newbobooks Chapter 80 Qingfeng Scouts the Way, Unexpected Changes at the Bottom of the Lake
Chapter 80 Qingfeng Scouts the Way, Unexpected Changes at the Bottom of the Lake
Chapter 80 Qingfeng Scouts the Way, Unexpected Changes at the Bottom of the Lake
Qin Chengcheng paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Xiaoyu, how did you recognize me?" Her voice was a mixture of surprise and helplessness.
Lin Xiaoyu wrinkled her nose slightly, and a sly smile appeared on her lips:
"Senior sister, your scent hasn't changed in decades. You can fool others, but you can't fool me."
She tapped her nose with her fingertip. "That layer of makeup can cover up ordinary scents, but it can't hide the cool plum blossom fragrance emanating from your skin—have you forgotten my nose?"
"Never mind." Qin Chengcheng chuckled, her body radiating light, her stunning beauty emerging like the moon breaking through the clouds. "Your nose is even more sensitive than a spirit dog's."
"Senior sister!" Lin Xiaoyu glared at him feigning anger, but couldn't hide the intimacy in her tone.
The two exchanged a smile, and the tension that had been building between them seemed to have eased somewhat with that smile.
After all, Qin Chengcheng had just broken ties with Lin Fan and betrayed the sect, so it was already rare for them to be able to have such a peaceful conversation.
"Senior sister, please don't hold it against my father."
Lin Xiaoyu suddenly leaned closer and sighed softly, "He even tried to force me to practice 'Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens' so he could arrange a marriage between me and the Qi royal family—what kind of father is that? I was so angry I almost turned against him!"
"So... have you practiced?" Qin Chengcheng raised an eyebrow.
"I was vehemently opposed to cultivation at first, but my father said that if I succeeded in my cultivation and didn't want to find a man for dual spiritual cultivation, I could find a woman. If my father forced me then, I would go to you, Senior Sister, and give you my first time of spiritual intercourse. How about that?"
"Nonsense!"
Qin Chengcheng flicked her forehead with his finger, "The first spiritual communion of 【Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens】 concerns the foundation of the Dao, and is a thousand times more important than physical dual cultivation."
If one entrusts oneself to the wrong person, one's soul will be tainted with impurities, and one's path in this life will be ruined.
"So, senior sister—"
Lin Xiaoyu's eyes darted around, and she suddenly leaned close to Qin Chengcheng's ear: "Was your first spiritual connection with someone you wished to hold hands with for eternity?"
Qin Chengcheng's eyes dimmed: "I don't know either. I've lost all my memories in recent years, I don't even know who that person is..."
"Wow, Senior Sister, you admit it? You really handed over the first divine power of Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens?"
Lin Xiaoyu's eyes sparkled with excitement, like she was watching a melon seed.
"You tricked me?!" Qin Chengcheng was both embarrassed and angry.
"Oh dear, is there any need to fake it? You were able to withstand my father's full-force attack. Your spiritual power is so strong, it's easy to guess."
Senior sister, to tell you the truth, my father gave me a secret mission, and he also wants me to find that person.
He said that the person was at least a powerful soul cultivator in the late stage of Core Formation, and that discovering him might bring a great opportunity.
"But I've been searching the market for months, and the only one I've found with a third-tier divine soul is you."
Lin Xiaoyu was somewhat discouraged.
Qin Chengcheng was in the same boat: "I also have very few clues, only that I seem to have had some private dealings with that chef surnamed Chen over the past few years."
He might know something, but when I asked him, he wouldn't tell me.
"Xiaoyu, perhaps it's true, as your father said, that the person who helped me is a powerful figure, hidden in this vast world, and no one can find him."
"It couldn't be that cook, could it?"
Lin Xiaoyu blurted it out, then shook her head self-deprecatingly.
"I tested him with the Soul Tracing Jade, and his soul hasn't reached the third level. Besides—" she winked mischievously, "Even if Senior Sister is confused, she wouldn't entrust her first spiritual encounter to a forty-something-year-old Qi-refining cook, would she?"
"Of course not, how could he be worthy?" Qin Chengcheng sneered, "Besides, I thoroughly investigated his cave today and didn't even detect a trace of second-tier spiritual energy fluctuations."
Lin Xiaoyu rested her chin on her hand and sighed softly:
"Take your time looking."
"Senior Sister is lucky, at least she gained the favor of a powerful figure and has now been imbued with his divine soul attribute. Otherwise, my father wouldn't have let you leave so easily; I might have seen Senior Sister again at the Jade Dragon Sect."
"Even without that person's help in resolving my soul problem, I would never have married into the Jade Dragon Sect. What difference does it make if my elders arrange for me to marry someone I don't like and live a miserable life? It's like dying prematurely."
Qin Chengcheng looked out the window, her voice fading.
"Perhaps, I will die at your father's hands for disobeying orders."
She abruptly changed the subject, "Xiaoyu, if one day someone forces you to marry into the royal family, and you are unwilling to do so, what will you do?"
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Lin Xiaoyu's eyes:
"Hmph, I would rather die a glorious death than live a shameful life. I will either fight my way out like my senior sister or I will self-destruct my dantian and take them with me!"
Even if my life is fleeting, I, Lin Xiaoyu, will be remembered by heaven and earth!
"Senior sister, don't worry. When that day comes, I will definitely not let my father succeed. He sold us out and he will keep all the benefits. Dream on!"
"Senior sister, don't worry. Even if you don't form your core, after I do in a few years, and I'm in charge of Miaoyin Pavilion, I'll still bring you back with great pomp and circumstance!"
"Oh, no need. I'll walk my own path."
Xiaoyu, I'm leaving now. Take care of yourself.
"where you go?"
"I don't know either. Maybe I should find a celestial city to cultivate in first. I'm already in the late Foundation Establishment stage, so it's time to start planning for the Crystal Condensation Pill."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Chengcheng got up and left.
After Qin Chengcheng left, Lin Xiaoyu was lost in thought for a moment before realizing that she had gone to great lengths to ask Chen Yi for clues, only to have approached the wrong person.
"Hmph, I got tricked by that cook! He tricked me out of my Foundation Establishment knowledge and a top-grade cultivation technique."
Fortunately, that technique has extremely high requirements; not everyone can successfully cultivate it!
Lin Xiaoyu was furious.
But in the end, she felt that she hadn't really lost out.
At this moment, Chen Yi had already converted all his magical power into Taiyi Longevity Magic Power, and his cultivation, which had fallen to the seventh level of Qi Refining, had returned to the eighth level of Qi Refining.
He lightly rubbed his fingertips together, feeling the warm and continuous flow of spiritual energy in his meridians, and a slight smile appeared on his lips—at this rate, he would be able to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining in less than two years.
With superior cultivation techniques supplemented by the Lesser Five Elements Divine Sense, cultivation truly feels like a powerful horse pulling a small cart—exhilarating and effortless.
He can now sense a bit of the cultivation speed of those geniuses with earth and heaven spiritual roots.
"It's time to make a trip to Qingfeng Immortal City," Chen Yi murmured to himself, gazing at the darkening sky outside the window.
After the market town expanded, large flying boat businesses moved in, providing direct access to Qingfeng Immortal City.
Three days later, he handed over a hundred spirit stones and boarded a black wood flying boat whose entire body was engraved with wind-avoiding array patterns.
As the array hummed, the boat rose into the air, and the ripples from the startled bird array dispersed all the demonic birds in the clouds.
The vast landscape stretching for 20,000 miles receded rapidly outside the porthole, and in just two days, the outline of a celestial city appeared in the distance.
It's even three points faster than the airplane in my previous life.
He stroked the wind-controlling talisman, lightness talisman, and various escape talismans hidden in his sleeve, thinking to himself, "Even if I fall, with my current abilities, riding the wind won't be difficult."
In the ship's common area, Chen Yi sat cross-legged on a gray futon, surrounded by cultivators of all kinds.
The ticket price here is the lowest, and even the basic spirit-gathering array has not been set up. If cultivators want to cultivate, they can only take out spirit stones and hold them in their palms.
Looking up, the carved wooden door on the upper level of the flying boat was tightly closed. It was a private room reserved for wealthy patrons—a price of five hundred spirit stones per room, enough to offset the savings of an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator over several years.
Chen Yi did not go to the upper area, so he naturally had no way of discovering that an ordinary female cultivator in plain clothes was also on the same flying boat.
"We've arrived at Qingfeng City!"
The deacon's hoarse shouts echoed through the cabin.
As Chen Yi and the others rose and stepped out of the cabin, the three-thousand-foot-tall phoenix tree, like a jade peak, came into view.
In the morning light, the emerald-green tree canopy dyes half the sky a bluish-green hue, and the mist flowing between the branches reflects a rainbow of colors—just like the "Azure Phoenix Robe" recorded in ancient texts.
At the tree roots, the azure light curtain seemed to breathe spiritual energy like a living thing, and the pressure of the third-order grand formation "Qiwu Heavenly Barrier" made low-level cultivators instinctively hold their breath.
Chen Yi flew with the others to the city gate and landed.
The city gates are clearly separated by the Jing and Wei rivers.
On the left passage, Foundation Establishment cultivators soared through the air on their magical artifacts, while city guards bowed respectfully and politely as they examined the tokens and their magical aura.
Chen Yi stood silently in the snake-like queue on the right for half an hour.
After paying ten spirit stones and registering his place of origin, "Chen Yi, the Spirit Chef of Ruhai Lake," in the side hall, he finally stepped into the city, clutching the warm jade token of his identity.
Looking up, one sees rows of magnificent buildings, with various arrays of spiritual light flowing endlessly around the eaves.
The distribution of spiritual veins in Qingfeng Immortal City is closely related to the Wutong Divine Tree.
The outer first-tier spiritual vein area is like stars surrounding the moon, the central second-tier spiritual vein area is like a jade belt encircling the waist, and the third-tier core area at the tree roots is shrouded in a blue halo, with spiritual energy condensed into a tangible mist that never dissipates.
This core area is the forbidden territory of the Li family, the domain of Qiwu Zhenren.
Legend has it that a thousand years ago, the ancestor of the Li family saved the injured Qingfeng and was bestowed with his own natal feather as a token.
Today, the clan has had True Core cultivators in every generation, and the legendary thousand-year-old fire phoenix perches in the tree canopy to protect the Li family from falling to the ground.
Chen Yi casually strolled through the shops in the city and found that the prices here were shockingly high; a thousand spirit stones couldn't buy anything of any quality.
The city was vast, and he couldn't possibly see it all in a short time.
In the end, he only rented a simple cave dwelling in the first-tier area.
The spirit-gathering array inside the cave's stone chamber had been in disrepair for many years. When breathing in the air, one could smell a faint earthy odor, but it still consumed three spirit stones every day.
Before dawn the next day, Chen Yi rushed to the "Qinglin Dange" on the southern slope of the Wutong tree.
As he passed through the second-tier area, the oppressive aura of Foundation Establishment cultivators was everywhere, and he walked discreetly by the roadside.
In front of the Dan Pavilion, two Daoist disciples at the late stage of Qi Refining were checking the visiting cards.
Seeing Chen Yi step forward, the boy on the left didn't even raise his eyelids: "Today, Master is receiving your esteemed young master; unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."
Chen Yi handed over the gold-embossed contract, with Qiu Danshi's mark clearly visible on its surface.
After verifying the authenticity, the gatekeeper boy reluctantly stepped aside to make way for the other side.
Even so, after entering the inner waiting room
The person who received Chen Yi was only one of Qiu Danshi's disciples. After confirming that he had come for the Foundation Establishment Pill,
The disciple looked slightly disdainful. "My master hasn't refined Foundation Establishment Pills for many years. Could you please let me take a closer look at your contract, fellow Daoist?"
"I will only speak with Master Qiu in person," Chen Yi said, shaking his head in refusal.
The disciple snorted coldly, "Then you just wait and see!" and then left on his own, leaving Chen Yi standing there.
really,
Chen Yi waited from daylight until nightfall.
It wasn't until a distinguished-looking young master at the ninth level of Qi Refining sat down with his hands behind his back on the flying boat prepared by the peak Foundation Establishment elder and left,
Only then did Master Qiu call Chen Yi over for a brief meeting.
Chen Yi took out the contract and explained his purpose.
Master Qiu suddenly realized, "So it was that girl's request. Foundation Establishment Pill, is it? Alright, I'll start refining it in the next two years. I'll have my disciple send a message to you in advance. Just come and wait for me then."
Let me make it clear beforehand that refining Foundation Establishment Pills is not simple. Even I, this old man, cannot guarantee that every batch will be of high quality.
If this batch doesn't produce any pills, young friend, you can choose to accept ordinary Foundation Establishment Pills, or gather the materials again and refine them once more.
Master Qiu stood there and said a few words to Chen Yi, but without listening to Chen Yi's thoughts, he waved his hand and sent Chen Yi away.
That's just how the world is here.
Chen Yi, a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator, didn't even have the right to speak in front of that near-third-level alchemist.
Chen Yi could only accept whatever arrangements the other party made.
He wasn't discouraged. As long as he met the person in charge, that was enough. He could wait two years.
After leaving the alchemist's residence, Chen Yi lingered in the immortal city for three days.
He deliberately wandered around the stalls in the first-tier spiritual vein merchant area, spending all six hundred spirit stones on himself before boarding the flying boat and returning to the Lake and Sea Market.
As the flying boat pierced through the clouds, Chen Yi used his divine sense to probe into his storage bag, caressing the items inside. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
Three pieces of second-tier copper scraps with purple patterns, a half-ruined second-tier bitter spirit fruit, and a first-tier high-grade flying sword whose array has malfunctioned and which occasionally attacks indiscriminately.
Chen Yi didn't find anything particularly valuable among these broken items. Six hundred spirit stones was almost the market price.
But for Chen Yi, this thing had almost the same effect as when it had all its attributes intact.
Because the system's capacity to absorb information is indifferent to its quality.
"Why should I have this junk?"
Chen Yi secretly wondered if it would be better for him to open a scrap metal recycling shop?
After returning to the market, Chen Yi sat cross-legged in the backyard room.
Three fragments of purple-patterned copper lay quietly in my palm, gleaming with a faint metallic luster in the dim room.
As the system's devouring power slowly circulated, spiderweb-like cracks gradually spread across the surface of the copper sheet.
Strands of golden energy seeped into the meridians like gossamer threads, emitting a faint ringing sound as they circulated within the body.
What others see as waste is now transforming into the purest nutrients for body tempering, refining his bones inch by inch.
A sharp pain shot through my arm, and faint bluish-gold patterns appeared beneath my skin, resembling ancient inscriptions on bronze.
"The tempering progress of the bronze bones is finally more than halfway complete." Chen Yi gently stroked his arm, feeling the solid power contained within it.
After the second-tier bitter spirit fruit was swallowed, the magical power in his dantian also grew quietly, like a spring stream rising.
Although there is still a distance to go before breaking through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, the advantage lies in the solid foundation, and every bit of growth is extremely solid.
Everything was on track. Chen Yi only needed to retrieve the Foundation Establishment Pill two years later, and then rent a second-tier spiritual vein cave to attempt the Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
Although his private chef business was not good at first, it started to improve after Hao Youren introduced Chen Yi to two clients who specifically needed second-tier spiritual food.
One of the array masters, who was in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, immediately asked for a bowl of Lava Lizard Tail Soup that contained "no trace of fire element".
As Chen Yi took the ingredients, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly—this demon beast, which grew from the earth's fire veins, still emitted crimson sparks from the gaps in its scales long after it had died, radiating a heart-palpitating scorching heat.
While pretending to grind spices, the system had already devoured all the violent fire spirits in the ingredients.
In the end, only the warm, jade-like essence of earth element remained gently bubbling in the pot.
The formation master took his first bite and froze on the spot, his chopsticks hovering in mid-air, motionless for a long time.
After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh: "It really can dissolve the earth fire evil energy so completely."
The voice held a sigh of shock and satisfaction.
The second guest was even more bizarre.
He was a young man from a family of alchemists who insisted on brewing the bitter spirit fruit into a sweet, honey-like spirit wine, saying he wanted to please his beloved.
Chen Yi accepted the unripe and bitter spiritual fruit, but said nothing. He was too good at making such bizarre and demanding spiritual food.
When the wine was ready, the amber liquid rippled gently in the jade cup. The young man eagerly tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful.
This was because Chen Yi had already used the system to remove 95% of the bitter wood elemental energy, and further used Taiyi magic to harmonize it, amplifying the thin, silky sweet spiritual energy in the fruit pulp several times over.
"This...this is really made from bitter fruit?"
The boy's eyes widened, he smacked his lips, both surprised and delighted.
In the end, he generously threw out three hundred spirit stones, which was equivalent to the value of half a whole bitter spirit fruit.
From then on, the reputation of "Chen Ling's Kitchen" spread like ripples throughout the neighborhood, and the small courtyard gradually became lively.
He placed a paulownia wood cabinet in the corner, the upper shelf of which was neatly stacked with jade slips listing the prices of various spiritual banquet dishes.
The lower layer was piled high with snacks made from scraps—fragrant pine mushroom crisps, frozen tortoise blood cake, and slightly caramelized wheat crisps…
These seemingly simple snacks, due to their low price and the presence of stable spiritual energy, quickly became favorites among cultivators at the lower levels.
Old Hu often brings his wife, whose pregnant belly is quite noticeable, here to sip spiritual tea and chat while snacking.
He didn't just eat and drink for free; he would often give Chen Yi some of the medicinal herbs in the shop that had been stored for a long time and whose medicinal properties had weakened, as a way to offset the cost of the snacks.
After a month of this operation, after deducting cultivation and all expenses, Chen Yi still had a surplus of about a hundred spirit stones.
Such an income is considered top-tier among first-tier cultivation techniques.
However, he only actually prepares meals for guests a few days each month.
Most of the time, he still secluded himself for arduous cultivation—including diving into the lake once a month to temper his soul by devouring the divine sense attacks of the great formation.
However, the Jade Dragon Sect's array masters are now patrolling more and more closely. Although Chen Yi is now able to safely enter within one mile of the array and absorb stronger spiritual impacts at close range, he still cannot find a suitable opportunity.
However, Chen Yi was not in a hurry.
The key to spiritual practice lies in steady and solid progress.
He was already satisfied with his steady growth.
Everything is safe and there is steady progress, which is the best outcome.
Two months later, on the night of the full moon, the surface of the lake was like a mirror, reflecting the cool moonlight.
Lin Fan, dressed in white, stood on the water, his robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze.
Behind him, Xu Tianyue and twelve array masters stood solemnly, their auras heavy and unyielding.
After exploring the lakebed for several days, they finally decided on a strategy of launching a full-scale attack.
"The core of the third-order grand formation is located in the rock cave in the middle of the lake."
Lin Fan gathered a wisp of internal energy at his fingertips, the azure light illuminating his solemn face.
"According to previous calculations, when the moon is at its zenith, the circulation of spiritual energy in the formation will stagnate for three breaths. At that time, Fellow Daoist Xu will use the Jade Dragon Sect's secret technique to break through the first layer of restrictions, and then I will forcefully intervene."
The chosen time has arrived.
Lin Fan and Xu Tianyue dived to the bottom of the lake, while dozens of array masters on the periphery simultaneously activated the array by making hand seals.
Shortly after, we heard—
"boom--!"
A deafening roar, like muffled thunder, exploded from the bottom of the lake, causing the entire lake to tremble.
Lin Fan spat out a blood-red arrow and flew backward, his plain white robe instantly turning scarlet.
Xu Tianyue fared even worse; his protective magic weapon, the "Mysterious Scale Armor," shattered instantly, and he crashed into the mud at the bottom of the lake like a broken rag doll.
The lake water swirled wildly into a vortex, and one could vaguely see the third-order spiritual pressure gushing from the cracks in the ground—an ancient and violent aura that sent chills down one's spine.
Amidst the bustling marketplace, someone roared, "The cave dwelling has opened! The opportunity to become an immortal has arrived! Everyone, rush!"
The Jade Dragon Sect cultivators hastily imposed a curfew, shouting sternly, "Come back! That's a Soul Devourer!"
But how could they stop hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators with bloodshot eyes? The crowd swarmed towards the center of the lake like locusts.
really--
The second explosion came without warning.
The dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators at the forefront suddenly froze, their water-repelling shields crushed like eggshells by an invisible hand.
As the bloodied corpses slowly floated to the surface, those behind them finally saw clearly that the skullcaps of the corpses had been pried open from the inside out by some terrifying force, revealing horrifying cranial cavities.
The survivors scrambled back to shore.
Some people clutched their heads and howled in agony; others had their magical power surging wildly within them, already severely injured and on the verge of death.
Inside and outside the market, the cultivators who had rushed there from all over finally fell silent. Everyone stared intently at the lake, and no one dared to venture into the water rashly.
After a long while, Xu Tianyue finally managed to struggle and fly out from the bottom of the lake.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes gleamed with ecstatic joy.
Lin Fan, who was the main force in breaking the formation, had a face ashen, and the light in his eyes had dimmed considerably.
When he came to his senses, a barely concealed look of fear flashed in his eyes as he gazed at the deep lake bottom.
"This grand formation"
(End of this chapter)