"Junior Uncle, be careful!"
With a pale face, Fei Ting hurriedly sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan.
Given the size of the spiritual energy vortex, even a Pseudo Immortal realm expert might not be able to withstand it.
He wasn't the only one. The Great Demon of Bliss and the others didn't expect such a thing to happen either, and they couldn't help but feel anxious.
But before they could calm down, the vortex had already arrived before Su Yin. Just as they thought that it would charge at him furiously, it suddenly turned around and landed on the young man's palm. Then, it began spinning swiftly like a top.
"…" Fei Ting and the others froze on the spot.
Was the young man … rushing to form a spirit vein?
Was the spiritual energy of this era so lacking in dignity?
Paying no heed to the shock of the crowd, Su Yin stared at the vortex of spiritual energy above him, and his hair stood on end.
Seeing that the formation wasn't sealed, he wanted to test the source of the spiritual energy. Yet, who could have thought that a moment later, a massive vortex would charge at him …
Could you be any more shameless?
He only wanted to investigate the situation discreetly, not daring to cause a ruckus. Yet, you actually charged at me so arrogantly. How am I supposed to keep a low profile?
Panicking, Zhang Xuan waved his hands furiously and stopped his spirit gathering technique.
Boom!
Even though Zhang Xuan had stopped, the vortex seemed to be glued to him. It continued spinning around him like a tamed pug. All of a sudden, a deafening buzz echoed in the air, and over a hundred grade-1 spirit veins began roaming around the area like massive dragons.
Under the impact of the Spirit Vein, the walls of the valley collapsed one after another, exploding everywhere. The ground was also shaking non-stop, and gravel flew everywhere.
"…" Fei Ting and the others widened their mouths in shock, unable to utter a single word.
Didn't he promise to be careful and not cause a ruckus?
They thought that the young man would take the initiative to abide by the rules, but who knew that he would tear down the entire valley in less than a minute … Did he have to be so vicious?
Speechless, they turned their gazes over and saw over a hundred spirit veins surrounding the young man, waiting for him to collect them.
"Alright …"
Since they had already taken the initiative to form spirit veins, there was no telling what would happen if he didn't collect them. Left with no choice, Su Yin could only gather them into his storage ring one by one.
Sensing Zhang Xuan's actions, the hundred spirit veins leaped in joy as they rushed over to Zhang Xuan.
"Could it be that … the spiritual energy here is different from the spiritual energy in the river, making it easier to gather?"
Seeing that the other party had formed over a hundred Grade 1 spirit veins so easily, an idea popped up in Fei Ting's mind.
Imitating the young man, he raised his hand.
Although he was not a spirit gatherer, he still had some basic skills in spirit gathering. He raised his palm and released a devouring power, and spiritual energy faintly gathered in this direction.
However, compared to the other party, his speed was much slower.
Just as he was using all his strength to extract the spiritual energy, a first-class spirit vein seemed to have sensed something and flew straight over. Fei Ting's eyes lit up. Just as he was considering whether or not to take it, he saw the spirit vein fly over with a look of disdain.
Bang!
Fei Ting's zhenqi dissipated, and he was sent flying backward, slamming into the mountain wall.
"…"
Fei Ting's lips twitched, and he felt like crying.
Junior Uncle clearly didn't want so many spirit veins, but you forced your way over. I tried my best to get them, but not only did you not come over, you even beat me up … What double standards!
Su Yin had no idea that Zhang Xuan had been beaten up by the spirit vein, so he continued grabbing for three whole minutes before he finally collected all of the spirit veins in the surroundings.
Looking at his storage ring, which was on the verge of bursting, Zhang Xuan shook his head. "It's really uncomfortable to have so many of these things …"
Back in the Lingyuan River, he had found a Half-Transcendent spirit vein and gathered over a hundred first-class spirit veins. He had given a dozen of them to the Immortal Subduing Sect and the Alliance, and he still had eighty of them left.
Zhang Xuan really couldn't fit them all in his storage ring!
Forget it, I'll just have to get out first.
The reason he had gathered the spiritual energy here was to find out the origin of the spiritual energy in the valley, and he had already learned a thing or two about it.
Turning to look at Fei Ting and the others, Su Yin said with a grim expression, "The spiritual energy here isn't from the Lingbao Valley. Instead … it's generated on its own!"
"Generated on its own?"
"The hurricane in the Spirit Treasure Valley is very powerful, but the amount of spirit energy it contains is much weaker than the Spirit Abyss River. It's not even 1% … Such a thin amount of spirit energy, without any seals, even if the valley intercepts the flow, how could it gather such a dense amount of spirit energy? How could a small valley form over a hundred first-class spirit veins? "
Su Yin asked.
"This …" The crowd was speechless.
The valley was only ten mu in size, but it was able to form over a hundred first-class spirit veins … The spiritual energy in the vortex was even more concentrated than that of the Lingyuan River!
Even a fool could tell that something was amiss.
"Furthermore, the spiritual energy hasn't been gathered for too long. Otherwise, it would have flowed out of the Lingbao Valley instead of just swirling around here …" Su Yin said.
Without a seal, it was just like how water would flow without a dam. Based on the law of entropy, it would flow toward the lower regions, and as time passed, it would eventually weaken until it reached a balance with the outside world.
Given how powerful the vortex was, it could only mean that … it hadn't been there for too long!
"Could it be related to the altar?"
Fei Ting chimed in, "Commander Ming Jiang, the Abyss Demon, used a ritual to widen the passage and bring Jie Mo Luo's doppelgänger down here. Could it be that … someone also used a ritual to summon such a vigorous vortex of spiritual energy?
"This …"
After being stunned for a moment, Su Yin nodded, "It's very possible!"
The spiritual energy swirling around the altar couldn't be unrelated.
"If it's really the spiritual energy brought in by a sacrifice, there are three questions that need to be answered."
After pondering for a moment, Su Yin continued, "First, where did it come from? Secondly, what price did he pay to obtain it? Third, what's the purpose? "
The crowd was silent.
A sacrifice was equivalent to an exchange. Back then, Ming Jiang had sacrificed hundreds of Grandmaster level and above trolls to bring Jie Mo Luo's clone here.
With so much spiritual energy appearing, wouldn't the price be even greater?
Furthermore, what was the purpose? If it was just for the spiritual energy, it would have been taken away long ago. How could it be allowed to swirl and dissipate?
More importantly … where did the spiritual energy that was sufficient to gather hundreds of Tier 1 Spirit Veins come from? Even the trolls of the Great Qian Region wouldn't be able to take out so much spiritual energy!
"Even with such a huge commotion, no trolls have appeared. The valley should be safe. Everyone, check the surroundings and see if you can find anything amiss!"
Su Yin couldn't figure it out even after pondering for a long time. Thus, he instructed the others.
Fei Ting and the others flew out.
On the other hand, Su Yin flew toward the altar at the center.
It was made of green steel, and under the corrosion of energy, it was slightly black. There were many unique patterns of the Giant Demon Tribe carved on its surface, giving it a dazzling sight.
With just a glance, Zhang Xuan could tell that it was different from the fishing nets and carvings that he had learned.
"The formation patterns are in accordance with the Great Dao. Every single one of them isn't connected to one another. Just like a fishing net, all of the patterns are intertwined to form a unique set of rules … And this one seems to be a channel for gathering energy!"
Taking a closer look, the more Su Yin looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind, "It's … embroidery!"
Of the thirty-six arts that he had learned in the Forbidden Grounds, embroidery was one of them. Initially, he was extremely reluctant to learn it. However, as he learned it, he found it interesting. It was just that he had learned it early and rarely used it, so he had forgotten about it.
At this moment, looking at the patterns on the altar, he realized that they were somewhat similar!
"Embroidery is done using a thread to draw out a unique pattern. The veined pattern before you is also done using a thread to carve a unique pattern..."
The more he looked at it, the more similar it seemed. Su Yin examined it for a long time before suddenly moving to a certain location. Then, he drove his Zhen Yuan and tapped lightly on it.
Weng!
As though something had been activated, the intertwining patterns on the altar lit up. In an instant, the surrounding space shook, and spiritual energy surged.
Fearing that danger would appear, Su Yin leaped down.
"What's going on?" Fei Ting flew over and asked.
"I seem to have activated this thing …" Su Yin explained. Then, he turned his gaze to the stone altar. Amidst the flickering light, a passageway appeared. However, it only lasted for half a breath before vanishing, and the altar fell silent once more.
"This altar can still be used, but … it requires a sacrificial artifact in order to activate it!" Fei Ting explained.
Su Yin nodded.
Since it was an altar, there was bound to be a sacrificial item. Either it was a life or a treasure.
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to take out some treasures to test it out, Wu Yuan's anxious voice suddenly sounded, "Junior Uncle, come over and take a look …"
Without wasting any time, Su Yin and Fei Ting called out to each other and flew straight over.
At this moment, Wu Yuan was standing before the mountain wall with half a jade token in his trembling hands.
"Take a look at this …"
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, he hurriedly passed the jade token over. Su Yin took it with a perplexed look. He lowered his head to take a look, and a frown appeared on his forehead. "This is … the token that represents the identity of an elder of the Zhenxian Sect?"
Even though there was only half of it left, Zhang Xuan still recognized it. It was the token of an elder of the Zhenxian Sect!
He also had a piece of it.
"It's the Third Elder's. I just picked it up here. Does this mean that … the Third Elder has been here before?" Wu Yuan asked.
The Third Elder had gone missing after arriving at the Jade Sea with Zhang Xuan and the others. Yet, he managed to find a token that represented his identity here. Even if it was only half a jade token, did this mean that the members of the Zhenxian Sect had been here before?
"Un, it seems like this place has something to do with the demon sealed in the Indigo Immortal Hairpin," Su Yin said.
The Great Demon of Euphoria had only sensed the demonic aura here, but he wasn't certain that it had anything to do with the Indigo Immortal Hairpin. However, after finding this half of the jade token, he was certain.
"Let's look around carefully and see if we can find any other clues …"
The crowd continued searching the area, but it didn't take long for them to return with a shake of their heads.
There was nothing else but this half of the jade token.
"Do you think that the demon lured Sect Leader Li Maosheng and the others here to use them as sacrificial offerings?" Qiu Zhaojun suddenly asked.
Li Maosheng, the head of the Zhenxian Sect.
The crowd fell silent.
Even though they found it hard to believe, they knew that there was a high chance that it was true.
Otherwise, the demon wouldn't have spent so much effort to bring them here.
"The fact that there's so much spiritual energy here means that the sacrificial offering has already been completed. If I'm not mistaken, it happened seven days ago, which is why the Soul Jade Tokens of Sect Leader Li Maosheng and the others exploded …" Wu Yuan's body trembled as he spoke.
Su Yin nodded.
He had deduced that the spiritual energy had only appeared for seven days, so it made sense if it had only appeared seven days ago.
"There are still some questions," Su Yin turned to Wu Yuan and said, "Junior Maosheng, what was his cultivation realm when he left the Zhenxian Sect?"
"Zongshi realm 9-dan!" Wu Yuan explained. "He risked his life to come here in order to achieve a breakthrough to Heritage realm …"
Zongshi realm 9-dan wasn't weak in the Great Yan Prefecture, but it wasn't too strong either. It was still difficult for one to maintain a First Tier Sect.
After all, the head of the second-tier Wind Lightning Sect also possessed such strength!
"What about the First Elder and the others?"
"They are weaker than the sect leader, but they are still at Zongshi realm!" Wu Yuan explained.
"In other words, the missing members of the Zhenxian Sect are all Zongshi realm experts … Do you think that they would be able to exchange for more than a hundred Tier-1 spirit veins through the sacrificial offering?" Su Yin asked.
"This …" The crowd was stunned.
Sacrificial offerings were all about reciprocity. Only those who were willing to sacrifice would be able to obtain more benefits. In fact, they might even have to sacrifice more than that.
At this moment, they were certain that the spiritual energy vortex had only appeared recently, and the main reason for it was the sacrificial offering! If the sacrificial offerings were only a dozen or so Zongshi realm experts … it was impossible for them to draw in so much spiritual energy.
"What if … the spiritual energy isn't something that the sacrificial offering requires, but something that leaked out when the sacrificial offering opened up a passageway?"
Fei Ting suddenly asked after a moment of contemplation.
"This …" Su Yin frowned.
That was indeed possible.
"If that's the case, the spiritual energy in the area where the sacrificial offering opened up a passageway would be extremely dense, possibly even surpassing that of the Great Qian Prefecture and Dayuan Prefecture …" The Great Demon of Nirvana interjected.
Just by opening up a passageway through a sacrificial offering, they were able to leave behind more than a hundred Tier-1 spirit veins. Who in the world did the Great Demon sacrifice Li Maosheng and the others to? Who would be willing to foot the bill for them?
"Pass the Violetwood Immortal Hairpin to me …"
Su Yin pondered for a long time, but he was unable to come up with anything. Thus, he turned to the young lady beside him.
Without any hesitation, Liu Yiyi removed the hairpin from her hair and passed it over to Zhang Xuan.
With the spiritual energy vortex gone, the Violetwood Immortal Hairpin was a safe haven. Even though her cultivation was low, she should be fine for the time being.
Su Yin held the wooden hairpin in his hand and carefully examined it for a while before looking at the stone platform not far away.
"Embroidery requires a needle to complete. I've been wondering what the patterns on the altar were made of … In the end, it should be this!"
Su Yin said with a smile.
Rather than calling it a wooden hairpin, it would be more accurate to call it a larger embroidery needle. If Zhang Xuan's guess was right, the patterns on the altar were made of this material. It was due to the fact that it was carved using an immortal artifact that it was able to wield such great power. Even though the passageway was only opened for a short period of time, it was still able to release the energy of more than a hundred Tier-1 spirit veins.
"It can't be that the place where the Great Demon's sacrificial offering opened up a passageway is …"
A thought suddenly popped into Su Yin's head. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "The Celestial Realm?"
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