Chapter 566: Urgent Rescue Order

After two days, Zhou Yuan and his team finished collecting the Profound Source Essence from the mountain. Over these two days, while the activity of collecting the Profound Source Essence continued to attract others, there were no more attempts to seize it, unlike the previous incident with Lei Qinghai's group. Clearly, word of the battle two days ago had spread. All parties in this area now knew that the seemingly weak Chief Disciple from Saint Genesis Peak of the Cangxuan Sect was actually a far more formidable individual than anyone had imagined. Consequently, after careful consideration, the other groups abandoned their greedy intentions and shifted their focus elsewhere. This smooth process allowed Zhou Yuan and his team to fully collect the Profound Source Essence from this location within two days.

As they finished collecting the Profound Source Essence, Zhou Yuan made an unexpected discovery: the essence he gathered had condensed into a Divine Edifice Treasure.

"Wow, has Chief Zhou Yuan really condensed a Divine Edifice Treasure?" On the mountaintop, the other disciples heard this and immediately flocked over, their curious gazes fixed on the figure in the center.

Zhou Yuan extended his palm, and a light gathered there, gradually forming a smooth, pearl-like object about the size of a baby's fist. What made it extraordinary was the mystical three-colored halo swirling around it.

"Is that a Divine Edifice Treasure?" The disciples gazed at the three-colored luminous pearl with fervent eyes. They could feel their Qi Mansions vibrating within them, a powerful yearning for it.

Zhou Yuan smiled, a little surprised, as he examined the three-colored pearl in his hand. He had initially believed there wouldn't be enough Profound Source Essence here to form a Divine Edifice Treasure, yet it had unexpectedly materialized. This success was likely due to his improved proficiency and significantly increased collection efficiency in the later stages. Furthermore, with his Spirit power already in the late Solid Realm, he naturally held an advantage over others in this task.

Despite the achievement, Zhou Yuan felt more a sense of mild surprise than overwhelming joy regarding the three-colored Divine Edifice Treasure. A three-colored treasure wasn't quite enough to truly excite him. His goal was a Divine Edifice Treasure of at least a seven-color grade! Still, having it was better than nothing. Moreover, if he acquired other Divine Edifice Treasures, he could fuse them to create a higher-grade treasure.

Zhou Yuan clenched his hand, and the three-colored, pearl-shaped Divine Edifice Treasure vanished, settling into his Qi Mansion.

He stood up and faced the other disciples. "Let's go," he said. "We've finished collecting the Profound Source Essence here. We'll head straight to the next location."

As he spoke, golden Genesis Qi surged beneath his feet. After confirming their direction, he set off towards another location marked on the map, a place potentially containing more Profound Source Essence. Now that the three-color Divine Edifice Treasure was complete, he needed to upgrade it to a four-color grade as quickly as possible. According to Lei Qinghai, a four-color Divine Edifice Treasure was required to resist the repulsive force and enter the depths of the six-color treasure land; without it, approach was impossible.

Behind him, the disciples followed closely, their faces alight with excitement, clearly eager to condense their own Divine Edifice Treasures.

Over the next ten days, Zhou Yuan led his team on a continuous search, visiting four marked locations on their map. Two of these places were empty, having yielded no Profound Source Essence. The other two contained two-color and three-color Profound Source Essence, respectively. However, the overall quantity of Profound Source Essence found was less than what they had initially targeted, suggesting that Profound Source Essence was quite scarce within this Profound Source Heaven. As a result, Zhou Yuan's three-color Divine Edifice Treasure had not yet advanced to four colors during these days. The gap between three-color and four-color was significant, a difference that even fusing two three-color Divine Edifice Treasures might not fully bridge.

Zhou Yuan, however, was in no hurry. Profound Source Heaven was vast, and their current location was merely a tiny corner of it. Even at this point, he was still far from fully exploring this entire region. Many areas within this region remained unexplored, and some of them were bound to conceal Profound Source Essence.

Over these ten days, Zhou Yuan and his team continued to encounter groups who coveted their resources due to greed. Fierce battles were unavoidable, but their side consistently emerged victorious. After all, with the Saint Sons having already moved into the deeper regions, there were few individuals in this outer area who could pose a threat to Zhou Yuan. Consequently, with each successive victory, Zhou Yuan's team undeniably became the dominant force in this area, with no one daring to challenge them anymore.

Of course, Zhou Yuan's team had managed to dominate this area so easily primarily because no other teams from the five major sects had appeared there. The outer reaches of Profound Source Heaven were simply too vast; it was likely that the chief disciples from various sects were currently dispersed throughout different areas. However, as they gradually advanced deeper, they were bound to encounter each other, and when that happened, there was no telling how many clashes would ensue.

In front of a cliff, dozens of figures continuously channeled their Genesis Qi, unleashing blasts that shattered the rock face, sending boulders tumbling down. Halos of light emanated from some of these boulders. Then, a figure flashed forward, smashing a boulder and revealing a fist-sized stone that flew out. The stone, resembling jade, glowed with a faint halo.

They collected all these jade-like stones and presented them to Zhou Yuan, who stood on a high vantage point, keeping watch over their surroundings.

"This is the last batch," Gu Hongyi said to Zhou Yuan, wiping her fair face. Their current location was the final spot marked on the jade slip map for this region, and it had contained some three-color Profound Source Essence, found in these jade-like stones. After three days of their excavation, this place too had been completely depleted.

Zhou Yuan nodded. "Distribute them first," he instructed.

Gu Hongyi gave a slight nod and directed others to take the jade stones and distribute them among the disciples who had been digging for half a day. Naturally, the largest portion remained before Zhou Yuan, as it was his due as the team leader.

Zhou Yuan made no ceremony of it. Genesis Qi surged between his palms, directly drawing all the jade stones from the ground. As the Qi pressed down, the stones disintegrated into powder, and wisps of three-colored energy within them rose, flowing into Zhou Yuan's palms and ultimately settling into his Qi Mansion. Within his Qi Mansion, the three-color luminous pearl floated, absorbing all the three-colored energy streams. After absorbing another wave of three-color Profound Source Essence, the three-color Divine Edifice Treasure's hue deepened, yet the fourth color Zhou Yuan eagerly awaited still hadn't appeared.

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes and shook his head with a touch of regret. He felt that the three-color Divine Edifice Treasure was just a hair's breadth away from advancing to four colors. Still, it was close. However, all locations marked with Profound Source Essence in their current region had already been explored. To continue their search, they would have to move into other areas.

Just as Zhou Yuan was about to instruct his team to prepare for departure, an urgent whooshing sound suddenly came from afar. A streak of light rapidly approached, landing before them. It was Lü Yan, who was supposed to be keeping watch in the distance. Her usually pleasant face was now etched with urgency.

"What's wrong? Did another troublesome group arrive?" Zhou Yuan asked, noticing her expression.

Lü Yan quickly shook her head. She then extended her palm, revealing a blood-red token that rose from its center.

"A Chief Emergency Aid Token?!"

At the sight of the blood-red token, the expressions of the surrounding disciples changed dramatically, and even Zhou Yuan's pupils sharply contracted as his face grew solemn. This token was, in fact, the Cangxuan Sect's emergency aid token, which only Chief Disciples were authorized to issue. Once activated, it would traverse space to locate the nearest fellow disciples. However, such an item was extremely valuable and generally not to be used unless the situation was dire.

Zhou Yuan didn't dare to delay. He extended his hand, grasped the token, and infused it with Genesis Qi. The token glowed, and an urgent voice quickly transmitted: "I am Jin Zhang, Chief Disciple of Spirit Rune Peak. My team was ambushed by the Sacred Palace. I led a retreat and established a Genesis Rune barrier for defense. They have two Chief Disciples, both extremely powerful! And in my team, thirteen have already... been killed by them."

The final words were delivered in a low, furious tone. Gu Hongyi, Zhou Tai, Lü Yan, and the others nearby immediately reddened with rage upon hearing this, and the faces of the other disciples turned ashen. This was the first time they had heard of such casualties among their fellow sect members!

"To any fellow disciples who receive this emergency aid token, please act according to your strength. If you cannot help, immediately seek out teams led by other Chief Disciples. I can still hold on for a little longer here..."

The final words faded, and the light on the token gradually dimmed.

Zhou Yuan extended his hand, clasping the token. He then looked up, his expression unperturbed as he gazed at the other disciples, all of whom were now filled with anger. It was only now that they truly grasped the harsh reality of Profound Source Heaven.

"Zhou Yuan, what should we do?" Gu Hongyi asked, her bright eyes fixed on him. Although her heart was pounding with anger, she maintained her composure. Jin Zhang's message had clearly stated that their opponents had two Chief Disciples, both immensely powerful. If they rushed in to help, they might well fall into the same trap. The other disciples, especially the dozen or so from Spirit Rune Peak, fixed their gazes on Zhou Yuan. They knew he had the right to refuse assistance, as he was responsible for his own team's safety.

Silence fell before the cliff, and the air seemed to solidify.

Zhou Yuan remained calm. He looked at the token in his hand and murmured to himself, "The token came from the west..." With a flick of his sleeve, a map formed by Genesis Qi appeared before him. His gaze slowly traced its surface, eventually stopping. He pursed his lips, realizing that the direction the token came from matched the location of the six-color treasure land he had learned about from Lei Qinghai.

"Why would two Chief Disciples from the Sacred Palace gather there? Could it be... they also know about the six-color treasure land?" Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered.

He swept his hand, and the Genesis Qi map dissolved. Then he looked up at the many disciples, who were watching him with intense nervousness. At this moment, even Gu Hongyi's hands were clenched, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhou Yuan as she awaited his decision. Though she could understand if he chose not to intervene, it would still be difficult for her to accept.

Zhou Yuan glanced at them, smiled, and then, as Genesis Qi surged beneath his feet, he ascended into the air.

"What are you all standing around for...?"

"Let's go. How can we abandon our fellow disciples when they are in trouble?"

While daily competition within the sect often led to friction, once outside, all disciples, regardless of their peak, belonged to the Cangxuan Sect. Zhou Yuan felt a strong affection for the Cangxuan Sect; he had grown significantly there, and in his eyes, it was his second home after the Great Zhou Dynasty. All Cangxuan Sect disciples who entered Profound Source Heaven now shared a common fate: they would prosper or suffer together. If Jin Zhang were to fall into the hands of the Sacred Palace, it would undoubtedly be a severe blow to the Cangxuan Sect's reputation.

"Sacred Palace Chief Disciples, then..."

"I'd like to see just how formidable they truly are."

Zhou Yuan sped away on his Genesis Qi, his faint words drifting back indistinctly.

On the cliff, the other disciples only now snapped out of their daze. They clearly hadn't expected Zhou Yuan to be so decisive. After all, just last year, Spirit Rune Peak had even erected a Genesis Rune barrier to stop Yaoyao. The disciples from Spirit Rune Peak felt a touch of shame, but as they watched Zhou Yuan's retreating figure, an unconscious sense of reverence began to grow in their eyes.

"That guy..." Gu Hongyi watched Zhou Yuan's retreating back with her beautiful eyes, then subtly smiled, her red lips pursed, and a twinkle in her gaze. "He's quite handsome when he's putting on an act." But then, a look of worry appeared on her pretty face. After all, they were Chief Disciples of the Sacred Palace...