Born with immortal seed

Chapter 218 The best spiritual stone
"Everything is normal, no powerful demonic beast aura..."

Whether it's the emotions conveyed by the rolling ball or the feedback from the outward-spreading divine consciousness, everything seems normal near the volcano.

Bai Zichen landed on the ground, where the surface temperature was extremely high and solidified lava was flowing everywhere.

They clump together, and you can vaguely see a red glow emanating from them.

He reached out and grabbed at the solidified magma in front of him; his knuckles were distinct, and his skin had a five-colored, glassy texture.

The high temperature that could instantly char a whole pig only produced a wisp of white smoke in Bai Zichen's palm, feeling warm and scalding.

With a firm squeeze of his five fingers, the magma cracked into pieces, leaving only a small, crystalline flint the size of a fingernail in the center.

“It’s like the second-grade low-level spiritual material, Earth Fire Crystal. Only minerals buried thousands of feet below the surface and subjected to the tempering of earth fire for many years can form it… It must have fallen around with the volcanic eruption.”

Having achieved some success in weapon crafting over a period of time, Bai Zichen had gained some understanding of various minerals and spiritual objects.

Looking around, one can see that there are bound to be many such igneous crystals among the mountains of igneous rocks.

After all, the volcano has been burning for thousands of years, and few cultivators have set foot here. If it could be turned into a mine, the profits should be considerable.

"But the temperature is too high, and the fire element spiritual energy, which is the most prevalent here, is volatile and unruly, and even I, who cultivate the most orthodox fire element techniques, am not used to it."

He attempted to refine a trace of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, equivalent to the concentration of second-grade high-level spiritual energy.

However, there is one drawback: the spiritual energy is mixed with the toxic gas erupting from the earth's core.

Cultivating in this way will generate fire poison, which will accumulate in the body and throughout the limbs.

It has some similarities to the negative effects of his cultivation of the Fire Dragon Returning to Origin Scripture.

Even if a Qi Refining cultivator has a special magic weapon, they can't stay on a volcano for long... For Foundation Establishment cultivators, staying there for too long will affect their cultivation.

We can't possibly send a group of Foundation Establishment elders to work as miners just to mine Earth Fire Crystals; that would be too inefficient.

Bai Zichen quickly abandoned the idea. He had originally thought about whether he could relocate some of the Bai family members here to open up a new source of income.

With the end of the cultivation of spiritual rice, his annual fixed income was reduced to only the small salary he received as the head of the vegetarian kitchen.

His current net worth is quite substantial; even among the elders who have served for many years, few can compare to him.

This doesn't even include the various treasures; it only considers spirit stones and sect contributions.

However, after reaching the Core Formation stage, all the magic weapons, third-tier pills, and all usable cultivation resources will be third-tier spiritual items.

To say that the flowers and stones flow like water is no exaggeration.

For Core Formation cultivators, the currency used for transactions has often been upgraded to mid-grade spirit stones or even high-grade spirit stones.

Besides the fact that low-grade spirit stones are almost useless to them, the large quantity of them is also a problem because they are not easy to carry around.

"The strongest creature in the crater is a second-tier fire lizard; it doesn't seem like a place that could trap Su Li at all..."

Bai Zichen stuffed Gun Gun back into the spirit beast pouch; the temperature at the center of the volcano was so high that the air itself was scorching.

The bear's thick black and white fur was singed, and it looked listless.

He casually picked a rock to sit on, and a ferocious dragon vaguely appeared behind him, swallowing the sweltering heat.

He flicked his fingers and cast a magical seal, which was activated in the air like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

The ripples of magical power continued to spread, extending deeper into the volcano.

This is a special method used by Qingfeng Sect disciples to communicate under special circumstances. Even if they are trapped and unable to use their magical artifacts, their slightest response with their magical power can be felt by their fellow disciples.

Moreover, the range far exceeds the level of divine sense perception. If Su Li is truly trapped in the volcano, as long as she remains conscious and can respond, Bai Zichen will be able to sense it immediately.

He sat there for three days, and a thick layer of volcanic ash accumulated on Bai Zichen's Taoist robe, as well as on his eyebrows, eyes, and hair.

If it weren't for the fiery dragon phantom behind him absorbing heat and spewing magma, his Taoist robe would have been burned by the flying sparks long ago.

"There's been no response for so long, Junior Brother Su must not be here..."

Bai Zichen stood up, shook off the dust and volcanic ash, and even after using a dust removal spell, he still felt covered in a gray haze.

An idea popped into my head: perhaps I should spend some spirit stones to buy an entry-level Daoist robe, one that would have the most basic effects of protecting against water and fire, extinguishing internal heat, and keeping dust off my body.

"My strength is still too weak to enter the magma to search for people. If I cultivate the Fire Dragon Returning to Origin Scripture to the point where I can transform into a fire dragon, then I'll be more like it... In this kind of environment, I'll be like a fish in water and can explore all the way to the bottom of the volcano."

Just as I was about to turn and leave, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind: perhaps there was a magical artifact I could try.

A flash of iridescent light appeared on her wrist, covering her body with a layer of rainbow radiance.

Her entire body transformed into a crimson ribbon and plunged into the lava.

"It seems alright. As expected of a top-grade spiritual artifact crafted from the true feathers of a Azure Phoenix... Although limited by the artifact's rank, its essence is, after all, the true feathers of a fourth-order fire-type demon, which has extremely strong resistance to magma and earth fire."

Bai Zichen activated the Rainbow Feather Robe, a top-grade spiritual artifact obtained from the Fire Phoenix Mo Clan. It transformed into a crimson ribbon, its iridescent light nimbly weaving through the lava.

They descended nearly 500 feet in one breath, feeling the pressure from the outside world. At the same time, the color of the magma deepened considerably. The Rainbow Feather Robe swayed slightly, and the Crimson Serpent shortened by two inches.

Knowing that this depth was nearing its limit, and with everything in sight a crimson red, several dark figures approached before they realized they were huge ore deposits.

It retained its shape despite being scorched by the molten lava every day, so it must be at least a third-tier spiritual material.

However, any one of these pieces is the size of a pavilion, making it impossible for him to move or take it with him.

I can only make a note of it for now and come back to explore this place after I have formed my core.

As for projecting one's divine sense outwards, that's simply impossible.

Once the consciousness leaves the body, it's like falling into a pot of boiling oil, so hot that your vision goes black and flames rise in your sea of ​​consciousness.

The only option was to immediately sever the connection with his consciousness, lest the flames in his sea of ​​consciousness burn ever brighter.

"This crater might lead straight to the Earth's core, right? There's a terrifying feeling about going any further down; it's too risky..."

If Su Li had truly fallen here, she would have been burned to ashes by the molten lava long ago; there's no way her soul lamp would still be shining.

As Chi Lian turned and was about to rush upwards, she noticed a dazzling red light flash by, which was exceptionally conspicuous even in the molten lava.

Subconsciously, a bright sword light flew out, swirling around the red light, and made a clanging sound.

No matter what Bai Zichen encountered, he quickly withdrew his sword light and rose rapidly upwards.

Emerging from the lava, he was met by a giant lizard several meters long staring intently at him. Its body was covered in barbs, and saliva dripped from its mouth, burning a small hole in the ground as it landed.

"I'll use your money to supplement the family income!"

Bai Zichen was startled, but his hands moved quickly, and two sword lights flew out at the same time, forming a blazing flame that enveloped it.

I recognized it as the second-tier mid-grade demonic beast that I had previously detected with my divine sense; it probably came running after hearing the commotion.

Just when they were looking to open up a path to wealth through spirit stones, they couldn't possibly miss the opportunity to get materials from a second-tier demon beast that came knocking on their door.

Through the trials of sect wars, his swordsmanship became increasingly refined, integrating various sword techniques from the Wuzhen Sword Manual, and gradually developing his own style.

When dealing with tough but not very intelligent second-tier monsters, you don't need any fancy sword techniques; efficiency is the only priority.

The swords flashed, the Tianxin Sword and the Willow Leaf Sword, the two flying swords moving faster and faster, giving the fire lizard no room to breathe.

In the blink of an eye, several deep, bone-revealing sword holes appeared on the fire lizard's body, and blood was flowing freely, staining its already dark red body.

The fire lizard charged back and forth, trying to smash the hateful two-legged beast not far away into a pulp, but with each step forward, the sword light falling from above became more and more fierce, and the biting threat of death forced the monster to spin around in circles.

Another sword beam pierced the fire lizard's eyeball, even penetrating its brain, causing it to scream in agony.

The fire lizard took another step back, inhaled sharply, and spewed out a mixture of flames and poisonous smoke from its mouth, blasting the salamander over the salamander's head.

"Well done!"

Bai Zichen neither dodged nor avoided; a seven-colored radiance rose in front of him, transforming into a frost-covered barrier that blocked the raging flames.

The rosy light shifted, transforming into a bright, milky-white curtain that dissolved all the poisonous smoke.

At the same time, two sword lights struck simultaneously, taking advantage of the fire lizard's opening when it spewed flames, and pierced its forehead with a whooshing sound of wind and thunder.

A sword hole the thickness of a chopstick pierced through the fire lizard's head. Even the hardest skull couldn't withstand the surge of sword light from the combined attack of the two swords. Its life force was extinguished, and it collapsed with a thud.

"It seems that the sect's understanding of the monsters in Black Mountain is still limited. I have never seen this fire lizard in the jade slip that introduces the monsters in Black Mountain... But that's normal. Even Jade Moon Lake has only been conquered for a few years. Back then, the exploration of the depths of Black Mountain relied entirely on a few Core Formation cultivators' fleeting glimpses. It was impossible to conduct a thorough, net-like search."

Bai Zichen didn't know which part of the fire lizard was valuable, so he could only keep the outer skin intact and cut the rest of the body into several pieces and put them into a specially empty mid-grade storage bag.

With a flick of his wrist, the Sound Bamboo Sword landed in his hand, its blade already bearing several charred spots, its spiritual essence severely damaged.

"The magma 500 feet below this volcano is so terrifying. Even if the Yinzhu Sword is a wood-type flying sword, it's too exaggerated that it burned a second-tier flying sword like this in just a few breaths... Fortunately, it's a wood-type flying sword. With the sword nurturing technique, it will be as good as new in a month."

With a heavy heart, he carefully put away the Sound Bamboo Sword and rummaged through his storage bag to find that red glow. It was because of that that the Sound Bamboo Sword was almost completely destroyed.

"This is... a top-grade spirit stone!"

When the bright red object, about the size of a child's palm, fell into his hand, Bai Zichen didn't even have time to react.

But when the surrounding fire-elemental spiritual energy automatically surged towards its center, constantly converging, and even when wisps of pure fire-elemental spiritual energy tried to enter its body, it cried out as if waking from a dream.

The reason is that top-grade spirit stones are too far away, and he only has one high-grade spirit stone.

These were spoils of war found on the bodies of the cultivators from Youlongmen.

If we consider that the commonly used unit of exchange among Core Formation cultivators has become the high-grade spirit stone...

Among Nascent Soul True Monarchs, the most valuable currency is top-grade spirit stones.

It can instantly replenish true essence, and as the core of a fourth-order grand array, its long-term placement in one place can even slightly improve the grade of the spiritual land...

Top-grade spirit stones are extremely important to high-level cultivators, serving as strategic resources rather than trading currencies.

Moreover, each top-grade spirit stone can automatically absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth of its own attribute. Even if it is used up, depending on the environment, it can be transformed into a brand new top-grade spirit stone after several decades to several hundred years.

(End of this chapter)