59: Chapter 59: Li Liuyun, Traveling Through Mountains and Rivers, Encountering a Demon Attack

Leaving Liuyun City, the sky was high and the earth was vast.

Ye Qing steered the Wind Spirit Wings, flying towards the southeast at a leisurely pace.

He deliberately avoided the main trade routes and Cultivator gathering points marked on the map, specifically choosing those desolate mountains, wild ridges, deep ravines, and secluded valleys where few people ventured.

This was both to avoid prying eyes and to survey the terrain along the way, searching for locations that might be suitable for a temporary stay or that contained special resources.

Along the way, the mountains and rivers were magnificent, but most of the Spiritual Qi was thin.

Occasionally, where the Spiritual Qi was slightly denser, Yao Beasts had already entrenched themselves, or the secluded Immortal Caves of small Sects or Immortal cultivation Families were hidden there, shrouded in Formations, not allowing outsiders to approach.

Ye Qing did not care.

The energy fed back from the space within his body was pure and vast, far surpassing ordinary Spirit lands in the outside world. While traveling, he would divide a wisp of his Divine Sense to guide the circulation of the space energy, and his cultivation base was still steadily improving.

During the day, he traveled and surveyed the terrain of the mountains and rivers, verifying the geomancy knowledge he had learned from the Wen Dao Pavilion.

At night, he would find a hidden place to open up a temporary Immortal Cave, set up simple early warning and concealment Restrictions, and then immerse himself in his own Cultivation and research.

The deduction of the Hunxu Yandao Scripture never stopped.

His Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivation base was becoming increasingly solid, and his understanding and Fusion of the many meanings—such as the Five Elements cycle, Chaos inclusiveness, eternal stars, pure moonlight, and the unpredictable Void Realm—were also slowly deepening.

In terms of Spells and Divine Abilities, the distance and precision of the Void Step had improved again; he could teleport up to fifteen zhang at the furthest, and his turns were more agile.

The penetrating power of the Void Finger was stronger, while the consumption had slightly decreased due to improved control.

The newly comprehended Five Elements Demon Sealing Chain, after fusing with a trace of the true meaning of Void sealing, had greatly increased its binding power, making it difficult for ordinary Foundation Establishment Mid Stage Cultivators to break free.

His skills in Alchemy, Talisman making, and Formation Dao had not been neglected either.

On the Floating Landmass, that specially refined "earth vein array core mushroom" was growing well. Under the nourishment of the Chaos star Qi, its mycelium was faintly resonating with the Floating Landmass itself, making its "earth element" Foundation increasingly stable and solid.

The moonlight star seed was interwoven with silver radiance and starlight, full of vitality; it looked like it was about to sprout its first pair of real leaves.

Spirit plants like the jade marrow ganoderma and soul soothing flower grew rapidly in such an environment, and their accumulated medicinal power far exceeded that of their peers in the outside world.

One day, Ye Qing flew over a vast swamp and wetland area called "Qianzhang Ze".

This place was densely covered with water networks and reeds, and the mist never dispersed all year round; even Divine Sense was hindered when probing into it. The map marked it as a dangerous place, often giving birth to poisonous insects and water monsters; few Cultivators ventured deep into it.

Ye Qing originally intended to bypass it, but when his Divine Sense swept over an inconspicuous reed marsh below, he faintly perceived a trace of abnormally pure water element Spiritual Qi fluctuations, as well as... a faint smell of blood.

He lowered his escape light, restrained his aura, and quietly landed on a mound exposed above the water, using the dense reeds to conceal his figure.

He condensed his Divine Sense into a line and carefully probed towards the source of the Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

Deep in the reed marsh, beside a slightly sunken puddle, several corpses lay scattered about.

Judging by their clothing, they were a few Loose Cultivators at the Middle to Late Stage of Qi Refining. Their deaths were tragic; some had been torn apart by sharp claws, while others had been corroded by venom. They had clearly encountered an attack.

The attackers... Ye Qing's gaze swept across the other side of the puddle.

There, three hideous Yao Beasts, about the size of calves, covered in cyan-black scales, with a single horn on their heads and terrifying sharp teeth in their mouths, were surrounding a strange small tree that was only three feet tall. The tree was entirely emerald blue like jade, and at its top, it bore a fruit the size of a dragon's eye, shimmering with water light. They were hissing lowly, wary of each other.

"Green Water Mysterious Flood Dragon? No, that's not right, it's a mutated 'Single-Horned Poisonous Flood Dragon', a Tier 2 Early Stage Yao Beast. That small tree... is it 'water jade bodhi'? Looking at its age, it's at least five hundred years old! No wonder it could attract these few Yao Beasts to gather and even lure Cultivators to covet it."

Ye Qing recognized that Spirit plant. The water jade bodhi was a Foundation Establishment Spirit object that water element Spiritual Root Cultivators dreamed of. It could be consumed directly to strengthen the water Spiritual Root, and it was also a main ingredient for refining several types of high-grade water attribute Medicinal Pills; it was worth a fortune.

A five-hundred-year-old water jade bodhi was also of great benefit to Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.

The three Single-Horned Poisonous Flood Dragons clearly all wanted to monopolize this tree and were confronting each other, but because they had consumed a lot of energy killing the human Cultivators just now, they had not yet made another move.

Ye Qing's gaze shifted between the bodhi tree and the three Poisonous Flood Dragons.

"The water jade bodhi can be transplanted into the space to enrich the variety of Spirit plants and optimize the water element environment. The three Tier 2 Early Stage Yao cores and Materials are also not bad gains. It's just that I need to finish the battle quickly to avoid making too much noise and attracting other trouble."

His thoughts turned like lightning, and he quickly formulated a tactic.

First, resolve the Poisonous Flood Dragon on the outermost perimeter that was most severely injured and whose aura was slightly withered.

The Void Step was activated, and his figure disappeared from the spot without a sound.

The next moment, he had already appeared three zhang behind the side of that Poisonous Flood Dragon.

The Poisonous Flood Dragon was alert and suddenly turned its head. Its scarlet vertical pupils locked onto Ye Qing, and it opened its mouth to spray a stream of pitch-black venom.

Ye Qing did not dodge or avoid it; he waved his left arm, and a Chaos Spirit Shield appeared.

The venom hit the Spirit Shield, sizzling, but the Spirit Shield's radiance flowed, completely neutralizing the venom's power.

At the same time, Ye Qing pointed his right index finger into the air.

Void Finger.

A point of Chaos light arrived first despite being launched later, ignoring the Poisonous Flood Dragon's protective Yao power, and plunged into the weak spot beneath the inverted scales on its neck.

The Poisonous Flood Dragon's body stiffened, the light in its eyes quickly dimmed, and it fell to the ground with a thud.

The other two Poisonous Flood Dragons were alarmed, roared, and turned around, pouncing from the left and right. Their single horns flickered with ghostly light, and venom and ice spikes were fired simultaneously.

Ye Qing's figure moved again, the Void Step treading a strange arc, passing through the pincer attack of the two Poisonous Flood Dragons, while his hands flicked continuously.

Five Elements Demon Sealing Chain.

Five Spirit power chains of different colors shot out—not to attack, but instantly submerging into the surrounding water, reeds, and mud.

Hum!

With the water jade bodhi as the center, within a radius of twenty zhang, the Five Elements Spiritual Qi was briefly stirred and delayed.

The movements of the two Poisonous Flood Dragons immediately slowed down, and their Yao power circulation became obstructed.

Taking this opportunity, Ye Qing put his fingers together like a sword and pointed the Void Finger again at the Poisonous Flood Dragon on the left.

Then, without stopping his figure, he pounced towards the Poisonous Flood Dragon on the right, clenched his right fist, infused it with Chaos Magic power, and threw a punch without any fancy tricks!

As the punch was thrown, wind and thunder faintly appeared, stars flickered and vanished, and ripples in the Void Realm swayed.

The Poisonous Flood Dragon on the right had just broken free from the influence of the Five Elements Demon Sealing Chain when it saw a fist rapidly enlarging before its eyes, and in its haste, it blocked with its single horn.

Clang!

An explosive sound like metal striking metal.

The Poisonous Flood Dragon shrieked miserably, its single horn cracked, its skull was dented by the immense force, and its massive body flew backward, breaking a patch of reeds, twitched a few times, and stopped moving.

The Poisonous Flood Dragon on the left had been pierced through the heart by the Void Finger and had also died.

From the beginning to the end, the battle lasted no more than five breaths.

Three Tier 2 Early Stage Yao Beasts, all executed.

Ye Qing's breathing was slightly short; he quickly took a Ningyuan Pill while sweeping his Divine Sense around to confirm there was no other danger.

He quickly cleaned up the battlefield.

He carefully dug out the water jade bodhi roots and soil, sent it into the space, and transplanted it directly onto the Floating Landmass near the position of the "earth vein array core mushroom". The bodhi liked water, but the Chaos star Qi of the Floating Landmass embraced all things, and with the earth vein array core mushroom conditioning the earth Qi, it should be able to survive.

The three Poisonous Flood Dragon corpses, Yao cores, single horns, poison sacs, and the Storage Pouches beside the corpses of the Loose Cultivators were all collected into the waste area of the space.

The corpses of the Loose Cultivators were cremated with true fire, and their ashes were scattered in the swamp.

After cleaning up the traces of the battle, Ye Qing did not stay and immediately activated the Wind Spirit Wings to flee far away.

He flew hundreds of miles in one breath, found a secluded cave to hide in, and set up Restrictions.

His consciousness sank into the space.

The two-hundred-zhang Immortal Cave, having absorbed new "food", sent back joyful fluctuations.

The three Tier 2 Yao Beast corpses, Yao cores, and the miscellaneous Materials, Spirit Stones, and low-grade Medicinal Pills in the Storage Pouches of the Loose Cultivators were being rapidly decomposed and absorbed by the space.

The feedback energy was pure and thick, pushing his Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivation base to become even more solid.

The gray mist at the edge of the space rolled slowly, seemingly having expanded outward by a sliver.

The water jade bodhi had already taken root on the Floating Landmass, its emerald blue leaves swaying slightly, interwoven with the silver radiance of the moonlight star seed, the gentle moistness of the jade marrow ganoderma, the elegance of the soul soothing flower, and the solidity of the earth vein array core mushroom, forming a harmonious and lively picture.

"Not bad gains."

Ye Qing withdrew from the space and began to check the Storage Pouches of those few Loose Cultivators.

The Spirit Stones were not many, the Medicinal Pills were crude, and the Materials were ordinary. However, there were two Jade Slips recording shallow water attribute Cultivation Techniques and methods for raising several types of poisonous insects; they were better than nothing, so he added them to his knowledge base.

He threw all the useless miscellaneous items into the space to be absorbed and stored the useful Materials in categories.

After doing this, he sat cross-legged to adjust his breathing and restore his state.

At the same time, he thought to himself.

"It has been nearly a month since I left Liuyun City, and I have traveled thousands of miles. The human population is becoming increasingly sparse, and the traces of Yao Beasts are increasing. It seems the activity range of the Yao Race is indeed constantly expanding."

"I need to be more cautious. Next, perhaps I should find a relatively safe and sufficiently hidden long-term foothold, go into seclusion for a period of time, polish my Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivation base to Perfection, and try to refine a few more powerful Magic Treasures and Talismans to prepare for the unexpected."

He unfolded the map gifted by Shopkeeper Zhou Ming and carefully studied the geography in the southeast direction.

Finally, his gaze landed on a place marked as "Zhuixing Lake".

This lake was located at the intersection of several mountain ranges, with complex terrain and above-average Spiritual Qi. There were many islands in the lake, and it was shrouded in mist all year round. It was said that a star had once fallen into it, hence the name. The map was marked with "has low-grade water Yao, occasionally has Loose Cultivators exploring for treasure, currently no fixed forces".

"Zhuixing Lake... complex terrain, easy to hide in, decent Spiritual Qi; perhaps it is a suitable place for temporary secluded cultivation."

Ye Qing set his goal, no longer delayed, finished adjusting his breathing, left the cave, and continued flying towards the direction of Zhuixing Lake.

Within his body, in the two-hundred-zhang Immortal Cave, the Chaos airflow flowed slowly, the newly transplanted water jade bodhi stretched its emerald leaves, the moonlight star seed sparkled with silver radiance, and everything was continuously growing, evolving, and becoming stronger.

The journey of Loose Cultivator Ye Qing and his path of steady development continued to extend amidst successive harvests and vigilance.