Chapter 625: Not a Single Blade of Grass Left |
"The people who were here should be gone long ago."
Yaoling finished circling the area and reported back.
"Mm, whatever was left should have been taken too."
Ning Qi nodded, focusing forward. "Go check ahead."
He said that and left, crossing the open ground ahead.
This time he successfully reached the rear foothills.
The open area here was planted with all kinds of rare treasures and natural treasures.
"This is..."
Yaoling stared at the meadow before him, eyes wide.
Ning Qi also noticed the anomaly and said, "This can't be something unique to the Immortal Realm, can it?"
"It is, Master."
Yaoling nodded laboriously and pointed at one herb. "This is the Phantom Spirit Immortal Herb. It bears fruit once every ten thousand years. One fruit can let someone be reborn and recrafted."
"Oh? It has that effect."
Ning Qi crouched down with curiosity to inspect it.
"But it won't help you, Master. You are already at Golden Immortal strength."
Yaoling added, "Still, eating one can restore your strength. In battle, eating one can revive your divine power."
"Hmm, and these?"
Ning Qi pointed to the herbs in front of them.
They were everywhere here, covering the whole slope.
"Master, that's hard to say, there's far too many."
"Every single one is priceless."
Yaoling looked at the immortal herbs and exotic flowers before them, then continued, "Even when Mount Buzhou still existed, I never saw this many herbs."
"Who did this?"
"That I don't know, but we can take them all."
Yaoling rubbed his hands together, showing a greedy expression.
"Shi Xiaokun, come out."
Ning Qi called with a smile.
"Master!"
Soon Shi Xiaokun condensed a strand of soul force from his Consciousness Sea and appeared.
When he saw the scene before him, he too widened his eyes.
"Can we bring all these immortal herbs into our Inner World?"
Ning Qi pointed at the herbs and asked in a deep voice.
"That is easy, they can be taken in."
Shi Xiaokun looked around, then analyzed: "There are no formation restrictions here, so we can take them without difficulty."
"Good, then take them."
Ning Qi nodded and ordered.
"Yes, Master!"
Shi Xiaokun obeyed and immediately began working.
In the blink of an eye, he collected all the immortal herbs and exotic flowers.
The previously lush green slope instantly turned bare.
The entire hillside sank inward several zhang.
Seeing this, Ning Qi flashed and opened his Pocket Dimension.
He then entered his Inner World directly.
Ning Qi chose a direction and disappeared in a blink.
Soon he arrived at a vacant meadow within.
At the same moment, Shi Xiaokun had placed the gathered meadow plants here.
"Master, look!"
"This is the place with the richest spiritual energy. I'll set up a spirit-gathering formation."
"That will let them grow more luxuriantly."
Shi Xiaokun said with a smile to Ning Qi.
"Good, not bad. I'll leave this to you!"
Ning Qi nodded in satisfaction and continued, "What else do we need here?"
"Master, what do you mean?"
Shi Xiaokun asked.
"Aren't we going to need more people and resources to build this place?"
Ning Qi asked.
"Not for now. There are already people here, but it will still take some time."
Shi Xiaokun shook his head, looking confident.
"Oh? There are already people?"
Ning Qi became curious.
"Yes, they are from the Inner World of that Realm Spirit from last time."
"Didn't the old Domain Sovereign give us his Origin Source Power?"
Shi Xiaokun nodded and explained, "I used that, along with the soul force from his Inner World, to create life unique to our domain."
"When they grow up, they can be used by us."
"This is the source of our domain's faith offerings power!"
"Hmm, not bad. I didn't expect we could create human beings ourselves."
Ning Qi said, very pleased.
"Master, this does consume a great deal of our domain's Origin Source Power."
"But with sacrifice comes gain."
"They feel a sense of belonging to us."
"This place is their root."
Shi Xiaokun said seriously, "Even if we send them out later, they will not betray us! Because their life and soul force originate here."
"If they betray us, they will die and their path will be extinguished; their power can never recover."
"Hmm, fine. Continue building this place."
"If you need anything, notify me at any time."
"I will do everything I can to solve the problems."
Ning Qi looked toward the entrance and arranged, "Understood."
"Yes, Master!"
Shi Xiaokun respectfully accepted the order.
Ning Qi nodded, then flashed away.
He left the Inner World and arrived at the Pocket Dimension.
Here the Inner World was actually separate, but everything inside could be clearly observed.
This place was like a barrier used to peek into the Inner World.
Ning Qi was very satisfied with it.
After one glance, he disappeared from the Pocket Dimension and returned to the outside world.
"Whoosh!"
A gust of wind swept by, making the place look somewhat desolate.
It had once been lush green, but the immortal herbs had already been taken by Ning Qi.
"Master!"
Yaoling, who had been searching for resources, came back just then.
"Well? Any other findings?"
Ning Qi turned to look and asked in a low voice.
"Master, nothing for now. I think the most important thing around this valley is that herb field."
Yaoling shook his head and analyzed seriously.
"Hmm, in that case, let's go."
Ning Qi nodded and retraced their steps.
In an instant, they were back in the outside world.
They stood again where yellow sand filled the air.
"Master, should we keep going forward?"
Yaoling looked ahead and said, "I feel there isn't much further ahead."
"Also, I have a bad feeling about it."
"It feels like someone is deliberately waiting for us."
"Hmm, I have the same feeling, but this isn't just a feeling, it's a fact!"
Ning Qi nodded firmly and continued, "From the initial corridor and this herb field, it's enough to prove someone did this on purpose!"
"They lured experts here. What their goal is, we don't know."
"Master, if that's true, maybe we were set up from the very start."
A chill ran through Yaoling when he heard that.
He craned his neck to look back the way they had come, instinctively shrinking his shoulders.
"If we're here, we make the best of it. We won't retreat easily without finding something useful."
Ning Qi persisted, "We can certainly arrive first and find something here."
"Master, how can you be so sure that the resources we need are here?"
Yaoling asked.
"Intuition."
Ning Qi smiled and continued forward.
His current strength had reached Fifth-Rank Golden Immortal, and even in the emptiness of the Realm Sea he could roam unchecked.
Not to mention in this desert environment, which had no effect on him.
Yaoling hid within his Dantian, refusing any contact with the environment.
Ning Qi walked a distance through the desert and gradually discovered that the yellow sand was thinning and even the wind was weakening.
Slowly, the desert began turning back into Gobi.
"Master, are we back again?"
Yaoling emerged, looking at the terrain and showing a grave expression.
"No, this is another direction."
"It's just that the surroundings are all similar, which gave you the illusion."
Ning Qi shook his head, then added, "Let's go see what else is ahead."
"All right!"
This time Yaoling did not hide but began searching with Ning Qi.
Gradually they reached the heart of the Gobi.
"Master, night is coming. Should we keep searching?"
Yaoling frowned at the sky and asked.
"It's strange. If no one is around, why keep the day-night cycle running?"
Ning Qi thought for a moment and said, "Unless there are natural treasures here, otherwise it's hard to explain."
"Right, it's a pity we don't know whether it's in this direction."
"After all, many have come here. Maybe someone already found the treasure."
Yaoling nodded in agreement.
"Maybe, but let's find a place to rest for now."
"I feel unsafe here at night!"
Ning Qi looked around and pointed toward a nearby cliff face.
"Shall we go there?"
Yaoling followed his gaze and asked curiously.
"Yes, the height means if anything happens, we can spot it immediately."
Ning Qi quickened his pace.
With that, Ning Qi and Yaoling soon reached the cliff edge.
Standing on the cliff and looking into the distance, the path they had come from lay straight ahead.
Yellow sand still surrounded that area, while the other side opened toward another stretch of Gobi.
Beyond the Gobi, sparse forests and rising mountain ranges came into view.
From afar the mountains looked like a giant dormant dragon lying along the land.
On that ridge, rippling waves flickered and trembled.
"Master, there must be unparalleled treasures within those mountains!"
Yaoling, seeing the scene, could not help but say, "Otherwise this situation would not occur."
"Hmm, so it seems we chose the right direction."
Ning Qi nodded, smiling slightly.
Sometimes following one's instinct proves the right choice.
If he had been swayed by Yaoling at the start, they might not have found any of this.
"Master, let's act tomorrow."
"This place just feels strange."
Yaoling looked around, his expression serious.
"Hmm, I'll set up our Three Thousand Like Water Formation."
"You check the surroundings for any other conditions!"
Ning Qi nodded and began to move.
"Yes, Master!"
Yaoling leaped down to scout the area.
Ning Qi sat cross-legged and took out his storage bag.
He arranged the spirit marrow and some natural treasures and began setting up.
When Ning Qi was at True Immortal strength before, he could already lay out the Three Thousand Like Water Formation.
Now at Golden Immortal power, arranging a deeper formation was no problem.
Under his setup, strong oppressive forces began to surge here.
Unknowing birds flying by were instantly turned into red mist by the immense pressure.
Some stones on the mountain began to crack.
All of this was because they could not withstand Ning Qi's powerful formation.
After half a shichen had passed, Ning Qi finally relaxed.
He had clearly finished the arrangement.
"Master, I have checked this area. There are no abnormalities. We can rest here safely."
Yaoling arrived and reported his scout findings to Ning Qi.
"Hmm, good. Prepare to rest!"
Ning Qi nodded and sat cross-legged again.
After some fussing, the sky had completely darkened.
Ning Qi retracted his spiritual sense, found a flat slab of green rock, and sat down to meditate and recuperate.
Yaoling sat at his side and pulled out the immortal herbs he had pilfered earlier.
He began absorbing their life force and the condensed spiritual energy.
By the middle of the night, Ning Qi had slept.
He was awakened by Yaoling.
First he stretched, then scanned the surroundings.
Nothing had changed from before, but he still felt a dangerous aura circling near him.
Yet when Ning Qi spread his spiritual sense, he could detect nothing.
He frowned.
"What kind of divine being can’t be located even by my Fifth-Rank Golden Immortal senses?"
Ning Qi stood and fixed his gaze into the void.
At that moment he caught something.
In the emptiness appeared lifeforms shrouded entirely in black mist.
They seemed able to sense Ning Qi's aura.
Before Ning Qi could investigate, they vanished completely.
"Strange, who are these people?"
Ning Qi looked forward, curiosity piqued.
But he did not intend to investigate directly.
This place was unsafe; rash action might trigger an ambush.
Perhaps that was exactly how someone tried to lure them.
Ning Qi's thoughts turned quickly, and he made a decision.
No matter what, they must not go forward.
"Master, what are you looking at?"
Yaoling had woken as well.
Seeing Ning Qi staring at one spot without moving, he grew worried and came over to ask.
"I keep feeling like someone in the night sky is watching us!"
"We are like prey."
Ning Qi’s expression grew heavy as he pointed ahead, "Especially there, the situation is the most severe."
"Ah? There are people? I'll take a look!" Yaoling cried out and moved to peer ahead.