Chapter 456: Essence Fire Pearl, the Land of Spiritual Veins!

Chapter 456: Essence Fire Pearl, the Land of Spiritual Veins!

January 13th, 2025

The Essence Fire Pearl was the name of the magical treasure in Lu Qing's possession.

It was once a supreme magical treasure, but due to unknown reasons, it had suffered severe damage, leaving its restrictions incomplete.

Now, it only retained the power of an upper-grade magical treasure.

Moreover, this treasure was not the type of powerful offensive magical tool. Instead, it leaned more towards being an auxiliary-type artifact.

Its greatest function was to rapidly absorb Essence Qi, aiding cultivators in refining and purifying the spiritual energy or magical power within their bodies.

In a sense, it was somewhat similar to his Quintessence Gourd.

Of course, this Essence Fire Pearl could only refine and purify fire-attributed power, making it suitable only for cultivators specializing in fire-based cultivation techniques.

Compared to the Quintessence Gourd, which could refine all five types of power, it was far inferior.

Its growth potential was not even on the same level.

As Lu Qing examined the Essence Fire Pearl in his hand, he finally understood why Li Changbo had been able to achieve the Golden Core Realm so quickly.

Aside from his natural talent, which was indeed exceptional,

the greater credit should go to this magical treasure.

However, Li Changbo had ultimately been impatient and shortsighted.

Relying on the Essence Fire Pearl, he had refined a large number of Spirit Stones, rapidly advancing his cultivation.

He became one of the first to achieve the Golden Core Realm after the Essence Qi Revival.

But this also made his foundation unstable, and he was significantly weaker than those who had progressed step by step through the Golden Core Realm.

If only he had been more patient,

with the Essence Fire Pearl, which was so well-suited to him, he might have been able to solidify his foundation and become a true powerhouse in the future.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Qing finally probed his consciousness into the Essence Fire Pearl.

This was his spoils of war, and it was only natural that he wouldn't return it to the Frostwater Palace.

Although he had no use for it, it was a perfect treasure for his master, who cultivated the Water and Fire Dao.

Li Changbo's physical body and soul had been destroyed, so the Essence Fire Pearl was now ownerless.

Lu Qing's consciousness easily entered it, and he quickly refined it.

He explored its interior and discovered that the Essence Fire Pearl had a small internal space, not very large, but still capable of storing some items.

A glimmer of understanding flashed in Lu Qing's eyes.

No wonder when he burned Li Changbo with the Southern Ming Fire, aside from the Essence Fire Pearl, nothing else remained.

It turned out that he had stored his belongings within the treasure.

Soon, several items appeared before Lu Qing.

There was a small pile of Spirit Stones emitting a Spirit Aura, two jade slips, and some miscellaneous items like gold and silver.

Lu Qing's gaze first fell upon the small pile of Spirit Stones, and a smile appeared on his face.

The number of Spirit Stones wasn't large, probably around sixteen or seventeen, and from the Spirit Aura they emitted, they were all Inferior Spirit Stones.

But these were Spirit Stones, and in ancient cultivation times, even large sects would treat them as strategic resources, rarely using them lightly.

Obtaining over a dozen at once was an incredible harvest.

At the very least, it would allow Lu Qing to reach the completion of his first transformation even faster.

Furthermore, according to the information Li Changbo had revealed in the illusion earlier, these Spirit Stones were only a portion of his collection.

He still had many more that he hadn't mined yet.

Lu Qing then turned his attention to the two jade slips.

This time, he didn't use his abilities to view the information within the jade slips.

Instead, he directly read their contents with his consciousness.

Not long after, a look of surprise appeared in Lu Qing's eyes.

As he had predicted, both jade slips contained inherited knowledge.

However, what surprised him was that the two jade slips recorded two completely different legacies.

One jade slip contained a fire-attributed cultivation technique that could be cultivated up to the completion of the Golden Core Realm.

It was likely the main technique Li Changbo had practiced.

But the cultivation technique recorded on the other jade slip was much more mysterious and sinister.

It was a method for utilizing Divine Soul Power, primarily focusing on how to refine and imprint the soul mark on other cultivators, turning them into puppets under one's control.

It was undoubtedly an evil path technique, not of the righteous path.

Cultivating this technique could easily distort one's mind, and it was detrimental to cultivation.

Lu Qing recalled Li Changbo's previous words to Han Ling Shuang, where he had threatened to turn her into a soul slave.

So, this was the source of his confidence.

After a moment of contemplation, a strand of white flame appeared in Lu Qing's hand, burning and destroying the jade slip that recorded the evil technique.

Such a technique, which was not beneficial to cultivation and could easily distort one's mind, was not worth keeping.

As for the other fire-attributed cultivation technique, it was quite decent and worth studying.

It could serve as a reference for Lu Qing's deduction of the Perfect Golden Core Technique.

After the Law's Resources.

After dealing with the two jade slips, the remaining items were not particularly interesting.

Lu Qing kept the gold and silver items and burned the rest.

Once he finished with everything, Lu Qing left the Li Huo Cauldron.

Early the next day, he set off with Xiao Yan, flying towards a mountain range.

"The Eternal Hatred Mountains, so this is the place."

Standing in the sky, Lu Qing looked down at the continuous mountain range, a peculiar glint in his eyes.

At this moment, in his eyes, the mountains below were not just ordinary mountains.

The endless peaks and the unique terrain combined to form a natural formation.

The spiritual energy and aura within a thousand miles converged subtly.

Moreover, this formation was not obvious at all, and nothing unusual could be seen on the surface.

Only someone like him, a formation master who had cultivated the heritage of the Divine Talisman Sect, could discern its intricacies.

"Such a grand heavenly formation, no wonder it can nurture spirit stones."

A strange light flashed in Lu Qing's eyes as he carefully observed the formation below.

This time, he did not use his supernatural abilities but relied on his own understanding of formation talismans to study the heavenly formation.

The Divine Talisman Sect's heritage always emphasized the concept of learning from the myriad things in nature.

Such a vast natural formation was an excellent subject for observation.

Standing in the sky, he observed for a long time, and gradually, a formation began to take shape in Lu Qing's mind.

First, only the framework appeared, and then, slowly, the details started to emerge.

Finally, a relatively complete grand formation was reflected and formed in his consciousness.

"Success!"

A smile appeared on Lu Qing's face.

Just now, he had comprehended a grand formation from the heavenly formation below.

"No wonder the Divine Talisman Sect's heritage always emphasizes learning from the myriad things in nature.

These natural formations are the best teachers.

By understanding the formation's essence, one can greatly enhance their comprehension and foundation in formations."

Lu Qing had a sudden realization.

Ever since he entered the Primordial Realm and returned to Nine Li Village, he rarely ventured outside.

On the few occasions he did, it was to cause trouble for Hanging Mountain.

Now it seemed that he had neglected this aspect of his cultivation.

However, it was not too late. This time, as he traveled with Xiao Yan, he could take the opportunity to observe the grand landscapes of the world, enriching his understanding of formation talismans.

Taking out a blank jade slip from the Qiankun Qi Bag, he recorded the formation he had just comprehended.

Of course, although the formation was complete, it was still somewhat rough.

Lu Qing would need to gradually refine and supplement the details later.

This process would also serve as a test of his formation-setting abilities.

"Let's name it the Hundred Rivers Spirit Gathering Formation."

After recording the formation, Lu Qing put away the jade slip and flew downward with Xiao Yan.

Even without Li Changbo's instructions, he knew where the place that nurtured spirit stones was located.

It was right at the formation eye of this natural formation.

Soon, Lu Qing and Xiao Yan arrived at the formation eye.

There were several peaks resembling turtles and snakes.

On the peaks, there were scattered buildings, and on the mountain gate, the three large characters "Eternal Hatred Sect" were inscribed.

"So that's how it is. Li Changbo is indeed meticulous in his thoughts.

He must have used some means to discern the extraordinariness of this place.

Therefore, he established the Eternal Hatred Sect here early on and occupied this location.

With this, any actions he takes here will not attract as much attention."

Lu Qing had a sudden realization.

He had no intention of disturbing the people of the Eternal Hatred Sect, so he cast a concealment talisman on himself and Xiao Yan.

Then, they headed towards the place Li Changbo had mentioned.

Along the way, Lu Qing saw some disciples of the Eternal Hatred Sect.

Some were cultivating, some were busy, and some were discussing something.

Especially those who were discussing, their faces were filled with excitement.

They were saying that the sect's challenge to the Frostwater Palace would surely result in victory.

Apparently, they were still unaware that their sect master had perished.

But it was not surprising.

The Eternal Hatred Mountains were not close to Frostwater City; there was a distance of two states between them.

Without special means, it would take at least two or three days for the news to reach this place.

Moreover, after Li Changbo's true identity was exposed in Frostwater City, he became the target of everyone's curses and disdain.

It was uncertain if anyone would still be willing to inform the Eternal Hatred Sect of the news.

Lu Qing had no intention of provoking any conflict with these disciples, who were at most only at the Preheaven Realm, the highest realm achievable through cultivation. After all, they couldn't see through the concealment power of the Hidden Mark Talisman.

Soon, he led Xiao Yan to the back mountain of Eternal Hatred Sect.

Looking at the two large characters, "Forbidden Land," carved on the cliff at the back mountain, Lu Qing knew he had come to the right place.

Following Li Changbo's instructions from the illusion, he quickly found the small cave entrance at the foot of the mountain.

Seeing the cave entrance, barely large enough for one person and utterly unremarkable, Lu Qing was speechless.

If not for the simple illusion array that concealed the entrance, making it invisible to ordinary people, he would have doubted if he had come to the wrong place.

He immediately activated his special ability and looked into the cave entrance.

Soon, a purple light from his ability emerged from the entrance.

Several floating words appeared.

[Spiritual Vein Entrance: The entrance to a spiritual vein nurtured by the earth.]



[Deep within this cave lies a spiritual vein.]



[A spiritual vein is a divine and mysterious place formed by the natural convergence of heaven and earth's array, nurturing the essence of spiritual energy.]



[It is protected by a simple illusion array.]



[There seems to be traps inside the cave, so one must proceed with caution.]



...

Upon seeing the floating words above the cave entrance, Lu Qing knew he had indeed found the right place.

This small cave was indeed the place he was looking for.

"Who would've thought that a spiritual vein capable of nurturing Spirit Stones would be hidden within such an inconspicuous cave entrance?

Perhaps this is what they call the 'Concealment of Spiritual Treasures.'"

After a moment of awe, Lu Qing waved his hand casually, dispelling the simple illusion array at the entrance.

Then, holding Xiao Yan's hand, he stepped inside.

After entering, he flicked his fingers, sending several Jade Talismans into the cave entrance.

With the activation of his magical power, the Jade Talismans linked together, forming an invisible light barrier that completely concealed the entrance.

It was clear that Li Changbo was not skilled in array formations.

The illusion array he set up was rather crude.

At best, it could only deceive the senses of those in the Preheaven Realm, and even then, only those with lower cultivation levels.

Those with strong spiritual awareness could still see through it.

However, the array Lu Qing set up was different.

With his expertise in array formations, even a simple array formed by a few Jade Talismans was not something ordinary cultivators could decipher.

Even a Golden Core Realm cultivator would struggle to notice anything amiss unless they got close.

After concealing the entrance, Lu Qing continued leading Xiao Yan deeper into the cave.

As expected, the cave entrance led downward, extending deep into the earth.

The passage was narrow, allowing only two people to walk side by side, and it was pitch-black, exuding an eerie and ominous atmosphere.

But this was no challenge for Lu Qing.

He condensed a ball of light with his magical power and suspended it in front of him.

Instantly, the cave was illuminated, revealing every detail.

Lu Qing then continued forward with Xiao Yan.

The journey was uneventful and free of danger.

Although Li Changbo had set up some traps inside, they posed no threat to Lu Qing.

He easily disarmed them all.

As they ventured deeper into the cave, Lu Qing gradually began to sense a unique spiritual essence permeating the air.

His spirit lifted, knowing he was getting closer to the spiritual vein.

Indeed, with each step forward, Lu Qing felt the spiritual essence in the cave growing denser.

By the time they reached the end, the spiritual essence was even more concentrated than what he had experienced in the Jade Transformation Cave.

"Ah Qing, where are we? Why is the spiritual essence so dense here?"

At this moment, Xiao Li's head poked out of Lu Qing's embrace, her big eyes wide open, taking in the surroundings.

"Xiao Li, you're awake?" Lu Qing smiled, "This should be a spiritual vein site."

"A spiritual vein site?"

Xiao Li looked around, sensing the increasingly dense spiritual essence, and felt astonished.

She couldn't help but think, if she could cultivate here for an extended period, her cultivation would surely soar.

Even the Five-Element Serpent poked its head out of Xiao Yan's hood, clearly satisfied with this place.

Amidst the surprise of Xiao Li and the others, Lu Qing quickened his pace.

Before long, they found themselves surrounded by a spiritual essence so dense it was almost tangible.

Suddenly, the cave opened up into a spacious chamber, revealing a breathtaking sight that left Lu Qing and Xiao Yan breathless.

"How beautiful!"

After a while, Xiao Yan couldn't help but exclaim in awe.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end