Volume 1, Chapter 482 – Source Crystal

Within the mountain range, the disciples of the Tianyan Sect were so busy their feet barely touched the ground, to the point that they were almost working themselves senseless.

Some time had already passed since the battle in the Qiongluo Realm, yet the spoils left behind by the many reincarnators from that battle still had not been fully inventoried.

Far too many reincarnators had died in battle, leaving behind countless storage vessels, and the various items and resources stored within them were even more bewilderingly diverse. Even after so much time had passed, only about half of it had been sorted through.

But from just that half alone, the resources of every kind had already piled up like mountains, filling more than ten newly built treasure vaults. The current Tianyan Sect was practically swimming in wealth.

For the Tianyan Sect, the Qiongluo Realm had no external enemies and was absolutely safe, so there was no need for any defenses at all. Shi Lan entered the center of the mountain range without obstruction and, as usual, summoned Li Canglan to ask about the Tianyan Sect’s recent situation.

During this period, many disciples at the Golden Core Realm had undergone tribulation, and the sect had gained quite a few more Spirit Infant Realm cultivators. Aside from that, there had not been many other changes.

There was also the matter of the spoils. A large portion of the objects among them were strange and bizarre in shape, and no one knew what they were used for.

Li Canglan had all of these items brought before Shi Lan for her inspection.

Shi Lan was not omniscient. These reincarnators had traveled through far more worlds than she had, and among these objects, she could only barely identify the uses of a few of them.

After giving them a casual glance, Shi Lan was just about to tell Li Canglan to have them taken away when her gaze suddenly sharpened. With a lift of her hand, she drew out a stone carving inlaid with a jade crystal from the heap of miscellaneous items.

The jade crystal was amber-colored, and from it emanated a trace of exceedingly pure source power fluctuations. Shi Lan vaguely sensed the aura of a world within it.

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This was a genuine source crystal. She did not know its grade, but it was something that could only be encountered by chance, never sought out.

The stone carving stood three chi tall and was humanoid in shape. It held a long blade, its entire body pitch-black, its features impossible to make out, its limbs thick and its muscles knotted.

“This statue cannot be damaged by water or fire, and even spirit treasures can hardly harm it. Infusing it with mana or true essence produces no reaction whatsoever.”

At the side, Li Canglan had clearly studied this statue before, but he had gained little from it.

After examining it for a moment, a wisp of blood and qi seeped from Shi Lan’s fingertip and poured into the stone statue.

Stimulated by the blood and qi, the entire statue instantly turned from black to red. A blood mist spread out from it, and an astonishing fluctuation of divine power leaked forth.

A faint aura stirred awake. The blood mist condensed and formed a vague figure.

“Believer, offer up a sacrifice and speak your request…”

A ripple of divine sense echoed through the surroundings, clearly conveying a message.

A trace of surprise appeared on Li Canglan’s face. He had already tried the most basic method of blood recognition back then, but at the time the statue had been deathly still and had not reacted to blood at all.

Now it seemed that it was not that it did not react to blood. The blood and qi had simply been insufficient.

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Shi Lan’s eyes flickered, and she quickly saw through part of the truth.

The owner of that strand of divine sense was clearly following the path of refining gods through incense and faith. This sort of minor path also existed in the Lingyang Realm, but it had never become anything significant. At most, there existed incense gods at the Nascent Soul Realm level. Beyond that, heavenly tribulation cut off the road ahead.

This unknown incense god had quite an appetite. The wisp of blood and qi Shi Lan had just infused into it might seem insignificant, but if measured by mortals, even draining the essence of millions of people might not equal it. And that had only been enough to awaken it, not even counting the sacrifice it demanded.

Having lived another life, Shi Lan had long since ceased believing in ghosts and gods. Now that she understood the truth, she had even less interest in making any pointless attempts. A black illusory scene slowly unfolded behind her and wrapped around the stone statue.

She was going to reclaim that wisp of blood and qi. There was no such thing as letting someone take advantage of her for free.

Scarlet light suddenly surged all around. The blood mist shrank back into the statue. The three-chi-tall carving seemed to be infused with life, gradually rising higher. The long blade in its hand lifted abruptly and, like a beheading scaffold, slashed down in an instant with thunderous force.

“To defy divine favor is death.”

The divine sense howled through the air without the slightest emotional fluctuation, filled only with cold killing intent, lofty and aloof, deciding life and death at will.

Shi Lan did not speak again. Her gaze was calm. In her eyes, this statue was merely a somewhat special piece of war loot.

So-called deities were nothing more than somewhat more powerful living beings. False gods, that was all.

As for the true gods said in legend to transcend all things, in her understanding, they simply did not exist.

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If gods truly did exist in this world and manipulated all things, then those so-called gods were the ones who deserved death most of all.

Shi Lan withdrew the Black Domain, and the aura within her body also returned to calm. An invisible immense force suddenly descended from the heavens. The long blade the statue had been bringing down abruptly dropped, its body sank, and it fell to its knees, unable to move.

Within the Qiongluo Realm, even a powerhouse at the absolute peak of the Emperor level could not injure her, much less a mere stone statue.

Here, she was the god.

Shi Lan slowly stepped forward, reached out, touched the stone statue, and drew back that wisp of blood and qi.

Only upon making contact with her fingertips did Shi Lan sense the towering blood fiend aura within the statue. Its aura far surpassed that of hundreds of millions. It would not be an exaggeration to say that an entire world had been blood-sacrificed for it.

The resentment accumulated within was far too deep, with wronged souls settled inside it. Even with Shi Lan’s current state of mind, she was nearly disturbed by it and filled with rising irritation.

Once the blood and qi left it, the statue gradually returned to its original state. Its face remained as indistinct as ever, but a faint red light now flickered where its eyes should have been, adding a frightening trace of viciousness.

“If any more sinister and aberrant objects like this appear in the future, seal them first and wait for me to deal with them.”

Shi Lan raised a hand and laid down a seal, then turned her head and instructed Li Canglan,

“This statue is to be kept somewhere secure. The disciples of the sect are strictly forbidden from approaching it.”

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The wronged souls within needed to be laid to rest, and the resentment also had to be cleansed. At present, Shi Lan could smash the statue and forcibly take out the source crystal, but she could not lay those dead souls to rest. If she destroyed it rashly, it would contaminate a vast stretch of spirit soil and might even create a patch of nether land within the Qiongluo Realm.

The blood fiend aura accumulated over who knew how many years was simply too dense. With her level, which amounted to no more than simply reciting the Rebirth Sutra, she fell far short.

In the Lingyang Realm, the only ones skilled in this kind of thing were Chan Buddhism, or rather, the Buddhist sects.

Laying so many dead souls and resentful spirits to rest was also, in karmic terms, a matter of great merit. Presumably, Chan Buddhism would not refuse.

Li Canglan carefully put the statue away. He was just about to leave when Shi Lan called him back again.

When he learned that she wanted to hire a teacher for Tianbai, Li Canglan was rarely put in a difficult position. Tianbai’s status at Shi Lan’s side was highly unusual, so this teacher naturally could not be chosen carelessly. Besides, he did not know Shi Lan’s requirements.

“As long as they understand propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, and know how to guard against others, that will do.”

Faced with Li Canglan’s concerns, Shi Lan shook her head slightly. She had never set particularly high expectations for Tianbai. As long as he understood how treacherous people’s hearts could be and grasped some basic principles of conduct, that was enough.

After arranging the matters in her hands, Shi Lan directly entered another space within the mountain range.

Beside the jade pool, spirit medicines spread out like a sea. Shi Lan sat down cross-legged, cast aside the distracting thoughts in her mind, and focused on sensing Qinglan’s location. After detecting nothing unusual, she gathered her thoughts, took out an immortal herb, drew out the essence within it, and slowly began repairing the injuries in her body.