Chapter 147: Planning for the Golden Thunder Bamboo

Lady Wen was at Miaoyin Sect, and Liudao Jisheng sent people to deliver Wen Tianren's Nascent Soul to Miaoyin Sect to offer an apology; this news spread throughout the entire Chaotic Star Sea in an instant.

It made the entire Chaotic Star Sea understand that Miaoyin Sect was a force that could not be offended; even though there were only Lady Wen and two other Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect, no one dared to underestimate or offend them.

And with the conclusion of the Zhaixing Assembly, Yan Taibai also successfully obtained the Outer Star Sea he wanted without any accidents; at the same time, the Tianjin Star Island, which ranked in the top few dozen in the Chaotic Star Sea, also belonged to Yan Taibai under the tacit cooperation of the three parties: Star Palace, Wanfa Sect, and Shengmo Island.

Yan Taibai went directly into the depths of the Tianjin Star Island's mineral vein to cultivate, and this cultivation lasted for a full several decades.

After all, as his realm improved, the resources required for the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash" that Yan Taibai cultivated were too vast, and the time required also grew longer.

Fortunately, Golden Core Stage cultivators have a lifespan of five or six hundred years, and Yan Taibai was still young, so there was no issue.

He broke through to the Golden Core Late Stage Great Perfection extremely smoothly; as such, he only needed to obtain the Nine-Curved Spirit Ginseng and refine it into the Nine-Curved Spirit Pill, and it would be no problem.

As for the refining method, although Yan Taibai did not have it, Zhou Yuan had already obtained it for him.

But besides this, after Yan Taibai came out of seclusion, there was one more important thing to do.

Golden Thunder Bamboo—it was not the ordinary thousand-year-old Golden Thunder Bamboo that Miaoyin Sect had acquired, but the Golden Thunder Bamboo that had once appeared in the Chaotic Star Sea and sparked a bloody battle for control lasting several decades.

Although it was only a portion, it was indeed a good item; it might not be of much use to Yan Taibai, but if brought to the Spirit World, it would certainly be able to be exchanged for a pile of Spirit Stones, which would be of great benefit to his subsequent cultivation.

Besides this, he could also research the Golden Thunder Bamboo to see if it was of any use for cultivating the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash." If it were, he could certainly find a way to cultivate it properly.

For example, returning to the Tiannan Cultivation World to obtain the Heavenly Sky Bottle, or completing the 【Hundred Poisons Immunity】 task as soon as possible.

With his efforts over these years, this task had already reached over ninety percent, and this time, he might be able to complete it all at once.

After all, Yan Taibai remembered that there were indeed highly poisonous things there.

It would be perfect to resolve it all at once!

……

Heavenly Star City, Miaoyin Sect

"This is the ancient map that Brother Yan asked me to find, but I feel that it shouldn't be that simple?"

Zhou Yuan handed the two pearls she had spent quite a bit of effort to obtain to Yan Taibai and said.

The "ruins" recorded inside were the place where Xuangui Shangren and Xiao Cha were sealed.

Although the simplest method would be to ask the Ji Yin Old Monster of Ji Yin Island, since the map had been found, it was naturally unnecessary.

"Mm! Call Shi Zhenren and his daughter Shi Die to come with me."

After taking the pearls and letting his divine sense invade them to take a look, Yan Taibai instructed.

"Brother Yan, rest assured, the father and daughter have already gone, as well as Ruting and Jingmei, the two sisters. Thanks to Brother Yan, the two sisters already successfully formed their Golden Cores a few years ago. If Brother Yan does not mind, why not take the two sisters in? The two sisters have extremely high standards; for so many years, they haven't looked at any man other than Brother Yan. I have already spoken to Sister Ruyan about this matter, and she agrees."

Zhou Yuan still did not give up on having Yan Taibai take in the sisters Zhuo Ruting and Fan Jingmei.

"Why, does Madam want to be a generation higher than me so badly?"

After hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Yan Taibai said with a half-smile.

"I wouldn't dare; they would only be Brother Yan's concubines, how could they possibly be a generation higher than Brother Yan?"

Zhou Yuan smiled sweetly and explained.

"Alright, how is the girl Zi Ling doing now? With her aptitude, plus the cultivation technique she practices, she should have already formed her Golden Core, right?"

Yan Taibai did not chat any further on this topic and asked about Ziling Xianzi instead.

After all, he could be considered an elder to Ziling Xianzi.

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from Brother Yan. That girl has indeed already successfully formed her Golden Core, and even a few years faster than her two senior sisters. After coming out of seclusion to stabilize her realm some time ago, she went to the Outer Star Sea with Wen Jiejie to hunt Demon Beasts. Brother Yan need not worry."

Zhou Yuan nodded her head slightly and said.

"Since that is the case, then I can rest easy."

After hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Yan Taibai nodded and said.

"Alright, there is no time to lose, I will go first. I will leave the sect matters to you, Madam."

After speaking, Yan Taibai stood up, shook his head to refuse Zhou Yuan's offer to see him off, and turned into a golden streak of light to leave Miaoyin Sect.

"I hope no accidents occur!"

After Yan Taibai left, Zhou Yuan's smile gradually faded, and she sighed softly.

……

Ten days later, Yan Taibai saw the destination of this trip: a large island.

The area of this island was extremely vast, spanning over a thousand miles in radius, but the island was mostly hills and earthen slopes; looking at it, it was a gray-yellow expanse everywhere.

Seeing this, the slight fatigue on Yan Taibai's face was swept away, and his eyes became much brighter.

One must know that his escape speed surpassed that of most Nascent Soul cultivators, yet even so, it took him a full ten days to arrive here, which was enough to show how remote it was.

Of course, this was also nonsense; if it weren't remote and desolate, the Ji Yin Old Monster and Jixuan, who chose to kill their master back then, would not have chosen this place.

Now that he had finally arrived, Golden Thunder Bamboo, here he came.

Before long, Yan Taibai entered the island and, relying on his divine sense, arrived at a tall yellow earthen mountain on the island.

This earthen mountain was about a thousand feet tall, entirely yellow, without a trace of green, giving people an extremely uncomfortable feeling, as if the whole thing were piled up from yellow soil.

As soon as Yan Taibai approached the earthen mountain, a violent wind arose, and sand and stones began to fly.

The boundless gale blew away a layer of yellow soil directly from the ground, making the surroundings immediately turn dark and gloomy, where one could not even see their own fingers.

And at this moment, a familiar, soft, and beautiful voice rang out by Yan Taibai's ear.

"Brother Yan, over here."

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw the sisters Zhuo Ruting and Fan Jingmei had already appeared a hundred feet away; especially Fan Jingmei's affectionate eyes, which made Yan Taibai feel a bit unnatural, as if he were that kind of heartless and ungrateful scoundrel.

However, this inexplicable feeling of innocence only lasted for a moment in his heart before it vanished into thin air, no longer existing.

"I've kept you waiting. Do you have any leads?"

Yan Taibai flew to within a few feet of the two women and asked with a smile.

"Brother Yan should go ask Shi Zhenren with us! He is clearer about it. We don't have much understanding of array matters."

Compared to Fan Jingmei's slightly resentful gaze, Zhuo Ruting was much clearer, but her cheeks were flushed with a hint of red, adding a touch of beauty and charm that made one unable to help but look a few more times.

Clearly, even for the cold and aloof Zhuo Ruting, she still held no small amount of affection for Yan Taibai.

"Then let's go and ask! If True Master Shi cannot solve it, we can only go find that good friend."

Yan Taibai nodded and said.

The good friend he spoke of was naturally Xin Ruyin; having not returned to the Tiannan Cultivation World for so long, he truly missed her quite a bit.

"A good friend? Is it a woman?"

Fan Jingmei asked cautiously.

"That is correct, she is indeed a woman. It is just that you do not know her."

Yan Taibai chuckled and admitted it.

"Alright, let us go ask True Master Shi first."

"Mm!"

Seeing this, the sisters Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting nodded their heads slightly, then led the way and brought Yan Taibai to a temporarily constructed stone house.

Inside were a man and a woman, who were precisely True Master Shi and his daughter, Shi Die.

Although Shi Die's appearance was plain, her talent for formations was quite good; while there was still a significant gap between her and her father, True Master Shi, she was already somewhat famous in Heavenly Star City.

At the same time, she worshipped Yan Taibai extremely; the moment she saw True Master Yan Taibai appear, her eyes shone as she stared at Yan Taibai, completely disregarding whether it was impolite.

"My daughter is being rude, I hope Brother Yan will forgive her."

Seeing this, True Master Shi also felt a massive headache and could only cup his hands to apologize to Yan Taibai.

"It is fine, it is just a small matter. How is the situation with the ruins?"

Yan Taibai shook his head and asked, not minding at all.

"I have already thought of a solution, it is just that it will still require quite some time to break through."

True Master Shi said with considerable confidence.

"Mm! Then I will have to trouble you."

Yan Taibai nodded and smiled.

"Brother Yan is too polite. Will Brother Yan wait here with the two fairies, or would you like to come and take a look with me?"

True Master Shi glanced at the sisters Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting, then asked.

"Then let us go take a look! I have nothing else to do anyway."

Yan Taibai thought for a moment and smiled.

This left the sisters Zhuo Ruting and Fan Jingmei quite disappointed; after all, if possible, they had originally planned to try and win over Yan Taibai here.

After all, the crisis of the Miaoyin Sect had already been resolved.

"Very well, Brother Yan, please follow me."

Hearing this, True Master Shi only gave a slightly apologetic look to the sisters Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting, then led the way with his own daughter, Shi Die, toward the site of the ruins.

Before long, the group stopped at an inconspicuous gentle slope in the middle of a dirt hill.

At this time, True Master Shi introduced:

"Brother Yan, the area shrouded in yellow mist is where the formation is located."

As True Master Shi spoke, he pointed to a spot on the slope.

There was no need for him to say it, as Yan Taibai had already seen it.

It was a mass of yellow mist about a mile in circumference, crouching like a giant beast, murky and heavy, silent and soundless, giving one an unfathomable and eerie feeling.

"Uncle Master Yan, this is a dual-attribute formation of earth and wind." Shi Die could not help but introduce.

"Mm! How long will it take to break?"

Yan Taibai nodded slightly and asked.

"At the fastest, it will take one month."

True Master Shi hesitated for a moment before saying.

"Good, then one month it is."

Yan Taibai nodded and said.

"I will trouble you for this month. If you need anything, just speak up."

"Good, many thanks Brother Yan. With Brother Yan's help, it should be faster."

True Master Shi was overjoyed to hear this.

Afterward, he could not wait to take Shi Die to break the formation, while Yan Taibai and the sisters Zhuo Ruting and Fan Jingmei stayed in place to observe the changes.

In any case, they could not help much, especially Fan Jingmei and Zhuo Ruting, though the two women were already accustomed to serving Yan Taibai.

With the two women for company, Yan Taibai was not too bored, and from time to time he could talk to Shi Die and True Master Shi, asking for advice on knowledge regarding formations.

He could also help out, taking action to break some of the formation Restrictions that were difficult to break in a short time.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. With Yan Taibai's help, the formation Restrictions that originally required a month to break were now seven or eight-tenths broken, leaving only the final trouble.

At this time, the area of the formation had shrunk quite a bit, and the color of the light barrier had changed from its original murky yellow to the current crimson color of flames; if one walked even slightly closer, one could feel a scorching heat rushing toward them.

Besides that, there were the seven-colored light ribbons within the walls of the light barrier, which had now turned into countless winged fire snakes, crawling and swimming everywhere on the barrier wall, constantly spitting out thin flames.

"Brother Yan, these are fire-type spirit beasts, Chiao E. They are very rare and can only be born in special places. However, their lifespan is not long; they will perish in only a few hours. It is just that the demon fire they spit is very powerful, not inferior to the core fire of most Golden Core Stage Cultivators, and they are most adept at devouring the souls of Mortals and the primordial spirits of Cultivators. They are very troublesome to deal with. This final Restriction is what makes this place a 'Three Yang Land,' which is why these fire spirits can endlessly regenerate and are inexhaustible. If an unsuspecting Cultivator were to forcibly break the Restriction, they would certainly not escape the poisonous clutches of these Chiao E."

True Master Shi explained unhurriedly.

"Alright, leave the rest to me!"

Hearing this, Yan Taibai nodded slightly and did not delay any longer.

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and ten thousand Golden Sword Qi shot out, like a rain of swords filling the sky.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" It poured down, and the protective barrier outside the Chiao E shattered instantly; before the Chiao E inside could react, they were struck down by the golden sword rain, vanishing into smoke and ceasing to exist.

This move directly caused the six bright eyes of the three women—Shi Die, Fan Jingmei, and Zhuo Ruting—to shine with brilliance, filled with looks of worship and awe.

Yan Taibai did not care much about this, merely letting his gaze fall upon the final Spirit-Sealing Pillar.

The runes on this Spirit-Sealing Pillar were strange, and from top to bottom, there were only eight massive runes in total, with the rest being extended patterns.

At the same time, the entire Spirit-Sealing Pillar was inlaid with many rare yin-yang jades, evenly distributed across the entire stone pillar, shining with a faint black and white light.

"Now we only need to move this Spirit-Sealing Pillar away."

Shi Zhenren was beaming with a flushed face, quite excited. One could imagine how great the value of a ruin that Yan Taibai would go to such lengths to obtain must be.

"Shi Zhenren, have you not discovered anything amiss?"

Yan Taibai suddenly asked again.

"Amiss?"

Hearing this, Shi Zhenren was slightly stunned, then seemed to think of something.

"Is Brother Yan referring to the formation from just now?"

Shi Zhenren frowned and said.

"How could a formation that has only existed for a thousand years be an ancient ruin?"

Yan Taibai nodded and chuckled softly.

Afterwards, he stepped forward, raised his hand, and pushed against the Spirit-Sealing Pillar.

"Boom!" With a loud crash, the entire Spirit-Sealing Pillar seemed to suffer a heavy blow and was pushed directly to the ground by Yan Taibai.

As the Spirit-Sealing Pillar fell, a large, pitch-black hole came into view, and behind it was a flight of stairs, cast from bluestone.

"Let's go! Let us go in and take a look."

Yan Taibai stepped into the hole without the slightest worry, completely unconcerned about any danger.

(End of this chapter)