I will use the ninja world to aid my cultivation of immortality.

Either fight them again and take back the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, or steal other people's tailed beasts.

It is clear that Iwagakure chose the latter.

Naraku said calmly, "That old bastard Onoki is quite clever. He knew he couldn't get any advantage from us, so he picked an easy target."

Nono laughed and said, "That's right. Apart from us, Takigakure is the only village that doesn't belong to the Five Great Ninja Villages but still possesses a Tailed Beast. For Iwagakure, stealing the Tailed Beast from them is the best option."

At this point, Nonoyu paused slightly, then shook her head and said, "But then again, the fact that the Seven-Tails has been taken from Takigakure is also a sign of the village's incompetence."

Back then, Takigakure was second only to the Five Great Ninja Villages, but now, instead of closing the gap, it's gotten worse.

Chapter 199 Dragon Vein? Spirit Vein?

The era when the Ninja Village was first established.

The reason why Takigakure is the only small ninja village outside of the Five Great Ninja Villages to master a Tailed Beast is not because of luck, but because of its strength.

In that era, Takigakure was the sixth ninja village after the Five Great Ninja Villages.

It was even once qualified to become the sixth largest ninja village.

Otherwise, the higher-ups of Takigakure wouldn't have dared to send Kakuzu to assassinate Hashirama Senju.

Similarly, it was this assassination attempt that directly led to the collapse of Takigakure.

It wasn't that Hashirama Senju retaliated against Takigakure afterward, but rather that the higher-ups of Takigakure did something shady.

Instead of offering comfort to Kakuzu after his failed assassination attempt, the Takigakure leadership imposed severe punishments and charges of mission failure.

This action resulted in Kakuzu turning on the village and killing all the high-ranking officials of Takigakure, leaving the village still reeling from the shock.

"Now that Iwagakure has obtained the Seven-Tails, they might make some moves next. Have your men keep a close eye on the defenses along the border," Naraku instructed.

"Understood!" Nono nodded.

Naraku wasn't really concerned about Iwagakure taking the Seven-Tails.

With his current strength and the military power of the Land of Stars, even if Iwagakure were to acquire another tailed beast, it wouldn't pose a threat to him.

Another reason is that when he needs a tailed beast, he must already have the confidence to face Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

At that time, it didn't matter whether the tailed beasts were in Iwagakure or Takigakure.

He wanted to take it away, and no one could stop him.

Naraku was more concerned with his own training than with the movements of the tailed beasts.

Within the Land of Wind.

Travel by "shrinking the earth into an inch".

As Naraku came to a stop in the blink of an eye, a rather desolate city appeared before him in the desert.

"The ancient kingdom of Loulan. I hope this trip won't be in vain."

Looking at the desolate city ahead, Naraku's eyes flashed, and he activated "Shrinking the Earth to an Inch" again, immediately heading there.

The ancient kingdom of Loulan was a small kingdom located within the territory of the Kingdom of Wind.

Well, it's less of a country and more like an ancient city that's attached to the Kingdom of Wind.

After the death god, Naraku sent people to continue searching for other demons and gods, including evil gods.

But no matter whether it was an evil god or other ghosts or spirits, nothing was ever discovered.

This resulted in his cultivation progress being very slow.

After all, once one's cultivation level breaks through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, the demand for spiritual energy increases further.

No other spirits or deities could be found, and the cultivation of the elixir was still in progress.

In order to seek an opportunity to accelerate his cultivation, Naraku carefully recalled the plot and thought of the Dragon Vein.

This dragon vein is not a dragon vein in feng shui, but rather a dragon vein chakra hidden in the ancient Loulan Kingdom.

Ordinary chakra is useless against Naraku, but high-quality energy like tailed beast chakra is different.

Naraku has come to the ancient kingdom of Loulan to investigate the state of the dragon vein's chakra.

If it's the same as regular chakra, then there's nothing to say.

But what if things are different?

He doesn't need to reach the same level as the tailed beast's chakra, but as long as it has some effect on improving his cultivation, then his trip won't have been in vain.

brush!

His figure flashed into view.

Using the technique of "shrinking the earth to an inch," Naraku easily entered the ancient city of Loulan.

Standing atop the tallest building in the city, Naraku overlooks the entire ancient city.

"If the original plot had been followed, An Lushan should have already traveled through the dragon vein by this time, but judging from the current situation, the plot must have changed."

Just like what I saw when I was outside, the only prominent feature of this ancient city under my feet is its historical traces.

The rest can only be described as backward and poor.

The buildings were dilapidated, and most of the pedestrians on the street were emaciated and pale.

Putting aside An Lushan's ambition and methods, in the original story, his arrival in Loulan definitely caused a huge change in the city's environment.

Given the current state of Loulan, it seems as if An Lushan never existed.

Naraku was thoughtful upon discovering that the situation in Loulan differed from the original storyline.

The changes he brought about did indeed alter the original storyline in many ways.

Like the dragon vein right now.

If it could truly improve one's cultivation, he would definitely keep it for himself and not allow others to violate it.

"Could it be that Dragon Vein Chakra can really enhance cultivation, just like Tailed Beast Chakra?" This speculation made Naraku's heart flutter.

Sensory Ninjutsu activated.

Filled with anticipation, Naraku immediately used his extraordinary sensory ninjutsu to cover the entire ancient city of Loulan.

"found it!"

When his senses probed into the depths of the ancient city, Naraku's eyes lit up, and he immediately activated "Shrinking the Earth to an Inch".

brush!

His figure flashed into existence.

When Naraku reappeared, he was already in a spacious underground palace.

"What--"

Inside the underground palace, there were many guards dressed as soldiers. When the guards discovered Naraku's sudden appearance, they were first stunned, and then immediately tried to capture him in a fit of anger.

He glanced at her.

Whether it was the guards who stepped forward or those who wanted to shout, they all stood there blankly.

With just one illusion, Naraku easily hypnotized all the guards.

Turning his gaze away from the guards, Naraku turned his attention to the center of the underground palace.

In the middle is a platform, and below the platform is a dragon vein chakra that resembles a river of lava.

Step forward.

Without hesitation, Naraku immediately walked to the edge of the dragon vein.

"What a strange aura, both violent and peaceful, and most importantly, very similar to the nature of spiritual energy."

Naraku, who had come close, used his divine sense to probe the dragon vein.

After some investigation, a look of surprise and doubt gradually appeared on his face.

"Wait a minute, doesn't this thing look a bit like the spiritual veins described in the 'Immortal Dao Secret Manual'?"

Amidst the surprise and doubt, Naraku's gaze towards the dragon vein suddenly changed.

Spiritual veins are special mineral veins that nurture spiritual stones, and can be considered the most valuable resource on the path of cultivation.

Although the current dragon vein differs in nature from the spiritual veins recorded in the "Immortal Dao Secret Manual," it does indeed fit many of the characteristics of a spiritual vein.

"Could this be a mutated spiritual vein?"

Upon thinking of the spiritual veins, Naraku immediately recalled more information about them.

According to the "Immortal Dao Secrets", spiritual veins are not of a single type, but rather come in many varieties.

It's like an attribute vein.

The mainstream type of spiritual vein is the non-attribute spiritual vein.

However, there are also elemental veins that favor a particular attribute.

For example, the Metal Spirit Vein, whose spiritual energy leans towards the metal element.

Or it could be an earth vein with spiritual energy that leans towards the earth element.