Boundary Stone

After the three men left, Xu Yan and Qin Yiren did not rashly emerge. They remained hidden for half an hour, and only after confirming that those men had not doubled back did they slowly come out.

"If those people hadn't been hounding me all this time, I would have already gone deep into the Immortal Treasury," Qin Yiren said.

With her strength, the only reason she had only reached the middle section of the Immortal Treasury now was because of those cultivators' entanglement.

If they truly were Blood-Listening Tower cultivators, as Xu Yan had guessed, then this was indeed rather troublesome.

This sect roamed the eastern part of Cang Province, with no fixed base. Many within it were abandoned disciples from the major sects, while others were cultivators who licked blood from their blades. As long as the spiritual wealth offered was sufficient, they were willing to do anything.

Xu Yan's expression was grave. "Let's go. We need to reach Spirit-Sealing City quickly and make further plans there."

"Alright!"

Outside the city was far too dangerous. Since divine abilities could not be used within Spirit-Sealing City, it counted as a place of respite.

They did not linger and headed east at once.

Along the way, both of them remained taut with tension, not daring to relax in the slightest for fear that those cultivators might have set an ambush on the road.

Two days later, they finally caught sight of the outline of the second Spirit-Sealing City.

Compared to the Spirit-Sealing City in the first section of the Immortal Treasury, this city was a full circle larger. Its walls were pitch-black and hundreds of zhang high, wreathed in clouds and mist like an ancient colossal beast crouching within the mountains.

When they were a hundred zhang from the city gate, Xu Yan stopped.

To be safe, he first sent out a Gold Whistle Talisman, asking Fang Che and the others to come receive him. Although Fang Che and the others were somewhat weaker in cultivation, they at least had strength in numbers.

Thick fog swirled around the enormous city gate, and cultivators occasionally flew into it on escape arts. Xu Yan looked with his Spirit Eye technique and saw that the mist was formed by the restrictions of Spirit-Sealing City. Divine sense could not penetrate it, so naturally, he was worried that someone might be lying in ambush in the shadows.

Before long, he spotted Fang Che, Yan Qihu, and the others at the distant gate.

There were nine independent cultivators in all, not one missing.

Both of them had also improved their cultivation. Fang Che was at the fourth level of Pulse Opening, while Yan Qihu had broken through the second spiritual vein bottleneck.

Within the Immortal Treasury, as long as one stayed alive, one could gain something. Setting aside fortuitous opportunities and spiritual lands, the very heavenly and earthly aura within the Immortal Treasury was several times denser than where they usually cultivated.

"Brother Xu!"

Yan Qihu rode the baleful wind over, his face brimming with delight. The others all greeted Xu Yan, but when they saw Qin Yiren beside him, their expressions froze.

When they learned of her cultivation, they were even more startled, their expressions turning somewhat constrained.

A direct descendant disciple of Tiandu Immortal City—her identity and background alone were enough to leave them gazing at her neck in admiration.

Qin Yiren did not conceal the fact that someone was hunting her down.

After hearing her out, the independent cultivators' faces all changed.

Yan Qihu sucked in a breath and said in astonishment, "Eighth level of Pulse Opening? If we ran into them, we wouldn't even be able to flee."

No wonder Qin Yiren, despite her high cultivation, had only reached the middle section now.

Xu Yan said solemnly, "Everyone, I may travel with Fellow Daoist Qin from here on. This matter is no small entanglement. If any of you are unwilling, Xu Yan will never force you."

Qin Yiren also cupped her hands toward them and said calmly, "This time, I have implicated you all. If anyone is willing to travel with me, Yiren will repay you with spiritual wealth. If you are unwilling, I will bear no grudge."

Qin Yiren had thought it through as well. Acting alone, she would likely face more peril than safety and have little chance of leaving the Immortal Treasury. Had she known this would happen, she should have listened to her father and brought some guards into the Immortal Treasury with her.

At those words, the independent cultivators wore differing expressions.

Both Xu Yan and Qin Yiren had received guidance from the Dharma King. Perhaps they might even become the Dharma King's true disciples in the future. Xu Yan had his reasons for traveling with her.

But they had neither kinship nor ties with Qin Yiren. There was no need for them to take such a risk.

Spiritual wealth was certainly tempting, but pursuers at the eighth level of Pulse Opening were no laughing matter.

After a moment of silence, one independent cultivator spoke first, looking troubled. "Brother Xu, Miss Qin, it is not that we are greedy for life and afraid of death. It is simply that our cultivation is too low. If we follow you, we fear we would only hold you back."

Once one person took the lead, a second followed.

"Exactly, Half-Immortal Xu. It was already sheer luck that we survived the journey to the middle section. If we get drawn into this kind of trouble again..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter. He felt embarrassed, after all; if Xu Yan had not discovered the Teleportation Array back then, it would have been difficult for them to reach the middle section as well.

Yan Qihu's face darkened, and he was about to say something when Fang Che pressed a hand to his shoulder.

Fang Che swept his gaze over the crowd and said evenly, "Everyone has their own aspirations. There is no need to force anyone. Those willing to stay may stay, and those willing to leave may leave. Do not harm our goodwill."

In the end, four of the nine independent cultivators chose to leave.

Xu Yan did not say much. He merely reminded them to be careful on the road, and that if they could leave the Immortal Treasury, they could meet again someday as fellow disciples of the Hundred Academies.

Of the five who remained, aside from Fang Che and Yan Qihu, there was also Yao Yu and two other independent cultivators. All were at the second level of Pulse Opening. One was named Zhou Yuan, a man of few words, while the other was named Zhao Chuan, honest and simple by nature, yet deeply loyal.

Seeing this, Qin Yiren cupped her hands. "Thank you, everyone. I will remember this favor."

She took several bottles of pills and dozens of high-grade spirit stones from her Qiankun Bag, distributing them among the five who had stayed.

"Please accept these as a token of thanks. Once we leave the Immortal Treasury, Yiren will reward you further."

Fang Che and the others could not refuse, so they had no choice but to accept.

After making preparations, the group held their magical artifacts and carefully headed toward Spirit-Sealing City.

Within the thick fog, the enormous Spirit-Sealing City exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Perhaps Xu Yan and the others had been overly cautious. They did not sense any Blood-Listening Tower cultivators, nor did they see those people anywhere after entering the city.

Within the ancient city, clamor rang out without end.

The Immortal Treasury had been open for nearly twenty days. Most cultivators had gathered in the Spirit-Sealing City of the middle section. Aside from a handful of exceptional prodigies, who were said to have already reached the latter half, everyone else was here.

The city was packed with people, and discussions buzzed everywhere.

The seven of them traveled together to the Ancient Dao Field at the center of the city. It spanned hundreds of zhang across, and the entire Dao Field was forged from Mystic Essence Black Stone, incomparably hard. Quite a few cultivators were testing their spells and divine abilities inside.

The most eye-catching thing there was a strange stone at the very center.

The stone was roughly thirty zhang tall and shaped like a pyramid, dazzlingly bright. Its four sides were smooth as mirrors.

The stone had nine tiers, each bearing names. The names did not appear to have been carved into it, but rather formed from mana gathering on its own. On the highest, ninth tier, one name stood out with striking clarity: Jiang Beixuan.

"Jiang Beixuan?" Qin Yiren raised a brow, seemingly lost in thought. "The Patriarch's lineage has finally produced a disciple of extraordinary talent."

The surname Jiang was the most taboo surname within the Taiyuan Divine Sect. Naturally, it was the Patriarch's surname.

The Patriarch's lineage had few descendants. For a long period of time, several generations of young disciples had possessed terribly poor cultivation aptitude, not even qualifying to cultivate in the Divine Land. There had even been talk within the sect that the Patriarch's talent was too great, draining all the fortune from his clan.

"What is this strange stone?" Xu Yan asked.

Fang Che tilted his head. "This is a Boundary Stone. It can be used to determine the grade of one's spiritual veins."

"But the Boundary Stone here is somewhat different. Not only can it determine the grade of spiritual veins, it can also leave behind names." Yan Qihu said, "This person's name was supposedly left here on the third day after the Immortal Treasury opened. To this day, no one's spiritual vein grade has surpassed his."

The grade of one's spiritual veins would rise along with one's Pulse Opening cultivation. Spiritual veins at the ninth level of Pulse Opening were naturally far stronger than those at the first level.

That Jiang Beixuan was evidently the one among the ninth-level Pulse Opening disciples with the highest-grade spiritual veins, the strongest talent and innate foundation.

Xu Yan followed Jiang Beixuan's name downward. At the eighth level of Pulse Opening was written, in plain view: Murong Ziyao.

This woman was from Nine Star Kui Island. Xu Yan frowned, remembering the cousin Huangfu Ziyang had mentioned before. Could it be her?

On the seventh tier was another familiar name: Tushan Jiuyuan.

"They are all prodigies from great clans. They have probably already reached the latter half of the Immortal Treasury. In a few more days, they may well have left the Immortal Treasury already," Yan Qihu said.

Qin Yiren seemed thoughtful. Then she stepped into the Dao Field, commanding Mystic Qi to howl around her. "I'll give it a try and see what grade my Extreme Yin Vein Manifestation is."