Hope for a Spirit Vein

Hu Li stared at the human child before him. A faint fragrance drifted from the boy, identical to the scent of the pill the demon beast had eaten three or four years ago.

Years ago, when Yang Tiancheng explored the border, he terrified Hu Li so badly that the demon hid in its den and slept for several years. Although it had never met Yang Tiancheng, it had heard from the elders of its clan that a sword cultivator with immense killing power guarded Zhaoping Commandery and was not to be provoked.

Demon beasts generally lived far longer than humans anyway. After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm, Hu Li could live for four or five hundred years. Three or four years passed in the blink of an eye, and deep slumber could even refine its cultivation base.

However, after recently awakening and contacting the Zhou Clan, it only wanted to procure more of those pills and some human delicacies. Why did the Zhou Clan bring a child here?

Hu Li twitched its nose. Although the fragrance clinging to Zhou Chengyuan was somewhat enticing, it had always disdained eating meat. Moreover, the lingering resentment of living creatures found in flesh and blood would harm its Dao path. It grumbled with a low hum, "I do not eat human flesh."

It emitted a faint Pressure, stifling the breath in Zhou Xuanya and the boy's lungs. Clearly, Hu Li was somewhat displeased.

Zhou Xuanya quickly pulled Zhou Chengyuan down into a respectful bow. "Senior, this is a junior of our clan. Because of some troubles at home, we had no choice but to bring him here to seek refuge. We beg for Senior's understanding."

"Refuge? Did your clan provoke a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" Hu Li's fur instantly bristled, ready to flee back to Darong Mountain at the slightest provocation.

"No, no. It is the Huang Clan to the east."

Hu Li finally relaxed. Although it had never heard of the Huang Clan, it knew the only two Foundation Establishment cultivators in Zhaoping Commandery: one was Bai Shan, and the other was Yang Tiancheng. Besides, the Zhou Clan was so weak that if they had truly offended a Foundation Establishment cultivator, their entire bloodline would have been wiped out long ago.

It carefully scrutinized Zhou Chengyuan. Since the boy's body emitted that faint fragrance, he must have consumed quite a few of those pills. The demon's gaze toward Zhou Xuanya instantly turned unfriendly. Demon beasts acted upon their base nature; if they realized they had been deceived, they would naturally fly into a rage.

Zhou Xuanya had already prepared his explanation. "Senior, our clan has developed rapidly over the years, and our yield of Jade Rock Green Origin Pills has grown considerably. We made a special trip to bring some for Senior this time. We hope Senior will accept them."

With that, he respectfully presented a porcelain bottle of Jade Rock Green Origin Pills.

Years ago, Zhou Minghu had been eager to secure profits for the clan. Losing his better judgment, he had exaggerated the pills' rarity, a decision he later regretted to no end.

Deceiving a powerful entity for mere profit was sheer audacity. The lie could be exposed at any moment, inviting a bloody disaster upon their heads.

Therefore, Zhou Xuanya had brought ten pills this time as a silent apology to Hu Li.

Hu Li pondered for a moment, and the brewing anger in its heart dissipated.

The Zhou Clan had practically grown up under its watch. At first, they were nothing but two or three weak kittens. After only a few years of sleep, they now boasted two Qi Condensation cultivators. With greater strength, it was perfectly normal for them to refine more pills.

This reminded the demon of when it was weak, lacking even a single decent spirit plant to its name. Naturally, after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm, it had tracked down and beaten its old rivals one by one, robbing them of their prized spirit plants to plant outside its own cave. It kept them solely for display and refused to give them back.

Hu Li sucked the pills into the air and swallowed them clean in one bite, though it still felt unsatisfied.

"Prepare more for me in three months. Also, I have no use for this trinket, so consider it a reward."

With that, Hu Li spat a crystal-clear, milky-white stone from its mouth, turned around, and swaggered off toward Darong Mountain without a backward glance.

Zhou Xuanya froze at the sight of the milky-white stone before his eyes suddenly lit up. He lunged forward to catch it, terrified it might chip against the ground.

Standing to the side, Zhou Chengyuan finally exhaled a massive breath as he watched Hu Li depart. Before coming, Zhou Xuanya had warned him that they were meeting a great demon. Yet, standing face-to-face with the beast, he had felt an unprecedented, suffocating terror. Fear had surged like a dark tide, threatening to drown him at any second.

"Uncle, what is this?" Zhou Chengyuan calmed his racing heart and looked at the object curiously. It closely resembled a Spirit Stone, but the Spiritual Qi contained within was several times denser than normal.

"This is a Spirit Origin Stone. It generally only exists deep within Spirit Stone mines and is exceptionally precious," Zhou Xuanya murmured, utterly mesmerized as he held it up.

For years, Zhou Ping had dreamed of nurturing a Spirit Stone mine beneath Baixi Mountain so that a spirit vein could eventually form to bless their future generations.

In the cultivation world, natural Spirit Stone mines only formed in regions rich in Spiritual Qi. The Azure Cloud Sect, for example, sat upon a natural medium-sized spirit vein with an immense reserve of Spirit Stones. This endless wealth was one of the foundations that kept the Azure Cloud Sect prosperous and enduring.

But such blessed regions accounted for only a tiny fraction of the world. In most territories, Spiritual Qi was pitifully thin. Forget spirit veins-even ordinary spirit plants were a rare sight.

The only reason humanity had risen from weakness, driving out countless powerful demon beasts and ferocious creatures to forge today's prosperity, was their indomitable resilience and absolute determination to reshape the world.

If the environment was harsh and unforgiving, humanity altered it to create an eternal homeland. If mountains collapsed and roaring seas threatened disaster, cultivators leveled the peaks and filled the oceans to bend heaven and earth to their will.

It was the same with spirit veins. If Heaven refused to grant them, they would forge their own. If natural spirit veins were scarce, they would build artificial ones.

Over the years, the Zhou Clan had gone to great lengths to convert their surplus resources into Spirit Stones, burying them alongside various treasures deep within Baixi Mountain. They then activated spirit-locking formations to gather Spiritual Qi and prevent it from leaking, continuously nourishing the earth below.

Yet, even with Zhou Ping constantly operating the Level Ground Clear Stream to comb through the earth's energy and bolster Baixi Mountain's vitality, his efforts were a mere drop in the bucket. Left at that pace, it would take a century or two to form even a micro spirit vein.

Precisely because nurturing an artificial spirit vein took hundreds or thousands of years, newly established factions-who struggled just to maintain their lineages-were rarely willing to squander massive resources on such an endeavor. Only ancient powers unburdened by fears of extinction possessed the immense wealth required for such long-term investments.

Throughout the Southern Four Counties, only the Huang Clan attempted to nurture a spirit vein. However, fractured by numerous internal factions and endless disputes over profit, they had previously managed only meager investments. It was only recently, by siphoning the resources of all four counties to feed their own clan, that the Huang Clan had seen explosive growth, accelerating their spirit vein's development.

Zhou Minghu and his brother had initially opposed this drain on their wealth, but Zhou Ping had changed their minds with a single sentence.

"Toil in the present, blessings for a thousand generations."

This was Zhou Ping's pragmatic foresight. The Zhou Clan currently had few cultivators, meaning their resources were completely sufficient. They could even afford to elevate the aptitudes of their juniors. Without the looming threat of their lineage dying out, it was their duty to lay a foundation for their descendants.

Although Spirit Origin Stones and Spirit Stones shared similar names, they were entirely different entities.

The former was a high-concentration crystal born only when the Spiritual Qi within a mine reached a terrifying density. It was, essentially, materialized Spiritual Qi that naturally drew even more energy toward itself. The latter was merely ordinary rock saturated by Spiritual Qi over countless years. Once drained of its energy by a cultivator, a Spirit Stone would revert to a mundane, albeit slightly pretty, rock.

As long as a spirit vein existed, Spirit Stones could be endlessly harvested. Spirit Origin Stones, however, were exceedingly rare and could only manifest within exceptionally large spirit veins.

By burying this Spirit Origin Stone as the core of their array, the nurturing of their clan's spirit vein would be shortened by at least several decades. How could Zhou Xuanya not be thrilled?

He had no way of knowing that this very Spirit Origin Stone had been a cultivation resource granted to Hu Li by the Heavenly Fox Demon Clan. Since its breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, the stone's effects had become negligible-tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard. Reluctant to part with its prized spirit plants and too lazy to fetch anything else, Hu Li had simply tossed the stone to the Zhou Clan as a casual reward.

This lack of foresight was a common flaw among demon beasts. Incapable of long-term planning, they often squandered precious treasures that could have yielded immense benefits. Then again, to the demon race, simply living off the land and plundering whatever crossed their path was the natural order of things.

"Chengyuan, let's go home. We must tell your grandfather this good news and bring him some joy."

Following Madam Huang's passing, Zhou Ping had grown visibly gaunt and haggard. As his descendants, it pained their hearts to see him grieve. Armed with this monumental stroke of luck, Zhou Xuanya wanted nothing more than to rush home and lift the old patriarch's spirits.

88.181.249.5

ns88.181.249.5da2