Chapter 488 - 460: Earth Vein

Chapter 488: Chapter 460: Earth Vein

A night as dark as ink shrouded the boundless outer Kun Peng Sea.

Li Yuan stood on a remote reef and tossed his newly purchased Blackwood Waterproof Boat into the sea. The small boat expanded in the air, growing to ten feet in size as it floated silently on the water’s surface.

Stepping into the boat, Array Patterns lit up. The Waterproof Boat transformed into a streak of black light, cleaving through the waves as it sped toward the depths of the outer Unowned Sea Region.

Once far from the bustling island, Li Yuan guided the Waterproof Boat to begin its descent.

The surrounding light was quickly swallowed by the sea, leaving only a dead, silent blackness. As the depth increased, the Defense Array Patterns on the Waterproof Boat’s surface began to emit a faint hum, straining under the ever-increasing water pressure.

This was the true deep sea. Few Cultivators ever came here, not only because of the numerous High-tier Demon Beasts lurking in the darkness, but also because the Spirit Veins were buried extremely deep within the seabed’s rock formations, far beyond the reach of ordinary methods.

At a depth of five hundred feet, the Waterproof Boat’s Array Patterns emitted an overburdened, creaking groan.

Li Yuan stored the Waterproof Boat away. To descend alone meant he could be ambushed by a Sea Demon at any time.

The effect of his [Will of Waterflow] remained active.

The moment the effect activated, Li Yuan felt an incredible affinity with the water in the surrounding sea. He didn’t even need to use Spiritual Power to cast Water Magic; with a mere thought, he could make the water around him flow according to his will.

The seawater automatically parted about an inch from his body, neutralizing most of the current’s force. But the raw water pressure did not disappear. The extreme pressure of the deep sea was like countless invisible mountains, crushing his body from all sides.

Li Yuan didn’t activate his Protective Spirit Light, instead allowing the immense pressure to bear down on his physical form.

The experience of the Nascent Soul Realm washed over him like a profound enlightenment. With the aid of this higher-dimensional perspective, Li Yuan gained microscopic control over the circulation of his Qi and Blood under the extreme pressure.

This was the perfect environment for Body Refining.

His Qi and Blood surged wildly through his meridians, letting out a dull roar like a raging river. He furiously circulated the Mystic Iron Bone Forging Skill. The pressure of the deep sea became the cruelest of forge hammers, relentlessly pounding and compressing every inch of his bones and every fiber of his muscle.

「Time passed slowly.」

A series of soft pops echoed from deep within his bones. His physical body, which had already reached the stage of Great Success, was transforming once again. An incredibly deep, dark golden luster surfaced on his skin, making him seem to merge with the surrounding pitch-black water, indestructible.

[Mystic Iron Bone Forging Skill: Great Success → Perfection]

Li Yuan opened his eyes, and the dark golden luster slowly receded into his skin. The terrifying pressure of the deep sea now felt like nothing more than a slightly heavy coat.

’Warm-up’s over. Now for the main event.’

Li Yuan focused his mind on his system panel, placing the shuttle-shaped Magical Artifact he had acquired earlier into an equipment slot.

[Equipped: Vein-Stripping Spirit Shuttle (Complete)]

[Vein Extraction & Spirit Conversion (Blue) now active.]

A compass probe and an array-core sensor intertwined, creating a three-dimensional sensory net in the darkness. Before long, Li Yuan locked onto a miniature Water Element Spirit Vein buried deep beneath the seabed rock.

Li Yuan descended like a fish, landing lightly on the uneven, cratered seabed.

He raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers pressed together like a blade.

’Void-Rending Slash, at the Perfection stage.’

There was no dazzling light, only a gray fissure, smooth as a mirror, extending from his fingertips. Following the path of the Spirit Vein he had sensed, Li Yuan made an extremely precise incision into the hard seabed rock.

The rock was cut apart as easily as tofu. Seawater rushed into the fissure, revealing the main trunk of a miniature Spirit Vein glowing with a faint blue light.

The Vein Extraction & Spirit Conversion trait activated. The seabed trembled slightly. Like a long snake having its sinews ripped out, the entire miniature Spirit Vein was stripped whole from the rock by the Spirit Shuttle.

The miniature Spirit Vein, several hundred feet long, instantly vanished. It was pulled into his personal dimension, then swiftly integrated into the Spirit Vein network within his body.

[Vein Extraction & Spirit Conversion (Blue) Progress: 0/5 → 1/5]

’The process went much more smoothly than expected,’ he thought. ’Void-Rending Slash to open the way, Spirit Shuttle to pull the root.’ The entire process was seamless and didn’t cause any violent fluctuations in the seabed’s Spiritual Qi.

Without pausing, Li Yuan followed the direction of the Earth Vein, continuing his search.

Just as Li Yuan was about to search for a second vein, an incredibly powerful aura suddenly burst into the edge of his perception.

’A Tier Three Demon Beast. That’s equivalent to a human Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage.’

’Moreover, mixed within the Demon Beast’s aura was a subtle, yet exceptionally pure, trace of Demonic Qi.’

Li Yuan stopped his work. His figure melted into the dark water. Using Demon Shadow Step in concert with a concealment technique, he suppressed his Spiritual Power fluctuations to the absolute limit and silently approached the source of the aura.

Rounding a massive underwater cliff, he saw a colossal beast over a hundred feet long suspended in the water ahead.

It was a Tiger Whale, its body patterned in black and white.

It wasn’t wandering aimlessly like an ordinary Sea Demon. It hung motionless in the current, its pair of scarlet, vertical pupils glinting with a cunning and intelligence unbecoming of a beast.

The trace of Demonic Qi was emanating from its body.

Li Yuan slowly emerged from behind the cliff.

Li Yuan made no effort to hide himself. In the deep sea, the Demonic Qi fluctuations of a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator were particularly conspicuous.

The Tiger Whale jerked its massive body around, its scarlet eyes locking onto Li Yuan. Its movement created a powerful undercurrent in the surrounding water.

To Li Yuan’s surprise, the Tier Three Demon Beast didn’t attack immediately.

A low rumble emanated from the Tiger Whale’s belly. A moment later, a halting and bizarre Divine Sense message sounded directly in Li Yuan’s mind.

"Do you have the token?"

’A Demon Beast that could speak.’

Li Yuan’s eyes narrowed. It wasn’t strange for a Tier Three Demon Beast to gain sentience, but for one to ask a human Cultivator for a token was by no means normal behavior.

’Combined with the Demonic Qi it’s carrying,’ Li Yuan instantly pieced things together.

"What token?" Li Yuan’s expression was placid, but the Demon Pill inside him began to spin furiously. "Tell me, or I’ll kill you."

The terrifying might of a Late-stage Golden Core, accompanied by exquisitely pure Demonic Qi, came crashing down on the Tiger Whale’s massive body like an avalanche, held back nothing.

The deep-sea currents instantly came to a standstill.

The Tiger Whale’s scarlet eyes flew wide, its pupils contracting to pinpricks.

Its massive body trembled violently under the crushing pressure. It instinctively recoiled, letting out a terrified, low-pitched whine.

The Tiger Whale’s Divine Sense message grew frantic. "A deal! Some Demon Cultivators came to us for a deal!"

Li Yuan eased the pressure slightly. "What deal?"

"They’re looking for Earth Veins!" the Tiger Whale blurted out, not daring to hide a thing. "A few months ago, a faction of Demon Cultivators found several of us sentient Sea Demons and gave us items containing Demonic Qi to use as tokens."

"They want us to search the deep sea for the location of underwater Earth Veins. As long as we find a precise location and use the token to notify them, we can get pills made specifically for Demon Beasts, as well as other precious herbs."

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow.

’Searching for underwater Earth Veins.’

’An Earth Vein isn’t a Spirit Vein. It’s the very foundation of a landmass.’

The Tiger Whale obviously didn’t know which of the three unknown Demon Cultivator factions this was. It was just a hired beast.

"Do you know where any Spirit Veins are?" Li Yuan asked it casually.

"I do! I do!" The Tiger Whale nodded vigorously, its massive body swaying restlessly in the current.