Using the Chaos Pearl to obscure the heavenly secrets and confuse Yin Yang, Li Cha and Mo Ran moved like two invisible shadows, silently passing through layer upon layer of blockades until they finally reached the heart of the Western Land, where the fate of the Demonic Path converged—Mount Sumeru.
The mountain was majestic and vast, its entirety a dark, metallic gold. Its craggy slopes were steep, as though formed from countless swords piled together. Before they even approached, an incomparably sharp Geng Metal Qi capable of tearing apart the soul rushed toward them. Even Mo Ran, already at Peak Golden Immortal, felt a faint sting across his skin. He instinctively slowed his steps as dark radiance flowed around him, resisting the blade-like Geng Metal Qi.
"Master, the baleful aura here is intertwined with Geng Metal Qi. It is exceptionally dangerous. This should be Luohu's lair," Mo Ran transmitted through Spiritual Sense, his tone full of vigilance.
Li Cha nodded slightly, his deep gaze fixed upon the enormous mountain shrouded in faint blackish-red baleful mist. In his senses, that wisp of incomparably pure Geng Metal Origin was emanating from the depths of Mount Sumeru. The final metal-element Divine Stone had to be here.
However, knowing the Divine Stone was on Mount Sumeru and actually finding and obtaining it were entirely different matters. Mount Sumeru covered a vast area and had complex terrain, containing countless demon dens and cave abodes, along with layers upon layers of Demon Arrays and restrictions personally laid down by Luohu. It was difficult to precisely sense where the Divine Stone was hidden. More importantly, this was Luohu's territory. The slightest disturbance could alert that fearsome Demon Ancestor. Then they would face the full pursuit of the Western Demonic Path. Even with the Chaos Pearl in hand, it would be an enormous problem.
"We can't force our way in. We need to outsmart them." Li Cha's thoughts raced, and he quickly formed a plan. He needed a pair of eyes—no, countless pairs of eyes—to monitor all of Mount Sumeru for him and seize any opportunity where the Divine Stone might appear.
He signaled Mo Ran to move away from the main body of Mount Sumeru and stopped in a relatively concealed mountain hollow. Li Cha then sat cross-legged, sinking his Spiritual Sense into his body and communicating with his own origin. As the transformed form of the Innate Enlightenment Tea Tree, although his foundation had declined, nurturing some Spiritual Seeds containing his own Dao charm was no difficult task. Green light swirled around his fingertips, brimming with vitality, as tea tree seeds the size of grains of rice condensed one after another. They were jade-green, with fine Dao patterns on their surfaces.
Every one of these seeds contained a trace of his origin aura and the essence of the Tea Dao. If they could grow successfully, each could become a high-grade postnatal spiritual root—a Cloud Mist Spirit Tea Tree. Though they were far inferior to his true body, they possessed their own spiritual qualities. They could gather spiritual energy and emit a calming tea fragrance. More importantly, they shared a mysterious bloodline connection with Li Cha.
"Go. Watch over this land for me." Li Cha murmured softly and flicked his sleeve. Thousands of tea tree seeds glittering with green light flew silently toward the surroundings of Mount Sumeru like tiny streams of light, as though alive. They avoided the core areas thick with Demonic Energy and heavily guarded by restrictions, scattering across inconspicuous places such as the foot of the mountain, cracks in cliff faces, valleys, and woodland.
To help these seeds take root and sprout more quickly, Li Cha took out the Spiritual Spring stored within the Chaos Pearl and watered them one by one. It was not that he did not want to use spells; he simply did not dare act rashly behind enemy lines. He did not even dare let Mo Ran help, for fear Luohu might notice.
After finishing everything, Li Cha and Mo Ran hid at a concealed Earth Vein node far from Mount Sumeru and waited patiently. He closed his eyes and concentrated, linking his mind closely with the three thousand scattered Spiritual Seeds. Through them, blurry yet expansive "images" gradually formed in his mind. The flow of Demonic Energy around Mount Sumeru, the movements of low-level demonic creatures, the subtle changes in Earth Vein energy... all of it entered his perception. These three thousand Spiritual Tea Trees had become the eyes and ears he had planted in the Western Demon Domain.
That wait lasted twenty years.
Over those twenty years, through the "eyes" of the Spiritual Tea Trees, Li Cha clearly sensed the increasingly terrifying, heart-palpitating Sword Intent deep within Mount Sumeru. It was a sign that the Four Swords of Zhu Xian were nearing complete refinement!
He "saw" the souls and blood essence of countless beings from the three races, as well as some powerful Demonic Cultivators, forcibly extracted by the Demon Array and flowing into a place within the mountain's belly like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. That ferocious baleful aura grew ever more intense. The Sword Intent was so sharp that it seemed capable of severing all karma and laws in the world. Even space itself appeared unbearably fragile before those four streams of Sword Intent, showing faint signs of being erased by their edge.
Li Cha's mind trembled. The power of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian far exceeded his imagination. No wonder the Dao Ancestor Hongjun would need to join forces with several great powers to break them. He silently rejoiced that he had not acted rashly, while also gaining a few more "expectations" for the future Dao Ancestor. Hongjun, you schemer, this mess is all up to you.
On this day, four terrifying sword cries suddenly erupted from the depths of Mount Sumeru, piercing the heavens and shaking the entire Western Land! Zhu Xian, Lu Xian, Xian Xian, Jue Xian—the four swords were finally complete! Boundless baleful aura exploded like a tsunami, instantly blanketing the entire Western Realm. The sky was dyed dark red, all things withered, and the laws of the world wailed.
As the four swords reached completion and the ferocious baleful aura climbed to its peak, the Earth Vein in an inconspicuous corner of Mount Sumeru was compressed by that aura. A streak of incomparably pure, extremely sharp platinum light suddenly burst from the rock! A Divine Stone, silver like mercury and containing pure Geng Metal Qi, was forcibly "squeezed" out from the depths of the Earth Vein by the overwhelming baleful aura!
Essence Gold Stone! A Five Elements Divine Stone containing the innate Geng Metal Origin!
The instant it appeared, Li Cha sensed it through a nearby Spiritual Tea Tree and immediately locked onto its exact location!
"Now!"
A sharp glint burst from Li Cha's eyes. Without hesitation, he unleashed the divine ability he had created by combining his wood-element origin with his understanding of the Dao of space—Spirit Vine Boundless!
His body instantly became illusory. Following the bloodline connection between his true body and the Spiritual Tea Tree that had sensed the Essence Gold Stone, he ignored the distance between them. In the next instant, he appeared directly where the Essence Gold Stone had just emerged from the ground!
His timing was perfect to the finest degree! Li Cha moved like lightning and seized the Essence Gold Stone firmly in his hand! The Divine Stone was unimaginably heavy, and its sharp aura sliced against his palm with the clang of metal striking metal.
The Five Elements Divine Stones were finally complete!
His goal achieved, Li Cha did not linger. With a thought, he activated Spirit Vine Boundless once more, vanishing from the spot and returning to the mountain hollow where Mo Ran had been hidden.
However, at the instant he grasped the Essence Gold Stone and the collision between his magic power and the Divine Stone's aura produced that faint ripple, a terrifying Spiritual Sense—cold, violent, and filled with endless destructive will—instantly blanketed the entire Mount Sumeru region like a vast net!
Luohu! He had been discovered!
Li Cha could even sense a trace of shock and fury, along with chilling killing intent, within that Spiritual Sense!
"Go!" Li Cha reacted with lightning speed, giving Luohu no chance to lock onto him. With a sweep of his sleeve, he directly took the still-unresponsive Mo Ran into the Chaos Pearl. At the same time, Spirit Vine Boundless activated for the third time!
This time, he did not flee far away. Instead, he did the opposite, borrowing the coordinates of the nearest Spiritual Tea Tree to instantly return to the foot of Mount Sumeru, where the baleful aura was thickest and danger greatest! The darkest place was right beneath the lamp.
The moment he appeared, he immediately activated the Chaos Pearl with all his strength. His entire body transformed into a speck of dust and silently burrowed deep underground, completely concealing all of his aura, karma, and heavenly secrets. A world of Chaos existed within the Chaos Pearl, cutting off all methods of detection.
Almost the instant he vanished underground, a blurry figure tore through space and appeared where the Essence Gold Stone had just emerged. Luohu's Spiritual Sense swept violently through every inch of space. Baleful aura surged as it plowed over the land within a hundred miles again and again, reducing countless rocks and mountains to powder, yet it failed to find even the slightest trace of the intruder.
"Who is it?! Who dares steal a spiritual treasure from my territory?!" Luohu's furious roar echoed over Mount Sumeru, making countless demonic creatures tremble. He personally acted, his Demonic Thought spreading like spilled mercury as he searched the entire Western Realm back and forth several times, nearly turning over every inch of ground, yet he found nothing. The thief seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving behind no trace whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Li Cha, the one responsible for the Demon Ancestor's towering rage, sat safely within the Chaos Pearl.
Before him floated five Divine Stones: the Green Willow Stone, Kunlun Stone, Cold Dew Stone, Fire Bath Stone, and Essence Gold Stone. They radiated the brilliance of the Five Elements origins. The affairs outside had nothing to do with Li Cha. At this moment, only the Five Elements Divine Stones filled his eyes. Steadying his mind, he began to summon the Five Elements True Fire and, guided by supreme Dao charm, carefully began refining the five Divine Stones together, preparing to fuse them into one and forge the crucial vessel that would carry the fire of the Tea Dao—the Tea Furnace.
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