Chapter 57: A Bumper Harvest! The Spirit Realm!
With the Jia Nan Academy striking with full force, catching the major forces off guard, they broke through several cities in succession — all once-famous names in the Black-Corner Region.
The Black-Corner Region was shaken.
The Jia Nan Academy's actions had shocked the desperadoes of the Black-Corner Region to no end.
Years later, the Jia Nan Academy once again demonstrated to the people of the Black-Corner Region the strength of a hegemon-level force.
Some uninformed people thought the Jia Nan Academy had gone mad. Were they not afraid of retaliation from the masters of these forces?
But when news came that the leaders of these major forces had been killed, everyone found it hard to believe.
Especially after learning that the founder of the Mo Yan Valley, the Seven-Star Dou Zong Earth Demon Old Ghost, had also fallen, they were too shocked to speak.
After that, the ten strong experts on the Black Ranking of the Black-Corner Region all fell one after another.
The forces of the Black-Corner Region fled in fear, terrified that if they ran too slowly, the Jia Nan Academy would settle accounts with them.
The Black Emperor Sect, the Blood Wolf Gang, and even Maple City, which had expanded rapidly over the past year — upon learning of their leaders' deaths, they lost all will to fight. Not even bothering to loot their treasures, they fled directly.
From then on, the Jia Nan Academy, already difficult to provoke, had its danger level raised several notches by the people of the Black-Corner Region.
At the same time.
Jiang Yun and Zi Yan set foot on the Mo Yan Valley's territory. After the Earth Demon Old Ghost and the three great elders had fallen, the remaining elders of the Mo Yan Valley posed no obstacle to the two. They were easily killed.
Looking at the ravaged Mo Yan Valley, Jiang Yun's heart felt no ripples. The law of the jungle was on full display here.
Jiang Yun looked at Zi Yan and said, "Zi Yan, now it is up to you. Find the location of the Mo Yan Valley's treasure vault."
Zi Yan raised her little face, smiled smugly, and said enthusiastically, "Heh, leave it to me!"
Then she quickly closed her eyes. After a moment, she slowly opened them and said happily, "Xiao Yun, follow me!"
Her figure moved, and Zi Yan flashed toward the depths of the Mo Yan Valley. Jiang Yun, seeing this, sighed with emotion — the treasure-hunting dragon truly lived up to its reputation — and unhurriedly followed.
Following behind Zi Yan, they passed through several winding tunnels within the valley. After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a desolate, overgrown area.
Jiang Yun looked at the untouched natural stone wall before him, surrounded by overgrown weeds. Without a professional leading the way, finding this place would have taken considerable effort.
A millennium fox, indeed. The longer one lives, the more cunning one becomes. The Earth Demon Old Ghost was no fool. But then again, if he were not cunning, he could not have built such a grand foundation in this devouring Black-Corner Region.
Zi Yan walked up to a stone wall. Her long, fair hand formed a fist. Her delicate body suddenly tensed, then she punched fiercely.
In an instant, the surrounding void twisted slightly. The air seemed to grow thick. Zi Yan's pure physical strength was terrifying to such a degree.
Jiang Yun compared himself inwardly. His own pure physical strength was still inferior to the Heaven-defying Taixu Ancient Dragon's.
Should he find a body-refining technique to practice?
Bang —
The entire valley wall trembled slightly. The stone wall at the center of Zi Yan's explosive power had collapsed. As rubble scattered, a deep tunnel ten meters long appeared.
Zi Yan turned around, pointed at this deep tunnel, and said excitedly to Jiang Yun, "Xiao Yun, hurry! The good stuff is in here!"
Hearing Zi Yan's call, Jiang Yun stopped thinking and followed her into the tunnel.
Beside the tunnel was a long, downward stone staircase, dark and deep, its end nowhere to be seen. They walked without obstruction to the end of the stairs, arriving before a dusty stone door.
"I'll do it!" Zi Yan eagerly approached the stone door. With a delicate shout, she threw a punch. Her fierce fist wind struck the stone door heavily.
Bang — With a loud crash, the stone door exploded.
As the stone door shattered, a fierce gust of wind rushed toward them. Jiang Yun chuckled softly but made no move to attack. Instead, he looked at Zi Yan with interest.
"Quite impatient, are we?"
"How dare you!"
Feeling the approaching creature, Zi Yan's purple eyes flashed. With a low shout, a terrifying draconic pressure surged from her body, pressing down on the attacking magical beast.
Hiss —
The magical beast let out a terrified cry. Its body suddenly stopped. Its eyes looked fearfully at Zi Yan's 'delicate' form. Its body trembled uncontrollably, not daring to act up.
It was a fifth-rank snake-shaped magical beast. Facing Zi Yan, a sixth-rank Taixu Ancient Dragon, even just the bloodline pressure made it not dare to act up.
"Get lost, now!" Looking at the magical beast, whose eyes showed pleas for mercy, Zi Yan's eyes flashed. She scolded.
Hiss, hiss, hiss! Hearing this, the other acted as if pardoned. It repeatedly nodded to Zi Yan in thanks, then without hesitation ran outside, not daring to stay.
This was just a small episode. Neither Jiang Yun nor Zi Yan paid it any mind. The two entered the storehouse together.
"A lot of good stuff!"
On the wooden shelves around them, Dou Techniques, cultivation methods, weapons, magical cores, and medicinal herbs were countless. But Jiang Yun was not interested in any of these. At his current level, only special Dou Techniques or cultivation methods could capture his interest.
"We'll take them back to the Grand Elder." After collecting a few herbs for refining fifth and sixth-grade pills, Zi Yan lost interest in the rest.
She had no objection to Jiang Yun's suggestion.
After plundering everything inside, Jiang Yun and Zi Yan continued deeper.
In the end, they obtained an Earth Class mid-level cultivation method: Thunderclap Codex; Earth Class Dou Techniques: Awakening Thunderclap Method, Flame Manipulation Art; one seventh-rank magical core; and the refining method for the Heavenly Demon Puppet.
"Heavenly Demon Puppet: Use the corpse of the deceased as the vessel, the soul as the guide, a magical core as the heart, and combine with many materials to ultimately create a demon puppet. Divided into three grades — Heaven, Earth, Human — the grade difference depends on the refining materials and the refining flame. Once refined, the puppet is infinitely powerful, without joy or sorrow, without pain or injury. Truly a killing machine..."
Fingering the refining method for the Heavenly Demon Puppet, Jiang Yun pondered to himself. Given the characteristics of his Saint Demon Flame, the pill lightning for seventh-grade pills and above would all deliver energy to him.
Logically, he should not need this thing. But if another plan of his went smoothly, this thing might prove useful.
Moreover, if refined and sold in the Central Plains Alchemy Domain, Heavenly Demon Puppets would be in high demand.
"Let's go. We have plundered all the good stuff. We'll go back, take care of some things, and then say goodbye to the Grand Elder. It's time for us to set out and travel the continent."
Putting away the refining method for the Heavenly Demon Puppet, Jiang Yun looked at Zi Yan, who had a smile all over her face, and spoke slowly.
"We are finally going to the continent!" Hearing this, Zi Yan's face showed sudden delight. She had already explored almost everything around the Jia Nan Academy, and had long grown bored.
Now that Jiang Yun had finally decided to go to the continent, her heart began to stir.
"The outside world is not so wonderful. When the time comes, you cannot act recklessly..."
"What do you mean? Am I really that unreliable?"
"What do you think?"
"..."
The bottom level of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
With the fall of the major forces, Jiang Yun and the others, having plundered everything clean, returned to the Inner Academy one after another.
This sudden wealth, even given the Jia Nan Academy's riches, made Su Qian grin from ear to ear.
As for Jiang Yun, after taking a few items, he came once again to the magma world. After shooing away the Fallen Heart Flame that came to 'get close', Jiang Yun looked at the several items before him, a glint shining in his eyes.
Before Jiang Yun floated the Bodhi Tree, the Bodhi Transformation Saliva, the fragment of the mysterious flame map, and a dried corpse of a magical beast.
Jiang Yun had seen the dried corpse before — it was one from the secret realm. He had not expected Wu Tie to have taken it. With his fall, it had now fallen into Jiang Yun's hands.
"These things, rarely seen in the outside world, have been gathered by you in a short time." Qing Ming's figure slowly appeared. He spoke with some amusement.
"Killing and burning — the way to wealth. The ancients were not wrong." Jiang Yun chuckled lightly, speaking somewhat teasingly.
"Although the pure energy of the Bodhi Tree has been used up, its material can still be refined into something good for calming the soul and nourishing the spirit. It has a fairly good effect on soul power below the Spirit Realm." Qing Ming looked at Jiang Yun with a slight smile, then turned his gaze to the Bodhi Tree, which had lost all its miraculous properties. "But for you, it is no longer needed."
"Indeed." Jiang Yun nodded. He then took from his ring a ten-foot-long, greenish withered wood, its rich, grassy fragrance proving it was no ordinary item.
This was the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood. It had the effect of enhancing soul power. Jiang Yun's soul power had already reached the peak of the Mortal Realm and had begun absorbing spiritual energy. With another year or two of accumulation, he could smoothly break through to the Spirit Realm.
But now, he could speed things up a bit.
Jiang Yun turned his gaze to the remaining few items. He muttered, "I will not need you for now. But this Heavenly Demon Phoenix corpse can be taken apart first."
He swept his hand across the void before him. The Bodhi Tree, the Bodhi Transformation Saliva, and the mysterious flame map fragment were put away again. Over a dozen small jade boxes floated before him. At the same time, with a clang, a crimson-red cauldron appeared on a huge rock.
The crimson-red cauldron was covered in all kinds of strange patterns. On its body were carved lifelike beast images, their huge mouths wide open.
If one put an ear close, one could faintly hear strange roars coming from within the cauldron. This was the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron, listed on the Heavenly Cauldron List.
Yet another golden drop from the Han Feng experience package.
With a flick of his finger, the dozen jade boxes opened. Various strange fragrances immediately spread out, refreshing the spirit.
The main ingredient for preparing the soul-enhancing liquid was the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood. The other ingredients were auxiliary materials. Once again, Jiang Yun had to thank Brother Han Feng.
The formula and many soul-related auxiliary ingredients were all from his collection. No wonder he was so favored by the 'protagonist'. He was truly a top-tier gift box.
Heavenly flames, cauldrons, formulas — even an ordinary eighth-grade alchemist might not be as wealthy as Han Feng.
With a light tap of his finger, a wisp of white flame turned into a fiery light and appeared inside the cauldron. The flame surged fiercely within the cauldron, continuously releasing terrifying heat. But no matter how much the temperature rose, the crimson-red cauldron remained still.
"A truly fine item." Sighing with emotion, Jiang Yun simultaneously threw over a dozen auxiliary ingredients into the cauldron.
Given Jiang Yun's current flame control, refining so many auxiliary ingredients at once was no pressure. The flame inside the cauldron instantly split into over a dozen strands, wrapping and calcining the auxiliary ingredients that had been thrown in.
The refining did not take much time. In just over ten minutes, all the medicinal ingredients inside the cauldron had been refined, all transformed into liquid medicinal essences.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun threw the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood into the cauldron. Although the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood was more difficult to refine, under Jiang Yun's eyes, cracks quickly appeared on its surface. Faintly, an extremely faint scent drifted out from within. Under this scent, Jiang Yun's soul immediately felt a surge of comfort.
As time passed, the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood was smoothly refined. Jiang Yun, in order, added the remaining auxiliary ingredients.
With the addition of the ingredients, the dark green paste began to become clear and transparent, faintly showing a trace of vitality. By the time all the medicinal essences had been added, the paste had become a jade-like sticky liquid. An instinctive longing came from the depths of Jiang Yun's soul.
"The quality is not bad." This longing was still within Jiang Yun's control. He looked at the liquid before him with satisfaction, opened his mouth, and sucked. The liquid flowed into his abdomen along his mouth.
After a moment, a wave of cool energy directly drilled into Jiang Yun's brow, intertwining with the soul power coiled there.
Jiang Yun felt his head suddenly buzz. The soul power at his brow, at this moment, as if fed a catalyst, suddenly expanded.
At the same time, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth seemed, at this moment, to be stirred by something strange. Amidst the disturbance, faint wisps of energy flow were quietly overflowing from space, then rushing in a sky-covering manner toward Jiang Yun's brow.
"Here it comes!"
Sensing the change in his soul power, Jiang Yun was not flustered. Instead, he orderly operated the soul cultivation method inherited from his clan, absorbing the spiritual energy gathering from the outside.
The spiritual energy continuously poured into Jiang Yun's brow, was refined, and finally fused with the soul power coiled there.
After absorbing for half an hour, an invisible, imperceptible wave quietly spread from Jiang Yun's brow, then passed through the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower and spread to the distant sky.
Not a single person noticed any of this.
"So this is the Spirit Realm soul of the Dou Qi Continent? Interesting." Qing Ming watched Jiang Yun's spreading soul power with an impassive gaze, speaking with interest.
Every world had its own names for the different levels. For him, the names were not important. As long as Jiang Yun grew stronger, that was enough.
Moreover, the rank division of the Dou Qi Continent was very fresh to him. A lower plane that had produced a Heavenly Sovereign was worth exploring.
Before long, when the soul power returned to Jiang Yun's brow, his body trembled slightly. The soul pressure that had spread out also completely dissipated.
At the same time, Jiang Yun's long-closed eyes trembled slightly and then slowly opened.