funbook-pk Chapter 171 Immortal Source
Chapter 171 Immortal Source
"What's going on? I feel like there's something unusual about the source energy in the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain?"
Inside the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain, Zhu Ling, the Holy Maiden of the Taiyi Holy Land, spoke with some surprise.
She has been cultivating with the help of the source energy here for about ten days and has just begun to grasp the basics.
But in the past few days, she felt the fluctuations in the earth's veins becoming stronger and stronger, and the source energy was flowing very fast and converging in a certain direction, making it difficult for her to even absorb the source energy.
Elder Wang Hao also frowned. He wanted to ask the old lion guarding the mountain, but the old lion was nowhere to be found.
We can only wait here in vain.
"The earth is trembling... This fluctuation is too strong!"
But as time went by, the two became increasingly terrified.
Now, one can almost see the source gas flowing from the mineral layer like water with the naked eye.
"Could something major have happened at Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain?"
Wang Hao was puzzled.
This fluctuation was as absurd as if someone had set up a massive array to plunder Origin Qi within the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain.
But what kind of place is the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain? How could outsiders possibly enter? Moreover, the source veins here are incredibly abundant, and ordinary formations cannot affect them at all.
"Wait a minute!"
Wang Hao explained patiently.
……
Why is there still no movement?
Half a month passed, and the old lion guarding the mountain, Ming Shi, frowned deeply. During this time, he had been working day and night, guarding the intersection of the secondary veins, using his own essence and blood to nourish the remaining bones, but the remaining bones did not change at all.
"The main vein seems to be fluctuating. The ancestor has been reborn. The phenomenon is indeed extraordinary!"
He sensed the direction of the main vein and discovered that the source energy of the entire Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain was surging towards the ancestral land as if it were being devoured by a whale, at an astonishing speed.
"Such a commotion, truly befitting the ancestors of my Nine-Headed Celestial Lion clan..."
However, the old lion guarding the mountain was not worried; instead, it was full of anticipation.
My ancestor has been reborn, and I am the first-class hero!
……
now.
Within the ancestral land of the Nine-Headed Heavenly Lion, Li Lan was completely engulfed by Origin Qi!
The mineral veins occupied by this forbidden area contain an immense amount of immortal energy. If all of it were mined out, the yield would probably be less than ten million catties!
He had pushed his cultivation technique to its limit, absorbing more than 50,000 jin of minerals from the source vein every day!
This speed is already extremely fast; if word gets out, it will definitely shock everyone.
It's understandable that such a high energy expenditure is necessary when breaking through a major barrier, but if it were this fast at normal times, even a Xuanxian (a high-level immortal) would explode and die!
But in reality, he had not yet reached Li Lan's peak speed.
If it were all pure immortal energy, he could absorb about 100,000 jin a day!
However, at this moment he was plundering from the source vein, and the energy contained within the source vein was naturally not as direct as the supply from the immortal source.
Even so, after a month and a half, he had absorbed nearly 800,000 catties of immortal essence!
That's absolutely outrageous!
It should be noted that from the outside perspective, this figure might be equivalent to the entire fortune of a medium-sized power.
"Let's do it for another ten days!"
Li Lan gave the old lion guarding the mountain a one-month deadline. He expected to be undisturbed during this month, but to be on the safe side, it would be best to leave a few days before the old lion returned.
Even the experts from the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan who have gone far away are about to return. If they manage to trap Li Lan here a few days in advance, it will be difficult for him.
Not a penny less!
He devoted himself entirely to acquiring source energy.
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye!
Li Lan stayed in the ancestral land of the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan for a total of twenty-five days, and the amount of Origin Qi he obtained was equivalent to about 1.3 million catties of Immortal Origin!
The harvest was enormous.
"If only I could stay for another six months..."
If given six months, Li Lan was confident he could absorb all the source energy of the entire Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain, turning the miraculous into the rotten!
With the one-month deadline for the old lion guarding the mountain approaching, and the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan from outside the Immortal Realm likely to arrive soon, Li Lan immediately got up.
He stored the entire Divine Source Platform inside the Heavenly King Tower!
This Divine Source Platform alone weighs no less than a hundred pounds; if it were an ordinary Immortal Source, it would be an enormous amount.
"Having taken so much from them, we should at least leave something behind..."
Li Lan thought for a moment, then took out the ancestral bone of the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion clan and placed it here. He then picked up the right hand of the ancestral bone and carved a line of small characters on the stone wall beside it:
"If rebirth fails, it is all predetermined. On the verge of death, I glimpsed a corner of the future: alienation will inevitably lead to danger, so we must cut it off."
After doing all this, Li Lan immediately left the ancestral land. Stone skin appeared on his body, concealing all aura, and he quickly retreated along the way he came.
Soon after.
He finally left the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain area and breathed in the fresh air outside. Li Lan was greatly invigorated and almost wanted to laugh out loud!
This time the harvest was truly enormous.
He flew away quickly, far from this place, and entered the nearest city, Wanxian City!
……
"Has the main branch stopped?"
At that moment, Shi Ming suddenly opened his eyes.
During this time, he became increasingly anxious because he had been nourishing himself for twenty-five days, and nearly half of his essence and blood had been lost, making him very weak. However, the remaining bone still showed no reaction.
He began to doubt himself. Was it because his aptitude was too poor and his bloodline power was insufficient?
Now that the main vein's absorption of source energy has stopped and it's as still as death, he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Did our ancestor successfully reincarnate?
He thought it was very likely!
Because during this time he had been paying attention to the flow of Origin Qi on the main vein, the Origin Qi consumed by the ancestor was definitely no less than a million catties.
This number is astonishing. It can be said that the return of our ancestor has consumed nearly one-tenth of the source vein of the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain!
It would probably take tens of thousands of years for that one-tenth to slowly grow and accumulate back.
He couldn't wait to rush over and see for himself, to ask for advice.
But then he thought again that his ancestor had specifically instructed him to nurture himself for a full month. If he left the place where the secondary veins intersected now, it would be bad if all his efforts were in vain.
Having persevered for twenty-five days, how can I let a single moment of weakness cause all my previous efforts to be wasted?
He gritted his teeth and persevered.
……
Upon entering Wanxian City, Li Lan unusually found a restaurant and ordered a large amount of fine wine and dishes.
Enjoying the various delicacies specially made by the immortals, he was in a very good mood.
"Three days from now, the first batch of forbidden beings from the Primordial Era will return—the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan!"
"I heard that the Holy Maiden of Taiyi Holy Land has been in the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain for a month now. It seems that these two major forces are about to form a marriage alliance."
"Faced with the gray fog, the only way is not to resist, but to integrate! And to integrate into the gray fog, humans alone are not enough, nor are forbidden creatures alone. It is said that only the offspring of both, possessing the power of the forbidden creature and the perfection of the human, can embark on this path..."
A month later, news of the forbidden creature's return spread throughout the world. The matter of merging with the gray mist and embarking on the path of alienation was also known to young and old alike, thanks to the instigation of those with ulterior motives.
Not everyone in the Celestial Court is a good-for-nothing. They are very strategic in their actions, spreading information through various rumors and powerful cultivators to promote the path of alienation. However, the Celestial Court has never publicly stated that it intends to follow the path of alienation.
Do it but don't talk about it.
This is an even more formidable opponent than the Li family of the Northern Frontier!
"The Primordial Demon Ape Clan is recruiting! Immortals under the age of three hundred can enter the Primordial Demon Abyss as slaves!"
At this moment, another message arrived: "This race is almost here. If they enter the Primordial Demon Abyss now, they may be able to receive protection in the future!"
The restaurant was immediately abuzz with excitement.
"The Primordial Demon Abyss is yet another forbidden area."
"It is said that because the major powers have been sending too many beauties to the Ancient Demon Abyss Clan recently, they need to build a large number of residences and palaces to recruit slaves."
"The major powers place high hopes on this race, after all, this race is most fond of beautiful young women, they are inherently lewd, and they give birth the fastest!"
There has been much discussion about it.
"What a pity, immortals under three hundred years old must at least be geniuses."
"Yes, apart from those chosen ones, who can become an immortal before the age of three hundred?"
"Among the elite of our human race, are we reduced to being mere servants of forbidden beings?"
Many people also expressed their feelings, some regretting that their cultivation level was not high enough, and others lamenting that the human race's status was so low.
"The Primordial Demon Abyss..."
Li Lan's heart stirred.
His gains at the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain gave him a taste of success. Could he replicate that success in the Ancient Demon Abyss?
There is a good chance.
After all, the forbidden creatures have not yet returned and cannot exchange goods, so no one has seen through Li Lan's deception!
He paid the bill and left, heading to the designated location in Wanxian City. The force recruiting slaves for the Primordial Demon Abyss was a major power in the city—the Cangxuan Sect.
This force is also very strong. Although it is not a holy land, its foundation is comparable to that of the Li and Qin families in the Northern Frontier. They have also sent out ten direct descendants of the sect's Heavenly Maidens. Therefore, they naturally need to recruit a group of slaves to send over to serve their own family members, while also strengthening their power in the Primordial Demon Abyss.
There were many people being screened on-site, and Li Lan was selected after only a brief display of her talent.
Their group of twenty was sent to the Ancient Demon Abyss by the Cangxuan Sect.
"The Cangxuan Sect has sent twenty slaves to the Divine Ape Clan!"
Many forces sent slaves, but they all remained outside a vast abyss.
Upon seeing this abyss, Li Lan couldn't help but feel a chill. With a flick of his eyes, he could see that the entire abyss had formed a massive killing field array, which was extremely astonishing!
Moreover, this place is not like the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain, where the only way to enter is to leap into the abyss, but entering the abyss will inevitably trigger a great formation.
He couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had disguised himself as a job applicant; otherwise, even with his ability to see the earth, he wouldn't have been able to get in.
Within the Primordial Demon Abyss, a black demonic cloud slowly rose, and a giant black-haired ape clad in armor emerged. With its hands behind its back, it surveyed the elders of the various factions with disdain, and said:
"Send them all over!"
With a wave of his hand, a cloud of demonic energy appeared before Li Lan and the others, who then stepped onto it.
The black-haired giant ape turned around and quickly sank with Li Lan and the others into the abyss.
Before long, the demonic cloud landed. Looking around, there were towering cliffs on both sides, with a flat valley in between. What they saw surprised Li Lan and the others.
One by one, the girls were stripped naked and tied to the bronze pillars, all in a pitiful state. Some of them looked at Li Lan and the others with burning desire in their eyes and let out seductive and crazy screams!
"what?"
"What's going on? Isn't this the chosen one sent by various powerful forces?"
"How could this be?"
The group of people were all horrified.
Where is the demeanor of these women, the proud daughters of powerful families? Now they look like a group of lustful madwomen!
Occasionally, one or two long-haired apes would get into a mood and grab a girl to humiliate her. The girl would not resist but would instead be extremely accommodating, acting as if she were insane.
"A bunch of lowly humans, do they even deserve to cooperate with the divine ape? They can only become slaves of my race!"
The black-haired giant ape sneered, pointed at Li Lan and the others, and said, "Every day you have to help these lowly maids with their grooming and feeding them aphrodisiac pills!"
"Hehe, these top-quality human slaves, after consuming enough aphrodisiac pills, can become the defilement tools of our clan's pride."
"They think they can give birth to children with my blood? All they can eat are the impurities and evil essence accumulated in my body, hahaha... Humans are born to nourish all things, that's absolutely true!"
For a moment, all these humans felt a chill run through their bodies.
Before they came here, they all had the same idea: although they were here to be servants, their main responsibility was to serve the celestial maidens of various powerful forces. These celestial maidens were all chosen as concubines by the Demon Ape Clan, so they had a certain status, and they could use this to obtain protection...
Unexpectedly, these celestial maidens were treated in such an inhumane way!
If even they are like this, how miserable will their worthless servants be in the future?
Everyone felt a pang of sorrow, but Li Lan remained calm.
He felt no sympathy for these women.
He chose this path himself, and as for how he died, he felt he deserved it.
After all, before the Primordial Demon Ape Clan treated them as less than human, they were the ones who first stopped seeing themselves as human.
"Go on, get to work!"
The black-haired giant ape spoke, and only then did the group slowly begin to move.
"They've caught them!"
At this moment, another voice rang out from outside the Demon Abyss. A huge chariot was seen approaching, carrying a prison cart made of divine metal.
Li Lan glanced at it and was immediately surprised.
Because, inside that prison cart was actually... the stone monkey of the Stone Clan!
During the stone gambling battle in the northern frontier, he cut this stone monkey out of the divine source, and in return, he also gave him the cultivation method of the Heaven-Mending Clan!
How did he get captured by the Ancient Demon Ape Clan?
……
"One month has passed, and it's still useless!"
The one-month period at Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain has come to an end, and the old lion guarding the mountain has an extremely grim expression!
For the past month, he has been depleting his own essence and blood every day. Now his qi and blood are exhausted, and his face is pale. As a result, this piece of bone remains unchanged.
"No, I have to ask the ancestor!"
He rushed to his ancestral home.
He shut down the protective array around the ancestral land, bowed respectfully outside the door, but received no response from inside. Feeling uneasy, he hurriedly strode inside.
The next moment, he was stunned, because in the cave, the Divine Source Platform had disappeared, leaving only a long-decayed skeleton lying on the spot!
"Our ancestors...failed?"
The old lion guarding the mountain was utterly shocked, his body trembling slightly. He walked over, touched the remains of his ancestor, and then confirmed... that his distant ancestor had truly vanished completely.
Even the faintest trace of divine consciousness at the very beginning was not left behind.
The old lion guarding the mountain was completely bewildered. In the past month, he had dreamed countless times of inheriting the lineage, gaining the favor of his ancestors, and soaring to great heights. But now, all of that had become a mirage.
Even the Divine Source Platform of our ancestor was exhausted and he was not reborn. His essence and blood were depleted, and he was unable to inherit the lineage.
"Hmm? What did our ancestors leave behind..."
Suddenly, he saw the words on the stone wall.
"Alienation is bound to be dangerous?!..."
He murmured something, then exclaimed in horror, "Before he died, our ancestor saw a glimpse of the future, that he couldn't take the path of alienation?"
He felt this matter was...extremely important!
This could very well determine the future, the very survival, of the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion clan!
We must report this to the clan immediately!
After all, according to the previous decision of the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan, they were to follow the Celestial Court's plan and take the path of alienation, but now it seems... this path cannot be taken, and the ancestors have already warned them!
"Oh no! My clansmen are returning today, and the Celestial Court is hosting a banquet in Heaven to welcome them back... I have to get there immediately!"
He panicked and hurriedly collected his ancestor's remains before heading towards the Heavenly Court.
……
Celestial Court.
"Is everyone here?"
In the Lingxiao Palace, Xun Yuan Tianjun asked a question in a calm tone.
"Reporting to Master, the Immortal Lords and powerful figures from all the major forces have been invited, and almost all of them have come. This Peach Banquet is sure to be the focus of the world's attention."
Fairy Gu Ling answered.
Xun Yuan Tianjun nodded, a smile playing on his lips.
To welcome the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan, he brought out the Celestial Court's sacred medicine, the "Peach of Immortality," and invited masters from all over the world to come, all to make a good start.
The fact that the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan will declare today that they will walk the path of alienation together with the Celestial Court will be a good start, a signal, and an example!
Who can stop the path of alienation?!
……