Tang San endured the excruciating pain and numbness spreading from his shoulder, circulating his Profound Heaven Skill frantically in an attempt to suppress the Crypt Demon Spider's potent venom. His face had already taken on an unnatural bluish-black hue, and his breathing grew increasingly labored. Behind him, the ten-thousand-year Crypt Demon Spider pursued like a vengeful specter, its eight eerie green eyes locked firmly on him while its razor-sharp legs stabbed forward repeatedly, stirring gusts of chilling wind.
Pushing Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its limits, Tang San darted and weaved through the dense forest. Relying on the predictive abilities of his Purple Demon Eyes and the exquisite techniques of the Tang Sect Skills, he narrowly evaded fatal attacks time and again. Blue Silver Grass continuously erupted from the ground, attempting to entangle and hinder the creature, but the power of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast far exceeded his control—the grass was easily torn apart. Though his Hidden Weapon techniques were sophisticated, ordinary projectiles couldn't pierce the Crypt Demon Spider's hardened carapace, while more lethal devices like Sand Shooting Shadowing and Silent Sleeve Arrow proved difficult to aim accurately at vital points in the chaos.
"I have to shake it off!" Tang San thought anxiously as the venom continued to spread, already slowing his movements. Gritting his teeth, he desperately fled deeper into the forest, hoping the complex terrain would help him escape the pursuit.
Unconsciously, he found himself at the edge of a steep cliff. Before him lay a bottomless ravine shrouded in mist, while behind him the Crypt Demon Spider closed in relentlessly. A dead end!
A flash of resolve crossed Tang San's eyes as he prepared to turn and fight for his life, but the rain-loosened rocks beneath his feet suddenly gave way.
"Damn it!" Tang San only had time to exclaim before he plummeted downward with the crumbling debris. The sensation of weightlessness instantly overwhelmed him, the howling wind roaring in his ears. Instinctively, he tried to stabilize himself with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but the venom and injuries delayed his movements just enough that he could only barely adjust his posture to protect his vitals as he fell into the deep ravine.
The pursuing Crypt Demon Spider, seeing its prey fall, screeched irritably at the cliff's edge. Seeming wary of the ravine below, it ultimately didn't follow, lingering briefly before retreating in frustration.
...
Almost simultaneously with Tang San's fall, a shadowy figure materialized silently atop the cliff—Marco, who had been tailing him.
Standing at the precipice, Marco gazed deeply into the mist-veiled ravine below, his powerful Observation Haki spreading downward like a tidal wave to probe the depths.
"His presence vanished... Did he fall?" Marco raised an eyebrow slightly. "There seems to be something extraordinary below—the energy fluctuations are unusually pure and dense... As expected, the opportunity lies here!"
Without hesitation, he leaped forward, his figure disappearing into the clouds. During the descent, azure-red flaming wings quietly unfurled from his back. With a gentle beat, his falling momentum eased, allowing him to drift down like a feather.
The ravine floor was deeper than expected, dimly lit and heavy with humidity. Upon landing, Marco concealed his presence and fully expanded his Observation Haki, carefully sensing his surroundings. Soon, he discovered Tang San unconscious amid a pile of rubble.
At this moment, Tang San's face was bluish-black, his breathing faint, with black-purple poisonous mist emanating from the wound on his shoulder. It was clear the Crypt Demon Spider's potent venom had penetrated deep into his organs. Had it not been for his solid foundation in the Profound Heaven Skill and the physical constitution tempered by the Eight-Horned Mystic Ice Herb and Fierce Yang Apricot (though the immortal herbs had been taken, the refining effects of the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire remained), he would have long succumbed to the poison.
Marco glanced at Tang San, confirming he was temporarily out of mortal danger, and paid him no further mind. His attention was completely captivated by an incredibly pure, life-filled energy fluctuation emanating from the depths of the valley.
Following the energy fluctuations, he passed through a narrow natural crevice in the rock, and his view suddenly opened up!
It was a massive underground cavern, with countless stalactites of various shapes hanging from the ceiling and dense clusters of stalagmites growing from the ground. In the center of the cavern was a small pool about ten feet in diameter. The water in the pool was not of a common color but appeared semi-transparent and milky white, with a viscous texture like melted cheese, emitting a soft and warm glow as if containing boundless vitality. The air was filled with an indescribably fresh aura; even a single breath felt refreshing, and one's Soul Power seemed to stir faintly.
"This is... Ten-Thousand Year Stone Stalactite?!" Even with Marco's resolute will and vast experience, he couldn't help but feel a surge of shock in his heart! Ten-Thousand Year Stone Stalactite was a top-tier spiritual treasure formed over ten thousand years or more as the essence of heaven and earth condensed and accumulated! Its effects far surpassed those of ordinary immortal herbs, possessing miraculous abilities to cleanse the essence and marrow, rebirth the body, nourish the soul, and massively boost Soul Power! A single drop was priceless, yet here was an entire pool of it!
"Tang San, oh Tang San... your Luck is truly..." Marco gazed at the pool of milky-white spiritual liquid, his heart filled with complex emotions. This was likely the world's greatest "compensation" to Tang San for losing the immortal herbs! Such a heaven-defying opportunity had appeared before him in such a "reasonable" manner.
Suppressing his excitement, he scanned the edges of the stone stalactite pool. Around the water grew a peculiar type of vine, jade-green in color and crystal-clear, as if carved from the finest emerald, entwined around the stalagmites. On the vines hung round, smooth pearls the size of longans, milky-white in hue with misty currents swirling inside, emitting spiritual energy fluctuations of the same origin as the stone stalactite but even more condensed.
"Jade Marrow Entwined Pearl Vine!" Marco's pupils contracted slightly as he recognized this symbiotic spiritual plant. This vine grew by absorbing the dispersed spiritual energy of the stone stalactite, and the "Marrow Cleansing Pearls" it bore had effects even greater than the original stone stalactite liquid, making them treasures for refining the bones and tempering the soul! He carefully counted them and found a total of twenty-four Marrow Cleansing Pearls on the vines!
After the initial wave of immense joy, Marco quickly calmed down. As he approached the Jade Marrow Entwined Pearl Vine and prepared to harvest all twenty-four pearls, his heart inexplicably tightened. A faint sense of crisis brushed over him, as if warned by some unseen will.
He paused, frowned slightly, and looked toward Tang San lying unconscious not far away, then back at the spiritual vine before him. Understanding dawned on him: "It seems I cannot take them all... I must leave a thread of vitality, or else I might incur heaven's envy or attract unforeseeable changes." This was a vague perception of the world's rules.
Without hesitation, he carefully plucked the fourteen Marrow Cleansing Pearls with the fullest luster and richest spiritual energy, placing them in a jade box he had prepared earlier before storing it in his Storage Soul Tool. The remaining ten Marrow Cleansing Pearls were left on the vine, ensuring the plant's roots remained unharmed.
Next, he swiftly approached the pool of Ten-Thousand Year Stone Stalactite. Gazing at the brimming pool of spiritual liquid, his heart burned with excitement. Fortunately, he had anticipated such a great opportunity and had specially borrowed a top-tier Storage Soul Tool from his father, Ye Lingling, with an internal capacity of fifty cubic meters!
He took out over a dozen jade bottles and bowls of varying sizes and began swiftly filling them with the stone stalactite liquid. The milky-white spiritual liquid, akin to divine nectar, shimmered with an enticing glow and fragrance. His movements were gentle yet rapid, careful not to waste a single drop. Soon, all the containers he had brought were filled, yet less than a third of the pool had been depleted.
"I can't let it go to waste!" Marco's eyes swept around, landing on several thick stone stalagmites nearby. With his fingers sharp as blades, coated in Armament Haki, he cleanly sliced off the tops of the stalagmites and carefully hollowed them out, fashioning several crude stone jars. He filled these jars with the remaining stone stalactite liquid, sealed them tightly, and stored them in his Soul Tool.
Even so, more than half of the milky-white spiritual liquid remained in the pool, impossible to take away entirely.
Standing by the pool's edge, Marco sighed softly as he looked at the leftover liquid. He knew this was likely the limit. Taking everything would inevitably provoke unforeseeable consequences. What remained was perhaps the "thread of hope" left for Tang San, as well as the key to preserving the spiritual veins of this place.
He expanded his Observation Haki once more, meticulously scanning every corner of the cavern—the stone walls, the ground beneath, even the depths of the pool—leaving no trace of unusual energy fluctuations unchecked. Confirming that aside from the Ten-Thousand Year Stone Stalactite and the Jade Marrow Entwined Pearl Vine, there were no other valuable spiritual treasures, he lingered no longer.
With one last glance at the unconscious Tang San, Marco's expression was complex—tinged with pity, wariness, and a hint of imperceptible emotion.
"Tang San, I've taken most of your fortune, leaving you a thread of hope. Whether you can seize it is up to you. With someone above watching over you, you probably won't die."
With that, his figure flickered and vanished from the cavern like a ghost, retracing his path. His flaming wings spread silently behind him as he flew out of the secluded valley, as though he had never been there.
The cavern returned to silence, bathed only in the soft glow of the Ten-Thousand Year Stone Stalactite and the unconscious Tang San, whose condition remained unknown. Meanwhile, the ten Marrow Cleansing Pearls left on the vine shimmered gently with a warm radiance, nourished by the surrounding spiritual energy.
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