The oldest among the six, Pang Bo, possessed an astute mind, vast experience, and had once been in a similar situation. He easily understood Luo Dijie's actions.
Yet, he still shook his head, silently deeming it overambitious.
Alchemists of noble status and ordinary cultivators rarely found common ground, making it difficult for them to form Dao companions.
In Pang Bo's view, at Luo Dijie's age, his potential had already reached its limit.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, his cultivation would likely halt at the Foundation Establishment stage, with no significant further advancement.
Women of Zhou Yuyan's caliber, when seeking a Dao companion, typically looked for someone even stronger, capable of assisting them in their daily cultivation. They rarely chose ordinary cultivators.
Putting himself in their shoes, Luo Dijie would also not be interested in an ordinary mortal woman.
...
"Rumble!"
At this moment, the ground in the canyon began to shake violently, as if something was about to emerge from the depths.
The next instant!
Vast fissures tore open in the canyon floor, spewing forth pillars of pure white light.
The pillars, several zhang thick, shot straight up into the heavens, cleaving a large hole through the white clouds above.
In the depths of the canyon, the already extremely dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth became even more concentrated.
Around the vicinity, wisps of spiritual mist began to form, ethereal and indistinct. A single breath of it into the body seemed to instantly fortify spiritual power.
Zhou Yuyan, with her extensive knowledge, her expression shifted, and she blurted out to everyone, "Spiritual energy forming pillars! Beneath the canyon, there must be a complete spiritual脉 (lingmai)."
...
Pang Bo, Feng Li, Luo Dijie, Yue Lu, and Wu Tao, upon hearing this, all showed expressions of shock. They had not expected a spiritual脉 to exist directly beneath the canyon.
It was known in the cultivation world that places with spiritual脈 were usually occupied by powerful families or major sects.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was not evenly distributed. Some areas were richer, others sparser.
Over millions of years, in areas of dense spiritual energy, various spiritual脈, large or small, would typically form.
Large spiritual脈 could stretch for tens of thousands of miles unbroken, while small ones might be only two or three li in size, pitifully small.
But regardless of size, once these spiritual脈 formed, they would automatically emit a faint spiritual energy, allowing the spiritual energy in the area to circulate endlessly, never to be depleted.
Furthermore, these spiritual脈 could be layered, making the spiritual energy in the surrounding areas even more concentrated.
The best spiritual脈 could even accelerate a cultivator's practice speed by nearly ten percent during daily training.
Moreover, once formed, these spiritual脈 could be artificially moved with formations without losing their efficacy.
The miraculous effect of spiritual脈 drove cultivators seeking immortality into a frenzy!
Every time a new, ownerless spiritual脈 appeared, it would incite a bloodbath in the cultivation world!
Meanwhile, another group, also deep within the shaded parts of the canyon, comprised of several disciples from the Poison King Sect, dressed in green, who were collecting poisonous herbs and medicines, also discovered this.
"Spiritual energy forming pillars, it seems a spiritual脉 is emerging."
"Damn it, we can't let others get there first, we need to hurry."
"You're right, no time to delay, let's go!"
"If we present this spiritual脉 to the Ancestor, the reward will surely be immense."
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
As they spoke, the group transformed into streaks of peculiar green shadows, darting through the dense forest.
Their speed was astonishingly fast; in the blink of an eye, they had vanished without a trace.
The place where the spiritual脉 emerged had spiritual energy concentrations more than twice as strong as the outside. Deep, pristine white spiritual energy surged forth.
The dense spiritual mist had nearly liquefied, gathering in a swirling vortex above, forming a seemingly tangible pillar of spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
Observing the scale of the spiritual energy pillar, Zhou Yuyan's expression shifted again, a look of regret appearing on her face.
She shook her head and said to everyone, "What a shame, this spiritual脉 is congenitally damaged and won't last long!"
"What does Miss Zhou mean? How can you tell?" Wu Tao's eyebrows shot up at this, and he quickly pressed for details.
Zhou Yuyan smoothed her hair, smiled faintly, and then said, "Looking at the initial concentration of spiritual energy and the range it covers, one can tell this is merely a small spiritual脈.
"However, the concentration and intensity of the spiritual energy it's emitting now are far beyond what a small spiritual脈 could manage..."
She paused, scanning the faces of everyone present, and continued, "Divine objects conceal themselves. Emitting such abundant spiritual energy indicates that this spiritual脈 is not in a state of containment and consolidation, but rather in a state of extreme efflorescence.
"Excessive power is unsustainable; this is a form of harm to the spiritual脈 itself. The current situation can only mean one thing: this spiritual脈 has been decomposing and collapsing since its emergence, hence its current spiritual energy concentration and intensity..."
Feng Li, usually taciturn, continued her words, "In the cultivation world, spiritual脈 are categorized as micro, small, medium, large, and giant spiritual脈, among others.
"Our Great Unity Immortal Sect, as the dominant sect in Qingzhou, only possesses one giant spiritual脈."
The pillar of spiritual energy spewed forth for a full half an hour before gradually weakening. During this process, some accompanying treasures were also ejected.
Although the spiritual脈 was gone, the mere presence of these accompanying treasures was enough for the Foundation Establishment cultivators to gain a small fortune.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
At some unknown time, six disciples of the Poison King Sect, clad in green, also arrived.
"Wait, there are many footprints around, there were quite a few people here."
Bi Hejiong, the lead poison master among the six, scanned the surroundings and stopped his companions from rashly proceeding.
Zhou Jing, one of them with a fiery temper, kicked away a startled, striped wild horse demon beast and said angrily, "Damn it, who dared to get ahead of us?"
"Who cares who it is, anyone who dares to compete with us for spoils will die."
Someone beside him replied to this.
After a brief exchange, the six figures sped forward rapidly.
...
"Ahhh!!!"
Sudden screams erupted from the spot. The striped wild horse demon beast that had been kicked away earlier began to cry out in pain.
Eerie, pale green flames suddenly erupted from its hooves.
In an instant, they enveloped its entire body. Under the searing flames,
Within a few breaths, the wild horse demon beast's entire body turned a toxic green, and it collapsed to the ground, lifeless, finally dissolving into a puddle of ash.
...
The group of six from the Poison King Sect finally reached the location where the spiritual脈 had emerged. They also noticed something amiss.
"Strange?"
"This isn't right, it's definitely not right."
"Could it be a fake spiritual脈? Damn it, we came all this way for nothing."
"Nothing for nothing? Aren't there a few fat sheep here? Robbing each other is a traditional virtue of our Poison King Sect."
"Heh heh!"
The six exchanged glances, their faces revealing peculiar expressions as they let out sinister chuckles.
*Shoo!*
Suddenly, a dazzling, chilling sword energy shot forth from hundreds of meters away.
This sword energy was as swift as a white rainbow piercing the sun, and its power was as heavy as a meteor striking the earth.
"Seeking death!"
A hot-tempered Poison King Sect disciple did not retreat, nor did he evade.
As poisonous mist swirled around, a poisonous hand formed from pale green flames descended from the sky, striking at the sword energy.
"Whoosh...!"
*Bang!*
The sword energy shattered, its sound alarming everyone nearby.
"Six individuals, this is not a place you should be. The path is that way. If you know what's good for you, leave quickly."
Pang Bo, Feng Li, Luo Dijie, Yue Lu, and Wu Tao walked over, their gazes fixed coldly on the six from the Poison King Sect.
These six, believing they had hidden well, were completely unaware that their presence had been detected by Wu Tao's divine sense.
...
The leader of the six, the poison master Bi Hejiong, his small eyes gleamed with all sorts of insidious cunning.
He sneered at Wu Tao and his companions, "Boy, you're quite arrogant. We've always been the ones to tell others to scram, no one has ever dared to tell us to scram.
"Just for those words, I will torture you for three days and three nights, making you wish you were dead."
...
"Did you just attack me? If you kill yourself, I might still leave you with your whole corpse!"
A trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth; struck by the residual wave of sword energy, the hot-tempered Poison King Sect disciple's face was grim and distorted.
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