At the ends of the earth.
A dense jungle covered the small island, where wild beasts darted between numerous scattered stockades. The ambient spiritual energy was thin, yet in the island's very center lay an azure hot spring, endlessly boiling and bottomless, from which several azure streams flowed outward into the woods.
A black-robed cultivator stood guard beside the pool, sitting quietly with legs crossed. After more than half a day, a brown-robed cultivator finally came speeding over, landed by the pool, and cupped his hands.
"Fellow Daoist Feng, I've borrowed the Lilü Fire-Warding Shroud."
The rogue cultivator surnamed Feng leapt to his feet at once, having clearly been distracted moments earlier, and answered, "Many thanks, Daoist Fang! Quickly, bring it out!"
Fang drew a bright crimson jade bead from his sleeve and said with great reluctance, "Do be careful... I mortgaged my ancestral Wuting Talisman Brush for this... and even threw in a spirit stone on top as rental fee. If that talisman brush weren't so special, they never would have agreed to lend it out..."
Feng cast a glance at him and said patiently, "Rest assured. I've been to this island many times. Even those savages were put here by my founding ancestor to serve our descendants' needs. For fear that someone capable might emerge among them, they weren't even taught to read or write.
"This island has always been bereft of spiritual energy. Yet when I came today, I found it had a faint trace of spiritual qi, entirely courtesy of this great boiling spring at its center. There must have been some shift in the earth veins."
He took the jade bead and channeled dharmic power into it. It swelled and expanded at once, turning into a red barrier densely inscribed with runes that enveloped both men. As Feng took the lead in sinking into the lake, he said, "I once visited Master Xia, an alchemist in the Mu Sea. He casually mentioned that when a spring is pure azure and wells up copiously from deep underground with an ascending impetus, it is called a Cave Spring once it condenses into water. There's an extraordinary inland lineage that cultivates this path—called Lushui."
Daoist Fang asked, "Lushui? Dew water? What sort of dew? Once completed, what rank of figure does that make someone?"
Feng shook his robe, pointed toward the sky above, and said, "Higher than the sky, of course."
The surrounding water was growing hotter and hotter. Daoist Fang gasped in horror, "Higher than the sky? A Foundation Establishment cultivator's lineage!"
Feng laughed without answering immediately, shaking his head. "That's called Violet Palace! It's a Violet Palace cultivator's lineage! Never mind how magnificent the island lords seem when moving mountains and filling seas—someone like that could kill them with a single glance."
Changing the subject, he said, "Regardless, whatever is in this cavern has caused all this boiling and filled the entire island with spiritual energy. It must be a spiritual object at the Foundation Establishment level! As long as we get our hands on it, neither of us will have to worry for the rest of our lives."
Fang sighed. "I'm relying entirely on your guidance, Daoist. I'm merely a miscellaneous qi cultivator—what good would even the finest treasure do me? You, at least, cultivate orthodox qi. When you obtain this opportunity and rise step by step, don't forget to lend me a hand."
As they spoke, the two had already entered the earth vein. Scalding steam mingled with flames flanked them on both sides, roasting the magical device until it hummed. Clearly falling short on dharmic power, Feng had his companion take over, his expression changing as he exclaimed, "So domineering! We haven't even reached the depths of the earth vein... Where on earth does such terrifying earth fire come from?!"
Fang's lineage was clearly inferior; he had never even seen earth fire before, so he could only nod along, pretending to understand. Feng's expression shifted several times before he gritted his teeth and said, "How many medicinal pills do you have left?!"
Fang rattled off the meager contents of his pockets, to which Feng declared resolutely, "Our pills are enough! Now that we've come this far, how could we return empty-handed? We must venture deeper into the earth vein to take a look. Even if we can't take anything, we'll at least know what lies below!"
Gritting his teeth, he spurred his dharmic power and flew straight on for less than half a quarter of an hour. At last, the steam before them eased slightly, and the subterranean flames flickered, vaguely revealing an open space.
Inside this subterranean cavern, the stone slabs were smooth and etched with countless intricate patterns. At the very center, a mass of deep black fire was burning, leaping upon an altar-like platform.
Both men felt a rush of excitement surge into their heads. Before they could recover from the pleasant shock, Feng peered into the distance while the fire dimmed—and vaguely spotted a skeleton beside the flames!
The skeleton sat cross-legged, seemingly dead for quite a few years. A glittering, metallic-textured storage bag lay beside the bones, glowing all the more brilliantly amid the flames.
Feng was shaken to his core, greed flaring within him: *It's the site where a cultivator passed away! My fortune has arrived!*
He immediately backed away, whispering, "I can hardly hold on! Let's leave quickly!"
Both were at the end of their tether. As the earth vein cycled, the surrounding flames grew brighter and hotter. Fang could already feel the soles of his feet burning and nodded repeatedly. The two swiftly vanished into the sea of fire.
Once they were gone, only vast flames remained in the cavern. The skeleton on the ground twitched a finger, and flesh promptly surfaced across the bones. A platinum Daoist robe sprang back into being, revealing a handsome, dignified countenance.
Li Ximing let out a deep breath, feeling quite relieved. "Someone has finally come!"
Li Ximing was trapped by Changxiao's Sangyu Ninefold Mystic Method. The moment he stepped outside this place, the flames upon his body would blaze like a beacon, so he had no choice but to suppress them with spiritual items. Over the past few months, he had already consumed more than a dozen drops. His sole hope had been for people from the outside to arrive.
"This spring is the least conspicuous, and it looks just like an ordinary shift in the earth veins, so it won't stir up much of a fuss. The downside, however, is that very few people come... After waiting several months, all that came was a first-layer Qi Refinement cultivator!"
A Qi Refinement cultivator was naturally of little use. Had he not intentionally suppressed the flames, the two wouldn't even have been able to lay eyes on him. Thus, Li Ximing made no move against them, playing the long game to reel in bigger fish.
*Qi Refinement is far from enough... At least a Foundation Establishment cultivator must come before there is any chance of breaking free...*
The only thing in his possession capable of treating a Violet Palace cultivator's wounds was the formula for Xuanque Heart-Passing Medicine. He had plenty of precious herbs and assistant ingredients in his storage bag, and being a Violet Palace alchemist after all, he had gradually worked out a treatment plan over these few months. Unfortunately, it required at least a Foundation Establishment monster beast as the primary ingredient—something he naturally could not concoct while stuck sitting here.
*If I lure a few Foundation Establishment cultivators here and find a way to have them gather several spiritual materials for me... and capture a Female Water monster beast, I can manage to concoct a pill... and suppress the injury first.*
He pondered for a moment. Drawing upon the Immortal Mirror, his spiritual sense soared outward to watch the two depart. Yet before they even made it off the island, the black-robed cultivator Feng seized the moment when his companion's dharmic power was depleted, drew a sword from his storage bag, and hacked him to pieces in a few swift strokes.
*How ruthless... Now he doesn't even have to return the magical device... he can just keep it for himself.*
Watching coldly as Feng departed the island, Li Ximing felt a strange sensation well up inside him:
*So now I'm like one of those Violet Palace fiends sealed beneath the earth veins in storybooks... just waiting for some foolish lad to set me free by accident, only for him to go through seventy-eight thrilling chapters before slaying me once and for all with an immortal sword... What a lovely tale.*
Chapter 766