Chapter 9

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written inside.

The sky gradually darkened, but the group did not leave the Tranquil Ridge. Instead, they found a dry spot nearby and sat down in a circle. If it were just the seven of the Tuzhe group, they wouldn't dare stay here, but with Qin Lie, it was different. Qin Lie, who could single-handedly hunt numerous Shadow Lightning Carvers, gave them the confidence to stay, with no fear of more of those large birds coming.

They even hoped for new Shadow Lightning Carvers to appear so they could witness Qin Lie's prowess firsthand and see what kind of miraculous spiritual artifacts he possessed.

They started a fire, set up a simple tent, and gathered around, roasting a dozen or so wild rabbits and mountain chickens, drinking strong liquor, and laughing and chatting merrily.

Far from Ling Family Town and out of Medicine Mountain, Qin Lie no longer restrained himself, returning to his true self. His youthful love for fun quickly made him blend in with the seven of the Tuzhe group.

After a few drinks, everyone gradually relaxed. Qin Lie explained that he came from Ling Family Town and was named "Ling Lie," and that he was also here to hone his martial arts in the Extreme Cold Mountains.

Upon hearing that he was from Ling Family Town, Tuzhe became even more enthusiastic, repeatedly laughing and saying, "Haha, we're all on the same path!"

The other six also truly let down their guard.

The Extreme Cold Mountains stretched for a thousand miles, with numerous surrounding forces. The Nebula Pavilion was just one of them. If they encountered martial artists from hostile forces, they couldn't be overly close to Qin Lie.

Different forces often engaged in bloody battles over spirit mines, territories, and cultivation grounds, year after year, without end!

Some forces had blood feuds, and any encounter would end in a fight to the death, making it impossible for them to get along.

This area, although always under the control of the Nebula Pavilion, could not guarantee that martial artists from other forces wouldn't enter.

Therefore, as soon as they sat down, Tuzhe was most concerned about Qin Lie's identity. Once he knew Qin Lie was from Ling Family Town, he truly put his mind at ease.

The Nebula Pavilion was a Blue Stone-level martial force. Forces that could be rated at a certain level generally had a certain foundation and remarkable strength.

In the Spirit Realm, martial forces were ranked from Blue Stone, Black Iron, Red Copper, Silver, to Gold, each level being significantly stronger than the last, with a strict hierarchy. The strength difference between different levels was vast.

Blue Stone-level forces mostly had martial artists at the Body Tempering and Origin Opening stages, with very few at the Myriad Phenomena stage staying for long.

Generally, once someone broke through to the Myriad Phenomena stage, they would be favored by Black Iron-level forces and enter a new realm of martial arts.

Black Iron-level forces mostly had martial artists at the Myriad Phenomena and Concealed Abyss stages. Once someone broke through to the如意stage, they could quickly leave the Black Iron-level forces and join Red Copper-level forces, gaining more resources and faster improvement.

Similarly, Red Copper, Silver, and the legendary Gold-level forces corresponded to different stages of martial artists.

Red Copper-level forces mostly had martial artists at the如意and Fragmentation stages, while Silver-level forces were the realm of Nirvana and Immortal stages. The legendary Gold-level forces were the ultimate sanctuaries for the peak Void and Domain stages.

These different levels of martial forces generally had higher-level backers and lower-level dependents, forming a pyramid-like structure of mutual constraints and balances.

For example, the Nebula Pavilion depended on other forces and was constrained and directed by stronger forces, but it also had its own dependents. The Ling Family and other minor forces depended on it, were influenced and managed by it, and had to pay annual tributes.

After a satisfying meal and drink, the young people sat lazily, looking through the dense leaves at the night sky.

"We've been out for three months. If we still can't find the Star Iron, we'll have to go back," Tuzhe sighed. "Without the Star Iron, I can't forge that spirit artifact. Sigh..."

"Such things are a matter of luck. Others might find Star Iron nearby, but we might not. Star Iron is a Seventh Rank Ordinary-grade material for forging, quite rare. Those who found it might have mined it all, leaving nothing for us," Zhuo Qian said, taking a hearty swig from her wine bag, somewhat helplessly.

The strong liquor made her beautiful face flush slightly, her bright eyes a bit drowsy, adding a touch of allure, which made Kang Zhi and the other young men look at her with wandering eyes.

Perhaps because of the alcohol, Zhuo Qian paid no attention to her demeanor. The exquisite chest armor that wrapped her full bosom had a small tear, revealing a bit of white, smooth skin that made Kang Zhi and the others breathe heavily.

"Star Iron..." Qin Lie also took a drink, murmuring, "Beyond this Tranquil Ridge, about forty miles ahead, there's a valley with a pond. There might be Star Iron at the bottom of the pond."

"Who told you that?!" Tuzhe suddenly stood up, excited, "Is this true?"

"My grandfather told me, it should be correct, but I haven't been there, so I can't be 100% sure," Qin Lie said.

"Better than aimlessly searching!" Zhuo Qian's face lit up, throwing the wine bag to Qin Lie and saying boldly, "I'll treat you to a drink first. If we really find the Star Iron, Brother Tu won't let you down."

"Of course!" Tuzhe patted Qin Lie's shoulder hard, laughing, "Brother Lie is our lucky star!"

"Drink up, drink up!" Kang Zhi and the others cheered.

Qin Lie was surprised, holding the wine bag Zhuo Qian threw, looking at her teasing eyes, and smiled. He drank heartily, and faintly smelled a fragrance that wasn't from the wine, which made his heart flutter with anticipation.

Seeing the appreciative look on Qin Lie's face, Zhuo Qian couldn't help but giggle, her body swaying, "You little guy, you're quite interesting! Ha, when we find the Star Iron, I'll treat you to more drinks!"

"Sure," Qin Lie said casually.

...

As the night deepened, Tuzhe, Kang Zhi, and the others fell into a deep sleep, their snores gradually rising.

Qin Lie stayed by the campfire, pondering for a while, then took out a beast core and played with it in his hand.

The beast core of a first-stage Spirit Beast, the Shadow Lightning Carver, was a rhombus, about the size of a thumb, green and translucent, with faint currents flowing inside when examined closely.

Squinting, Qin Lie secretly activated the Heavenly Thunder Punishment, and a suction force surged from his palm!

"Zzzt!"

The fine currents inside the green beast core suddenly went wild, flowing into the meridians of his palm.

A slight tingling sensation spread from Qin Lie's palm, and he clearly felt the fine currents sliding down his arm, like a stream converging into his dantian spirit sea.

Qin Lie was delighted, his expression excited, a smile on his lips.

The dantian spirit sea, located in the abdomen, was the core where martial artists stored their spiritual energy, similar to the beast core of a spirit beast, the source of power.

Martial artists' cultivation involved absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gradually accumulating it in the dantian spirit sea, refining the body, and continuously expanding the dantian spirit sea's capacity to store more spiritual energy, giving martial artists greater power.

Over the years, Qin Lie had also accumulated a fair amount of spiritual energy. During the refinement of his body with the Nine Heavens Thunder Punishment, he had also opened his spirit sea.

However, the spiritual energy he had painstakingly accumulated was often exhausted in a single cultivation session, leaving his dantian spirit sea often in a depleted state, with no spiritual energy to use.

The thickness and purity of the spiritual energy in the spirit sea were a measure of a martial artist's realm. The simplest way for Qin Lie to determine his true realm was to first fill his spirit sea with spiritual energy and then use specialized realm-measuring stones to measure it, giving a rough estimate of his realm.

The accumulation of spiritual energy usually required the refinement of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, a process that could not be rushed. Of course, nothing was absolute, and in the wondrous world, there were some rare items that could greatly shorten the process of gathering and filling the spirit sea with spiritual energy.

Spirit stones, spirit crystals, spirit pills, spirit herbs, and suitable beast cores could all accelerate the process of gathering spiritual energy, greatly speeding up a martial artist's cultivation.

Qin Lie focused his mind, drawing the currents from the beast core in his palm, guiding them through his meridians, and gradually accumulating them in his dantian spirit sea, replenishing the depleted spirit sea...

"Snap!"

The energy was exhausted, and the beast core in his palm shattered, waking Qin Lie.

After feeling for a while, he found that the energy in one beast core was far from enough to fill his spirit sea.

The energy was lost to some extent during the transmission and conversion, and only about one-tenth to one-twentieth of the original energy actually entered the spirit sea and transformed into spiritual energy.

Looking up at the sky, he realized that it was gradually getting light.

"Absorbing the energy from the beast core takes so much time, and it's just from a first-stage spirit beast. With the sky getting light, I probably can't continue cultivating..."

After pondering for a moment, Qin Lie closed his eyes and took a short rest.

...

After a night of recovery, the next day, everyone was energetic.

"Ling Lie, you look great. You killed so many Shadow Lightning Carvers yesterday, and you've recovered so quickly. You've got some skills!" Kang Zhi called out.

Everyone looked closely and found that Qin Lie indeed had bright eyes and a vibrant aura.

Even the wounds on his skin from the Shadow Lightning Carvers had scabbed over, making it hard to believe he had been in a bloody battle the day before.

"Really?" Qin Lie smiled, "Maybe it's because I had a drink and slept well. You all look great too." He knew it was definitely because his depleted spirit sea had gained some spiritual energy.

"Let's go to the valley Qin Lie mentioned. I hope we can find the Star Iron. We're running out of time, and if we delay any longer, our families will start to worry," Tuzhe said impatiently.

"Yes, if we can't find it this time, we must return," Zhuo Qian nodded, combing her naturally curly long hair and smiling at Qin Lie, "It all depends on the accuracy of your information."

"I hope it's accurate too," Qin Lie frowned slightly, adding, "But that place isn't very peaceful. If we're unlucky and encounter something we shouldn't, it could be a big problem."

...