A Qilin Leads the Way, the Earth Qi in the Primordial World's Central Region Really Is Dense!
In the outer perimeter of the Primordial World, mountains rise one after another, stretching to the edge of the Sea of Clouds. The mountains are imposing, and a pale yellow light occasionally emanates from between the rock layers. Even the wind blowing through the valleys carries a fresh, earthy scent.
Qi Yue rode on the clouds ahead, leaving earth-yellow patterns where his hooves landed. His speed was not slow, but he would occasionally look back to make sure that the giant dark gold whale, which covered more than 100,000 miles behind him, could pass through the mountains smoothly.
Lu Yuan swam with great ease. With a gentle flick of his giant fin, patches of clouds parted to the sides. His astonishingly long tail fin swept across the sky, even blocking out much of the sunlight from the mountains below. After carefully sensing the surroundings for a while, he suddenly realized that the Spiritual Qi here was quite different from that in the Eastern Sea and Southern Heaven.
"The Earth Spirit Qi here is quite abundant." Lu Yuan inhaled a wisp of free-flowing pale yellow essence, and his blood flowed slowly within his body. That power quickly gathered towards his bones, nourishing him without being hasty or impatient, much gentler than the Innate Lihuo.
Hearing the voice, Qi Yue turned around and laughed, "We've only reached the edge of the central region. The further we go in, the denser the earth's energy will become. However, in some places, the earth's veins intersect, and the Spirit Roots below are protected by the Qilin Clan. Let's stick to the outer cloud path, lest you accidentally tilt the mountain ridge."
"Don't worry about that. I'm used to walking at high altitudes now." Lu Yuan glanced down at the mountains that, in the eyes of ordinary creatures, towered into the clouds. They could barely touch his abdomen. If he were to fall, even the mountaintops would probably be crushed into the ground by his weight.
He felt a little emotional. When he first woke up, he was only thinking about finding food as soon as possible. Now, with a group of small creatures living on his back, he had to check the terrain before going anywhere. Being big was certainly convenient, but it also required more thought to handle daily tasks.
Lu Yuan's Divine Sense swept across his back. Several groups of small white beasts were moving around in the forest. Nourished by the Profound Water of the Eastern Sea, the streams were much wider than before. The blue unicorn spirit beast had also found a new grassland. Everything was peaceful, so he turned his attention back to the mountains and rivers in front of him.
"What's the name of the place we're going to?" Lu Yuan asked.
"Xuanhuang Ridge." Qi Yue pointed northwest with his hoof raised. "That's an ancient mountain range, where several earthen Earth Spirit Veins intertwine underground. Normally, their essence slowly dissipates outwards, condensing over time into Xuanhuang Deposited Sand. Our clan has always had people guarding and collecting it."
Lu Yuan immediately became interested. "Can Xuanhuang Deposited Sand be absorbed directly?"
Qi Yue explained, "It depends on how much your body can withstand. That stuff is more condensed than the Wu Earth Essence Qi I had you try before, especially the part deep within the earth's veins. Even the Qilin Clan themselves have to slowly refine it. Let's take a small amount to try first."
"Alright, let's take it slow then." Lu Yuan answered decisively. The remaining demonic flesh in his mouth was still slowly emitting Chaotic Essence. He didn't need to greedily eat a bite or two for the time being. Finding a stable source of earth elemental resources to absorb was the main purpose of his trip.
Hearing this, Qi Yue's concerns lessened somewhat. He had previously worried that Lu Yuan would open his mouth immediately upon smelling the earth's veins, but now it seemed that this Grand Void Sky Whale knew what to eat and what needed to be discussed first.
Along the way, he casually mentioned the situation of the Qilin Clan in the central region. The central region has many ley lines and abundant Spiritual Qi, so there are naturally many innate creatures that depend on the mountains and rivers. The Qilin Clan is responsible for guarding some of these important spiritual lands, but they also often have to deal with the troubles of disordered earth energy and the covetousness of ferocious beasts.
"So you guys are pretty busy too," Lu Yuan said after listening. "Eastern Sea is busy dealing with the Turbid Sha, Southern Heaven is busy managing the Fire Tide, and you guys here are busy watching over the earth's veins. Everyone has their own things to do."
Qi Yue couldn't help but chuckle, "The Primordial World is so vast, any clan that wants to manage its own territory well will have to put in some effort. Fortunately, most of these spiritual lands can slowly recover on their own, as long as we don't let others dig or attack them recklessly."
While passing through a deep valley, Lu Yuan saw several spirit beasts clad in stone armor searching for earth spirit herbs among the rock walls. They were frightened by the shadows cast from above and clung tightly to the mountainside until Qi Yue released a gentle Qilin aura, at which point they dared to peek out again.
Seeing this, Qi Yue took the opportunity to explain that many weak creatures in the central region depend on this kind of earth energy for survival. If the Spirit Vein is forcibly excavated, even the nearby springs and vegetation will often be damaged. Therefore, the Qilin Clan is extra careful when guarding resources.
After listening, Lu Yuan looked at his back again. Those white beasts and Spirit Plants also relied on a small amount of earth energy to live. He now understood Qi Yue's concerns even more. If someone came and dug through the Whale Back Ridge, he would naturally not be happy.
As they spoke, a mountain range stretching for tens of thousands of miles gradually came into view. Earthy yellow spiritual mist flowed slowly along the mountainside, and the surface of the rocks looked as if it were covered with a layer of fine gold sand. From a distance, the entire mountain range shone with a warm, dark yellow luster.
Lu Yuan's golden eyes immediately lit up. "Good heavens, this smell is much stronger than the one on the road."
Qi Yue immediately slowed down. "We're here. The outer edge of Xuanhuang Ridge is just below. Don't get too close yet. Several Spirit Veins here have just stabilized. Your body is too big. Let's greet the Pulse-Guarding Elders first."
Lu Yuan nodded slightly and deliberately retracted his giant fin. The air currents that had spread downwards with his swimming gradually subsided. He raised his body slightly to keep his tail fin away from the ridge below before releasing his Divine Sense to examine the yellowish-brown mountain.
The earth's energy inside Xuanhuang Ridge was indeed rich, with several dark yellow veins slowly extending underground. Some of the outer caves had already accumulated a faint golden sand. Lu Yuan only had to smell it to feel a very comfortable longing in his bones.
The patrolling Qilins on the mountain ridges didn't have it as easy as him. The first to notice the anomaly was a young Qilin with green horns. It was inspecting the exit of a Spirit Vein when it suddenly noticed that the sunlight had dimmed. Looking up, it saw that the Earth Vein Token in its hand almost fell into a crevice in the rock.
"This... how come there's a mountain in the sky?" The Blue-Horned Qilin's eyes widened, and then it discovered that the dark golden rock wall was still slowly undulating. Several other Qilins nearby heard the shout and looked up, their expressions quickly changing.
A Red-Maned Qilin first released its Divine Sense, probing along the dark golden scales for thousands of miles, but still could not find the edge. When it finally saw the pair of eyes in the sky that were like a golden sun, it was so frightened that it took two steps back, and the earth beneath its hooves trembled.
"Alive! That's a living divine beast!" the Red-Maned Qilin exclaimed in surprise. "With a body that big, if it lands, what will be left of our patrol valley?"
The surrounding Qilins were immediately thrown into chaos. Some prepared to send a message, while others hurriedly retreated. Only the Blue-Horned Qilin recognized Qi Yue, who was leading the way, and hurriedly shouted, "Elder Qi Yue! What exactly is going on?"
Qi Yue descended a short distance on a cloud of earth and said calmly, "Put away your Restraining Patterns. This is Fellow Daoist Lu Yuan the Grand Void Sky Whale. He came with me to Xuanhuang Ridge to discuss Cultivation Resources and is currently hovering high in the sky. Don't panic."
"The Grand Void Sky Whale?" The Blue-Horned Qilin's eyes widened instantly. "That's the senior Lu Yuan who took the Demon God's flesh and blood from the Beast Emperor Shen Ni?"
Qi Yue nodded, and the young Qilin all looked up at once. Their initial tension gradually turned into shock and curiosity. One of them even murmured, "The rumors say he's over 100,000 li long. I thought it was an exaggeration, but looking at him today, I can't even see the end of his tail!"
After realizing that the giant whale wouldn't land directly, a younger Qilin finally mustered up the courage to try using its Divine Sense to examine Lu Yuan's back. It discovered a valley covered by trees, where small animals were drinking water. Its expression immediately became even more interesting.
"Elder, why are there forests and rivers on his back?" the little Qilin couldn't help but ask. Qi Yue glanced back and smiled as he told it that Lu Yuan's body had become a real habitat. The young Qilins were all speechless, forgetting to continue tidying up their patrol formation.
Lu Yuan felt like laughing, but he didn't lower his head to scare them. He just hovered quietly above the clouds, letting Qi Yue explain the situation to the nearby patrols, while he continued to sense the Wu Earth Essence Qi that was constantly dissipating outwards.
Just as the young Qilin breathed a sigh of relief, an even heavier aura of the Great Luo suddenly rose from the depths of Xuanhuang Ridge. Large swaths of earth-yellow spiritual mist began to slowly gather, and a deep and clear voice came from within the mountain range. "Qi Yue, the distinguished guest you brought is truly astonishing."