Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 472: Chapter 400: Gourd Stone (Part 2)

"Junior Brother, do you think these people had their eyes on us since we were at Lantao Mountain?"

Ji An nodded slightly and said:

"It’s very possible. Cultivators from a Nascent Soul Sect acting as Tribulation Cultivators, the ethos of Earth Evil Sect is evident.

Sister, quickly pack up the spoils and let’s leave."

The consecutive deaths of four Chao Origin Stage Cultivators was not a trivial matter, and he couldn’t predict whether there were other High-Tier Cultivators behind them, but it’s not wise to stay here.

Han Yan sighed bitterly, "Sigh, we’ve just arrived at the Southern Continent and already encountered such misfortune. We must avoid contact with Earth Evil Sect cultivators completely in the future."

With what had happened, no matter who was right or wrong, their situation had become delicate.

She activated the Sun-Swallowing Bead, the Spiritual Artifact emitted a golden light as bright as daylight, illuminating the area.

The two quickly gathered the White Bone Spiritual Artifact and any other valuable items scattered on the ground, then burned the bodies and flew towards the Zangyin Mountain Range.

They circled high in the air, absorbed the cloud energy, summoned their respective Golden Feathered Eagles, and headed northwest.

This place wasn’t safe to linger, who knows when the Earth Evil Sect cultivators might come for them.

...

Three days later, Ji An and Han Yan arrived at a mountain range, seeing the peaks rising high into the clouds, surrounded by lush greenery and winding waters below.

The misty air was vast, amidst serpentine mountains, the distant sun was setting like blood.

"Running continuously for days, we should have detached from the Zangyin Mountain Range affair."

Han Yan’s tone relaxed, they hadn’t rested these days, continually flying to this area—Qianren Mountain.

This place was near the border of two continents, with earth veins intertwined in conflict, and gang winds raging.

Within the mountains, there were thousands of pits. Every midnight, a bone-chilling ghostly wind blew from them. It’s a dangerous area, but it could thoroughly cleanse their aura.

Ji An exhaled and said:

"We don’t seem to be on an adventure, we seem to be escaping."

Having entered the Southern Continent for so many days, they hadn’t absorbed much Earth Element Qi and only got into a fight, escaping covered in blood.

He paused and continued:

"Sister, we hadn’t been camping long before being attacked that day, so it wasn’t just by chance.

The question arises, how did they track us?"

He had pondered this question for days without understanding it, checking all his belongings carefully, including everything in his Storage Bag, but found nothing amiss.

Han Yan shook her head lightly and said:

"I’ve thought about this as well and still can’t find an answer. For now, we can only try to avoid Earth Evil Sect cultivators."

An open attack is easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against; unknowingly falling into a trap is the most frightening.

Ji An sighed almost imperceptibly, saying:

"That’s all we can do. Let’s find a place to go down and see what spoils we’ve gained."

Though they were the victims, they had to hide here and there because of it, revealing the jungle law of the survival of the fittest.

The two descended in altitude, eventually finding a cavern entrance that was wide, partially concealed by hanging vines.

Entering the cave, the stone walls appeared smooth as if washed, without a speck of dust.

They both took out their Pudun, sat down, and began sorting the spoils obtained from the Earth Evil Sect cultivators.

"Eight Grotto Void Stones, but unfortunately we can only look at them. These attackers must have ambushed quite a few cultivators before us."

Han Yan sighed, without special means, one cannot open someone else’s Grotto Void Stone.

Only two methods could be chosen: first, searching for highly corrosive Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to bore a small hole in the Grotto Void Stone’s space.

The second was to wait patiently until the absence of a owner’s aura withers the mark inside over the years.

But this method yields results very slowly, ranging from four to five hundred years to possibly over a thousand years.

Ji An pushed the Spiritual Artifact aside, saying:

"The White Bone Spiritual Artifacts can indeed be activated, but I dare not use them and must keep them stored for a day when Middle Continent cultivators arrive again to sell them."

These highly recognizable Spiritual Artifacts must not be revealed; Middle Continent has sects specializing in the practice of the way of the white bone, providing a good outlet.

He pointed to the Storage Bag and said, "The only gains we can access now are the items inside."

The items were stored in his Storage Bag and presumably were not precious.

In total, there were four Storage Bags, none having a Magic Seal, evidently searched through.

When the items were emptied out, Han Yan emitted a delighted laugh; inside were large quantities of Spirit Plants, mostly similar to those obtained from Lantao Mountain.

Evidently, these Spirit Plants were not valued by Earth Evil Sect cultivators.

Ji An was shocked because the Stone Turtle in his Dantian emitted a longing sensation.

The last time it felt this way was when they obtained a Curiosity capable of releasing Spiritual Mechanism at Mingfeng Mountain.

They classified the emptied items, finding Spirit Plants, Spirit Stones, Pills, mineral materials, and various sundries.

Ji An identified the item prompting the Stone Turtle’s longing: a gourd-shaped light gray stone.

The upper part of the gourd had sun, moon, and star patterns, while the lower half depicted motifs of flowers, birds, insects, and fish.

The base color was intricate with patterns, leaf vines, and jagged rock, full of mysterious aura.

He extended his Divine Sense but found inside only darkness and chaos, empty. At this, the Stone Turtle’s longing became increasingly evident.

Ji An discreetly placed the item among sundries, clapped his hands, and said:

"It wasn’t for nothing, Sister, let’s start distributing the spoils."

Han Yan nodded, speaking softly:

"Junior Brother, the victory in that battle relied heavily on your strength.

Honestly, without you, I might not have survived, so I can’t take these spoils.

I have a small request, though: these Spirit Plants from the Secret Realm hold particular significance for Alchemists, and I’d love to research them.

Should I make any discoveries, I’ll record the results on a Jade Slip for you."

If both contributed similarly, sharing equally is best, but in the battle, her contribution was minor, merely distracting.

All the enemies and zombies were slain by Ji An.

Ji An breathed a sigh of relief; dividing spoils often creates discord. He pondered and said:

"Sister, since we’re traveling together, we are one, to distribute differently is inappropriate."

He pushed the Secret Realm Spirit Plants towards her alongside over thirty Middle-grade Spirit Stones and a Grotto Void Stone Magical Artifact:

"These belong to Sister, please do not decline."

Han Yan modestly refused a few times, feeling slightly ashamed, believing her part in the battle didn’t deserve this share.

Ji An stored items in his Storage Bag and said:

"This cavern connects to the subterranean Netherworld, and nighttime brings chilling wind, not suitable for prolonged stay.

We must seize time to restore Magical Power and then find another hiding spot.

Sister, you restore first."

Qianren Mountain, with peaks gathered and countless gullies; enduring gang winds might be a good place for Qi Eating.

Han Yan nodded slightly and, without speaking, grabbed Middle-grade Spirit Stones and began cultivating, absorbing Spiritual Qi.

Ji An positioned himself near the cave entrance, hands tucked in sleeves, fingered the strange rock, pondering its significance to the Stone Turtle.

Up to now, the Stone Turtle hadn’t absorbed any Spiritual Mechanism.

Suddenly, Ji An’s body stiffened, his gaze grew vacant.

Ji An found his Divine Sense shadow entering a cramped and hostile space, utterly round with a radius about nine meters, under foot lay yellow sands, exuding a barren aura devoid of Life Force.

Outside the space was a gray mist, intermittently flashing white fiery tree-like lightning, punctuated by black crevices appearing occasionally.

Thunder roared, shaking his Divine Sense shadow continuously.

Gang wind swept by, like being sliced by sharp blades.

’This resembles the inside of Grotto Void Stone but is definitely not void realm space! How did I get here?’

Ji An was bewildered, noticing a familiar shadow perched on his shoulder.

On the light blue turtle shell were thinly inked deep symmetrical Eight Trigrams patterns.

This moment, the Stone Turtle appeared alive, its abyss-black eyes shimmering with brilliance.

"Bro, you brought me here, what’s up?"