Chapter 634: Chapter 633: Essence Stone
"They’re on the move."
Just as Qin Xiangyu and Shi Xiaole’s party of four left the inn, an elderly man with a face full of wrinkles opened his eyes on a tower at the center of Southern Star City.
The air still carried remnants of a wave that had only recently dissipated.
"Old Qiu’s Heavenly Eye Technique is truly extraordinary."
Nineteen people were standing next to the wrinkled elder.
What was shocking was that these people were all top-tier lords. Although their momentum was not revealed, the air within the tower felt as though it was on the verge of collapsing under pressure.
"That woman surnamed Qin has extraordinary spiritual power. Fortunately, Old Qiu’s Heavenly Eye Technique can avoid spiritual perception. This time, we must kill her! Otherwise, once she grows up, our three major families in Yuanling will be trampled under the Qin Family’s feet all our lives."
The man who spoke had a somber face.
There are four major families in Yuanling. The Qin Family is the leading one, followed by the other three major families. Although they are also top-tier families, their power is still inferior to the Qin Family.
Fortunately, the Qin Family’s ancestor is close to his life’s end.
The three great families initially planned to slowly wear down the Qin Family over time. However, at this critical juncture, the Qin Family unexpectedly produced Qin Xiangyu, who has left her name on the Ten Thousand Forms Stele, completely disrupting the layout of the three major families!
Although the Qin Family’s ancestor doesn’t have much life left, he can still live for more than a decade without a problem. With his guidance, coupled with Qin Xiangyu’s talent, who knows what level Qin Xiangyu could achieve in a decade.
If it were an ordinary prodigy, let alone a decade, even if they were given several decades, they wouldn’t dream of becoming Terrestrial Immortals that can change the bigger picture. But Qin Xiangyu is different.
No one dares to underestimate the potential of the prodigies on the Ten Thousand Forms Stele, let alone her ranking of 123rd, and calling her an unparalleled talent would not be an overstatement.
"This time, our three major families secretly moved into action, and we have also mastered the Tianxuan Battle Array to perfection. Not to mention one Qin Xiangyu, even if there were two, we would be able to trap and kill her. Let’s go!"
Twenty top-tier lords trailed far behind Qin Xiangyu and the others. To be cautious, the Old Qiu didn’t hesitate to consume a huge amount of spiritual power, and continued using his Heavenly Eye Technique, hence they didn’t lose track of them.
...
Outside Southern Star City, there were countless mountains and among them, two cliffs were covered with vines. There was a thumb-wide gap in the middle position, which was pitch black inside.
"A Dragon Gate Realm peak-level array system."
Standing in front of the gap, Shi Xiaole pondered on the breath coming from inside.
If this was a Dragon Gate Realm peak-level array system, there’s no reason Qin Xiangyu could not break it. Shi Xiaole quickly realized the key after releasing his spiritual power.
It turned out that there was not just one Dragon Gate Realm peak-level array system inside, but there were three, and they were tightly fused together, significantly increasing the defense.
In this situation, not to mention Qin Xiangyu, but even Cloud Tiger Lord, wielding the Cloud Tiger Staff, would not have the power to break it.
"Let’s attack together, Brother Shi," Qin Xiangyu suggested.
"Sure."
In fact, Shi Xiaole alone was enough to break the array system, but if he rashly said it aloud, it would inevitably seem like he was showing off, which didn’t fit his character.
"Life-extinguishing Sword!"
Qin Xiangyu swung her sword at the gap. A fifty-zhang-long yellow sword qi burst out without any reservations. The already concentrated sword qi made a chill-inducing hissing sound as it cut through the air, as if countless spikes were piercing into the flesh.
"Heaven and Earth Revolution!"
"Blooming Disconnection!"
Yu Zhao and the beautiful girl also made their move.
The former was displaying the unique skill he used in his final battle against Shi Xiaole in Linjiang. Compared to that time, the power of this move was now tens of times stronger, with countless gray shadows bursting forward.
In comparison, the momentum of the beautiful girl was much weaker, but it was better than nothing.
While observing the three of them, Shi Xiaole swung his sword. He controlled the power to be similar to Qin Xiangyu’s, but the location he chose to strike was carefully selected.
Before breaking the array system, if he could grasp the weak point of the array system first, it would not only double the results with half the effort but increase the results tenfold. In fact, if Shi Xiaole did it himself, this single sword strike would be enough to break the array system.
The four different vigorous airs struck the surroundings of the gap, activating the hidden array system. Soon, cracks covered the surface of the array system and with a crackling sound, it completely shattered.
"So quickly?!"
Qin Xiangyu and the other two inwardly gasped, followed by unspeakable joy.
Before Shi Xiaole joined them, they had attacked in succession dozens of times without success. Judging by the tightness of the array system at this place, there must be good stuff inside.
After the array system on the surface was broken, centered on the gap, the side walls began to erode. After a moment, the gap became a three-zhang-wide winding passageway with an unknown destination.
"Let’s go."
The four of them carefully entered.
Along the way, Shi Xiaole didn’t forget to spread his spiritual power, covering a radius of fifteen hundred meters, and successively found several Dragon Gate Realm peak-level array systems, but he managed to neutralize them in advance.
Qin Xiangyu and the other two knew nothing about this.
After approximately half a 2-hour period, waves of fragrance filled their nostrils, and after turning another big bend, a medicinal field spanning tens of square meters appeared before the four of them.
Inside the medicinal field, various oddly shaped flowers and spirit medicines were planted. Some of them appeared shriveled and near-withered. Some, on the other hand, were enveloped in continual white fog, as if brimming with life. Still others were mostly buried in the soil with just a section sticking out, making it difficult to see their true form...
Upon careful count, there were no less than thirty plants.
"Isn’t that a Jade Ginseng?"
A beautiful young woman pointed at a plant lying on the surface of the soil. It resembled an ordinary ginseng in appearance yet it emanated a jade-like luster.
This Jade Ginseng was extremely precious, albeit not priceless. Each plant was worth at least 3.5 million taels of silver. Its greatest benefit was that it was nourishing and beautifying, making it well-known among women.
Yu Zhao, on the other hand, had his eyes on a black plant about seven inches long and shaped like a strip, situated next to the Jade Ginseng. Around this black plant, the soil was making bubbling noises, as if an intangible fire was burning.
This was Lingxiao Black Flame Grass. It was extremely hot in medicinal properties and could burn the meridians of ordinary people. However, if a martial artist consumed it, they could utilize this characteristic of the grass to melt the impurities in the Vigorous Air, greatly enhancing their strength.
The usual Invincible Lords had a purifying degree of Vigorous Air reaching 95%. And someone like Qin Xiangyu, her Vigorous Air was purified up to at least 98 to 99%. The remaining impurities could not be eliminated by Lingxiao Black Flame Grass.
However, for Yu Zhao, the value of Lingxiao Black Flame Grass was immense.
He had previously consumed a small piece, and the effect it had on purifying Vigorous Air was equivalent to several months of his cultivation. Judging by the size of the piece in front of him, it should be worth more than half a year of his cultivation.
"Valley Spirit Flower."
"Earth Brocade Three-ring Branch."
"Coiling Dragon Tripod."
...
The beautiful young woman had extensive knowledge about spirit medicines. By just scanning the medicinal field, she could name almost all of the spirit medicines and their properties.
Shi Xiaole had read quite a few books during his free time, thus he had a fair knowledge of the spirit medicines used for cultivation. In his opinion, the spirit medicines in front of him could indeed be considered precious, but their effects were somewhat insignificant and they were not rare treasures.
Of course, among these, there was a spirit medicine called Non-eating Berry that caught his attention.
The Non-eating Berry was a crucial ingredient in the solution for removing the Blood Yang Catalyst, prescribed by Shui Lingping.
However, Shi Xiaole was currently unsure about whether to remove the Blood Yang Catalyst.
The Blood Yang Catalyst did cause him to endure unbearable torments, but every time the torment ended, his Vigorous Air would increase a little. Shi Xiaole had never heard of any martial artist in the Dragon Gate Realm being able to constantly improve like him.
Asking him to give up such a unique path was too difficult.
Furthermore, after experiencing the trial of the stone people, Shi Xiaole’s tolerance for the Blood Yang Catalyst had increased somewhat, and it no longer affected his normal life. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been traveling with the two Qin sisters.
While he was pondering, a sigh of deep regret suddenly sounded by his ear.
Turning his head, Shi Xiaole saw Qin Xiangyu standing in front of a pile of gray rubble, a look of deep regret on her serene face.
"Essence Stone, no, it’s depleted Essence Stone."
Soon, a trace of disappointment also appeared on Shi Xiaole’s face.
The gray rubble in front of him was scattered with spots, and the occasional wave it emitted resonated strangely with Shi Xiaole’s sea of consciousness. It was clearly the legendary Essence Stone!
The preciousness of Essence Stone was indescribable because it could improve the spiritual quality of a martial artist.
The spiritual quality was also closely related to the power of martial arts.
Both Nine-Colored Granny and the ten masters of Pudu Peak had emphasized the importance of spiritual quality in their descriptions.
If the power of martial arts was viewed as a seed, then the mind would be the soil, and the spiritual quality would undoubtedly determine the quality of the soil.
If one’s spiritual quality is high, it could sustain stronger martial arts power and enable it to improve rapidly. Otherwise, even if a person has exceptional talent and comprehends the strongest martial arts, but if their spiritual quality is too low, their martial arts would collapse.
To some extent, the quality of one’s spiritual power could even determine how far a martial artist in the Divine Barrier Realm could go. This shows how valuable Essence Stone is.
Of course, Essence Stones cannot infinitely enhance spiritual quality. According to the Martial World, it usually can improve about one grade.
Shi Xiaole suddenly thought of himself. The reason why he had been able to give birth to Wind Sword Way so quickly was perhaps due to his high spiritual quality.
If he could have a sufficient amount of Essence Stones now, there may be a significant change in the gradually improving Wind Sword Way.
Walking up to the pile of Essence Stones, Shi Xiaole picked one up. The wave inside it was barely noticeable, having been used up completely by someone. He couldn’t help but sigh.
But soon, he was taken aback.
For the blue breath that represented the Wind Sword Way, floating above his sea of consciousness, seemed to twitch a little. Then the last bit of energy inside the Essence Stone was taken in.
Mysteriously, Shi Xiaole felt that his spiritual quality had improved a bit.
He looked at Qin Xiangyu, who also picked up an Essence Stone, but the wave in her Essence Stone still existed.
Shi Xiaole understood then.
It must be because his mind was so strong that he could sense the remaining wave in the Essence Stone. And because of the existence of Wind Sword Way, his absorbing power was greatly enhanced, so he had extracted the last bits of energy from the Essence Stone.
