Chapter 598 - 411: Natal and Array

Inside the Immortal Mansion, a viscous, unceasing stream of Black Land fell from mid-air, merging into the Immortal Mansion and being absorbed by the earth.

Streams of pure primordial qi sprouted from the central area where the Black Land fell, then continuously spread to the surrounding regions.

As the primordial qi sprouted, the Primordial Qi Sun high in the sky of the Immortal Mansion emitted an even more fervent radiance.

Outside the Immortal Mansion, within the Land of Black Soil, a Cultivator in a cyan robe was sitting cross-legged. Beside him, a two-foot-long spatial rift had been completely peeled open. The surrounding Black Land slowly surged toward it, but it all vanished about ten feet away from the man.

After a long while, Fang Qingyuan slowly opened his eyes. A trace of weariness flickered across his face. Continuously absorbing the Black Land for so long had consumed a great deal of his Divine Sense.

Seeing that the Black Land’s advance had slowed, a crimson glow suddenly expanded from Fang Qingyuan’s body, pushing back the incredibly heavy earth. Only then did he let out a slow breath.

With a flip of his hand, an Octagonal Palace Lantern appeared in Fang Qingyuan’s hand, glowing with a soft red light. It was this Magical Artifact that allowed him to maintain a temporarily stable foothold.

’This Black Land contains death qi, ghost qi, and Demonic Qi. It’s like the most polluted area in this entire Sea of Black Earth. Could it be a naturally formed basin?’

’In the eyes of a Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast, this Land of Black Soil must be like a foul latrine it would do anything to avoid. No wonder that beast refused to come anywhere near it.’

’It’s just that the proportion of these negative, impure qis in the Black Land is too small. Otherwise, if this soil were taken outside, it would at least be a first-tier spiritual material. Oh, wait, the quality of the Black Land deeper inside is even purer—it’s definitely a spiritual material. I might even be able to make a small fortune from this.’

These thoughts flashed through Fang Qingyuan’s mind as he regulated his breathing. This polluted Land of Black Soil spanned dozens of li, and he was currently only on the outskirts, still a long way from the central area.

The straight-line distance to the center was still ten to twenty li. At his current collection speed, Fang Qingyuan estimated it would take about half a year to dig his way there.

’The deeper I go, the less Spiritual Qi there is. That means I’ll need more time to meditate and regulate my breathing. This isn’t the time to be stingy with Spirit Stones. I should set up a Gathering Spirit Array and use Top-grade Spirit Stones to recover my energy. I just have to calculate the cost carefully so I don’t end up taking a loss.’

’Also, is that Ghost Cultivator really trapped by this Black Land? I get the feeling that although the gravity of this soil is astonishing, for a Golden Core Peak Ghost Cultivator, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Could there be some hidden secret here?’

’Why are there so many spatial rifts in this region, when they’re so rare elsewhere? Hmm, it seems there was another place in the outside world with a similar situation. Back when I was in the Southern Border, wasn’t the place where Zhao Liangde got trapped also full of spatial rifts? In the end, it was the Huo Family’s Golden Core Cultivator, Huo Cheng, who took action and rescued him with Heiye. Could there be some connection between these two places?’

Fang Qingyuan fell into deep thought. A Nascent Soul Cultivator’s long-lost palace had once emerged in the Death Swamp. Based on the straight-line distance, the two places seemed to be thousands of miles apart, with no apparent connection.

But with spatial rifts like these, distance meant little. The cluster of rifts in the Death Swamp had been just like this one, densely packed into a small area. Later, Fang Qingyuan had heard from Lechuan that those rifts were actually created ten thousand years ago by a Divinity Transformation Ink Flood Dragon burrowing through. By that logic, how were the numerous rifts here created? Could there be another Ink Flood Dragon?

For a moment, Fang Qingyuan’s thoughts began to wander. Just then, an Octagonal Small Hammer in his hand flashed, and a mental message from Qiqi came through. She was on the other side and had made a discovery.

In response, Fang Qingyuan glanced at the scene before him and chose not to move. Instead, he sent a mental message back, telling Qiqi to come to him.

"Early-stage Golden Core isn’t a low realm... but you’re dressed in rags. What are you doing here in Awakening Lion Valley?"

Inside the White Bone Prison, amidst the Black Land, the Ghost Cultivator slowly finished sorting through the items. In the end, he found none of them to his liking. He casually tossed the bag aside and asked unhurriedly.

Xu Qingxuan could see the situation clearly. They were both trapped here. If the other man couldn’t get out, he certainly couldn’t. The White Bone Prison was able to block the heavy earth, something he could never accomplish on his own.

He was completely at the other’s mercy, and Xu Qingxuan had heard that Ghost Cultivators were skilled at Soul Searching, so he didn’t intend to hide anything. After all, he had only come to Awakening Lion Valley to look for an opportunity; he had nothing shameful to hide.

"I come from the Far East, where resources are scarce. I struggled to reach the Golden Core realm, but I have yet to acquire my own Lifebound Magical Artifact. Later, some fellow cultivators and I formed a team to try our luck in the newly discovered lands of Awakening Lion Valley. Unexpectedly, we ran into a beast tide, and a moment of carelessness landed me in this place. My luck is just terrible."

The Ghost Cultivator listened with a distinct lack of interest, his withered face utterly expressionless.

"Your Lifebound ability, Fire Within Stone, is useless for escaping this place. I’ve been here for many years. The Power of Heavy Earth here causes death qi to dissipate too quickly, so..."

He pulled down the hood of his cloak, revealing a skull covered by a layer of wrinkled skin. The facial features were all misaligned. At first, Xu Qingxuan found it not only terrifying but also bizarre in a way that defied the laws of life. After looking at it for a while, however, it started to look almost comical, like a crookedly worn mask.

"The sooner you make your contribution to me, the more I’ll be able to absorb..."

After speaking, the Ghost Cultivator casually tossed out three White Bone Array Discs, arranging them in a triangular formation around Xu Qingxuan.

"What are you doing?!"

Xu Qingxuan’s scalp went numb. When a Ghost Cultivator asked you to "make a contribution," it usually meant he planned to turn you into some kind of item for the Corpse Ghost Dao.

Sure enough, as soon as the White Bone Array Discs activated, they began to drain his Life Origin.

"No!"

He hadn’t expected the Ghost Cultivator to act so decisively. The way he took a life was as casual as asking for a small favor—an indifference that was the very apex of cruelty.

Xu Qingxuan struggled desperately. Feeling the power of his life slipping away, he finally panicked.

"Stop! Fellow Daoist, I have a second Lifebound ability! Take another look, please, take another look!"

Facing the threat of death, Xu Qingxuan could no longer afford to keep his secrets. The outside world believed his Lifebound ability was Fire Within Stone, but when he reached the Golden Core realm, he had been lucky enough to awaken a second one—an ability that no one else knew about.

"Oh? A second Lifebound ability? I didn’t expect you to have such luck. Planting a golden lotus in fire... Let me think..."

At Xu Qingxuan’s prompting, an eerie light flashed in the Ghost Cultivator’s ghastly white pupils. Xu Qingxuan felt as if he were being seen through completely. Compared to before, this inspection was far more invasive.

But while the Ghost Cultivator was inspecting him and lost in thought, the Array surrounding Xu Qingxuan was still active.

In just that short moment, decades of Xu Qingxuan’s lifespan had been drained away. He was already so shriveled he resembled a dried husk, his cheeks nearly touching.

Instantly, Xu Qingxuan grew frantic. ’You can take your time thinking, but can’t you stop the Array first?!’

Perhaps noticing Xu Qingxuan’s frantic state, the Ghost Cultivator seemed to realize the problem. By the time he stopped the life-draining Array, Xu Qingxuan, who had originally been rather young-looking, now had graying hair.

"There is a method we can try. In all these years, your Lifebound ability is the only one that’s shown any promise. Otherwise, you would have just become another piece in my collection."

Regardless, Xu Qingxuan’s life was saved for the time being. He glanced around at the surrounding ghastly white bones and sighed sorrowfully in his heart. ’Will I too one day become material for holding back the Black Land?’

’This is just a temporary reprieve. Even if the day comes when I can see the sun again... will this Ghost Cultivator really let me go?’

"Where’s Jinbao?"

The first thing Qiqi asked when she arrived before Fang Qingyuan was where Jinbao had gone. Fang Qingyuan glanced at her coolly and replied,

"The pressure here is relentless. I put Jinbao inside the Qiankun Banner to relieve some of the spatial pressure."

Jinbao was quite large, and the area covered by the Octagonal Palace Lantern was limited, so Fang Qingyuan’s explanation made sense.

Qiqi was a little disappointed that she couldn’t see Jinbao, but business came first. She quickly reported her findings. "On the other side of the Black Land, I found several stone steles. I don’t recognize the writing on them. I think you should go take a look."

"Stone steles? With writing on them? Could this place really be a man-made Array?"