Essentials of the Nine Springs

In the afternoon, the members of the Cangli Tribe, temporarily residing at Jujube Plum Manor, bustled about, preparing for departure.

The battle at Immortal Burial Town had resulted in nearly a thousand casualties for the tribe, and countless Otherworldly Coffins were lost.

Although the Buddha's Crossing Bandits had retreated, there were many strange and unusual aspects to their actions. This matter was of great importance, and Cangli had to return to the tribe as quickly as possible to report the details to the elders. He also worried about further complications.

Gao Huan, suffering from a "Congenital Language Barrier," did not interact with anyone and boarded his carriage early.

He was quite talented linguistically and fluent in four foreign languages, so he wasn't worried about the communication challenges he would face alone. He was confident he could learn the language of this world in a short time.

Cangli, along with a group of tribal experts, walked out of the manor.

Walking alongside him were two tall, mysterious women wearing veils.

One of them possessed a Pure Immortal Body, her skin as radiant as jade. She was aloof and had not spoken a word since Cangli met her in the Departed Spirit Mist Domain.

The other woman was dressed in red, with a white bone wind chime tied to her waist. She was cheerful and extremely talkative.

They were "Lost Travelers" who had accidentally entered the mist domain, named Qi Shanshan and Cai Yutong, respectively.

Cangli had saved them.

Cangli was no stranger to beautiful women with Pure Immortal Bodies, but even among them, there were differences in beauty.

He would never forget the stunning impression Cai Yutong made on him when he first saw her. Having the opportunity for such a "Hero Saves the Beauty" scenario, this coffin retrieval mission, despite the danger, could also be seen as a "Blessing in Disguise."

"My sister and I plan to go to Jiu Li City first. If it's not on your way, we won't trouble the Young Tribe Leader..."

Before Qi Shanshan could finish, Cangli chuckled, "What a coincidence! I'm heading back to the Cangli Tribe, and then I have to go to Jiu Li City immediately. More importantly, to get to Jiu Li City, one must pass through the Cangli Tribe. You two ladies can be our guests at my tribe then."

"The Young Tribe Leader possesses extraordinary and refined demeanor, a sense of responsibility to help those in need, and is also warm and hospitable, treating people with sincerity. This young lady has never met such a First-Class Man before."

Qi Shanshan gracefully bowed and pulled Cai Yutong into the largest and most luxurious carriage at the front of the convoy.

When Gao Huan lifted the curtain and looked towards the front of the convoy, the two women had already boarded.

Cangli stood tall beside the carriage, adjusting his clothes. He felt a nervousness he hadn't experienced even when facing the peak experts of the Buddha's Crossing Bandits.

"We're about to depart. Where is that girl, Li Ling?" he asked.

A senior Martial Cultivator behind him replied, "The Fourth Miss said she had something urgent to attend to and told us not to wait for her."

"Something urgent? At Yao Pass, what could she possibly have to do?"

Cangli knew his sister's cultivation level and her usual strong will, so he didn't press further. He tried to appear as refined and gentle as possible before boarding his carriage.

Li Weiyi drove the carriage alone, whipping the horse as it sped along the firm dirt road beside the river.

The Beast Li Tribe retrieved coffins several times a year, and they traveled by land more often than by water. Therefore, this dirt road was built to be extremely wide, with ancient thousand-year-old willows and hundred-year-old giant mulberries planted on both sides.

Through the gaps between the rapidly receding tree trunks, one could see warships sailing on the wide waters of the Sui River. The ships were laden with Otherworldly Coffins, and Cangli Tribe members armed with swords and spears patrolled the decks closely.

It was clear that Cangli, leading a small contingent, was heading to the Beast Li Tribe to express his gratitude, hence he was ahead. The main body of the Cangli Tribe and the Otherworldly Coffins were traveling by water.

The carriage was ultimately a bit slow. By the time Li Weiyi could see Immortal Burial Town in the distance, the sky had darkened.

The sun had set, leaving only the fiery red sunset clouds on the horizon.

"Old Zhao said that the wilderness at night is extremely dangerous. Departed Spirits and Malevolent Demons become exceptionally active, and one might even encounter Fierce Insects and Cursed Monsters. We are still at least two to three hundred li from the Blood Sea. It might be best to stay a night in Immortal Burial Town."

Li Weiyi was unaware of the strange legends surrounding Immortal Burial Town and felt no reverence for it. However, the sheer number of deaths there yesterday had made him feel slightly uneasy.

Having already experienced battles and witnessed the terrifying Sea of Souls, he was not afraid even though there were bloodstains everywhere around the settlement.

All the corpses had been cleared away.

Only some small animals he had never seen before scurried through the grass, licking the blood from the soil.

Upon arriving at Immortal Burial Town, Li Weiyi dismounted and led his fine horse forward.

The sky grew even darker, and the sunset clouds had turned to a cold hue.

A faint mist, either slowly drifting out from the mountains and wilderness or rising from the roaring, cascading Dragon Slaying Pass waterfall, made Li Weiyi's vision increasingly hazy.

Li Weiyi turned his head back vigilantly, feeling as though something was following him.

Am I being paranoid? This place doesn't feel like a peaceful spot. I just hope no White Bone Demons or Evil Camel Bells pop out.

At the side of the dirt road by the town entrance stood many giant stone statues, stretching for several kilometers.

They had massive heads, some weighing tens of thousands of pounds, others even hundreds of thousands, all gazing in the same direction.

Li Weiyi thought they resembled the giant stone statues on Earth's Easter Island. He stopped and looked in the direction they were facing.

In the distance stood a majestic mountain peak, shaped like a pyramid. Birds circled there, and the clouds were low, appearing exceptionally grand and magnificent in the dark blue night sky.

Not only along the dirt road but also on the banks of the distant Sui River, there were countless giant stone statues.

"Immortal Burial Town... it's not possible that an immortal is actually buried here, is it?"

Li Weiyi chuckled to himself, leading his horse into the desolate market, which had been washed a dark red by blood. He didn't venture further in, finding a courtyard with relatively intact houses and walking straight in.

Before long, a bonfire was lit in the courtyard.

In the night sky surrounded by mountains, it was like a sudden lamp.

Li Weiyi transferred bags of food from the carriage into the space within the Evil Camel Bell.

Since opening the third spring eye, he could now activate the Evil Camel Bell even more powerfully.

"I wonder if I can summon that three to four-meter-tall camel. It feels like it could carry physical objects. Inside the bell, who knows, maybe an entire camel caravan is stored..."

"I should try again after my cultivation realm is higher."

After transferring all the food, Li Weiyi picked up the Evil Camel Bell. Its weight hadn't changed significantly, making him realize even more how extraordinary this item was.

To be able to master this item, one could imagine that Yu Tuo Nan must have been an incredibly formidable existence in life. But why wasn't he as famous as Zen Sea Observing Mist?

Sitting by the campfire, Li Weiyi took out a can of Golden Crow Blood and took a sip.

Suddenly, he realized that his rapid breakthrough might be entirely due to the Golden Crow Blood. A Golden Crow is no ordinary bird; how precious was its blood?

In this world, a martial cultivator with top-tier talent would only be able to open four springs after ten years of arduous cultivation.

Even if Zhao Zhizhuo exaggerated the difficulty, it shouldn't be that far off.

He was just a mortal, not a deformed race, nor a Pure Immortal Body. How could his cultivation speed be so fast?

It must be because of the Golden Crow Blood!

Li Weiyi finally understood everything and decided that when he returned to the Bronze Ship this time, he would definitely bring back more Golden Crow Blood. It would be best to also try and see if he could cut off several dozen catties of Golden Crow meat and Black Flood Dragon meat.

He took out the cultivation manual, Essentials of the Nine Springs, gifted by Cangli, and began to carefully read it.

The cultivation methods for the Spring Realm were not rare; as long as one had money, they could be bought in many places.

But the preciousness of Essentials of the Nine Springs lay in the unique understanding and insights of several martial powerhouses of the Jiu Li Tribe recorded within. By carefully pondering them, it could make it easier for young cultivators to open their spring eyes.

Cangli naturally knew that a mere Essentials of the Nine Springs could not repay his great kindness. He promised Li Weiyi that if he needed it in the future, he could provide him with cultivation methods beyond the Spring Realm.

Essentials of the Nine Springs was just a gift between friends, not related to repaying kindness or obligation.

"The Law is—generating internal spiritual power and transforming it into external Qi."

"The Dao, the Fruit, and Nirvana are the Law, present everywhere, filling the universe."

Li Weiyi read and pondered as he went.

He had learned some of the characters of this world from his Senior Disciple Sister. He could understand thirty to forty percent of it and had to combine it with the diagrams to comprehend it, which was even more obscure than reading Classical Chinese.

The general meaning of the manual was: the Law is the energy of heaven and earth, pervading all things in the world, but cultivators of lower realms cannot see or touch it.

The Law is like water in the soil.

A cultivator uses a breathing technique to draw the "Law" to their side, then opens a spring eye within their body, allowing the "Law" to pour into their body from the spring eye, becoming the power to transform the physical body and be used for oneself.

The stronger the breathing technique, the more "Law" can be drawn to one's side at the same realm. During intense consumption, the endurance is stronger, and one can even fight for a whole day without spiritual power depletion.

The more spring eyes opened, the tougher the physical body could be transformed, and naturally, the more spiritual power could be mobilized.

"The Jade Void Breathing Technique must be very strong. Even on the night I was chased by the Thousand-Headed Dragon Vine, it was only my physical strength that was exhausted, not my spiritual power."

Li Weiyi thought to himself, skipped the breathing technique recorded in Essentials of the Nine Springs, and directly looked at the meridian line diagrams that followed.

In the diagram pages, the left page was for males, and the right page was for females.

On the male and female portraits, there were dense, fine lines, white, red, silver, and gold. They extended from the nine major acupoints of the human body.

"The color and number of meridian lines inside each person are different?"

Li Weiyi felt that he didn't seem to need any meridian line diagrams. After opening a spring eye, he would casually explore it, and a dozen silver meridian lines would automatically appear.

Why would it be so troublesome?

He was more interested in the nine spring eyes mentioned in Essentials of the Nine Springs, wanting to know where they were located and how to open them.

The three spring eyes he had opened so far were all by accident, with no method at all.

If it weren't for the help of a rare and precious medicine like Golden Crow Blood, with his mortal and mediocre aptitude, being able to open even one spring now would have been a stroke of immense luck.