Chapter 324: All Things Staff and Spear

Under the six-meter-high stone gate, Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan, who were meditating, looked towards the depths of the cave.

"His mind power is increasing so quickly; he actually broke through just like that!" Yang Qingchan exclaimed.

"When it comes to cultivating mind power, there are only those with exceptional talent and those who are mediocre. With the aid of the Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone, his cultivation speed is naturally faster than even those with exceptional talent," Yang Qingxi said calmly, her heart undisturbed.

She was also on the verge of reaching the Fourth Realm of the Dao Seed Stage. Once she crossed that threshold, a new world would open up, and her name would certainly appear in the 'Jiazi Register'.

Yang Qingchan raised her arm, sensing carefully, "The temperature in the air is rising. The Golden Crow flame contained within his mind power spiritual light is even more terrifying than a first-tier Grand Art; its power is already comparable to the beginner level of a second-tier Grand Art."

"This is where he truly surpasses other spiritual mind masters!" Yang Qingxi stated.

Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao retreated from inside, unable to withstand the scorching Golden Crow flames near Li Wei's body, feeling as if the interior had become a sea of fire.

The six Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns were extremely excited, joyfully bathing in the Golden Crow flames and flying around the ethereal form of the Fusang Divine Tree. Having consumed Xihe flowers year-round, they were not afraid of intense flames.

Li Wei's spirit was introspective; he felt as if he had merged with the ethereal form of the Fusang Divine Tree, his eyes extending among its branches and leaves, allowing him to see the six small creatures dancing and flying upwards.

"This must be the Spiritual God of a Four-Star Spiritual Mind Master!" The ethereal form of the Fusang Divine Tree was the Spiritual God that Li Wei had cultivated. Upon reaching Four-Star Spiritual Mind Master, Li Wei clearly perceived that the Fusang Divine Tree's ethereal form possessed life and consciousness, and his own consciousness could enter it.

With a thought, the branches of the Fusang Divine Tree lashed out like long whips, showering a large amount of fiery rain into his spiritual realm at his glabella. Four mind power stars, as large as golden elixirs, revolved ceaselessly like a galaxy system. Rings of spiritual light spread outwards from his body, transforming the cave into a sea of light. His spiritual sense was further enhanced. It was as if he had countless eyes and ears, able to penetrate stone walls, pass through formations, perceive minute details, and comprehend boundless mysteries.

"Whoosh!" Thousands of wisps of spiritual light and flame, like threads, flew back into his spiritual realm at his glabella. The spiritual realm was like a divine furnace, blazing intensely; if it were to explode, it could destroy a vast expanse of land.

Li Wei's upper body was clad only in the Blood Handprint Demonic Armor, his arms exposed, and his long hair cascaded down. His skin had returned to its normal state, no longer appearing illuminated like a pure immortal body as it had moments ago.

A rust-covered spear, with its tip pointing downwards, was plunged into the ground before him. The tail of the spear was no longer an irregularly shaped hollow tube but had been replaced by a doll-like Earth Spirit Child. This was the plant that the five Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns had captured from underwater. It was about a foot long, entirely black, with four limbs and facial features. Its head was topped with bare, withered branches, its leaves completely eaten by the six small creatures. It resembled an old, humanoid tree root.

Li Wei could not discern the exact age of this Earth Spirit Child, but it was definitely a spirit medicine over three thousand years old. Its body was frighteningly hard; even a sharp fifth-grade 'Hundred-Character Instrument' sword could not damage it.

Half a month ago, Li Wei had wanted to cut it open to see what was inside its belly. It had let out childlike cries, begging desperately for mercy, making such a miserable scene as if a child were being killed, which was quite awkward at the time. Unlike other spirit medicines, it possessed a strong human-like quality and resembled a person. Later, while Li Wei was studying the rusty spear, a bright light surged within the Earth Spirit Child, accompanied by ceaseless Buddhist chants. The two objects attracted each other, and the Earth Spirit Child's roots grew directly into the spear's tail, connecting them tightly. It was clear that whatever was inside the Earth Spirit Child was the missing part of the spear.

Footsteps echoed. Yang Qingxi, Tuoba Butuo, and Qi Xiao walked in. Li Wei was toying with the Myriad Creation Staff-Spear, attempting to use the newly cultivated, stronger Golden Crow flames to refine away its surface rust, but he failed once again. Myriad Creation Staff-Spear was the name Li Wei had given it, signifying "three begets all things," because its main body was closely connected to the character "三" (three).

Yang Qingxi said, "It's been quiet outside for several days. Yizhou Xue, Sikong Yanlun, and Sikong Jingyuan have likely left for good. Shouldn't we set off back to the main altar now?"

"Have people from the Yang family, or from Spirit Valley Hall, not come looking for us at the Zen Forest of Truth?" Li Wei asked.

Yang Qingxi frowned slightly, "That is indeed a bit strange. Logically, given our talents, they wouldn't ignore us. However, there's no need to worry too much. There are many paths back to the main altar from the south, so it won't be easy for enemies to intercept us midway."

"Once we return to the main altar, and after I break through to the Fourth Heaven, we can settle accounts with them properly. There's no need for the elders to step in."

"Alright! Once I've retrieved the inner layer of the treasure vault, we'll head back to the main altar." Li Wei looked towards the cliff face dozens of meters away. Between them, an ancient stone staircase wound its way up the wall, leading to the highest and furthest reaches of the cave. During his recent breakthrough, Li Wei's mind power spiritual sense had penetrated the formation, giving him a blurry glimpse into the depths of the cave. Since his spiritual sense could penetrate it, Li Wei believed that with his current mind power cultivation, he should be able to break through the formation on the stone stairs and enter.

Yang Qingxi's beautiful eyes narrowed, feeling a sense of crisis, like inviting a wolf into her home. The secret treasure vault discovered by Wang Shu contained only some blood crystals, gold, silver, ceramics, and other items in its outer layer. The true secret treasures were undoubtedly in the inner layer. Yang Qingxi regarded it as her exclusive possession, even keeping it a secret from the elder cultivators of the Yang family.

"This cave dwelling was clearly a cultivation site for a highly important figure from the ancient Vajra Sect. The formation on the stone stairs is extraordinary and extremely dangerous; you absolutely must not trespass without caution," she said, hoping to deter Li Wei.

Li Wei picked up the Myriad Creation Staff-Spear and walked towards the stone stairs, laughing heartily, "Tens of thousands of years have passed; the formation patterns on the stone stairs are already blurred. How much power can the formation still retain? Princess, please don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Yang Qingxi followed him, "It's too dangerous! It won't be too late to retrieve it when our cultivation reaches the Seventh Realm or above in the future."

Li Wei had already reached the first step. The staircase consisted of hundreds of steps, leading directly to the hundred-meter cliff summit. The space at the top of the staircase was distorted, and visibility became blurry there.

He said, "Princess, you're not unwilling to share a portion with me, are you? This treasure vault was found by Wang Shu. Before dealing with Wang Shu, we agreed on a thirty-seventy split. You've monopolized the outer layer of the vault! Do you intend to monopolize the inner layer as well?"

"You absorbed Wang Shu's subordinates. I didn't nitpick about that, did I?"

"Yang Erxiao swallowed Wang Zhi's departed spirit. I didn't demand a share to feed my insects, did I?"

"Now, I'm breaking the formation that you can't. It's only right that I take my share, isn't it?"

Yang Qingxi's charming face, embodying a pure immortal body, showed a hint of pique, "When did I ever say I was unwilling? If the Fourth Divine Son is so skilled and bold, then please proceed!"

Li Wei flashed a brilliant smile. Then, golden-red spiritual light, imbued with mind power, surged along his arm and into the Myriad Creation Staff-Spear. Immediately, streaks of star-like patterns coiled around his arm and body. The spear tip pointed straight forward.

"Whoosh!" A blinding beam of light shot out from the spear tip, accompanied by rumbling sounds, consecutively breaking through the formations on seventeen steps.

Ever since the Earth Spirit Child grew onto the spear's tail, Li Wei could simply inject mind power and use it as a staff. It was difficult to determine what kind of staff it was; its internal structure could not be investigated. However, when Li Wei injected his mind power spiritual light, which contained the Golden Crow flame, and struck again, the spiritual light and flame became incredibly concentrated, greatly increasing their penetrative power and temperature. Without using the Myriad Creation Staff-Spear, his mind power Golden Crow flame had the power equivalent to the beginner level of a second-tier Grand Art. With it, its power was likely on par with the perfected level of a second-tier Grand Art. For someone his age, this was a truly astonishing achievement.

Yang Qingxi watched Li Wei, tall and upright, holding the spear and ascending the steps, her emotions complex and unclear, both anxious and expectant. She called out, "Then let's stick to the thirty-seventy split!"

"Considering you proactively brought me to this treasure vault, I'll give you fifty percent. If I only gave you thirty, you'd probably be furious," Li Wei chuckled, then activated the Myriad Creation Staff-Spear and launched a second strike, continuing to break the formation.

Yang Qingxi was indeed furious, clenching her teeth and fists like stones. Yang Qingchan flashed to her side, gloating, "With his current mind power realm, I might not even be his match. If we were to fight, we wouldn't stand a chance."

Qi Xiao said, "Thirty percent of the treasure vault originally belonged to the Fourth Divine Son. Now that he's responsible for breaking the formation, it's only right that he gets an additional twenty percent. The Divine Son has been very magnanimous, considering his friendship with the Princess; he's offering half. If it were old Qi here, I'd definitely take everything for myself."

"Boom!" "Whoosh!" The higher they went, the clearer the ancient formation patterns became, possessing immense power and terrifying offensive capabilities. For the last few dozen steps, Li Wei dared not attack directly. Instead, he sat on the steps, observing with his Heaven-Penetrating Eye, meticulously studying and analyzing the patterns, slowly burning them with flames, and eroding them with the Yellow Dragon Sword. He employed various methods to break the formation.

Days passed like this. Yang Qingxi calculated the time; the end of the month was approaching again. When the formation's power weakened, the last dozen steps would certainly not be able to stop Li Wei. The formation patterns here had existed for too long and were already unstable.

"Boom!" Half a day later, as the formation's power waned, Li Wei used the Myriad Creation Staff-Spear to break a hole in the final layer of the formation's light veil and leaped in first. By the time Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan swiftly ascended the steps, the hole in the light veil had vanished, blocking them outside and making both women stomp their feet in frustration.

The inner treasure vault was not large; one could see its end at a glance. It indeed resembled the pure cultivation ground of an enlightened monk, furnished with a Buddhist shrine, stone platforms, an incense burner, a stone bed, stone stools, and more. Li Wei merely glanced around, his attention immediately drawn to a patch of immortal soil on the ground. The immortal soil was spread beneath the Buddhist shrine, occupying an area about one square meter, emanating a four-colored aura. Upon closer inspection, the surface of the immortal soil was covered with a layer of four-colored moss, clear and tender, about an inch deep, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Four-colored Immortal Moss!" Li Wei instantly recognized it, his heart pounding and blood boiling with excitement. Four-colored Immortal Moss grew by absorbing immortal soil; it was extremely rare and a peerless precious medicine for cultivating an immortal body. To fight a giant in the Longevity Realm with only one's physical body, one would need to refine at least five kilograms of immortal soil. However, immortal soil becomes increasingly difficult to absorb the more one refines, as the physical body has a limit to its endurance, requiring slow absorption like water wearing away stone. Four-colored Immortal Moss, however, perfectly remedied this drawback. Currently, Li Wei had already refined one kilogram of immortal soil. He was able to unleash formidable combat power with his cultivation at the First Heaven of the Dao Seed Stage, not only because he had cultivated an extra minor realm in the Spring Fountain and Five Seas Realms compared to other martial cultivators, and his Qi Sea was vast, but also because his physical body was ahead of his cultivation realm. He quickly scanned the area.

Li Wei immediately took out a cold jade box, enveloped the four-colored immortal moss with spiritual energy, and carefully collected all of it, storing it away, trying his best not to leave any traces. He actually wanted to take all the immortal soil as well, but he felt it would be too ungracious. He had always been someone who reciprocated favors. Yang Qingxi had indeed helped them previously, leading them to hide in this treasure vault to escape danger. Therefore, Li Wei didn't want to go too far.

"Huh!" Li Wei's gaze fell upon the one-meter-high Buddhist shrine. Inside the shrine, what was enshrined was not a Buddha statue, but a foot-long square iron box. Even after tens of thousands of years, there was not a single speck of dust on the iron box's surface; it was clean as new, possessing a profound and solemn texture.

Li Wei instinctively felt that the contents of the iron box were probably far more valuable than the immortal soil and four-colored immortal moss. He reached out to take it, but the iron box didn't budge. One should know that with Li Wei's current strength, even if the iron box were rooted to the ground, he could easily rip it free. Yet, his repeated attempts all ended in failure. Using both hands to try and move the shrine, the shrine also remained completely still.

Li Wei was utterly astonished. He clearly saw that neither the shrine nor the iron box were stuck to the ground, yet why couldn't he move them? How heavy was this iron box? Did it contain a mountain? Daring not to delay further, he activated the Buddha Relic, using spatial power to collect both the iron box and the shrine into his Blood Mud Space, intending to study them at his leisure later.