Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Upon realizing that the stones in the pond were actually Geocentric Spirit Stone Magma—simply referred to as Spirit Stone Magma—and could be used to refine Cosmic Caverns, Wen Qiao naturally wouldn't let them go to waste. She used the Golden Python Walking Vine to scoop up all the stones from the pond.

Soon, countless Spirit Stone Magmas of various sizes piled up by the pond's edge.

The colors of these Spirit Stone Magmas were remarkably pure and free of impurities, likely due to their prolonged stay beneath the pond.

The water in this pond was Life Water, imbued with the unique power of the shifting desert. Although its current effects were limited to nourishing spirit herbs and sustaining life within the Geocentric Spirit Stone Magma, it was far from ordinary water. Naturally, it could cleanse the impurities contained within the Spirit Stone Magmas.

The fewer impurities there were, the higher the hardness of the Spirit Stone Magma, resulting in better defensive capabilities when refined into Cosmic Caverns.

It could be said that the relationship between the Life Water in the pond and the creatures inside the Geocentric Spirit Stone Magma was mutually beneficial.

The Life Water purified the impurities in the Geocentric Spirit Stone Magma, providing life energy to the beings trapped within, keeping them immortal; conversely, the creatures within the stones sacrificed themselves, allowing the Life Water to absorb the power of the shifting desert and undergo transformation.

Neither could exist without the other.

Wen Qiao asked, "If we take away these Spirit Stone Magmas, won't the Life Water in this pond lose its effects?"

"No," Ning Yuzhou replied, "As long as the power of the shifting desert remains unceasing, the Geocentric Spirit Stone Magma will continuously form, ensuring its continued existence. Unless this place is destroyed."

However, even if it was destroyed, the mastermind behind it could set up a second underground space like this one.

Ning Yuzhou pondered that based on his observations over the past two days in the city, it was evident that Yellow Sand City had been abandoned for an incredibly long time, so long that its history and causes were beyond investigation. Perhaps the cultivators who originally resided here withdrew to conceal the underground space beneath the city. It was buried in history, solely for the purpose of condensing that pool of Life Water.

However, this method ultimately defied the natural order, reversing the cycle of life and death, and could not succeed.

This pool of Life Water would never become true Life Water; at best, it could be described as an anomalous water filled with life force.

"Should we destroy it?" Wen Qiao inquired.

"For now, let's leave it be," Ning Yuzhou had his own considerations. "Judging from the array formations in the city and the formation at the entrance, the person responsible for setting everything up here possesses profound array formation expertise. This mastermind has an extraordinary background. If we destroy it, we don't know if it might draw their attention. It's better to leave it for now and wait to see how things develop later."

There was another unsaid point: currently, the Life Water only used the lives of some insects and ants in the desert as sacrifices, which didn't qualify as malevolent deeds. However, if the other party chose to use intelligent beings as sacrifices in the future, it could no longer be left alone.

As long as it was just non-intelligent life forms, it was acceptable. But if they violated the laws of heaven by sacrificing intelligent beings, it would transform into evil. The Life Water would be tainted by cause and effect, transforming into an ominous object, potentially bringing disaster to this continent.

Just like the sealed demonic corpse deep within the Demon Sealing Secret Realm.

After hearing this, Wen Qiao naturally had no objections. At present, this place seemed relatively safe, utilizing the natural forces of the shifting desert. It hadn't reached the point where it needed to be destroyed.

Having scooped up all the Spirit Stone Magmas from the pond, they proceeded to examine other areas of the space to see if there were any more Geocentric Spirit Stone Magmas.

Fortunately, it was daytime, with high temperatures causing the ice crystals to melt, making exploration much easier than during the night.

They checked all the sandstones with signs of life and discovered quite a few Geocentric Spirit Stone Magmas. These Spirit Stone Magmas were currently encapsulated within the sandstones, remaining in a liquid state due to lack of air exposure.

Thus, the duo removed all the sandstones containing the Geocentric Spirit Stone Magmas.

"It's a bit like stone bamboo milk," Wen Qiao remarked while she was busy. "Stone bamboo milk also grows within stone bamboo."

Ning Yuzhou chuckled. "All things in the world have their essence. The essence of stones is also a natural gift. Stone bamboo milk is one type of stone essence, and Geocentric Spirit Stone Magma is another, each with its own uses."

They spent an entire day clearing out all the sandstones enveloping the stone spirit magmas from this underground space.

Afterward, Wen Qiao collected some of the water from the pond to deliver to Puppet Man Xiao Qing in the spatial realm. They took advantage of the darkness before the passage froze again, leaving this underground space.

Stepping out of the stone gate, they both closed it once more. Ning Yuzhou casually set up several array formations on the stone gate.

Returning to the room above Yellow Sand City, since the array formations had been deciphered and the passage remained intact, Ning Yuzhou set up spirit gathering formations around the area and began repairing the array formations.

This underground space possessed somewhat mystical qualities, especially the Life Water. Worried that someone might exploit the Life Water for nefarious purposes, Ning Yuzhou decided to restore the array formations and return it to its original state, preventing ordinary people from easily entering.

Seeing him busy, Wen Qiao took the initiative to inspect the city.

They spent a day and a night in the underground space. The array formations surrounding Yellow Sand City hadn't been triggered, indicating that no one had entered during that period.

When the sky turned completely dark, the sandstorms resumed.

Wen Qiao stood by the window, watching the darkness outside and the swirling sand.

Due to the presence of array formations, insects and ants couldn't enter the city. However, the underground space wasn't affected, allowing those subterranean insects and ants to burrow in and become experimental subjects.

After three days of work, Ning Yuzhou finally repaired the array formations.

Once the array formations were restored, the passage disappeared, turning back into a solid wall. The invisible array formations once again shrouded the abandoned Yellow Sand City.

Wen Qiao supported the person whose mental energy was completely depleted, guiding him to rest on a prepared couch nearby and quickly administering spirit pills.

"Husband, are you alright?" She squatted in front of the couch, looking at his pale face with concern.

Ning Yuzhou smiled at her gently and softly said, "I'm fine, I just need some rest."

Wen Qiao looked at him, still filled with worry, hesitating to speak.

How could Ning Yuzhou not understand her concerns? He reached out to gently caress her face, his eyes distant as he softly said, "Since I deciphered the array formations here, I naturally need to repair them to prevent malicious individuals from mistakenly entering and exploiting the peculiarities of the underground space for evil deeds."

In addition, he reestablished an array formation on top of the original ones. If the mastermind behind it returned, they wouldn't be able to easily unravel the array formations, making it difficult for them to gain entry.

Wen Qiao rubbed her face against his hand and softly said, "Husband, you're truly a good person."

Ning Yuzhou: "…"

Regarding being called a 'good person,' Ning Yuzhou pretended not to hear it.

**

The two spent nearly ten days bustling about in Yellow Sand City before finally departing.

Unlike their journey to Yellow Sand City where they got lost and wandered around, this time they had two Yellow Crystal Ants leading the way, ensuring they wouldn't get lost again.

They had sprinkled fragrant leaf powder along the way in various sandy cave passages they passed by. Regardless of the distance, the Yellow Crystal Ants could follow the scent of the fragrant leaves without fail, ensuring that they would never lose their way.

Not long after leaving the abandoned Yellow Sand City, they passed by a cultivation city and decided to enter for a few days of rest and recuperation.

The cultivation city was called Sand Bladder City, quite large in scale—twice as big as Sandgu City. It was a well-known cultivation city deep within Yellow Sand City. Rumors had it that there were three cultivators at the Essence Sect realm permanently residing in the city, and an Elder Ancestor at the Essence Emperor realm cultivating in seclusion within its walls. This made it a famous large-scale cultivation city renowned far and wide for its formidable strength. Even the bandits from Black Rock Gorge dared not easily invade it due to its might.

The city was bustling with activity and lively scenes.

Upon entering the city, they found themselves on a bustling street lined with shops of all kinds. Cultivators came and went, making one almost forget they were in the depths of the moving desert.

After securing their dromedary beasts, Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou headed into the city's stores that purchased various items. They sold off some items they no longer needed, including the corpses of the Red Crystal Ants that Wen Qiao had slain, as well as some toxic plants they had picked up along the way.

The Red Crystal Ant corpses fetched a good price. Intact corpses sold for five spirit stones each, while damaged ones were priced according to the extent of the damage. The nearly thousand Red Crystal Ant corpses netted them close to two thousand spirit stones.

The prices for the other toxic plants were not high; combined, they only amounted to thirty spirit stones.

Thus, the most valuable things in the desert were indeed the corpses of insectoid monsters and beasts, preferably intact corpses.

After clearing out the unnecessary items from their storage bags, they went to an inn in the city to have a meal and rent a room for some rest.

As they sat in the inn's main hall during their meal, they overheard a piece of news from the surrounding cultivators: The Azure Wing Wolf King was searching the moving desert for its cub, leading a horde of Azure Wing Beast Wolves to surround cultivation cities everywhere. Many cultivators didn't dare venture out of the cities recklessly, fearing that they might encounter Azure Wing Beast Wolves outside the city walls and be mistaken for thieves who had stolen the wolf king's cub, resulting in their deaths without any recourse.

Hearing this, Wen Qiao paused.

Hadn't the Azure Wing Wolf King found its cub yet?

"In my opinion, whoever stole the wolf king's cub must have run away long ago. How could they still be lingering in the desert? I'm sure they're still laughing at the wolf king, calling it a beast that doesn't know it's been played."

"Yes, the Azure Wing Wolf King has been searching for its cub everywhere. It has surrounded countless cultivation cities, but fortunately, those cities had Essence Sect realm experts sitting in residence, able to reason with it. That's why it hasn't committed too much slaughter. But for those traveling outside, encountering a pack of Azure Wing Beast Wolves means there's no escape."

"The wolf king isn't very friendly toward human cultivators now. As long as it doesn't find its cub, it won't withdraw its malice toward humans."

"Beasts will always be beasts, no matter how high their intelligence is. Their beastly nature remains."

"It's understandable that the wolf king would bear grudges against humans after its cub was stolen. Increased killings are normal."

"Exactly. If your child were stolen, you'd probably also kill without restraint, slaying anyone suspicious you come across."

"I think the wolf king is still quite reasonable. If someone truly didn't steal its cub, it wouldn't kill them upon meeting."

"That makes sense. If it kills too many people, the situation changes. The Essence Sect realm ancestors in the city wouldn't allow it to massacre innocents."

"Sigh, I say that since it's been searching for so long and still can't find the cub, that little wolf pup is likely in grave danger."

"It shouldn't be so. Rumor has it that the wolf king's cub was born as an eighth-rank monster beast, a formidable fighter. Once it's raised to the point of transformation, wouldn't that add another Essence Emperor realm powerhouse?"

"Could that person have stolen the wolf king's cub to form a pact with it?"

"Oh, wolves are the most arrogant of monster beasts. How could they easily form a pact with humans? That little wolf is indeed in grave danger."

"Furthermore, transforming a monster beast isn't easy. Who knows how long it would take to raise it to the point of transformation..."

... ...

In the inn, a group of cultivators chatted over drinks, their topic unconsciously veering toward raising monster beasts.

Wen Qiao listened in, then turned to Ning Yuzhou and said, "Husband, we've been lucky, not having encountered those Azure Wing Beast Wolves." Although they later inadvertently strayed into Black Rock Gorge, they ultimately avoided any conflict with the people there.

Ning Yuzhou gave a faint smile, tacitly agreeing with her words.

After resting for two days in Sand Bladder City and regaining their energy, they continued on their journey.

Perhaps some things were not meant to be spoken aloud. Just as Wen Qiao had rejoiced in their good fortune and lack of encounters with Azure Wing Beast Wolf packs while in Sand Bladder City, they unexpectedly met face-to-face with the horde of Azure Wing Beast Wolves shortly after leaving the city.

"Rumble~"

As dust rose to the skies in the distance and the thunderous sound of galloping echoed across the desert, a pack of flying Beast Wolves appeared in the air. The dromedary beasts let out panicked cries, scampering about on their spindly legs.

However, how could four-legged creatures outrun those with not only four legs but also wings?

Soon, the horde of Beast Wolves surrounded them.

Thousands of Azure Wing Beast Wolves encircled them tightly, both in the sky and on the ground, leaving not even a single gap. They were trapped like birds unable to fly.

The dromedary beasts' four legs trembled on the ground, adopting a prone position in sheer cowardice.

Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou had no choice but to dismount from the dromedary beasts and watch the horde of Beast Wolves warily. Wen Tuntu's fur bristled as it gnashed its teeth in a threatening manner.

Although Wen Tuntu was a mutated monster beast at the late eighth rank, there were dozens of eighth-rank Beast Wolves here alone.

The Beast Wolves circled them, their eyes cold.

Fortunately, they did not attack upon sight.

At that moment, the Beast Wolves in the sky parted in an orderly fashion, opening a path for a much larger Azure Wing Beast Wolf to fly over. It lowered its head and gazed intently at the two humans below.

The late ninth-rank wolf king exuded an overwhelming aura. When it approached, simply standing firm was already a remarkable feat.

Wen Qiao tensed her entire body, subconsciously placing herself in front of Ning Yuzhou.

Under the cold gaze of the wolf king's beastly eyes, Wen Qiao felt exposed, her body stiff and unable to move.

The wolf king's nose twitched, clearly searching for the cub's scent on the two of them.

Neither Wen Qiao nor Ning Yuzhou were concerned. They hadn't come into contact with the cub, so naturally, they didn't carry its scent. As long as the wolf king was reasonable and didn't make things difficult for them, there was still hope for a resolution.