owlsbooks Chapter 250: An Unexpected Joy
Chapter 250: An Unexpected Joy
A breeze was blowing through the mountains.
Yang Jiuli then looked at the plaque in front of him.
Time passes little by little.
In the blink of an eye, three days and three nights had passed.
Several spirit pets tilted their heads and crawled under Yang Jiuli, occasionally rolling their bodies to pass the time.
Yet she didn't bother Yang Jiuli, which was quite obedient.
"Sword Immortal..." Yang Jiuli stared at the words on the plaque for a long time before muttering to himself.
"If I have the chance, I'd love to come and see your unparalleled beauty!" Yang Jiuli murmured, then turned back and descended.
Yang Jiuli had long heard of the Sword Immortal, but only now, having witnessed it firsthand, did he truly understand the vastness of the sword path.
Just a glance at the words on the plaque was enough to send a rushing river of swords crashing down upon me.
Yang Jiuli was certain that if he had not retreated, he would have been annihilated by the river of swords.
Such methods far surpass those of ordinary Core Formation cultivators.
Even at his peak in his previous life, he might not have been able to withstand such a fierce attack from a sword immortal of the same level.
This made him yearn for the sword immortal even more.
They wanted to seek the truth.
After leaving the mountain peak, Yang Jiuli found a second-tier "Cold Jade Fungus" in the vicinity of the mountain.
Afterwards, he found a place and began to cultivate there, preparing to break through and condense his third Qi Palace.
There are three-tiered spiritual veins here, making the opening of the Qi Palace much smoother.
Xiao Bing was also absorbing the cold energy, preparing to break through to the mid-stage of the second tier.
Seven days later, Yang Jiuli successfully opened his third Qi Palace, the Laogong point in his right hand, after consuming the second-tier Cold Jade Flower.
The sheer power of the cold, malevolent true essence within his body was nearly approaching the mana of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
After consolidating his cultivation for three days, he stopped cultivating and took out the 'Frosty Jade Marrow' to help Xiao Bing break through to the next level.
Because Xiao Bing has a third-tier bloodline, her cultivation speed is comparable to that of a high-grade spiritual root, far surpassing that of the two tiger minks.
In addition, it often ventures into the cold cave to devour the cold energy and has also consumed a large number of second-tier spiritual herbs, thus solidifying its cultivation level.
It can be said that Xiao Bing obtained more second-tier spiritual herbs than even the true disciples of third-tier immortal sects.
With the help of this 'Cold Jade Marrow', breaking through to the mid-stage of the second tier will be a natural outcome.
Three hours later, Xiao Bing successfully broke through, and her body grew even larger.
After absorbing the cold air and consolidating its energy, the little creature transformed into a small python and landed on Yang Jiuli's shoulder.
It rubbed its little head against the latter's neck, looking quite obedient and cute.
Yang Jiuli touched Xiao Bing, then took out a 'Frosty Spirit Flower' and fed it to him.
Little Ice chuckled and swallowed it.
"Go!" Yang Jiuli gestured for Xiao Bing to refine the medicinal power.
Xiao Bing nimbly dodged and landed on a nearby rock, where she began to refine the medicinal power and consolidate her cultivation.
Seeing this, even the tiger-sable started acting cute.
"Don't worry, once we find the right spiritual objects, they will help you break through to the next level." Yang Jiuli patted the two creatures, then threw out two spiritual fruits. The tiger weasel was overjoyed and swallowed them whole, rubbing against Yang Jiuli's legs as it did so.
Seeing this, the little fox looked on with envy, and hesitated several times before speaking.
They seemed to yearn for the comfortable and affluent life of their companions.
"You have one too!" Yang Jiuli smiled and tossed a second-tier 'Frost Spirit Fruit' to the little fox beside him.
The little fox opened its mouth and caught it, squinting at Yang Jiuli.
He had an honest and simple look on his face, with a hint of embarrassment.
"Go!" Yang Jiuli patted the little fox, signaling it to go and refine the spirit fruit.
The little fox let out a soft yelp, rubbed its head against Yang Jiuli's palm, and then darted to the side to sit cross-legged.
Upon seeing this, Yang Jiuli smiled slightly.
This little guy is clearly getting along well with the other spirit pets.
Once it considers itself a part of it, the matter is considered settled.
……
After consolidating one's cultivation.
Yang Jiuli searched the mountains and occasionally found some spiritual essences, but the years of their cultivation were limited.
Three days later, Yang Jiuli left the mountain.
This is the Daoist temple of "Master Hanliu," and it is the main peak.
There are also several side peaks nearby, where his disciples live, and the restrictions in the mountains are mostly of the second level.
In the past, the Yan and Murong clans obtained the inheritance of formation techniques and swordsmanship from those side peaks.
Yang Jiuli went for a walk but found nothing, so he returned to the foot of the mountain.
"Looks like we have to go back!" Yang Jiuli murmured as he surveyed the secret realm.
There are indeed opportunities here.
Unfortunately, his cultivation level was insufficient to break through the third-order restriction, so he had to go back first.
"Let's go!" Yang Jiuli waved, signaling Tiger Sable and Little Ice to return.
"Ah! Ee-ya!" The little fox suddenly looked up and spoke to Yang Jiuli.
The two ferrets immediately looked at the little fox.
Xiao Bing also looked over.
"Yay, ee-yay!" The little fox waved its paws and looked at the two tiger weasels, chattering away.
They appear to be communicating.
Finally, the two tiger weasels' eyes lit up, they looked at Yang Jiuli, and let out a cry, revealing a silly grin on their faces.
Upon seeing this, Yang Jiuli's heart stirred, knowing that the little ones must have obtained some useful information.
At that moment, he made a hand gesture, and a master-servant contract appeared between the eyebrows of the Azure-Eyed Tiger Sable.
He infiltrated a wisp of his divine consciousness into it.
Instantly, he sensed all the thoughts about the Azure-Eyed Tiger Sable.
"Master, the little fox says she knows of an ancient ruin with treasure!" The Azure-Eyed Sable's thoughts manifested as a voice.
It was a little girl's voice, with a touch of childishness, which made her quite adorable.
"Oh!" Upon hearing this thought, Yang Jiuli's heart skipped a beat, and he telepathically asked, "What ruins? Is there any danger?"
"The little fox said there's no danger; she's been there several times already!" said the blue-eyed tiger sable.
Upon hearing this, Yang Jiuli's heart stirred. He withdrew his divine sense and looked at the little fox.
"Yay, ee-yay!" The little fox blinked its jewel-like eyes and waved its little paws adorably.
He would pat his chest from time to time, as if to say, "Come with me, and I'll make sure you leave with a full load."
Seeing this, Yang Jiuli hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, you lead the way!"
"Ah!" Upon hearing Yang Jiuli speak like this, the little fox seemed quite pleased and let out a soft "ah!"
Then, its eyes moved to determine a location, and it led Yang Jiuli and the others there.
A little while later.
The group arrived at a long river.
The little fox pointed to the river and plunged in.
Yang Jiuli gestured, and the two tiger-sables followed.
Xiao Bing transformed into a giant python, and Yang Jiuli stepped on its back, his body radiating a cold light that evolved into a protective light shield.
Afterwards, Xiao Bing led Yang Jiuli into the river.
The reason why Yang Jiuli chose to follow the little fox.
Firstly, he had examined the little fox's body, and the latter was indeed at the mid-stage of the second tier of cultivation.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been trapped by Yan Zhenshu and others in the past.
However, he could sense that the little guy had a hidden bloodline power within him.
It must be at least a third-tier bloodline.
Secondly, the little fox has been spending time with several spirit pets these past few days and has gradually become close friends with them.
It began to lower its guard.
He even occasionally showed envy in his eyes.
Yang Jiuli noticed all these subtle changes.
Furthermore, although Yang Jiuli had gained a lot from this trip, he still had some regrets.
It might not be a bad idea to go and take a look now.
After all, his divine sense was now so strong that it could perceive a radius of thirty miles.
At the slightest sign of trouble, they can retreat.
……
The river flows swiftly and rapidly.
They continued forward for a hundred miles, and then they actually managed to sneak into the earth's veins.
A third-tier restriction can seal off the underground area, forming its own confines, but its effectiveness is still limited.
It simply prevents people from passing through the barrier from a certain distance underground and entering the formation.
It lurked for a full three hundred miles, winding its way through the earth's veins countless times.
The chilling aura ahead was growing stronger, exceeding that of a third-tier spiritual vein.
"Could it be that we've arrived at the location of a fourth-order spiritual vein?" Yang Jiuli wondered to himself.
He released his divine sense.
However, the cold air here is biting, and when one releases their divine sense, it gives one the feeling that their consciousness is about to be frozen.
He immediately drew upon a wisp of the Three Lives Qi to protect his consciousness.
Only in this way can Qingming be restored.
He extended his divine sense and saw a hazy curtain of light at the end of the great river ahead.
The light screen shimmered with bursts of light.
As you get closer, you can clearly see that the end of the stream of light actually originates from a vortex.
"This is a spatial node formed by the array's restrictions..." Yang Jiuli's heart stirred.
"Ah!" Seeing the whirlpool ahead, the little fox's eyes lit up, and with a flash, it leaped into it.
Two tiger-sables followed.
Yang Jiuli followed behind, not in a hurry to go in.
I sensed nothing unusual inside through a wisp of divine consciousness.
After confirming that the vortex was connected to a cave and that there were no special restrictions or fluctuations, he then used his true form to enter the spatial node and enter the cave.
This is a cold cave, its stone walls frozen with ice crystals, and a biting wind blows. The great river runs through the veins of this cold cave.
Looking back, one can still see a light array, rippling with waves, but the vortex is nowhere to be seen.
I had just stepped into this place.
Yang Jiuli was in his sea of consciousness.
The Three Lives Stone rippled and began to vibrate on its own.
"The Three Lives Stone has revived on its own..." Upon hearing this, Yang Jiuli's heart skipped a beat.
He has possessed the Three Lives Stone for three lifetimes!
The last time this thing revived on its own was in the Black Abyss Cave Palace on the 'Primordial Star'.
There, he obtained a wisp of "Origin of Green Wood".
This caused Yang Jiuli's spiritual root to undergo a transformation.
After that, the Three Lives Stone never revived on its own initiative.
"Could it be that there is a spiritual object here that has attracted the attention of the Three Lives Stone?" Yang Jiuli wondered to himself.
While feeling joyful, I also harbored a degree of vigilance.
It must be something extraordinary to attract the Three Lives Stone.
However, it also means that great danger is involved.
Even though the ancient corpse in the Black Abyss Cave had perished, the aura it emitted was still unforgettable for Yang Jiuli.
This made them dare not stay long.
However, the Three Lives Stone only trembled for a few breaths before its light dimmed and its aura became restrained, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Why is that?" Yang Jiuli wondered.
However, seeing that the Three Lives Stone remained unresponsive, he could only pull his thoughts back.
After all, although he controlled the power of the Three Lives Stone, he could not truly wield it, let alone revive it.
Then Yang Jiuli's gaze shifted, looking at the underground icy cave in front of him.
"This chill... is almost at the fourth level!" Yang Jiuli took a deep breath; the density of the chilling energy far exceeded that of the surrounding area.
The two tiger weasels were shivering from the cold.
"Yay!" The little fox was overjoyed. After glancing at the cave, it chose a passageway and led the way.
Xiao Bing led Yang Jiuli to follow.
Flames erupted from the two tiger-sables, coalescing into fireballs to ward off the cold.
They continued forward for several dozen miles.
The little fox led Yang Jiuli to an underground palace completely covered in ice crystals.