Gathering Treasures, an Urgent Situation
"Pass down the order." Li Yunjing immediately decided, "Have Elder Fang lead three hundred inner disciple to set up defenses along the shore of Azure Jiao Marsh, and strictly prohibit outsiders from entering the territory of my Luozhen Sect."
"Let Junior Sister Yun lead the inner disciple in two teams to enter the pool and collect treasures. Priority will be given to collecting high-grade spiritual materials and ancient artifacts, while low-grade spiritual herbs and minerals will be handled by the Outer Disciple. All collected items will be registered and stored in the warehouse, and rewards will be given afterward based on merit."
"As the sect leader commands!"
Mo Xuan bowed and accepted the order. Just as he was about to turn around, Li Yunjing added, "Tell the disciples to be extremely careful when collecting treasures. Under the Spiritual Qi Tide, it's hard to guarantee that ferocious creatures won't be spawned. If they encounter any unusual activity, they must immediately send a message and not act recklessly."
"I see."
Mo Xuan left quickly, and soon after, the bells within the sect rang out.
The melodious sound of bells echoed throughout Qingyun Peak, and streaks of light flew out from various palaces, heading in an orderly fashion towards the shore of Azure Jiao Marsh.
Li Yunjing moved swiftly, transforming into a streak of azure light and landing at the edge of the Azure Jiao Marsh.
The pool has completely changed. The once bottomless emerald pool is now so clear that you can see the pebbles at the bottom. A faint golden glow covers the surface of the water, and if you reach out to touch it, the Spiritual Qi is so rich that it is almost condensed into liquid.
Deep within the pool, a pillar of light slowly rotates, emanating all spiritual energy.
"Sect Leader, Senior Brother."
Yun Yao walked quickly over; she was wearing a red dress and had a radiant face.
Yun Yao has changed drastically since then, most notably in that her cultivation has reached the Nascent Soul Perfection.
"Is everything arranged?" Li Yunjing asked.
"Fifty disciples have prepared jade boxes and brought storage Law Artifact." Yun Yao gazed at the pillar of light at the bottom of the pool, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes. "Senior brother, do you think that pillar of light at the bottom of the pool might indicate the opening of some High Antiquity ruin?"
Li Yunjing shook his head. "It doesn't seem like it. That pillar of light was formed by the convergence of spiritual energy, not from the entrance to the ruins. This spiritual energy is too pure; it's unlike anything from the mortal world."
He paused, then added, "You can take your men to collect the energy in the shallow water. Do not venture too far into the vicinity of the light pillar at the bottom of the pool. The spiritual energy there is too strong; approaching rashly might result in injury."
"Clear."
Yun Yao accepted the order and left. Soon, dozens of disciples, wearing water-repelling robes, began to dive into the pool.
Li Yunjing walked slowly along the bank of the pool.
In the mud on the shore, many spiritual herbs are growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Several young Condensed Dew Grass have grown to three hundred years old in no time, with crystal dewdrops condensing on their leaves.
Deeper into the rock face, several Purple Blossom Flower even grew. Such spiritual herbs are extremely rare in the Great Wilderness; one might not see even one in a hundred years.
Several Outer Disciple were carefully digging up spiritual herbs, their movements slow and deliberate, their faces filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"Be careful, the roots of this Purple Blossom Flower are fragile, don't damage them," a steward whispered a reminder from the side.
"Don't worry, Steward, I've been digging for spirit herbs for years, I know what I'm doing!" The disciple chuckled, his fingertips enveloped in Spiritual Qi as he slowly pulled the herb from the crevice and placed it in a jade box. "Good heavens, this one is worth three years' worth of my offerings!"
Li Yunjing looked at it for a moment and nodded slightly.
Although the number of disciples in the Luozhen Sect was not large, they were all well-trained and did not lose their composure despite the unexpected treasure.
He turned his gaze back to the center of the pool.
At this moment, some inner disciple floated up from the bottom of the pool, carrying various objects in their hands.
There are crimson Dragon Blood Stone, fragments of ancient treasures covered in silt, and High Antiquity pills sealed in a jade box.
Yun Yao stood in front of the temporary stone platform on the shore, personally counting and registering each item, carefully checking its grade.
"Senior brother, look." As Li Yunjing approached, Yun Yao picked up a palm-sized piece of black iron and handed it to him. "This is something I found among the rocks at the bottom of the pool. It has ancient patterns on it, like a fragment of some kind of Law Treasure. Its Spiritual Qi is restrained, and its grade is not low."
Li Yunjing took the iron piece, and a little Spiritual Qi seeped into it from his fingertips.
The iron sheet was slightly warm, and fine, mysterious patterns appeared on its surface, exuding an ancient and profound aura.
"These are fragments of an High Antiquity Spirit Treasure," Li Yunjing said after a moment's examination. "They're at least fragments of Void Refinement level treasure. Keep them safe and have the Artifact Hall study them carefully later. If we can gather all the fragments, we might be able to reforge it."
Yun Yao's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
Just then, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the depths of the pool.
"Oh no! Something's there!"
The water surface suddenly exploded, and the two disciples escaped from the water in a disheveled state, followed by a dark shadow.
The dark figure resembled a giant python, with a single horn on its head and scales shimmering with a bluish light. It was actually a spirit dragon born from a pool of water, its cultivation having reached the Nascent Soul Late Stage the Nascent Soul realm. Its vertical pupils revealed a fierce glint, and it opened its mouth to spew out a water arrow.
"You beast!"
Fang Tong, who had been on guard, suddenly appeared in mid-air and struck out with a palm.
The golden palm print crashed down, and the spirit dragon let out a mournful cry as it was forcefully slammed back into the water, creating a splash several feet high.
"Sect Leader, it's a native water dragon from the bottom of the pool. Its cultivation has surged due to the spiritual energy, and its temperament has become much more ferocious." Fang Tong landed back on the shore and bowed, saying, "I've forced it back into the deep water. Should we kill it?"
Li Yunjing glanced at the pillar of light deep in the pool and pondered, "No need. This spirit dragon is a native creature of the Azure Jiao Marsh, so it's understandable that it's affected by the spiritual energy. Pass on my order: everyone should leave the deep water area and only collect within a hundred feet of the shore."
"Set up another Water-Trapping Formation to temporarily seal off the deep water area, preventing it from coming out and harming people."
"Yes."
Fang Tong the order and left. Soon, the eight law enforcement disciples set up array flags by the pool, and a faint light screen surrounded the deep water area in the center of the pool.
The spirit dragon at the bottom of the water crashed into the light barrier several times, but seeing that it could not break through, it roared and swam back to the bottom of the pool.
The minor incident subsided, and the treasure-collecting work continued.
In just half a day, the temporary storage point on the shore was piled high with spiritual materials and treasures.
Roughly speaking, there are dozens of spirit herbs of grade seven or above, nearly a hundred pieces of various ores, more than twenty fragments of ancient treasures, and even three bottles of intact High Antiquity pills.
The disciples were all beaming with joy, and the elders also wore smiles.
But Li Yunjing's doubts grew stronger and stronger.
He looked up at the sky, where the colorful sunset still enveloped the heavens, showing no signs of fading.
The concentration of Spiritual Qi is still slowly increasing. At this rate, in a few more days, even Nascent Soul Cultivator will likely be able to easily trigger a breakthrough by channeling Spiritual Qi.
Something unusual must be going on.
Such a large-scale cataclysmic change in nature could not have occurred without a cause.
The Immortal Alliance must have already taken action, and the Demonic Path is unlikely to remain quiet either.
As the head of a sect with Dao Union Perfection cultivation, he could naturally sense the turbulent undercurrents hidden beneath the calm surface.
"Is an era of great strife about to begin?" Li Yunjing murmured to himself.
Just then, a clear and melodious cry of a crane suddenly came from the sky.
A pure white crane flew in, its wings outstretched, a golden token tied to its claws, the Immortal Alliance's mark shining brightly on it.
The crane circled and landed atop the peak of Luozhen Island, stretching its neck and calling out.
Li Yunjing's gaze sharpened.
The Immortal Alliance Token is a summons from the Immortal Alliance.
Moreover, it was actually a crane from the Immortal Alliance that personally delivered the message, which is very rare.
It should be noted that Li Yunjing possesses the Immortal Alliance Token. If the Immortal Alliance wishes to summon him, they can simply use the Immortal Alliance Token a message.
The use of cranes indicates that the situation is extremely serious.