Chapter 938: Calculations

On the desolate land, hundreds of figures, like a flock of birds, swept rapidly across the low altitude. Zhou Yuan was at the forefront of the team, his gaze sweeping across the land like a hawk, while source energy surged around him, keeping him on high alert. The Fallen Abyss was fraught with danger, its environment strange and harsh, allowing for no trace of carelessness.

However, to Zhou Yuan’s slight surprise, they hadn't encountered any unusual changes on their journey so far; everything had been remarkably calm. “Is it because the danger in the initial small spaces is relatively low?” Zhou Yuan pondered. This wasn't impossible, as it was said that after entering the Fallen Abyss, the danger level of these small spaces would gradually increase with each transition.

Despite these thoughts, Zhou Yuan did not lower his guard. Years of experience had forged his cautious nature; he had witnessed too many instances of unexpected setbacks, many of which involved people falling directly into his hands. So, he would never allow such a mistake to happen to himself.

As they advanced swiftly, Zhou Yuan also sensed the flow of source energy between heaven and earth. For the place where spiritual qi was most abundant would invariably be where the world's source energy was most vigorous. The birth of spiritual qi inherently required an ample supply of source energy. Of course, this didn't mean that every place with dense source energy would necessarily give birth to spiritual qi, but the probability was higher than elsewhere.

After traveling for the duration of an incense stick, Zhou Yuan had indeed found two places with relatively rich source energy, but unfortunately, neither contained any spiritual qi. However, Zhou Yuan wasn't disheartened; after all, the Nine Regions Grand Meeting had only just begun.

As he led the team, continuing to follow the flow of source energy, he suddenly turned his head to look into the distance behind them. There, a pillar of source energy shot up into the void, forming a tower-like shape before gradually dissipating after a moment.

“It's a signal from Sister Xiao Ling. It seems they've found the spatial rift for exit,” Yi Qiushui said. Zhou Yuan nodded, a slight weight lifted from his heart. Confirming the retreat path was good news.

“Continue searching!” With a wave of his hand, his speed abruptly increased.

Hundreds of light figures streaked across the sky, and after about ten minutes, Zhou Yuan finally arrived at the third place with abundant source energy. Upon arriving there, his eyes immediately lit up. It was a colossal mountain, towering to ten thousand ren, standing beside an abyss. Unlike the desolation of other areas, this mountain was lush and verdant, radiating vibrant life. Within its greenery, various glimmers of light could faintly be seen circulating, making it quite marvelous.

“Spiritual qi must be born here!” Zhou Yuan was delighted, but he didn't enter the mountain immediately. Instead, he made a cautious gesture, extending his spirit perception to carefully sense the movements within. After a while, his perception withdrew; there was nothing unusual.

Only then did Zhou Yuan completely relax. His figure shot forward, appearing inside the great mountain. He stood on a towering ancient tree, his gaze fixed on its main trunk. Faint specks of light, like fireflies, floated out from within. Through Zhou Yuan's perception, he could detect an indescribable aura swirling within the tree trunk.

Zhou Yuan lightly stomped his foot, and the great tree immediately began to split apart from its top. As the tree shattered, a stream of light suddenly shot out from it, like an arrow. Zhou Yuan, however, was prepared. With a curved palm, a burst of source energy controlled the stream of light, slowly pulling it before him.

Looking at it, the stream of light appeared faintly transparent, adorned with numerous tiny shimmering specks, like fragmented diamonds. Its overall form was an indescribable flow of energy, yet within it, liquid seemed to flow, giving a profoundly mysterious sensation.

As Zhou Yuan grasped this wisp of mysterious energy, he felt a subtle tremor from his Divine Dwelling. It was a longing.

“Is this spiritual qi?” A hint of curiosity appeared in Zhou Yuan's eyes. For his Divine Dwelling to react this way, it was clearly the legendary spiritual qi. This spiritual qi was born when the world's source energy became incredibly dense, combined with various stringent conditions. It was a natural creation of heaven and earth. A wisp of spiritual qi coiled and flowed around Zhou Yuan's fingertips, as if possessing some form of sentience.

Zhou Yuan toyed with it for a moment, then looked up. He saw over three hundred team members gazing at him with fervent eyes, appearing eager and impatient. Zhou Yuan smiled. He knew how appealing this spiritual qi was to others. It was their opportunity to advance to the Heavenly Sun Stage in the future. Most of them simply aimed to enter the Heavenly Sun Stage, and as for the grade of Heavenly Sun, honestly, they didn't have high demands, because ordinary people weren't qualified to harbor such ambition...

“Prepare to excavate. All collected spiritual qi will be consolidated first, then distributed based on contribution,” he waved his hand.

Upon hearing his voice, the three hundred-plus team members burst into cheers, then orderly dispersed throughout the mountain, beginning to search everywhere for hidden spiritual qi. Some of the spiritual qi was found within trees, while others were hidden inside rocks and underground. To capture it, they had to excavate mountains and split the earth.

Boom! Boom!

Thus, the entire mountain instantly became bustling. Towering ancient trees were chopped down, rocks were shattered, and the earth was torn open by source energy. Zhou Yuan stood on the mountaintop, watching the chaotic scene. He shook his head with a touch of helplessness; these people truly were like a swarm of locusts, only knowing how to destroy...

Zhou Yuan, however, had little interest in the spiritual qi found here, for he harbored a greater ambition. What he desired was the even rarer and more precious congenital spiritual qi. However, congenital spiritual qi could not be born in these initial small spaces. But Zhou Yuan was not in a hurry, for the Nine Regions Grand Meeting had only just begun.

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath of the ancient and turbulent air, then closed his eyes slightly, quietly waiting for everyone to finish capturing the spiritual qi. Time flowed by, and soon the duration of an incense stick had passed.

However, at this moment, Zhou Yuan, whose eyes had been slightly closed, suddenly opened them. His gaze instantly became sharp as he looked towards the distant northwest, where he sensed some source energy tremors.

Swish! Swish!

Under Zhou Yuan's gaze, over a dozen figures quickly appeared on the distant horizon. These dozen-plus figures were somewhat disheveled as they sped along. Behind them, eight figures relentlessly pursued, powerful source energy erupting from their bodies. The dozen-plus individuals being pursued were the scouts Zhou Yuan had dispatched earlier. As these scouts sped towards them, they continuously sent source energy soaring into the sky, creating explosions as warnings. It was a signal of an enemy attack!

The three hundred-plus individuals capturing spiritual qi in the mountain also noticed the signal. They immediately ceased their actions at the shouts of their captains, and figures began to rise into the sky.

“An attack?” Yi Qiushui quickly came to Zhou Yuan's side, asking with a solemn expression. Zhou Yuan nodded, his eyes slightly narrowed: “I just don't know which region's team we've encountered.”

“Their strength is impressive!” Yi Qiushui watched from afar, her pretty face suddenly changing. She saw that there were only eight pursuers, yet they were forcing their dozen-plus scouts to flee. One should know that the scouts they had sent out were also elites!

And as they watched, the eight pursuing enemies' source energy suddenly surged, and their speed instantly accelerated. In the next moment, torrents of source energy ferociously blasted towards the few scouts at the very back. The opponent's offensive was fierce and sharp; the scouts at the rear were about to be hit. Some gasps of alarm arose from the Tianyuan Region's contingent.

Boom!

But in that instant, a blurry dark figure appeared out of thin air in the void. With a wave of a sleeve, a stream of cyan-gold source energy swept out, directly shattering the eight individuals' fierce source energy offensive.

“Chief Pavilion Master is mighty!” In the mountain, over three hundred members of the Tianyuan Region erupted in cheers. The one who acted, naturally, was Zhou Yuan.

He stood in the void, looking at the eight pursuing enemies, and said, “Which region's team are you from? Who is your captain?”

The eight late-stage Divine Dwelling realm cultivators glanced at Zhou Yuan, a half-smile appearing on their faces: “Do you really want to know?”

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. The leader among the eight late-stage Divine Dwelling realm cultivators smiled faintly and said, “We are from the Myriad Ancestors Region. Our captain… Heh, it's quite an honor for you to meet him.”

“Our captain is Zhao Mushen.” They stared at Zhou Yuan with playful eyes.

At these words, the faces of the three hundred-plus Tianyuan Region members in the mountain instantly turned pale. Zhou Yuan's pupils also sharply constricted at this moment.

Myriad Ancestors Region? Zhao Mushen?! Their very first encounter after entering the Fallen Abyss was with Zhao Mushen?! At this moment, Zhou Yuan didn't feel unlucky; instead, he keenly sensed the distinct scent of a conspiracy. He might have been targeted!