Chapter 126: Golden Spring and Immortal Soil

Activating the Heavenly Eye between his brows, he began to search meticulously.

He soon spotted a person-high, light golden stone about ten meters away that seemed unusual. He then took out his iron book and brought it down.

Bang! The stone shattered.

There was nothing inside.

Li Weiyi looked disappointed. "Without becoming a Great Nian Master, the Heavenly Eye is still only rudimentary. It can only give a rough indication; it can't be accurate every time."

There were many special light golden stones beneath the waterfall. Li Weiyi chopped through seventy or eighty of them, yet found only three drops inside one.

It wasn't even enough for a single gulp.

"Impossible," he thought. "Even if the Heavenly Eye only gives a vague sense, it at least indicates the right direction. There are so many stones here with a special aura; it's definitely not normal. How could there be only a few drops?"

Li Weiyi paused to rest, then looked up at the darker golden rock face beside the waterfall, several dozen feet above the ground.

A thought sparked in his mind. Stepping on the protruding sections of the rock face, he leaped upward.

Bang!

The iron book struck, dislodging a large piece of the rock face, which then plummeted down the cliff.

Then came the second, and the third strike…

The deeper he struck, the more golden light spilled forth from the depths of the cliff. When he touched it, his fingertip felt damp; spring liquid was flowing out from within.

Li Weiyi's heart pounded like thunder. He quickly pulled out his enchanted treasure flask, no longer daring to use the iron book roughly. Instead, he concentrated his spiritual energy at his fingertips, piercing through the thin layer of rock.

Golden spring water, accompanied by a clear fragrance, surged forth.

The area he stood in was completely enveloped in a golden glow.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "This was so easy to obtain! There's a full tenth of a cubic meter here—more than I could ever use, absolutely more than I could ever use!"

One cubic meter is equivalent to a thousand liters.

One hundred liters, that amount, let alone for tempering spirit veins, wouldn't even be used up for bone tempering.

The golden spring he had initially acquired, which helped him temper two golden spirit veins, was only slightly more than a tenth of a liter.

"This trip has already been worthwhile."

Li Weiyi took out another iron flask. After filling it, he immediately stowed the enchanted treasure flask into his Blood Mud space, fearing Zuoqiu Baiming might see it and demand a share. He continued to search, smashing the entire cliff face, but naturally found nothing more.

Back at the foot of the cliff, Li Weiyi drank the golden spring, tempering the spirit veins within his body.

Tian Che and Zuoqiu Lanlan were the first to return. They looked with surprise at the fragmented light golden cliff face before them, then their gaze shifted to Li Weiyi, who sat cross-legged.

Zuoqiu Lanlan's face showed displeasure. "Sima Tan, the Zuoqiu Clan invited you here to help find and excavate Immortal Earth. Did you even bother to look?"

Li Weiyi, having just tempered seven new golden spirit veins, was in excellent spirits. He quickly stood up and replied cheerfully, "I did look. I searched this entire rock face thoroughly, but found nothing. What about you two?"

Tian Che, good-natured, shrugged. "Same here, we found nothing. Immortal Earth is simply too difficult to locate."

"I didn't find any Immortal Earth, but I did come across half a flask of golden spring, so my luck's a bit better than yours. Here, take some; don't be shy." Li Weiyi was genuinely warm and generous.

"There's really half a flask!"

Tian Che took the iron flask, opened it, and looked inside, clearly astonished. He didn't suspect Li Weiyi of hoarding more, as finding half a flask of golden spring at once was already considered a significant find, given its rarity.

Zuoqiu Lanlan's expression of displeasure vanished, replaced by a hint of embarrassment. Regardless of what had been said, Sima Tan was genuinely forthright and exceptionally generous.

Golden spring was a valuable commodity, so they didn't refuse and took some.

Of course, the couple still maintained some decorum, taking only a fifth. Their impression of Li Weiyi greatly improved, and their previous aloofness and coldness vanished.

Zuoqiu Lanlan, hoping to win him over, smiled and said, "My husband and I have heard of your combat prowess in the Surging Spring realm. If the rumors are true, why do you stay with the precarious Jiuli Tribe? The Zuoqiu Clan is truly a better choice."

Li Weiyi smiled and waved a dismissive hand.

Tian Che added, "Brother Sima, if you have any reservations, perhaps fearing envy from some in the Zuoqiu Clan, you could always join us as a son-in-law, like me... Haha, then we'd truly be family!"

Boom!

A massive sound echoed from deep within the dense forest, making the clouds and mist tremble.

Immediately afterward, Zuoqiu Baiming's short, sharp whistle cut through the air from the same direction.

The three instantly rose to their feet. After exchanging glances, they swiftly used their movement techniques to rush toward the sound.

Swish! Swish!

Li Weiyi deliberately lagged several dozen feet behind Tian Che and Zuoqiu Lanlan.

As they drew closer to the sounds of battle, a large number of bone-winged bird monsters appeared in the ancient forest, where tree trunks soared a hundred meters high. They flew in flocks, their cries sharp and incessant.

The bone-winged birds were about three feet long, with fleshy, demonic bodies. Their wings were white bones burning with azure flames, and their beaks were as sharp as swords.

Tian Che watched the bone-winged bird flock and the demonic energy cloud diving down. "It's the monster horde from Tianya Ridge," he said.

"Leave them to me!" Li Weiyi yelled. "You two hurry and find Senior Brother Baiming; he must be in trouble!"

Li Weiyi let out a long cry and unleashed the iron book from his hand.

Swish! Swish!

Thirty-five iron book pages spun out, forming thirty-five small whirlpools. They struck down the bone-winged birds that were intercepting Tian Che and Zuoqiu Lanlan, causing them to fall in droves, like a rain of blood.

"What a powerful artifact!"

Tian Che exclaimed in admiration, then he and Zuoqiu Lanlan quickly hurried towards the most intense battle fluctuations.

Li Weiyi fought among the bird flock for a while before Shang Zhi finally arrived.

After dispersing the bird flock, the two proceeded unhurriedly to the heart of the battle.

Wielding his Heaven Flame Blade, Zuoqiu Baiming was locked in combat with a demon expert, who was also encased in Spirit-Leaving Human Skin. Both the human and the demon possessed high-tier artifacts, and their clash had completely flattened that section of the jungle, leaving a wide swath of ancient trees toppled.

Tian Che and Zuoqiu Lanlan were engaged in a fierce battle with five Five Seas Realm demon cultivators at the mouth of a valley.

The couple, both possessing Pure Immortal Bodies, worked together seamlessly with formidable combat power, yet they were only slightly at a disadvantage.

Li Weiyi narrowed his eyes. In the distant dense forest valley, he discerned the faint outlines of immortal mist, secretly guessing that the battle had been triggered by Immortal Earth.

"Let's go help them," Shang Zhi said. "Tianya Ridge is just bullying them by relying on their numerical superiority."

Shang Zhi drew his blade and charged toward the valley.

Li Weiyi followed close behind, intentionally shouting, "Brother Tian, I'm here to help! These demon cultivators dare to steal the Immortal Earth we found? They clearly have no respect for the Zuoqiu Clan! We must teach them a harsh lesson!"

Upon arriving, Li Weiyi, wielding his iron book, sent a Five Seas Realm Stage 1 ape demon flying.

He held back his strength, merely injuring the ape demon without killing it outright.

He didn't want to reveal too much of his true power.

The ape demon screamed, filled with resentment, "You Zuoqiu Clan are utterly barbaric and tyrannical! We clearly found the Immortal Earth in this valley first, yet you're twisting the facts! Humans truly are shameless!"

Li Weiyi was startled. He looked toward the figure wielding the Heaven Flame Blade in the distance, realizing that Zuoqiu Baiming was indeed trying to snatch something. "Excellent!" he thought.

This was the perfect opportunity to fan the flames and drag the Zuoqiu Clan deeper into trouble.

Li Weiyi no longer held back. He directly swung his iron book, splitting the ape demon's head in two. Coldly, he declared, "In the Southern Territory, the Zuoqiu Clan's word is law."

Next, he charged at a Five Seas Realm black-furred dog demon. After a few moves, he decapitated it, proclaiming, "We've claimed the Immortal Earth in this valley. Retreat now, or we'll slaughter every last one of you!"

The fox demon expert battling Zuoqiu Baiming saw two of his Five Seas Realm allies successively beheaded. His hatred surged. Gritting his teeth, he commanded, "Go! Retreat now!"

The demon cultivators in the forest retreated like a receding tide.

"Zuoqiu Baiming, this isn't over!" the fox demon expert's cold, vicious voice finally reached them from deep within the dense forest. "You can keep the Immortal Earth for now!"

"Futile rage," Zuoqiu Baiming scoffed.

Zuoqiu Baiming's lips curved slightly; he paid it no mind. Sheathing his blade, he walked towards the valley.

Li Weiyi knew his actions had been overtly aggressive. He was already pondering how to handle Zuoqiu Baiming's anticipated fury.

To his surprise, he heard Zuoqiu Baiming's voice of praise: "Well done! This is how one should uphold the prestige of my Zuoqiu Clan. A group of demons actually dares to claim equality with millions of clans in the Southern Territory? They're utterly rebellious! Your strength truly isn't weak; you'd be hard-pressed to find a match in the same realm."

Li Weiyi wasn't sure if Zuoqiu Baiming had seen through him. After a moment of contemplation, he offered his prepared excuse: "I saw Brother Tian and his wife being besieged. My anger got the better of me, and I became overly emotional!"

"No matter," Zuoqiu Baiming replied.

Zuoqiu Baiming followed the faint traces of immortal mist and walked into the valley.

Shang Zhi secretly gave Li Weiyi a thumbs-up, sending a message via spiritual energy: "What these clan disciples care about most are the actual benefits they gain, and then their reputation. Those two shouts you made might have been exactly what he wanted to say. Zuoqiu Baiming is an incredibly arrogant man; in his eyes, he's the strongest in the Thirty-Three Li Mountain."

For some reason, Li Weiyi felt very uneasy. He couldn't shake the feeling that ever since they entered the mountain, Zuoqiu Baiming had been looking at him and Shang Zhi as if they were already dead.

Deep in the valley, the three from the Zuoqiu Clan were already excavating the spiritual earth.

The spiritual earth on the ground was tri-colored—blue, black, and yellow—covering an area of one square zhang.

Tian Che placed a spatial pouch on the ground, continually putting the excavated spiritual earth into it.

Spatial pouches, also refined from the lungs of martial cultivators, could not hold living things, making them somewhat easier to refine.

After they dug half a chi deep at the center, Zuoqiu Baiming immediately told Tian Che to stop.

He walked over himself and peeled back the layer of earth. Immediately, a four-colored radiance emanated from below, revealing a unique four-colored soil that was both translucent and had the stickiness of regular earth.

"Close to a jin! Excellent!"

Zuoqiu Baiming was visibly excited, not letting a single speck of Immortal Earth go to waste. He used his spiritual energy to collect it all and placed it into another spatial pouch. Then he said, "You two, quickly come help! Dig out all this spiritual earth. This substance can make medicinal herbs grow ten times faster!"

After Li Weiyi and Shang Zhi joined, they completely excavated hundreds of jin of spiritual earth in less than half an hour.

The five of them quickly walked towards the valley entrance.

Li Weiyi sniffed the air, detecting a subtle change. He immediately stopped, held his breath, and channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes. Instantly, he saw tiny, almost imperceptible gray particles in the air.

He looked back towards the deeper parts of the valley, but saw no such gray particles there.

In other words, they had just drifted in from the valley entrance.

"Something's wrong!" Li Weiyi warned the others. "There's something in the air—gray, liquid-like particles."

The four simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy to observe. Zuoqiu Baiming's expression suddenly changed. "It's Coffin Mountain's Earth Spirit Gray Mist!" he exclaimed. "Hold your breath, quickly!"

The voice of the fox demon expert from Tianya Ridge drifted in from the valley entrance: "Too late, Zuoqiu Baiming! Arrogance comes at a price!"

"There's no such thing as the Zuoqiu Clan in Thirty-Three Li Mountain," another voice echoed endlessly from above the valley. "Only the law of the jungle."