Chapter 84: 84 Terror Descends
A century-old Spirit Ginseng.
Worth three to four hundred Spirit Stones, marketplace shops buy them all year round.
Zhou Yi observed it for a moment, then opened his mouth and crunched down, swallowing it like a white radish.
Inside his body, the Spirit Ginseng transformed into surging Spiritual Energy, which he immediately circulated through the Guiyuan Technique to refine into Mana.
A moment later.
Zhou Yi slowly concluded his cultivation, carefully sensing the changes before and after, "A century-old Spirit Ginseng is as effective as three or four Peiyuan Pills, yet its value is thirty to forty times that of them!"
"Selling it is out of the question. In the future, I'll just eat Spiritual Medicine as my meals."
If Zhou Yi had been new to the Cultivation World, he might have sold a few to start his funds, but now that he had a sufficient amount of legitimately gained Spirit Stones for expenditures, there was absolutely no need to risk selling century-old Spiritual Medicines.
…
After closing off from the world for half a month.
Zhou Yi arrived at the trading area of the marketplace and noticed that there were many more cultivators on the street.
The appearance of many unfamiliar faces made Zhou Yi wary. He inquired about the prices of Magic Artifacts, pills, and talismans, which hadn't risen noticeably, then headed toward the office.
At the cave dwelling registration office, it was rare to see seven or eight people.
Zhou Yi frowned slightly, didn't go behind the counter to take his shift, but asked Pang Hai what had happened.
"Zhu Daoist friend doesn't know?"
Pang Hai said in surprise, "It seems you were indeed in seclusion, not even aware of such a big event. A few days ago, someone in the mining field dug up a Sky Star Stone, which has already spread throughout the marketplace."
"Sky Star Stone!"
Zhou Yi's gaze became focused, "How could such a Spiritual Object appear in Little Dan Mountain?"
Pang Xun shrugged and said, "That you'll have to ask the heavens. The Sky Star Stone was found at the core of a Spirit Vein, and subsequently, seven or eight people dug up more."
Zhou Yi exclaimed, "Could it be a Sky Star Stone vein?"
"Xuan Lin True Person said it is a vein."
Pang Xun said, "It is said the first cultivator who dug up the Sky Star Stone was granted a promotion to official disciple for his great merit, truly a leap to the skies."
The colleagues nearby, as well as the Loose Cultivators handling their affairs, showed looks of envy upon hearing this.
Zhou Yi's mind stirred slightly, "Does Pang Daoist friend know who that person is?"
"I'm not clear on the specific name."
Pang Xun said, "It's said to be a young man who hasn't been in Little Dan Mountain for long and has already followed Xuan Lin True Person back to the sect, indeed a step to the heavens."
"A young man, back to the sect?"
Zhou Yi gasped in shock and turned to leave.
"Pang Daoist friend, please apply for a year's leave on my behalf!"
…
Hurrying toward the south,
He did not even return to his dwelling, carrying all his Spirit Rice and Spirit Stones in his storage bag.
After half an hour,
Zhou Yi emerged from the thick fog, glanced back at Little Dan Mountain, and used the Light Body Skill to enter the forest.
The sudden thinness of Spiritual Energy made Zhou Yi quite uncomfortable, knowing that Mana was escaping on its own. Sadly, not knowing the technique to lock Spirit Energy, he could only conserve Mana and hasten his journey.
As evening approached,
Zhou Yi saw the plains from afar, knowing he was about to leave the range of Cloud Mountain, and three hundred li ahead lay Heng City, the capital of Xuzhou.
Suddenly,
One green and one golden sword light shot out, followed closely by two fireballs, directly bombarding Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi's expression remained unchanged, his body radiated a protective golden light, and the Turtle Shell Shield blocked in front of him.
With each hand grasping a Heavenly Thunder Pearl, Mana surged forth, turning into Heavenly Thunder and striking back at the source of the sword lights.
"Ah!"
Two cries of agony arose almost simultaneously as the sword lights and fireballs hit the Turtle Shell Shield, not even leaving a mark.
Zhou Yi did not put away his protective Magic Artifact but let the Gathering Heart Nail fly out from his sleeve, darting back and forth at the source of the voices, intending to pepper the corpses with holes.
"You ruthless old coot!"
A voice full of curses came through as a verdant figure leapt from the woods, dashing towards the mountain at great speed.
"Want to run?"
A third Heavenly Thunder Pearl was already primed, and a streak of purple lightning shot out, striking the verdant figure's back in an instant, turning it into a charred lump.
Zhou Yi confirmed that the two were thoroughly dead and collected the spoils of his first magical duel.
"Two low-grade flying swords, several spirit talismans, about ten jin of spirit rice, nine spirit stones... Can these paupers even be called evil cultivators?"
"All together, they are worth roughly two hundred and sixty-seven spirit stones, not even enough to buy back three Heavenly Thunder Pearls."
"I've only heard of slaying for treasure to strike it rich, so how come I end up at a loss?"
...
Heng City.
Zhou Yi transformed into an old white-haired Taoist and bought a secluded courtyard.
Half a month later.
After Zhou Yi had set up the Spirit Gathering Array, he scattered over a dozen spirit stones around the courtyard, releasing a rich spiritual energy.
The Spirit Gathering Array gathered the spiritual energy, confining it within the courtyard; Zhou Yi tried to operate the Guiyuan Technique, and his mana improved slightly.
"At the fourth level of Qi Refinement, the required density of spiritual energy is not high. With a reserve of over two hundred spirit stones, I'm not afraid of running out. However, the Spirit Gathering Array itself is also dissipating energy. At most, in four years, the formation flags will need to be replaced."
Zhou Yi looked towards Cloud Mountain to the north, pondering and mulling over his thoughts.
"The message from Xuanlin the True One of the Dan Ding Sect suggests that, theoretically, he could return in a year or two."
"If there's no news after three to five years, then I'll head to the southern Chu State's Tianyang Abyss, which also belongs to the marketplace under the Dan Ding Sect's command."
...
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
In the cold winter months, snowflakes fluttered down.
The residents of Green Willow Lane found that the willow trees in the alley remained verdantly lush.
Such a sight could be regarded as auspicious.
The Prefect of Xuzhou came with scholars to see, and they composed many poems about it, preparing to present them to the Emperor of the Yuan Zhou Dynasty to demonstrate the clear governance of the local officials.
The Emperor of the Yuan Zhou Dynasty was the legitimate son of the Sage Emperor and had ascended to the throne five years ago.
Rumors had it that the Sage Emperor and Sage Empress had abdicated voluntarily; otherwise, it's uncertain whether the Emperor of the Yuan Zhou Dynasty would have met with an untimely demise first.
Night fell.
The chilly winds were biting.
Zhou Yi sat cross-legged in the small courtyard, deeply engrossed in cultivation when suddenly, a tremor surged through his heart, causing his cultivation technique to stall.
"What's going on?"
Suddenly, he soared dozens of feet into the air and looked towards the north.
A blazing sun abruptly rose into the deep blue firmament, followed by the fall of the Golden Crow, causing the earth to shake.
Hum!
The people of Heng City were joltedly awakened from their sleep, and a continuous rise and fall of dogs barking and roosters crowing ensued, turning the silent city instantly into a noisy chaos.
"This place is, I fear, a thousand miles away from Cloud Mountain, and yet there is still a reaction."
Zhou Yi did not know who had intervened, but it was likely not just a Golden Elixir True Monarch, it could be one of the legendary Nascent Soul ancestors, or even someone stronger.
"Such a terrifying attack, even Little Dan Mountain would likely crumble, merely over the refinement of a precious spirit mine!"
"The cold-heartedness of the Cultivation World I have witnessed today. Should a war break out between the righteous and demonic in the future, the top powerhouses could annihilate a hundred miles with a single strike, and the low-level cultivators would only be cannon fodder!"
"This is the second time I've narrowly escaped death; the last time was when Li Wu set a trap in the heavenly prison."
"Even with the Longevity Dao Fruit, without the Dao Protection Art, sooner or later, one would die in the aftermath of clashes between the powerful..."
...
The incident at Cloud Mountain did not have much impact on the people of Heng City.
The next day, when everyone chatted leisurely, they realized they had all been startled awake the night before, not knowing the cause, and assumed it was the Night Wandering Deity or the spirits of soldiers passing through.
It was only after another fortnight that this topic faded into obscurity, and the real influence began to emerge.
Early morning.
Zhou Yi came out of the courtyard, carefully sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
"It's richer than yesterday. Now, without the need for the Spirit Gathering Array, the mundane world can maintain the fourth level of Qi Refinement."
At this moment.
A few government officials hurried into Green Willow Lane, their expressions solemn; the leader, a capture officer, moved swiftly, his palms thick, obviously skilled in wielding a blade.
Zhou Yi's eyes twinkled with insight as he followed the direction the officials were heading.
Not far away, a courtyard was shrouded with dense Yin Sha energy, and faint wails of malevolent spirits could be vaguely heard.
"The spirit veins being constrained by the Cultivation World could arguably be a good thing for the common folk; after all, the chance of ordinary people having a spirit root is one in a ten thousand, and the rest must endure the harm of monsters and ghosts!"