Earth Vein Upheaval

A deafening cracking sound erupted from the ground.

Just as Lu Yuan stuffed the broken crystal into his pocket, his feet suddenly sank. It wasn't a sway, but a real collapse—the entire muddy stone bank seemed to be pulled down by an invisible hand, crashing down!

Mo Chen was closer to the edge of the pool.

"Old Mo!" Lu Yuan roared, and the Blue Silver Grass on his left hand grew wildly. The slender grass leaves lashed out, wrapped around Mo Chen's waist twice, and he pulled it back with all his might.

Mo Chen was pulled backward, staggering as the mud and rocks beneath his feet slid down with a loud crash.

The two had only taken two or three steps back when the ground collapsed completely.

The pool water, carrying pebbles and mud, poured into the dark crevice that suddenly opened below. The milky white pillar of light had long since dissipated, replaced by a violent torrent of water—gray-black, yellowish-brown, and dark red—soaring into the sky from the crack, like countless twisted whips lashing wildly in the air.

The Cloud Mist Sect disciple who was closest to the location was the one who suffered.

A sword-wielding disciple was grazed by the gray-black turbulence on his left shoulder, his arm instantly drooping down, his face ashen white.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" Li Yan's shout changed tone.

The escape route is also unsafe.

Centered on the stone pool, Spiderweb -like cracks spread outwards. The ground, like a fragile eggshell, shattered continuously with the constant tremors. Deep within the cracks, violent Soul Power erupted, sweeping away everything indiscriminately, friend or foe.

The Soul Beast have gone mad too.

Several Stone Armor Beast turned and ran. One of them crashed into the yellowish-brown airflow, and its thick stone armor was corroded, making a "sizzling" sound. It roared in pain.

The situation was completely out of control.

Martial Uncle Sun hovered in mid-air, his body surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, resisting the turbulent currents of indiscriminate attacks. He stared intently at the center of the collapse—those few most radiant Soul Marrow Crystals, which were falling into the bottomless crevice along with the rock layers.

So close!

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, as if he wanted to risk rushing down, but the intensity of the surging turbulence below forced him to stop. A dark red stream of air brushed past the protective cloud of mist, its edges emitting a burnt smell.

He gritted his teeth.

"Everyone, move towards me! Form a defensive formation and retreat!" Martial Uncle Sun's voice boomed through the chaos, "Abandon the Soul Marrow, save your lives first!"

The order was given, Cloud Mist Sect disciples desperately tried to gather together. However, they were scattered around the stone pool, and the ground was cracked and turbulent, making movement difficult. Screams and groans could be heard from time to time.

Lu Yuan and Mo Chen were positioned relatively at the edge; although the ground beneath their feet trembled violently, it did not crack for the time being.

But this does not mean it is safe.

"Watch out above!" Mo Chen shouted hoarsely.

Lu Yuan looked up, his pupils suddenly contracting.

On the steep cliff to the side, a boulder the size of a millstone had broken off from the rock and was tumbling and crashing down toward them with a dull whistle!

A shadow instantly descended.

There's no way to avoid it. The coverage area is too large; there's a crack in the ground behind me, and boulders on both sides.

Lu Yuan kicked off with his right foot, lunging to the side while simultaneously swinging both hands.

Dozens of thumb-thick, dark blue grass stems shot out! They crisscrossed and wove rapidly in the air, forming a dense net about ten feet in diameter above the two people's heads in the blink of an eye.

The net had barely taken shape when the boulder arrived.

Boom!

A dull thud. The Blue Silver Grass Net suddenly caved in, each blade of grass stretched to its limit, emitting a creaking sound as it could not bear the weight. Lu Yuan's face turned pale, and his Soul Power poured out like a flood.

It's blocked.

But it's just a buffer.

The boulder's downward momentum was momentarily halted, its speed reduced, and its direction veered. Taking advantage of this instant, Lu Yuan grabbed the vines tightly wrapped around Mo Chen's waist with his left hand and used all his strength to lunge to the side!

Mo Chen was pulled off the ground and flew into the air, the two of them tumbling awkwardly towards a pile of rocks.

Almost simultaneously, the Blue Silver Grass Net snapped in two. The boulder scraped the edge of the net and crashed down, landing less than three feet from where they had just been standing!

Bang!

The ground shook violently, sending debris flying. Smoke and dust mixed with the earthy smell rushed towards us.

Lu Yuan's back slammed into a protruding rock, the pain making his vision go black. Mo Chen's injured left arm was pulled, he groaned, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

His life was saved.

Lu Yuan coughed twice, spitting out the sand in his mouth, and struggled to sit up. Above his head, at the edge of the shallow crater created by the boulder, the broken Blue Silver Grass was rapidly withering and dissipating. His Soul Power had been greatly depleted; that last attack had drained most of his reserves.

Mo Chen also got up, clutching his left arm with his right hand, his face pale. "Thanks..." he said hoarsely, "I owe you another one."

Lu Yuan didn't speak, his gaze quickly sweeping around.

The chaos continued, but the most violent phase seemed to be passing. The cracks in the ground stopped widening, and the surging torrents began to weaken. The Cloud Mist Sect members had gathered around Martial Uncle Sun, forming a defensive formation shrouded in mist, and were making a difficult move towards the outer edge of the canyon.

The Soul Beast had long since vanished.

The Stone Pool area was completely destroyed. The pool water disappeared, replaced by a pitch-black pit with a diameter of over ten zhang and a bottomless depth. Above the pit, the chaotic flow of Soul Power gradually subsided, leaving only a faint afterglow of five colors, like the smoke after an explosion.

Those few main marrow fragments have vanished without a trace.

Lu Yuan's heart sank, and he immediately looked in the direction where the broken crystals had been scattered. The area was a mess, with most of the broken crystals either swallowed up or blown away and nowhere to be found, with only a few scattered glimmers of light flickering among the mud and rubble.

He suddenly stood up and stumbled over.

Mo Chen hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and followed.

Time is running out.

Lu Yuan rushed forward and saw two fragments of crystal, covered in mud and emitting a milky white glow, embedded at the edge of the crack. He waved his right hand, and two thin vines of Blue Silver Grass reached out, precisely curling up the fragments and pulling them back into his hand.

It was cool and moist. It was only the size of a fingernail, but its interior shimmered with light, and its Soul Power fluctuations were pure and stable.

nice one.

The action didn't stop. There was a palm-sized, bluish-white jade-like stone half-buried in the rubble nearby. The Blue Silver Grass rolled out again and pulled it out.

That's all.

Other faint points of light were either on the edge of the turbulent flow or in dangerous positions, and there wasn't enough time.

Mo Chen also found two smaller crystal fragments and a fist-sized grayish-white stone. Just as a look of joy appeared on his face, he suddenly swayed, clutching his chest with his left hand, revealing a look of pain.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yuan asked alertly.

"N-nothing... it's nothing." Mo Chen gasped for breath, his eyes fixed on the shattered crystal in his palm, then glanced at the pale green jade fossil in Lu Yuan's hand, his voice strange, "This stone... and the shattered crystal, it feels odd."

"Strange?"

"I can't explain it." Mo Chen shook his head, quickly stuffing the things into his pocket. "Let's leave first."

Lu Yuan nodded, took one last look at the deep pit and the departing Cloud Mist Sect group, and whispered, "Let's go."

Without lingering, the two used the smoke, dust, and rocks as cover and quickly fled to the other side of the canyon, in the opposite direction of the Cloud Mist Sect's retreat.

They ran for three or four miles in one breath, until they could no longer hear any noise behind them, before stopping at the edge of a stone forest.

Leaning against a thick stone pillar, he was panting heavily. His body was covered in scrapes and bruises, his clothes were torn in several places, and covered with mud and grass clippings; he looked utterly disheveled.

After resting for a while, Lu Yuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his palm.

Two milky-white crystal fragments and a piece of bluish-white jade fossil lay in my palm. The crystal fragments shimmered faintly, and the jade fossil felt warm to the touch.

Mo Chen also took out his haul: two smaller, slightly dimmer crystal fragments and a rough, grayish-white stone.

"That's all." Mo Chen smiled wryly. "I risked my life, almost got buried in there, and this is all I got." He weighed the grayish-white stone in his hand. "This jade isn't very refined, it has too many impurities, it's not worth much. The crystal fragments are too small too."

Lu Yuan didn't reply, but picked up the bluish-white jade fossil and examined it carefully. The stone was an irregular thin slice, with a bluish-white base interspersed with a few strands of light milky white silk-like patterns, like solidified clouds. When he tapped it lightly with his fingertips, the sound was crisp with a subtle echo.

"This stone," Lu Yuan suddenly said, "Is not an ordinary jade-like stone."

"Hmm?" Mo Chen leaned closer.

"Look at the patterns," Lu Yuan said, pointing to the milky-white fibers. "They weren't formed from mineral deposits; they're more like... highly condensed Soul Power, trapped within the jade during its formation, leaving traces after long-term immersion and assimilation."

Mo Chen squinted at it for a long time, then picked up his own grayish-white stone to compare. His stone had messy patterns and a much rougher texture.

"You mean, this stone is closer to the core of the Soul Marrow's development and has been nourished for a longer period of time?"

"Possibly." Lu Yuan put away the stone. "We'll have to go back and study it further. But in any case, this trip wasn't a waste."

He paused, then looked at Mo Chen: "You said you felt something was 'strange,' what happened?"

Mo Chen's expression turned serious. He took out the small crystal fragment again and placed it in his palm, closing his eyes to sense it. After a while, he opened his eyes, his gaze filled with confusion and a hint of excitement.

"I can't explain it... but when I held these fragments, especially near your bluish-white jade fossil," Mo Chen carefully chose his words, "The persistent numbness and Soul Power in my left arm... seemed to be touched by something. It wasn't relieved, nor did it worsen, it was just... 'attracted' or 'resonated'."

He raised his still unnatural left hand. "You know how I got this injury. Back then, my Soul Power surged back, damaging my meridians. The toxins and disordered Soul Power remained, and I've never been able to clear it completely. I'm fine when I don't move my Soul Power, but it hurts as soon as I move."

"But just now," Mo Chen stared at the shattered crystal, "I vaguely felt that the stable and peaceful Soul Power within these shattered crystals seemed to... have a natural tendency to 'sort out' the disordered energy remaining in my body. It's just that the feeling was too weak, and the two I have in my hand are too small and of average quality."

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered.

Earth Vein Soul Marrow, stabilizes and purifies Soul Power... If it can even soothe old injuries caused by Soul Power backlash like Mo Chen's, then its value is even greater.

"Keep it safe for now," Lu Yuan said. "We'll verify it carefully once we leave the Stone Forest and find a safe place."

Mo Chen nodded and carefully put the things away.

The two fell silent for a moment, both looking towards the stone pool.

After this ordeal, the Thousand Needle Stone Forest has truly come back to life. The emergence of the Earth Vein Soul Marrow caused such a huge commotion, the obvious crater collapse, and the eruption of Soul Power turbulence... these traces are hard to conceal. Before long, more forces and more adventurers will likely be attracted here.

This place is no longer the secluded and dangerous spot where one could quietly hide and slowly conduct research.

The risks are increasing dramatically.

Mo Chen licked his chapped lips, breaking the silence. "What do we do next? Go back to the crevice? Or..."

Lu Yuan didn't answer immediately. He gazed at the vast stone forest in the distance, where the jagged stone pillars looked like countless silent giants in the fading light. The wind whistled through the crevices of the rocks.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice soft but carrying a sense of determination.

"We need to go back to Yanfeng to get something," Lu Yuan said, "But afterwards... we can't stay here any longer."

Mo Chen looked at him.

"The disturbance caused by the Earth Vein Soul Marrow is too great; the secrets of the Stone Forest can no longer be kept secret." Lu Yuan turned his head, his gaze calm yet firm. "We need a safer, more stable place where we can truly settle down and conduct long-term research and experiments."

He paused for a moment, then voiced the thought that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

"A new home... where knowledge and ideals can find their place."