Chapter 161: Spiritual Energy Surge Conduit

This former beast-demon main hall was built in a rather rough and primitive style.

Constructed primarily from stone materials, its structural integrity was exceptionally high. Even when Cao Chengyu bombarded it with magic arts, he could only shatter a very thin layer.

It was unknown how long the Bone-Entangling Demon Spider had nested and operated here, but the deeper areas were densely packed with web strands.

Cocoons of all sizes numbered in the thousands.

Some had already turned yellowish, and the creatures wrapped inside had clearly been liquefied and consumed.

The cocoon holding Daoist Lin was not located too deep, and a trace of vital aura still lingered within it. When Cao Chengyu arrived, Lin's two disciples were nowhere to be found, so he decided to save the man first.

With a few swift motions, he tore the cocoon apart, revealing Daoist Lin to his eyes.

With a square face, conjoined eyebrows, and graying hair, Lin looked righteous and heroic, easily inspiring a sense of trust.

At this moment, however, his body was covered in transparent, viscous fluid, his skin was terribly red, and several pustules had broken out.

He looked rather wretched.

Using a Water-Gathering Art, Cao Chengyu rinsed Daoist Lin off, forced a few medicinal pills down his throat to stabilize his injuries, and then crushed an antidote pill into powder, sprinkling it over his wounds.

With both external and internal treatment, his life was undoubtedly saved.

Yet, such a harrowing ordeal would likely leave psychological scars.

While waiting for him to regain consciousness, Cao Chengyu continued to project his divine sense for perception.

Those two foolish disciples, Chi Jiuxiao and Chi Luan, were also nowhere to be found.

About a quarter of an hour later.

Cao Chengyu picked up some traces, though the people themselves were outside his sensory range. Meanwhile, Daoist Lin, lying beside him, let out a low groan and woke up.

"This is..."

"Who are you?!"

Upon catching sight of Cao Chengyu, Daoist Lin instantly snapped to attention, his body floating backward as his gaze turned deeply vigilant.

Cao Chengyu shrugged and explained.

"I am your employer. You got yourself captured, so I came to take a look myself. Tell me everything you've discovered."

"Employer?"

Lin Jiu was slightly stunned, but quickly recalled that his last memory was of being bewitched by the attack of a large spider, and now...

"Where is the big spider? Did you encounter it?"

"The Bone-Entangling Demon Spider has already been slain by me. Now, speak of the information you uncovered, and don't make me regret saving you."

***

Lin Jiu was a bit dazed. In his heart, he found it hard to believe that the giant spider had been slain by the person before him, yet there was no other explanation for how he had managed to survive. Wise enough not to press the matter further, he simply cut straight to the point. After all, it was undeniably this man who had saved him; it was just intelligence anyway, so whether he was truly the employer or not, sharing what he knew would do no harm.

"Since you are my employer, how should I address you?"

"Li Xunhuan."

"Senior Li, this junior first expresses his gratitude for saving my life."

Having figured things out, Lin Jiu closed the distance slightly and spoke rapidly.

"I tracked them all the way from Mount Tianxu, and that man and woman never noticed me until we reached these underground ruins."

"I possess some special talismanic techniques for gathering intelligence that are exceptionally covert, capable of evading even ordinary Core Formation masters."

"However, everything was ruined by that bone spider."

"Through my Phantom Talisman Crane, I saw clearly that the male was a newly advanced Core Formation cultivator capable of fighting the bone spider and suppressing it. The female cultivator, however, was not. After a clash, the female was injured, and the male cultivator took her deeper into the ruins."

"When I followed after them, whether the giant spider had lost its target or for some other reason, it locked its eyes on me."

"And then, I was kept as a food reserve, remaining unconscious the entire time."

"However, those two should be searching for the crafting method of the Immortals' Crossing Platform, as well as the specific location of the Spiritual Energy Tidal Surge Channel."

Cao Chengyu nodded. He had already guessed previously regarding the crafting method of the Immortals' Crossing Platform.

It was just that this "Spiritual Energy Tidal Surge Channel" was something he was hearing about for the very first time.

If you don't understand, ask. Cao Chengyu voiced his doubt.

Lin Jiu was equally astonished.

"Senior Li, you didn't know? Even on Mount Tianxu, the Immortals' Crossing Platform is something only the Sovereign Lady herself is qualified to forge."

"Its absolute minimum crafting requirement is a Nascent Soul cultivator, because it involves spatial teleportation and positioning; even Core Formation cultivators lack the qualifications to refine it."

"The Spiritual Energy Tidal Surge Channel can bypass spatial teleportation and positioning, achieving the teleportation effect directly through the spiritual energy channels within the earth's veins. In short, it allows for the crafting of a different kind of Immortals' Crossing Platform."

"The two are fundamentally different."

"Does the channel itself possess any anomalies?" asked Cao Chengyu.

"Of course it does."

"Spiritual Energy Tidal Surge Channels are generally unformed spiritual stone veins. Before condensing into a solid substance, they are distributed deep underground in liquid form, much like subterranean water veins."

"Once breached and opened at a gap, it creates a Spiritual Energy Tidal Surge phenomenon—an exceptional holy land for cultivation, with its duration depending on the reserves of spiritual energy."

"Similarly, an Immortals' Crossing Platform that utilizes a spiritual energy channel is akin to building a small boat within a tidal surge channel, instantly teleporting to the other end of the spiritual tide channel."

"The distance is calculated based on the length of this channel and comes with heavy limitations, which drastically reduces the difficulty of crafting it, making it possible for Core Formation cultivators to build one."

***

"So that's how it is."

Cao Chengyu finally understood the difference between the two. A Spiritual Energy Tidal Surge Channel was essentially the destructive utilization of an unformed spiritual energy vein.

While it might provide a massive boost to cultivation, before long, the spiritual energy within would leak out and dissipate into heaven and earth.

If one wanted a spiritual-energy-channel version of the Immortals' Crossing Platform to traverse the entire Mount Tianxu range, the channel itself needed to span the entire length, stretching as far as required.

The fact that Chi Jiuxiao was able to come over proved he had already confirmed the channel's length.

And this plan was viable.

Early Core Formation...

It seemed that by shedding the status of the Gloomy Son of Heaven and the shackles of the dead's yin qi, his strength had suffered a significant reduction. Although he still maintained his Core Formation cultivation due to surviving the heavenly tribulation, this level of power could no longer threaten him.

With a clearer grasp of the situation, Cao Chengyu felt his trip had not been in vain. Even if Chi Jiuxiao had already set off for the Eastern Domain, he could use the exact same method to leave.

This would allow him to bypass the control of the Tianxu Sect while safely avoiding the dangers of the Tianxu Mountain Range.

The intelligence was highly valuable.

"Oh, right, your two disciples also followed me in here. One of them was infected with Blood Wolf Poison, and taking advantage of the opening while I was dealing with the bone spider, he ran off who knows where."

"Daoist Lin will have to trouble himself to search for them a bit. I shall take my leave first."

"My disciples? Lin Qiu and Lin Wen? Those two bastards."

Cao Chengyu nodded, thoroughly agreeing with his assessment.

With a flick of his figure, he drifted deeper into the depths. The reason he wasn't teaming up with him was simply because the two were meeting for the very first time, and trust was lacking.

Neither of them were children; a baseline of vigilance was naturally maintained. Even if one was dazedly rescued by another, one still had to guard against being stabbed in the back.

Therefore, Lin Jiu raised no objections about his disciples being brought along, and Cao Chengyu was quite content to act alone.

As for that destined stroke of assistance, where on earth was it?

***

Very soon, Cao Chengyu found out why the Qi Men Dun Jia divination had calculated this trip to be a stroke of assistance for him.

These two pig-headed teammates looked like troublemakers no matter how one sliced it. Assistance didn't exist; causing disasters was more like it.

And yet, this disaster did indeed help him. Thinking of this, Cao Chengyu wore a peculiar expression. Should he intervene or not?

Time turned back to when Cao Chengyu was dealing with the bone spider. Lin Qiu was currently being chased all over the place by Lin Wen, who had mutated into a blood-sucking werewolf.