飘零影音

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 262: Looting the Valley

Xu Ziqing smiled and explained everything in detail. Then, pointing to the mouth of the volcano, he asked, “I want to take all of this, but I have nothing to contain it. Does Shixiong have a solution?”

Yun Lie nodded slightly, and a bowl-like object appeared in his hand. It was a clear yellow, resembling glass, but with a soft spiritual glow, making it quite beautiful. Yun Lie moved his lips slightly, and the object emitted a dazzling light. A yellow beam shot out from it, heading straight for the volcano’s mouth.

Quickly, the yellow light circled around the mouth of the volcano a few times, then wrapped it up entirely. After flickering for a moment, it transformed back into a ball of light and returned to the bowl. The mouth of the volcano had completely vanished without a trace.

The ease with which this was done was truly astonishing.

Xu Ziqing showed a hint of surprise. “Shixiong, what is this?”

Yun Lie replied, “A Buddhist Sumeru Bowl.”

Xu Ziqing still had doubts. Sumeru refers to a mountain, so this Sumeru Bowl must be a storage artifact. He thought for a moment—could it be that the Sumeru Bowl can contain an entire mountain?

Ordinary storage rings, though seemingly vast, can usually only hold a space of a few dozen feet in diameter. To hold more, one would need a storage bracelet. But to contain an entire mountain is something neither a storage ring nor a bracelet could accomplish.

Seeing the confusion in Xu Ziqing’s eyes, Yun Lie said, “It can indeed hold a mountain.” With that, he handed the Sumeru Bowl forward slightly.

Xu Ziqing, now understanding thanks to his Shixiong’s explanation, was very pleased. He stepped forward and looked inside.

Sure enough, within the Sumeru Bowl stood a towering volcano. The lava and fire mud at the mouth of the volcano were perfectly intact, as was the fire spirit plant growing in the fire mud. It had indeed been collected.

If one were to send their spiritual sense inside, they would feel the intense heat, exactly the same as it was outside.

After seeing this, Yun Lie placed the Sumeru Bowl in Xu Ziqing’s hand and said, “You can keep it.”

Xu Ziqing’s eyes brightened slightly. With a wave of his hand, he stored it away. He then took three boxes and divided them into two portions, keeping one box for himself. Smiling, he said, “I’ll return this one to Brother Nan Zhengya as a favor. The remaining two, Shixiong, you should keep.”

Yun Lie also waved his hand and stored away the two fire jade boxes.

Seeing this, Xu Ziqing’s smile became even more gentle.

Shixiong did not decline or argue, clearly considering him as one of his own, treating these gestures as ordinary and not a matter of obligation. This filled him with immense satisfaction.

The two of them thoroughly looted the bat demon’s cave, leaving Xu Ziqing to sigh with contentment.

When he arrived, he was not entirely penniless, but he certainly didn’t have anything of great value. Now, having gained the wealth of an entire cave, he felt his pockets were considerably fuller.

Indeed, all cultivators in the world cherish fortunate encounters, and it’s likely due to moments like this.

With their cultivation restored and having collected all they needed, the two of them didn’t linger in the demon’s lair.

Soon, they left the cave, and Xu Ziqing recalled Rong Jin into his dantian with a wave of his hand, then continued forward.

After circling around the mountain peak that the bat demon had made its nest, Xu Ziqing saw a gorge ahead. The valley was filled with various spiritual herbs, their abundant spiritual energy even more intense than that of a third-grade spiritual vein.

Xu Ziqing found this strange, but when he saw the river ahead, he began to understand.

There seemed to be some sort of creature in the lake, likely unable to leave the water, which allowed the spiritual herbs in the valley to flourish without being picked. The bat demons had blocked off the area, so no one had ventured here. Even if wood-type cultivators had been drawn by the spiritual energy, they likely ended up as food for the bat demons and their offspring. This explained why the bat demon’s cave held so many treasures from human cultivators.

But if that’s the case… could this secret realm have been opened more than once before? Or perhaps, aside from the demonic beasts and spiritual creatures, there were also human cultivators living in this hidden realm?

These thoughts swirled in Xu Ziqing’s mind before he set them aside.

Regardless of the truth, he would eventually find out if he stayed in the secret realm long enough. There was no need to overthink it.

With that decision, Xu Ziqing leapt down and began using some minor wood-based techniques to gather the spiritual herbs.

Previously, the spiritual herbs he obtained in the small world’s secret realm had absorbed the essence of Yi Wood and were mostly a thousand years old, at most several thousand years. Even though some were ten thousand years old, they were rare and not particularly valuable, which meant they weren’t of much use to him later on.

This time, however, was different. The spiritual herbs in this gorge were quite rare, and some were said to have long been extinct. Their ages were impressive too. A quick glance revealed many were over ten thousand years old, with a few even reaching fifty thousand or a hundred thousand years, though those older than that were extremely rare, with at most three or five plants.

Xu Ziqing was very diligent. If the herbs had unripe fruit or seeds, he carefully uprooted them with the surrounding soil and placed them in jade boxes. If they were fully mature, he harvested the fruit and transplanted the plant. If the seedlings were immature, he transplanted those too. For plants with many specimens, he left a few behind and did not take them all. For mature plants without fruit, he carefully picked them but left the roots intact for future generations.

After placing them in jade boxes, he sealed them with talismans to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking out. This repeated use of true essence was quite exhausting, and soon sweat began to bead on his forehead. However, he was delighted by such a fortunate encounter. After taking a pill to restore his energy, he continued his work.

After more than an hour, Xu Ziqing finally finished collecting most of the herbs and was about to stand up.

Unexpectedly, his legs felt slightly weak, causing him to step back. As he did, something hard pressed against him, prompting him to crouch down and take a closer look.

He found that he had stepped on something the size of a pigeon egg. It looked like a stone, but it was entirely brown and had a faintly unusual appearance.

Xu Ziqing touched it with his hand and felt that it was slightly soft. Growing even more curious, he thought it might be some kind of rare item. Since he didn’t recognize it, he decided to ask, so he called out, “Shixiong, could you take a look?”

Yun Lie, who had been waiting nearby, walked over when he heard this and scanned the object with his spiritual sense, trying to identify it. However, after examining it, he didn’t recognize it either. He said, “I don’t know what this is, but it’s not ordinary. You should keep it for now and find a use for it later.”

Xu Ziqing agreed and stored the item away. Since he found it near a spiritual plant, he placed it in the same storage ring as the plant. He figured that if the opportunity arose in the future, someone might recognize it, and then he would know how to use it.

By this time, the two had already gathered an abundant harvest.

Ahead of them, a river blocked their path, with the surrounding mountain peaks curving outward, encasing the river within.

The river was close to the mountain wall on the other side, and as they moved forward, the river widened, touching both mountain peaks on either side.

If the two wanted to continue, they would inevitably be blocked by the river.

Xu Ziqing carefully recalled the path they had taken and considered the topography of the tiger-shaped mountain range shown on the fragmented map. He realized that the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes was located at the tiger’s claw, and where they stood now was at the point where the two front claws of the tiger came together.

This indicated that once they crossed the river and passed through the mountain peaks, they wouldn’t have far to go before they were outside the mountain range.

At that point, they would no longer be bound by the rules of the mountain range and could fly with their swords.

However, the rushing river ahead was an unknown, potentially harboring dangerous creatures, making it a challenging obstacle.

After all, within this perilous secret realm, even a seemingly calm river could easily be a dangerous trap.

They couldn’t fly, and there was no path to walk. Did this mean they would have to climb over the mountain wall?

Xu Ziqing’s expression grew serious. He glanced at the steep mountain wall and then at Yun Lie, the question evident in his eyes.

Yun Lie looked at him and nodded slightly. “We should climb along the left side of the mountain wall. If anything unusual happens, we’ll use wind techniques to escape.”

Xu Ziqing heard this and responded, “That seems to be the only option.”

Since they needed to stay alert, they decided that Xu Ziqing would climb ahead, while Yun Lie, being stronger, would guard from behind.

Xu Ziqing didn’t hesitate. He leaped up, grabbing hold of a protruding rock with one hand. After steadying himself, he formed a hand seal with his other hand and pressed it against his shoulder.

Soon, roots of the blood vine emerged from his shoulder, climbing ahead of him. This was a technique he had become quite familiar with, using a method to transfer Rongjin’s position outside of his body.

With Rongjin scouting ahead and his Shixiong protecting him from behind, Xu Ziqing felt much safer.

As he prepared himself, he suddenly heard the sound of wind behind him, followed by the faint rustle of clothing just about a foot away.

His Shixiong had arrived!

Soon after, a chilling aura gradually spread out, as Yun Lie released a hint of his sword intent, enveloping the two of them as an additional layer of protection.

Enveloped in this sword intent, Xu Ziqing’s heart skipped a beat, and his face grew slightly warm.

It wasn’t surprising that his thoughts wandered. He had often been close to Yun Lie in the past, and although these moments brought him joy, he had grown accustomed to them over time, no longer feeling the initial shyness and unease.

But now it was different. With Yun Lie behind him, he could only sense his presence without seeing his face. Yet, he could still feel his Shixiong’s sword intent and breathe in his scent. It felt as if he was being held in Yun Lie’s embrace, stirring his thoughts even more.

As his mind wandered, his movements slowed.

The next moment, Yun Lie’s voice came through, “Ziqing, move quickly.”

Xu Ziqing immediately snapped out of it, feeling a bit embarrassed.

This place was still dangerous, and here he was, letting his thoughts stray. He felt a bit ashamed and quickly calmed his mind, focusing on climbing again.

The two Shixiong and Shidi had a strong understanding between them. Every step Xu Ziqing took, Yun Lie would follow, and whenever Xu Ziqing released a grip on a rock, Yun Lie would grab hold of it next.

They had initially planned this approach to avoid any dangers, but the way they executed it seamlessly showed how much they trusted one another.

They continued in silence for a while, both relying on their physical strength rather than exhausting their true essence. Although their bodies grew a bit tired, they knew they could easily recover with just a bit of true essence, making it quite convenient.

Before they knew it, more than half an hour had passed.

The river below had already begun crashing against the stone walls on either side, its waters rushing forward with increasing turbulence.

Suddenly, a whirlpool formed in the river below.

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