Chapter 42 Three More Mountains Acquired

A few days later, Lu Xilou returned to Yuanwu Prefecture with news.

The two demonic Cultivators had already fled Nanwu Kingdom, and both were severely injured, posing no further threat.

The various counties breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this news. During this period, the two were elusive, making normal outings fraught with the worry of not returning.

With the two demonic Cultivators gone, they left behind a mess in Yuanwu Prefecture.

In Liangxi County, only the Yun Family and Chen Li could maintain a semblance of Family dignity.

After the An and Luo Families disbanded, most of the Cultivators from the An Family went to the Taihu Mountain Range to seek refuge with the Golden Core Yang Family; hearing that the management there was lax, many followed.

The Luo Family also mostly defected to the Yang Family, with a small portion becoming Loose Cultivators at Duan Ya Mountain.

Lu Xilou's Lu Family took over most of the territories belonging to the An and Luo Families, but a small portion was also given to Chen Li and the Yun Family to divide, while simultaneously increasing some tribute requirements.

At Black Magpie Mountain, Yun Tiancheng and Yun Chengyue of the Yun Family arrived.

Outside the mountain, Yun Tiancheng recalled when Chen Li first arrived to establish his clan more than a decade ago; he never expected such a huge change in just over ten years.

The two jujube trees by the entrance had already grown into towering trees capable of sheltering them from wind and rain.

Under the trees, the two lightly inquired about the Formation, and Chen Li came out.

Seeing Chen Li, the two were very polite. Yun Tiancheng said to Chen Li, "Brother Chen, we have come this time to discuss how to divide this territory. Suffering two disasters in ten years is truly Heaven being unkind!"

Chen Li also sighed deeply, and the two began to negotiate under the tree. The division between the two parties was quite fair.

Chen Li received three mountains, sixteen mu of spirit fields, and over four thousand Mortals. The Yun Family received a similar amount.

Chen Li returned to his mountain and informed Brother Ox. The next day, he went to take possession of these three mountains and the sixteen mu of spirit fields.

Although the spirit plants on the spirit fields of these three mountains had been harvested, by setting up some Spirit Restraining Formations and spirit rain Formations again, they could plant quite a few things. Moreover, there were many existing structures on the mountains, eliminating the need for new construction.

To save Spirit Stones, he did not set up a Second-Tier Defensive Array, but instead set up a First-Tier Defensive Formation, solely for the purpose of separating Immortals and Mortals!

These Mortals were told to carry on with their usual tasks; there was no immediate use for them yet. At the same time, they were informed that if any children wished to walk the Immortal path, they should wait by the spirit jujube trees in front of Black Magpie Mountain.

Brother Ox, with his Fourth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, had been planting spirit plants for over a decade. As an experienced hand, he quickly finished preparing the sixteen mu of spirit fields, planting quite a few Spiritual Plants and spirit rice.

Furthermore, a Second-Tier Teleportation Array was set up on these three mountains, all capable of teleporting to Black Magpie Mountain.

Ten days after the territory was divided and the spirit rice planted, it was another beautiful, sunny day at Black Magpie Mountain.

Chen Li began researching the second Place of Opportunity.

At Zizai Pavilion, Chen Li opened the Place of Opportunity in his Sea of Consciousness.

[Great Sun Seed Jade]

Location: [Location information has been injected, map guidance mode can be activated]

Danger: [Golden Core Yang Family]

Restriction: None

Suggested Number of People: 1

Looking at the location information, it was in the territory of the Golden Core Yang Family in the Taihu Mountain Range, so Chen Li needed to go scout it out in advance.

After all, this was not the Boundless Forest. The Taihu Mountain Range had many people, making it unsuitable for setting up large Formations; he could only sneak around and steal it without anyone knowing.

Three months later, Zhu Lingyue broke through to the Late Stage of Qi Refining, reaching the Seventh Level of Qi Refining.

After exiting seclusion, Zhu Lingyue was very happy. Reaching the Seventh Level of Qi Refining in her thirties with a pseudo spirit root was something she wouldn't have dared to imagine before.

In Concentric Heart Hall, Chen Li told Zhu Lingyue everything that had happened over the past few months. Zhu Lingyue immediately felt a mix of danger and astonishment!

She was amazed by Chen Li's steady strength.

"Husband, remaining calm in the face of danger, Lingyue admires you!"

The two chatted for a while longer. Chen Li mentioned that he would be going out intermittently over the next few days and not to make a fuss, which Zhu Lingyue understood.

During these three months, Chen Li had completed the design blueprints for the warning System Formation, clarifying all the necessary Materials and the connections between the array patterns!

Most of the core technology involved had been figured out. He would wait until he had stolen the [Great Sun Seed Jade] before proceeding.

Two days later, a seemingly unremarkable old man appeared in the Cultivation Market of the Beast Hunting Sect in the Taihu Mountain Range. The old man was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, looking exactly like a down-and-out old man who could never achieve Foundation Establishment. The old man browsed for a while and then vanished from the Cultivation Market.

The old man Chen Li transformed into had already ventured deep into the Yang Family's territory near the Taihu Mountain Range, then found that specific location.

He observed from afar. There was a lake and about ten mu of spirit fields, with the lake situated between two mountains. He also spotted several Cultivators patrolling. They were too far away to discern their Realms, and he even saw one Cultivator walking back and forth, pointing something here and there, seemingly searching for something.

Chen Li roughly judged the location of the [Great Sun Seed Jade]; it was not in the lake, nor in the spirit fields.

Huh? It seemed to be inside one of the mountains on either side of the lake.

Chen Li hunkered down to watch for a few more days. After the Cultivator holding the searching object left, Chen Li secretly approached the vicinity again, only to discover that the location of the [Great Sun Seed Jade] had changed—this time it had moved into the lake?

Huh? Can the location actually change?

Chen Li decided to keep observing for a few more days. On the first day it was in the lake, the location shifted again to beneath the spirit fields. After one day beneath the spirit fields, it returned to being inside the mountain?

Afterward, he observed for ten more days and drew a conclusion.

This [Great Sun Seed Jade] would change its location on its own, shifting once a day, basically moving between the large mountain, the lake, and beneath the spirit fields.

If he didn't have the map, he wouldn't believe this was real?

After figuring out the pattern, Chen Li began considering the best place to retrieve it from.

Since there were constant patrolling Cultivators, it was impossible to silently blast open the mountain.

When the object shifted and was pressed under the mountain, it was beneath the spirit fields when it shifted there, but the patrols near the spirit fields were even heavier, making the risk higher. After weighing his options, submerging into the water to retrieve it was the only choice.

Chen Li retreated to the Cultivation Market and inquired about the area, learning that this place was called Beiguang West Lake. It originally belonged to the Luo Family but now belonged to the Yang Family. Moreover, the spiritual lake water here had the effect of accelerating maturation, and while the effect wasn't exaggerated, it was still noticeable.

In the inn, Chen Li took out the third-grade [Wave-Suppressing Escape] he had bought from the Market.

This Cultivation Technique allowed movement underwater without causing any abnormal water current fluctuations, truly achieving 'walking on water without a trace,' and even magical power ripples were absorbed by the water.

Another month passed, and Chen Li cultivated the [Wave-Suppressing Escape] to the Minor Achievement Realm. He then went to find a place with water to test it, but it was still not quite 'walking on water without a trace.'

Another month later, Chen Li cultivated the [Wave-Suppressing Escape] to the Major Achievement Realm; this was basically sufficient.

During this time, Chen Li also observed that the patrolling Cultivator who came to investigate was likely a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The pattern was that he came to Beiguang West Lake roughly once every two to three days. Chen Li needed to slip past this Foundation Establishment Cultivator and then sneak in.

On the first day, the [Great Sun Seed Jade] was beneath the large mountain, and the Foundation Establishment Cultivator had just left today. Chen Li used an invisibility talisman, the Qi Concealment Art, and the Wave-Suppressing Escape to slip past the gaps in the Cultivator's patrol route around the lake, secretly diving into the lake bottom late at night.

Chen Li began to suppress his Qi and seal his five senses underwater.

By noon the next day, the [Great Sun Seed Jade] began to transfer into the lake, and he noticed that after transferring into the water, the concentration of Spiritual Qi contained in the water gradually increased!

Chen Li at the bottom of the lake didn't overthink this; he opened the map mode in his Sea of Consciousness and began searching.

As he got closer, he discovered a slowly moving white glowing object beneath the lake bottom. Chen Li saw the white jade seed!

Chen Li slowly approached, intending to reach out and take the jade seed, but there seemed to be a pulling force also tugging at the jade seed. Chen Li immediately detected this power.

It seemed like a kind of Formation power, yet it didn't look like one, because he couldn't see any traces of a Formation being laid out in that area from the outside.

However, this restraining force was too weak. With a slight exertion from Chen Li, the [Great Sun Seed Jade] was obtained.

Immediately after obtaining it, the large mountain within the area shook violently, and Chen Li felt it! He had to flee immediately, otherwise, Cultivators would surely come to investigate, and if a Golden Core Cultivator was alerted, he would be finished.

Chen Li ignored the patrolling Cultivators and used the [Wave-Suppressing Escape] to slowly reach the shore. Before reaching the shore, he immediately applied a swift travel talisman and a spirit hiding talisman to himself.

Chen Li slowly emerged from the water. It seemed the vibration of the large mountain had attracted the attention of most of the patrolling Cultivators, leaving them no time to check the lakeside situation. Seeing that no one had discovered him, Chen Li immediately took off running.