Volume 1, Chapter 193 – Dragon Vein

【Environment simulation complete. Character simulation complete. Begin battle?】

Shi Lan raised her hand and had the Purple Star Seven-Section Halberd simulated into her grasp. She pushed her true qi to the limit; the Yueji Skirt had also amplified her qi to its maximum. Fully on guard, she said,

“Begin!”

Sss—

Shi Lan only heard a soft sound by her ear. Before she could listen clearly, her vision spun, heaven and earth flipping—then a headless corpse appeared before her eyes.

That… was me?

Before the thought could even form, it was like a candle flame blown out, instantly extinguished and sinking into darkness.

…

Shi Lan sat on a patch of grass, watching the battle recording she’d just made over and over. Yet every time, it seemed that as soon as the Guiyun Sword Sovereign lifted a finger, she died.

Even slowing it down countless times, she still couldn’t find any trace of a move. After finally closing the replay, she straightened up and said,

“Simulate character: Guiyun Sword Sovereign. Simulation degree: one in ten million.”

She hadn’t come into the virtual space to study how to defeat the Guiyun Sword Sovereign in the first place.

…

Over seventy li south of Qingzhou City’s southern gate, deep in the mountains.

“Hoo—ha—”

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“Hoo—ha—”

Dozens of burly, broad-shouldered men, bare-chested under the blazing sun, were drenched in sweat as they dug downward in steady rhythm inside a pit nearly five zhang across.

A young man in a pale-golden python-embroidered robe stood at the edge of the pit, staring intently at what was happening below. Shen Mingyi stood at his side.

“Your Highness, why has Perfected Wuxu suddenly decided to dig such a large well? And even insists that you keep watch the whole time.”

“Master said this place is where the dragon vein of our Qianyuan Dynasty passes beneath. If we dig a well here, we can draw out a portion of the dragon vein’s qi. Not only will it greatly benefit my martial cultivation, it will also smooth the dragon vein’s flow and bless our Qianyuan.”

“Perfected Wuxu’s words would never be false. I’m just worried we’ll delay His Majesty’s temporary palace…” Shen Mingyi said with slight hesitation.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve already arranged other people to handle that.” The young man waved a hand, his gaze full of anticipation as he watched the pit grow deeper and deeper.

“Your Highness has thought of everything,” Shen Mingyi replied respectfully.

…

Shi Lan didn’t stay long in the system’s virtual space. After venting a bit, she withdrew in high spirits.

While it was still light, Shi Lan spoke briefly to Old Hongtou, then rode out of the city, urging her horse swiftly back to West City Temple. She brought Liu Anfeng and his companion to Qingzhou City and handed them directly over to the authorities.

The officials were fairly trustworthy. Once they had their prisoners, they immediately held court and tried the case. After confirming the two men’s identities, three hundred taels of snowflake silver were placed before Shi Lan.

All of it was hard silver, just as she’d requested, because ready silver was far more convenient than silver notes.

When she’d gone out, it had been three people and two horses. On the way back, it was just one person, two horses, and a large bundle.

By the time she returned to the inn, night had fallen. Shi Lan had no appetite, merely asking the kitchen to prepare dinner for Old Hongtou and A Qi.

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When A Qi awoke from his sleep, he felt the usual fatigue in his body had vanished without a trace. Warmth filled him from head to toe; his energy was overflowing, as if he had endless strength to spare.

Thinking back now on the pain he’d endured earlier, he actually felt a faint sense of wanting to go through it again.

After Old Hongtou finished eating, Shi Lan called him over and began to talk about what would come next.

“Tomorrow, I plan to take A Qi and find some secluded place outside the mundane world to live in seclusion for three years. Are you willing to come with us? If not, I’ll leave you two hundred taels of silver. That will be more than enough for your expenses.”

“So long as the young lady doesn’t mind an old man being a burden, I’ll go wherever you go,” Old Hongtou agreed readily.

“All the better. Get some rest.”

Seeing him out, Shi Lan sat back down on the bed, spirit crystal in hand, nibbling away at the power within it like pulling silk from a cocoon, skillfully pushing toward the first stage of the Body Tempering Realm.

Though this world could indeed be considered peaceful, there were still mountain bandits, thieves, and so-called jianghu folk. Liu Anfeng and his partner were the best proof that one could not live without worry.

Gaining a bit more strength never hurt.

…

The night passed in a blink. Shi Lan was only a hair’s breadth away from the first stage of the Body Tempering Realm. With the help of spirit crystals, her speed of improvement was not slow at all.

At first light, Shi Lan hurried to the tailor shop and picked up the clothes she’d ordered.

Two full sets, inner layers and outer skirts included.

On her way back to the inn with the clothes in her arms, all the pedestrians around her were discussing the same thing: the current emperor of the Qianyuan Dynasty was going to move the capital to Fengxi City in Ning’an Commandery.

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And Fengxi City was less than three hundred li from Qingzhou City.

Moreover, the reigning Son of Heaven had already dispatched the Second Prince, Zhao Hanyi, to head to Qingzhou City ahead of time to arrange matters related to the temporary imperial palace.

The day before, the Second Prince had taken a thousand wagons of materials out of the city precisely to construct the imperial residence.

These bits of news entered Shi Lan’s ears and left just as quickly.

After returning to the inn and changing into her new clothes, Shi Lan took Old Hongtou and A Qi, prepared dry rations, and rode out of the city, choosing a direction at random.

Her plan was to find a place where the spiritual qi was a little denser and temper her Body Tempering Realm. While this realm didn’t depend on spiritual qi as heavily as the Innate Realm, a place rich in qi still offered considerable benefits to cultivation speed.

At her current level, she was far from the Innate Realm and her sense of spiritual qi was rather dull. She had no choice but to rely on Heaven’s Eye Qi-Sight to locate areas dense in qi.

Places rich in spiritual qi were mostly among verdant mountains and clear waters where people rarely set foot. After searching for several days, she ended up in a mountain range.

The moment she stepped into the mountains, Shi Lan sensed something was off. Beyond the much denser qi, there was another, very familiar scent.

The aura of a dragon vein…

Shi Lan’s joy was boundless. A dragon vein was sure to have a dragon lair. This dragon vein was clearly different from that cluster of ninety-nine she’d encountered before—its qi hadn’t dried up yet. The dragon lair would surely be a land of rich spiritual energy.

Just as she was rejoicing, Shi Lan’s expression changed.

The dragon qi was leaking.

…

“Your Highness, water’s come up!”

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“The water’s crystal-clear, not a speck of silt, and incredibly sweet!”

“I’ve been digging wells for over ten years and never seen water of this quality!”

Zhao Hanyi was overjoyed. With a light step, he leaped as if weightless, floating nearly ten zhang down to the bottom of the well.

Gurgle, gurgle…

In one corner at the well’s bottom, clear water was continuously bubbling up.

Ignoring his dignity, Zhao Hanyi strode over, scooped up a handful of water, and brought it to his mouth.

The water was icy-cool and sweet, but once it slid into his stomach, he felt no chill at all. Instead, a wave of warmth spread outward.

A flash of wild delight lit Zhao Hanyi’s eyes—his inner qi had increased a little!

Though it was just the faintest thread of qi, it had indeed grown. And the well’s water was inexhaustible. With this, he just might surpass his master, cross the realm of Martial Grandmaster—

And step into the realm no one had set foot in for hundreds of years:

The Void-Shattering Martial Realm!

“All of you, out of the well at once! Withdraw a thousand zhang. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot!”

Zhao Hanyi calmed himself and barked the order, driving everyone out of the well.