Thousands of innate spiritual roots? Even Zhen Yuanzi, standing nearby, was shocked and looked at Shi Mo in disbelief.
How could so many innate spiritual roots grow together? How many innate spiritual roots could there be in the entire Primordial World? They were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!
"Brother Shi Mo, you're not joking with Brother Zhenyuan and me, are you?" Hong Yun asked suspiciously, furrowing his brow.
Shi Mo's eyes widened. "Brother Hong Yun, what are you saying? Why would I joke with you? If you don't believe me, just come with me and see for yourself!"
"That's true!" Hong Yun stroked his chin, then looked at Zhen Yuanzi beside him. "What do you say, Brother Zhen Yuanzi? Want to take a look together?"
"Sure! I'm curious to see what it looks like, with thousands of innate spiritual-root Peach Trees growing together," Zhen Yuanzi said with interest.
Soon, Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun left Longevity Mountain with Shi Mo and headed for West Kunlun.
"Brother Shi Mo, you fly way too slowly." Not long after they left Longevity Mountain, Hong Yun couldn't help criticizing him, then began offering pointers on his flying technique.
As the first cloud in the world to attain the Dao, Hong Yun had practically been born alongside the breeze. His insight into the Dao of Wind was profound, and his flying speed ranked among the best in the Primordial World.
Zhen Yuanzi's cultivation was deep, and he was knowledgeable in many fields. His attainments in the Dao of Earth and the Dao of Wood were especially profound, and he also had some insight into the Dao of Wind. Since he often discussed the Dao with Hong Yun, his flying technique wasn't much inferior to Hong Yun's.
Shi Mo had attained the Dao as a piece of jade, and was most skilled in the Dao of Earth. Apart from his impressive earth-escape technique, flying was certainly not his strong suit. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken him so long to fly to the Heavenly Court.
Fortunately, Longevity Mountain wasn't all that far from West Kunlun. The three flew onward, and after only a few dozen sunrises and sunsets, they neared the borders of West Kunlun.
"At last, I'm back." Feeling the familiar network of earth veins in this region, Shi Mo smiled with delight. "Brothers, traveling this way is too slow. I'll take you to my cave through the earth veins!"
"Traveling through the earth veins? That's a novel idea!" Hong Yun said with a laugh, instinctively glancing at Zhen Yuanzi beside him. Then he followed Shi Mo down to the earth below.
"Follow me!" Shi Mo called, then led Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi straight into the underground spiritual veins. Following the familiar network of earth veins, they hurried toward Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.
As they traveled through the underground spiritual veins, Hong Yun felt how quickly the three of them were moving and couldn't help exclaiming, "Brother Shi Mo, your earth-escape technique is actually faster than my flying technique?"
"I'm only borrowing the spiritual energy of the earth veins. And since I'm a spirit of earth who attained the Dao, I'm naturally like a fish in water down here, so I move quickly," Shi Mo replied casually with a smile.
Zhen Yuanzi, meanwhile, sensed the complex network of earth veins around them and was secretly astonished. "Brother Shi Mo is so familiar with this network of earth veins?"
In less than the time it took to finish a meal, Shi Mo had led Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi through the intricate network of earth veins to Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.
Inside Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cave, nestled in the belly of Eight Treasures Peak, light poured from the jade platform. Then Shi Mo and the others appeared beside it.
Hearing the steady dripping around them and seeing the spiritual energy of the earth veins turn into misty clouds, the entire cavern seemed immersed in spiritual liquid. In one corner, the liquefied spiritual energy had even formed a stream. Hong Yun's eyes widened.
"Brother Shi Mo, this is your cave? How did you find such a blessed cave-heaven? It's even better than Brother Zhen Yuanzi's Longevity Mountain!"
Zhen Yuanzi, standing nearby, was just as moved. He sensed the spiritual energy of the earth veins constantly surging and spilling from the rocks, and was shocked and incredulous.
"I was born and took form here!" Shi Mo's words left Hong Yun at a loss. Then Hong Yun couldn't help muttering, "Your fortune is even greater than Brother Zhen Yuanzi's!"
After glancing at Shi Mo and recovering from his shock, Zhen Yuanzi said, "Brother Shi Mo, the spiritual energy of the earth veins is so abundant here. You're the one who did this, aren't you?"
"Brother Zhen Yuanzi, you certainly have a keen eye." Shi Mo nodded with a smile. "I spent a great deal of effort connecting the earth-vein network across the vast area surrounding Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain. That's how I gathered such abundant spiritual energy from the earth veins."
"Brother Shi Mo, what a grand undertaking!" Zhen Yuanzi exclaimed, a glint flashing in his eyes. Then he smiled. "With spiritual energy from the earth veins surging so powerfully here, I'm tempted to transplant my Ginseng Fruit Tree over."
Shi Mo laughed as soon as he heard this. "Ha ha! If you're willing, Brother Zhen Yuanzi, you're more than welcome!"
"He'd never give it up!" Hong Yun said with a shake of his head and a laugh, then led the way out of the cave. When he saw the lush forests outside and the spiritual energy drifting down like misty rain, he couldn't help marveling again.
"What a blessed cave-heaven! Truly an impressive feat!" Zhen Yuanzi also sighed in admiration.
Hong Yun urged them, "Brother Shi Mo, didn't you transplant a Peach Tree? Where is it? Hurry up and take us to see it."
"Of course. Please follow me, Brothers." Shi Mo nodded with a smile and led Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi flying up Eight Treasures Peak toward its summit.
Along the way, seeing all kinds of lingzhi, immortal herbs, and spiritual fruits in the mountain forests of Eight Treasures Peak, Hong Yun kept exclaiming in envy and amazement.
At the summit, they saw the Flat Peach Mother Tree, its gnarled trunk now sprouting tender leaves. Shi Mo's eyes immediately lit up. It seemed all his earlier effort had paid off.
"What a fine Peach spiritual root!" With his Ginseng Fruit Tree and extensive knowledge of innate spiritual roots, Zhen Yuanzi recognized at a glance that this Flat Peach Mother Tree was no ordinary one.
"Such a spiritual root is in no way inferior to my Ginseng Fruit Tree. How could there be thousands of them?" Zhen Yuanzi wondered to himself.
Hong Yun stared at the Peach Tree with shining eyes, then furrowed his brow and asked, "Why has it only just sprouted? How long will it take to blossom and bear fruit?"
"It took me a lot of effort just to get it to grow. As for when it'll blossom and bear fruit, it's hard to say," Shi Mo replied, shaking his head slightly.
"Brother Shi Mo, planting the Flat Peach Mother Tree here to absorb the spiritual energy of the earth veins and nourish the entire mountain peak is quite an undertaking," Zhen Yuanzi soon realized.
"I didn't come here to look at a tree," Hong Yun said. "Brother Shi Mo, didn't you say the Peaches of Immortality in West Kunlun are nearly ripe? Hurry up and take Brother Zhen Yuanzi and me to the Kunlun Immortal Realm!"
"All right, let's go now!" Shi Mo said with a nod. He took Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi down into the main underground spiritual vein using his earth-escape technique, then quickly headed for the Kunlun Immortal Realm through the network of earth veins.
"We're here. It's right above us." After reaching the winding underground spiritual vein that resembled a dragon, Shi Mo said this and led Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi back to the surface. But when he looked around, he was dumbfounded.
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