179: Chapter 178 Five-Colored Crystal

Qin Changsheng moved his Divine Thought and summoned the Heavenly Dao Trait "Intelligence".

The pale golden Intelligence panel instantly unfolded in his Sea of Consciousness; the light screen was brilliant, wreathed in the faint power of the Heavenly Dao, precisely guiding the specific location of the five-colored crystal.

"Cellar fifty meters away." Qin Changsheng followed the guidance of the Intelligence panel, walking quickly toward a ruin on the west side of the village.

That patch of ruins had collapsed more severely than other places; broken walls and ruins were stacked crosswise, with gravel and charred wood scattered all over the ground.

The entrance to the cellar was blocked by a few wooden boards.

Qin Changsheng reached out, grasped the wooden boards, and with a slight exertion of force, pried them open.

The entrance to the cellar was not large, pitch black, and bottomless; one could vaguely see the steep stone steps below.

Qin Changsheng did not hesitate and leaped into the cellar.

The cellar was not large but very dry; some discarded debris was piled in the corner, and in the center of the cellar, a simple wooden box was placed.

There was no dust on the surface of the wooden box; obviously, it had not been stored there for long.

Qin Changsheng walked up quickly and reached out to open the wooden box.

The next instant, a multicolored radiance burst forth from the wooden box, illuminating the entire cellar.

Inside the wooden box, a fist-sized crystal lay quietly. The crystal was translucent throughout, containing Spiritual Qi of five colors: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. The five colors intertwined and swirled, flowing ceaselessly.

A flash of imperceptible joy crossed Qin Changsheng's eyes.

He could clearly feel that the quality of this five-colored crystal was extremely high. If used to refine a Lifebound Treasure, it would certainly greatly strengthen the treasure's attributes and improve the compatibility between the treasure and his own spiritual power.

Qin Changsheng slowly gripped the five-colored crystal and carefully stored it into his Storage Space.

He had not expected to obtain the five-colored crystal needed for refining his Lifebound Treasure so easily.

Now, as long as he collected the spirit marrow jade, the purple spirit grass needed to harmonize his essence blood and spiritual power, and the spirit condensing dew needed to nourish the embryonic form of the treasure, he would have gathered all the Materials for refining his Lifebound Treasure.

...

Danxia Spirit Stone Mine.

Inside the garrison hall.

"What did you say?"

"The mission failed?" Li Hu looked at the Overseer, who was kneeling on the ground, with some astonishment.

The Overseer was trembling with fear and hurriedly kowtowed to beg for mercy: "Young Lord, this subordinate does not know what happened either!"

"The people sent out have all gone missing, and no news has been sent back!"

Hearing this, Li Hu's complexion turned from green to black, then from black to purple, looking extremely ugly.

He had never expected that two ordinary missions would fail one after another.

One was to kill a dozen low-cultivation miners.

The other was to wipe out ordinary commoners and then bring back the five-colored crystal.

"What is the use of me raising you trash?!" Li Hu kicked the Overseer, sending him rolling repeatedly, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The Overseer lay on the ground, his whole body in intense pain, but he dared not have any complaints: "Young Lord, please spare me! This subordinate knows his mistake! This subordinate knows his mistake! I beg Young Lord to give this subordinate another chance!"

Li Hu snorted coldly, then shouted: "Fine, this Young Lord will give you one more chance."

"Thank you, Young Lord!" The Overseer stood up hurriedly upon hearing this and left this place in a rush.

...

Qingyun Tower.

Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan's figure and arrived at Qingyun Tower.

Because every year there would be a Foundation Establishment Gathering at Qingyun Tower.

At the gathering, Qin Changsheng could hear about many major events of the Sects, as well as clues regarding heavenly dao fragments.

Passing through the noisy first-floor lobby and avoiding the coming and going Cultivators, Hu Nan walked along the wooden stairs to a private room on the fourth floor.

At this moment, many people had already gathered inside the private room.

Jiang Lijuan, Senior Brother Wu Yong, Lin Hao, and others were already sitting there.

Even Li Hu had arrived early.

At this moment, Li Hu was chatting happily with two Cultivators beside him. Seeing Hu Nan walk in, Li Hu immediately greeted him enthusiastically: "Senior Brother Hu, it has been a year, and your cultivation has increased a lot!"

"Not at all, not at all, Junior Brother Li's cultivation has not fallen behind either!" Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan and nodded slightly.

"Senior Brother Hu, I have a seat here!" Li Hu pointed not far away and said enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Junior Brother Li!" Hu Nan did not decline and sat directly not far from Li Hu.

Not long after Hu Nan sat down, Jiang Lijuan also stood up: "Fellow Daoists, please be quiet for a moment!"

Everyone stopped talking one after another and looked at Jiang Lijuan.

"Thanks to everyone's favor for gathering at Qingyun Tower. Let the exchange conference officially begin today!"

As her voice fell, a slight commotion arose in the venue; Cultivators cupped their hands to indicate, with expectant looks on their faces.

According to custom, the opening of the Foundation Establishment Gathering was for Cultivators to exchange what they needed and discuss the major events in the Southern Region's cultivation world over the past year, which was also an exchange of insights.

Soon, a Cultivator spoke first, mentioning the changes in the major Sects of the Southern Region over the past year, news of Secret Realm openings, and the emergence of various rare spiritual Materials. The conversation in the venue started again, becoming very lively.

Some also talked about their insights from Cultivating over the past year.

Some discussed the grievances and entanglements between Loose Cultivators, and all kinds of news emerged one after another.

But before long, all topics gradually converged on one matter.

The matter of reaching the top of the Ascending Heaven Ladder at Azure Cloud Sect.

The scattered conversations gradually became concentrated, and the looks on the Cultivators' faces also had a bit more curiosity and awe, their tones full of inquiry.

"If we are talking about the biggest event in the Southern Region this past year, it has to be that person reaching the top of the Ascending Heaven Ladder at Azure Cloud Sect!"

"The highest record for the Azure Cloud Sect's ladder was only eight hundred levels, yet that person successfully reached the top!"

"I wonder what that person's identity is!"

"I've heard of it too! That Cultivator who reached the top had unfathomable strength. The heavy barriers on the Ascending Heaven Ladder seemed like nothing before him. He went all the way like a hot knife through butter and went straight to the top. It was too shocking!"

"In my opinion, that must be a Prodigy of the younger generation in the Southern Region!"

"I don't think so! Although Prodigies are strong, they may not be able to achieve this level. I think that Cultivator must be the number one expert of the same rank, unmatched within the Foundation Establishment Stage, to be able to crush everything all the way and reach the top smoothly!"

"Unexpectedly, after reaching the top, there was even the sound of the Heavenly Dao!"

"It's a pity I wasn't at Azure Cloud Sect last year!"

"I wonder if that person will go to Azure Cloud Sect this year?"

The discussions rose one after another. The Cultivators expressed their own opinions, their eyes full of curiosity and awe. Everyone had their own guesses, but no one could confirm the true identity of the Cultivator who reached the top.

Some were envious, some were in awe, and some were secretly wary, guessing whether the appearance of this mysterious Cultivator would change the landscape of the Southern Region's cultivation world.

Qin Changsheng, far away in the small courtyard, did not have any ripples in his heart.

Because he knew very well that these people were discussing him.

It was also him who climbed the Ascending Heaven Ladder of Azure Cloud Sect last year.

It's just that Qin Changsheng could not possibly tell others.

Otherwise, what awaited him would definitely be endless trouble.

After all, whether it was the heavenly dao fragment or that mysterious token, they were rare treasures.

Li Hu sat on the side, listening to everyone's discussion, a flash of doubt and wariness crossing his eyes.

Last year, he also went to challenge the ladder.

It's just that he could only reach the four hundredth level.

And that Prodigy was able to easily climb to the one-thousandth level and even triggered the sound of the Dao.

For the past year, he had also been investigating the whereabouts of that mysterious Cultivator, but there were no clues.

That mysterious Cultivator seemed to have disappeared from the cultivation world.

Besides discussing the expert who reached the top at Azure Cloud Sect, everyone also began to discuss the many major events in the cultivation world.

"Everyone, I have a piece of bombshell news to share with you all!" Lin Hao suddenly stood up and said.

"Senior Brother Lin, just say it if you have something to say!"

"Senior Brother Lin, has some relic been discovered near the Sect?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Lin Hao one after another.

Lin Hao smiled and said: "I believe all Fellow Daoists know Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu of Sword Villa!"

"Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu is a Great Master!"

"How could we not know!"

"Could it be that the Sword Imperial Pool of Sword Villa has opened early?"

Everyone seemed very interested in the news about Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu.

"Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu has made a Breakthrough in his Artifact Refining Technique!"

"So he decided to open a lecture hall at Sword Villa in a month to personally teach the Artifact Refining Technique. Any Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Southern Region can go and listen!"

Lin Hao said.