Chapter 607 - 415: Ink Flood Dragon’s Legacy (Part 2)

’Do I have to resort to brute force and shatter this stone wall? If I do, the black earth will surge in and completely flood this place. That means I’d only have one shot. Otherwise, this chamber will be gone forever. I have to find the spatial rift where the Ghost Cultivator was located to get out. It’s simply too risky.’

Fang Qingyuan temporarily dismissed the idea of shattering the stone wall to force his way out. He looked at the dejected Jinbao, and an idea came to mind.

As a Divinity Transformation Descendant, Jinbao’s Lifebound Talent was undoubtedly of an exceptionally high tier. It was just that, hampered by his current cultivation level, he wasn’t strong enough to see through the arrangements made by the Nascent Soul Cultivator here. It wasn’t that the Golden Eye of Truth was insufficient, but that Jinbao’s cultivation level couldn’t keep up.

Currently, Jinbao was only at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. Although his combat strength was on par with a Golden Core Stage demonic beast, his cultivation realm was a clear limitation. Expecting him to see through a Nascent Soul Cultivator’s handiwork, a feat that spanned two major realms, was truly asking too much of him.

However, once he realized this, Fang Qingyuan figured he could temporarily boost Jinbao’s cultivation, allowing him to unleash a more powerful Golden Eye of Truth.

Fang Qingyuan wasn’t troubled by the question of how to temporarily boost Jinbao’s cultivation. After all, the Cultivation Realm had countless methods for achieving temporary bursts of power, many of which were completely harmless. The most basic approach was to infuse Jinbao’s body with a large amount of highly concentrated Gold Spirit Power.

...

"ROAR!"

A pained roar echoed through the cramped stone chamber. Jinbao’s face was twisted in a grimace as an overwhelming concentration of Gold Spirit Power poured ceaselessly into his body from the Array beneath him.

As the Array extracted the Spiritual Qi from over a hundred Top-grade Gold Spirit Stones, Jinbao’s aura steadily amplified.

Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer... Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment... Peak!

He then abruptly broke through the threshold, unleashing the might of a Golden Core Stage demonic beast.

Nearby, Qiqi’s eyes were wide as she watched everything unfold. As a Wilderness Demonic Beast, she had never seen an Array that could temporarily boost one’s cultivation level.

Fang Qingyuan closely monitored Jinbao’s condition, ready to stop the Array at the first sign of trouble. However, after the initial discomfort and uneasiness, Jinbao actually began to revel in the massive infusion of Gold Spirit Power.

Jinbao’s potential was on full display. He handled the Gold Spirit Power, which far exceeded his own cultivation level, with remarkable ease.

"Alright, stop enjoying yourself and get to work. You’re burning through my money."

At Fang Qingyuan’s reminder, Jinbao finally noticed that the Top-grade Gold Spirit Stones beneath him were slowly losing their color. Once their Spiritual Power was depleted, they would become worthless. They were literally burning money with every passing moment.

And so, he activated the Golden Eye of Truth!

Two beams of golden light lanced out from Jinbao’s eyes. At the very center of his pupils, a peculiar rune seemed to spin ceaselessly. This rune absorbed all the information Jinbao saw, then consumed his Gold Spirit Power to rapidly analyze everything before him.

After just a dozen seconds, Jinbao’s expression changed. He then stretched out a finger and pointed to a spot on the stone wall:

"Master, it’s right there."

Jinbao had yet to refine the Horizontal Bone in his throat, so the sound he emitted was merely a bear-like roar. However, his meaning was perfectly clear to Fang Qingyuan through his Mind Divine Technique.

Following Jinbao’s direction, Fang Qingyuan quickly went to that spot on the wall. As he reached out his hand to touch it, he thought, ’Found you.’

Under the golden light from Jinbao’s eyes, the outline of a doorway materialized on the stone wall. This was an effect of his Lifebound Talent; clearly, Jinbao’s Golden Eye of Truth could do more than just see clearly.

Under this influence, Fang Qingyuan easily perceived information about the doorway and understood the conditions required to activate it.

Fang Qingyuan then took out a dozen or so Top-grade Spatial Spirit Stones. He began to extract their Spiritual Power and the small amount of Space Power they contained, channeling it all into the manifested doorway.

Instantly, the stone wall turned ethereal, revealing a dark passage beyond.

The passage itself was transparent, but churning black earth pressed against it from the outside, constantly writhing like a bizarre living creature and making the passage appear pitch-black.

"That’s enough, Jinbao. You can stop the Divine Technique now."

His objective accomplished, Fang Qingyuan signaled for Jinbao to stop, not wanting to waste any more of his Top-grade Spirit Stones.

After stowing away the hundred-odd Top-grade Gold Spirit Stones, which still had some Gold Spirit Power left in them, Fang Qingyuan led the now noticeably stronger Jinbao and Qiqi to the front of the passage.

The Array had effectively created a temporary High-tier Secret Realm for Jinbao. Thus, even after the Array was dismantled and most of the infused Gold Spirit Power had dissipated, a small percentage of it would remain within his body.

It could be considered a method of rapid cultivation, but the cost was exorbitant. Over a hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones for a single session—not even the core disciples of a Nascent Soul Clan could afford such an extravagance.

His brief reflection over, Fang Qingyuan was the first to step into the passage. Before leaving completely, he left some of his unique markers behind in the stone chamber. This was a precaution; if something unexpected happened, he could follow the signals from these markers and have his Immortal Mansion tunnel back to this location.

To Fang Qingyuan’s surprise, the passage was not a single path. After walking about a hundred meters from the stone chamber, they arrived at a fork.

Looking at the three different paths, Fang Qingyuan frowned. He hadn’t encountered any danger so far. According to the stone carvings he’d found earlier, this place was merely a massive cage designed to imprison the Ink Flood Dragon. After the Ink Flood Dragon’s legacy had been collected, the cage had been abandoned.

Since it was abandoned, it was unlikely that anyone would have deliberately left traps for future visitors. The magnanimity of a Nascent Soul Cultivator like Qi Yun was, on this point, something he could trust.

Any dangers that did exist would have arisen from natural developments over time, like the Ghost Cultivator who was accidentally trapped here. Perhaps some strange Demon Fiends or ghostly creatures now lurked within these passages.

But even so, the strength of these Demon Fiends and ghostly creatures couldn’t possibly have reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Otherwise, they would have broken free of this place by force long ago; they wouldn’t still be trapped in this abandoned cage.

But they couldn’t be too weak, either. Humans and demonic beasts below the Golden Core Realm wouldn’t last long. Without the nourishment of Spiritual Qi and relying only on their own supplies, they would die within a decade at most. They couldn’t be like that Ghost Cultivator, who had managed to eke out a miserable existence for sixty years.

Therefore, any potential threats would be at the Golden Core Realm. When Fang Qingyuan tallied up his own party’s combat strength, he immediately felt at ease.

Qiqi alone was at the peak of the Golden Core Realm. With him in the mix, they could even put up a fight against something with Nascent Soul Battle Power. With that in mind, what the hell was there to be afraid of?

So Fang Qingyuan called out, "Don’t spread out. Stick close, and let’s go slowly. We’ll take the right-hand passage first."

...

At the end of the right-hand passage was a peculiar room. In its very center grew a single, strange plant.

It was similar to the Profound Cyan Longevity Vine inside his Immortal Mansion. But unlike the Profound Cyan Longevity Vine, which was only interested in Demonic Qi, this vine’s roots penetrated deep into the stone wall, appearing to have taken root in the black earth outside.

The stem that remained inside the stone chamber, however, was like a withered, dead vine—devoid of moisture and utterly decayed.

"Huh? There’s something at the base of the vine. A Crystal Stone?"

At Qiqi’s words, Fang Qingyuan strode forward, gazing greedily at the vine.

’The last Profound Cyan Longevity Vine brought me a profit of tens of thousands of Top-grade Spirit Stones. What might this one be worth?’

’I have to transplant it into the Immortal Mansion, dead or alive. Even if it’s completely withered, research into Spirit Plants is extensive in the Cultivation Realm. There has to be a way to restore its vitality.’

If he weren’t wary of Qiqi’s presence, Fang Qingyuan would have likely started transplanting it immediately. But moving a plant like this was different from moving an inanimate object; it couldn’t be easily concealed with a storage pouch. So for now, Fang Qingyuan held back and turned his gaze to the Crystal Stone Qiqi had mentioned.

This Crystal Stone was identical to the one Fang Qingyuan had seen in the stone carvings. Inside the fist-sized crystal, there was a drop of extremely viscous, dark ink. Even after tens of thousands of years, this drop of ink still seemed to be slowly writhing.

’A Divinity Transformation legacy?’

Fang Qingyuan frowned. ’This isn’t something I can get involved with at my current level. If I mishandle it, it could easily bring disaster upon me. The wisest decision would be to sell this thing to Tu Wuzhao.’

"Qiqi, please take Jinbao and stand guard at the entrance. I need to collect this vine."

With no other discoveries to be made here, Fang Qingyuan made his request to Qiqi. He needed to work quickly to transplant this vine into his Immortal Mansion. After all, two more rooms at the ends of the other passages were still waiting for him.