166: Chapter 125 Failed Transfer!

The dim yellow light of the imagery dispersed within the spring pool, turning into countless specks of light as fine as dust, spreading in all directions.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense followed the specks of light closely, sensing every ripple within the Spiritual Qi.

He felt it.

Deep beneath the ground, a certain aura, originating from the same source as the City Wall Earth imagery within his body, lay dormant.

That aura was ancient, like a mountain range that had slept for millions of years—heavy, steady, and indestructible.

The process of fishing for the metal essence was to awaken that dormant aura, draw it up from the depths of the Spiritual Vein, and achieve Fusion with his imagery.

Chen Xuan guided the imagery's specks of light to penetrate downward, like tree roots digging into soil.

The specks of light passed through the rock layers and mineral veins of the Spiritual Vein, through the gaps in underground water currents, and through layer after layer of geological structure, closing in on that dormant aura.

He felt that the aura was getting closer and closer.

The distance between the City Wall Earth imagery and that aura was shortening at an extremely slow speed, like two mountains gradually drawing near over the passage of time.

This process required patience; he could not be anxious, he could not rush it, he could only wait.

When the imagery's specks of light penetrated the final layer of rock, that dormant aura gave a violent jolt.

A dull, muffled sound came from the depths of the Spiritual Vein, like a stone being dropped into a bottomless well.

Chen Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

That dormant aura—it had awakened.

But it did not approach him.

It was resisting.

Like a sleeping giant beast disturbed by someone, it turned over in anger, shattering all the imagery specks of light that had approached it.

Chen Xuan let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The City Wall Earth aura he sensed instantly became violent.

The Spiritual Qi within the Spiritual Vein surged wildly, backflowing along the imagery threads into his Dantian.

That force was too fierce; the six imagery manifestations trembled violently in unison, emitting a hum of being overwhelmed.

His Meridians were swollen and painful from the backflowing Spiritual Qi, and his bones creaked.

He made a decisive decision and severed his connection to that imagery.

The imagery was pulled back into his Dantian, its light dimmed by more than half, like a torch half-extinguished by the wind.

The violent aura within the Spiritual Vein lost its target, surged in place for a moment, and then fell silent once again.

The cave returned to tranquility.

The water surface of the spring pool remained like a mirror, reflecting the cold light of the night-luminescent pearls on the dome.

Chen Xuan sat by the pool, looking down at his hands.

His fingertips were trembling slightly, and he had not yet had time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Although the six imagery manifestations in his Dantian had dimmed significantly, they had not shattered.

The fishing attempt had failed, but the imagery would not disappear; it just needed to be nurtured again and required time to recover.

He raised his head, looking at his own face reflected on the water surface of the spring pool.

There was no disappointment on that face, nor was there anger, only a contemplation so calm it was almost cold.

There was no City Wall Earth metal essence beneath this Spiritual Vein available for fishing.

It merely harbored a dormant, ancient power of the Earth Vein, which shared the same source as City Wall Earth, but was not metal essence.

The fishing technique was not wrong, and the direction was not wrong; what was wrong was the location.

He stood up and put away the two layers of defensive Formation Plate.

When his fingers touched the Formation Plate, there was still residual blood on his fingertips, but he did not pay it any mind.

Spiritual Qi steamed up from the spring pool, and white mist swirled around him, making his figure appear blurred.

He walked up along the stone steps, his footsteps echoing between the stone walls, dull and slow.

When he returned to the surface, the sky had already darkened.

The dusk wind blew from the direction of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth.

Chen Xuan stood by the stone cliff, letting the wind blow over him for a while.

The fishing attempt had failed.

But the imagery remained.

The six City Wall Earth imagery manifestations were only temporarily dimmed and could recover after a few months of nurturing.

He still had a chance, but he could not continue waiting at this Spiritual Vein.

He needed to go elsewhere to find a location truly suitable for fishing for City Wall Earth metal essence.

Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's diary had recorded a certain place.

Deeper within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, past that ancient ruin, continuing three hundred miles to the northeast, there was a forgotten ancient city site.

Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji had once written in his diary that three City Wall Earth Golden Core Master had fallen there, and their blessed land fragments were scattered throughout the site, having not dissipated even after ten thousand years.

The Earth Vein beneath that site was stable, and the Earth-attribute Spiritual Qi was pure; it was an excellent cultivation ground for fishing for City Wall Earth metal essence.

It was just that the site was occupied by a Late Stage Earth Dragon; Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji hadn't dared to approach it easily back then.

Chen Xuan took the diary Jade Slip out from his Storage Pouch and pressed it to his brow to read it once more.

Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's handwriting was vigorous and powerful, every character looking as if it had been carved into stone with a sword, with a sentence attached at the end: "Latecomer, if you have walked to this point, it means you have exhausted all other possibilities.

Although the Earth Dragon is strong, it prefers to sleep and dislikes conflict.

Wait for the time when it is dormant; that will be your opportunity."

Chen Xuan put the Jade Slip back into his Storage Pouch and turned to walk back to the flying boat.

The flying boat ascended once again, adjusted its direction, and flew toward the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range to the northeast.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, casting it upon the deck like a black sword.

The wind swept past his ears, his robes rustling loudly; he stood at the bow of the boat, watching the mountains ahead gradually being swallowed by the twilight.

That ancient city site was three hundred miles away, in the hinterlands of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, atop the nest of a Late Stage Earth Dragon.

Ten thousand years had passed; this was the best choice.

The Tier 3 Spiritual Vein spring eye wouldn't work, the White Lotus Temple main altar was inaccessible, Central Province was too far, and Nanming Volcano was not suitable for Earth-attribute metal essence fishing.

This was the only path left.

The flying boat traveled through the night sky, with rolling black mountain ridges below; occasionally, the howls of Yao Beast would drift up from the forest—mournful and long, torn apart by the mountain wind and scattered into the night.

The night wind passed over the gunwales, blowing his robes until they rustled loudly.

Chen Xuan raised a hand to hold down his hair crown, which had been disheveled by the wind, his gaze remaining fixed on the northeast direction.

The flying boat traveled through the night sky.

By evening, the landscape outside the window had changed.

The charred volcanic ash was replaced by grayish-brown gravel, and sparse, withered grass poked out from the crevices in the rocks, swaying in the wind.

In the distance, there was a continuous black mountain ridge, lying across the land like the spine of a giant beast; at the top of the ridge was a patch of dark red clouds—not Demonic Qi, but a layer of dust formed by dust blown up by the wind and suspended high in the air.

He changed into a clean gray Daoist robe, secured his hair crown, and hung the three bright moon sword at his waist.

There was no airport, so he could only land the flying boat on a relatively flat slope on the east side of the mountain ridge.

The sound of tumbling gravel upon landing startled a flock of rock storks; they spread their wings and flew up from the rock crevices, circling once in the twilight before landing back in the distance.

Chen Xuan jumped off the flying boat and stood on the slope, looking around.

The ancient city site described in Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's diary was not far ahead.

He walked up along the mountain ridge for the duration of an incense stick, and the rocks beneath his feet began to show traces of artificial carving.

Steps paved with stone slabs, stone pillars half-buried in the soil, and stone tablets toppled in the overgrown grass.

The characters on the stone tablets were already blurred and indistinct; he could only vaguely make out a few strokes, which looked like the edges of some ancient seal script.

He continued to walk forward.

The moment he crossed the mountain ridge, his field of vision suddenly opened up.

A basin surrounded by mountains spread out below.

The ground of the basin was grayish-white, cracked dry like a tortoise shell, with clusters of low shrubs and withered grass growing in the fissures.

In the center of the basin lay the scattered remains of numerous structures: half-collapsed city walls, toppled towers, and temples buried deep in rubble with only their tops exposed.

The entire site was shrouded in an extremely heavy aura.

That aura was not Demonic Qi, nor was it miasma, but a smell left behind by the accumulation of Spiritual Qi from the Earth Vein that had slept for ten thousand years—like the lingering warmth emitted by stones from a dried-up riverbed after being baked under the scorching sun for a thousand years.

Chen Xuan stood on the mountain ridge and watched for a long time.

Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji had said that three City Wall Earth Golden Core Master had fallen here.

Their blessed land fragments were scattered throughout the site.

Ten thousand years had passed, and most of those fragments should have dissipated, but even if only one or two remnants of imagery remained, it would be enough for him.

It was just that Earth Dragon.

Chen Xuan's gaze slowly swept across the center of the site.

He saw the Earth Dragon's nest.

In the very center of the site was a half-collapsed circular structure, resembling an ancient altar, with a diameter of about twenty zhang; in the center of the altar was a huge, deep pit, the edge of its opening smooth and rounded, as if formed by being rubbed and polished by something for a long time.

The bottom of the pit was bottomless, and in the darkness, one could vaguely see a dark red light slowly flickering, like the eyelid of a giant beast trembling slightly in its sleep.

The Earth Dragon was right there.

Chen Xuan did not rush to approach.

He found a wind-sheltered rock crevice on the mountain ridge and sat down cross-legged.

He took out a concealment Talisman specially made by the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce and slapped it onto his body, his aura merging with the mountain rock.

Then he closed his eyes and began to recover from his injury.

The six City Wall Earth imagery manifestations rotated slowly within his Dantian.

Their edges remained dim, like lantern paper covered in a layer of dust.

He guided his magic power to penetrate them bit by bit, like wiping away accumulated dust from a lampshade.

The light of the imagery was recovering bit by bit, the speed very slow, like water dripping on stone—drop by drop, neither anxious nor slow.

Every morning, he opened his eyes to observe the direction of the altar, and in the evening, after the sun set, he would take another look.

That Earth Dragon had never come out; the dark red light in the deep pit would occasionally flicker a few times, as if it had turned over in its sleep, but there were no signs of it waking up.

On the evening of the seventh day, the six imagery manifestations fully recovered.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, stood up, and stretched his limbs, his bones emitting a soft crackling sound.

He put away the concealment Talisman he had slapped on his body, leaped down from the mountain ridge, and walked toward the center of the site.

His footsteps were very light.

The withered grass was bent by the soles of his boots, emitting an extremely faint rustling sound, like a grain of sand falling onto silk in the empty ruins.

He turned sideways to avoid loose rubble when passing the half-collapsed city wall, and steered clear of the pile of crooked stones when walking past the toppled tower, each step landing on old footprints that had already been trodden by someone.

In the center of the site, the altar was getting closer and closer.

He stopped.

From the deep pit in the center of the altar came an extremely slow sound of breathing, with a very slow rhythm, at least three breaths of time separating two breaths.

With every breath, he could feel the ground beneath his feet heaving slightly, as if the earth itself were sleeping.

The Earth Dragon was indeed dormant.

Chen Xuan counted silently for the duration of an incense stick, confirming that the rhythm of the breathing had not changed at all, before continuing to walk forward.

He walked half a circle along the edge of the altar and arrived at the other side of the deep pit.

On the ground there, several pieces of black rubble were scattered, the surface of the rubble having an extremely faint dim yellow light flowing within, like stone marrow condensed from the Earth Qi seeping out from deep within the soil.

He crouched down and reached out to touch one of the pieces of rubble.

The moment his fingertips touched the rubble, the six City Wall Earth imagery manifestations in his Dantian trembled in unison.

The dim yellow light inside the rubble resonated with the imagery, lighting up in the darkness, and then dimming.

It was fragments.

Not complete imagery, but traces left behind after the blessed land fragments had dissipated, with extremely low Spiritual Qi content, like a small puddle in a dried-up riverbed with only a few drops of water left.

But if six such fragments were pieced together, perhaps they could condense into a new imagery.

Chen Xuan collected all six pieces of rubble into an empty Jade box.

Just as he was about to close the Jade box, the ground began to shake.

At first, it was just a faint tremor, like someone hitting the ground in the distance with a hammer.

Then the tremor became stronger and stronger, and gravel rolled off the edge of the altar, falling into the deep pit and emitting a dull echo.

That breathing sound changed.

It changed from a slow, sleeping rhythm into rapid, heavy panting, every breath spewing a large amount of hot air from the bottom of the pit, and Chen Xuan felt the ground beneath his feet heating up.

The dark red light lit up from the bottom of the deep pit, becoming brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire altar red.

The Earth Dragon had awakened.

Chen Xuan turned and ran.

His footsteps were extremely fast; he skimmed across the ground, like an arrow released from a bow, streaking across the desolate basin and cutting across the grayish-white ground.

A low roar came from behind, like giant boulders rolling in the belly of a mountain, and the entire site trembled from that roar.

He dared not look back.

As he ran past the toppled tower, the earth beneath his feet suddenly split open.

A thick, black tail swept out from the fissure, carrying sticky mud and rubble, the air wave it rolled up wrapped in the smell of sulfur, smashing toward him head-on.

The speed was too fast; he had no time to dodge to the side, so he could only hold the three bright moon sword horizontally in front of him, the blade turning to meet the tail sweeping toward him.

The tail lashed against the sword body.

The immense force struck down like a heavy hammer, the sword body bent from the impact, and the back of the sword slammed hard into his chest; his entire body was sent flying, his back crashing into a half-collapsed stone pillar, rubble flying everywhere, his spine slamming against the sharp, angular cross-section, a sense of numbness washing over his waist and back like a tide, and the taste of rust rising in his mouth.

The Earth Dragon poked half of its body out of the fissure.

Its head was covered in grayish-black scales, each scale the size of a washbasin, the edges of the scales as sharp as knives.

A pair of dark yellow vertical pupils stared at him coldly, with not a trace of emotion in them, like a piece of solidified amber.

Its size was smaller than Chen Xuan had expected.

Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's diary said that the Earth Dragon was over thirty zhang in length, but the one before him was only a little over ten zhang.

The color of the scales was also different; what Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji described was pitch-black like iron, but the one before him was grayish-black, as if the new scales had not yet grown to full maturity.

It was the offspring of the Earth Dragon.

Ten thousand years had passed; that Late Stage Earth Dragon had perhaps long since reached the end of its lifespan, and the one before him was merely its offspring.

Chen Xuan propped himself up against the stone pillar and stood up.

The place on his chest where the back of the sword had struck throbbed with pain, and the numbness in the place where his spine had crashed into the stone pillar cross-section was receding, replaced by a stinging pain like needles.

He raised his sword; there were a few fine cracks on the sword body, but it did not yet affect its use.

The Earth Dragon opened its mouth again, and a crimson pillar of fire spewed out, covering all of his retreat paths.

The temperature of the fire pillar was terrifyingly high, the withered grass on the ground instantly turning to ash, the grayish-white surface being scorched until it cracked, and countless tiny fissures spreading in all directions.

Chen Xuan rolled sideways into the shadow behind a stone pillar, the fire pillar brushing past his side, the scorching hot air currents singeing the fabric of half his sleeve, revealing the scalded red arm underneath.

After steadying himself, he did not retreat any further.

There were the imagery fragments he needed in the ruins around the altar, and he had already collected more than half; if he retreated further, he would have to start all over again.

Moreover, the Earth Dragon had already awakened; retreating was useless, as it would not allow an intruder to leave its territory safely.

Either kill it, or be killed by it.