NOVEL WEB Chapter 61: Spiritual Qi Vein
Noticing the distance shortening with each passing second, Feng Fan timed his next move perfectly.
Just as he passed over one of his arrays, with the bull only a few meters behind, he jumped into the air and activated the combination array below.
Water gushed from the water generation array, instantly freezing as the cooling array activated in tandem. A slick layer of ice formed across the ground, spreading several meters from the array's center.
The bull, unable to react in time, charged onto the ice. Its massive legs slipped uncontrollably, and with a loud crash, it tumbled forward, skidding across the frozen ground before slamming into a tree.
The impact was so powerful that the tree snapped, its trunk breaking cleanly as it fell to the forest floor with a heavy thud.
After landing gracefully a few meters away from the icy patch, Feng Fan glanced back and spotted the Blue Dragon Sect disciples closing in from a distance. Without wasting a moment, he turned and bolted, continuing his escape.
Feng Fan knew he couldn't take on both of them head-on, even taking his body cultivation into account. Using his spiritual qi vision, he noticed their spiritual qi density was slightly higher than his own.
"It won't be long before I surpass you," he thought, determination burning within him as he focused on widening the distance between them.
Before long, his pursuers vanished from sight.
Feng Fan located a sturdy tree and set up a few alarm arrays in the surrounding area for safety. He leaped onto one of its thick branches and sat cross-legged, drawing the ginseng from his space ring.
"Let's see how much stronger I can get with this!" he thought, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
He popped the ginseng into his mouth and began chewing. The roots were tough, but his strong jaw made quick work of them.
First, Feng Fan made his breakthrough to the 5th stage, opening the last required meridian, bringing his total to 65. This advancement came with a qualitative improvement in his muscular strength.
Next, he harnessed the remaining energy within the ginseng to continue cultivating over the next three days. By the end of his cultivating session, he had reached the peak of the 5th stage, successfully opening a total of 80 meridians.
A confident smile formed on his face as he muttered, "Wash your butts and wait for me!"
—
In front of a large pond filled with crystal-clear water, dozens of disciples from different sects gathered.
Among them were the eight disciples from the Blue Dragon Sect and two disciples from the Blue Wyvern Sect: Huang Chao and Wen Xue.
Wen Xue maintained her composure despite her sect's lower standing compared to the prestigious Blue Dragon Sect.
She had already secured a future as a disciple under one of the Blue Dragon Sect's elders and would soon join their ranks. This gave her a certain level of confidence.
Huang Chao, on the other hand, acted more like a servant.
If a Blue Dragon disciple ordered him to crawl on all fours, bark, and lick their boots, he would obey without a shred of hesitation.
Leading them was Zheng Huang, Blue Dragon Sect's top disciple in this pocket dimension exploration, and Feng Fan's competitor on the wager made with Shi Fan.
On the other side of the lake, the steep wall of a peak rose up—the same peak that Feng Fan had been striving to reach ever since he entered the pocket dimension.
"Senior Brother Zheng," one disciple spoke, his voice tinged with unease. This was the same disciple Feng Fan had spotted alongside Hou Wei, battling the giant bull over the ginseng.
"Don't you think this place feels... off? It's strange how all the participants seem to be converging here without any clear reason. The spiritual qi density in this water is unusually high, yet there's no sign of danger. This reeks of a trap. It's almost too obvious."
Zheng Huang remained silent, his eyes fixed on the pond before them. It was Hou Wei who spoke up in his place.
"Jia Qiang, if you can sense it, do you really think Senior Brother Zheng wouldn't?"
Jia Qiang narrowed his eyes at Hou Wei, his thoughts filled with disdain. 'This bastard loves to bully the weak but fears before the strong. How did someone like him even get the chance to be here?'
"All opportunities are accompanied by dangers. Haven't the cultivation path always been like this?"
Zheng Huang said, still looking at the pond, without turning his back.
"Since we have so many people here, let's wait for an impatient one to make the first move."
"And what if no one makes the first move?" Jia Qiang asked hesitantly.
Zheng Huang slowly turned, a harmless smile tugged on his face, but his next words sent a chill down Jia Qiang's spine.
"Then we'll make them do it. After all, the weak should at least serve the strong properly."
The minutes soon turned into hours. Many disciples around the pond tried different methods, but nothing happened. It was when the night came that the first daring one made a bold move.
"Since no one dared to do it, I'll get the riches!" He said shouting as he threw himself at the lake and started absorbing the spiritual energy inside to cultivate.
At first, people looked at him as if he were an idiot, but when some minutes passed and nothing happened, half of the observers went inside.
Soon, the pond was filled with disciples cultivating, but the spiritual qi inside the pond didn't diminish in the slightest.
Some of the disciples inside the Blue Dragon Sect showed impatient reactions, but because Zheng Huang didn't move, they didn't dare to do it either.
"Senior Brother Zheng, aren't we going inside?" Asked Jia Qiang, feeling a little impatient.
Zheng Huang looked at him as if he was an idiot. "If you want to go, then go ahead, I won't stop you, but the real treasure isn't here."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Asked Jia Qiang surprised.
"Take a better look at them. They are cultivating, but can you feel their strength increasing?" Zheng Huang said. Read exclusive content at empire
Jia Qiang then observed the people cultivating inside the pond carefully and soon noticed a weird thing.
"What?! Their cultivation is regressing?!" Terror filled his eyes.
Having his cultivating regressing would be the same as killing him. He was glad he listened to Zheng Huang and didn't rush inside.
"I believe this is a natural array, it wasn't man-made. This peak should be a place where spiritual qi is gathered to create a spiritual qi vein!" Said Zheng Huang, excitement evident in his eyes.