Chapter 249: Kunlun Jade
Chapter 249: Kunlun Jade
"Chirp, chirp."
The Golden-Tailed Fox struggled in Chen Mu's palm, its tail firmly grasped. Despite its weakened state, it remained fierce, its desperate cries echoing as it tried to break free. But with a slight tremor of Chen Mu's Primordial Energy, the fox instantly went limp.
Holding the fox, Chen Mu made his way from the depths of the rock crevice back to the surface. The surrounding rock layers seemed like a quagmire, transforming from solid to ethereal as Chen Mu passed through. Finally, he emerged from the rock wall, returning to the ground.
"Where is the Celestial Spirit Armament you found?"
Chen Mu lifted the fox by its tail and asked, addressing the listless creature.
The fox, despite its weakened state, remained defiant, baring its teeth at Chen Mu.
"It's said in the books that Golden-Tailed Foxes are untamable, and it's true."
Chen Mu shook his head slightly.
Creatures like the Golden-Tailed Fox, capable of finding Celestial Spirit Armaments, could be valuable if properly tamed. Unfortunately, as far as he knew, these foxes were notoriously difficult to tame and rarely obeyed.
Even so, the value of a Golden-Tailed Fox far surpassed that of a typical third-stage demon. After all, there were ways to utilize their unruliness, such as imprinting a special mark on them before releasing them. By tracking the mark, one could wait for the fox to lower its guard and start searching for Celestial Spirit Armaments, then capture it again, securing both the fox and the treasure.
Of course.
Due to the fox's intelligence and cunning, this method might not always work. Nonetheless, in the Seven Mysteries Sect, a Golden-Tailed Fox was still a valuable resource that could be traded for other items.
Seeing the fox's uncooperative behavior, Chen Mu didn't mind. He scanned the nearby mountain walls with his gaze.
Currently, the Celestial Spirit Armament found by the fox should be in this area. While the fox had an innate sensitivity to spirit armaments, Chen Mu's Heaven-Earth Concept could also sense the heavens and earth. In such a specific area, finding the armament wouldn't be difficult; at most, he would need to conduct a thorough search.
And so.
Chen Mu, holding the fox, began his search along the nearby mountain walls and rocks.
However, after thoroughly examining the nearby bushes and water, he found no traces.
Looking down, Chen Mu saw the fox staring at him with listless eyes, a hint of mocking human-like intent in its gaze.
Unbothered, Chen Mu scanned a large area without finding any signs. Recalling that the fox had found the Celestial Spirit Armament but hadn't taken it away, he deduced that it was a type the fox struggled to retrieve.
That meant it was either in the mountain or underground.
"Is it inside the mountain?"
Chen Mu's thoughts flashed, and he had sensed no abnormalities underground or any passages leading to it. The greater possibility was within the mountain walls.
Chen Mu approached a nearby wall, pressing his hand against it and tapping it a few times. Sensing no anomalies, he turned to another wall while discreetly observing the fox's reaction.
Finally.
When he reached a particular wall, despite the fox's listless state, its eyes revealed a hint of 'tension'.
Noticing the fox's change, Chen Mu lifted it and said indifferently, "If there's nothing inside this wall, I'll seal you in as a fossil. What do you think?"
The fox bared its teeth at Chen Mu.
Ignoring the fox, Chen Mu guessed it was trying to cause trouble, the cleverest and most cunning demon he had encountered. But when it came to cunning, no demon could surpass humans.
The previous wall had felt no different to his Heaven-Earth Concept, which he trusted implicitly. He suspected the fox was trying to deceive him, knowing he had sensed the Celestial Spirit Armament.
Honestly, this little creature was quite intriguing. However, its untamable nature and the injury it had caused made Chen Mu hesitant to keep it by his side. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind having it guide him to treasures during his future travels.
Moments later.
Chen Mu finally found a wall with an unusual sensation.
Without hesitation, he charged at the wall, and in an instant, the wall rippled, allowing him to squeeze into the smooth and solid rock. Guided by his senses, he navigated deeper.
Chen Mu traveled along the mountain's interior for over ten zhang, the flowing energy within the walls becoming increasingly dense, making his progress more challenging.
But.
Just as Chen Mu was about to give up, he stepped into empty space, his entire body detaching from the solid wall and entering a spacious cave.
The cave's interior was pitch-black, devoid of any light.
Unfazed, Chen Mu landed and extended his finger, from which a flame shot out, forming a swirling ball of fire around him, illuminating the dark cave.
The cave was small, only a few zhang in diameter, with no visible passages. It was a dead-end within the mountain, accessible only by force or, like Chen Mu, through the mastery of the Heaven-Earth Concept and the ability to tunnel through mountains.
The cave, spanning several zhang in diameter, was empty, but a hollow path led downwards from its center. The path, seemingly naturally formed, showed no signs of human excavation.
"Such dense Gen Mountain energy."
Chen Mu approached the cave and, with a flick of his finger, sent a flame towards the cave's depths. However, the flame extinguished silently after descending only a few zhang, quenched by the overwhelming Gen Mountain energy emanating from below.
This flame, generated from his Li Huo Concept, was rootless, requiring no fuel to ignite. Its extinguishment could only mean one thing: the overwhelming Gen Mountain energy below.
As he continued his descent, the energies of the other seven trigrams from the Mystical Heaven Sword Chart weakened, while the Gen Mountain energy grew increasingly potent, overshadowing the others.
Chen Mu, far from being alarmed, was delighted by this sight. Master of the Heaven-Earth Concept, he perceived no difference between the strong and weak energies, considering them no hindrance. The unique geological conditions here, isolated from the outside world, likely hadn't been disturbed for thousands, perhaps millions, of years. Any spiritual object born here would undoubtedly be extraordinary.
No wonder the Golden-Tailed Fox had chosen to lurk nearby. Despite being unable to enter, it was reluctant to leave, even attacking Jin Ling'er's village to drive away nearby humans.
Swish!
Chen Mu approached the cave without hesitation and leaped downward.
The deeper he ventured into the mountain's interior, the denser the Gen Mountain energy became. After descending nearly a hundred zhang, he judged that he had reached the 'Gen Mountain's Origin.' The energy was so intense it was nearly tangible, causing the flames surrounding him to dim significantly.
Moving within this energy was as challenging as walking through the mountain itself. An ordinary person would be crushed into a meat patty by this dense Gen Mountain energy in an instant, let alone attempt to traverse it.
Step, step, step...
Chen Mu reached the bottom, his feet firmly planted on the solid rock. He could sense the mountain and the earth seamlessly connected, the Gen Mountain energy merging with the Kun Earth energy, indistinguishable from one another.
Looking ahead, he saw a slightly larger cave, about ten zhang in diameter.
"Heavy Mountain Ore."
Taking just two steps inside, he noticed the nearby rock layers were no longer ordinary stone but had transformed into a mineral of the 'Gen Mountain Lineage.' However, most of it was low-grade Heavy Mountain Ore, not particularly valuable.
This type of mineral was typically used for constructing city walls, laying foundations, or building dams, serving as the base for these structures. It couldn't be used to forge weapons.
Deeper into the cave, the quality of the Heavy Mountain Ore gradually improved from low to mid-high grade, but it still didn't impress Chen Mu.
Finally, he fixed his gaze on the center of this 'Gen Mountain's Origin' cave.
"This trip wasn't in vain; there's something extraordinary here."
There, about a chi in size, was a cluster of jet-black mineral embedded in the finest Heavy Mountain Ore. This was 'Kunlun Jade,' a genuine treasure compared to Heavy Mountain Ore. It could be used to forge top-grade treasures, and even the mid-grade portions could serve as auxiliary materials for crafting spirit armaments, making it incredibly valuable.
This chi-sized Kunlun Jade was stacked layer upon layer, each darker than the last, indicating a clear refinement in quality. The topmost portion was of the highest grade, but what truly caught the eye was a small, unassuming brown stone atop the lustrous, nearly black, mid-grade Kunlun Jade.
If the Kun Earth Trigram's most exceptional spiritual object was the Obsidian Yellow Rock.
In the 169th chapter of the novel, a single glance revealed no errors!
Then, the Gen Mountain Trigram's most exceptional spiritual object was Kunlun Jade!
"Kunlun Jade."
Chen Mu's eyes gleamed with excitement.
This was also a rare material suitable for crafting spirit armaments, on par with Obsidian Yellow Rock!
A single piece of Obsidian Yellow Rock, combined with some auxiliary materials, could forge an ordinary Kun Earth Lineage spirit armament. The same was true for Kunlun Jade, even if it was low-grade, its value far exceeded that of the Earth Origin Lotus Seed.
Approaching it, Chen Mu extended his finger towards the small piece of Kunlun Jade. Upon touching it, he felt an immense, unyielding power, as if a towering mountain stood before him, unmovable at its roots.
This tiny piece seemed like a mountain peak, unshakable in its foundation.
The Kunlun Jade, along with the Kunlun Stone beneath it, was almost seamlessly integrated with the mountain above and the earth below, unmovable by his current abilities.
However, after testing it, Chen Mu didn't proceed. Instead, he murmured to himself, turned his hand over, and took out a stone of a different color—the Obsidian Yellow Rock he had obtained from the desert's depths.
"The ways of heaven are clear, and fate has its cycles. I saved Jin Ling'er, kept my promise to find her again, discovered the Golden-Tailed Fox, and eventually found my way here... Is this what they call fate's design in the darkness?"
The Kunlun Jade, Kunlun Stone, and the entire mountain were interconnected. Extracting it would be a massive undertaking. One method was to slowly grind and dig it out, a time-consuming process. The other option was to break through from the outside, causing the entire mountain to collapse and then excavating it, both requiring tremendous effort and time.
(End of Chapter)
It was precisely at this moment that he happened to have a piece of obsidian yellow rock in his hand.
This was the most exceptional celestial spirit artifact among the Eight Trigrams of the Earthly Mother, and it was even more adept at drawing upon the earth's veins than Kunlun Jade!
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Mu took a few steps to the side and gently placed the obsidian yellow rock on the ground.
Buzz!!!
In an instant, the originally interconnected Kunlun Jade and the mountain's earth veins shifted due to the presence of the obsidian yellow rock. The entire network of earth veins within the mountain cave split, with a portion of its power being drawn towards the obsidian yellow rock.
The layers of heavy 'Heavy Mountain Stone' seemed to crack under the changing earth veins.
Without hesitation, Chen Mu released the obsidian yellow rock and, using the power of the Earthly Mother, he immediately returned to the Kunlun Jade's side. Then, he reached out with his hand, grasping the Kunlun Jade and forcefully pulling it upwards.
The Kunlun Jade, now separated from its earth vein connection, seemed to lose the immovable grandeur of the mountains and rivers it once possessed. Under Chen Mu's forceful pull, the area where the Kunlun Jade was connected to the Kunlun Stone below emitted a 'crack' sound and began to gradually shatter.
"Heavenly Earth Rotation, Transformation of the Joyful Flow!"
Chen Mu's eyes flashed as he activated the Heaven-Earth Concept. He chanted softly, and the power of the Gen Mountain nearby transformed into the Gen Mountain's opposing force, the Joyful Flow, under the rotation of the Eight Trigrams of the Universe. It surged into the Kunlun Stone, breaking the connection between the Kunlun Jade and the mountain's terrain.
The Joyful Flow, a force of opposition and change, not only repelled the Gen Mountain's power but also adhered to the principles of the Heaven-Earth Domain. It ultimately severed the bond between the Kunlun Jade and the surrounding circle of high-grade Kunlun Stones, causing them all to shatter.
Chen Mu, without hesitation, took a step forward, reaching the obsidian yellow rock he had placed. The rock was now covered in a layer of light, gradually enveloped by the earth vein's power. But with a quick tug, he pulled the obsidian yellow rock out of the not-yet-fully-formed array of earth vein power.
Gurgle!!!
In an instant, the earth vein power lost its target and became turbulent once more. On the nearby Kunlun Stone, the Kunlun Jade was gone, and the Gen Mountain's power also became unstable, gradually losing balance.
However, Chen Mu remained calm. He held the Golden-Tailed Fox under his arm, using both hands to create a sweeping motion towards the center. The Heaven-Earth power flowed and converged into a complete Heaven-Earth Rotation Seal, but it did not activate. Instead, it served as a link, connecting the Gen Mountain's power above and the earth vein power below, like a ribbon binding them together.
Boom!!!
The Heavy Mountain Stone within the mountain cave instantly cracked, but the earth vein power merged with the Gen Mountain's power once more, reconnecting and stabilizing after a violent upheaval.
Chen Mu didn't wait for the mountain's stability. As he forced the earth vein and mountain terrain to reconnect using the Heaven-Earth Rotation Seal, he swiftly retreated, following the path he had come from, ascending back to where he had entered the mountain. In the blink of an eye, he returned to the first mountain cave, over a hundred zhang above.
He pinched the Heaven-Earth Rotation Seal and slammed it into the mountain wall.
The mountain's terrain, where the earth veins converged, was now chaotic, making it impossible to enter the mountain as before. However, the distance to the exterior was less than twenty zhang, which was no challenge for Chen Mu. With a few powerful strikes, he blasted open a path, forcing his way out from within the mountain wall.
Chen Mu didn't linger; he swiftly retreated several dozen zhang before slowing down to sense the movements behind him.
He felt the earth veins trembling slightly, and the mountain seemed to be in flux as well. The passage he had forcefully excavated continued to shatter under the earth's vibrations, soon to be buried again by the collapsing mountain rocks.
But...
After maintaining this state for about the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the earth's tremors gradually subsided, and the mountain stabilized. It seemed that Chen Mu's final action had taken effect, restoring the earth veins and mountain terrain to their former calm.
"These celestial spirit artifacts are indeed not easy to obtain sometimes," Chen Mu remarked as he witnessed the mountain's gradual stabilization, finally nodding in satisfaction. He then glanced at the Golden-Tailed Fox he held under his arm.
The demon fox had completely passed out.
Unconcerned, Chen Mu turned his attention to the Kunlun Stone in his palm. It was about the size of a palm, with a Kunlun Jade embedded at its top, similar in size to the obsidian yellow rock.
"Excellent, this effort was not in vain," Chen Mu said, a smile finally appearing on his face.
The Kunlun Jade and obsidian yellow rock shared similar properties and could already be used to forge a decent spirit armament. The combination of the two materials not only enhanced their individual qualities but also gave Chen Mu a vague sense that acquiring all eight types might not be as elusive as he once thought.
Additionally, the palm-sized Kunlun Stone accompanying the Kunlun Jade was the most exceptional part of that particular Kunlun Stone. Its value was extraordinary, and in the Seven Mysteries Sect, it could be exchanged for at least ten or more portions of 'Viscera Refining Spirit Substances.'
Chen Mu had been contemplating whether the viscera refining spirit substances he had collected would be sufficient, fearing he might fall just short. But now, he no longer had such concerns. Upon returning to the Seven Mysteries Sect and making the exchange, he would undoubtedly have more than enough!
(Chapter End)
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