Chapter 816: Diapulse Spiritual Liquid

"What?"

The Red Ape Beast had thought this human was weak, easily crushed with a flick of its wrist. It never dreamed that so many Saint realm puppets would be released at once. So terrified that its body went limp, it was about to flee.

However, with so many puppets attacking simultaneously, there was no way it would be given a chance.

*Thump! Thump!* A series of sounds of fists and feet landing on flesh rang out.

Having gained experience from pummeling the Violetgale Beast, the many puppets wasted no time dealing with this new opponent.

In a short time, it was beaten black and blue, on the verge of death.

"Don't kill me! I'll be your spiritual beast pet..." Beaten to the brink of death, the Red Ape Beast no longer cared about its dignity as a Saint beast and roared out its plea.

"No need!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

While having a pinnacle Saint 1-dan Saint beast as a spiritual beast pet would certainly make many tasks more convenient for him, Wei Changfeng had been killed by it. This blood debt had to be paid in full!

Otherwise, if Wei Ruyan were to be revived later and ask about her father's killer, how could he, as her young master, possibly explain himself?

"Kill it!" Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan no longer paid attention to the creature. With a thought, his witch soul left his body.

The Heaven's Path zhenqi couldn't save the physical body, so he wanted to see if his witch soul abilities could.

After looking around, he shook his head helplessly.

Wei Changfeng's injuries were far too severe; had it not been for the sheer willpower driven by his fatherly love, he would have died long ago.

When he encountered Zhang Xuan and finally relaxed, his soul was instantly drawn into an unknown place, completely annihilated.

Not to mention him, even if Master Kong were to be resurrected, he probably wouldn't be able to save him.

"Don't worry, I will take care of your daughter and ensure she lives a good life!" His witch soul returned to his body, and Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Although his interaction with Wei Changfeng had been brief and mostly unpleasant, the man's willingness to sacrifice anything, even his life, for his daughter was truly respectable.

Knowing that Wei Changfeng couldn't be saved, Zhang Xuan placed the body into his storage ring. He then looked back at the Red Ape Beast, which was now on its last breath, battered senseless by the many puppets.

Even though it was a pinnacle Saint 1-dan Saint beast, facing over twenty puppets that felt no pain and possessed immense strength, it had no choice but to endure the relentless assault.

"Human, don't kill me! I'll exchange a secret with you..." Seeing Zhang Xuan look its way, the Red Ape Beast gritted its teeth.

It knew that if it didn't speak up now, the other party would truly kill it, so it had to take a gamble.

"Secret? What secret?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"It's the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid! If you don't kill me, I'll lead you there..." the Red Ape Beast urgently pleaded.

"Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

"That's right. They are droplets of spiritual energy formed by the convergence of earth's spiritual veins. They are incredibly effective for cultivators below the Saint realm and can even replace spirit stones!" the Red Ape Beast explained.

Zhang Xuan's heart stirred.

What he currently lacked most were spirit stones and spiritual energy. If something could replace them, he wouldn't need to go to great lengths to earn money.

Although he had never heard of Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid before, anything formed by the convergence of earth's spiritual veins was bound to be extremely valuable.

"The Saint beasts of Cloudmist Ridge keep humans away precisely to guard this treasure. As long as you don't kill me, I'll lead you to it..." the Red Ape Beast reiterated.

"Even if I kill you, I can still get there!" Disinclined to waste any more time with the creature, Zhang Xuan waved his hand, and the puppets resumed their assault. Meanwhile, his witch soul detached from his body, and with a flick of his wrist, he began forming a series of hand seals.

A Witch Soul Master's technique... Soul Searching!

This creature was Wei Changfeng's murderer; it had to die, leaving no room for negotiation.

Under normal circumstances, his current cultivation would be insufficient to perform soul searching on a Saint realm expert. However, a Saint beast's soul power was inherently weaker than a human Saint's, and furthermore, this creature was already beaten to the brink of death, making resistance impossible.

Moreover, with the "ruthless man" assisting, the actual process was not complicated at all.

*Zzzzz!* The Red Ape Beast's soul was pulled out from its body mid-air, and its memories and knowledge slowly flowed into Zhang Xuan's mind.

"There really is Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up after quickly processing the memories.

The creature had indeed not lied to him; Cloudmist Ridge truly contained Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid, and these Saint beasts kept humans out precisely to guard this secret.

It seemed the creature hadn't lied about the liquid to save its life.

Any other person might have spared its life for this treasure, but the beast never dreamed that the young man before it was also a Witch Soul Master, capable of soul searching!

"Although the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid exists, that place is fraught with danger, guarded by four Saint beasts of the same level... If I had truly let this creature lead the way, even with so many puppets, I would have been surrounded and unable to escape!"

While the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid was real, the creature hadn't told the full truth.

If he had truly followed its advice and gone there, he would likely have been immediately ambushed by four pinnacle Saint 1-dan Saint beasts, along with countless subordinate Saint and Half-Saint level spiritual beasts. Even with his numerous puppets, he might have perished!

After all, while puppets are fearless in battle, they still consume spiritual energy.

The energy used in the underground palace on several occasions was already more than half depleted. Since there was no similar accumulation here, it wouldn't be easy to replenish the puppets' energy.

Once the puppets became ineffective, a cultivator of his strength would be helpless against a horde of Saint beasts, simply waiting for death.

In short, even though the creature was on the verge of death, it was still plotting against him.

As expected, those who are not of one's kind are bound to harbor different intentions.

After the soul search, the Red Ape Beast's soul dissipated, and it perished completely. Zhang Xuan collected its inner core and fur into his storage ring, then fell into thought.

"According to its description, the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid is formed by condensed spiritual energy. While its purity might not match high-grade spirit stones, it's much easier to absorb. Even plants can use it. If applied to an immature Ten-Leaf Flower... it could fully mature and bloom within a single day!"

After researching the effects of the spiritual liquid, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

While spirit stones accumulate abundant spiritual energy, they are certainly not as easy to absorb as a liquid. It was similar to how he used to carve Spirit Gathering Formation Plates specifically for rapid advancement.

If spirit stones were coal, then the spiritual liquid was gasoline.

While coal burns hotter and for a longer duration, its ignition speed and utilization efficiency pale significantly in comparison to gasoline.

If he could truly obtain this, he wouldn't need to painstakingly search for the hundreds of high-grade spirit stones required for cultivation before reaching the Saint realm.

"The Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid is located at the very center of Cloudmist Ridge, not far from here. However... it's guarded by four pinnacle Saint 1-dan spiritual beasts, and countless subordinate Saint and Half-Saint level ones... It would be incredibly difficult to get past them!"

Now that he knew of its existence, he naturally wanted to obtain it. However... with his current strength, attempting to force his way through would undoubtedly lead to a miserable death.

Although the "ruthless man" could easily suppress a pinnacle Saint 1-dan Saint beast, it would be helpless against a large number of them.

After all, it had only recently awakened and was merely a heart, its power far from its former glory.

Moreover, that entity was an Otherworldly Demon. While usually dependable, what if it proved unreliable? If he truly became encircled, escaping would be nearly impossible.

Therefore, for matters like this, it was best to rely on his own abilities; other external forces couldn't be fully trusted.

He certainly didn't want to entrust his life to a mere heart.

"It has to be the witch soul!" After pondering for a moment, an idea surfaced.

Sending his physical body was definitely not an option. Even with perfect concealment, countless spiritual beasts and Saint beasts would still detect him. The witch soul was different.

Being formless and intangible, even a Saint beast wouldn't be able to detect it unless its soul cultivation had reached a certain realm.

If utilized properly, he might be able to quietly infiltrate and successfully retrieve the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid.

"That's the plan!" Without hesitation, he sat cross-legged on the ground. With a thought, his witch soul flew out.

With a gentle grab, he put his physical body into his storage ring.

The Myriad Ants' Nest was already crowded with the Violetgale Beast and the Queen Bee, so his physical body certainly wouldn't fit. Besides, a body without a soul was like a corpse, and placing it in a storage ring wouldn't cause much harm.

"What about the ring?"

The ring contained his physical body and his clone, making it safer to keep it with him. Otherwise, if his body was left alone here and discovered by a spiritual beast, he wouldn't even have time to regret it.

However, his witch soul was formless and intangible, making it hard to detect. If it carried the ring, it would become a visible target, making concealment far more difficult.

"Wait... the Myriad Ants!" A thought flashed through his mind.

He couldn't carry the ring himself, but the Myriad Ants could!

Although these creatures were tiny, they were spiritual beasts, possessing astonishing strength. Carrying a ring while flying was no issue for them.

Moreover, they could communicate with each other, allowing them to avoid spiritual beasts and Saint beasts in advance. They could quietly follow behind his witch soul and carry the ring to his desired destination.

Even if they were discovered, as long as his witch soul remained safe, he could find a way to retrieve the ring without major complications.

"That's the plan!" With a thought, he notified the Myriad Ant Queen Bee. One of the Myriad Ants immediately flew over, and he placed his storage ring on it. True to his expectation, it effortlessly carried the ring while flying, without any hindrance.

"Excellent! Fly close to the ground, keeping within the grass..." Seeing the viability of his plan, Zhang Xuan gave the instruction, and his witch soul flew straight towards the very center of Cloudmist Ridge.

Having soul-searched the Red Ape Beast, he already had a general understanding of the spiritual beast distribution throughout Cloudmist Ridge. Combined with the Myriad Ants' scouting, it was easy to evade detection from the spiritual beasts. In less than an hour, he arrived before a towering rock wall.

In front of the rock wall was a massive stone pond. A powerful stream of water cascaded down from the mountain peak, creating a thunderous roar as it formed a slender river that wound its way into the distance.

"This is the place..." Looking up, he saw a massive cave hidden behind the cascade of water, completely concealed. Had he not known beforehand, he would never have discovered it.

According to the Red Ape Beast's memories, the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid was inside this cave.

Without rushing into action, Zhang Xuan carefully surveyed his surroundings. Sure enough, he spotted several Saint beasts, no weaker than the Red Ape Beast, roaming nearby. Further out, there were also more than a dozen spiritual beasts at the early, mid, and late Saint realms.

"Thankfully, my physical body isn't here..." Seeing this, Zhang Xuan let out a sigh of relief.

Had his physical body come, he would likely have been ambushed and hunted down the moment he arrived.

His witch soul was formless and intangible; as long as he didn't use its power, it wouldn't be easy for his opponents to detect him.