Chapter 735: The Stone Figure

The group walked cautiously through this space wrapped in crimson gold, surrounded by extremely dense life essence, yet at this moment, everyone's bodies had reached their limit for absorbing it.

Whether it was Xuan Yuezi and Xiang Xiangzi, both at the peak of the Three Flowers Realm, or Zhao Fangji and Jiang Mingtian, who had only Qi Power cultivation.

Even Li Yi's sixty major acupoints were completely filled with magic power and divine blood, every cell saturated and active, leaving him helplessly watching the life essence flow past him.

Under the nourishment of such concentrated life essence, this space held certain miraculous qualities.

Soon.

Xiang Xiangzi, walking ahead, suddenly stopped—she saw a statue of crimson gold, radiating a faint glow, with a nose, eyes, and clearly defined hands and feet, yet its body had fused with the ground.

Clearly, this was not a living being, but a piece of crimson gold that, after prolonged nourishment by life essence, had begun to transform into a human form.

"Incredible—a human-shaped lifeform forged from crimson gold," Xiang Xiangzi exclaimed in shock.

Crimson gold was indestructible; even with life essence nourishment, how many years would it take to achieve such a form?

"If it truly became sentient here, upon awakening it would be at least a Dao-attained being," Xuan Yuezi said gravely. "This crimson gold statue is too blessed by heaven and earth. Unfortunately, our arrival has interrupted its transformation. If given a few thousand or even ten thousand more years, a crimson gold divine being might have emerged here."

Xiang Xiangzi licked her lips and stepped forward, touching the crimson gold statue to sense its nature. "You're right, Xuan Yuezi—this statue already possesses a faint spark of consciousness. If it continues evolving, it will truly gain sentience."

"Though it's a waste to take it, since we've found it, this crimson gold statue must endure this fate—I'll take it away. I can't leave it here."

Li Yi, curious, asked: "Immortal Lady, what use is this crimson gold statue? Can it be forged into a Dao artifact?"

"Forging it into a Dao artifact would be wasteful. It has two uses: first, split off a portion of your primordial spirit and store it within this statue, then refine it into an external body. This statue contains vast life essence—once new spiritual energy enters, you'll master it in no time."

"The second use is to replace your own body. For example, Xuan Yuezi—she only needs to perform the 'Transplanting Flowers and Grafting Trees' technique to shed her current form and take on this crimson gold body. Since this statue was born of heaven and earth, with no developed sentience, there's no risk of bodily incompatibility."

"I see. This crimson gold statue is indeed useful," Li Yi nodded slightly. "But I have no use for it—I prefer my own body. I don't want to become a crimson gold statue."

Though replacing one's body could enhance strength, his current form followed the Divine Martial Path—opening body acupoints and awakening divine blood, granting him the power of Dragon and Tiger, along with immense magic power.

In terms of potential, he didn't believe this crimson gold statue could surpass him.

"What about you two? Do you want this statue?" Li Yi turned and asked.

"No, I don't want to become a statue. I still plan to return to Earth and get married and have children," Jiang Ming said. "Besides, this statue doesn't even have a bird—what good is increased power if you're just a statue?"

"I don't want to become a statue eunuch either," Zhao Fangji quickly declined.

Though both knew it was a treasure, it simply didn't suit them.

"Who would have thought such a treasure born of heaven and earth would be rejected?"

Xiang Xiangzi glanced at him, then sincerely said to Li Yi: "Tai Yi, I'd like to leave this statue for the three newly revived Immortal Ladies of Tian Dao Sect, to aid their resurrection. What do you think? Once they regain their strength, they'll surely be eager to serve you."

"If you have use for it, take it. There are likely many treasures here—I don't lack for this," Li Yi said.

Speaking of new bodies, his Life Cradle still held one in gestation, though its development had stalled due to lack of Divine Fruit and insufficient energy—still, it could serve as a temporary soul vessel in an emergency.

"Thank you, Tai Yi," Xiang Xiangzi bowed in gratitude.

This crimson gold statue represented the hope of one Immortal Lady returning to her peak. If Li Yi had claimed it for an external body, she would have had to abandon the idea.

With permission granted, Xiang Xiangzi used the Black Gold Arrow to pry the statue from the ground, then stored it in her storage magic artifact.

Without the Black Gold Arrow, moving this crimson gold statue would not have been simple.

"Keep moving forward—there must be more treasures here. Watch carefully. Life essence fills the air everywhere, interfering with my spiritual sense—I can only rely on sight," Li Yi said.

The group continued forward.

Indeed, as Li Yi had said, there were miraculous treasures here.

"Is that a dragon? No—wait—it's a crimson gold vein shaped like a dragon!" Suddenly, Jiang Mingtian looked up and saw a dragon-shaped crimson gold vein twisting along the rock wall.

Strangely, the vein bore scales—on first glance, it truly resembled a dormant true dragon.

Yet this crimson gold dragon vein had no head—where the head should be was only a stone bead, not crimson gold, but milky white, as if calcified.

"That seems to be a treasure," Li Yi immediately leapt up, landing on the crimson gold wall and grabbing the stone bead.

He examined it closely.

But found nothing unusual—no life energy, no resonance.

"Tai Yi, the treasure is hidden inside the bead—you must shatter it to reveal it," Xuan Yuezi, sensing the truth, warned.

Li Yi summoned Dragon and Tiger power and squeezed hard.

It wasn't as hard as expected—it shattered easily.

Instantly.

From the broken fragments, radiant beams of life-like light burst forth, followed by a strange, intoxicating fragrance that filled the air, soothing the spirit and inducing euphoria.

Li Yi then retrieved the treasure hidden within the bead.

It was several pearl-like objects.

Radiant and extraordinary.

And Li Yi sensed a powerful, vibrant life energy emanating from them.

"What are these?" he wondered, yet knew they must be treasures.

"These are likely Immortal Elixirs of Eternal Life," Xuan Yuezi observed for a moment before speaking. "Only places of heaven's creation can produce them, with slight probability. Even ordinary mortals who consume them gain eternal life. In our world, they exist only in legend—yet here, merely a crimson gold dragon vein has produced five at once."

She couldn't help but marvel.

First a crimson gold statue, now Immortal Elixirs of Eternal Life.

"Immortal Elixirs of Eternal Life?" Li Yi stared at the pills, surprised.

A tiny pill granting eternal life—indeed miraculous.

Yet judging from the potent life energy within, they could extend lifespan.

But they held little use for him.

Li Yi flicked his finger, sending two elixirs toward Jiang Mingtian. "Take two. I'll take three. Any problem?"

"No problem, thank you!" Jiang Mingtian beamed, catching them. "I plan to give these two to my parents. As a cultivator, lifespan means little to me."

Li Yi nodded, deciding to keep his three for emergencies.

After these two discoveries, everyone realized this was a treasure-rich place, so they searched more carefully, fearing they might miss something—and after such thorough examination.

They truly found something new.

Zhao Fangji discovered a piece of crimson gold resembling amber, within which was sealed a single leaf—golden and radiant, still emitting a faint glow after countless years.

"A golden leaf?" He picked up the crimson gold stone and examined it closely. "Li Yi, do you recognize this?"

Li Yi looked, then said: "I have a memory—it resembles the leaves of the Divine Tree in Divine Wood City. But this golden leaf seems older, purer. I believe it's at least a fragment of a rare artifact. If studied, it might have other uses."

"Since you found it, keep it."

"Then thank you," Zhao Fangji nodded, storing the crimson gold stone containing the golden leaf.

"Be careful."

Suddenly.

At that moment, Xiang Xiangzi, walking ahead, suddenly shouted and raised her crimson gold sword, summoning Dragon and Tiger power, slashing forward.

A small, entirely crimson snake, seemingly forged from crimson gold, collapsed instantly under the blow.

Yet even this powerful strike hadn't severed it in two.

"It's a lifeform born of crimson gold and life essence—indestructible, with extreme vitality and considerable strength. If struck, our bodies couldn't withstand it," Xuan Yuezi immediately threw the Tian Dao Seal.

It instantly suppressed the crimson snake, yet it didn't die—its wounds healed at an astonishing rate.

Only when Xiang Xiangzi pierced its head with the Black Gold Arrow did it cease moving.

"I hope there aren't too many such lifeforms—otherwise, the danger is great," Li Yi remarked, having witnessed this.

Without warning, a sudden attack like this could easily kill them.

Xiang Xiangzi said: "There shouldn't be many. Lifeforms capable of taking form from crimson gold are rare. If there were many, this place would already be destroyed, and the life essence long gone."

Li Yi nodded. But after this incident, everyone became far more cautious.

Soon.

As they continued forward and rounded a corner, they suddenly encountered a pool of strange liquid, radiating astonishing life essence, and atop the pool grew a lotus.

The lotus was also crimson gold—not an inanimate object, but alive, for the group could smell its fragrant scent.

"With this level of life essence—could the water in the pool be Divine Blood?"

At this sight, the thought immediately flashed through everyone's minds.

(End of Chapter)