Chapter 39: Returning to the Spirit Stone Vein

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside a secret chamber, six zhang underground, within a canyon shaped like a giant bowl.

In the one-zhang-wide secret room, Cheng Buzheng sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes slightly closed. His entire body was covered in dust, and a faint trace of red blood could be seen at the corner of his mouth, along with scattered red spots on his gray robes.

Suddenly.

Cheng Buzheng opened his clear black-and-white eyes. Seeing himself covered in dust, he released a burst of mana from his body. With a slight tremor, the image that appeared before his eyes once more was that of a handsome, elegant young man.

With a thought, a streak of yellow spiritual light enveloped him, and he escaped toward the ground.

In the blink of an eye.

He appeared at the bottom of the bowl-shaped canyon.

Cheng Buzheng wanted to experiment to see exactly what the power of the Amethyst Bead would be when it was at its limit state.

He flipped his right hand, and the Amethyst Bead hovered above his palm.

Cheng Buzheng suddenly realized that, at this moment, the Amethyst Bead felt somewhat unhandy.

He immediately stopped his movements and fell into thought. To push this spell to its upper limit, he had already spent all of his spirit stones; this spell was his fundamental technique for survival.

He could not afford even a shred of carelessness.

"Before my seclusion, the Amethyst Bead's wonderful utility lay in its responsiveness to a single thought. Why... after seclusion, I can no longer reach that state of 'thought-driven movement'?

The Amethyst Bead has evolved to its first-tier limit state... it must be due to the change in cultivation..."

Cheng Buzheng frowned and said

"Changing cultivation... it must be the reason for the change... mana reshaping..."

Then, with a thought, the Amethyst Bead hovered before him. He cast a hand seal, and a slight suction force emanated from the bead.

Within Cheng Buzheng's dantian space, mana surged, and waves of grayish mana were injected into the Amethyst Bead.

As the grayish mana flowed in, the Amethyst Bead hovering before him released bursts of red mist.

Before long.

The suction force from the Amethyst Bead ceased. He knew that the mana replacement was finally and completely finished.

Then, with a thought, the air exploded.

The Amethyst Bead spun rapidly, flying about. The air became almost tangible, sending out successive rings of shockwaves that struck the surrounding mountain walls. Rocks tumbled, and after a moment, the force of the shockwaves dissipated.

He gave a low command.

"Go!"

The Amethyst Bead emitted a purplish spiritual light, breaking through the tangible shockwaves. As it spun frantically, it sent out ripples of fine waves toward the distant mountain peaks.

"Boom... boom..."

The peaks in the distance saw their summits vanish, yet boulders continued to tumble down. The roaring sounds echoed endlessly throughout the canyon.

With a thought.

A streak of purple spiritual light, accompanied by the sound of exploding air, shot toward him from the distance, leaving a trail of shockwaves in its wake.

Cheng Buzheng reached out and beckoned; with a flip of his right hand, the Amethyst Bead transformed into a pattern and merged back into the skin on the back of his hand.

Having witnessed the power of the Amethyst Bead in its limit state, he felt quite joyful in his heart.

As expected of a special spell; although it was difficult to cultivate, it required few resources, was convenient and practical, and its calculated power was even more terrifying.

Compared to top-tier mid-grade magical tools, its power was on par.

With the same third-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, if he held a mid-grade magical tool, he wouldn't be intimidated; he could fight well enough to make his own father not recognize him.

After all, the mana consumption of a mid-grade magical tool was far beyond what an early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator could bear; at most, they could launch a few attacks before their mana was exhausted.

But the mana he consumed was within a normal range, sufficient to support a standard battle.

Regarding this.

Cheng Buzheng was very satisfied. He then escaped back into the secret chamber. Reshaping the Amethyst Bead just now had consumed a significant amount of mana.

Inside the chamber, he sat cross-legged and operated the Starry Sky Manual, recovering his mana along the pathways of the Minor Heavenly Circuit.

Instantly.

The surrounding spiritual energy gathered around him visibly before being absorbed into his body.

Half an hour later.

Cheng Buzheng, sitting on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes, a crystalline light flashing within them.

Sensing that his mana and all aspects of his condition were at their peak, he did not delay. A flash of yellow light appeared, enveloping him.

In the blink of an eye.

He vanished from the secret chamber. At three zhang underground, a streak of yellow light sped along.

Cheng Buzheng fled rapidly in the direction he had come from, heading toward the spirit stone vein.

There were no accidents along the way, and he arrived safely at the outskirts of the spirit stone vein.

Then, with a flash of yellow light, Cheng Buzheng appeared on the surface. Looking at the entrance of the formation in the distance, he walked toward it unhurriedly.

Before long, he arrived before a curtain of spiritual light and waited quietly. He knew the senior brother guarding the inside was verifying his identity.

Sure enough.

An archway-shaped gap appeared at the entrance of the formation. Cheng Buzheng did not hesitate and walked straight in.

After registering with the guarding senior brother, he walked toward his wooden hut.

Cheng Buzheng opened the wooden door. He did not practice; he had not slept for a full year. Although he did not feel sleepy, he was mentally fatigued.

He decided to take this opportunity to have a good rest.

Then, he collapsed directly onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Only after sleeping for two full days and nights did Cheng Buzheng open his hazy eyes. He stood up and stretched.

Instantly.

His bones and muscles creaked and popped continuously. Once the stretch was finished, he felt much more refreshed, and his entire body seemed more energetic.

Cheng Buzheng walked out of the wooden hut and wandered around the canyon. After a lap, he found that cultivators were sparse, with most talking in small groups of two or three; he found it quite dull.

Returning to the wooden hut, he began to cultivate. In the path of cultivation, there are no shortcuts; only through continuous meditation day after day, month after month, can one hope to take a step forward.

For the sake of his grand cause of longevity, he had to whip himself constantly and never allow a moment of slackness.

Although his cultivation progress was slow now without the aid of raw spirit stones, bitter cultivation was necessary. Otherwise, if he lacked cultivation resources, would he stop cultivating altogether? He had to temper his character.

Only by enduring loneliness could one guard one's temperament.

On this day, Cheng Buzheng, who was sitting on his bed, suddenly opened his eyes, a crystalline light flashing within them. As he finished his cultivation, the surrounding spiritual energy slowly dissipated.

He stood up, wiped his storage bag at his waist, put on his large basket, gripped a mining pick, and put on the secret ring on his left wrist. He opened the door and followed the road to the Storage Pavilion.

After greeting the senior brother reclining in a rocking chair, he placed his storage bag into a small compartment. After activating the formation, he checked it once, saw nothing wrong, and left directly.

Before long.

He arrived at the entrance of the spirit stone mine and joined the long queue, waiting for the three inspections.

A quarter of an hour later, following the same procedure, he went through the process once more. Nothing unexpected happened, and he entered the spirit stone mine smoothly.

(End of Chapter)