20: Absorbing precious energy

Luo Li controlled the Flying Sword to fly out of Wenxing City, heading north all the way!

Gu Changan stood on the Flying Sword, the wind making it hard for him to open his eyes.

He resisted the urge to scream.

Before long, Gu Changan felt as if the wind had stopped, and he opened his eyes to look around.

Below, the terrain was rolling, covered in dense vegetation.

In the distance was a huge deep pit, where some Mortals were still working.

It looked like they were mining Ore or extracting something else!

Beneath their feet seemed to be a village, with a dozen tiled houses scattered neatly.

But in broad daylight, not a single person could be seen.

Luo Li stood on the Flying Sword, seemingly observing something.

Gu Changan cautiously asked, "Fairy? Have we arrived?"

Luo Li turned her head. Gu Changan saw her brows tightly furrowed, realizing something must have happened, and dared not ask further questions.

Luo Li’s expression turned serious, and a Peachwood Sword appeared in her hand.

"Let's go, let's take a look below. This village seems to be abnormal!"

Gu Changan was somewhat unwilling, not wanting to poke his nose into other people's business.

But he couldn't say anything; the White-robed Fairy wouldn't care about his opinion anyway.

Besides, the Flying Sword belonged to her, and she could go wherever she pleased!

After landing, Gu Changan held a Shield in one hand and a Long Sword in the other.

He looked around, sticking closely behind the White-robed Fairy.

If there was danger, at least the White-robed Fairy could take the brunt of it!

The two slowly entered from the village entrance. Passing the first house, they found that the dog of the first household had turned into a Jade Statue.

The dog’s expression was tense, frozen in the act of barking, looking lifelike.

Gu Changan, carrying a hint of curiosity, began observing the other scenes.

The chickens in the courtyard had also turned into Jade Statues.

Seeing this, Luo Li seemed to realize something and quickly opened the door of the dwelling.

They saw an old person and a young person lying quietly on the bed, also transformed into Jade Statues.

Luo Li sighed, "They cannot be saved!"

After speaking, she took out a Talisman, muttered some unknown Incantation, and the Talisman spontaneously combusted without wind.

Until a beam of golden light shot up into the sky and darted into the distance.

Gu Changan quickly asked, "What is that?"

Luo Li: "A Message Talisman. I reported the situation here to the Tianji Pavilion!"

"Someone will come to handle this shortly!"

Gu Changan pointed at the Jade Statues on the bed: "Then what happened here?"

Luo Li: "They were eroded by Treasure Qi, causing their bodies to become jade-like."

Gu Changan was slightly surprised: "Could there be some treasure in this village?"

The two successively inspected the rooms of several other residents, finding roughly the same situation.

Luo Li recalled: "The Tianji Pavilion has records in Ancient Texts!"

"A Forbidden Technique has been circulating since the ancient era!"

"It allows one to artificially create a treasure qi spring eye, but it requires irrigation with human essence blood!"

"I suspect that a treasure qi spring eye of this kind might be near this village!"

"Otherwise, there's no way to explain the dissipation of so much Treasure Qi, causing so many villagers to undergo Jadeification!"

Hearing the White-robed Fairy's words, Gu Changan thought of many things.

The Blood Pool and the Semi-Jadeified Remains he collected in the Ancient Forbidden Land a few days ago were likely the result of the same situation!

Gu Changan raised the doubt in his heart: "What exactly is the purpose of this treasure qi spring eye?"

"They spent so much effort creating it, its function must be Heaven-Defying, right?"

Luo Li looked around, then organized her thoughts.

"It is indeed quite Heaven-Defying!"

"Since entering the Era of the End of Dharma, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi has dried up."

"Many Cultivators sought alternative paths, and some Great Experts discovered Treasure Qi."

"They found that this Treasure Qi could also be used for Cultivation through special Cultivation Techniques or special methods."

"This added another channel for people to Cultivate!"

"Most importantly, they discovered that this Treasure Qi can give birth to treasures!"

"For example, some Spirit Medicine! Or Ore!"

"After being baptized by Treasure Qi, they are more likely to mature!~"

Gu Changan nodded, half understanding, grasping the general cause of the incident.

Looking at these Jade Statues, Gu Changan desperately wanted to take out the treasure gathering basin and absorb them.

However, he remembered that the last time he absorbed them, the Jade Statues all disintegrated into powder.

It wouldn't be easy to explain that to the White-robed Fairy!

Previously, she had only noticed the abnormality of the treasure gathering basin, which could be triggered by the corona.

She still didn't know that the treasure gathering basin could absorb Treasure Qi.

If he did this now, what if she couldn't resist the temptation?

Wouldn't he be tempting her to commit a crime?

Gu Changan suppressed the impulse to take out the treasure gathering basin, but sinking his mind into it, he found that the treasure gathering basin was slowly absorbing the surrounding Treasure Qi.

He saw dense Crimson Treasure Qi coming from all directions, piercing his body like fine mist, and finally being absorbed by the treasure gathering basin.

Upon discovering this situation, Gu Changan began wandering around.

He planned to absorb more Treasure Qi right under the White-robed Fairy's nose.

Luo Li saw Gu Changan carefully inspecting every courtyard and paid no mind to it.

She stood directly in the center of the village, waiting for feedback from the Tianji Pavilion.

Gu Changan was vigorously absorbing Qi on the side, and then put some of the animal Jade Statues into his Storage Pouch.

Luo Li's Divine Sense swept over Gu Changan's abnormality, but she didn't pay attention to it.

Until a small flying boat quickly arrived from the distance.

A team of Cultivators descended from the flying boat and began saluting the White-robed Fairy.

Luo Li said coldly, "Deal with this place, and find the cause while you're at it!"

Gu Changan and the White-robed Fairy once again set off aboard the Flying Sword.

Only after the two had departed did the Cultivators on the flying boat erupt into intense discussion.

"Holy crap, who is that guy?"

"He actually rode the same Flying Sword as the Saintess?"

"Is that the Saintess's Dao Companion?"

"How can you speak nonsense? If the Saint hears you, you'll be in trouble!"

"The Saint has always regarded the Saintess as his personal possession."

"If he finds out someone rode the same Flying Sword as the Saintess, that guy is dead for sure!"

"Isn't the Saintess just Training with him?"

"Did Cultivation make your brain stupid?"

"What is the Saintess's cultivation level? Why would she find someone at the Second Level of Qi Condensation for Training?"

"Besides, even if it is Training, why must they ride the same Flying Sword?"

"Wouldn't one Flying Sword each be better?"

"The Saint didn't even get this kind of treatment back then!"

The Cultivators on the flying boat clicked their tongues in wonder, preparing to watch the upcoming drama!

Some Cultivators secretly decided that they would immediately report this news to the Saint, hoping to gain his appreciation!

Gu Changan didn't know that the White-robed Fairy had caused him such huge trouble.

He only hoped that the Immortal Cave they were going to wouldn't be too dangerous, and that he could save his own life.

About an hour later, they arrived at a dense mountain forest.

There was one peak surrounded by cliffs, and the top of the peak had been leveled into a flat surface.

Luo Li landed on it, bringing Gu Changan with her.