"What did you say?"
Ji Yuan's expression froze, then he abruptly turned around, astonishing light bursting from his eyes.
Seeing this, Li Buwei was taken aback for a moment, only then realizing his slip of the tongue. However, it was too late to backtrack and cover it up.
After some deliberation, he could only slowly tell the few people before him what he knew.
He had searched the surrounding caves and found some items from thousands of years ago, including several jade slips that were not completely damaged. These slips contained information about the owner of this cave dwelling.
According to the records in the jade slips, the owner of this place was originally a Golden Core Great Cultivator who was highly skilled in alchemy. The cave dwelling had even been moved to include a spiritual spring, which was rumored to have miraculous effects in altering one's aptitude and improving the grade of spiritual roots.
If combined with the elixirs refined by its owner, the effect could be greatly enhanced!
"The one who left the jade slips should be the disciple of the owner of this place."
Li Buwei sighed, "In the jade slips, he described that the peerless spiritual spring was located in the center of the underground cave, on top of a mountain peak."
And that mountain, which not only held the spiritual spring but also several specially made elixirs, should be this one, twenty-odd li away.
Ji Yuan and Zhou Lianying exchanged glances. They hadn't expected that the spiritual spring they were looking for was right before their eyes, no more than twenty-odd li away.
However, as their gazes fell upon the three groups that were moving at high speed, their hearts sank.
"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate!"
His eyes flickered, and he gritted his teeth, having made up his mind.
No matter what, this spiritual spring that could improve one's physique and spiritual roots absolutely could not be taken by others!
"Go!"
Ji Yuan let out a low growl and immediately darted forward.
Just as Li Buwei and Hong Lie were still in doubt, they saw Zhou Lianying, who was only in the Enlightenment Realm, follow closely behind him without hesitation.
The two of them gritted their teeth and quickly followed the young Daoist ahead.
As they completely stepped onto the plain before them, roars erupted from the darkness. In the light emitted by the luminous pearls in their hands, monsters of various fur colors appeared within tens of feet.
These monsters seemed to have lost their minds, their eyes filled with fierce ferocity. They charged madly into the dozens of feet of light, rushing towards them as if they intended to tear them to shreds.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan formed a hand seal and then spat out a stream of light.
As the light dissipated, a small seven-story pagoda, a few inches in size, appeared before them.
"Rise!"
He spoke in a deep voice, immediately channeling a burst of magic power, fully activating the pagoda's spirit-devouring ability.
In the next moment, the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda floated above his head, casting countless dazzling rays of light. Within a few breaths, it filled a radius of over twenty feet around them.
Within this range, any monster that charged in would be engulfed by endless radiance. In just one or two breaths, its life force would be completely devoured.
Monster corpses fell to the ground. Even the blood within their bodies was refined by the countless rays of light, condensing into drops of vital essence that flew out and merged into the body of the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda.
Although this scene was not the first time they had witnessed it, Zhou Lianying still felt a chill creeping into her heart.
Not to mention Li Buwei and Hong Lie, who felt their scalps tingle. Their eyes suspected that the young Daoist before them was actually a demonic cultivator in disguise.
It was only because they did not sense any demonic energy emanating from him, and the opportunity was at hand, that they restrained themselves. Otherwise, they would have already attacked with all their might.
In the Great Yu Dynasty, although the imperial court did not object to the existence of demons and ghosts, as long as they were willing to serve it and did not harm the common people within its borders, they would even be granted titles and fiefs.
However, regarding demonic cultivators, from the imperial court to the hermits in the mountains and wilderness, everyone held the mindset of eradicating them on sight.
This was why there were ghosts and spirits holding official positions in the court, and nine great demon realms existed in the wild mountains, while demonic sects could only develop in secret.
Regardless of what the two were thinking, Ji Yuan was now fully activating the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda. Even within his body, the general tenets of the Xuan Tian Dao Scripture were being silently circulated.
Suddenly, his expression changed. In his perception, countless powerful auras appeared.
Upon closer inspection, he saw monsters that had shed their fur and grown dense scales, roaring as they blundered into his sight.
From these monsters, they felt a powerful aura. Each of them possessed the cultivation of the Enlightenment Realm!
Seeing this, their faces changed. Monsters without any cultivation could already pose a significant threat to them with their numbers.
And these monsters, possessing the spiritual power of the Enlightenment Realm, wouldn't they be able to threaten their safety?
Moreover, if it were just a few heads, it would be fine. But these monsters, brimming with spiritual energy, were endless in number!
A rough glance revealed at least a hundred of them, and this was just what was visible before them. No one could be sure if there were more such monsters in the darkness ahead!
Ji Yuan subconsciously looked up and saw that the other three groups in the distance had clearly slowed down their advance, indicating that they had encountered the same situation.
"Can you still hold on?"
Li Buwei stepped forward two paces, asking with a heavy expression.
At this moment, he had already taken out his crimson furnace, and his magic power was ready to be unleashed, capable of incinerating the monsters before them with a torrent of raging fire.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan shook his head, signaling him to hold back for the time being.
Then, his magic power surged, pouring into the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda above his head. In an instant, its radiance intensified by several percent, and the range it covered expanded from over twenty feet to about thirty feet.
With the surging radiance, monsters were swallowed of their life force and vital essence. Even monsters with Enlightenment Realm spiritual power could only last for two or three more breaths before turning into dry corpses.
Streams of pure spiritual energy fed back from the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda. In just over ten breaths, it had fully replenished the magic power he had previously consumed.
Ji Yuan could even feel a slight increase in his cultivation. Although it was only a minuscule amount, it was stable.
In a short period of about half a quarter of an hour, the total increase in his cultivation was equivalent to at least half a month's cultivation in the past!
At this moment, ripples stirred in his heart. He seemed to understand why some people would willingly descend into the demonic path, even if they were likely to face eternal damnation, yet they had no regrets.
The feeling of improving cultivation so rapidly was indeed wonderful, almost making him sink into it.
And this was only by devouring the spiritual power of monsters equivalent to the Enlightenment Realm. If he were to devour cultivators above the Spirit Controlling Realm, the improvement would be even greater.
"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate!"
As soon as such a thought arose, Ji Yuan quickly chanted the honorable name, circulating the general tenets of the Xuan Tian Dao Scripture several times before suppressing the anomaly in his state of mind.
However, it was unavoidable that a seed had been planted, and it was unknown when it would sprout and grow.
"Not good! Those people are speeding up!"
Li Buwei exclaimed, anxiety appearing in his eyes.
Their gazes followed, and they saw that the people in the other directions, after being briefly hindered, had actually resumed their original speed, and even accelerated slightly.
Especially in one direction, sword light flashed, and even from a distance of ten to twenty li, the sharp sword qi could be felt.
Ji Yuan's expression darkened. Since the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda had been exposed, he had no further reservations and was fully activating its power.
At this point, he no longer cared about being mistaken for a demonic cultivator. If he missed the spiritual spring that could improve his physique and spiritual roots, that would be a true regret!
With his fierce determination, the full power of the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda was unleashed, and with a sweep of its radiance, countless monsters fell.
Almost at the same time, the other groups also began to exert their full strength, their speed suddenly increasing by several percent.
In just about half a stick of incense, the four groups had advanced more than ten li. Nanxi, the middle-aged swordsman who was the fastest, had already traveled about twenty li, with only seven or eight li remaining to the small mountain peak that was radiating spiritual light.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan became anxious. They were still a full ten li away from the distant small mountain peak!
He glanced at the three people beside him, suddenly gritted his teeth, and took out a brand-new Divine Speed Talisman.
This talisman exuded spiritual energy, far beyond that of unranked talismans. The runes on it were already extremely complex and profound.
He poured magic power into it without hesitation, fully activating the talisman's core and releasing all the power contained within it.
In a moment, they felt a dense spiritual energy attaching itself to their bodies, and their speed suddenly surged by a large margin. Each step they took covered at least seven or eight zhang!
Ji Yuan sighed inwardly. With this method, the talisman could no longer be recovered and reused, effectively becoming a consumable item.
But compared to the current opportunity, a mere ranked Divine Speed Talisman seemed insignificant.
In a little over half a stick of incense, relying on the power of the ranked Divine Speed Talisman, the four of them finally arrived at the edge of the small mountain peak.
As soon as they stepped onto the foothills, the countless monsters behind them, despite their frenzy, stopped in their tracks, gathering fearfully more than twenty zhang away, daring not to take another step forward.
"Ascend the mountain!"
Ji Yuan shouted lowly and was the first to head towards the summit.
The few people followed closely behind him, their eyes already shining with excitement.
They were only tens of zhang away from the opportunity. If they could obtain it, not to mention soaring to the heavens, it would at least make their Dao path as smooth as a broad avenue.
Seeing that someone had already begun to ascend, the two groups several li away immediately accelerated, no longer caring about their own consumption as they rushed forward.
A height of thirty to forty zhang was not much for cultivators. In a short while, they had reached the summit.
However, on this mountaintop, they saw no spiritual items, let alone the spiritual spring that could improve their physique and spiritual roots.
Brilliant spiritual lights penetrated from the mountain body beneath their feet, shining in the darkness.
"Where is the spiritual spring? How is it empty?"
Hong Lie's eyes widened, and he searched the mountaintop inch by inch.
But the result was naturally nothing. Besides the spiritual light shining out, there was nothing else here.
Subconsciously, they looked at the middle-aged swordsman Nan Xi, who had already arrived. Although they knew he couldn't have taken a spiritual spring, a hint of suspicion arose in their hearts.
"When I arrived here, I didn't see anything."
Nan Xi spoke in a deep voice, stating that he had not taken anything.
When he reached the summit, the place was already empty, with nothing but sand and rocks.
Upon hearing this, Li Buwei's eyes flickered, "Perhaps only when all five luminous pearls are gathered will something change."
Ji Yuan lowered his head and looked at the luminous pearl in his hand, then scanned Li Buwei and Nan Xi. The two of them also held a luminous pearl in their hands.
Suddenly, he recalled the voice that had sounded in his mind when he first obtained the item, and a guess quietly formed in his heart.