Chapter 981 - 704: Master Mao Yuan (2)

Chapter 981: Chapter 704: Master Mao Yuan (2)

"Mm, no rush for now. That Cave Mansion relic of an Ancient Cultivator isn’t far from here, it’s near the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, at the place where the Xu Clan Territory used to be."

"There are some matters I want to ask that Xu Xuan about. Go and summon him here for me."

"Yes! I’ll go at once." After receiving Qin Ming’s order, the Heaven-Devouring Rat streaked away and vanished without a trace.

Qin Ming rubbed the Spirit Pearl in his hand and said faintly, "So this turns out to be the legacy of some unknown Ancient Spirit Plant Master. That is indeed a bit interesting..."

"For this thing to fall into my hands through such twists of fate—could it be that it’s meant to have a connection with me?"

After half a day.

The Heaven-Devouring Rat brought the Xu Clan Leader, Xu Xuan, up to the main peak.

"Junior pays respects to Elder Lii!"

Upon arriving, Xu Xuan bowed deeply to Qin Ming with extreme respect.

"No need for so much ceremony."

Qin Ming pinched the Spirit Pearl in his hand and asked directly, "Among your Xu Family ancestors, has there ever been a High-Tier Spirit Plant Master? Or perhaps an ancestor above the Divinity Transformation Stage?"

Xu Xuan froze for a moment at these words; he had no idea what Qin Ming’s purpose was in asking such a question.

Thus, he racked his brains and pondered carefully for quite a while, then replied with firm certainty, "Reporting to Elder Lii, although our Xu Family ancestors have, for generations, made a living by planting Spirit Plants and have multiplied on the Spirit Land of the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers for more than two thousand years, we have never produced a Void Refining Stage Cultivator. The ancestor with the highest cultivation was only at the Early-stage Divinity Transformation Realm."

After hearing his answer, Qin Ming understood that the Cave Mansion ruins there should not have much to do with the Xu Family.

Moreover, according to what was written on the map, that Cave Mansion was extremely well-hidden; without using special methods, even a Divine Monarch Void Refining would be unable to sense or discover it.

After Qin Ming finished clarifying the situation, he dismissed Xu Xuan.

He only pondered briefly, then immediately decided to go take a look. After all, the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers was not very far from his Little Turtle Peak.

Immediately.

Qin Ming summoned Lan Bing Fairy and called along the Heaven-Devouring Rat.

Lan Bing Fairy transformed into an Ice Crystal Nether Sparrow and, right on the main peak, tore open a spatial rift, carrying Qin Ming and the rat into the void.

Around the Ice Crystal Nether Sparrow’s body, a vast surge of Space Power spread out; at extreme speed it traversed countless Void Turbulence, and soon arrived near the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers.

Qin Ming did not rashly enter this region directly, but instead observed from the outskirts for a while.

Since the Alien Race Delegation was to arrive at Celestial Star City soon, the Spirit Land Cave Mansions of the various surrounding forces and Sects were being constantly patrolled by Celestial Star City’s Silver Armor Star Guards driving Dharma Ships.

Qin Ming also learned that during the period of the Alien Race Delegation’s visit, all private duels were under Restriction.

The surrounding powers, after receiving this order, did not dare cause trouble, and had quieted down considerably compared to before.

The Xu Family’s former territory lay on one of the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers’ branch ranges, called Lingyuan Cave.

The mountains here were clear and the waters pure, the scenery possessing a unique charm.

And two Tier Four High-Grade Spiritual Veins were situated here.

At first glance, there was no sign that any Ancient Great Power had cultivated here.

After the Xu Family was driven out, the peak here was occupied by Cultivators of the Wang Family, who had likely reached some sort of tacit agreement with the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers in secret.

At this moment.

Some clansmen of the Wang Family were cleaning certain areas on the Lingyuan Cave mountain, seemingly preparing to domesticate Demon Beasts.

Qin Ming directly ignored these Low-Tier Cultivators and headed straight for the place recorded by the Spirit Pearl.

With his current cultivation, even the Divinity Transformation Cultivators of the Wang Family and the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers would be fundamentally unable to detect him.

After half a stick of incense.

Qin Ming landed on a mountain slope, then sent out a milky-white Spiritual Light toward the void ahead—it was precisely that Tier Six Spirit Pearl.

The Spirit Pearl fixed itself in midair, then overflowed with strands of starlit Spiritual Light that formed runes one after another, which sank into the surrounding air.

Hum~

As ripples spread out circle after circle through the air ahead, a white, twisted light gate large enough for passage suddenly opened.

Seeing this, Qin Ming released his Divine Thought to probe briefly, and finding no other Restrictions or dangers, flashed forward and stepped into the light gate before him.

Once he entered, the light gate in the void quietly faded away and vanished.

After a brief moment of dizziness.

He realized he was already standing within a small patch of independent space. This must be that senior’s Cave Mansion—inside, mountains rose and fell, spirit streams flowed, and on the slopes lay several hundred mu of Spirit Ladder Fields.

Only now, the place had become utterly desolate and dilapidated. It had clearly been left untended for many years, completely buried in the dust of history.

Before Qin Ming could speak.

The Lan Bing Fairy beside him turned her beautiful eyes, and was the first to perceive the situation here.

"The spatial fluctuations here are somewhat strange. It should be located at a junction of the Yin Yang Earth Veins, with an extremely stable space node. I didn’t expect that senior expert to transform it into Spirit Fields."

The Heaven-Devouring Rat raised a paw to shade its eyes and looked toward the slope in the distance. "Stable space? Don’t tell me we’re right under the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers at this very moment?"

"You could put it that way. But don’t be fooled by the fact that we’re ’below’ it—actually, we’re separated by tens of thousands of li, and might not even be on the same plane. It’s just that the Spirit Vein was routed into this space, causing an interaction." The Lan Bing Fairy nodded lightly as she spoke.

The Heaven-Devouring Rat listened, its face full of shock, exclaiming, "The Dao of Space really is vast and profound! To think the world would have such wondrous places—I thought only Master’s Little Spirit Realm was like this."

"There are places far more remarkable than this in the Spirit Realm. It’s said that there are quite a few fragments of space that can form domains of their own, and they possess Tier Six, Tier Seven and above top-grade Spirit Vein environments. Some can even give birth to the Immortal Origin Qi said to exist only in the True Immortal Realm, and thereby develop into true Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands. I suspect the Human Race’s Three Great Sacred Lands in the Spirit Realm are very likely of this kind."

Clearly, after arriving in the Spirit Realm, the Lan Bing Fairy hadn’t been idle; her studies were extremely broad, especially regarding knowledge related to her Space Power. Her mastery of it was exceedingly extensive.

The Heaven-Devouring Rat immediately gave her a thumbs-up. "Lan Bing Fairy, you really are amazing! You know so much."

Qin Ming rapped its head with his knuckles. "Who’s like you? All you know is reading those storybooks and novels."

Then, he released his vast Divine Thought, enveloping the entire space.

Every blade of grass and tree within fell under his probing gaze.

Not long after.

Qin Ming led the Lan Bing Fairy and the Heaven-Devouring Rat, flying down to a house halfway up the mountain.

This should be where that Ancient Cultivator had lived.

Once they entered, they found the furnishings inside extremely simple, almost completely visible at a glance.

In the center of the room, there was a woven grass meditation cushion, upon which sat a Cultivator’s dried-up skeleton—clearly someone who had passed away sitting here long ago.

After a brief inspection, Qin Ming casually raised his hand and drew, bringing the storage pouch lying beside the remains into his grasp.

After wiping it clean with his Divine Thought, he discovered that a large hole had been torn open inside, causing the Spatial Restriction to fall into disorder. The Spiritual Mechanism of many items had completely dissipated.

Fortunately, there were still several objects that remained perfectly preserved.

Yet just then—

The skeleton in front of them suddenly burst forth with scattered points of golden Spiritual Light, gradually condensing into a transparent phantom of an old man.

Seeing this, Qin Ming did not grow overly tense, for he sensed this was merely a strand of lingering will, a remnant projection, with no threat.

"Hehe! Someone has finally managed to find this place."

"This old man is Master Mao Yuan. How should I address this young friend? You actually carry the aura of that person’s Cultivation Technique on you... Looks like you’re one of his acquaintances’ descendants! Hahahaha! What a marvel of coincidence."

The remaining phantom of the old man seemed to have discovered something unbelievable, laughing heartily.

"Junior Qin Ming. May I ask, Elder Mao, the familiar aura you mentioned—that refers to..." Qin Ming cupped his fists slightly as he asked.

He practiced several Cultivation Techniques as his main paths. Aside from the Cyan Emperor Technique, which lacked its subsequent segments, the Ten Thousand Forms of Selfless Celestial Demon Freedom True Skill passed down by Qingyang the Old Demon was also something he was cultivating.

There was also the True Primordial Yin Yang Technique he’d been arduously training in lately.

Thus, for a moment, Qin Ming wasn’t sure which one the other party was referring to.

Master Mao Yuan replied, "Who else could it be? You’ve already cultivated your Cyan Emperor Technique to Great Success, and even refined the most difficult Cyan Emperor Wood Emperor Sacred Body. If you’re not that fellow Cyan Emperor’s disciple or grand-disciple, then who could you be?"

"Eh? Why is there Celestial Demon Qi and True Demon Qi on you as well, with Cultivation Techniques from the Human, Demon, and Monster Races all coexisting!!"

"And you can still live perfectly fine like this? That’s truly bizarre! It really defies all common sense!"

"You even have two Spirit Pets beside you carrying Ancient True Spirit Bloodlines."

The old man’s phantom grew more and more shocked the longer he looked. He widened his eyes and continued examining Qin Ming, clicking his tongue in amazement nonstop.

"Forget it, let’s not get hung up on that. Young Master Qin, you can see it yourself—this strand of my remaining will won’t last long, at most about the time of one incense stick. Let’s keep it brief. Perhaps we can make a little trade, hehe!"

"That fellow Cyan Emperor didn’t leave you the follow-up Cultivation Techniques of the Cyan Emperor Technique? However, this old man does know where he left his methods..."

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