Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 216 The Great Harvest

Moo!
When the earthy yellow energy was trapped in the net of the Spirit Gathering Technique, it suddenly let out a strange cry and transformed into a giant yellow ox in the void!

The ox's massive body struggled violently against the spiritual net of the Spirit Gathering Technique, and it looked as if it was about to break free from the net's restraints and escape.

Shen Wen'an flashed and arrived not far away, holding a jade bottle in his hand.

With a gentle tug of the hand holding the Spirit Gathering Technique, the large yellow ox, which had been caught in the net in the void, was instantly pulled toward the mouth of the jade bottle.

Moo!
A flicker of panic flashed in the big yellow ox's eyes, quite intelligently.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an was secretly delighted.

The innate spiritual energy that can take form is at least of medium quality, and if it is more spiritual, it may be of high quality.

A wisp of top-grade innate spiritual energy is extremely valuable; capturing it is an unexpected bonus of this trip.

Thinking this to himself, he immediately changed the hand seals of his Spirit Gathering Technique and directly touched the bottom of the jade bottle.

A suction force quickly emanated from the jade bottle in his hand, and the big yellow ox was sucked into the jade bottle while howling in pain.

He quickly put the stopper back in the bottle, and after briefly checking it with his divine sense, a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.

"Not up to top grade..."

"It's just a mid-grade innate ugly spirit essence."

The Five Elements are divided into "Heavenly Stem Five Elements" and "Earthly Branch Five Elements". There are a total of six types of Earth in the Five Elements corresponding to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, namely the innate Earth (戊土) and the innate Earth (己土) among the Heavenly Stems.

There are four types of Earthly Branches that belong to the Earth element, known as "Earthly Spirit Earth": Chen Earth, Wei Earth, Xu Earth, and Chou Earth.

The wisp of innate spiritual energy that he had just grasped was the essence of the ugly earth in the "Earth Spirit Soil". Although its quality had not reached the top grade, it had reached the peak of the middle grade.

If it were allowed to grow for another few decades or centuries, it might actually grow into a high-grade innate spiritual energy.

Earth element has good innate spiritual energy.

Shen Wen'an put the jade bottle into his storage bag, thinking to himself.

Currently, there are quite a few people in the Shen family who can use earth-attribute innate spiritual energy.

The two brothers, Mu Chang and Mu Yan, were the most urgently needed.

Both of them possessed high-quality earth-attribute spiritual roots, and their cultivation had already reached the Qi Refining Perfection realm four years ago.

Now that they have obtained a wisp of mid-grade earth-attribute innate spiritual energy, at least one of the two brothers can break through to the embryonic breathing realm.

After putting away the jade bottle, he flew on his sword towards the small, rocky hill he had seen before.

The fact that it could generate innate spiritual energy proves that the place must be extraordinary. He wants to go there and see if he can find any more rare treasures.

A streak of light landed on the craggy little mountain peak. Shen Wen'an looked around and frowned slightly.

The unremarkable little mountain peak had just had most of its stone pillars shaved off by a single sword strike, and now, a yellowish-brown, viscous liquid was slowly seeping from the broken parts of these pillars.

A strange, slightly earthy aroma permeated the surrounding air.

Shen Wen'an approached a broken stone pillar and examined it closely.

They discovered that the yellowish-brown liquid contained an extremely rich amount of earth vein spiritual energy.

"This is……"

He carefully poked some of the viscous liquid with the Dragon Slayer Sword and examined it closely. He felt that this stuff was very similar to the "Earth Spirit Blood" that his master Pei Zhao had mentioned before!
Earth Spirit Blood is not actual blood, but rather a term used by cultivators to refer to special treasures born from the earth's veins.

There are many types of Earth Spirit Blood, including stalactites in underground caves and slurry accumulated in dried-up spiritual springs.

This stuff can be used to refine pills, but it's not easy to refine and absorb directly.

Seeing that a lot of earth spirit blood had seeped out from the broken stone pillars around him and slowly flowed down the surface of the pillars to the ground, Shen Wen'an hesitated for a moment, then used the Dragon Slayer Sword to cut off a huge rock and create a huge stone vat to collect all the earth spirit blood.

The Shen family currently lacks cultivators skilled in alchemy, so they have no need for this item for the time being.

However, this item is very popular among alchemists.

The Shen family is currently facing a shortage of cultivation resources. If there is an opportunity in the future, they can take this item to Danzhou and sell it to exchange for some cultivation supplies for the family.

After collecting all the earth spirit blood in the surrounding area, Shen Wen'an chopped down a few more stone pillars and found that no new earth spirit blood was flowing out. He guessed that this earth spirit blood must be a stockpile accumulated in this place for countless years.

The innate ugly spirit essence lingers here, probably absorbing the earth's spiritual blood.

Now, along with the innate ugly spirit essence and all the earth spirit blood, he has consumed them all in one go. He doesn't know how many years it will take to fully recover.

After some thought, he rode his sword into the air, gazing into the distance with deep contemplation in his eyes.

The boundless Gobi Desert before us looks desolate, yet it exudes a strange charm.

First, there was the "momentum" between heaven and earth, then there was this strange mountain peak that could give birth to "earth spirit blood," combined with the lava lake that He Chongyi and Mu Chang had mentioned before, and Frost Moon Mountain, which nurtured a wisp of sunflower water essence.

Earth, Fire, Water, Metal...

With four of the five elements gathered, could the Muhe tribe settlement and its surrounding area be a blessed land where all five elements are complete?

But judging from the surrounding scenery, it doesn't seem like it.

Shouldn't a blessed land be full of life, rich in spiritual energy, and teeming with medicinal herbs and plants?
This desolate Gobi Desert before us is devoid of life, let alone medicinal herbs and plants; there isn't even much ordinary wild grass.

Looking around, there wasn't even a decent tree in sight.

Shen Wen'an had doubts, but he couldn't figure out the specific secrets hidden in this place.

After all, he could only sense the momentum, but he was not a master of array formations.

If his master Pei Zhaoyi or his senior brother Fu Yang, who was expelled from the sect by Qiyun Valley, were here, they would probably be able to deduce the mystery of this place from the faint aura around them.

Without giving it much thought, he immediately flew on his sword toward Flame Lake Hill, where the lava lake was located.

……

As winter approached, thick, dark clouds shrouded half of Yangnao.

The cold wind howled, everything was desolate, and the ordinary people beyond the clouds were all glad that they had survived another year.

At noon, fine snowflakes began to fall slowly from the sky, and gradually, the snow fell heavier and heavier.

In the direction of Hidden Dragon Mountain, wind and snow filled the forests, and a group of ferocious beasts, exuding a fierce aura, lay quietly, their eyes fixed on the east of Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Behind the numerous demonic beasts, in two magnificent palanquins carried by dozens of burly, semi-transformed demonic beasts, the Blue Commander, dressed impeccably and exquisitely, leaned lazily against the palanquins, toying with a dark gold dagger.

The dark gold dagger was seven inches long and its surface emanated a strong aura of a magical artifact.

Commander Lan's fingertips gleamed with a faint demonic energy. With each flick of his fingers, the dark gold dagger moved like a nimble little snake weaving between his fingers.

"Brother Lan, isn't it about time?"

On another palanquin beside Commander Lan, the burly Lord Baishan was not as leisurely and composed as he was.

Its body would occasionally lean out, looking towards the east of Hidden Dragon Mountain, in the direction of Cloud Water City.

"Don't worry, Lord Shan, there's still no news from Fushan Kingdom."

Commander Lan flicked his finger, and the dark gold dagger made a crisp sound before disappearing into his clothes.

"What is that son of a bitch named Wu Shi Ao doing?"

"Could they be playing us for a fool this time?"

Lord Baishan cursed angrily and sat heavily on the throne of the sedan chair, causing the little demons carrying the chair to stumble and quickly hold their breath to steady the chair.

Upon hearing this, Commander Lan smirked and said, "Mountain Lord, you've figured it out now, haven't you?"

"If we follow the agreement and our army advances to Yunshui City, it will surely attract the attention of all the cultivators in the Shen family."

"That bitch is trying to take advantage of the situation?" Bai Shanjun glared angrily and spoke in a deep voice.

Commander Lan's gaze deepened, and after pondering for a moment, he shook his head slightly and said, "He wouldn't..."

"He probably intends to sit back and watch us fight with the Shen family, so as to find out the strength of the Shen family."

"Perhaps there are other plans."

As he spoke, the secret report sent by the Heavenly Fox Demon King a few days ago came to mind.

If the Kingdom of Fushan knew about the "True Lord's Decree," then the Kingdom of Dawushan naturally knew as well.

Commander Lan suspected that the six major Golden Core forces in Yangnao Land should have already received this strange news.

However, these six major forces have already entered the game and become pawns on the chessboard.

The hidden mastermind behind the scenes would not allow them to leave the chessboard of Yangnao Land so easily.

As a chess piece, you don't have much room for free movement. All you can do right now is to be extra careful and cautious.

By not acting rashly, one can avoid becoming the first pawn to be sacrificed.

He vaguely guessed that the Fushan Kingdom's move was definitely not intended to use Mount Dawu to restrain the power of the Shen family and Mount Luoxia, and to take the opportunity to gain some benefits.

Wu Shi Ao probably wanted to get Da Wushan to come out and see what the hidden mastermind was planning next.

"Then shall we still hunt birds?!"

"Rather than let our sons get soaked in the snow and wind, let's just call it a day!"

Lord Baishan slapped the armrest of his throne angrily and muttered something.

"We also need to give an explanation to my great-aunt."

Hearing his thoughtless words, Commander Lan couldn't help but rub his forehead and say, "We came here to plunder for food, there's no point in dragging this out."

Bai Shanjun turned around, his tiger-like eyes narrowed, and his brows furrowed as he said, "Fighting is not an option, nor is not fighting. What do you think we should do, Brother Lan?"

Commander Lan's eyes flickered, and after a moment of deep thought, he suddenly smiled.

"Since everyone wants to wait and see and is unwilling to be the first to act, I will break this deadlock and completely disrupt the situation."

"Then we'll see what countermeasures the invisible hand behind the scenes will take."

"Mountain Lord, please take these young men back first."

"Keep them in check, lest they devour all the seeds under your rule. Otherwise, if there's no food to harvest, and your grandmother blames you, we and the tribes behind us will likely become your grandmother's food."

Bai Shanjun looked at him suspiciously, wanting to ask something, but swallowed the words back.

Commander Lan is the first commander under the rule of Mount Dawu. This guy is extremely intelligent and cunning, and is deeply favored by the Heavenly Fox Demon King.

He was too lazy to get involved in things that required a lot of brainpower.

"Brother Lan, please be careful."

After clasping his hands in a respectful gesture, Lord Baishan waved his hand and said, "My men, retreat!"

Upon receiving the order, the numerous demonic beasts that had been lying prostrate in the wind and snow all withdrew their murderous aura and rose to retreat towards the Western Wilderness.

A moment later, only the sedan chair carrying Commander Lan and sixteen fierce little demons carrying it remained amidst the swirling snow.

Inside the sedan chair, after a moment of contemplation, Commander Lan waved his hand gently and said in a calm voice, "Let's go, to Yunshui City."

Sixteen fierce little demons immediately shouted and carried the huge palanquin, flying towards Yunshui City.

On the east side of Hidden Dragon Mountain, the Ren Water Concealing Spirit Formation offered no resistance to the heavy snowfall.

In less than an hour, the entire Yunshui City was covered in silver, a vast expanse of white.

The shore of Blackwater Pool.

The silver-threaded centipede, already over ten feet long, lay quietly among the snow-covered rocks, its eyes fixed on the giant alligator dragon that had poked its head out.

Whether it was due to the spiritual energy of the earth's veins or some special existence still at the bottom of the Blackwater Pool, the water did not freeze even in the dead of winter.

The alligator dragon living in the pool would occasionally emerge to hunt wild animals from the mountains and have a feast.

The alligator dragon in front of the silver-threaded centipede was trying to swim out of the pool and go ashore to find some prey.

Having already cultivated Qi into a demon, the closer the alligator dragon got to the shore, the more it felt a chilly aura.

Alert, it stopped several feet from the shore and hesitated to move forward.

Suddenly!

A scarlet object flew out from the snow on the shore and shot straight toward its head!

The alligator dragon reacted quickly, flashing into the water and disappearing in a huge splash!
"reptile!"

"Can't you shrink your body a little?"

"With such a huge size and a silver sheen all over, even a blind man could see you!"

A shout of anger rang out, and the golden toad suddenly burst out of the thick snow.

The silver-threaded centipede squeaked pitifully, as if to say, "You couldn't help yourself and scared away your prey, so why are you blaming me?"

The golden toad leaped onto him, and just as it was about to scold him again, it seemed to sense something.

"broken!"

"Reptile, hurry up and go find your master!"

The golden toad disregarded the rule that "the use of demonic energy is not allowed within the city" and transformed into golden light, flying directly toward the Blackwater Pavilion!
Behind them, the silver-threaded centipede squeaked and squeaked, like a snowplow, rushing wildly among the snow-covered rocks, making a huge noise.

On the first floor of the Blackwater Pavilion, Shen Li was meditating when a golden light suddenly flew in through the window.

Shen Li opened her eyes instantly, and a strange light flashed in her deep, dark eyes.

The golden toad, which had not yet landed, was fixed in mid-air by an invisible force.

No matter how much he struggled, it was all in vain.

"Master, calm down!"

"Little Demon didn't mean it!"

"problem occurs!"

The golden toad shouted, and the strange light in Shen Li's eyes slowly disappeared, and the power that had imprisoned the golden toad also dissipated instantly.

Pfft!
The golden toad's body crashed heavily onto the floor.

"What happened?"

Shen Li glanced at him and spoke calmly.

The golden toad approached and said urgently:
"Lan Jue from Mount Wu is attacking!"

"Master, you'd better hide quickly, and whatever you do, don't let him discover your identity!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Li frowned slightly.

"Who is Lan Jue?"

"The Great Wushan army has arrived?"

Jin Chan explained, "Lan Jue's true form is a blue-beaked blood crow. It is said that his strength has reached the half-step Golden Core realm, and he is the first leader of the Great Wushan Demon Cave."

"That guy is cunning and shrewd, and very scheming. He is very much liked by my great-aunt."

"Master, you must not let him discover that you possess the Gu Spirit Saint Body!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Li's eyes deepened, and after pondering for a moment, she said, "Go and inform the family head first."

"Then I'll return to Blackwater Pavilion; I have a way to hide."

Upon hearing this, Jin Chan didn't waste any words and immediately jumped out of the Blackwater Pavilion and ran towards the manor.

Outside Yunshui City.

The palanquin, carried by sixteen half-transformed demons, slowly approached the Renshui Spirit-Concealing Array.

Lan Jue, inside the sedan chair, gazed at the large formation below, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

After a moment, he slowly stood up and was about to speak loudly when he noticed a figure below him wearing a moon-white brocade robe and a black fox fur coat around his shoulders walking towards him.

The figure arrived in the void, first giving him a curious look, then cupping its hands in greeting.

"Shen Chongming, the head of the Shen family, greets fellow Daoists from Mount Dawu."

Upon hearing this, Lan Jue was slightly taken aback, then smiled faintly and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

"Lan Jue, the first commander under the rule of Dawu Mountain, greets Patriarch Shen."

Inside the great formation, Shen Chongming gazed at Lan Jue's figure, the words Jin Chan had just spoken echoing in his mind.

Half-step Golden Core Realm...

If we let this scoundrel in, he might discover that Yunshui City doesn't actually have a Golden Core Ancestor in charge.

If this happens, the consequences will be unimaginable!

However, if Lan Jue comes alone, refusing to let him in will also arouse his suspicion.

It's simply unreasonable for the Shen family, which has two Golden Core cultivators in charge, to not dare to let a half-step Golden Core cultivator visit the city.

Just as Shen Chongming was struggling to make a decision, a voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Let him in."

That's Shen Yuan's voice.

After receiving his grandfather's telepathic message, Shen Chongming pondered for a moment before smiling and waving his hand to activate the great formation.

"Fellow Daoist has come from afar. Please come to my residence and have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up."

In the void, Lan Jue looked at the cracked portal of the great formation, pondered for a moment, then smiled and cupped his hands: "Patriarch Shen, you are too kind."

"It's a rare sight to see such a magnificent snowstorm. If Patriarch Shen doesn't mind, please come and sit in my sedan chair."

"I happen to have some Southern Xinjiang jade wine with me. I would like to share some wine and enjoy the snow with you, fellow Daoist."

Shen Chongming glanced at the magnificent sedan chair and could sense the spiritual energy emanating from it, so he dared not step on it lightly.

"Ha ha……"

Seeing his cautious demeanor, Lan Jue suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"I dare not enter Yunshui City, and I suppose Patriarch Shen would also dare not ride in my sedan chair."

"So... let's talk like this."

Shen Chongming nodded and smiled, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and gathered large snowflakes, his spiritual energy surging, which formed a platform about ten feet in size in the void.

With a flash of light in his hand, Shen Chongming took out a three-foot jade table, on which was a wine pot and two plates of spiritual fruit.

On the other side, Lan Jue took out the so-called Southern Frontier Jade Wine and some food.

The two filled their glasses and raised them to each other across the distance, drinking together.

"May I ask what brings you here, my friend?"

After drinking the spirit wine in his cup in one gulp, Shen Chongming spoke in a deep voice.

He had already received news that a large number of demonic beasts had gathered at Mount Dawu and that troops were stationed at Mount Yinlong. Then, the demonic beasts suddenly and inexplicably withdrew from the mountain, and subsequently, the so-called first commander under the rule of Mount Dawu came to Yunshui City alone, which puzzled him greatly.

Upon hearing this, Lan Jue did not speak directly.

Her gaze fell upon Shen Chongming, her heart filled with the same doubt.

As an ancient family with two Golden Core Ancestors, the family head, as the face of the family, should at least be a cultivator in the late stage of the Fetal Breathing Realm, or even the perfect Fetal Breathing Realm.
The fact that the head of the Shen family was only a junior in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm made him somewhat suspicious.

However, similarly, with his half-step Golden Core realm, he could also see that Shen Chongming was not yet fifty years old, and his true essence and spiritual power far surpassed that of ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators or great demons.

The fact that they were able to cultivate such a talented descendant is indeed in line with the ancient clan's heritage.

Alright, I've already seen with my own eyes that there are Golden Core cultivators in Yunshui City, and all the Golden Core seniors from Southern Xinjiang have witnessed it. I don't need to worry about it, lest I ruin things.

After pondering for a moment, Lan Jue cupped his hands slightly and said, "Patriarch Shen is straightforward, so I will speak frankly as well."

"Patriarch Shen should know why the six major powers of the Southern Frontier have come to Yangnao Land."

Shen Chongming frowned upon hearing this, somewhat confused about what he meant.

Lan Jue hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Isn't Patriarch Shen curious why the six major Golden Core forces have been in Yangnao Land for nearly four years without making a move?"

"Fellow Daoist, please speak your mind."

Shen Chongming smiled faintly, not wanting to waste words with him at all.

Lan Jue wasn't angry. He glanced at the snowstorm in the distance and waved his hand to create a protective barrier of demonic energy that isolated everything.

"Please forgive me, Patriarch Shen, but what I am about to say is too complicated. Although this move may not be effective, it is still best to be cautious."

Seeing this, Shen Chongming's curiosity grew even stronger, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Since the breach appeared in the Void Harmony Corridor Formation, everything that has happened in the Southern Frontier and Yangnao Land has been a scheme orchestrated by others." Lan Jue said in a deep voice, "The Southern Frontier and Yangnao Land have now become a chessboard of heaven and earth, and we are all just pawns..."

This time, Lan Jue was unusually candid, revealing all the secrets behind the matter without holding back.

Shen Chongming was horrified upon hearing this.

He had actually been curious all these years.

Jin Chan once said that the major forces in the Southern Frontier are very powerful, and there are even True Monarchs at the Nascent Soul Realm.

But now it has been almost four years since the Void Harmony Corridor Formation was broken. Apart from the current six Golden Core forces, have the other forces in the Southern Border not received even a hint of it?
This is obviously impossible.

It's strange that they received the news but didn't think to get a share of the profits.

Now that he learned that the decree was actually issued by the four Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Southern Frontier, he realized that the matter was far from simple.

With his mind racing, Shen Chongming vaguely guessed what was going on.

But Lan Jue on the other side suddenly interrupted his thoughts, which annoyed him.

"Does Patriarch Shen not want to become a pawn to be manipulated?"

Meeting Lan Jue's slightly provocative gaze, Shen Chongming suppressed his anger and asked with a faint smile, "What are your plans, fellow Daoist?"

Lan Jue poured himself a full glass of wine, raised it in mid-air, and then tilted his head back to drink it down.

"This is difficult."

“My great-aunt from Mount Wu and a group of powerful Golden Core cultivators want blood offerings, but we are unwilling to become pawns to be manipulated.”

"After much thought, Lan could only come up with one solution."

He paused slightly, then looked intently at Shen Chongming and said:

"Put on a show for them."

acting?

Shen Chongming lowered his head in thought, but a cold smile had already crept into his heart.

The mastermind behind this is suspected to be at the Nascent Soul stage. To that kind of old monster, those at the Fetal Breath stage or even the Golden Core stage are nothing but ants.

Are you that easy to fool?
However, he still wanted to hear first how Lan Jue was going to put on this show.

"Please enlighten me, fellow Daoist."

After Shen Chongming cupped his hands in greeting, Lan Jue continued, "I intend to invite the leaders of various major powers to discuss this matter together."

"Once the date for the meeting is set, I will have someone inform Patriarch Shen, shall I?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Chongming frowned slightly.

Keeping it a secret?

It seems the specific benefits haven't been divided yet.

However, he is happy to see this phenomenon for the time being.

As long as they don't take action, the Shen family will have plenty of time to develop.

Once we have the strength, we won't need to worry too much about any conspiracies or tricks.

Even if it's just a pawn, he will do everything he can to make the Shen family the last one standing on the chessboard!
"In that case, I will await your news, fellow Daoist."

Shen Chongming stood up, waved his hand to put away the three-foot jade table, and spoke.

Lan Jue returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and then had the lesser demons carry the sedan chair away into the distance.

After he had gone some distance, Shen Chongming turned around and returned to Yunshui City. He went directly to the second floor of the Blackwater Pavilion, cupped his hands in greeting to Shen Yuan, and said:
"grandfather."

Shen Yuan nodded and said in a deep voice, "What did that demon cultivator from Mount Dawu say?"

He originally thought that Lan Jue's visit was a test, an attempt to probe the Shen family's strength, and that he was prepared to use the power of the Great Evolution to cover up the entire Blackwater Pavilion.

To everyone's surprise, the other side was overly cautious and didn't dare to enter the formation.

After bowing, Shen Chongming recounted the entire conversation between the two men.

Shen Yuan's expression was solemn. After pondering for a long time, he said, "Since the six major Golden Core forces in the Southern Frontier have already entered the game, they will not easily jump out, regardless of whether they can or cannot."

"Their true nature is still focused on the blood and flesh of the Yangnao land."

"So, no matter what that demon cultivator is plotting, we can't miss this fight."

After a slight pause, he continued, "My Shen family must seize every opportunity to improve our strength."

Shen Chongming cupped his hands in greeting: "Grandson understands."

"I heard that you and Li'er made a decision some time ago?"

Changing the subject, Shen Yuan looked at his grandson in front of him and smiled faintly.

Shen Chongming paused for a moment, then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Grandpa, do you think your grandson did something wrong?"

He had not yet informed Shen Yuan about the changes in strategy for the various affiliated clans.

It's not that I intentionally hid it, I just haven't figured out how to say it yet.

"It doesn't have to be this way."

"Now that you are the head of the Shen family, neither your father nor I will interfere with your decisions."

"I asked about this only to remind you to prepare for the worst."

Worst-case scenario...

Shen Chongming paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Grandson has thought about it."

Even in the worst-case scenario, I will definitely protect my family.

"As long as my family is still here, I can always start over."

Shen Yuan nodded with a smile: "Okay, go ahead and get busy."

……

Western Wilderness, Flame Lake Ridge.

Shen Wen'an hovered on his sword above the scorching magma, feeling the golden essence and fire energy within the churning magma beneath him, and was quite surprised.

Lava is actually not a big deal for cultivators.

But the lava in Flame Lake Hill is quite peculiar.

Through his divine sense, Shen Wen'an could sense that the surging magma below contained more than one kind of golden essence.

This means that the magma beneath them has, over countless years, forged countless metallic spiritual objects from heaven and earth!
After these metallic spiritual objects were melted, the metallic essence contained within them did not dissipate, but instead merged perfectly with the magma, transforming into this strange entity.

Over time, this lava lake below has become like a hodgepodge of countless natural wonders.

No wonder the corpse cultivators of the Yin Corpse Sect were able to easily create corpse puppets using this lava lake.

"It's getting weirder and weirder..."

Suspended in mid-air on his sword, Shen Wen'an stared at the churning lava below and murmured softly.

It's normal for magma to melt rocks and ordinary copper and iron underground.

However, those spiritual objects imbued with spiritual energy are not ordinary mortal objects.

The magma's ability to continuously melt them while retaining their spirituality and essence is enough to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of "Flame Lake Ridge".

Shen Wen'an stood in the void for a long time in deep thought, then immediately transformed into a sword light and rushed towards the scorching magma!

The moment his body approached the magma, a cyan sword energy shield opened up on his body, like an energy sword, cleaving through the surging magma and carrying it to the bottom of the scalding magma lake!
Shen Wen'an continuously activated the sword energy within his body, breaking through the thick magma while maintaining the sword energy shield to withstand the terrifying high temperature.

As his body continued to descend, the surrounding magma slowly changed from orange-red to crimson gold. Occasionally, small streams of magma shimmering with white light would flow past not far away, and the terrifyingly high temperature emanating from them made Shen Wen'an feel a little scared!
At this moment, he was even more certain that this so-called Flame Lake Hill definitely hid a huge secret!
As they descended, they occasionally saw white lava flames; even cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage would find it difficult to withstand such contact.

Feeling the sword energy maintaining the protective shield on his body being rapidly evaporated, Shen Wen'an understood that this was his limit.

If one were to dive any deeper and exhaust all of one's sword energy, still unable to escape the lava lake, one would be burned to ashes by the terrifying lava.

The terrifying pale golden magma around him contained an even richer concentration of golden essence. After a brief adjustment of his breathing, Shen Wen'an did not hesitate any longer and began to circulate his spiritual power, slowly extracting various kinds of golden essence from the terrifying magma.

As strands of golden essence entered his body, Shen Wen'an suddenly hesitated again.

Comprehending the Guardian Sword Bone allows one to forge a sword bone magic sword within their body.

The surrounding magma contains enough gold essence, but he is struggling with which part of his body's bones to transform into sword bones and forge into a magic sword.

As the creator of the Guardian Sword Bone Secret Technique, he could clearly sense that this technique divided the body into seven parts.

These are the limbs, skull, spine, and ribs.

Of these seven parts, the magic sword forged with the spine as its core is called the "Heaven and Earth Sword," meaning it connects heaven and earth.

The Heaven and Earth Sword is the most powerful sword technique, making it the perfect fit for sword cultivators.

The most powerful counterpart to the "Heaven and Earth Sword" is the "Elemental Spirit Sword Shield," forged from the chest cavity and ribs.

As its name suggests, the Yuanling Sword and Shield excels at defense.

Sword cultivators are inherently focused on killing and warfare. If this were used as the core of a sword to forge a "Primordial Spirit Sword Shield," combining offense and defense, it would seem to be an excellent choice.

However, Shen Wen'an did not consider these two parts this time.

Compared to the strongest defensive "Elemental Sword and Shield" and the strongest offensive "Heaven and Earth Sword", he felt that the magic sword forged with the skull as its core was more suitable for him.

Using the skull as the sword bone, the resulting sword bone magic sword is called the Wisdom Sword.

The Wisdom Sword, also known as the Divine Sense Sword, can silently and injure the enemy's soul.

There are countless lineages in the world, and apart from a small number of cultivators who specialize in cultivating their souls, the soul is the greatest weakness for cultivators of all other lineages.

The effect of the Wisdom Sword in severing the soul allows one to easily win in future battles.

Even when fighting opponents of higher levels, catching them off guard can produce surprising results.

More importantly, his Guardian Sword Bone also contains the aura of the Underworld, which may allow the Wisdom Sword he cultivates to have unexpected effects.

Having made up his mind, he began to guide the golden essence to slowly flow towards the skull on the top of his head.

In an instant, a large amount of golden essence was stripped from the surrounding magma, absorbed into the body, and gathered at the top of the head.

A dazzling golden light appeared above his head.

His figure was enveloped in golden light, and his divine aura was pervasive.

Sitting cross-legged in the thick lava, Shen Wen'an felt as if all his senses had disappeared, with only occasional itching and pain coming from the top of his skull.

It was as if an invisible hand was gripping my skull tightly, trying to tear it off.

The intense pain and itching lasted for a long time before gradually subsiding.

But what followed was that the little sword energy in his body was suddenly absorbed by the skull on his head!

Shen Wen'an could feel the sword energy within his body rapidly decreasing, to the point that the sword energy shield on his body was about to collapse.

However, this is a crucial moment for condensing the sword bone and cultivating the sword bone technique, so he dares not be distracted. He can only continue to concentrate and hope that he can complete the forging of the technique before his sword essence is exhausted.

Time passed bit by bit.

The surrounding pale golden magma, carrying terrifyingly high temperatures, was gradually squeezing the area of ​​his sword energy shield.

At this moment, the sword energy shield on Shen Wen'an's body was almost glued to his body, and its light was dim.

Noisy!
Suddenly, a slight sound came, and Shen Wen'an frowned slightly!
The sword energy shield on his left elbow could no longer withstand the scorching magma, and the palm-sized flesh was instantly burned to ashes, revealing the stark white bones!
Shen Wen'an immediately gritted his teeth and forcibly circulated his nearly depleted sword energy to expand the protective shield further, thus saving his arm.

However, the sword bone magic sword above his head still showed no signs of taking shape, which inevitably made him feel a little anxious.

Just as he was wondering how to solve his predicament, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind.

With a slight thought, the storage bag at his waist suddenly flashed!
In an instant, a colossal creature appeared in the magma!

This enormous creature was none other than the corpse of the Golden Core Dragon that was discovered in the poisonous miasma forest some time ago!

In his previous life, he was a powerful demon at the Golden Core stage, and his scales were the strongest defensive part of a dragon.

The terrifyingly hot magma around them was unable to harm the scales of the dragon corpse for a short time.

Shen Wen'an separated a wisp of his divine sense, and seeing that the magma could not harm the dragon corpse, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

With the help of the dragon corpse to resist external threats, he immediately devoted himself to the forging of the Sword Bone Technique Sword.

There is no day or night for practice.

Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the pale golden lava lake, the black and red scales on the dragon corpse had been scorched by the lava and were showing signs of softening.

Shen Wen'an's sword energy was also completely exhausted.

The dazzling golden light gradually weakened, and then a sharp sword light emanated from the top of its head.

A few breaths later, the golden light suddenly intensified, then receded until it completely disappeared.

Shen Wen'an suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes!

An invisible sword beam silently flew out from between his eyebrows, instantly piercing through the dragon corpse in front of him and flying into the distance!
Where the sword light passed, the pale golden magma dimmed, and in less than a breath, it completely solidified into a string of jet-black solids.

Shen Wen'an seemed quite satisfied with this.

He concealed his aura, slowly stood up, and took out a large number of pills to restore his spiritual power from his storage bag and put them into his mouth.

While refining the substance, he also looked around.

After forging the Wisdom Sword, he could clearly feel that his divine sense was almost twice as strong as before.

This enhancement of divine sense is not only reflected in the range of its coverage, but also in the fact that it is more resilient than before.

With a slight thought, his divine sense penetrated through layers of scorching magma, and he suddenly discovered that below his location, there seemed to be a huge rock quietly suspended in the magma.

The fact that it could withstand such terrifying molten lava is enough to prove that the rock was no ordinary natural treasure!
Unfortunately, the rock was located two or three miles below it in the depths of magma, and the Golden Core Flood Dragon Corpse probably couldn't withstand the temperature there.

After sighing inwardly, Shen Wen'an gave up the idea of ​​finding out more.

The item is valuable, but I lack the ability to acquire it.

Feeling that his sword energy had recovered somewhat, enough to support the sword energy shield and leave this place, Shen Wen'an immediately retrieved the dragon corpse, raised the sword energy shield, and flew upwards!
……

The Imperial City of Zhili.

As the former capital of the Yu Kingdom, the imperial city, now under the governance of Canaan Temple, seems to have regained its former glory.

After the six major Golden Core forces of the Southern Frontier arrived in Yangnao Land, it seems that only Canaan Temple is diligently managing the cities and territories under its rule.

The image erected at Canaan Temple gave hope to many ordinary people suffering in the world.

For a time, apart from Yunzhong County, most of the common people in Yangnao were trying every means to escape to the area controlled by Canaan Temple.

This is exactly what Canaan Monastery is happy to see.

The former imperial city has now welcomed the leaders of various forces, including Shen Chongming.

The six major Golden Core factions, along with the Shen family of Yunzhong and Luoxia Mountain, made up a total of eight people sitting around in the main hall of the imperial city.

"So, regarding the matter of regular harvesting... does anyone have any further opinions?"

As the initiator of this meeting, Lan Jue smiled and looked at everyone present, paying particular attention to Shen Chongming and Luo Yao from Luoxia Mountain.

Luo Yao remained expressionless, quietly looking at Shen Chongming beside her, wanting to see what he was thinking.

Shen Chongming lowered his eyes and a cold smile appeared in his heart.

Grandpa Shen Yuan was right after all.

These guys have always been after the "blood sacrifice" of Yunzhong County.

The so-called "periodic harvest" means that the eight forces present will draw lots once every ten years and fight each other in pairs.

They will plunder each other's people and cultivators for a period of one month.

This would both prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to reap the benefits and give the people under the jurisdiction of each side time to recuperate and rebuild.

For ordinary people, ten years is a generation.

Ten years is enough time for them to recover some of their strength.

The six major Golden Core factions in Southern Xinjiang were naturally happy to accept this proposal.

However, this is clearly not of much benefit to Luoxia Mountain and the Shen family.

After all, unlike them, the two families did not use commoners and cultivators as food to refine human pills.

What both companies need are resources, and spiritual seedlings.

Shen Chongming gently pinched his fingers, frowning as he pondered.

The people present did not urge them, and waited patiently.

After a moment, Shen Chongming raised his head and said with a faint smile, "Since everyone has made their decision, my Shen family cannot refuse you."

"Let's settle this then."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yao frowned slightly, but she knew that now was not the time to ask, so she decided to ask Shen Chongming what he was thinking later.

(End of this chapter)