Grotto-heaven

Chapter 10: Blessed Land of Caves

Thousands of innate spiritual roots? Even Zhen Yuanzi, standing to the side, looked at Shi Mo with a sense of shock and disbelief.

How could so many innate spiritual roots grow together? How many innate spiritual roots could there even be in the entire Primordial World? They were absolutely as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!

"Brother Shi Mo, you aren't joking with me and Brother Zhen Yuan, are you?" Hongyun frowned, asking with suspicion.

Shi Mo widened his eyes: "Brother Hongyun, how can you say that? Why would I joke with you? If you don't believe me, why not just come with me and see for yourself?"

"That is true!" Hongyun stroked his chin, then looked at Zhen Yuanzi beside him: "What do you think, Brother Zhen Yuan? Shall we go take a look together?"

"Very well! I am also curious to see what kind of scene it is to have thousands of innate spiritual root Flat Peach Mother Trees growing together," Zhen Yuanzi said with interest.

Thus, Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun soon left Longevity Mountain with Shi Mo, heading toward West Kunlun.

"Brother Shi Mo, your flight speed is truly too slow." Not long after leaving Longevity Mountain, Hongyun, unable to resist complaining, began to offer pointers on flight techniques to Shi Mo.

As the first cloud to attain the Dao in the Primordial World, Hongyun was born accompanied by the breeze and had a profound understanding of the way of wind; his flight speed was among the best in the Primordial World.

Zhen Yuanzi possessed deep cultivation and a wide range of knowledge. He was even more accomplished in the ways of earth and wood, and he also had insights into the way of wind. Coupled with his frequent discussions on the Dao with Hongyun, his flight technique was not much inferior to Hongyun's.

As for Shi Mo, who had attained the Dao as a jade stone, he excelled in the way of earth. Aside from his mastery of earth-escape techniques, traveling by flight was simply not his forte; otherwise, it would not have taken him so long to fly to the Heavenly Court.

Fortunately, Longevity Mountain was not too far from West Kunlun. After dozens of sunrises and sunsets, the three of them approached the borders of West Kunlun.

"Finally back." Feeling the familiar network of earth veins in this region, Shi Mo revealed a joyful expression and smiled: "Two brothers, traveling like this is too slow. Let me take you through the earth veins to my cave dwelling first!"

"Traveling through the earth veins? That is novel!" Hongyun said with a smile, subconsciously glancing at Zhen Yuanzi before landing on the ground below with Shi Mo.

"Follow me!" After calling out, Shi Mo led Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi directly into the underground spiritual veins, then followed the familiar network of veins, rushing rapidly toward Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.

Within the underground spiritual veins, feeling the speed at which the three were traveling, Hongyun could not help but be surprised: "Brother Shi Mo, your earth-escape speed is actually faster than my flight technique?"

"It is merely borrowing the spiritual energy of the earth veins. Since I attained the Dao as an earth-elemental being, I am naturally like a fish in water, and my movement is extremely fast," Shi Mo said with a casual smile.

Zhen Yuanzi, on the side, felt the complex network of earth veins surrounding them and was secretly startled: "Brother Shi Mo is actually so familiar with the earth vein network here?"

In the time it took to eat a meal, while traveling through the complex network of earth veins, Shi Mo brought Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi to Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.

Inside the Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cave in the belly of Eight Treasures Peak, light surged from the jade platform, and the figures of the three appeared.

Listening to the dripping sounds around them and watching the spiritual energy of the earth veins transform into clouds and mist, the entire cave felt as if it were soaked in spiritual liquid. In the corners, the liquefied spiritual energy had even formed small streams. Hongyun could not help but widen his eyes:

"Brother Shi Mo, this is your cave dwelling? How did you find such a blessed land? It is even better than Brother Zhen Yuan's Longevity Mountain!"

Zhen Yuanzi was also moved, feeling the earth vein spiritual energy constantly boiling and overflowing from the stones, feeling shocked and disbelieving.

"I was born and took form right here!" Shi Mo's words left Hongyun speechless, and he could only mutter to himself: "This fortune is even deeper than Brother Zhen Yuan's!"

Zhen Yuanzi looked at Shi Mo, recovered from his shock, and said: "Brother Shi Mo, this dense spiritual energy of the earth veins here is your doing, isn't it?"

"Brother Zhen Yuan truly has a sharp eye," Shi Mo nodded slightly with a smile: "I exhausted my efforts to connect the network of earth veins in the vast area around Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain to gather such dense spiritual energy."

"Brother Shi Mo, what a grand undertaking!" Hearing this, a flash of light appeared in Zhen Yuanzi's eyes. He sighed in admiration and then smiled: "With such surging spiritual energy, even I am tempted to transplant the Ginseng Fruit Tree here."

Upon hearing this, Shi Mo laughed: "Haha, if Brother Zhen Yuan is willing, I would be very welcoming!"

"He wouldn't be willing to part with it!" Hongyun shook his head with a smile and walked out of the cave first. Upon seeing the lush mountain forest outside and the spiritual energy drifting like mist and rain, he could not help but sigh in admiration once more.

"What a blessed land; truly a brilliant method!" Zhen Yuanzi also sighed in admiration.

Hongyun urged him: "Brother Shi Mo, didn't you say you transplanted a Flat Peach tree? Where is it? Quickly take us to see it."

"Very well, two brothers, please follow me," Shi Mo nodded with a smile and led Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi up the Eight Treasures Peak toward the summit.

Along the way, looking at the various spiritual mushrooms, immortal herbs, and spiritual fruits in the forests of Eight Treasures Peak, Hongyun let out another series of sighs of admiration and envy.

Reaching the summit and seeing the Flat Peach Mother Tree with its gnarled trunk and fresh, tender branches, Shi Mo's eyes lit up. It seemed his previous hard work had not been in vain.

"What a fine Flat Peach spiritual root!" Possessing the Ginseng Fruit Tree and being quite familiar with innate spiritual roots, Zhen Yuanzi saw at a glance that this Flat Peach Mother Tree was extraordinary.

"Such a spiritual root is by no means inferior to my Ginseng Fruit Tree. How could there be thousands of them?" Zhen Yuanzi wondered to himself.

Hongyun, on the side, looked at the Flat Peach tree with bright eyes, then frowned and asked: "Why has it only just sprouted? When will it be able to bloom and bear fruit?"

"It was not easy for me to get it to grow. As for when it will bloom and bear fruit, it is hard to say," Shi Mo shook his head slightly.

"Brother Shi Mo, you are using this Flat Peach tree to absorb the spiritual energy of the earth veins to nourish the entire mountain. That is truly a grand gesture," Zhen Yuanzi soon discovered the clever use of Shi Mo planting the Flat Peach Mother Tree on the summit.

Hongyun said: "I didn't come here to look at trees. Brother Shi Mo, didn't you say the Flat Peaches in West Kunlun are almost ripe? Quickly take me and Brother Zhen Yuan to that Kunlun Immortal Realm!"

"Very well, let's go now!" Shi Mo nodded, led Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi into the main underground spiritual vein using earth-escape, and then quickly traveled toward the Kunlun Immortal Realm through the network of earth veins.

"We are here, it is right above." Having arrived in that underground spiritual vein that resembled a winding dragon, Shi Mo spoke as he led Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi out to the surface, but when he looked around, he was stunned.