Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 58: Five Elements Spiritual Vein, Flying Rainbow Treasure
Xuzhuang thought deeply. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. ’Yang Lian’s Five-Clawed Flame Dragon relies on his Divine Fire Talisman to exist. If I find a fire-aspected treasure and refine it into something that’s half-Daoist Skill and half-Magical Artifact, could it provide my Fire Dragon with a boundless supply of fire, just like Yang Lian’s Divine Fire Talisman?’
’And with that support, could I skip the repetitive steps of shaping and imbuing it with substance? If so, I could save a tremendous amount of Magical Power. I’d only need to activate the Divine Technique to summon the Fire Dragon for battle.’
’If I could cultivate the art of false forms to an even higher realm, to the point of refining illusion into reality, could I forge a truly real Fire Dragon?’
’I wouldn’t even have to limit myself to the treasure’s aspect; I could refine all sorts of different elements...’
However, this was far from a simple task. Xuzhuang indulged in the fantasy for a moment before suppressing his stray thoughts. He released the Magic Formula, extinguishing the Five-Clawed Flame Dragon in the air. He rose from the ice bed, then suddenly reached out with his Magical Power and, meeting no resistance, collected the entire bed.
With that, the chamber became completely empty except for the Bronze Cauldron in the center. But he had already gained much from this trip. Xuzhuang flicked his sleeves and started to walk out. Halfway there, he suddenly raised an eyebrow, turned back, and walked up to the Bronze Cauldron. He gently swiped a hand over it.
"Hm?" The Bronze Cauldron was completely stable, not budging an inch. Xuzhuang let out a soft sound of surprise. He abruptly sent out his Magical Power, which transformed into a misty vapor, enveloped the cauldron, and heaved it upward!
BOOM! A tremor ran through the room, as if the entire chamber had shaken. The small items placed casually on the Treasure Shelf jumped, clattering loudly. Some even rolled to the floor, but the Bronze Cauldron remained motionless.
A flicker of interest appeared in Xuzhuang’s eyes. Boundless Magical Power surged forth as he shouted, "Rise!"
Xuzhuang’s Magical Power transformed into a smoky qi that enveloped the Bronze Cauldron. As it roiled, it seemed on the verge of sparking with lightning. He gave another fierce tug upward!
The ground flashed with spiritual light, revealing lines of restrictive seals, which then shattered abruptly!
The entire chamber shuddered. The Bronze Cauldron, along with the refined section of the floor beneath it, was forcibly pulled up, revealing a deep opening.
’So there really is a hidden grotto.’ The moment the opening appeared, Xuzhuang felt a surge of pure spiritual energy rise from within it. A smile touched his lips. ’It seems the mountain’s Spirit Vein is buried here.’
Xuzhuang tossed the cauldron aside and leaped inside. Before him was a long, dark tunnel leading to an unknown depth.
Something on the surrounding stone walls was emitting a crystalline glow. Taking a closer look, he saw they were pure Spirit Stones. The rising Spiritual Qi had actually condensed into Spirit Stones right here in the tunnel. The Spirit Vein below was definitely not a low-grade one.
Xuzhuang no longer hesitated and floated downward. In just a moment, he reached the bottom, and the view before him suddenly opened up.
Within the mountain’s belly was an immense space, so vast its edges were out of sight. Eight Spirit Veins extended from eight directions, each one radiating a brilliant light that shifted through five colors amidst a rising mist. They were eight Five Elements Spiritual Truth Spirit Veins!
"This!" A look of delighted surprise filled Xuzhuang’s eyes. ’Eight Five Elements Spiritual Truth Spirit Veins! How much Five Elements True Sand could they produce? How much Magical Power and Core Energy could I refine? If I could refine all of it, it would be a massive boon to my Golden Core cultivation!’
Xuzhuang didn’t hesitate. With a flick of his sleeve, he sat cross-legged in the air and took out the Glazed Truth Condensing Pot from his robes.
While Spirit Veins weren’t immovable, they couldn’t be collected casually, nor could they be simply placed into a Sumeru Mustard Seed item. A special container was required to preserve a Spirit Vein’s integrity.
Without such a treasure, one would be helpless even in the face of a Spirit Vein. As it happened, the Glazed Truth Condensing Pot was exactly that kind of treasure.
Xuzhuang placed the Glazed Truth Condensing Pot before him. He then released his abyssal, ocean-like Magical Power, which formed a roiling, smoky qi outside his body. Before long, it had spread for several miles. Only then did Xuzhuang form a Spell, sending his Magical Power down to envelop one of the Spirit Veins and begin absorbing it with all his focus.
Absorbing a Spirit Vein was not something that could be done in an instant. Xuzhuang cleared his mind of all distractions and focused on the spell. It took him three full days and nights to draw a single Five Elements Spiritual Truth Spirit Vein into the Glazed Truth Condensing Pot.
Before Xuzhuang could feel pleased or press on with his momentum to absorb the next one, the very instant he fully drew the Spirit Vein into the Glazed Truth Condensing Pot, a loud RUMBLE echoed, and the walls of the entire mountain cavern began to tremble.
Xuzhuang’s eyebrows shot up. He put away the Glazed Truth Condensing Pot as a purple radiance suddenly rose from his body, shielding him completely. He looked down.
At the confluence of the eight Spirit Veins, where one was now missing, a gap had abruptly appeared. Runic seals manifested within it, flashing with spiritual light. Something seemed to be battering them from within. Each flash was accompanied by a tremendous BANG that shook the mountain cavern.
’This is...’ A glint appeared in Xuzhuang’s eyes. Before he could confirm his suspicion, the flashing of the spiritual light suddenly intensified and, a moment later, shattered. A streak of dazzling light shot out from within!
’A magical treasure!’ Xuzhuang’s heart leaped. He quickly formed a seal with his hand and pointed. The Thousand-year-old Thunderstruck Wood Magical Sword transformed into a streak of sword light and shot toward the dazzling rainbow. He then changed the Spell in his hands, preparing to cast a technique to capture it.
Unexpectedly, the rainbow of light swerved sharply, not only dodging Xuzhuang’s sword light but also suddenly increasing its Flying Escape speed. It shot straight for the cavern wall and slashed!
The mountain was violently split open, creating a hundred-zhang-long fissure that revealed a patch of blue sky. The light then flew swiftly away.
BOOM! Blazing sunlight instantly poured into the dark mountain cavern. Only then did the sound of collapsing rock and sliding earth from outside reach him.
’What astonishing spirituality! What a powerful Flying Sword!’ A look of delighted surprise flashed in Xuzhuang’s eyes. He abruptly withdrew his Magical Power and his Magical Sword, then shot out through the fissure created by the rainbow of light and looked up.
The rainbow of light was speeding toward the sky when it came to a sudden halt. The spiritual light of a restrictive seal appeared above, generating roiling thunder and fire that were about to strike down.
The rainbow of light was incredibly sentient. Seeing this, it spun sharply to dodge several bolts of thunderfire, lowered its altitude, and shot down along the mountain’s slope.
Xuzhuang certainly wasn’t going to let it escape so easily. With a flick of his robes, he summoned a gust of pure wind and gave chase down the mountain slope.
As if it knew Xuzhuang was after it, the rainbow of light began to change its flight path, bobbing high and low, making sharp turns, and weaving through the mountain forests. Xuzhuang’s Spiritual Sense was locked firmly onto it, and he pursued relentlessly. In just a moment, they had crossed several mountain peaks.
Xuzhuang frowned slightly, thinking, ’This can’t go on.’
He hesitated no longer. Channeling his Core Energy, he instantly burned through an amount unimaginable to an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator to frantically boost his escape light. He became a gale-force wind tearing through the mountains, sending rocks rolling and plants flattening. In an instant, he was right behind the rainbow of light. He formed a sword-finger and waved it from his sleeve, and sixteen streaks of sword light abruptly shot from his body, surrounding it from all directions.
The sixteen streaks of sword light sealed off every escape route. The rainbow of light seemed startled. It spun in the air but found no way out. It suddenly turned and shot straight toward a mountain peak.
SWISH! The rainbow of light didn’t slice open the mountain. Instead, it drilled straight into the rock and soil. Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow. Without stopping his pursuit, he suddenly activated the Purple Qi Xiaoyi and charged toward the mountain as well!
In the next instant, the rock and soil rippled like water, and Xuzhuang passed right through them. He had switched to the Earth Escape Skill. As for using the Purple Qi Xiaoyi for protection, it was a precaution against any unknown restrictive seals that might be underground.
Plunging into the rock and earth, his vision was instantly plunged into darkness. But Xuzhuang’s Spiritual Sense remained locked onto the rainbow of light, so he didn’t lose his way and followed closely behind.
With Xuzhuang’s current mastery of the Five Elements Escape Skill, his speed while moving through rock and soil was no slower than flying. The rainbow of light, on the other hand, had to break through the earth, which slowed it down considerably. The distance between them rapidly closed.
The rainbow of light was indeed astonishingly sentient. Seeing that Xuzhuang was about to catch up, it made an anxious turn and escaped back toward the surface. Xuzhuang remained unhurried, gradually closing in. He began to form a Spell with his hands, ready to cast the absorption technique the moment it emerged from the ground. Suddenly, his brow furrowed.
The rainbow of light burst from the ground. Xuzhuang followed close behind, but instead of casting his spell, he lowered his hand and looked up.
A sky-filling white qi had ensnared the rainbow of light. No matter how it struggled left or right, it couldn’t escape. As the white qi gathered and tightened, the space was severely compressed, and a figure was revealed within: a man with his hair tied up in a tall crown, wearing an open-fronted, wide-sleeved robe.
