167: Chapter 126 Fierce Battle Against the Earth Dragon

The Earth Dragon stopped its column of fire and lowered its head. Its dark yellow vertical pupils locked onto his position, and its massive body slowly pulled out from the crevice, causing the entire altar to sink slightly under its movements. Its four limbs were as thick as pillars, its claws deeply embedded in the shattered stone slabs, and every step it took left half-inch deep claw marks on the grayish-white surface.

Chen Xuan stepped out from the shadow of a stone pillar. His sword tip pointed toward the ground, his gaze fixed on the small, slightly lighter-colored patch of scales beneath the Earth Dragon's neck. The newly grown scales had not yet fully matured, and that area was its weak point. He took half a step to the left, his boot tip crushing a piece of gravel. The Earth Dragon's vertical pupils moved with his actions, the pupils contracting slightly.

At that very instant, he drew his sword.

The sword light split into nine, and the nine merged into one—Nine Heavens Unity. The Sword Qi, like a rainbow, tore through the air above the altar, piercing the light-colored scales beneath the Earth Dragon's neck like a bolt of cyan lightning. The sound of the scales shattering was like porcelain crashing onto a stone slab, and dark red blood gushed from the wound, sizzling as it splattered onto the ground.

The Earth Dragon let out a heaven-shaking roar. Its body recoiled violently, its massive frame slamming into the stone wall at the edge of the altar, causing gravel to rain down onto the surrounding ground. Its neck wound was bleeding, but that sword strike had not hit a vital point; although the scales were shattered, the flesh had only been pierced by less than two inches.

Chen Xuan stepped forward. The second sword strike followed immediately, piercing toward the blood-soaked wound on the side of the Earth Dragon's neck. The Earth Dragon opened its mouth, and a column of fire, smaller than the previous one but with a much higher temperature, erupted from deep within its throat, the color of the flames shifting from crimson to incandescent white. He dodged by tilting his head and shifting his body, the column of fire grazing his left shoulder and burning a scorched mark into his side. A charred stench filled the air, and the edges of his fabric curled and blackened.

But he did not retreat.

The second sword strike drove deeper into the wound, the tip passing through flesh and hitting bone. Dark red blood flowed down the sword blade to the hilt, dripping onto the ground. The Earth Dragon's body trembled violently, the light in its vertical pupils began to scatter, and its struggling movements became slower and weaker.

Chen Xuan drew out his sword and took three steps back. The Earth Dragon's body lost its support and slowly tipped to one side, crashing onto the ground with a dull, heavy thud. Gravel and dust rippled outward like water waves. Its eyes were still open, but the light in its pupils had completely dimmed, resembling two extinguished ambers.

Chen Xuan stood beside the Earth Dragon's corpse, his chest heaving violently. The burn on his shoulder throbbed with pain. He stood there for a moment, confirming that the Earth Dragon was truly dead, before sheathing his sword. He then crouched down and dug out a fist-sized inner core from the wound beneath the Earth Dragon's neck.

The Earth Dragon's inner core was not Gold-Attribute Imagery, but it contained pure Earth-element Spiritual Qi, which could be used to nourish the six strands of City Wall Earth imagery. He placed the inner core into an empty jade bottle and looked up at the few pieces of gravel at the edge of the altar that were still flickering with a faint, dim yellow light.

He walked over, collected all those pieces of gravel, placed them into a jade box, and put them together with the previous six. The moment the jade box closed, the dim yellow light of those stones intertwined, hazy and warm, like the most ancient light from deep within the earth.

The second strand of City Wall Earth imagery. Added to the previous six, that made seven in total.

Enough. Six strands were enough to fish, and seven were more than sufficient.

Chen Xuan put away the jade box and turned to walk toward the ridge at the edge of the basin. Behind him, the deep pit on the altar was still steaming, and the Earth Dragon's corpse lay across the grayish-white ground, dark red blood spreading through the cracks in the stone slabs like a silent abstract painting. The night wind poured in from the gap in the mountains, blowing his charred cuffs. He walked back along the path he had come, his steps much heavier than before, leaving a shallow footprint on the grayish-white ground with every step.

He glanced back as he walked out of the basin. The altar in the center of the ruins was completely quiet, the dark red light in the deep pit had completely extinguished, and only a sliver of fish-belly white was slowly brightening on the distant horizon.

He hadn't slept all night, and only now did he feel the burning pain in his shoulder. He took out an ointment for external use from his Storage Pouch and applied it to the wound. The ointment was cooling, and as the cool sensation wrapped around the scalded skin, the pain was significantly reduced. He then boarded his flying boat, sat down on the deck, leaned against the gunwale, and held the jade bottle containing the Earth Dragon's inner core in his palm.

The inner core in the jade bottle emitted a gentle, dim yellow light. He unstoppered the bottle and placed the inner core in his palm. Pure Earth-element Spiritual Qi flowed through the Meridians of his palm into his Dantian. Nourished by the Spiritual Qi, the six strands of City Wall Earth imagery trembled slightly, their edges brightening little by little, like a long-parched riverbed receiving its first rain.

He closed his eyes and sensed for a moment. The injury was not serious; it would recover in half a month of recuperation. Next, he needed to find a quiet place to completely stabilize the seven strands of City Wall Earth imagery, and then try fishing again. This time he was confident. Having failed once, he had roughly grasped the feeling of fishing. The rest was just a matter of time and will.

The flying boat rose slowly into the night, turned, and flew toward Wanyao Immortal City. A sliver of morning light peeked over the eastern ridge, falling onto his charred cuffs and illuminating the curled, scorched edges of the fabric. His face was against the light, leaving only a blurred silhouette, stained dark red by the morning glow like a painting that had not yet dried.

Wanyao Immortal City, Conquest Hall.

Chen Xuan met with Immortal Master Liu Yun.

Liu Yun took the Jade Slip and probed it with his Divine Sense. The record of the failed fishing attempt was etched into his Divine Sense word by word, and he remained silent for a moment.

" The City Wall Earth imagery remains, and your Foundation is undamaged; one failure is nothing. " He returned the Jade Slip to Chen Xuan, his tone as flat as a pool of stagnant water. He pressed his fingertip lightly against the smooth stone surface and then lifted it. " Let me see the Earth Dragon's inner core. "

Chen Xuan took the fist-sized inner core from the jade bottle and held it in his palm. The dim yellow light reflected on Liu Yun's white eyebrows; the light was warm and heavy, like the residual heat settled for ten thousand years deep within the earth. Liu Yun did not take it, but merely looked down at it for a moment, then raised his eyes.

" Fishing for City Wall Earth is harder than for Heavenly Fire because it does not sink downward; it floats upward. Fire-attribute and Gold-Attribute condense downward, while Earth-attribute and Gold-Attribute evaporate upward. You sat beside the Spiritual Vein spring, thinking there was something deep in the earth vein, so you probed downward—your direction was wrong. You should have probed upward. "

Chen Xuan's pupils contracted slightly. Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's diary did not record this.

Seeing him deep in thought, Liu Yun did not rush him but continued, " The City Wall Earth imagery is not extracted from underground; it is 'evaporated' from the earth. You release the imagery not to pierce into the ground to capture something, but to let it spread out over the earth, like water seeping into a parched riverbed, and then wait for the sun to evaporate it up. It will rise to find you on its own. "

" Back when I first arrived at Wanyao Immortal City to suppress the Spiritual Vein, I once tried to fish for Earth-attribute Gold-Attribute, but I only lingered in the False Core Realm for an instant. In those years, I traveled across the mountains and rivers of the Southern Territory, sitting withered for months in the ruins of the Ancient Battlefield, but eventually, I gave up. After my Dharma Body had an arm severed, the Gold-Attribute drifted further and further from me. " As Liu Yun spoke, he lowered his eyelids, and his empty left sleeve was lifted by a corner by the wind blowing in from the window, like a grayish-white flag.

Chen Xuan knelt on the meditation cushion, not responding, but merely nodding slightly.

Liu Yun did not say any more. He was silent for a moment, then reached under the meditation cushion and pulled out a palm-sized black stone slab. The surface of the slab had fine vein-like patterns, resembling cracks in the parched earth, and a faint, dim yellow light flowed deep within the veins.

" This is something I picked up from the Ancient Battlefield after I failed to fish for City Wall Earth back then. It is not imagery, nor is it a fragment of Gold-Attribute; it is merely a stone saturated with the aura of City Wall Earth. Take it with you and study it by your side; perhaps it can help you understand the 'upward evaporation' feeling of City Wall Earth more quickly. "

Chen Xuan received the stone slab with both hands. It was ice-cold to the touch, its surface as rough as sandpaper, but the moment that faint, dim yellow light touched his palm, the seven strands of City Wall Earth imagery in his Dantian simultaneously emitted an extremely faint hum, as if responding to a piece of their homeland.

" Thank you, Revered Master. "

Liu Yun waved his hand and turned his gaze out the window. The morning light had climbed over the battlements of the city wall, dyeing the bluestone slabs a warm orange. The first shout came from the distant marketplace, and the voice of a spiritual fruit vendor drifted in from the alley entrance, blurred and distant.

" Go, " Liu Yun said. " Take this stone. Try fishing again in half a month; do not rush. "

Chen Xuan put the black stone slab into his Storage Pouch, stood up, bowed to Liu Yun, and exited the Immortal Cave.

The spiritual bamboo on both sides of the bluestone path rustled in the morning breeze, the shadows of the bamboo leaves falling on his shoulders, elongated and shortened by the morning sun. He walked back along the path to his own Immortal Cave, slowing his pace as he passed Senior Sister Wen Yao's courtyard. The courtyard gate was tightly shut, and a wisp of white smoke from Soul-Calming Incense leaked through the gap, thin as a spider's thread, swirling in the air.

He did not linger for too long.

Pushing the door open and entering the Immortal Cave, he sat down at the desk and took out the black stone slab, placing it on the low table in front of him. Morning light shone in from the window, landing on the vein-like patterns on the stone slab's surface; those fine gullies looked like cracks left on long-parched earth, each one exuding an indescribable sense of weight.

He reached out and pressed his fingertip lightly against the center of the stone slab. The City Wall Earth imagery in his Dantian hummed again, clearer than before, as if an invisible thread had extended from deep within the stone slab, connecting with the imagery inside his body.

It was an indescribable feeling, like the earth breathing.

Each breath was extremely slow, so slow it was almost imperceptible, yet it was indeed rising, falling, and flowing.

The dim yellow light within the stone slab flowed along the veins, moving from the center to the edges, then dissipating into the air, only to flow back from the edges into the center, repeating in an endless cycle.

He had sat before the desk for an entire morning, his palm resting on the stone slab the whole time.

At first, he only sensed a flow of Qi inside the slab, but later, that flow gradually became clearer, like an underground river surging in the depths, with a faint glimmer dancing on its surface.

The light did not flow in a straight line; instead, it spiraled upward, like heat rising from the ground, with water vapor forming distorted refractions under the sunlight.

Rising upward.

Chen Xuan withdrew his hand and looked down at his palm.

Trapped between the lines of his palm was a faint, elusive trace of dim yellow light, like the last glimmer of sunset leaking through his fingers.

He closed his eyes and guided that wisp of light into his Dantian, letting it merge with the seven pieces of Gold-Attribute Imagery.

The Gold-Attribute Imagery did not repel it; instead, it gently accepted the light, emitting a subtle hum as if in response.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the streets of Wanyao Immortal City were bustling with people, and a circle of Loose Cultivators gathered around a spirit fruit vendor's stall, haggling over prices.

A Danhong Crane took flight from the top of a spirit tree, the sound of its wings flapping drifting over, intermittent and soft.

Above the city walls in the distance, the protective formation runes shimmered with a silvery-white light under the midday sun, like a piece of unrolled silk.

Within the veins of the stone slab, the dim yellow light continued to flow slowly.

He watched for a while before sitting back down at the desk, folding his hands on his lap, and closing his eyes.

He did not take out the Gold-Attribute Imagery to attempt fishing; instead, he immersed his mind into the stone slab, continuing to perceive that sensation of upward rising.

Master Liu Yun was right; the City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute is not found deep underground, but steamed up from the earth itself.

He sat in his Immortal Cave and meditated for three days.

During the day, he held the stone slab, closing his eyes to feel the direction of the Qi flow, his fingertips rubbing back and forth over the rough stone surface until the temperature of the slab merged with the warmth of his palm.

At night, he placed the slab by his pillow, closing his eyes in the darkness, letting the Gold-Attribute Imagery in his Dantian resonate with the Qi of the slab.

That resonance was extremely light, like the rustling sound of wind blowing through bamboo leaves; if one did not listen carefully, it was easily drowned out by the sound of one's own heartbeat.

On the third night, all the veins inside the stone slab suddenly lit up.

The dim yellow light seeped out from every crack, weaving into a fine, dense net on the surface of the slab.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes, watching that net slowly unfold in the darkness, the light like a thin layer of liquid gold spreading across the rough stone surface, its edges rippling slightly.

An ancient aura rose from the stone slab, carrying the scent of dust and sunlight, like the parched earth steaming up its last lingering warmth at dusk.

He reached out and pressed his hand onto the center of the stone slab once more.

This time, he sensed the source of that aura.

It was not inside the stone slab, nor deep underground, but suspended above his head—like the earth's breath carried high into the sky by the wind, condensing into an invisible cloud, or like the pulse of mountains and rivers turning into a wisp of light smoke passing through the ridges of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

Rising upward.

That aura was like the warm breath exhaled by the earth, rising into mid-air, spiraling and waiting for someone to reach out and catch it.

Chen Xuan withdrew his hand and stood up to walk to the window.

The deep night in Wanyao Immortal City was silent; the lanterns on both sides of the street had been extinguished one by one, leaving only a cluster of dim yellow light at the end of the central plaza.

Above the distant city walls, the spiritual light of the protective formation runes flowed through the night mist like a silver-gray river.

He looked up at the sky.

The star he needed to commune with could not be seen in the night sky; the cloud layer was too thick, a sheet of gray mist pressing down on the horizon like a crumpled old quilt.

But he did not need the star.

What he was looking for was the aura rising from the earth.

He sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the window and drew all seven City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute Imagery out of his body.

They hovered before him, arranged in a circle, their dim yellow light illuminating the entire meditation room with a warm, heavy glow.

He guided those pieces of Gold-Attribute Imagery to spread outward, no longer infiltrating downward, but instead laying them flat against the ground.

The Gold-Attribute Imagery flooded over the stone floor of the meditation room like a tide, washing over the threshold, over the windowsill, and seeping into the soil.

He closed his eyes, feeling those seven rays of light slowly diffusing through the soil, like tree roots extending in the darkness.

They penetrated the root systems of the spirit bamboo, passed through the hollows of an underground ant nest, crossed the boundary between the gravel layer and the sandy soil layer, and then came to a halt.

Above the ground, something was slowly descending.

It was not the result of Chen Xuan actively pulling it; the aura seemed to have sensed the presence of the City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute Imagery and descended from high above on its own, like raindrops condensing on blades of grass, natural and quiet.

The moment the Gold-Attribute Imagery made contact with that aura, his entire body trembled.

It was not fear, not pain, but an extremely intense resonance.

The seven pieces of Gold-Attribute Imagery were like travelers who had been thirsty for too long, opening all their senses at once, desperately absorbing that ancient aura descending from the sky.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense closely followed the path of the aura, feeling its flow within the Gold-Attribute Imagery.

In the process of absorbing the aura, the seven pieces of City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute Imagery began to slowly change form, as if shattered by something and then reshaped.

The light shifted from dim yellow to golden, like sandstone ignited in the setting sun.

Fine, intricate lines appeared within each piece of Gold-Attribute Imagery, identical to the veins on the stone slab.

The aura surged in from all directions, growing thicker and more urgent.

The Gold-Attribute Imagery was no longer just absorbing; it began to devour.

Beads of sweat seeped from Chen Xuan's forehead, and he clenched his teeth.

The speed at which the aura was rushing in was too fast, like a breached flood pouring into a narrow riverbed.

He guided the Gold-Attribute Imagery to adjust the rhythm of its intake and output, evenly distributing the incoming aura among each piece of Gold-Attribute Imagery, allowing them to transform in synchronization.

The transformation began.

The seven pieces of City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute Imagery shattered one by one before him, turning into countless golden specks of light as fine as dust, then re-condensing in place.

A complete aura rose from the center of the light specks, like a rising sun emerging from beneath the horizon, carrying the pulse of the earth and the warmth of the morning light.

Complete Gold-Attribute.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes.

That City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute hovered before him, like an amber the size of a fist, with dim yellow light slowly flowing inside, and the faint outline of a miniature city visible.

The city walls were towering, the gates tightly shut, the streets crisscrossed, and watchtowers stood at the four corners of the walls; on the towers, one could even clearly see the thin marks between the brick joints.

It was not round and cold like the inner core of a Cloud-Swallowing Eagle, nor heavy and sluggish like the inner core of an Earth Dragon; it was warm and light, like a little sun that would never fall, hovering there, just silently hovering.

Chen Xuan reached out his hands and cradled that Gold-Attribute in his palm.

It felt warm to the touch, with a slight weight, neither cold nor burning, as if he were holding a handful of dry soil warmed through by the sun.

City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute.

A complete Gold-Attribute.

He looked down at the amber light in his palm for a long time.

The morning light outside the window had brightened, pouring down from the cracks in the clouds, landing on his shoulders and on the cluster of light in his palm.

The two lights intertwined, making it impossible to distinguish which was from the sky and which had risen from the earth.

He took a breath and slowly guided that City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute into his Dantian.

The moment the Gold-Attribute entered his body, the seven pieces of City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute Imagery in his Purple Mansion flashed simultaneously, then their light gradually faded, like lamps extinguishing one by one after completing their mission.

The Gold-Attribute Imagery did not disappear; they merged into the Gold-Attribute, becoming a part of it.

The miniature ancient city walls in his Purple Mansion began to change; the walls grew taller, the gates opened, the streets extended, and the watchtowers stood tall, like a dried sponge soaked in water, rapidly expanding, growing, and filling out.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense probed inside those city walls.

He saw empty streets and alleys, closed house doors, well platforms, and the ruins of a market.

There were no living things yet, no Cultivator walking within, and no signs of life rising.

But it already had a skeleton.

This miniature city was the form of the City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute.

In the future, every time he cultivated, every time he achieved a Breakthrough, and every time he collected a new Earth-element spirit object, it would make this city even more complete.

He closed his eyes and felt it for a long time.

The cluster of City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute in his Dantian hovered in the center of his Purple Mansion, rotating unhurriedly like a miniature core, slowly drawing the surrounding Spiritual Qi into it.

Chen Xuan stood up and walked to the window.

The morning light had fully brightened, and the entire Wanyao Immortal City was waking up in the golden radiance.

From the street came the sound of the first shop opening, the dull thud of wooden boards colliding.

He looked down at his hand; his fingertips were not trembling, and his palm was warm, as if he had just held a stone warmed through by the sun.

He lifted his head to look out the window, his gaze crossing the city walls, crossing the continuous black ridges of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, and looking toward the south, in the direction covered by volcanic ash.

The City Wall Earth Gold-Attribute was already in his palm.

Heavenly Fire was still there waiting for him.