177: Xiaoqingqiu

Gao De stood still at the entrance of the peach blossom path, Purple Lightning floating within his dragon eyes, taking in the scene ahead that was eerily quiet and dangerously beautiful.

Although his Divine Sense was severely suppressed by the pink miasma, the Dragon Clan Bloodline's natural sensitivity to spiritual lands and water veins, along with the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art's keen capture of energy flow, still allowed him to reach a preliminary judgment:

This place is rich in Spiritual Qi, forming its own cycle, yet it lacks the aura of an owner!

There is no sense of agility from man-made Formation control, no strong imprint left by powerful creatures occupying it for a long time, and no traces of recent frequent activity.

There is only this vast and "dull" field of infatuating illusionary miasma, formed naturally over countless years by this ancient peach forest relying on special terrain and water vapor, as well as the pure yet inert wood-type Spiritual Qi and hallucinogenic power that diffuses into every petal and every wisp of mist.

This is an ownerless natural spiritual land, a "Peach Blossom Spring" forgotten in the depths of the Yunmeng Great Marsh, left to its own devices!

However, "ownerless" does not mean safe, nor does it mean it can be picked at will.

The more such naturally formed strange places there are, the more they often hide unknown dangers and Restrictions.

Gao De became increasingly cautious, walking along the path half-hidden by fallen petals, which seemed to be of great age, into the depths of the peach forest.

His footsteps fell on the thick, soft petals, making no sound.

The deeper he went, the stronger the hallucinogenic power of the pink miasma became. The sweet fragrance seemed to have weight, coiling up in wisps, attempting to penetrate his Protective Aura and stir his emotions.

Gao De had to divert part of his mind to continuously circulate his thunder aura to disperse that pervasive sense of enchantment.

The path wound on, and the peach trees on both sides became increasingly ancient and bizarre in shape; some trunks required several people to embrace, and the bark was mottled like dragon scales, obviously having grown for unknown ages.

Besides fallen flowers, some strange, glowing, translucent white moss began to appear on the ground, along with a few scattered, elegant Spiritual Plants growing alongside the peach trees; although not top-tier rare, they were still rich in Spiritual Qi.

After traveling about a mile, the pink mist ahead thinned slightly, and at the end of the path, a relatively open, gentle slope appeared before his eyes.

In the center of the slope stood a tall, ancient stone stele!

The stele was about two zhang high, dark gray in its entirety, with its surface covered in traces of wind and rain erosion and mottled moss, yet its regular outline and traces of manual carving could still be seen.

The stele did not stand vertically but was slightly tilted, as if it had endured earthquakes or the heavy pressure of time.

On the front of the stele were carved two large, ancient, and vigorous characters. Although somewhat blurred, with Gao De's eyesight, he could still recognize them:

【Qingqiu】

Below these two characters, there seemed to be a few lines of small inscriptions, but they were more severely worn and difficult to read.

"Qingqiu?" Gao De's heart stirred.

The name Qingqiu appeared in both his fragmented Legacy memories and the records of the Human Race. It was often associated with imagery such as "fox," "immortal," and "illusion," and was a legendary blessed land or the name of an ancient tribe.

Could this strange Peach Blossom Spring actually be related to the legendary "Qingqiu"?

Was it a former villa of the Qingqiu Fox Clan? Or a ruin built in imitation of the Qingqiu Concept?

He slowly stepped forward, came to the stele, and carefully investigated it.

The stone used for the stele was not the common black rock found locally; it felt cool and smooth to the touch, with faint spiritual light contained within.

The base of the stele was deeply buried in the soil, faintly connected to the terrain, appearing to be a small hub or "boundary marker" for the entire peach forest spiritual land and miasma.

Besides the two characters "Qingqiu," the few lines of small text could be vaguely distinguished as "...Peach Blossoms...Keeping Quiet...Lost Ferry..." and other fragmented phrases. The Concept was ethereal, appearing like a Buddhist verse yet not, like an inscription yet not, adding to the mystery.

Bypassing the stele, the slope behind sloped downward, forming a quiet valley surrounded by the peach forest on three sides.

In the valley, a crystal-clear stream flowed murmuringly, the water reflecting the pink mist and shimmering with faint iridescence.

By the stream grew several unusually tall, exotic peach trees with more complex and beautiful flower shapes. Under the trees, the grass was lush, dotted with several kinds of Spiritual Plants rare in the outside world.

But most striking of all, on the opposite bank of the stream, near the mountain wall, there was a patch of ground that had clearly been leveled. Scattered on this ground were some damaged stone foundations, broken jade railings, and rubble half-hidden in the soil and flowers!

Judging from the layout, it seemed to be the ruins of a small, elegant pavilion or waterside terrace, but it had long since collapsed and merged with nature, making it almost impossible to notice without careful inspection.

"Lesser Qingqiu..." Gao De looked at the stele, then at the ruins by the stream, and understood.

This place was not the real "Qingqiu," but a villa or place of quiet cultivation built in imitation of or as a tribute to the "Qingqiu" Concept, perhaps to be called "Lesser Qingqiu."

Its owner had long since disappeared—perhaps fallen, perhaps left—leaving behind only these ruins, which relied on the natural operation of the terrain and used the infatuating peach blossom miasma as a barrier, sleeping quietly through the ages.

This place was rich in Spiritual Qi and had a special environment. In particular, this infatuating miasma might be a treasure land for some Yao Race who practiced illusion or charm arts, or who needed a specific environment for a Breakthrough. It was even more likely to have some items or Legacy clues left by the original owner; judging from the traces of the ruins, there were no signs of it having been scavenged by others.

But at the same time, the naturally formed, powerful infatuating miasma was a huge obstacle, and there might also be unknown defensive Restrictions remaining within the ruins.

Gao De did not rashly investigate the ruins by the stream.

He first carefully sensed the area near the stele, confirming that this was a relatively weak point in the peach forest miasma, perhaps an entrance or Formation eye left by the original owner, and also a small gathering point for the terrain's Spiritual Qi.

He pondered for a moment, then took out a few specially made positioning and concealment Formation Flags, carefully placing them in inconspicuous spots around the stele, both to leave spatial coordinates and to slightly strengthen his own perception of the Spiritual Qi fluctuations here.

At the same time, he carefully collected a few of the most complete and Spiritual Qi-rich petals and a small twig with buds from those exotic peach trees, sealing them in a jade box.

These were the "specialties" of this place and might be useful.

"An ownerless 'Lesser Qingqiu' Peach Blossom Spring... although not an Opportunity to directly increase strength, it is an excellent secret stronghold, or a resource point that can be explored in depth in the future." Gao De evaluated the value of this place in his heart.

Under the current situation where the Heavenly Dao Alliance had entered the game, True Person Lan Tao had returned, and the forces of all sides were in chaos, being able to have such a secret place that even a powerful Divine Sense could hardly discover, and which naturally possessed powerful seductive defenses, might have a greater strategic significance than some Heaven And Earth Treasures.

He did not stay long.

Having marked the place and collected samples, Gao De continued to explore along the dilapidated stone path.

This natural spiritual land was extremely vast, and the core area of the infatuating peach blossom miasma seemed to be even deeper inside.