Innate Immortal Seed

’It’s very likely that no one in the entire Qingfeng Sect has even one Top-Grade Spirit Stone... Junior Martial Uncle Ge might have one, but even if he did, it would be one or two at most.’

Bai Zichen held the Fire Element Top-Grade Spirit Stone. His expression remained calm, but he couldn’t contain the joy bubbling up in his heart.

A single Top-Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for two hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, which was equivalent to four million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

If he added up all his possessions, not including the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo, their total value would still be less than this single Top-Grade Spirit Stone, which seemed to have a flame flickering within it.

Top-Grade Spirit Stones could almost be considered the foundation of a Nascent Soul Sect.

For instance, during its dark age without a Nascent Soul True Monarch to watch over it, the Holy Lotus Sect had relied on its reserve of Top-Grade Spirit Stones to fully unleash the power of its Tier Four Grand Array, allowing it to fend off Nascent Soul Level enemies.

Usually, Top-Grade Spirit Stones only appeared at high-end bartering exchanges. No Nascent Soul True Monarch would be willing to use one to pay for ordinary items.

Top-Grade Spirit Stones were simply too rare in the Cultivation Realm. Even if an entire large-scale Spirit Stone Ore Vein was mined out, one might not find a single one.

For Bai Zichen to have found this Top-Grade Spirit Stone in the magma, one could only say his fortune was heaven-defying.

’This must be a Top-Grade Spirit Stone that took a Spirit Vein beneath the volcano tens of thousands of years to form, and it just happened to drift out for me to find... Something is definitely strange down there. A Tier Two Spirit Vein could never produce a Top-Grade Spirit Stone, not in ten thousand years, not even in a hundred thousand or a million.’

He had originally planned to investigate after reaching Core Formation, but looking at it now, it seemed best to wait until he had a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivation.

If the depths of the volcano truly led straight to the earth’s core, then it wouldn’t be surprising for a Top-Grade Spirit Stone to form.

But the associated risks would increase a hundredfold.

If it connected to the Earth’s Lungs, the eruption of the vile, wicked, and true Earth Core Poison Fire would likely affect everything within a radius of hundreds of miles.

Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would find such a situation extremely difficult to handle.

’Forget it. It’s better to be cautious. If I really trigger the Earth Core Poison Fire, a huge area deep within Black Mountain would become a Desolate Land, unfit for life. I’m afraid it would cause a beast tide... Even Feiyue Lake is within the range of influence. It could destroy more than half of the foundation the Sect has worked so hard to build in Black Mountain in one fell swoop.’

Bai Zichen sounded a warning bell for himself. It was a good thing he always held something in reserve, stopping immediately after sensing he was approaching the limits of his Rainbow Feather Robe.

The Liquid Magical Power cultivated from the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture was strengthened in this environment. If he had forcibly pushed the Rainbow Feather Robe, Scarlet Streak could have at least descended another hundred zhang.

If he had actually done that, the risks would have been immense.

’A Fire Element Top-Grade Spirit Stone could completely replace the effects of a Celestial Spirit Gathering Spirit Array when breaking through to Core Formation, but I can’t use it... I probably won’t need such a precious Spirit Stone anytime soon. And if I try to trade it, it would be like a child walking through the streets with gold, attracting covetous eyes.’

Bai Zichen suddenly realized that while the Top-Grade Spirit Stone was a great treasure, it was useless to him before he reached Core Formation.

’Perhaps I can directly absorb the Pure Fire Element Spiritual Power from the Top-Grade Spirit Stone. Anyway, even if I use some, it can slowly recover on its own by absorbing spiritual qi in the future.’

He found a Jade Box and solemnly stored the Fire Element Top-Grade Spirit Stone inside.

A tiny piece was worth four million Low-Grade Spirit Stones. No amount of careful treatment was too excessive.

He found a Jade Scroll and recorded the location of the volcano and the strange properties of the magma below. He would pass it on to the Transmission Hall when he returned to the Sect.

He wouldn’t be coming back himself, and he needed to warn other Cultivators from the Sect to avoid this volcano as well.

In the following days, Bai Zichen visited a Cold Ice Cave and a hundred-zhang-tall giant tree.

The Cold Ice Cave was filled with countless branching passages where Divine Sense was restricted. A careless Foundation Establishment Cultivator could indeed get trapped inside.

He carefully left a Spiritual Mark at every fork. Relying on the strength of his Divine Sense, which far surpassed that of a Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he spent a month exploring the entire Cold Ice Cave. He did indeed find a few sets of white bones, but they had been dead for several hundred years.

The remaining belongings were just ordinary Magical Artifacts. After being eroded by the wind and frost of time for so long, they shattered into dust at the slightest touch.

The hundred-zhang giant tree, on the other hand, was an ancient tree that had become a spirit. The records in the Transmission Hall clearly stated that it had reached the Tier Three standard.

But the ancient tree possessed only very weak Spiritual Wisdom. It usually remained deeply rooted in the ground, absorbing Spiritual Qi, and would never proactively harm anyone unless they trespassed on its territory.

Because it was a practically harmless Tier Three Grass and Wood Demon Beast, the Qingfeng Sect had never listed it as a target for subjugation in any of its pioneering wars.

Of course, another very important point was that aside from harvesting a large amount of Tier Three Spirit Wood, there were no other benefits to destroying the ancient tree.

Unlike other Tier Three Demon Kings, which all occupied a Tier Three Spirit Vein as their territory.

As a rare plant that had become a spirit, the ancient tree didn’t seem to have high requirements for the grade of a Spirit Land. It could absorb enough Spiritual Qi just by relying on its countless subterranean roots, which were thousands of zhang long.

All things considered, the hundred-zhang ancient tree was ranked as the lowest priority target in all of the Qingfeng Sect’s pioneering war plans.

Bai Zichen transformed into a streak of Sword Light. Relying on his Sword Control speed, he circled the periphery of the ancient tree’s territory but still found no sign of Su Li.

According to past experience, a Sect Elder had once been trapped by the ancient tree’s branches for several months before finally being released.

That was why Zhou Suqing had listed this place as one of the possible locations where Su Li might have been trapped.

’There’s only one last place left. If he’s not there, I’ll have no choice but to head back to Feiyue Lake...’

Bai Zichen held the simple map and checked his bearings.

He had already spent nearly three months searching for Su Li. For a fellow sect member with whom he was merely on decent terms, not a life-or-death friend, he had already done more than enough.

Although he had reaped the reward of a Top-Grade Spirit Stone during his search, his original intention was still to save a person, not to get something in return.

The last location was a mysterious valley where a Sect Elder had clearly gone missing a hundred years ago.

But the subsequent rescue party sent to help had spent over a month in the mysterious valley without finding any clues, so the matter had to be dropped.

Zhou Suqing was well-read and had gone through almost all the miscellaneous records in the Sect, which is how she knew the story of this mysterious valley.

It was already nighttime when Bai Zichen flew near the valley, so he simply found a dry spot to sit cross-legged and meditate for the night.

He waited until the sky was just beginning to lighten before he took up his sword and stepped into the valley.

The valley was long and narrow, and he could see to the other end at a glance. There were only a few Tier One Demon Beasts running around on the hillsides.

It only took him one hour to survey the entire valley on foot.

’It doesn’t look like there’s anything unusual. How could a Foundation Establishment Cultivator just vanish here for no reason... Little guy, time to get to work.’

Treating it as a last-ditch effort, Bai Zichen released Genggeng from the Spirit Beast Bag.

Returning to the outside world from the Spirit Beast Bag, Genggeng was a little dizzy. It spun around in place twice before letting out a flurry of squeaks at its master.

The complex meaning it conveyed could basically be understood as: it didn’t like the environment inside the Spirit Beast Bag and didn’t want to stay in there anymore.

"Alright, alright, I’ll try to let you stay outside from now on... Or maybe when I go to the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion next time, I’ll find a way to buy a High-Grade Spirit Beast Bag."

The one Bai Zichen had was a Mid-Grade Spirit Beast Bag, which was already the best available in the Market.

The space inside was just barely big enough for Genggeng to take a stroll or hop around a couple of times. No Spirit Beast would enjoy being confined in such a cramped space.

A High-Grade Spirit Beast Bag had several times more space, at least equivalent to a small courtyard, making it much more comfortable.

However, only the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect sold Spirit Beast Bags of that level, and they were quite expensive.

Genggeng hopped twice, received its master’s request, and began to run happily back and forth through the valley.

Its four short legs moved in a blur. It even stopped to nibble on some wildflowers along the way, making it hard to tell if it was playing or actually working.

About half an hour later, Genggeng ran back to his side and bumped into him forcefully.

"You really found something unusual?"

He had only let Genggeng out to do his due diligence, not expecting the little guy to make one crucial discovery after another recently.

It wasn’t clear if it was related to Su Li, but at the very least, it had found the Profound Mechanism hidden beneath the mysterious valley’s calm surface.

"You mean, there’s something wrong behind this wall?"

Bai Zichen swept his Divine Sense over the stone wall that Genggeng was barking at frantically. It was like a clay ox entering the sea—his sense vanished, and he could only perceive the thick stone.

Normally, he might have overlooked it, but since Genggeng had sensed a special aura, it now seemed extremely conspicuous.

Genggeng’s sensory ability was different from a Cultivator’s Divine Sense; it was a power deeply rooted in its bloodline.

Whether it was the Holy Beast Essence Blood hidden deep underground in the Bai Family Ancestral Hall or this thick stone wall, both were things his Divine Sense couldn’t penetrate. But Genggeng could perceive their aura and inform its master of its discovery.

’A powerful aura, but not as strong as me... Genggeng’s ability to express itself is actually quite clear.’

Sword Light danced, peeling away layers of the stone wall as if slicing through tofu. Soon, he broke through the wall, revealing a space as black as ink inside.

But without the stone wall blocking it, a single sweep of his Divine Sense took in the entire situation inside.

"Junior Brother Su?"

Bai Zichen saw Su Li, his entire body encased in a cicada pupa. His face was pressed against the wall of the pupa, his expression twisted in terror.

Su Li seemed to be unconscious. The pupa expanded and contracted with a specific rhythm, as if it were trying to digest the human inside.

Seeing his target, Bai Zichen didn’t rush forward to save him immediately. Instead, he held his sword horizontally and extended his Divine Sense to its maximum range.

’It’s not like Su Li trapped himself in a pupa. This is either the work of another Cultivator, or there’s an insect-type Demon Beast hiding in the shadows.’

His Divine Sense swept back and forth but found no clues. Recalling the vague information from Genggeng, he had a flash of insight. His Sword Light turned and blasted toward the shattered stone wall again.

"CHIRP! CHIRP!"

Following a series of sharp, urgent chirps, a half-green, half-gray cicada flew out. Just as the Sword Light was about to descend and cut it in two, it inexplicably slowed down.

Bai Zichen knew for certain that he hadn’t slowed his Sword Light at all. But in reality, the Sword Light was moving as if in slow motion, advancing frame by frame like stop-motion animation.

This somewhat familiar sense of displacement made his chest tighten, and he felt the urge to vomit.

Chirping, the cicada flapped its wings and flew up into the sky.

"The Spring and Autumn Cicada!"

Bai Zichen’s face paled in shock as the words escaped his lips.

One half of the insect’s body was a vibrant green, full of life.

The other half was a desolate gray, withered like a piece of dead wood.

Combined with the fact that it had inexplicably slowed his Sword Light, this strange variation between fast and slow perfectly matched a famously bizarre insect from the Cultivation Realm: the Spring and Autumn Cicada!