Mount Wuzhi was a place where the mountains were increasing in height and steepness, and they looked like 5 towering giants in Danzhou. Being one of the Nine Great Sects in Danzhou, Mount Wuzhi had plenty of powerhouses and was abundant in cultivation resources. The mountains and rivers here were beautiful, and one would always be greeted with rich spiritual Qu.
On the second mountain, mists filled the air along a small path. Ou Yangming, Yu Xiuming, and Qu Zhengde conversed cheerfully while they climbed the mountain.
Before long, they arrived at a massive quarry on the hillside along the path.
The quarry was covered with bluestones, which radiated lights as they were being shone by the sunlight.
Qu Zhengde took half a step forward and stepped on a bluestone as he remarked softly, “Master Yu, this is the Beyond Heaven Pavilion, am I right? It’s unordinary indeed.”
After hearing what he said, Ou Yangming turned to look as well. The Beyond Heaven Pavilion was built by the cliff, where one could watch the deep blue sea and look at the Sun and the Moon. It was a majestic scene where rising water vapor could be seen filling the air above the water.
A wisp of aromatic purple smoke was seen rising from the pavilion. Shrouded by the vapor, the pavilion was seen to have been built with carved railings and jade inlays, making it look bejeweled and splendid. In particular, the multicolor lights that occasionally radiated from the pavilion were pleasing to see.
Yu Xiuming was proud. He noted in a deep voice, “The Beyond Heaven Pavilion has a mysterious origin and a profound foundation. Its forces can be found all over the Spiritual Realm, where even first-class sects dare not provoke them easily, hence they’re naturally unordinary. Mount Wuzhi’s the only place with a branch in Danzhou.
Ou Yangming breathed out cold air while his eyes were gleaming.
The trick that he used to appraise gems in the lower realm was extremely unique. He might need to use a different method in the Spiritual Realm, but the principle would be the same, so he believed that he could definitely appraise the gems easily.
There were many disciples from Mount Wuzhi in the Bluestone Square, and they looked very unruly.
All of a sudden, a middle-aged man took a glance then quickly rubbed his eyes as he was in disbelief and surprised. “It’s Master Yu—the greatest smithing genius from Mount Wuzhi. Why is he here?”
A grey-robed elder next to him scoffed. “Hmph, how can you not know? Master Yu’s not only gifted in equipment smithing, but he also has a unique knack for finding peculiar stones. Rumor has it that he found a Rain Flower Ore half a year ago.” He shook his head, then his eyes flickered as he looked at Qu Zhengde, who was next to Yu Xiuming. ‘Ah, that should be the smithing genius from Zhangzhou.
Afterward, the elder turned to look at Ou Yangming and thought, ‘He’s so young, but he’s able to walk together with those 2 God-favored ones. Judging from his equally notable momentum and bearing, he’s probably not an insignificant person.’
He had naturally heard about the Big Smithing Competition between the 2 prefectures, thus he could vaguely guess Ou Yangming’s identity. The only thing was that he was unsure because the young fellow was truly too young.
The middle-aged man moved closer to him and told him, “Big Brother, I heard that Master Ou will be competing against Master Qu in the Big Smithing Competition on Mount Wuzhi. Could that be…”
They carefully observed Yu Xiuming, Qu Zhengde, and the white-clothed young man, where they noticed that the 3 men spoke to each other as though they were in the same generation. Moreover, the 3 men naturally made gestures to one another with respect.
With that, the elder and the middle-aged man finally confirmed that the young man was Ou Yangming. They were deeply shocked by that thought, and they sighed. ‘That fella’s too young. Even if he started learning equipment smithing when he was in his mother’s womb, he couldn’t have come this far, could he?
‘Besides, apart from smithing pieces of fine equipment, he can also refine flying carpets.’
It was worth noting that ever since the fight between the 10,000 Beasts Sect and the Insects, Ou Yangming’s reputation spread far and wide. After all, he had fined 20 flying carpets as rewards!
Ou Yangming naturally did not know what other people were thinking. He simply followed Yu Xiuming and Qu Zhengde forward.
Outside the pavilion, Yu Xiuming gestured to the 2 other men to welcome them inside while he uttered, “Master Ou, Master Qu, please!”
As soon as they entered the pavilion together, an enchanting lady greeted them with a smile. She was clothed in red, making her look like a blooming pink peach flower, and she had a sexy figure. The lady expressed earnestly, “Ah, I was wondering why magpies were chirping on the roof today, so it turns out that you’re coming, Master Yu. Please forgive me for not having tidied up the place to welcome you.” While the lady spoke, she even blinked. She looked like she was in her early twenties, but she was smooth and had every detail thought of.
Yu Xiuming flapped his sleeves in front of him and had a rare solemn look on his face, but he quickly hid it and responded with a smile, “Pavilions Master Luo, what are you talking about? As long as you don’t think that I’m affecting your business.”
Luo Qiwen beamed like a gorgeous flower in summer. As she bowed, delicate and perfect curves could be seen in front of her chest, which made her red clothes look fitting, making her release and indescribable charm. The lady smiled with her teeth and replied to the man, “Master Yu, you’re being too polite.” Right after that, she turned to look at Ou Yangming and folded her hands at the lower right side of her upper body. “I’ve long heard of your reputation, Master Ou. Now that I’ve finally seen you, you’re unordinary indeed.”
She was sincere and natural, so one would naturally have a favorable impression of her.
Ou Yangming rejoined softly with a serious face, “Pavilion Master Luo, this is my first time at the Beyond Heaven Pavilion. I’m sorry to bother you.” Nonetheless, he knew very well the pavilion had settled down in the Spiritual Realm for many years and had an extensive information network, so it would only be odd if they could not find out about him.
Needless to say, Ou Yangming was not afraid. After all, his title as the Phoenixes’ messenger alone was enough to make many influential forces fear him.
Luo Qiwen then shifted her gaze to Qu Zhengde and smiled joyfully. “Master Qu’s here as well. The stars have truly gathered at the Beyond Heaven Pavilion today.”
Qu Zhengde smiled but did not strike a conversation with her.
At the spur of the moment, Luo Qiwen slapped her thin thigh and said apologetically, “Quickly come inside, quickly come inside.”
Yu Xiuming chuckled and stated, “Pavilion Master Luo, the 3 of us are here to look for 1 or 2 peculiar stones from outside of this world.”
Luo Qiwen’s eyebrows curved. She immediately bowed and apologized, “I was being silly. The Beyond Heaven Pavilion happened to have gotten a new batch of bizarre stones. Come, let me show you.” Following that, she gestured to the men to go inside. As she led the way by stepping on the bluestone ground with her leather boots that were made of a spirit beast’s skin, thumps were heard.
Soon enough, green stone steps appeared in front of them.
When they looked down the green steps that kept extending downward, they could see a white light flashing out of an underground palace. It was flickering, whereas deep patterns were carved on the sides of the steps. Furthermore, there were plants, birds, and beasts, as well as mountains and rivers. One would feel dizzy from looking, and it seemed like one could be lost inside them if one were to take a few more looks.
Yu Xiuming instantly looked away after a while, and he cursed internally, ‘This is really weird.’
Down the steps, there was a lingering charm of a dim yellow halo.
Luo Qiwen, who was leading the way, explained, “These peculiar stones from beyond heaven are very demanding on the environment that they’re being stored in, so the Beyond Heaven Pavilion built an underground palace to store them.”
They arrived at the end of the steps after a brief moment.
The underground palace was not dim at all. Instead, it was incredibly bright.
Numerous complicated patterns were seen spread out, and an exquisite formation board could be seen connecting the patterns every 33 meters or so.
A roughly 33-meters-tall bronze statue was seen standing in the underground palace. It was carved with beautiful and colorful patterns, making it look bizarre and seductive.
The bronze statue was smiling with merciful eyes, and it had a peaceful and joyful expression. Its hands were placed together while a black and white wooden fish was placed below it.
As for the veined patterns that spread to every corner in the underground palace, the wooden fish was their central hub.
The underground palace was bustling and crowded with people.
Countless queer stones floated in the air in the corners as if they were supported by a magical power.
The arrival of Luo Qiwen and her guests did not draw anyone’s attention. Ou Yangming scanned the underground palace, and his eyes lit up when he noticed the complicated veined patterns at the border of the palace. He looked at the pavilion master and asked softly, “Pavilion Master Luo, do these runes, lines, and formation boards form a Light-gathering Formation?”
Luo Qiwen had the same expression on her face, but she grinned before she asked, “Master Ou, you know about formations too?”
Yu Xiuming and Qu Zhengde looked at each other and stopped as though they had a tacit understanding. They looked fervently at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming gasped and responded, “Pavilion Master Luo, you think too highly of me. I only asked because I had an intuition, so I hope you’re not offended.”
Luo Qiwen rolled her eyes while they flickered. Her red outfit fluttered as she replied to the young fellow, “This isn’t considered a secret anyway, so it won’t do any harm even if I tell you. Yes, this is a Light-gathering Formation indeed, but its setup is exceptionally difficult as it’s formed using 366 formation boards.”
Subsequently, she raised her lotus-root-like arm and pointed at the bronze statue in the middle of the underground palace. She said in a deep voice, “Master Ou, look—that’s the Light-gathering Formation’s central hub.”
She spoke calmly, but her words sounded like a sudden clap of thunder to Ou Yangming.
Clouds and mists were surging inside Ou Yangming’s spiritual world, and he kept thinking about the same thing, ‘Hub, hub…’ With that, the afterimages of the 1,080 Earthly Formation Boards that he previously refined appeared out of nowhere. They were being arranged inside his spiritual world, and their veined patterns shone, causing a mysterious feeling to appear inside the world.
“Master Ou, what happened?” A concerned voice was suddenly heard.
Ou Yangming came back to his senses and smiled apologetically. “Master Yu, I’m sorry—I got distracted.”
Yu Xiuming patted Ou Yangming’s shoulder as he was worried. “Master Ou, if you’re not feeling well, I’ll send you back so that you can rest.”
Qu Zhengde looked worried as well. Although Ou Yangming was his competitor, he did not want to defeat an opponent that was not in the right condition…
Luo Qiwen was the only one that smiled faintly and had a meaningful look in her eyes.
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine now, so let’s go on.” Ou Yangming waved his hand. He took his time when he spoke, and his voice was quickly drowned by the noise inside the underground palace.
At this time, a loud exclamation was heard.
“Wow, it’s a Qi Condensation Ore!”
“Yes, I wonder which sect he belongs to. That Qi Condensation Ore alone will probably be enough for him to get a piece of Half-Silver Equipment.”
Everyone watched fervidly. In fact, some Advanced Spiritualists even showed fleeting killing intents in their eyes.
Ou Yangming turned to look as well when he heard the commotion. A middle-aged man was seen standing at the border of the underground palace. His white outfit had already turned grey, and his pupils had sunken inward as he stared at the Qi Condensation Ore that was being cut. It was worth noting that the man’s fingernails had gone into his palms, causing blood to flow out, but he seemed to be wild with joy.
Luo Qiwen was not surprised at all. She explained calmly, “That kind of person lives by doing stone gambling. His foundation’s completely ruined.”
Yu Xiuming looked at the man for a while then looked away and teased the lady, “Pavilion Master Luo, you should be very fond of customers like him.”
Luo Qimen flapped her sleeves and giggled. “That’s true.”
Afterward, she pretended to lament, “It’s not easy for me either—I need to make a living!”
