Soul Marrow Appears

"Walk!"

With a low shout from Martial Uncle Sun, the three disciples immediately formed a formation, sandwiching Lu Yuan and Mo Chen in the middle, and sped off in the southeast direction.

The night was as thick as ink, impossible to dissolve. There was no path beneath their feet; pebbles and withered vines intertwined, jagged stone shadows grotesquely looming. The Cloud Mist Sect members were clearly well-trained, moving swiftly and steadily. Lu Yuan struggled to keep up; the difference in their Soul Power was obvious. Mo Chen was in even worse shape; his left arm was injured, and he stumbled several times, his face deathly pale in the dim light.

No one spoke. Only heavy breathing and the rustling sound of clothes brushing against the stone edges could be heard.

Five miles, walking in this godforsaken place makes one's heart tremble with fear.

About fifteen minutes later, the concentration of Soul Power in the air changed.

At first, it was just a faint ripple. The further forward you go, the denser the ripples become, gradually converging into invisible Tide that surge from the front. The Soul Power carried in the Tide is frighteningly pure; taking a breath of it feels like your lungs have been cleansed.

Mo Chen's breathing became heavy. "This smell... it can't be wrong."

Lu Yuan remained silent. He twirled his cuff with his fingertips, fragmented memories flashing through his mind. Earth Vein Soul Marrow, its formation conditions are harsh, its eruption time is extremely short, and it is usually accompanied by... Soul Beast rampage.

His ears twitched.

In the distance, deep within the stone forest, came several muffled roars. Not just one, but several, coming from different directions. The roars were filled with greed.

Martial Uncle Sun quickened his pace. "Hurry up! Don't let that beast get there first!"

The formation suddenly accelerated.

After passing through a maze-like area of stalagmites, the view suddenly opened up before us.

It was a small valley, shaped like a crater from being punched. At the bottom of the crater was a murky pool of stone, the water of which was now churning violently, bubbling and steaming. In the center of the pool, a soft, milky-white beam of light, mixed with the spring water, shot straight up!

The pillar of light solidified, its internal Soul Power so dense it was almost liquid. The light illuminated half of the valley floor, as well as the center of the pillar, where several crystals floated up and down with the waves.

The pieces were about the size of pigeon eggs, crystal clear. A warm, milky-white halo flowed across their surface, and a viscous liquid slowly flowed within them. The purest and most refined Soul Power emanated from them.

Earth Vein Soul Marrow

The Cloud Mist Sect disciples' breathing became heavy and their eyes glazed over.

"Form ranks!" Martial Uncle Sun shouted in a low voice, "Li Yan, Wang Yun, guard the east and west flanks! Zhao Ming, sense your surroundings!"

The three disciples immediately sprang into action. The Rock Soul Ancestor and the Thin Wing Soul Ancestor split up to the left and right, their Soul Ring illuminating. The Perception disciple sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and expanded his senses.

Martial Uncle Sun took two steps forward, his gaze first sweeping over the Soul Marrow in the pool, then slowly turning to Lu Yuan and Mo Chen behind him. The warning in his eyes was colder than the night.

The meaning is clear: the stuff is ours, you can just watch. If you dare touch it, you're dead.

Mo Chen licked his dry lips and lowered his voice, "Damn, it's beautiful... It's worth a fortune."

Lu Yuan didn't reply. His gaze didn't fall on the most dazzling main marrow at the center of the pillar of light, but instead quickly swept over the edge of the stone pool.

The spray from the gushing spring water lapped against the slippery stones at the edge of the pool. Tiny, milky-white flakes, no bigger than grains of rice or even smaller, were washed ashore by the current, scattered here and there among the mud and pebbles. There were quite a few of them.

There are also several stones at the bottom of the pool, which, after being soaked for a long time by the pure Soul Power erupted from the Soul Marrow, have developed a warm, jade-like luster on their surface.

These things, with Soul Power aura much weaker than the main marrow, were extremely difficult to detect amidst the violently erupting Soul Power. But Lu Yuan saw them.

Several thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. In the battle for the main marrow, the Soul King himself was taking action; if the two of them went in, they would be throwing their lives away. But these fragments and jade-like stones... their Soul Power quality was still far superior to that of ordinary Soul Beast crystal cores. More importantly, they likely retained the most core "stability" characteristic of the Earth Vein Soul Marrow.

For research, sample size is sometimes more important than purity.

Moreover, nobody pays attention to these "scraps".

He gently touched the back of Mo Chen's hand.

Mo Chen turned his head and asked with his eyes.

Lu Yuan shook his head very slightly, glancing briefly at the inconspicuous crystal fragments by the pool before quickly looking away. Mo Chen was taken aback at first, then his pupils contracted slightly, and he understood. He twitched his lips, said nothing, but quietly took half a step back.

Just then, pairs of bright, scarlet or yellowish-brown lights appeared in the darkness surrounding the valley.

The low growls, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the scraping of rocks, drew rapidly closer.

The Soul Beast, attracted by the pure Soul Power, have arrived.

The first creature to rush into the valley's glowing aura was a Rock Armor Lizard, its size comparable to a small calf. Its body was covered in thick, grayish-brown stone armor, and the ground trembled slightly as it crawled. Immediately afterward, two Petrification Python, each as thick as a bowl, slid out from the left, while three Burrowing Beast with sharp claws emerged from the right.

All the Soul Beast were of the stone and earth element types, and they were all driven into a frenzy by the aura of the Earth Vein Soul Marrow.

"Beasts!" Martial Uncle Sun's face darkened. "Stop them!"

With a low roar, Li Yan, the Rock Soul Ancestor, lit up three Soul Ring— two yellow and one purple—on his body. He crossed his arms to protect his chest, and his skin instantly became covered with a layer of grayish-white rock texture, making him seem like a stone statue as he crashed into the Rock Armor Lizard.

Wang Yun, the Thin-Winged Soul Ancestor, swayed, unfurling nearly transparent thin wings behind her, moving so fast that she left afterimages. She circled around the two Petrification Python, constantly flicking out tiny Wind Blade from her hands, making precise cuts.

A chaotic battle erupted instantly.

The Rock Armor Lizard stumbled from the impact, then furiously lashed out with its tail. The Petrification Python twisted its body, its fangs gleaming coldly. Taking advantage of the situation, the Burrowing Beast tried to bypass the battle and pounce on the stone pool.

The scene was chaotic. The valley was filled with the glow of Soul Skill, the roars of Soul Beast, and the sound of rocks cracking.

Martial Uncle Sun didn't move. He remained standing closest to the stone pool, his cold gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield, especially the positions of Lu Yuan and Mo Chen.

The erupting beam of light began to weaken.

The once solid, milky-white pillar of light began to blur at the edges, and its height slowly decreased. The rate at which the main marrow particles floated and sank slowed, as if the erupting power was about to be exhausted.

Now!

A sharp light flashed in Martial Uncle Sun's eyes, and a powerful surge of Soul Power suddenly erupted from his body. Five Soul Ring appeared—two yellow, two purple, and one black! The formidable aura of a Soul King was released without reservation.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched. A surge of immense Soul Power erupted, rapidly condensing and shaping in mid-air, transforming into a massive, solid, grayish-white cloud-like hand, about ten feet in diameter! The hand went straight for the few main marrow fragments that were about to fall from the pillar of light in the center of the pool!

This move was determined to succeed.

Lu Yuan had been waiting for this moment.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the giant cloud-like hand and the main marrow in the pool...

He moved.

Instead of rushing towards the stone pool, he pulled Mo Chen along and silently retreated several steps, completely escaping the peripheral vision of the Cloud Mist Sect Sect's formation. At the same time, he reached into his sleeve with his left hand, and several thorny vine seeds slid into his palm.

He released a slight amount of Soul Power.

With a few soft popping sounds, seven or eight inconspicuous vines with tiny thorns sprouted from the ground a little in front of where they had been standing, quickly growing to about half a foot tall and forming a small, sparse patch of thorns.

This commotion was almost negligible compared to the immense power of the Soul King's attack and the roars of the Soul Beast.

But taking advantage of the brief cover from the thorn bushes and the terrain's shadows, Lu Yuan and Mo Chen crouched low, hugging the rugged stone walls at the edge of the valley, like two shadows, and swiftly swept towards the other side of the stone pool—far from the main battlefield, where the shattered crystals and jade-like stones were deposited by the waves.

Martial Uncle Sun's cloud-like hand had already touched the edge of the pillar of light.

Sudden!

At the bottom of the stone pool, the Soul Power that had been weakening suddenly trembled violently without warning!

Immediately afterwards, instead of weakening, it suddenly became violent and chaotic! The milky white beam of light expanded and twisted violently, its color instantly mixed with the turbulent gray-black airflow.

Rumble--!

The ground in the entire stone pool area began to shake violently. Stones along the pool's edge tumbled down, and the water surged wildly.

The giant cloud hand that was about to succeed was suddenly struck by this violent surge of Soul Power. Half of the cloud at the edge instantly dissipated, and the grasping motion became noticeably slowed and distorted!

Martial Uncle Sun's expression changed drastically.

At the same time, the ground tremors grew stronger and stronger, and tiny cracks began to spread across the surface like a Spiderweb, centered on the stone pool.

A precursor to collapse.

As Lu Yuan rushed to the edge of the pool, his fingers touched several fragments of Soul Marrow embedded in the mud. The cool, smooth touch made him pick them up without hesitation and stuff them into his pocket. Mo Chen was not slow either. Enduring the pain in his left arm, he used his still-movable right hand to quickly rummage over several pieces of jade-like stones next to him.

The two moved with astonishing speed.

Just as they succeeded, a dull, teeth-grinding cracking sound came from the ground beneath their feet.

Click--!

At the edge of the stone pool, a large layer of rock, along with the pool water, suddenly sank downwards!