Chapter 156 Obtaining the Gold of Life Again!
Inside the main sect's mountain gate, a rare atmosphere of joy was spreading from the training ground in all directions.
Li Meng, the disciple who led the way back, had disheveled hair and even had a few thorns hanging from the cuffs of his school uniform, but the metal dark box he was tightly protecting in his arms made him look radiant.
His fellow disciples had surrounded him completely.
"Senior Brother Li, tell me quickly, what treasures did you bring back after being away for so long?"
"A younger disciple squeezed to the front and asked with a hopeful look on his face.
Li Meng chuckled, patted the dark box in his arms, and said in a low voice, unable to hide his excitement, "Senior Brother Liu Yuan specifically instructed us to search for a strange metal containing an extreme life force in remote mountains all over the continent, called something like 'Life Gold'."
"Guess what? We brothers actually dug one up in an ancient ruin on the border of the Heavenly Soul Empire!"
"They really found it?" The surrounding disciples gasped in surprise.
"Of course it's real! Although this thing is only the size of a fingernail, the vitality it exudes, even through the specially made lead box, is so strong that you can feel the comfort all over your body. It's exactly the same feeling that Senior Brother Liu Yuan gave us." Li Meng wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes full of pride.
"When Senior Brother Liu Yuan explained this matter, he looked very serious. I heard the elders talking about it in private, and they said this thing is quite important for him later on. Senior Brother has always taken such good care of us, so he should be very happy that we have made such a contribution this time, right?"
"That's for sure!" Another disciple who participated in the search came over, his face beaming with a happy smile.
"Senior Brother Liu Yuan has been in seclusion for some time now, and he must be at a critical juncture. This piece of Living Gold that we brought back might just be the key to his breakthrough. Just thinking about how happy he'll be makes all my suffering worthwhile!"
"Come on, stop showing off here and hurry to the back mountain. If Senior Brother Liu Yuan finds out, he'll definitely reward you handsomely!"
Surrounding Li Meng, the disciples, feeling a sense of accomplishment, excitedly headed towards Liu Yuan's residence.
In their view, this was not just a rare piece of metal, but also a token of their appreciation for their young leader.
However, at this moment, in the quiet room on the back mountain, Liu Yuan was completely unaware of what was happening outside.
Calming incense burned in the quiet room, its smoke rising in wisps.
Liu Yuan sat cross-legged on the jade platform, surrounded by a faint purple-gold halo.
Because he had previously given a strict order that no one was to disturb his seclusion unless there was an extremely serious emergency, he was currently in a state of absolute tranquility.
During this period, Liu Yuan never slacked off for a moment.
Although he had long ago sent people to search for the Life Gold and the Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire, he knew very well that the appearance of such treasures of heaven and earth often required an extremely fortunate opportunity.
Whether or not he can find it is an external variable that he cannot control.
The only thing he could control was how he honed his soul power every day and how he deduced the evolution of his "three pupils".
A moment later, Liu Yuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, and the purple-gold aura around him receded back into his body like a tide.
He slowly opened his eyes, and a strange light flashed in his deep three pupils in the darkness, but soon that light turned into a deep weariness and helplessness.
He emerged from his meditative state, slowly stood up, and walked to the window to look at the mountain scenery below.
"Still not working..."
Liu Yuan muttered to himself, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
Through continuous attempts over this period of time, he can clearly confirm that these "triple pupils" are definitely not the end point of the evolution of double pupils, and there is still a vast space for evolution above them.
He had been trying to forcefully merge his three pupils, arranged in a triangular shape, into one during normal combat, to recreate the "single pupil" form he had when he instantly killed Elder Li in the forbidden area that day.
However, whenever he tried to guide the origins to merge, he always felt that something was missing—a core supporting force. It was like building a tall tower but lacking a foundation stone. No matter how hard he tried, the three eyes could only maintain the status quo and could not complete the fusion under normal circumstances.
Besides the stagnation in his martial soul evolution, the increase in his soul power also made him feel a little anxious.
After half a year of arduous training, his soul power level only increased by one level, and he is currently at level fifty-six.
For ordinary Soul Masters, advancing one level every six months might be a speed to be proud of, but for Liu Yuan, who used to break through as easily as drinking water, this was clearly a so-called "plateau period".
"Level 56... this rate of advancement is too slow."
Liu Yuan opened the window, letting the cool mountain breeze caress his face.
He said with some helplessness, "With the increase in level, has my cultivation speed finally slowed down? Sigh, at this time, if I had something like the Gold of Life to nourish my spiritual essence, or immortal herbs to cleanse my meridians, the situation might be very different."
Thinking of this, Liu Yuan looked slightly disappointed.
He had sent people to look for these two items for quite some time, and originally thought that with the manpower and resources of the Body Sect, there should be clues soon, but so far, there has been no news at all.
"If only they could bring back some good news at this time..."
He sighed again, his right hand unconsciously stroking the windowsill.
This information gap—the lack of knowledge that the outside world had already made progress—caused even this usually composed young man to reveal a trace of human melancholy.
He was even considering whether he should leave the pass early and personally visit the locations mentioned in the original work.
However, just as Liu Yuan was somewhat disheartened and about to sit back on the jade platform to continue the tedious soul power transfer, a series of hurried and light footsteps broke the deathly silence of the back mountain.
"Senior Brother Liu Yuan! Is Senior Brother Liu Yuan here?"
That was Li Meng's voice, trembling with the energy of running and extreme excitement.
Liu Yuan was slightly taken aback, raising an eyebrow.
In his memory, Li Meng was an extremely steady person. He would never shout and yell like that on the back mountain unless it was a very happy occasion.
He swayed slightly, and the next moment he appeared in front of the courtyard gate.
Before the door was even opened, Liu Yuan could already sense dozens of familiar and cheerful auras outside.
"Creak—"
The door opened. Liu Yuan looked at Li Meng, who was panting and flushed, and the group of cheerful junior brothers behind him, and asked with some doubt, "Li Meng? Why did you suddenly come back? Did you find what I wanted?"
Li Meng disregarded the formalities; his hands trembled as he lifted the heavy metal case above his head, his voice booming with excitement:
"Senior brother! Great news! We brothers have lived up to your expectations. After searching for more than half a year, we have finally found the Life Gold you wanted in a hidden ruin!"
Liu Yuan's body jolted violently, and his usually calm three pupils suddenly contracted.
He took the dark box with some disbelief. The moment his fingers touched the box, an extremely pure, profound energy wave full of vitality instantly flowed into his consciousness through his fingertips.
Electrolux's previously dormant consciousness emitted a soft buzzing sound at this moment.
The gloom and disappointment that had been in my heart were completely washed away in that instant by this huge and substantial sense of gain.
"It truly is the gold of life..."
Liu Yuan muttered to himself, and finally couldn't help but curl a bright smile into his lips.
He looked up at the group of disciples with expectant eyes, and that long-lost sense of excitement filled his chest again.
(End of chapter)