. When you go to the Kunlun Realm, you will know what a true spiritual river is when you see the Heavenly Spring Ancient River.”
After Ao Jiao’s rebuttal, Xiao Chen smiled embarrassedly without retorting. He was aware that Spirit Veins had different grades. However, he was ignorant of the specifics.
The source of the spiritual river would be where the Spirit Vein’s origin was. So, the two walked in that direction. Along the way, Ao Jiao taught Xiao Chen about the grading of Spirit Veins.
Spirit Veins were classified into five ranks, from the lowest Rank 1 to the highest Rank 5. A Rank 1 Spirit Vein was the most ordinary. Spirit Stone Mines would not appear around it. A Rank 2 Spirit Vein was the minimum for Spirit Stone Mines.
The Spirit Vein in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion was a Rank 2 Spirit Vein. However, the Spirit Stones from a Rank 2 Spirit Vein were mostly Inferior Grade Spirit Stones. Medial Grade Spirit Stones would rarely show up.
Higher up the ranks, only a Rank 4 Spirit Vein would produce large numbers of Superior Grade Spirit Stones. The Rank 4 Spirit Veins were also known as Peak Spirit Veins. There were no more than five such Spirit Veins in the Tianwu Continent. Furthermore, most of them were on the verge of drying up and no longer produced large numbers of Superior Grade Spirit Stones.
Rank 5 Spirit Veins were also known as Holy Spirit Veins. Not a single one of this existed in the Tianwu Continent. Even in the Kunlun Realm, they were a rare existence. As for Spirit Veins above Rank 5, there was the legendary King Spirit Vein. They were extremely rare, and only King Grade Sects could control them.
As the two spoke, they soon arrived at the source of the spiritual river. Xiao Chen looked at the Spirit Vein’s origin suspended in midair and frowned heavily.
The Spirit Vein’s origin that hovered in the midst of dense spiritual mist was only palm-sized.
Spiritual rain condensed nonstop from the spiritual mist, functioning as the headwaters of the spiritual river below. An azure ball of light quietly floated in the middle of the mist, giving off spiritual energy.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly and said, “We probably made a wasted trip. The Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Spirit Vein’s origin gave me an impression of boundlessness as if I was immersed in a vast sea.”
Ao Jiao laughed joyfully. “He he! Stupid Master, you don’t even know that you picked up a treasure. You are even stupider than an idiot.”
Xiao Chen felt dubious, so he asked, “What do you mean?”
“You can tell with just one glance. You have never truly seen the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Spirit Vein’s origin. Even a Peak Spirit Vein’s origin is only ten meters in diameter. How could it be boundless?”
Thinking back, Xiao Chen recalled that he had indeed not seen the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Spirit Vein’s origin with his eyes. At that time, he only sat on the prayer mat for an instant, and the boundless feeling appeared in his mind.
Ao Jiao continued, “Even if a higher-grade Spirit Vein was preserved very well, as time passes, it will still slowly weaken. I estimate that the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Spirit Vein’s origin is only about ten times larger. It should not be larger than that estimate.
“You came at a good time. This Spirit Vein’s origin is currently the limit of what your body can endure—which means that the risk you face will be lower.”
Xiao Chen looked at the Spirit Vein’s origin with blazing desire. He could not help but feel excited. Once he advanced to Martial Monarch and refined Quintessence, a great door of cultivation would open to him.
Ao Jiao stretched her hand out to Xiao Chen, asking for some Superior Grade Spirit Stones. She said sullenly, “Although there is less risk, it is not entirely safe. Remember this: do not be too greedy; don’t lose yourself in power.
“After I have laid down the Spirit Sealing Formation, you can go and swallow up the Spirit Vein’s origin. Remember what I said. Don’t ever forget it.”
Xiao Chen nodded and said, “Go on and lay the formation.”
Ao Jiao waved her right hand, and a strong wind blew away the dense spiritual mist. Now, only the radiant, beautiful azure Spirit Vein’s origin remained quietly in the air.
“Xiu! Xiu!”
Spirit Stones flew out from Ao Jiao’s hands; she tossed out a total of one hundred eight Superior Grade Spirit Stones. Then, she formed head seals with both hands. Finally, the Spirit Stones lit up with a gentle light.
The Spirit Stones gave off a gentle glow, and lines came out from them, connecting all the Spirit Stones. An incredibly complex formation instantly appeared above the Spirit Vein’s origin.
Resplendent light appeared in the eighteen corners of the formation, sealing the space inside.
Ao Jiao said softly, “I have already laid the Spirit Sealing Formation. The Spirit Vein’s origin’s Spiritual Energy will not leak out anymore. Go on!”
Success or failure would depend on what happened from here on. Xiao Chen took a deep breath and leaped up gently, flying into the center of the formation and sitting cross-legged. The Spirit Sealing Formation formed a flat surface. He did not need to do anything extra to float there.
The palm-sized Spirit Vein’s origin quietly floated above Xiao Chen’s head.
“Boom!”
The moment Xiao Chen sat down, a surging river appeared in his mind. The river was very vast and looked like it could destroy everything in the world.
Xiao Chen sank into his consciousness. He finally understood that what Ao Jiao had said was true. The Spiritual Energy contained within this palm-sized Spirit Vein’s origin was no doubt at least a tenth of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Spirit Vein’s origin.
