Obtaining Stone Bricks

"This matter... this junior happened to hear that Old Senior mention it. He seemed to know more of the inside story."

"The Old Senior you speak of—is he currently inside this hall?" Haotian's Gaze Like Lightning swept across the women below.

"Reporting to Immortal, that Old Senior... still remains in his True Form, growing within a secluded valley on the shaded side of the mountain. He has not undergone Form Transformation," the girl answered respectfully.

Haotian suddenly understood.

When he had summoned them with his Divine Sense earlier, he had only drawn over the Living Beings in the mountain that had already undergone Form Transformation. Since that so-called "Old Senior" had not transformed, he naturally had not been among them.

"Take This Seat to see him." Haotian rose to his feet, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority.

The girl nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Haotian then turned to the remaining women Inside the Hall and said indifferently, "Now that matters here are settled, you may choose for yourselves whether to stay or leave."

"If you wish to remain on Mount Wuyi and cultivate, you may continue as before."

"If your hearts are set on leaving, you may depart on your own. This Seat will not stop you."

With that, without waiting for the women to react, he swept his sleeve and, together with the Pink-skirted Young Girl, transformed into a Breeze that flew out of the palace.

Under the girl's guidance, the Two People arrived at a remote and secluded valley on the shaded side of Mount Wuyi, a place rarely visited by human feet.

The valley brimmed with spiritual energy, yet it was exceedingly barren and desolate, with no other Spiritual Beasts or spirit plants living there.

Only a strange Spirit Grass stood within it, a hundred zhang tall, its broad, thick leaves like mats and its entire body gleaming jade-green. It swayed gently in the breeze, giving off an ancient, mild spiritual charm of grass and wood.

"Immortal, this is the Old Senior I spoke of—" Before the girl could finish, a faint radiance flickered around the hundred-zhang Spirit Grass, and its thick stem actually bent like a human body.

Then an aged and respectful ripple of Divine Sense emerged from within it. "This junior greets Immortal."

"Not knowing that Immortal would grace us with your presence, I failed to welcome you from afar. I beg Immortal's forgiveness."

Haotian looked at the Spirit Grass and asked doubtfully, "You know This Seat?"

The Spirit Grass answered respectfully, "I would not dare deceive Immortal."

"When Immortal first arrived at Mount Wuyi in years past, this junior had already developed Spiritual Intelligence and was able to sense Immortal's supreme Dao resonance. That is why I recognize you."

"At that time, many spiritual objects within the mountain were nourished by Immortal's Aura. This junior was one of them."

Haotian nodded slightly.

Back then, he had indeed sensed that quite a few spiritual objects on Mount Wuyi had only just developed Spiritual Intelligence. But their years were still too few and their opportunities had yet to arrive, so he had not deliberately enlighten them or pay them any heed.

"This Junior told me there is some 'relic of the Former Mountain Lord' in the mountain. Do you know what it is?" Haotian pointed at the Pink-skirted Young Girl beside him and asked the Spirit Grass.

The Spirit Grass's broad leaves stirred without wind, as though organizing its thoughts. Then it explained through Divine Sense, "Reporting to Immortal, this junior knows."

"The 'relic' this Junior spoke of is, in truth, something Immortal left behind in years past."

"After that Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix occupied this mountain, it declared that the Former Master's Aura had been extinguished and that you had likely fallen from the Dao. Most of the Living Beings in the mountain believed its words."

"To avoid stirring up further trouble, this junior could only follow its intent and call it a 'relic.' I hope Immortal will not take offense." At this point, the Spirit Grass's Divine Sense carried a trace of caution.

Haotian waved his hand unconcernedly. "No matter. Just tell me—where is this item now?"

Hearing that Haotian had no intention of blaming it, the Spirit Grass seemed to have a weight lifted from its heart and hurriedly said, "That item... lies beneath the former site where Immortal subdued that mountain-guarding divine spirit."

A mountain-guarding divine spirit? Haotian's curiosity deepened further.

He nodded and said no more.

After telling the Spirit Grass and the girl, "Wait here," Haotian took a single step, and his figure faded from where he stood.

The next moment, he had appeared in the heart of that fierce battle from years ago.

The mountain terrain here remained the same, but the traces of that battle had long since been smoothed away by time and nature.

Haotian stood still for a moment. His Divine Sense spread out like the finest, most precise net, carefully scanning every inch of earth and every wisp of Spiritual Aura.

In only a short while, his gaze sharpened as he locked onto an exceedingly obscure remnant of an array fluctuation deep underground, slightly different from the surrounding Earth Veins.

"Buzz..."

With an almost inaudible hum, an earthen-yellow radiance shot up from below the ground and was seized by Haotian with a raised hand.

The radiance faded, revealing an object: a Stone Slab Fragment the size of a palm, neither metal nor stone, yet extraordinarily heavy.

Mysterious Patterns had naturally formed upon it, and it now gave off a faint pale-yellow glow that subtly resonated with the Earth Veins of Mount Wuyi.

Haotian held it in his palm and sent his Divine Sense deep inside to investigate. In an instant, he understood the entire chain of events.

When he had first entered Mount Wuyi years ago, he had encountered a strange creature naturally formed from the entire mountain's geographical momentum and the Spiritual Aura of its Earth Veins.

This Mountain and River Geography Beast had been born by relying on Mount Wuyi's terrain. So long as the mountain's main ranges remained unchanged and its Earth Veins were unbroken, it was nearly immortal and indestructible—extremely difficult to deal with.

At the time, Haotian had battled it bitterly for a long while. In the end, a flash of insight struck him, and he realized that it could not be subdued through brute force alone.

Amid the fierce battle, using the Imperial Great Dao as a guide, he had shifted one thread of the vast Dao laws that formed the Mountain and River Geography Beast's core—the geographical momentum of Mount Wuyi's boundless mountains and rivers.

It was precisely the deviation of that crucial thread of Dao law that created a trace of discord within the natural grand array sustaining the Mountain and River Geography Beast's existence. In the end, its entire body collapsed, and its Spiritual Aura returned to heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers.

And this Stone Slab Fragment in Haotian's hand was the sole portion left behind after the Mountain and River Geography Beast's body had scattered apart. It had not been completely assimilated by heaven and earth; instead, because it carried the special Dao law that had been "imbued" by Haotian's Great Dao, it had endured.

"...So that was it."

"Back then, that spirit beast scattered apart, and everything returned to heaven and earth. Only this piece, because its Dao laws had been altered by me, 'survived'..." Haotian idly turned the faintly warm stone slab in his hand. A flash of inspiration suddenly struck him, and a rather bold idea gradually took shape.

His figure flashed again, and he had returned to the valley where the Spirit Grass and the Pink-skirted Young Girl were.

With a wave of his hand, he sent the young girl back near the palace where she had been before. Only he and the hundred-zhang Spirit Grass remained in the valley.

Holding the stone slab, Haotian let his gaze fall upon the Spirit Grass's enormous body and said, "This Seat sees that your spirituality is abundant and your foundation profound, far surpassing that of ordinary plant spirits."

"The reason you are unable to undergo Form Transformation now... is likely because you are constrained by the innate shackles of your plant-based Dao body, unable to bear the heavy burden of a great Dao transformation."

The Spirit Grass's leaves drooped slightly, and a trace of gloom and helplessness seeped through its Divine Sense. "Immortal's insight is as brilliant as a torch."

"This junior has been troubled by this for a long time."

"It is as though I am separated by an indestructible barrier, forever unable to break through."

Haotian nodded slightly and held the stone slab out before the Spirit Grass. Slowly, he said, "This Seat has a fortuitous opportunity here that may help you shed your mortal shell and remake your foundation."

"But this method has never been attempted before, and it involves many perilous trials... I do not have complete confidence."

"If anything goes wrong during the process, at best, your spirituality will be greatly damaged and your Dao Path severed."

"At worst... your Divine Soul will be destroyed, and you will return to chaos."

"Even so... are you willing to give it a try?"

At his words, the Spirit Grass's enormous body suddenly shuddered. Every leaf stopped swaying, and it fell into a brief silence, as though fiercely weighing its choice.