That Spirit Stone Mine was beyond his reach. Second True Disciple Lu Yibin was far too powerful, and he carried several Second-Order Magic Items.
More importantly, Lu Yibin's escape speed was no slower than his own. If Lu Yibin truly wanted to fight him, Wei Zhong would have a hard time getting away.
Wei Zhong understood that it was not because he had been insufficiently diligent in practicing the Soaring Cloud Art, but because its original rank was too low. It was merely a first-order spell.
The ghostlike footwork Lu Yibin had displayed was, by Wei Zhong's estimation, at least a second-order movement technique.
Its fundamental power far surpassed Wei Zhong's by an unknown margin, but its mastery was inferior to Wei Zhong's Soaring Cloud Art. That was why they had been evenly matched.
Ah, forget it. One cannot be greedy. The risk is too great. I am naturally steady and cautious; I cannot undertake such a risky thing.
Even if I successfully took the Azurewood Sect's Spirit Stone Mine by force, once the secret realm ended, every Rogue Cultivator would likely be forcibly detained by the Azurewood Sect. Wei Zhong had not forgotten that the passage into and out of the Qingchuan Secret Realm lay within the Azurewood Sect's mountain gate.
By then, I truly would have wings yet be unable to fly.
After settling his emotions, Wei Zhong began searching through the palace complex.
These palaces stood atop a Spirit Stone Mine. They had to be residences of immortals, more or less. There ought to be some good things here.
Yet after searching around, Wei Zhong finally realized that his expectations had been overly optimistic. Forget spiritual treasures—even the spiritual materials from the pavilions and towers had been stripped clean.
So it was not merely the erosion of time, but human destruction as well. Those Azurewood Sect fellows are far too ruthless. They tore their predecessors' cave residences to pieces.
But on second thought, rather than searching outside for uncertain spiritual herbs, it was better to tear down these places. At least these were spiritual materials. This trip into the secret realm would not be entirely fruitless.
Generation after generation, they had ravaged these immortal residences like this.
After a round of treasure hunting, Wei Zhong had convicted the Azurewood Sect of disrespecting their predecessors.
There was nothing to be found on the outskirts, so Wei Zhong headed toward the tall tower at the very center.
Earlier, he had feared Lu Yibin might make a return strike, which was why he had chosen to wander around the perimeter.
But by now, he was certain Lu Yibin would not come after him.
As he stepped onto the plaza before the tower, he discovered that even the floor tiles beneath his feet had been pried up, lying in a chaotic mess before the tower.
This is truly outrageous.
Approaching the tower, he found that the plaque above it was badly damaged. Half of it was missing, while the remaining half was in ruins, its words impossible to make out.
He entered through the shattered main doors at the center. Inside lay a vast hall, its circular interior covered in countless murals.
They depicted landscapes and human life; scenes of immortals and the smoke and fire of the mortal world.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter; sunrise and sunset—it was as though every affair beneath heaven had been painted there.
Wei Zhong slowly approached and ran his hand over the murals around him. Their texture was rough; they were made of ordinary stone, preserved only because they had been carved within this towering structure.
Some of the murals also bore obvious traces of deliberate damage. That was surely the Azurewood Sect's handiwork again.
At the center of the great hall stood an immensely high platform, several dozen zhang tall. Light from the dome above poured down upon it, scattering specks of starlight across the stone platform. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Just as he was about to fly up and see what lay atop it, Wei Zhong discovered upon using the Cloud Soaring Technique that his spell had become extraordinarily weak. At most, he could rise one zhang into the air.
The same was true when he used other spells. Above one zhang, their power rapidly faded away.
He then took out his magic sword, intending to fly on it, but the result was the same. At a height of one zhang, any further ascent met with tremendous resistance.
"Is this some kind of restriction that forbids flight and spells?"
Wei Zhong had heard in the markets that some secret realms contained all sorts of strange restrictions: prohibitions against flight, prohibitions against fighting, and even barriers that cut off spiritual energy.
He had not expected to encounter one during this trip into the secret realm.
Such restrictions could arise for all kinds of reasons. Some were formations laid down by great experts, while others were naturally formed by heaven and earth. To break free of their limits, one usually had to disrupt the balance of this region and cause the formation to fail.
That was difficult for one person to accomplish, and the consequences of destroying the restriction were unknown. That was probably why the Azurewood Sect had left this hall alone.
Since he could not fly, did he have no choice but to climb?
Looking at the platform overhead, gleaming with dazzling white light, Wei Zhong felt a bitter taste rise in his heart.
At such a height, if he fell, even if he did not die, he would be severely injured.
The Nourishing Body Art carried the word "nourishing" in its name, after all. The strength of his body was still incomparable to that of a Body Cultivator.
Fortunately, no one could attack him high in the air. Otherwise, if an enemy appeared, he would meet his bitter end on the spot.
No sooner said than done, Wei Zhong took a rope from his Storage Bag. It had been woven from special spiritual grass and was extraordinarily tough; no weapon short of a magic item could cut it.
He wrapped the rope around his waist, then searched for a protrusion on the platform to hook it onto.
Step by step, he climbed upward. But once he rose beyond one zhang, the rope hanging from the platform suddenly snapped.
Wei Zhong ran his hand over it, only to find himself completely uninjured.
Fine. So even this kind of external aid cannot be used.
Wei Zhong could only abandon the rope and climb upward with both hands and feet.
The higher he climbed, the greater the pressure upon his body. It felt as though he were carrying some heavy burden on his back, its weight increasing with every rise.
When he turned to look, there was nothing there.
This trial was far too torturous. Sweat streamed down Wei Zhong's forehead. Since crossing into this world, this was the first time he had felt so exhausted.
Immortals had spells of their own. Why would they need to rely on such brute force?
Yet this place completely prohibited spiritual power. It truly made Wei Zhong suffer.
When he reached a height of three zhang, Wei Zhong discovered a recess. Inside was a stone sword rack, as though it had once held some treasured sword, though it had long since been taken away.
The rack was sturdy, seemingly carved directly from the stone platform itself. Wei Zhong simply grabbed it with one hand and rested for a moment.
When he looked higher up, Wei Zhong's heart immediately sank. Could it be that all the treasures above had already been taken?
He continued onward. At six zhang, there was another recess, equally empty.
At nine zhang, twelve zhang...
All the way to the summit at thirty-six zhang, it was the same everywhere.
Wei Zhong could no longer resist the urge to curse aloud, but his exhausted body left him too drained to speak.
He could only roar inwardly, Azurewood Sect, you people truly do nothing human!
Furiously, he slapped the solid platform before him, but his limp arm could not muster much strength.
"Why does this Trial Ground not know how to replenish its rewards?"
Wei Zhong was so depressed that he nearly cried.
In the end, it became a bitter smile across his face. At last, he understood why no Azurewood Sect disciples had come to this palace.
As for Rogue Cultivators, they would likely have been killed by Lu Yibin the moment they approached the Spirit Stone Mine below.
"Forget it. This opportunity is not meant for me. I should leave now. Better to search for some spiritual herbs and prepare for Foundation Establishment."
Just as Wei Zhong was preparing to leave, something in his mind seemed to emit a flash of white light, while the sunlight shining down from above the tower also changed.
In an instant, the tower's interior became brilliantly illuminated, and the surrounding murals seemed to ripple beneath the light.
"What is happening?"
Before Wei Zhong could understand what had happened, his body left the platform and began floating in midair.
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