Spirit Land

"What a spirit land!"

"Who would've thought there was a spirit land hidden in the Cenji Mountains of North Qi? Could it be because it lies so close to the Ghost Mist?"

"This is no small matter. If the spirit land has been here all along, we should move some of our family's elite here to cultivate!"

After the two Su and He men stepped onto the island, they each circulated their cultivation arts and breathed in the spiritual energy. Before long, they cried out in astonishment.

The Fourth Realm was known as a lower realm because the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was naturally thin, and it was also impure and mixed.

This left the Seven Great Families deeply frustrated.

Rich, pure spiritual energy was an indispensable resource for all sects and factions, and a fundamental requirement for founding one.

There wasn't another place in the entire Fourth Realm like this Lake Heart Island, where the spiritual energy was so pure.

The fractured lands where they lived were more expansive than the territory of North Qi, and their spiritual energy was somewhat richer, too.

But the spiritual energy in those places was mixed with all kinds of impurities and filth, which they had to cleanse and purify after absorbing it.

They were so determined to send their children to the Upper Realm because they knew that sects like Red Mountain, the Galaxy Alliance, and the Blood Moon were all built on spirit lands rich in pure spiritual energy.

Cultivating in such places would double their results with half the effort, and their cultivation would advance far faster than it could in a lower realm.

Who would have thought that in the barren Cenji Mountains, so close to the Extreme North Boundary Wall, there would be a spirit land?

Watching everyone stare as though they'd discovered a new continent, Pang Jian couldn't help but look bewildered. "What's a spirit land?"

"Cultivators in the Upper Realm divide certain wondrous places in the world into spirit lands, forbidden lands, and divine lands."

Luo Hongyan noticed Pang Jian's confusion and casually explained, "A spirit land is like this island beneath our feet. Its spiritual energy is pure, allowing rare flowers and herbs to grow, and there's a chance it may form pure spirit stones. Also, beasts that live in spirit lands are far more likely to transform into spirit beasts and awaken extraordinary intelligence."

"Forbidden lands are different."

"Forbidden lands are suffused with polluted, alien energy, often in greater abundance than spiritual energy. In such places, ordinary cultivators who try to take in spiritual energy for cultivation end up losing more than they gain. Most of their time and effort goes toward cleansing the pollution, leaving them barely able to gather any spiritual energy."

"Cultivating in a forbidden land also makes it easy to go mad and suffer cultivation deviation, with enormous risks."

"Likewise, the plants and beasts in forbidden lands are all extremely dangerous, and bloodthirsty by nature."

"As for divine lands..."

As she brought them up, the people from the Su and He families also turned to stare at her, dazed.

They, too, had heard for the first time that in addition to spirit lands and forbidden lands, there was also such a thing as a divine land among the so-called paradises of the world.

Luo Hongyan raised her head to gaze at the murky sky, her eyes seeming to pierce through layer upon layer of cloud and reach the Upper Realm above the Upper Realm. She said quietly, "If you're fortunate enough to cultivate in the Second Realm one day, someone should tell you what a divine land is."

"The Second Realm?"

Su Meng stuck out her tongue and said with longing, "I've heard of the Second Realm, but I might not get that chance. Cultivating in the Third Realm is already my dream."

"It's good to have a dream."

Luo Hongyan smiled, then said to Pang Jian, "You don't know how to pick the rare flowers and herbs here, so don't touch them for now. Once we've finished exploring this island, if we're still alive, I can teach you how to harvest them and trade them for spirit stones."

Only then did Su Meng notice the flowers and herbs growing all around them. She stared in surprise. "These flowers and herbs can be traded for spirit stones?"

At once, Su Yuntian and He Rong told their subordinates who had come ashore not to touch the plants. Then they carefully examined them.

Their eyes soon lit up.

This was their first time in a spirit land. They had only heard that such places held rare flowers and herbs, and now, as they searched, they found quite a few precious specimens.

"The Heavenly Spirit Pagoda's landing site should have someone controlling it."

Luo Hongyan paid them no mind. She kept her eyes on the low hill at the island's center, frowning. "No matter where he was before, when he saw the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda suddenly fall, he would have gone to investigate."

Her words snapped everyone out of their excitement at discovering the spirit land.

Whoever could control the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda and search souls from within it was certainly a dangerous opponent. They had to proceed with caution.

"Most of the Yin Spirit Temple cultivators died at the southernmost end of the Cenji Mountains, yet the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda is all the way in the north." Pang Jian frowned. He didn't pick any of the bright flowers, instead gripping the Dragon-Patterned Spear and slowly moving forward. "Those two places are so far apart."

"Before we came in, the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda must have been sweeping through the Cenji Mountains with the Yin Spirit Temple's people inside. With an artifact like that, it wouldn't take long to circle the entire range." Luo Hongyan followed him, speaking as she walked. "The Heavenly Spirit Pagoda may have flown to that gorge, or somewhere nearby. The person aboard the pagoda got down to look for something and died there by accident. The formations made of stacked stones in the gorge were already strange. They must have attracted the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda."

"That's possible," Pang Jian said.

As they talked, they headed toward the low hill without paying any attention to the Su and He families.

Flowers and herbs grew everywhere along the way. The emerald leaves of the trees filled the air with a fresh vitality that calmed Pang Jian's mind and gave him a strange sense of peace.

Living and cultivating in a place like this would be far more effective than arduous cultivation elsewhere, even without a single spirit stone.

No wonder the cultivation prodigies of the Seven Great Families all dreamed of being chosen by a sect from the Upper Realm and taken to cultivate in the Third Realm.

Pang Jian thought to himself.

As they climbed the hill, they encountered no one and saw neither bones nor beasts.

The little island in the middle of the lake was beautiful and harmonious everywhere he looked, but Pang Jian remained cautious.

He believed that if the Blackwater Pool had a giant serpent and Insect Valley had a gigantic beehive, then this Lake Heart Island, which his father had listed as a forbidden area, must have a terrifying side as well.

No matter how beautiful it looked now, Pang Jian felt that danger lurked beneath the surface. It simply hadn't revealed itself yet.

Behind them was Su Meng, who had left her family's group. The little girl was quite bold. Ignoring her father's attempts to stop her, she followed the two of them in silence.

She didn't say a word. As she walked, her twin buns bobbed from side to side, and she watched them with eyes full of curiosity.

A short while later.

Among a dense cluster of flowers on the low hill in the middle of the lake, Pang Jian spotted the White Tower in the distance.

The Heavenly Spirit Pagoda was exceptionally sturdy. Though it had fallen suddenly, there was no obvious sign of damage.

Only when he drew closer did Pang Jian realize how tall this Heavenly Spirit Pagoda from the Yin Spirit Temple really was. Even from far away, he could feel a frigid aura continuously spilling out of it.

That aura was the Profound Yin Power he knew, only much denser.

The Heavenly Spirit Pagoda seemed to have been forged from the bones of some enormous creature. In addition to the icy Profound Yin Power, a thick Killing Intent swirled around it.

As he examined the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, Pang Jian faintly heard the clash of countless weapons and the wails of lonely ghosts.

"Don't go any closer."

Luo Hongyan suddenly spoke. Her gaze fixed on the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, her expression turning cold. "Luckily, it didn't fly up. If it had reached the sky above us, it could have forcibly pulled our souls out. The name Heavenly Spirit Pagoda actually means extracting a soul from someone's crown."

At her words, the people approaching behind them hurried to a stop.

Worried about his daughter, Su Yuntian gave up searching the island's outskirts and reluctantly came over to grab Su Meng.

"We haven't seen the four people who got onto the island first," He Rong said quietly.

"Strange. Why is there no one beside the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda? If the person controlling it saw it fall, shouldn't he have come to investigate?" Su Meng couldn't help asking.

"I'll go around and take a look."

Knowing how strange the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda was, Pang Jian gripped the Dragon-Patterned Spear tightly, circled around, and headed to the back of the White Tower.

That spot also happened to be the highest point of the low hill.

From there, with an open view, he could look down over every part of the island and see its full layout.

He looked toward the far end of the island, the spot closest to the range of mountains behind Wulan Lake. There, he saw someone dressed in silk sitting blankly beside a huge wellhead, as if quietly waiting for something.

"Shangguan Qin."

Squinting for a better look, Pang Jian was astonished to realize it was the woman from the Shangguan Family.

At Blackwater Pool, he had spent most of his time submerged, unaware of what was happening outside.

Only later had he learned that Shangguan Qin had been rescued by the monster named Ouyang Duanhai and had also escaped the Dark Ghost's pursuit.

Now Shangguan Qin had strangely appeared on this Lake Heart Island, keeping watch over a well.

"She isn't the owner of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda. She doesn't have the ability to control this White Tower."

As Pang Jian stared in surprise, Luo Hongyan silently came up beside him and looked toward Shangguan Qin at the foot of the hill. "And that isn't really a well. It's the spot where the fourth Phoenix Bone pierced the ground."

Pang Jian took another careful look and saw that the well Shangguan Qin guarded had neither bricks nor stones around it.

It must have been a Phoenix Bone that fell from the sky and sank into the very bottom of Lake Heart Island, leaving a huge hole that looked like a well from afar.

Suddenly, he began to wonder whether Shangguan Qin had also obtained a drop of Phoenix Marrow.

"Mm!"

At that moment, Shangguan Qin at the foot of the hill finally saw the two of them. Like a startled bird, she hurriedly wrapped her clothes tightly around herself, then waved at them.

When the two looked her way, she repeatedly gestured for them to leave at once.

Her eyes were filled with terror. She didn't even dare make a sound, only using hand signals to urge them to hurry away.

The two had no idea what was going on.

Seeing them stay put, Shangguan Qin grew even more anxious and gestured again and again.

But she still didn't dare make a sound.

"There must be something near her. She's afraid that if she makes a sound, she'll alert it."

Luo Hongyan calmly figured out the reason and said quietly, "She doesn't dare come over. It seems she knows she can't get far. She's terrified of some presence."

"That thing must be down in the Pit Well!" Pang Jian said.

"You mean someone has dived down there and is searching for Phoenix Marrow?"

"Mm."

The two spoke in low voices, trying to piece together what was happening.

"That woman resents you because the Blood Moon's Eye of Imprint favored you. She wouldn't be kind enough to warn you. The Ning Family and the Shangguan Family have never gotten along, so she certainly doesn't like me either."

Luo Hongyan's gaze was cold as she analyzed the situation. "In theory, she should want both of us dead."

"She keeps urging us to leave because she thinks we're no match for that thing. It's also possible she thinks that if we're killed, it will grow stronger."

"Or she wants us to leave so we can bring back someone stronger."