Amid the dusky yellow expanse, flying sand and rolling stones blurred the view, reducing visibility to under ten li.
A continuous series of cracking and snapping sounds rang out.
*Thud!*
A pile of shattered stones clattered to the ground through the meshes of a net.
Cave Master Moyun squatted down and rummaged through the debris for a good while before finally pulling out an earth-yellow, diamond-shaped crystal.
"A spirit stone?"
"An earth-attribute supreme-grade spirit stone?"
"No, that can't be right. Its spiritual energy content is clearly only at the mid-grade level, so why is its attribute so pure and singular?"
Cave Master Moyun was thoroughly baffled.
Just moments ago, they had encountered a stone monster. It had looked imposing and fierce, standing twenty to thirty feet tall, yet its strength had been utterly underwhelming. There was no need for Luo Chen to lift a finger; Moyun had dispatched it with ease.
Recalling how slaying metal-attribute exotic beasts back in the Qianren Mountains had yielded numerous metal ores, Cave Master Moyun had searched through the remains with great care. As an artifact refiner, he handled countless materials in his daily life; whether metal- or earth-attribute, gathering more was always worthwhile.
Yet the result left him profoundly disappointed.
A strange earth-attribute crystal.
It resembled a mid-grade spirit stone, yet possessed distinct differences.
As he puzzled over it, Luo Chen's calm voice sounded by his ear.
"Let me have a look."
Cave Master Moyun naturally raised no objection and tossed the crystal over.
Luo Chen lowered his head and studied it for a long while without a change in expression, then casually tucked it into his dark-green storage ring.
Seeing this, Cave Master Moyun parted his lips.
He wanted to say that it was his spoil of battle.
Yet in the end, he swallowed his displeasure. Luo Chen had already claimed that piece of supreme-grade Nine Yang Gengjin earlier, so why squabble over a small mid-grade spirit stone that looked unusual but amounted to little in reality?
*Let him have it, let him have it!*
Cave Master Moyun averted his gaze, deciding that what the eye didn't see, the heart wouldn't grieve over.
Yet the very next moment, hearing movement beside him, he turned around instinctively.
"Demonic Lord, what are you..."
An azure bird took to the sky while a black flood dragon coiled along the ground, flanking Luo Chen like guardians.
Luo Chen gave Cave Master Moyun a slight nod. "It's nothing. I simply sense some danger here, so I intend to have my spirit pets scout ahead."
"Scout?"
Cave Master Moyun was reminded of what had transpired in the Qianren Mountains. Clearly, Luo Chen had released two spirit pets in advance back then, which was how he had managed to ambush him and Ding Yi.
Who would have guessed Demonic Lord Qingyang possessed such deep, calculating schemes?
Cave Master Moyun gave Luo Chen a searching look, then gave his sleeve a flick, and two beams of golden light flashed forth.
"If scouting is required, I expect my Tiyuan birds would be far more suited to the task."
One beam of golden light circled around him, while the other settled upon his shoulder.
Luo Chen looked with surprise at the two shimmering golden birds. Tiyuan and Tiyang—twin yao beasts exceptionally gifted at hunting treasures, bound by telepathic resonance that allowed them to relay information across immense distances.
To think Cave Master Moyun had tamed such spirit pets!
Still, releasing them now was surely due to the previous lesson; he wanted to keep a watchful eye on Luo Chen!
Luo Chen offered a faint smile. "In that case, let us send both!"
With a wave of his broad sleeve, Tianxuan and Black King set out immediately, heading in two separate directions.
Seeing this, Cave Master Moyun was taken aback. He had already provided beasts far better suited for reconnaissance, yet Luo Chen still insisted on sending his own?
Of course, things having come to this, there was no going back.
The Tiyuan bird spread its wings and soared away.
Taisui sat atop his yellow gourd nearby, looking on with cold detachment throughout.
Yet unexpectedly, as Luo Chen flew forward, he struck up a conversation with him.
"Fellow Daoist Taisui, you mentioned earlier that the Heaven Refining Demon Lord was proficient in the laws of the five elements, even using them to enlighten five-element spirits. Is that so?"
"Yes, what of it?"
"I have encountered spirits before. Though their capabilities may be modest, their intelligence is no lower than that of normal humans, and they are born with souls. Yet why were the spirits we encountered earlier lacking complete souls, dull of wit, and acting almost entirely on instinct? Beings like that hardly qualify as true spirits, do they?"
The brow on Taisui's emaciated face furrowed, making his cheeks look like two flaps of skin pressed together over protruding brow bones.
Cave Master Moyun grew curious as well. "Indeed. Setting aside low-tier spirits, even that fourth-tier Nine Yang Golden Eagle seemed less intelligent than ordinary third-tier demon kings, if you ask me."
Faced with their inquiries, Taisui fell silent for a long while before ultimately offering only one reply: "I am merely a remnant split-soul; what I know is limited."
Luo Chen was dissatisfied with this, but he did not press the matter.
Instead, he shifted the topic toward a battlefield amid the boundless yellow sands ahead.
There, Black King was casually lashing his massive tail, smashing a stone monster to pieces.
"In this vast Quicksand Sea, are these stone monsters also spirits enlightened by the Heaven Refining Demon Lord?"
Taisui hesitated.
"Are they, or are they not?" Luo Chen stared intently at Taisui, seeking a definite answer.
Taisui gave a bitter smile. "Likely so, though I cannot be entirely certain. The Five Elements Heaven was founded thousands of years ago, and not all living things within were enlightened by the True Monarch. For instance, both the Five Elements Lotus Platform and I evolved and grew on our own. Over these long millennia, how could even I comprehend every change that occurred?"
Luo Chen furrowed his brow, instinctively suspecting the other was lying. Yet recalling that Taisui's true body had been trapped by formation restrictions, it seemed only natural that he would be ignorant of the external changes.
Even so, Luo Chen pressed a bit further.
"What was the Heaven Refining Demon Lord's purpose in arranging the Five Elements Heaven?"
Taisui blinked. "Purpose? This realm was merely his traveling palace. You may simply regard the Five Elements Heaven as his rear garden. What other purpose could there be?"
"Does a rear garden require such painstaking arrangement?"
"Demonic Lord Qingyang, do not forget that the True Monarch was himself an extraordinarily formidable artifact refiner. The Five Elements Heaven is filled with a myriad of resources. They may look pleasing on ordinary days, but whenever artifact refinement was involved, they were prime materials ready at hand."
Luo Chen nodded slightly; this explanation sounded reasonable enough.
Yet because of that, his curiosity only deepened.
"The Qianren Mountains were dominated by mineral veins. What about this Quicksand Sea? We have traveled for a full day, and aside from a few stone monsters, we have seen no extraordinary resources."
Hearing this, Taisui burst into laughter.
"After beating around the bush for so long, this was what you wanted to ask all along!"
Luo Chen wore an open expression; this was indeed what he wished to know. Only by understanding the purpose of this place's arrangement could he prepare against whatever dangers might lie hidden.
"It does no harm to tell you. In this vast Quicksand Sea, there is only one thing, and no other resources. However, it is hidden extraordinarily deep; ordinary men can never hope to find it."
"What is it?"
"Have you ever heard of Living Earth?"
In an instant, Taisui heard two heavy, ragged breaths.
Both Luo Chen and Cave Master Moyun were deeply stirred!
Living Earth!
Among the countless heavenly treasures and earthly wonders, it was the most renowned of all earthly treasures, standing on equal footing with Weak Water, yet virtually unheard of in the mortal realm!
Rumor held that it belonged to the Immortal Realm—how could it ever be found in a mere lower realm?
Such a treasure was the ultimate dream of every artifact refiner!
Especially Luo Chen. Through years of nurturing, the impurities within his natal treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron, had grown fewer and fewer, and it was now ready for new materials to be incorporated to enhance its might.
If he could obtain this Living Earth...
"Don't get your hopes up. I only mentioned it in passing."
Taisui gave a twitch of his lips, pointing down at the endless sea of sand beneath their feet. "A treasure of that caliber is extraordinarily rare in this world. Even the True Monarch could never acquire it."
Luo Chen was speechless. "Then why bring it up? Are you making fun of us?"
Taisui chuckled sinisterly. "The True Monarch could not acquire it, but he wished to refine Living Earth with his own hands."
"Refine Living Earth?!"
Two voices rang out in unison, both laced with utter disbelief.
Taisui nodded. "Indeed. The True Monarch gathered vast amounts of earth-attribute resources—such as Origin-Tracing Mud, Proliferating Earth, Dark Yellow Sand, Pure Billow Dust, Demon Transforming Mud, and the like—amassing them all here. Then, aided by the power of earth-element laws, he sought to reverse origins and recreate the legendary Living Earth."
Listening to each of those names, Luo Chen and Cave Master Moyun held their breath.
Some were familiar to them, like Origin-Tracing Mud and Proliferating Earth. Others were materials they had never even heard of.
To assemble so many precious earth-attribute materials here and refine them together to recreate Living Earth—what grand, awe-inspiring skill that required!
"Did he succeed?"
"Unclear." Taisui shook his head, a hint of uncertainty on his face. "My true body is a wood-attribute spiritual plant, which heavily counters earth-element things. I vaguely recall that fifteen hundred years ago, a unique aura emanated from the sand sea. That aura made me intensely uncomfortable, as though the natural order had been inverted. Later, out of curiosity, I asked the attendant boy under the True Monarch, and he said..."
"Said what?"
"A single step away, yet worlds apart." Taisui looked back upon the past, a trace of confusion in his eyes. "The boy said the Quicksand Sea had found its master from that day forth, named Tianrang. In the future, more materials were to be gathered for it so it could take that final step. Alas, the True Monarch fell later on..."
Luo Chen and Cave Master Moyun exchanged a glance, murmuring the name "Tianrang" under their breath.
At the same time.
Amid the boundless Quicksand Sea, gentle breezes swirled and wandered, setting countless grains of sand churning.
Beneath the sand sea, however, lay a separate world.
Crude caverns stretched out everywhere. Sounds of laughter and conversation seemed to drift within, as though people resided there.
Yet upon closer inspection, not a trace of humanity was to be seen. Only bizarrely shaped mud figurines lay scattered throughout the caverns.
In a fleeting daze...
A palm-sized mud figurine stood up. Its ears twitched slightly, as though catching a faint sound.
"Is someone calling my name?"
Yet when it listened carefully again, no echo lingered in the wind.
The little mud figurine wrinkled its nose. Casting the matter aside, it let out a sharp whistle.
"*Wheeeew...*"
The long, drawn-out whistle echoed through more than a hundred surrounding caverns.
Before long, small mud figurines emerged one after another from the caverns. Yet unlike this one, their limbs were incomplete and their facial features blurred, as if molded haphazardly, or as though they had survived some brutal battle.
These battered little mud figurines gathered in ranks before it.
At a glance, they resembled an army.
Seeing this, the little mud figurine revealed a grimace that looked half like crying, half like smiling.
"Ever since that fellow fled here three hundred years ago, it refused to leave."
"Not only that, it even divided into stone monsters to hunt me relentlessly."
"This time, its doom has come!"
"My children, get ready and capture it for me. Once I devour it, I can take that next step and lead you all out of here!"
Silence reigned below.
Yet following its command, the battered mud figurines began marching outside.
...
*Whoosh...*
A breeze blew past as a streak of golden light circled high in the sky, gliding along at a leisurely pace.
Looking closely, it was a small golden bird.
Its flight was slow, showing none of the urgency of travel.
At this moment, its head was lowered, peering down at the scene below.
A colossal flood dragon serpent was using its brute strength to constrict a hard, resilient stone monster to death. Once the beast died, the dragon plucked a yellow spirit stone from its shattered remains with its jaws.
The black dragon raised its head and glared at the golden bird.
"Scram!"
"Look again, and I'll eat you!"
The little golden bird's feathers shuddered, and it hurried into the distance, though it still kept a set distance from the black dragon, monitoring it from afar.
Black King spat out a mouthful of sand, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
"Master is really something. Giving me scouting duty was one thing, but why force me to hunt these stone monsters?"
"They're completely useless. What's the point of killing them?"
As he grumbled, he swallowed the yellow spirit stone.
To his mind, this thing was at most on par with a high-grade spirit stone. What was the use of wasting so much effort collecting them?
A hundred li behind Black King.
Cave Master Moyun's heart stirred as he looked at the Tiyang bird chirping on his shoulder.
According to the news sent back by the male Tiyuan bird, Demonic Lord Qingyang's spirit pet, Black King, was actually going out of his way to slay stone monsters and gather those peculiar spirit stones.
What was the meaning of this?
Just then, he turned his head and caught Luo Chen looking back at him with an ambiguous smile.
"Cave Master, has your Tiyuan bird discovered anything of note?"
Cave Master Moyun's expression stiffened slightly. He thought to himself: *Could that Black King really transmit voice messages across a hundred li? Within this Five Elements Heaven, divine sense is suppressed to the absolute limit. Even those of us with formidable soul foundations cannot easily send voice transmissions over such a distance. Could Black King truly relay the news of the Tiyuan bird's surveillance back to Demonic Lord Qingyang?*
Naturally, he maintained an outward calm.
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Oh..."
Luo Chen pursed his lips, drawing out his tone.
"You might not have noticed anything, but I have picked up a bit of movement over on my end!"
Cave Master Moyun froze, and even Taisui looked toward Luo Chen in curiosity.
Luo Chen smiled faintly. His magic power surged throughout his body, and his hands traced a circle in the empty air.
Instantly, a rippling water mirror coalesced before him.
This single display caused Cave Master Moyun to hold his breath instinctively.
The Quicksand Sea was a gathering place of earth-element power, and its spiritual energy consisted almost entirely of earth-attribute Qi. Yet Demonic Lord Qingyang could conjure the Water Mirror Art out of thin air in such a place!
Moreover, the man was clearly someone who specialized exclusively in fire arts!
Such an act demonstrated just how profound his mastery of spells was.
Of course, now was not the time to marvel over such minor details. He and Taisui looked curiously into the water mirror.
Three figures appeared on the mirror's surface.
Three male cultivators, all in the late Golden Core stage, each possessing an extraordinary bearing.
The three sat in a triangular formation atop a rocky gobi.
It was one of the few places in the Quicksand Sea with solid ground, surrounded entirely by hard, unyielding stone.
Across that gobi lay the shattered remains of stone monsters, and the earth was scarred and pitted, testifying to a fierce battle that had taken place not long ago.
Between the three stood a massive white banner.
The leader wore a flying-cloud topknot and a brown Daoist robe. In his hand was a bell, which he shook vigorously.
The Daoist chanted incessantly under his breath.
Because of the immense distance, the reflection was hazy, making it impossible to read his lips.
Yet within the image, wind and clouds converged, the earth trembled, and ominous calamity clouds gathered thick and dark across the sky above.
This scene appeared profoundly extraordinary at a glance, as though some momentous event was about to unfold.
Cave Master Moyun suppressed his rising agitation and asked curiously, "What are they doing?"
Luo Chen looked solemn. "I don't know, but once we get there, we will find out."
As he spoke, his palm closed around the yellow spirit stone he had taken from Cave Master Moyun. A faint tremor emanated from within it.
...
Across the desolate, boundless gobi.
Dark clouds pressed low over the land as howling winds swept through.
A magnificent azure bird concealed itself within the tempest, its gaze sharp and cold, mirroring the scene below like a sheet of water.
The hurried chiming of the bell rang out, shaking the azure bird's divine soul.
Loud, solemn chants burst continuously from the leading Daoist's mouth.
"Giants a thousand cubits tall seek only after souls!
Ten suns rise together, melting metal and dissolving stone!
They are accustomed to it, but your soul would surely perish!
Return, O soul! You cannot abide there!
Return, O soul! The quicksands stretch a thousand li!
Return, O soul! The thunderous abyss is myriad fathoms deep!
Return, O soul! You cannot linger in this realm!
..."
Toward the end, only world-shaking shouts remained: "Return, O soul!"
And amid these resounding calls, the dark clouds pressed down slowly, and an enormous dragon head steadily emerged from within.
Chapter 663