Trading the Stone Wall's Secret for Earth Vein Crystals (Please Recommend)

After breakfast, Wang Huhu waved her little hand goodbye to the old man.

"Let's go." Yang Xiao reached to pat Wang Huhu's head, but she dodged aside in a flash.

They had only taken a few steps when Wang Huhu suddenly stopped and looked at him, holding back a laugh.

"What is it?" Yang Xiao turned and asked, unsure why Wang Huhu was looking at him like that.

"You can't fly, can you?" Wang Huhu asked instead.

Yang Xiao paused. He had only just "learned" to fly through the air, and could rise thirty feet off the ground.

He shook his head helplessly. It seemed he was the only person on the mountain who couldn't fly.

Wang Huhu doubled over laughing. Only after a good long while did she stop, walk over, and float up to shoulder height. Patting his shoulder, she said, "Don't lose heart. Your talent's just a little poor, that's all. Sister Huhu will look after you from now on."

Yang Xiao glanced at her. Poor talent? His Qi Sea spanned a million li. He had merely started cultivating a little late. If he had cultivated since childhood, he would probably have surpassed most people on the mountain.

But Wang Huhu saw things differently. Taking his hand, she said, "Sister Huhu will take you flying."

An immense force hauled him into the sky as soon as she finished speaking. Wang Huhu flew along, pulling him effortlessly behind her, and for the first time he felt the power of the Sea Condensation Realm.

Yang Xiao landed on the mountaintop and glanced at Wang Huhu, whose face was filled with disbelief.

Thinking he had never flown before, Wang Huhu had deliberately treated him to some difficult maneuvers. But after experiencing Little Blue's roller-coaster ride before coming here, why would he fear Wang Huhu's watered-down version?

Four or five people had returned to the summit. Shen Laodao sat off to one side, apparently having returned long ago. Senior Brother Lei and Senior Sister Lei were there too. Seeing the pair return, they immediately rushed over and surrounded Wang Huhu.

Once Senior Brother Lei saw that Wang Huhu had returned safely, he flew into the sky and unleashed two streaks of lightning. Soon, Chen Wuyou and a group of disciples returned one after another.

Shen Laodao came over to Yang Xiao and whispered, "You came back so late, I thought the demonic beasts below the mountain had eaten you."

"There are demonic beasts below the mountain?" Yang Xiao's gaze sharpened. He felt he had discovered something extraordinary.

He recalled how, while he was heading up the mountain, a group of disciples had entered the forest and brought back many demonic beast corpses. But that had been on the front slope; he knew nothing about the rear slope.

"Obviously." Shen Laodao gave him a scornful look. "Last night, this humble monk fought a great demon of the Soul Seed Realm for three hundred rounds. In the end, this humble monk relied on his profound magical power to slay it below the mountain."

Yang Xiao recalled that morning. The old man was a mortal. If demonic beasts roamed below the mountain, he could not possibly have survived until now. There was only one possibility: something was unusual about him.

But the old man had shown them no ill will, so he was most likely an expert living in seclusion.

Yang Xiao kept the matter in mind. He would visit whenever he had an excuse—or even when he didn't—and see whether he could gain anything. With his unprecedented talent, perhaps the old man would take him as his final disciple or something.

Wang Huhu's return swept the gloom from everyone's faces. The outer disciples returned to the stone wall to study the Carefree Introductory Chapter.

Before leaving, Yang Xiao saw Wang Huhu lean close to Dongfang Mingyue's ear and say something. Dongfang Mingyue turned to look at him, nodded slightly, then led Wang Huhu toward the rear mountain.

"Yang Xiao." His master's voice reached his ears.

"Master." Yang Xiao turned and bowed.

Chen Wuyou also called back Shen Laodao, who was trying to slip away. "You are now personal disciples. There are some rules you should know.

"Only after becoming an Earth Master may you build your own residence."

"What about Heavenly Masters?" Shen Laodao asked.

"Heavenly Masters ask Earth Masters to build theirs. Of course, unless you have become a Heavenly Master, you aren't permitted to build a residence," Chen Wuyou told them.

He saw the disappointment in Shen Laodao's eyes. Having spent enough time with him, Chen Wuyou could guess a little of what he was thinking. He probably wanted to use Earth Master arts to squeeze money out of those young gentlemen.

After giving them that instruction, Chen Wuyou left. The two found an empty spot on the summit and built their houses.

Two houses rose beside the Scripture Pavilion. A stone house stood in front; opening its door, one would see the Scripture Pavilion straight ahead, Sect Master Chen Wuyou's house up to the right, and Shen Laodao's earthen house up to the left.

Yang Xiao walked toward the Scripture Pavilion and turned his right hand over, taking a black-and-white token from his Storage Ring. It was a personal disciple's token, which Senior Sister Lei Miaoyan had delivered specially the previous night.

He channeled magical power into it. A beam of black-and-white light shot toward the Scripture Pavilion doors, and they slowly opened.

Yang Xiao stepped inside and was startled by what he saw. He turned and walked back out, staring blankly at the blue-stone building, which covered a little over a hundred square meters.

The Scripture Pavilion was enormous. The first floor alone covered more than two hundred square meters, with over twenty shelves packed with books.

In a corner, he found the stairs to the second floor. Its layout matched the first, but all the books there concerned Heavenly Master arts.

He also saw stairs leading to the third floor, but when he tried to go up, a blue curtain of light blocked him.

Yang Xiao returned to the first floor and began browsing from the first row. The books fell into three categories.

The first consisted of spiritual arts, divided into supreme, high, middle, and low grades. These were cultivators' methods for fighting enemies, but he found only low- and middle-grade ones, with nothing higher.

The second introduced various mountains, waterways, terrains, and forbidden lands. He found Severed Dragon Valley among them, but its entry contained only a single line: it had existed since ancient times, and neither Immortals nor gods should enter.

The third covered various Earth Master methods, most of which used mountains and waterways to establish formations.

He spent seven days skimming the books on both floors, then selected three to take away.

One was an Earth Master art called Shrinking Earth to Inches, the spell Chen Wuyou had used when he first appeared. At a profound level, it allowed one to reach the ends of the earth with a single step and cross tens of millions of li with a thought.

One was the Nine Thunder Formation, which used celestial phenomena to establish a formation. With sufficiently profound cultivation, it could call down nine bolts of mortal lightning.

The last was the Azure Wolf Fist, a low-grade spiritual art. Its user could unleash Direwolf phantoms to attack enemies. The greater one's magical power, the more Direwolves one could produce. If one unleashed nine Direwolves, it could be considered a middle-grade spiritual art. It was quite suitable for him.

Yang Xiao found a secluded spot on the rear mountain and began with Shrinking Earth to Inches. Staying alive was a cultivator's foremost concern. Without a life, what was there left to cultivate?

Shrinking Earth to Inches emphasized connecting with the Earth Vein and using Earth Vein Qi to move.

Following the method in Shrinking Earth to Inches, Yang Xiao tried connecting to the Earth Vein with his magical power and vanished from his original spot.

Looking at where he now stood, he gave a bitter laugh. He had consumed a tenth of his magical power to move just half a meter.

He practiced for half a day, moving farther and farther: one meter, two meters, three meters.

As the sky darkened, Yang Xiao returned to his residence. The moment he opened the door, his nose twitched. A meaty fragrance drifted through the air, a very familiar one—the scent of demonic beast meat.

Following the aroma, he reached Shen Laodao's house. The door was open, so he went straight inside and found an old man and a little girl squatting before a pot, bowls and chopsticks in hand, practically drooling.

The old man was naturally Shen Laodao, and the little girl was Wang Huhu.

Yang Xiao silently took out a bowl and chopsticks, walked between them, and squatted down, gazing at the steaming pot.

Shen Laodao's eyes lit up when he saw him. "Why haven't I seen your Little Blue lately?"

Yang Xiao paused. He had been immersed in the Scripture Pavilion lately and hadn't noticed, but now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Little Blue in a long time either. The last time seemed to have been before Wang Huhu disappeared.

He shook his head. "I haven't seen Little Blue either."

Little Blue had been responsible for bringing him to the Carefree Sect. Yang Xiao assumed Little Blue had gone back.

A trace of disappointment flashed through Shen Laodao's eyes.

"By the way, why are you asking about Little Blue?" Yang Xiao asked. As far as he remembered, Shen Laodao had barely interacted with Little Blue.

Shen Laodao chuckled. "Well, we're out of demonic beast meat, so I wanted to borrow your Little Blue."

Yang Xiao glanced at him. Who would eat whom was still an open question. Little Blue's cultivation was profound, and in his opinion, no lower than Luo Kedi's. As for Dongfang Mingyue, they had never fought, so he couldn't tell.

"The meat's ready!" Wang Huhu cried beside them. She lifted the lid and plunged her chopsticks inside like the wind.

Shen Laodao was no slower, filling his own bowl right after her. By the time Yang Xiao reached in, only half a bowl remained.

Looking at the empty pot, Yang Xiao licked his lips. Beside him, Shen Laodao and Wang Huhu had eaten their fill and lay on the floor, burping.

He alone was still hungry.

He sat down where he was and waited for spiritual energy to surge from his belly. Two hours later, Yang Xiao opened his eyes. His magical power had reached two hundred and fifty li.

It seemed like a lot, but compared to his million-li Qi Sea, it was no more than a puddle.

He looked around the room. Shen Laodao sat cross-legged on the floor cultivating, while Wang Huhu was nowhere to be seen. She had probably gone home.

The day after Wang Huhu returned, she and Dongfang Mingyue had comprehended the Carefree Introductory Chapter together. Dongfang Mingyue had become an Earth Master, while Dongfang Mingyue had become a Heavenly Master.

Seven days later, thanks to Wang Huhu's tireless efforts, two houses somewhere between earthen and stone houses had been completed to the right of his room.

Just as he was about to return to his room, he saw Dongfang Mingyue coming from the rear mountain. She spotted him and nodded. Yang Xiao nodded back, then opened his door and went inside.

Pretty and elegant though the girl was, he still remembered how she had held a sword to his neck after Wang Huhu's mishap.

A girl like that was best admired from a distance. Whoever married her would probably suffer domestic violence every day.

Sitting on his bed, he looked into his Storage Ring. He had finished all his Qi-Gathering Pills before even climbing the mountain. The more he cultivated lately, the more he understood the importance of resources.

Yang Xiao lowered his head in thought. Gradually, a gleam rose in his eyes. He turned toward the rear mountain, and that gleam grew brighter and brighter.

The next morning, he rose before dawn, put on the black robe Butcher had bought him, tucked the Corpse-Binding Rope into his belt, and headed toward the stone wall on the rear mountain.

Before the wall, a group of young gentlemen still stood frowning. Luo Kedi was among them. Yang Xiao had originally thought he was with Dongfang Mingyue and Wang Huhu, but since the incident with the Five-Colored Peacock, their relationship had broken down.

Once, he had seen Luo Kedi greet Dongfang Mingyue, only for her to ignore him.

"Senior brothers." Yang Xiao wore a gentle smile.

The six turned toward him. Yang Xiao continued, "Would you like to know the stone wall's secret?"

Their eyes lit up. The one called Lin Haoxuan even stepped forward and clasped Yang Xiao's hand in his plump hands. "Please enlighten us, senior brother."

Yang Xiao forcefully pulled his hand free, raised his head, and sighed. "Cultivating these past two days has consumed far too many resources. Now my cultivation is advancing so slowly. It's been worrying me to death."

He glanced at Lin Haoxuan after speaking. The latter shuddered and, without another word, took out an ocher crystal and pressed it into his hand. "Senior brother, this is a small token of your junior brother's goodwill."

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up, and he put the ocher crystal away. This was good stuff. He had read about it on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion. Called an Earth Vein Crystal, it formed from the gathered spiritual energy of heaven and earth. A single Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystal could allow a reasonably talented cultivator to pass through the Qi Gathering Realm and enter the Sea Condensation Realm.

Moreover, only Earth Masters could find such things.

He looked at the others. His need for resources was immense; one Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystal could hardly satisfy his appetite.

These people all came from great Lineages and had plenty of good things on them.

Seeing this, the others took out Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals one after another.

There was only one exception: Luo Kedi.

Yang Xiao's lips curled slightly. How could he have come here unprepared?

With his hands behind his back, he paced before them. "The sect master has sealed the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion. Do you think the Carefree Scripture might be hidden inside?"

They all shuddered. What had they come here for? Cultivation? Ridiculous. Their elders were countless times stronger than Chen Wuyou. If not for the Carefree Scripture, why would they have crossed half of Great Zhou to become disciples here?

Lin Haoxuan gritted his teeth and took out another Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystal. "Senior brother, this is everything I own."

Yang Xiao gave him a long look. He had thought Lin Haoxuan was merely an ordinary rich fellow, but he was a top-tier rich fellow. Accepting the Earth Vein Crystal, Yang Xiao turned his gaze toward Luo Kedi.

By now, everyone understood his aim. But since Lin Haoxuan had given an extra crystal, they could hardly give less, so each offered another.

Yang Xiao gave Lin Haoxuan an approving look. Without him, he wouldn't have earned so much.

Seeing Luo Kedi's indecisive expression, Yang Xiao decided to add fuel to the fire.

Yang Xiao looked at them all. "Before I teach you the method, you must first swear a Heavenly Master Oath."

"A Heavenly Master Oath? The oath that gets you struck by heavenly lightning if you break it?" someone in the group exclaimed.

Yang Xiao nodded. He had read about the Heavenly Master Oath on the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

However, the book had only briefly described its uses and recorded no cultivation method. He had brought it up merely to frighten them.

And, incidentally, to cut off Luo Kedi's escape route.

Sure enough, Luo Kedi gave him a cold look upon hearing this, then tossed over two Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals.

Yang Xiao caught them and put them into his Storage Ring. "Not enough. You need to give me ten."

"Don't push your luck." Luo Kedi stared at him with chilling eyes.

Yang Xiao paid him no mind. Luo Kedi already regarded him as a nail in his eye and a thorn in his flesh. Yang Xiao didn't care about offending him again.

"You win." Luo Kedi finally compromised and tossed over eight Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals.

Yang Xiao caught them and gave him a long look. He had only named a number offhand, never expecting Luo Kedi to actually pay—and to look utterly unconcerned about it. Apparently, he had no shortage of Earth Vein Crystals.