Mo Fan's voice echoed slowly through the gloomy tunnel,and the smile at the corner of his mouth was beyond suppressing now.
Still,elated as he was,it hadn't gone to his head.
Faced with a legendary wonder of heaven and earth like this,blasting through the rock wall with brute force would very likely destroy the spirit plant's foundation in an instant.
Mo Fan drew a deep breath and steadied his heartbeat.
Following the trajectory of the spiritual qi's flow in[Death Vision],he casually pulled out a flying sword he'd confiscated from Miasma Dust earlier...
And,like the most patient stonemason,began peeling away the strata bit by bit along the edges where the spiritual qi was thinnest.
Rubble rustled down.
A good half-hour passed.
Crack!
As the final thin layer of stone wall split open...
An exceedingly dense yin-cold aura,one that felt capable of freezing the soul itself,surged out like a burst dam.
Mo Fan instinctively took half a step back before fixing his gaze forward.
Behind the stone wall lay a naturally formed,sealed grotto.
The grotto wasn't large.
In the depression at its very center pooled a small patch of ink-black water...
Dark and ghostly,radiating a bone-piercing chill.
And at the exact center of that deathly still black water...
A strange lotus,pale white from top to bottom,without a single green leaf...
Its petals looking carved from the purest white bone.
It grew there quietly,emitting ring after ring of faint yet pure,ghastly white light.
The[Nether River Bone Lotus]!
Mo Fan's heart pounded wildly.
Even though he wasn't an orthodox magic cultivator,he could clearly feel the astonishing spiritual vitality within it.
He couldn't wait.
He strode forward,reached out,ready to claim this priceless treasure.
However...
Hssss!
The very instant his fingertips brushed that pool of dark yin water...
A horrifying cold shot straight up his finger into his brain!
Not ordinary cold.
A searing agony that felt like it could freeze marrow and soul into slush in a heartbeat!
Even with Mo Fan's formidable constitution now...
Half his body went numb from the cold in that single moment,forcing him to snatch his hand back as if electrocuted.
"This yin water...is vicious!"
Mo Fan looked at the layer of gray frost that had condensed on his finger,secretly shaken.
Not just that.
On closer examination,he found that the Nether River Bone Lotus's roots were like countless fine blood vessels...
Driven deep and tangled into the underground yin vein at the grotto's base.
If he tried to yank it out with spiritual force,he'd absolutely snap those roots instantly...
And this wonder of heaven and earth would have its spiritual qi collapse on the spot.
"This thing looks like it needs a specialized collection technique,or some purpose-made artifact,to harvest."
Mo Fan circled the yin water pool twice,feeling the frustration of having nowhere to sink his teeth.
After all,where would he get a professional herb-gathering artifact right now?
But just because he had no way didn't mean nobody did.
With a flicker of thought...
A soft hum sounded.
The[Necrotic Realm]opened,and Mo You,dressed in a blue robe and wearing a face identical to Mo Fan's,appeared quietly at his side.
The moment Mo You materialized,his gaze locked instantly onto that bone-white lotus at the center of the yin water.
A powerful yearning flashed plainly through those clear eyes.
He clearly understood the value of such a heavenly spirit treasure far better than that country bumpkin Mo Fan.
"Don't just rip it out."
Looking at Mo Fan's stymied expression,Mo You gave a slight smile and,without the slightest hesitation...
Strode straight into that pool of dark yin water Mo Fan hadn't even dared to touch.
"Hey,you..."
Mo Fan winced hard and instinctively opened his mouth to warn him.
Only to find that Mo You,wading through the yin water,showed no sign of pain whatsoever.
If anything,he looked as comfortable as a man soaking in a warm bath.
Mo You glanced back,seeming to see straight through Mo Fan's thoughts,and said placidly:
"It's fine.This formless body of mine was cobbled together from demon beast flesh and all manner of chaotic residual souls to begin with."
"This yin water is vicious,yes.It corrodes ordinary flesh and blood beings ferociously.But this formless body of mine is neither human nor ghost,so it has considerably less to fear."
"And for that same reason,the Nether River Bone Lotus is the treasure best matched to shaping this formless body."
With that,Mo You paid Mo Fan no further mind and slowly crouched down.
That body of his,derived from a Formless Demon Embryo,actually began to radiate a yin malevolent aura of the same origin.
Then he reached both hands into the yin vein and,bit by bit,with exceeding patience,peeled the roots free.
The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water,without harming the bone lotus in the slightest.
As the last strand of root came loose from the yin vein...
That Nether River Bone Lotus abruptly became a mass of ghastly white light.
It didn't end up held in Mo You's hand.
Instead,like a weary bird returning to its forest,it actively sank into Mo You's abdomen...
Slowly taking root at his dantian and giving off ring after ring of gentle radiance.
Mo Fan watched,a bit startled.
"You just ate it?"
"Not refining it.Parasitic coexistence."
Mo You glanced down at the light glowing in his abdomen and explained.
"The Nether River Bone Lotus will remain inside me for the time being."
"With its own exceedingly pure power of ultimate yin,it'll act like a millstone,gradually refining away the mixed demon beast flesh and residual soul aura within this formless body."
"This is the first step in truly shedding the demon embryo's impurities and stabilizing into a'human.'"
Mo You raised his head,and on that face identical to Mo Fan's there was an exceedingly rare gravity.
"But the'ultimate yin of earth'alone is nowhere near enough."
"According to the legacy's teachings,I've now supplemented the qi of man,and I have the Nether River Bone Lotus refining my flesh."
"But to truly complete the first perfect metamorphosis,I still need to make up one last thing..."
"The qi of heaven."
"The qi of heaven?"
Mo Fan frowned.
"It's not any one fixed treasure,"Mo You explained.
"So long as it's an exceedingly pure heavenly spiritual essence,a special millennium spirit liquid,or high-grade spirit marrow,any of them could potentially satisfy the condition."
"But exactly how vast a quantity is required,even I can't say for certain."
Mo You looked into Mo Fan's eyes,not committing himself outright.
"As for once this body of mine has truly stabilized using all three qi of heaven,earth,and man..."
"All I can confirm is that the Formless Demon's origin can indeed record it."
"But whether it can actually reconstruct a Heavenly Spirit Root based on that recorded'form'..."
"Or use it to uncover why the Heavenly Spirit Root in your body was concealed..."
"I can't say for certain right now either."
"After all,this is a first for me too.There's no precedent to follow."
"That's enough."
Mo Fan wasn't disappointed at all.
If anything,his heart settled completely.
Harsh conditions weren't the fear.
Having no direction was!
If high-quality heavenly spiritual essence was what was needed,then this was simple.
In the cultivation world,anything you could buy with spirit stones was not a problem!
"Leave the qi of heaven to me.You focus on your seclusion."
Mo You nodded,said nothing more,and with a flicker of his figure returned to the[Necrotic Realm].
There,with the aid of that pure death energy and the Nether River Bone Lotus,he would formally begin the long refinement process.
Looking at the now-empty grotto,Mo Fan meticulously cleaned up every trace he'd left behind.
Then,without lingering in the dark mine pit,he retraced his route back to his ravine dwelling on Hundred Forging Peak.
Lying on the bed,Mo Fan stretched comfortably and sank into deep sleep.
After all,he was no longer that penny-pinching,dirt-poor servant of before.
His Storage Pouch held not only the enormous sum of spirit stones left behind by the old freak Miasma Dust,but also the great pile of high-grade demon beast materials he'd accumulated over this stretch of time.
Once I wake up,it'll be a good time to make the rounds of the real big trading guilds and major markets.
And while I'm at it,I should go see what real prosperity looks like in this Mystic Realm.
Time slipped by in a flash.
Over a month later.
Hundred Forging Peak,the outskirts of the abandoned mine pit.
A figure draped in a wide black robe,wrapped up tight from head to toe,was scanning the mine entrance with extreme wariness.
Only after confirming there wasn't so much as a ghost's shadow within several miles did the black-robed figure duck furtively into the depths of the mine and yank down the hood.
It was Xiao Hai!
Xiao Hai's eyes were bloodshot now,yet beneath them burned an almost manic excitement.
Over this past month or so,he'd nearly emptied the bulk of the savings he'd swindled and scraped together over his years in the inner sect.
He had even taken out a loan at usurious rates.
But he'd finally,through black-market channels,gotten hold of an exceedingly rare artifact.
The[Yin-Seeking Compass].
This detection artifact,made specifically to sense the aura of ultimate yin spirit objects,couldn't pinpoint a location precisely.
But so long as he got close enough,it could keenly catch the dense residual yin qi lingering in the air.
To return to the main peak,for the glory and riches Lord Li had promised him,Xiao Hai had truly gone all-in this time!
As long as I find the Nether River Bone Lotus...every price paid will have been worth it!
Once he'd entered the middle levels of the pit,Xiao Hai eagerly produced that compass-like artifact.
He bit open his fingertip and injected a drop of blood essence mixed with spiritual power into it.
Hummm...
The gray liquid inside the Yin-Seeking Compass,previously as still as dead water,absorbed the spiritual power and suddenly rippled outward with an exceedingly dark ring!
Xiao Hai's eyes lit up instantly!
"There's a reaction!"
He trembled all over with excitement,eyes glued to the compass.
Forcing down a heartbeat pounding like a war drum,he pressed carefully deeper in the direction where the artifact reacted most strongly.
The farther down he went,the rougher and harder the tunnels became.
But the gray liquid in the Yin-Seeking Compass churned more and more violently.
The delight on Xiao Hai's face grew thicker and thicker,the grin at his mouth nearly splitting to his ears.
"I knew it!The intel was right!It really is in this area!"
Like a starving wolf that had caught the scent of meat,he began narrowing his search radius bit by bit based on the artifact's subtle shifts.
Around several extremely dangerous abandoned shafts.
Through vast stretches of rubble that could collapse at any moment.
Finally...
Xiao Hai arrived at the dead-end of an exceedingly hidden tunnel,accessible only through a crack half a man's height.
He channeled the Yin-Seeking Compass again.
Hummmmm!
This time the vessel shook violently,the gray liquid inside faintly boiling as if about to overflow!
Which meant an exceedingly dense yin qi reaction lay right behind this layer of rock wall!
Right here.
Within arm's reach!
Xiao Hai's breathing turned completely ragged.
"It's here!It's absolutely here!"
He immediately drew his flying sword and,like a madman,began hacking frantically at the weakest points of the nearby strata,bit by bit.
Rubble flew.
Dust billowed.
The more he dug,the stronger the artifact's reaction grew.
Xiao Hai was in absolute ecstasy,already fantasizing in his head about how much reward Lord Li would bestow once he respectfully placed the Nether River Bone Lotus in the man's hands.
Perhaps he'd even be transferred straight back to the main peak!
At last...
Craaash!
As he blasted apart the final massive chunk of stone with spiritual force...
Ahead of him appeared a naturally formed underground grotto,radiating a bone-piercing chill.
An exceedingly pure yin-cold aura swept over his face,frost forming on his very eyebrows.
But Xiao Hai didn't care about the cold at all.
The smile on his face had already bloomed completely,and he roared out in wild joy:
"The bone lotus!I found it!"
He rushed into the grotto with quick strides.
Then...
His steps stopped dead.
At the center of the grotto...
That pool of dark yin water was still there.
The tangled yin vein underground was still there.
Even the spot where the Nether River Bone Lotus had once grown still carried an exceedingly dense residue of ultimate yin qi.
But...
The pool was empty.
Apart from black water,there was nothing.
That legendary Nether River Bone Lotus...
Was gone.
Xiao Hai's whole body went rigid where he stood,like a stone statue drained of its soul.
The ecstasy.
The excitement.
The beautiful fantasies of his future.
In that moment,they froze over bit by bit,then shattered utterly into powder.
A long while later...
In that empty,deathly silent underground grotto,a trembling voice finally sounded.
Almost dazed.
Laced with boundless despair and incomprehension.
"...Gone?"