56: Greetings, Sect Leader! The Spring of Spiritual Eyes!

Chapter 56: Immortal Cave! spirit eye spring!

The next day.

Lu Qiu withdrew the many layers of Formation Restrictions inside and outside the quiet room.

He pushed open the door, and the long-lost daylight spilled in, carrying the unique fresh scent of vegetation from the mountain forests.

He took a deep breath, changed into a clean green robe, and slightly restrained his Spiritual Pressure as a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, though he did not hide it completely.

Within the sect, a proper display of strength could reduce many unnecessary troubles.

Now that he was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, there was no need to keep a low profile like before.

Leaving Xuan Kun Mountain, Lu Qiu traveled on the wind, flying toward the Discussion Hall in the core area of Yellow Maple Valley.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, his flight speed was far beyond what it was during the Qi Refinement Stage. Before long, the towering and solemn silhouette of the Discussion Hall appeared in his vision.

In the plaza before the hall, Disciples occasionally came and went.

Lu Qiu descended from his light and landed at the foot of the stone steps before the hall.

Guarding the main gate were two Qi Refining Disciples who looked quite young, roughly in their teens. Their faces still held a trace of lingering childishness, but their eyes were sharp, clearly being well-trained seeds of the sect.

These two clearly did not recognize Lu Qiu.

But as Lu Qiu approached, and the condensed, persistent Spiritual Pressure unique to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator naturally leaked out, the expressions of the two Disciples instantly changed.

The two did not dare to hesitate for a moment. Almost simultaneously, they stepped forward, bowed in greeting, and said in crisp but nervous voices:

“This Junior Martial Uncle, is there anything we Juniors can help you with?”

The slightly taller Disciple asked respectfully, quietly stealing a glance at Lu Qiu, inwardly shocked by how young this Junior Martial Uncle was.

Lu Qiu's tone was calm, yet it carried the natural majesty of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator: “Is the Sect Head in? I have matters to discuss with him.”

“Grandmaster Sect Head is currently handling affairs inside the hall. Junior Martial Uncle, please follow me.” The other Disciple hurriedly stepped aside to lead the way.

Stepping into the Discussion Hall, the interior space was vast, with an ancient and grand layout. Several thick pillars were carved with patterns of immortal cranes and auspicious clouds, and the high-vaulted ceiling made the atmosphere feel solemn and dignified.

Sect Head Zhong Lingdao was seated behind a large red sandalwood desk in the primary seat, holding a Jade Slip and reading it intently.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. Seeing a strange, young Foundation Establishment Cultivator being led in by a Disciple, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he immediately returned to normal, set down the Jade Slip, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

“Senior Brother Sect Head! This Junior Brother, Lu Qiu, greets the Sect Head!” Lu Qiu walked forward and, according to the sect rules, cupped his hands in a salute to Zhong Lingdao.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, his seniority was now on the same level as the Sect Head, so he could simply call him Senior Brother.

Zhong Lingdao stroked the three strands of clear beard under his chin, his smile widening as he rose to support him: “Haha, so it is Junior Brother Lu! Congratulations on your successful Foundation Establishment and for stepping into the Ranks of high-level Cultivators! Our sect has gained another high-level Disciple; this is truly a joyous occasion!”

He had an excellent memory. With a bit of thought, he recalled Lu Qiu's name—the new Named Disciple Junior Martial Uncle Li Huayuan had taken after returning from the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land, who had handed in many Spirit Medicines and was said to have a very good Heart-Nature.

“Senior Brother Sect Head overpraises me. Lu Qiu was merely lucky, and it was also thanks to the foundation establishment pill bestowed by the sect!” Lu Qiu responded with a humble attitude and a face full of spring breezes.

“Luck is also a part of one's strength.”

Zhong Lingdao waved his hand, signaling Lu Qiu to sit in a sandalwood chair to the side. “Junior Brother Lu, do you have some important matter for coming here today?”

Lu Qiu did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point: “Senior Brother Sect Head, I was fortunate enough to succeed in Foundation Establishment a few days ago. Therefore, I have come specifically to report this to the Sect Head and hope that you can grant me the right to open an Immortal Cave.”

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator gained the qualification to open and establish a private Immortal Cave in areas of the Taiyue Mountain Range where Spiritual Qi was abundant.

This was a rule of Yellow Maple Valley and a privilege for all Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

“This is an easy matter.” Zhong Lingdao nodded. “Since Junior Brother has successfully established your foundation, you naturally enjoy this right. I will register you in the records and update your identity token information right now.”

He summoned a steward Disciple and brought over a specialized jade ledger and Magical Artifact to handle the procedures for Lu Qiu on the spot.

After recording his name, time of Foundation Establishment, original mountain peak, and other information, he took back Lu Qiu's identity token, operated a disc-shaped Magical Artifact for a moment to inject new information and permissions, and then returned it to Lu Qiu.

“Very well, Junior Brother Lu. From this moment on, you are an official Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator of our sect, entitled to all corresponding stipends and rights. As for the site of your Immortal Cave, within the Taiyue Mountain Range—excluding a few Forbidden Grounds, ore cores, and already-claimed Spiritual Vein nodes—you may seek out a suitable place to open it yourself. You only need to report the general location afterward.”

Zhong Lingdao explained the process carefully and took a Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch to hand to Lu Qiu: “This is a detailed map of the Spiritual Vein distribution in the Taiyue Mountain Range, marking the occupied areas and dangerous places to watch out for. It may be of help to you in selecting a site.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Sect Head!” Lu Qiu took the Jade Slip and thanked him again.

“No need to be polite. Junior Brother has just reached Foundation Establishment and is at a time for vigorous progress. I hope you Cultivate well, consolidate your Realm soon, and contribute to our sect.”

Zhong Lingdao gave a few words of encouragement and sat back behind the desk to continue handling affairs.

Lu Qiu tactfully took his leave.

Leaving the Discussion Hall, he did not immediately return to Xuan Kun Mountain. Instead, he stood in the plaza before the hall, gazing at the distant, mist-shrouded, and undulating peaks of the majestic Taiyue Mountain Range.

An Immortal Cave was the fundamental base where a Cultivator would Cultivate and operate for a long time.

A good Immortal Cave not only required abundant Spiritual Qi but ideally some special geographical advantages, such as being near an earth fire vein for Artifact Refining and Alchemy, or having a cold spring or secluded pond for nurturing certain spirit plants, or having treacherous terrain that was easy to defend and hard to attack, and so on.

Lu Qiu's primary target, naturally, was that 'spirit eye spring' that Han Li had accidentally discovered in the original story.

A spirit eye spring was a rare object formed by the convergence of heaven and earth Spiritual Vein nodes where Spiritual Qi liquefied.

Cultivating near it, the concentration of Spiritual Qi far exceeded that of ordinary Spiritual Vein lands, and it could further nourish the Physical Body and Divine Soul, providing immense benefits to cultivation. It was a top-tier site for an Immortal Cave that could be sought but not easily found.

But he did not know the specific location of that spirit eye spring. The original story only mentioned that Han Li had discovered it by chance and did not describe its location in detail.

“It seems I'll have to rely on my Golden Finger,” Lu Qiu thought to himself.

His intelligence Opportunity System could detect Opportunity information within a certain range.

As his cultivation rose to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the detection range should have expanded accordingly.

He would take this chance to seek a suitable location while testing the new changes to his Golden Finger.

With this in mind, Lu Qiu did not delay. He first went to Xuan Kun Mountain and packed up all the items he needed to take from his small courtyard, such as the Lesser Four Symbols Guardian Array, common Medicinal Pills, and the yet-to-hatch Poison Fire Ant eggs, putting them all into his Storage Pouch and gray spatial bead.

Then, he piloted a Green Flying Shuttle Magical Artifact he had obtained from a Spirit Beast Mountain Disciple—this item's flight speed was not slow and consumed little magical power, making it suitable for long-distance travel and searching—leaving the range of the Yellow Maple Valley mountain gate and heading deep into the Taiyue Mountain Range.

Deep in the mountain range, ancient trees reached the sky, strange peaks stood in clusters, and amidst the swirling mists, the roars of Yao Beasts and the clear cries of spiritual birds could be heard from time to time.

Lu Qiu did not go deep into dangerous areas, mainly circling the outer and middle zones.

Every time he flew a certain distance and felt the surroundings were quiet and the Spiritual Qi was acceptable, he would land, set up a simple Mist Obscuring Eyes Formation and Lesser Golden Light Formation, and sit cross-legged to meditate. This served as both rest and recovery, while he waited for the daily information to refresh to see if there were any noteworthy opportunities nearby.

In this way, time flickered by, and seven days passed.

During these seven days, he explored more than a dozen possible locations, seeing many valleys and streams with beautiful scenery and acceptable Spiritual Qi, but they were merely 'acceptable,' far from meeting his expectations for his future Immortal Cave.

Through these few days of testing, he also further understood the rule changes of his Golden Finger after reaching Foundation Establishment.

First, the detection range had indeed increased significantly, expanding from the original radius of several li to a radius of twenty li!

It almost covered the area of a small mountain range, greatly increasing efficiency.

Secondly, the Rank classification of Opportunity information was indeed directly linked to his cultivation Realm.

When he was in the Qi Refinement Stage, white information mostly corresponded to ordinary opportunities of the Qi Refinement Stage, silver corresponded to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and gold corresponded to the Golden Core Stage or higher.

Now that he was a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, the range covered by white information included most ordinary opportunities of the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment Stages.

silver information mainly corresponded to opportunities at the Core Formation Stage level, or certain treasures that were extremely precious and special even for the Foundation Establishment Stage.

gold intelligence was at least at the Nascent Soul Stage level, or involved deeper secrets and legacies.

This change made Lu Qiu's judgment of an Opportunity's value more intuitive.

One morning, Lu Qiu was meditating in a quiet valley surrounded by mountains on three sides with a clear stream running through it.

After the daily information refreshed, he immediately checked it:

【white information: Ten li to the northeast, inside a cliff crack, is hidden the Storage Pouch of a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator who fell many years ago, containing several hundred Spirit Stones and several low-grade Magical Artifacts.】

【white information: Eleven li to the west, deep in the roots of a thousand-year-old banyan tree, grows a five-hundred-year-old 'Earth Vein Ganoderma,' its location hidden and covered by a weak natural illusion Formation.】

【silver information: Five li to the southeast, inside an unnamed hillside, due to geological changes and the coincidental intersection of Spiritual Veins, a 'spirit eye spring' has naturally formed. The spring opening is small, the Spiritual Qi is pure, and it has not yet been occupied by a Cultivator or powerful Yao Beast.】

A sharp light suddenly flashed in Lu Qiu's eyes!

spirit eye spring!

He had finally rolled it!

And it was just five li to the southeast, inside an unnamed hillside!

For these seven days, he had constantly moved his position and changed the center of his detection, and finally, at this moment, he had captured this spirit eye spring!

At the same time, he also verified his previous speculation.

A spirit eye spring was absolutely a top-tier cultivation treasure land for a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator. Its value far exceeded ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage opportunities, so it was perfectly reasonable for the System to rate it as 'silver,' corresponding to the Golden Core Stage level.

“This is the place!”

Lu Qiu was excited and no longer hesitated at all.

He quickly withdrew the Formations, boarded his Green Flying Shuttle, and sped off in the direction indicated by the information.