Chapter 418: Born with Immortal Seed

At the very moment the Eastern Heavenly Gate rose.

Li Rui felt as if a sudden enlightenment had poured over his mind.

In that instant, the mysteries of talisman arts and array techniques became clear; the previously obscure parts suddenly unlocked in enlightenment.

His entire spirit became utterly empty and lucid, entering a state of profound profundity.

Unconsciously,

an entire night had passed.

When Li Rui opened his eyes, daylight was bright.

A flicker of shock passed through his eyes.

Just one night.

His talisman art and array techniques had surged dramatically, both rising a full rank.

This was no small matter.

It saved him decades of arduous cultivation.

Fourth-rank talismans, fifth-rank arrays—these alone would make him highly sought-after even in the cultivation world.

Li Rui was instantly overjoyed.

The enhancement brought by the Eastern Heavenly Gate was extraordinarily valuable.

If the Northern Heavenly Gate granted mastery over weapons, then the Eastern Heavenly Gate granted mastery over immortal arts.

After opening the Eastern Heavenly Gate, the cultivation speed of all six immortal arts—talisman, array, or otherwise—would far surpass that of ordinary cultivators!

Li Rui's lips curled slightly upward.

He raised his hand, and a yellow talisman flew out from his sleeve; he traced patterns in the air with his fingertips.

Red patterns appeared on the yellow talisman.

"Go."

A soft command.

The moment he spoke, the talisman ignited on its own.

The next instant,

a muscular man clad in golden armor appeared before Li Rui.

Li Rui's smile widened.

Golden Armor Talisman!

He had practiced this talisman for years without success, but now, with sudden enlightenment, he could finally summon it.

Though this golden-armored man was formed from a talisman, his strength was genuinely at the Primordial Level.

He had casually summoned a Primordial-level talisman-being.

His talisman art had clearly entered the realm of mastery!

"Master."

The golden-armored man knelt on one knee and bowed to Li Rui.

Li Rui waved his hand: "Go, change your attire. From now on, you'll live in the mansion."

He had long wished to use talisman beings to guard his estate.

This golden-armored man was comparable to a Primordial-level martial cultivator—perfect for guarding the compound, and he could never betray him.

The next day,

the Li mansion gained a new, taciturn martial instructor who spent all day locked in his room.

Because Li Rui had brought him in,

no one dared ask questions.

Soon, everyone grew accustomed to this odd man.

One day,

Li Rui was cultivating indoors when a servant outside called: "Master, a young woman claims to come from Jingcheng and wishes to see you."

"Oh?"

Li Rui stood up.

He went to the door himself.

When he opened it, he saw a young woman standing with her hands behind her back, her large eyes blinking at him with a playful gleam.

"Miss Yao?"

Li Rui's eyes widened in surprise.

He hadn't expected Yao Xue to appear in Qinghe.

Yao Xue grinned: "Master Jiang, long time no see. I heard you made the National Martial Rankings, but I never got the chance to congratulate you."

Li Rui laughed heartily:

"Miss Yao, don't tease me."

As he spoke, he ushered Yao Xue inside.

The two chatted for a while.

Li Rui then learned that the fangshi sent to Qinghe by Commander Yang, as mentioned by He Qianian, was none other than Yao Xue.

Yao Xue smiled:

"I didn't mean to hide it from you—Master Xiao said this matter could only be revealed after meeting you."

The Immortal Inquiry Pavilion had always been sparsely populated.

The eldest Daoist, Xu Xuan, was likely already transcended, and Qu Chengfeng had long since perished; now, besides Master Gu Changsheng, only Master Zhang, Yao Xue, and Li Rui as a guest advisor remained.

Li Rui couldn't help but ask curiously:

"What task did the Pavilion Master entrust you with, that it must be so secretive?"

Yao Xue dropped a bombshell:

"Master Xiao taught me the technique to locate spirit veins."

At these words,

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

Spirit veins!

As his understanding of the cultivation world deepened, he knew locating spirit veins was no simple matter.

Spirit veins were buried deep beneath the earth.

And before they manifested, they were nearly indistinguishable from ordinary rock.

Thus, in the cultivation world, there existed a special group called Spirit Seekers—people born with an innate sensitivity to spiritual energy.

Moreover, they had to cultivate specialized heart methods and incantations.

Li Rui had never imagined Yao Xue was a Spirit Seeker.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

There were no such coincidences in this world.

Of the three disciples of the Immortal Inquiry Pavilion, the second disciple, Yao Xue, became a Spirit Seeker; the third, Qu Chengfeng, had his body seized by a Celestial Immortal.

If this wasn't Gu Changsheng's doing, Li Rui would never believe it.

Li Rui probed cautiously: "Do you mean there's a spirit vein in Yunzhou?"

Yao Xue shook her head.

But before Li Rui could press further, she answered: "I've been away from Jingcheng for over a year, secretly searching for spirit veins. I finally sensed one upon arriving in Yunzhou, which is why I came to find you."

"If my sense is correct, the spirit vein should be in the Ten Thousand Mountains."

Upon hearing "Ten Thousand Mountains,"

Li Rui's expression turned subtle.

The Ten Thousand Mountains were truly a treasure land.

Both the Purple Gold Palace and the Qingwei Sect had appeared there, and now a spirit vein was there too.

Or perhaps it should be said the other way around.

That Grand True Person Qingding must have sensed it already, which is why he traveled thousands of miles to establish his sect there.

Li Rui took a deep breath, his face growing grave.

If it were merely in Yunzhou, matters would be simple.

But if it were in the Ten Thousand Mountains, things would become far more complicated.

Not only would the Qingwei Sect be involved, but even the Witch Kingdom might interfere.

Yet Yao Xue's smile didn't fade: "Master Xiao said that once you're in Qinghe, everything is up to you."

"."

Li Rui was speechless.

Gu Changsheng certainly knew how to be a hands-off master.

But since Gu Changsheng said so, it must have been approved by the Dragon Throne's master—so if that was the case, the matter became much easier.

The next day,

Li Rui found He Qianian and explained the situation.

When He Qianian heard Yao Xue was searching for a spirit vein, his expression turned more serious than ever before.

The three conferred.

That same day, they left the city and headed straight for the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Ten Thousand Mountains are perilous.

That applies to ordinary martial artists; Li Rui and He Qianian naturally fall outside that category.

Excluding the two of them.

Over the years, Yao Xue has also progressed rapidly and has now reached the Fifth Rank, Sea Observation realm.

"Little girl, have you found any clues to the spirit mine?"

He Qianian spoke.

Yao Xue shook her head: "The spirit mine has been sealed too long. I'm still a beginner and need more time to confirm anything."

He Qianian said nothing more.

He and Li Rui had already spent ten full days accompanying Yao Xue through the vast, endless mountains.

Li Rui's expression was calm.

Searching for mines is inherently dull, let alone searching for a spirit mine.

Even if it took ten or twenty years, it would be normal.

If it were easy, someone else would have claimed it long ago.

Suddenly.

A spark of delight flashed in Yao Xue's eyes.

He Qianian caught it instantly: "What? Little girl, found it?"

Yao Xue paused, not answering immediately, but instead forming a hand seal.

The next instant.

A glow the size of a fingernail appeared and floated of its own accord toward the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Yao Xue followed the glow into the dense forest.

Li Rui and He Qianian exchanged a glance and hurried after her.

The three walked a full hundred li.

Finally, they stopped before a lush valley.

The valley was filled with peach trees, looking delightfully vibrant.

Yao Xue was about to follow the glow into the valley.

But Li Rui suddenly reached out and crushed the glow with his hand.

Seeing this,

Yao Xue was startled.

She was about to speak when Li Rui raised a finger to his lips, signaling silence.

Yao Xue immediately lowered her voice: "Master Jiang."

Before she could ask, Li Rui spoke gravely: "Someone has set up an illusionary array here."

Hearing this,

He Qianian and Yao Xue were both startled.

Could it be that someone has already claimed the spirit mine?

Li Rui pulled a yellow talisman from his sleeve, transforming it into an invisible barrier that enclosed the three of them.

Barrier Talisman.

As a fourth-rank talisman master, Li Rui naturally possessed talismans capable of breaking through major arrays.

But the situation inside the array was unknown.

Breaking in recklessly would be too dangerous, so Li Rui used the Barrier Talisman.

The smartest solution is often the most tedious: to learn what lies within the array, one must have sufficient patience.

All they could do was wait.

The valley showed no change whatsoever.

If not for Li Rui sensing the array's fluctuations, they might have thought it was ordinary.

They lay in wait for a full month.

Finally, something changed.

"Look!"

Yao Xue's large eyes sparkled with excitement as she pointed to a corner of the valley's array.

Under their gaze,

Two Daoist figures emerged, lifting a corner of the array.

When they saw the two men's faces,

Li Rui's expression turned grim.

One of the Daoists was Xuan Yu of the Qingwei Sect; the other was a stranger.

Since Chunxu's death, Xuan Yu had gone to the Southern Seas.

The world assumed he was hunting the true culprit—but he had been hiding here all along.

Li Rui immediately explained the situation to the other two.

He Qianian quickly realized the gravity of the matter.

Yao Xue looked at Li Rui: "Master Jiang, what should we do next?"

Li Rui paused, then said:

"The spirit mine can't be moved. Let's leave first and plan carefully."

Inside the array,

what appeared from outside as an ordinary valley was in fact a massive peak, its interior hollowed out halfway.

Faintly, one could see figures moving along the mountainside.

If Li Rui were here,

he would recognize many of them as former laborers who had left the Qingwei Sect.

These laborers had become miners here.

At the foot of the mountain,

Xuan Yu and a young Daoist watched the scene.

"Friend Xu, you've done a great service."

Xuan Yu spoke slowly.

The young Daoist, Xu Zhou, chuckled, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He had endured the hardship of descending to this realm precisely for this spirit mine.

In the higher realm, he was merely a useless mine-seeker.

The cultivation world had stood for countless ages.

Spirit mines had long been exhausted; his skills were useless there. But here, he had vast potential!

He could use this skill to gain more resources within his sect.

Perhaps even break through again.

He had been stuck in the Miao Xuan realm for over a hundred years—this torment was unbearable.

It was no different from waiting to die.

Xuan Yu glanced at the Daoist who had come from the cultivation realm.

Even within the Qingwei Sect, only a handful knew that Qingwei was actually a subordinate sect of the Divine Xuan Sect of the higher realm.

Of those below, only he and his senior brother knew.

Xuan Yu watched the miners hauling spirit stones.

A faint smile curled his lips.

With this spirit mine under their control, how could the Qingwei Sect fail to grow strong?

(End of Chapter)