Chapter 27 Spirit Spring
Chapter 27 Spirit Spring
"Master Xiong is dead."
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached both of their ears clearly.
"You have two choices."
"First, follow in his footsteps."
"Second, take me to the location of the Black Wind Mountain Spirit Spring."
The two looked at each other and knelt down at the same time.
"We'll choose the second option; we'll lead the way."
Zhang Lin nodded and told the two to wait aside.
He walked to Xiong Ye's body, bent down, and began to search his body.
First, there was that broadsword, a mid-grade magic weapon, in good condition.
He took out a storage bag from his bosom, which contained a thousand spirit stones, several bottles of pills, and a palm-sized wooden box.
He put the broadsword into his storage bag and took out a palm-sized wooden box.
Upon opening it, a jade slip lay inside.
The jade slip had a faint bluish glow on its surface, and several tiny characters were engraved on it: "The Hundred Herbs Elixir Classic - Fragment".
The secrets of the Danxia Sect, kept secret, record the cultivation methods for dozens of spiritual herbs.
Although it was only a fragment, its value to him, who possessed the Creation System, was immeasurable.
He closed the wooden box and put it into his pocket.
Then he walked to the corpse of the blue-scaled python.
This level-two peak demonic beast's flesh and blood had been devoured by the Heavenly Flame, but its scales and venomous fangs remained.
Scales can be used to craft medium-grade and even high-grade magical artifacts, while venomous fangs are excellent materials for crafting poison-based magical artifacts.
It retracted its scales, and a fist-sized bead gleaming with a dark blue light rolled out from them.
This is the core of the Azure Scale Python, equivalent to the dantian of a demon beast, where the essence of its demonic power is concentrated.
Beast cores can be used to refine high-grade magical artifacts, and can also be used as a medicinal ingredient in alchemy; their value is even greater than that of scales and armor.
Zhang Lin put the beast core into the jade box to prevent the spiritual energy from being lost.
They also searched through the six secondary banners of the trapping array hidden in the mountain path, as well as the low-grade flying sword-like magic weapon, and some spirit stones and jade slips.
After doing all this, he stood up, cast a few fireballs to destroy the evidence, and dusted off his robes.
He looked at the two kneeling on the ground and said calmly, "Hand over your belongings and lead the way."
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Deep in Black Wind Mountain.
After passing through the black pine forest, we walked along a secluded mountain stream for about half an hour. The terrain gradually rose, and the surrounding vegetation changed from pine forest to a denser primeval forest.
Ancient trees reach for the sky, vines hang down, and the air is filled with the damp scent of earth and the fresh fragrance of grass and trees.
The deeper you go, the richer the spiritual energy becomes.
Zhang Lin nodded secretly.
This level of spiritual energy is beyond what ordinary mountains and forests can achieve.
Sure enough, after walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a cliff appeared ahead.
The cliff is about 20 feet high, and the cliff face is covered with moss and vines. A thin waterfall hangs down from the top of the cliff and gathers into a clear pool below.
The pool water was crystal clear, and a thin layer of mist shrouded the surface.
"The sacred spring is right behind the waterfall."
The man holding the crossbow said tremblingly.
Zhang Lin walked to the edge of the pool, stretched out his palm, and pierced through the waterfall's curtain of water.
Sure enough, behind the waterfall was a naturally formed cave, the entrance of which was about ten feet in diameter. A strong spiritual energy rushed towards us, several times stronger than that outside.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes, his figure passing through the waterfall and landing in the cave.
The cave was small, about three zhang in size, with several fluorescent stones embedded in the cave walls, emitting a soft glow.
In the center of the cave, there is a spring that is three feet square.
The spring water is crystal clear, and the surface is as calm as a mirror. You can feel a continuous stream of spiritual energy gushing out from the depths of the spring, like the breathing of the earth's veins.
A small sacred spring.
Zhang Lin squatted down, scooped up a handful of spring water, and took a sip.
As the spring water entered my throat, a warm and refreshing spiritual energy rose from my abdomen, flowing along my meridians to my limbs and bones.
Just this one bite is equivalent to an hour of his usual meditation practice.
"Good spring".
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Zhang Lin's eyes.
He walked around the cave to make sure there were no hidden dangers before leaving the waterfall and returning to the pool.
The two men remained kneeling on the spot, not daring to utter a sound.
Zhang Lin glanced at them, took out two spirit stones from his sleeve, and threw them in front of the two men.
"This is your reward for leading the way."
The two were stunned.
They had assumed that Zhang Lin would kill them to cover his tracks after leading the way.
Unexpectedly, not only were they not killed, but they were also given spirit stones?
"The Black Wind Society has disbanded."
Zhang Lin said calmly, "From now on, you are free. Whether you want to continue as independent cultivators or join another force, it's none of my business."
"But one thing is certain: keep today's events to yourself. If I find out you've leaked the news..."
He didn't finish speaking, but the two men had already kowtowed repeatedly.
"I wouldn't dare! Absolutely not!"
Zhang Lin nodded and waved for them to leave.
The two felt as if they had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of the ravine.
Zhang Lin watched them disappear into the forest before turning around, crossing the waterfall again, and returning to the cave.
He sat cross-legged beside the spring, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the "Shangqing Yinqi Jue".
In such a place rich in spiritual energy, the terrifying power of superior cultivation techniques in absorbing spiritual energy begins to manifest.
The rich spiritual energy in the spring gushed out at a visible speed, flowing into his body like rivers flowing into the sea.
The true qi mist in the dantian became denser at a visible speed, showing faint signs of condensing into liquid.
From the middle to the late stage of Qi Refining, one needs to transform true Qi from atomization to liquefaction.
In ordinary spiritual lands, even with superior cultivation techniques, this process still requires painstaking effort, taking anywhere from several months to several years.
However, this time will be greatly shortened near a small spiritual spring.
Zhang Lin was immersed in cultivation, and after an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt a tremor in his dantian.
At the very core of the true qi mist, a drop of liquid true qi condensed.
In the later stages of Qi Refining, True Qi transforms into Liquid.
Although it was only one drop, it meant that he had already stepped into the threshold of the late stage of Qi Refining.
It was from this point that the vast difference between superior and ordinary cultivation techniques began to emerge.
That is the secret of transforming true qi into liquid. In the later stages of qi refining, every drop of liquid true qi is the essence of the cultivator's entire body's true qi.
The more drops of true qi there are, the more solid the foundation, the more abundant the true qi, the stronger the endurance in combat, and the more abundant the foundation when breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
In general, lower-level Qi cultivation techniques can produce a maximum of 10-20 drops, while intermediate-level techniques can produce 36-72 drops.
Zhang Lin's enhanced technique can condense 108 drops, making it a perfect technique among superior techniques.
More importantly, after refining one's Qi to perfection, one can refine Qi into spirit and awaken spiritual consciousness.
At that time, he will be able to control his sword with his spiritual sense, explore formations with his spiritual sense, and search for rare and precious materials with his spiritual sense.
That was the beginning of a true connection between cultivators in the Qi Refining stage and the heavens and earth.
Zhang Lin opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and reserved.
He glanced at the sky outside the cave.
The light outside the waterfall had dimmed, and night had fallen.
Unbeknownst to him, he had spent an entire afternoon cultivating in the cave.
Zhang Lin stood up and stretched his limbs.
Today's battle was very fruitful.
With this spiritual spring, he now had a true cultivation cave, no longer needing to return to Shangqing Temple to compete with others for the meager spiritual energy of that miniature spiritual vein.
However, Black Wind Mountain is too far from Shangqing Temple, making it inconvenient to travel back and forth.
He needs a reasonable reason to stay in Blackwind Mountain indefinitely.
Zhang Lin pondered for a moment, and gradually formed a plan in his mind.
The Black Wind Society has been destroyed, and Master Xiong is dead. This mountain forest has become a no-man's land.
He could claim to be an "outer disciple of the Danxia Sect" and openly declare that he was ordered by his master to open a temporary cave here to collect spiritual herbs, refine elixirs, and cultivate.
With Sun He as a witness, and the two he just deliberately let go, the aftereffects of today's battle will soon spread, and no rogue cultivator in the Qingyun Town area will dare to provoke him.
As for Shangqing Temple, he only needs to go back in a few days and say that he wants to help his senior brother from Danxia Sect manage his property in Qingyun Town. He can then explain the situation to Qi Yuntian and move out legitimately.
Afterwards, opening a general store in the market would be much more convenient, whether selling magical artifacts or spiritual herbs. Opening a store is the way to make money.
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