40: Chapter 40 Ancient Ruins, Nine Heavens Breath Soil!

Your gentle smile, in the eyes of Su Qinghan and the others, was even more terrifying than the sinister grin of that ghost-faced Cultivator from before.

The entire cave fell into a deathly silence, with only the sound of their heavy breathing and wildly pounding hearts audible.

One punch to severely injure a Late Foundation Establishment Stage demonic Cultivator, and then another palm strike to kill him instantly.

This... is this really something an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator can do?

They felt their worldview being repeatedly overturned today, shattered into nothing but dust.

Especially Su Qinghan; as she looked at your face, which still wore a faint smile, a monstrous storm raged within her heart.

She had previously thought that after the Outer Sect Tournament, she had already held you in high enough regard.

But now it seemed she was terribly wrong! Completely and utterly wrong!

Instant-killing a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator! What kind of concept was this? It meant that your true strength was likely already comparable to an Early-Stage Core Formation Immortal Master!

A combat power at the Core Formation Stage under the age of forty? This was no longer something that could be described as a Prodigy; this was simply a monster! A myth!

The Azure Cloud Sect, and even the entire Northern Region cultivation world, had never seen such a terrifying existence in thousands of years!

She suddenly remembered the words you said to her and the provocative actions you made during the finals of the Outer Sect Tournament.

So, that wasn't arrogance, but... he really had the capital for it.

This realization caused Su Qinghan's heart to ache sharply, and an indescribable bitterness and sense of defeat welled up in her mind.

"Ho... how should we distribute it?"

A surviving Disciple spoke up, his voice trembling, breaking the suffocating silence.

He looked at you, his eyes filled with awe and fear, terrified that if he said the wrong word, he would end up with the same fate as Xue Li.

Watching their nervous expressions, you were overjoyed.

"This is exactly the effect I wanted. If I don't scare you all, how can I comfortably hog all the Heaven And Earth Treasure later?"

You cleared your throat, walked up to the thick earth spirit ginseng, pointed at it, and said: "Everyone saw it; I put in a lot of effort just now to deal with those blind fellows. Even if there's no credit, there's at least hard work, right?"

Hearing this, everyone's mouth twitched.

Big brother, you call that putting in a lot of effort? From beginning to end, you only threw one punch and one palm strike, instantly killing two bosses, looking completely nonchalant the whole time without losing a single hair. We were the ones fighting the Yao Beast to the death for half a day, all injured and drained of magical power; who can we reason with?

But they only dared to think these words in their hearts; no one dared to say them out loud.

"Tang... Senior Brother Tang is right," one Disciple hurriedly chimed in. "If it weren't for Senior Brother Tang turning the tide, we probably would have all died here today. This spirit ginseng should rightfully belong to Senior Brother Tang!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We have no objections!" The others also expressed their agreement.

Just kidding, when your life is on the line, what use are treasures? Although this thick earth spirit ginseng is precious, compared to one's own life, it's nothing.

You nodded with satisfaction: "Mm, you Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters are all very sensible. I am very gratified."

As you said this, you prepared to reach out and pull up the spirit ginseng.

However, just at this moment, Su Qinghan suddenly spoke up.

"Wait."

You paused, raised an eyebrow, and looked at her: "What? Senior Sister Su has a different opinion?"

You were already prepared in your heart; if this woman dared to be ungrateful and insist on fighting you for it, then it couldn't be helped—today, you would have to show her what it means to be ruthless to a flower.

In the face of absolute benefits, any camaraderie among fellow Disciples was hollow.

The few Disciples were also nervously watching Su Qinghan, afraid she would provoke you, this god of plague.

Meeting your gaze, Su Qinghan took a deep breath and said slowly: "You can take this thick earth spirit ginseng; I have no objections. However, there are three fruits on this spirit ginseng. According to Sect rules, for any treasure discovered together, those who see it share it. I hope you can share one with us."

Although her voice remained cold, it carried a trace of unquestionable firmness.

She wasn't asking for herself, but for those injured fellow Disciples. This spirit ginseng fruit contained pure earth-attribute Spiritual Qi and life essence, which had miraculous effects on healing.

You looked at her pretty face, which was full of "stubbornness," and were silent for a moment.

You calculated in your mind. The most valuable part of this thick earth spirit ginseng was its rhizome, which was the main ingredient for refining the foundation establishment pill. As for the fruits, although they were also precious, they were not of much use to you.

Giving one away could both do Su Qinghan a favor to make her shut up and appease these few Disciples who had been scared out of their wits, preventing them from gossiping when they went back; it wasn't a bad idea.

"Fine." You nodded decisively, then reached out, plucked a fruit from the spirit ginseng, and tossed it to Su Qinghan.

"Catch."

Su Qinghan caught the fruit instinctively. It felt warm and smooth in her hand, and a warm current instantly spread through her whole body, making her exhausted body feel a hint of relief.

She stared at you blankly, seemingly not expecting you to agree so easily.

"Th... thank you," she said somewhat unnaturally.

You waved your hand, then ignored them, and carefully dug out the entire thick earth spirit ginseng, along with the soil at its roots, and stored it in your Storage Pouch.

After doing all this, you turned around, and your gaze was cast once again towards the deepest part of the cave.

That was the true goal of your trip.

You took a step and walked towards the depths of the cave.

"Tang Xun, where are you going? There might still be danger inside!" Su Qinghan couldn't help but remind you.

"I'm going to get something that belongs to me," you said without looking back.

Everyone looked at your retreating back, all with puzzled expressions.

The most precious thick earth spirit ginseng in this cave had already been taken by you; what else could be inside?

You walked to the deepest part of the cave; it was dim here, with only a bare stone wall.

You reached out, fumbled on the stone wall for a moment, and then injected a stream of pure earth-attribute magic power into it.

"Hum—"

The entire cave suddenly shook violently.

The stone wall slowly moved to the sides, revealing a dark, secret passage that could only accommodate one person.

A wave of earth-attribute Spiritual Qi, even purer, older, and heavier than that of the thick earth spirit ginseng from before, rushed towards you from the secret passage!

In the face of this aura, the three-thousand-year-old thick earth spirit ginseng from before was simply like a firefly competing with the bright moon!

"This... what is this!?"

Su Qinghan and the others, sensing this aura, were all stunned and dumbfounded.

They could never have imagined that there was actually another world within this cave!

You ignored their shock, took a deep breath to suppress the excitement in your heart, and resolutely walked into the secret passage.

The secret passage was not long, only a dozen zhang.

At the end was a natural stone chamber about a zhang in size.

In the center of the stone chamber, there were no imaginary rare treasures, nor any powerful guardian Yao Beast.

There was only a small handful, about the size of a fist, of seemingly ordinary, yellowish-brown soil, quietly floating in mid-air, emitting a faint, almost invisible yellow halo.

It floated there so quietly, yet it seemed to be the center of the entire world.

That heavy, ancient aura, which seemed capable of nurturing all things, was emanating from it.

nine heavens breathing soil!

You stared fixedly at that handful of soil, your body trembling slightly from excitement.

Found it! The main Materials for refining the "wutu sword"!

You resisted the urge to rush up and clutch it in your arms, carefully observing the surroundings.

The stone chamber was empty, with no signs of any Restriction or danger.

Only then did you set your mind at ease. You took out a jade box specially used for storing Heaven And Earth Treasure from your Storage Pouch and carefully walked towards the handful of nine heavens breathing soil.

Just as your hand was about to touch the jade box.

"Hum—!"

That handful of nine heavens breathing soil suddenly shone brilliantly!

A beam of earth-yellow divine light shot up into the sky from the breathing soil, piercing directly through the rock layer above and shooting towards the dark red sky!

The entire Great Earth Rift Valley shook violently at this moment!

"Damn it! Treasure appears, there must be a phenomenon? This script is too cliché!"

You cursed silently, but didn't care about anything else anymore. You directly used the jade box to collect the handful of nine heavens breathing soil, then closed the lid, applied several Seal Talisman, and stuffed it into the deepest part of your Storage Pouch.

"This is no place to stay for long! Let's go!"

You turned and ran outside.

Meanwhile, within the entire Crimson Trial space, all the Disciples from various Sects who were training saw that earth-yellow beam of light shooting into the sky and sensed that Origin aura that would drive all earth-attribute Cultivators crazy.

"It's a heavy treasure appearing! It's in the direction of the Great Earth Rift Valley!"

"Quick! Go take a look!"

"Such an Opportunity must absolutely not be given to others!"

For a time, countless streams of light from all directions rushed madly towards the direction of the Great Earth Rift Valley.