The Strange Spiritual Well

Not long after, the three arrived at a relatively secluded open space in the town, with tree canopies like covers.

A giant, ancient locust tree with gnarled branches stood tall, its dense shade covering more than half the sky, bringing a rare coolness to the sweltering summer.

"Cousin, the marvelous place you mentioned is this old locust tree?"

Chen Minglang quickly walked under the tree, curiously reaching out to touch the rough texture of the trunk, and felt nothing special.

Chen Heng didn't answer directly but turned his gaze to the other side of the locust tree's roots.

There, an ancient well made of bluestone nestled quietly under the tree's shadow.

The well's opening was smooth, clearly showing the marks of years and countless ropes rubbing against it.

He walked over slowly.

"It's not the tree," Chen Heng stopped by the well, his voice calm, "It's this well."

Chen Minglang immediately leaned over the well's opening, peering down. "A well? What's so spec... Huh?"

Before he could finish, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face. "Strange, the bottom of this well... seems to have a... special aura, very faint, but it definitely feels like spiritual energy!"

A faint light also flickered in Chen Mingjing's originally calm eyes.

She didn't need to get closer; as a cultivator with a sixth-grade spiritual root, her spiritual sense was much sharper than Chen Minglang's.

"That's right," her clear, cold voice sounded, with a hint of imperceptible inquiry. "Deep in the well water, there is indeed a trace of spiritual energy, imperceptible but pure, diffusing."

She walked to the well and peered down into the deep water, seemingly trying to find the source of the spiritual energy.

This discovery surprised her. Why would an ancient well in a mortal place emit spiritual energy?

This was highly unusual.

Chen Heng nodded slightly, confirming their perception. "Precisely. When I was young and playing here, I just thought the well water was particularly sweet and refreshing. It wasn't until I began cultivating that I realized there was a trace of spiritual energy from heaven and earth in the water."

"Although it's extremely thin and not very useful for cultivators' practice, drinking it regularly should have a slight nourishing effect on the bodies of ordinary people, perhaps even extending their lifespan."

He recalled, "This well is said to have been dug at a location personally pointed out by that Heavenly Thunder Venerable when the town was founded. Everyone says the Venerable's actions were profound and unfathomable. Could this spiritual well also be a blessing he casually left behind?"

Chen Minglang found it even more curious upon hearing this. He lay by the well, wishing he could stick his head in. "A blessing left by Heavenly Thunder Venerable? Amazing! This spiritual energy... although it's pitifully little, it feels like it disappears after one breath, but having a spiritual well in a mortal town is already magical!"

He fiddled with the wooden pulley of the rope hanging down. "Our Chen family has been operating in Jade Spring Town for hundreds of years. It seems we have quite a few good things."

Chen Mingjing ignored Chen Minglang's exclamations, her brows furrowed slightly.

A woman's mind is always meticulous, and she considered deeper. "Cousin Mingheng, the spiritual aura of this well is weak. If it benefits mortals and harms none, then it's fine. It's just..."

Her tone carried a hint of solemnity. "If this trace of spiritual energy exists here without any formation to conceal or guide it, will it attract some low-level Yao Beasts with sharp senses or rogue cultivators with ill intentions over time?"

"Jade Spring Town is peaceful, but a hidden danger is still a hidden danger."

Chen Heng's expression also turned serious upon hearing this. Mingjing's words hit the nail on the head.

The spiritual energy of this well was too abnormal, and it seemed to be exposed like this.

He didn't understand the risks when he was young, but now, he felt a bit of lingering fear.

What if some Yao creatures or cultivators coveting this meager spiritual energy were lurking nearby...

Just as Chen Heng was about to answer Mingjing's doubts, he unconsciously cast his gaze back at the deep well water.

The well water reflected the sky, divided by the lush branches of the locust tree above, and the light was dim.

Amidst the hazy ripples and reflections, he vaguely saw that the stones at the bottom of the well did not seem entirely natural. One dark-colored stone with regular edges seemed to...

Seemed to be carved with some extremely faint, illegible patterns.

Chen Heng's heart skipped a beat! What was that?

When he played in the water as a child, he had looked at the bottom of the well countless times, yet he had never noticed carvings on the stones?

Or... did these patterns appear later?

This thought flashed like lightning, and an ominous premonition quietly arose.

At this moment, a sliver of light piercing through the gaps in the locust leaves happened to fall on that stone deep in the well water.

At that instant—the faint patterns, as if awakened, suddenly flowed with a barely perceptible, fleeting glimmer of light!

This sudden change was so fast that Chen Minglang didn't notice anything; he was still muttering about the amount of spiritual energy.

And Chen Mingjing, who was as sharp as ever, although her spiritual sense caught a fleeting energy fluctuation, it was too weak and rapid for her to be sure if it was an illusion. She just curiously focused her spiritual sense on the bottom of the well again.

Only Chen Heng, who was staring intently at the strange stone, had his pupils suddenly contract.

He had seen it clearly! There was something unusual at the bottom of the well!

Chen Heng pondered for a moment and then carefully probed the ancient well again, but he didn't detect any danger.

"I'll go down the well to investigate. You two wait for me on the bank."

"Cousin Mingheng..."

Before Chen Mingjing could finish speaking, Chen Heng had already leaped down, cast a simple Water Repelling Incantation, and plunged straight into the well.

At this moment, Chen Minglang wanted to follow closely, but Chen Heng grabbed him and berated him, "Chen Minglang, what are you doing? Cousin's cultivation is higher than both of ours."

"I can't stop him from going down the well, but you're not going anywhere."

Seeing this, Chen Minglang had no choice but to give up and wait obediently by the well.

Below the well, at the bottom of the water.

Dark and deep, cool and piercing, with no stirred-up mud.

Chen Heng found nothing unusual, so he moved towards the strange stone he had just noticed.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it didn't look like a stone at all, but rather a magical artifact.

And so.

His true essence surged, and mana poured out, pulling it into his hand.

A cool, rough sensation of a teapot met his palm. Chen Heng brought it closer to his eyes to examine it carefully.

The well water was dim, and with only the faint light filtering down from the well's opening, the surface of the object was indeed covered in deep and shallow scratches and silt-filled crevices. Most of the marks that seemed to be artifact patterns were blurry and intermittent.

It was as if the spiritual essence had been completely worn away by the long years and the scouring of flowing water, not a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation could be sensed. It was entirely like a common, ancient teapot that had been submerged at the bottom of the water for who knows how many years.

Did I misjudge it? Or... is it completely ruined?

Chen Heng mused inwardly, his brow furrowed.

The intense sense of strangeness brought by that fleeting light formed a stark contrast with the lifeless, spiritless mundane object in his hand, filling his heart with doubt.

He examined it again and again, but found no special features whatsoever.

No matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary object.