Chapter 1238: Spirit Jade Ore Vein

Winds of Kyushu

Winds of Kyushu

Lu Ye realized he might have been mistaken about something. He had assumed that everyone, like him, would be actively moving around and searching for targets during the early stages of the Divine Sea conflict.

However, he now reconsidered: while some might do that, they would definitely be few. More people would likely lie low, biding their time, rather than openly exposing themselves. In conflicts at this level, whoever exposes themselves first will be at a disadvantage, as they are easily targeted. Therefore, those who dare to act this way must be the top prodigies from elite realms—the roughly one hundred individuals who first rushed into the Grand Beginning Realm portal! Divine Sea cultivators from ordinary large realms would never be audacious enough to draw too much attention.

This was likely also the reason why, after several days in the Grand Beginning Realm, he had only encountered three battles. Apart from a Blood Clan member he met right after entering, and a chubby spell cultivator he encountered second, his clone had faced one opponent, and beyond that, there had been no other discoveries.

The opponent his clone encountered was a body cultivator, whose race was unknown. Covered in thick hair, they resembled an ape spirit. In terms of sheer strength and foundation, they were almost on par with the chubby spell cultivator. Even with the clone wielding the Sword Gourd and its unparalleled sword qi, that battle was fiercely intense.

Although the clone could utilize all the techniques of the main body, Lu Ye himself was a blade-wielding soldier cultivator. His proficiency in swordsmanship was entirely derived from illuminating the origin of the Soaring Dragon Realm in the past. When his cultivation was lower, his swordsmanship proficiency surpassed his understanding of blademanship. However, as his cultivation gradually increased, these differences had been steadily minimized. This was also why Lu Ye, even after obtaining the origin of the Soaring Dragon Realm and gaining the ability to illuminate the lifetime cultivation of many powerful figures from that realm, still insisted on forging his own path. Only one's own path allows for sustainable development; merely adopting others' achievements, even if it leads to temporary strength, ultimately results in limited accomplishments. Looking back now, his persistence at the time was correct; he had not been swayed by temporary gains or losses.

Therefore, at this stage, even if the main body and the clone possess the same foundation, in a true comparison of strength, the main body is definitely stronger, while the clone is slightly inferior. If the main body had encountered that body cultivator of unknown race, it would certainly have been a fierce battle, but victory wouldn't have been difficult. It would have involved his most familiar close-quarters combat. With the Mountain Grinding Blade, which had integrated the Soul-Severing Blade, the main body would have had too great an advantage against enemies who favored close combat.

However, the clone was not as proficient in this regard. The body cultivator's abundant hair served as the most natural defense; sword qi attacks often had their power greatly diminished when striking him. The opponent stubbornly pushed through the unparalleled sword qi, charging towards the clone, fully expecting to gain an advantage and deliver a decisive blow. Unexpectedly, as soon as the clone unleashed the Blood Sea technique... the body cultivator was instantly stunned. The outcome was naturally self-evident: trapped in the Blood Sea, the body cultivator was unable to advance or retreat. During the fierce battle, he thoroughly cursed the clone, calling him cunning, deceitful, and shameless. Compared to the chubby spell cultivator's acceptance of defeat, this one seemed to be a sore loser, probably also knowing that even if he begged for mercy, the clone would not truly spare him.

Cultivators entering the Grand Beginning Realm might withdraw safely if they know their limitations, but this is absolutely impossible during combat. Even if there's a verbal agreement where the victor spares the loser, would the opponent truly willingly withdraw? If they turn around and flee, it could lead to more trouble. Therefore, either avoid conflict entirely, or once conflict arises, eliminate the opponent completely. This is the safest approach.

Lu Ye's main body no longer bothered searching for anything. The Grand Beginning Realm was vast, and even searching would yield little. So, he let his clone wander around instead. As for the main body... he discovered a spirit jade vein! It wasn't that he had exceptional eyesight and immediately found the spirit jade vein. Rather, there were signs of previous mining activities, making it hard to miss if one passed nearby. As for who did the mining, one could guess with certainty: it must have been cultivators who entered the Grand Beginning Realm a century or even longer ago, because the remaining traces here showed signs of age, definitely not recent.

Spirit jade is a unique cultivation resource exclusive to cultivators above the Heavenly Constellation Realm. Cultivators below that realm cannot absorb, refine, or condense it. It primarily exists in outer space or on dead stars and barren planets. Of course, top-tier realms also possess it. Realms like Kyushu and Unrivaled Continent, which show signs of sentient life, do not produce spirit jade. This is because the energy absorbed by these realms from space is assimilated by them, becoming the foundation for their own growth, and thus does not condense into spirit jade. Dead and barren stars are different; they lack vitality, do not assimilate energy, and have no need for growth. Through years of accumulation, spirit jade naturally forms there.

Looking across the cosmos, apart from within the Grand Beginning Realm of the Samsara Tree, there is hardly any other way for Divine Sea cultivators to directly obtain spirit jade. Everyone came here because they were about to advance to the Heavenly Constellation Realm. Although spirit jade wasn't immediately useful, it soon would be. Collecting some early would ensure preparedness. Lu Ye had heard Sword Solitude Hong and others recount their experiences collecting spirit jade in space, stating it wasn't difficult, simply a matter of picking it up.

However, after a few attempts, he discovered that things were not quite as Sword Solitude Hong and others had described. Because the spirit jade here was part of a vein, the pieces were tightly adhered to each other. What he needed to do was separate them along their edges. The slightest mistake, even minor damage to the surface of a spirit jade piece, would cause the energy within to rapidly dissipate. He had never encountered spirit jade before. Upon trying to collect it, he realized it wasn't the crystal he had imagined. It might be hard on the surface, but internally it was filled with pure, fluid-like energy. Therefore, during collection, it couldn't be damaged in the slightest; any damage would render a piece of spirit jade useless. Lu Ye felt that it was like a berry: hardened on the outside, with a thick, pulpy interior.

Sword Solitude Hong and others found it simple because spirit jade in space existed as individual pieces, requiring only collection. But the spirit jade in this vein was stuck together. Lu Ye needed to find a way to pry them apart to collect them. At first, Lu Ye didn't know this and just went at it vigorously, resulting in very little actual harvest as most of the spirit jade was destroyed. He had excellent control over his spiritual power, so logically, this shouldn't have been difficult. However, after figuring out the method, he realized it was very time-consuming. This was because using spiritual power to cut the spirit jade was a very slow process. The slightest carelessness could cause damage to the spirit jade's surface. As a result, he had been busy here for three full days, yet had only collected fewer than three hundred pieces of spirit jade.

Compared to the discoveries of Sword Solitude Hong and others in space, this was undoubtedly a large amount. However, he was faced with an entire spirit jade vein, available for him to take as much as he wanted, so this result was quite unsatisfactory. Yet, this task couldn't be rushed. He could only proceed patiently and slowly. Anyway, with his clone wandering around outside, it wouldn't significantly affect his Divine Sea conflict. He already had three victories, which was quite a good initial record. If his clone was lucky, there might be further gains, so his main body spending some time here was fine.

Of course, Lu Ye wouldn't stay here indefinitely. According to Yang Qing, the active range would shrink with each passing period. Sooner or later, this area might become inaccessible, and he would have no choice but to leave. While he could still remain here, he would collect as much spirit jade as possible. This was the most straightforward and unpretentious thought of a Divine Sea cultivator from a humble background.

Du Lang was like a startled rabbit, constantly surveying his surroundings as he flew. He flew very low, only thirty zhang above the ground. For a Divine Sea cultivator, this altitude was highly unusual, as it made one vulnerable to ambush if there were traps on the ground. But Du Lang had no choice. Flying higher would more easily attract attention, so he could only choose a relatively safer altitude. He could only hope that everyone was widely dispersed in the early stages, and that no one would be hidden directly below his flight path—after all, this was a low-probability event.

The reason for his extreme tension was simply that he didn't have much time left. He had to rush to a certain place and couldn't stay there for too long, as the rules of the Divine Sea conflict didn't allow it. That place contained a spirit jade vein with extremely rich spirit jade resources. For certain special reasons, he and his realm needed a considerable amount of spirit jade for an emergency. Relying on his elders to search endlessly in space would be too slow; time waited for no one. Furthermore, there weren't many elders above the Heavenly Constellation Realm left in his own realm. The responsibility for obtaining it ultimately fell to him.

He knew about the spirit jade vein there because an elder had previously mined it and left a detailed map of the path. His luck wasn't great, as his current location offered no familiarity. Without recognizable landmarks for comparison, the map in his hand was completely useless. His luck wasn't terrible either, because after several days of searching, he finally found a landmark that matched his map. With that, his path became clear.

By his estimation, if everything went smoothly, he would have nearly a month to operate. Such a duration, given his preparations, should be sufficient. After much hardship, he finally arrived at the location of the spirit jade vein, at the foot of an inconspicuous small hill. Such hills were ubiquitous throughout the Grand Beginning Realm, so without prior knowledge, no one would have guessed there was a spirit jade vein here. The reason his realm's predecessors discovered this place was due to a fortuitous coincidence; the specific details were not worth mentioning.