Chapter 165

After leaving Lingyu, Yan Buji once again disguised himself and set out toward the direction he had come from before.

This time he had made full preparations for the operation; although it went smoothly, he seemed to have uncovered something tremendous again.

"Stone-Splitting Secret Art... Stone-Splitting Master. Since Hua Fei came here for him, that mad beggar's identity is not simple either; otherwise Hua Fei would not have unleashed killing intent, but instead helped me escape. But I don't know why he gave me the Stone-Splitting Secret Art...."

Yan Buji thought carefully.

Perhaps the Stone-Splitting Secret Art is not important; what matters is that Stone-Splitting Master.

It can be foreseen that the mad beggar certainly knows the Stone-Splitting Master.

But since it concerns those senior bigshots of the cultivation world, Yan Buji currently lacks the strength to investigate further.

He walked for over half a month.

Yan Buji returned to the foothills of the mountain where the Wang family had ambushed the Foundation Establishment Stage demon cultivator Wang Jie, and sensed the surrounding aura.

"Roar!!!"

The Black Ling also seemed to have sensed the familiar scent; it launched itself from the mountaintop, pounding its chest as it roared nonstop at Yan Buji.

"Senior Li, I've taken your Black Ling; I have something to discuss with you." Yan Buji called out softly.

The Black Ling immediately clutched its head and rolled on the ground; seeing this, Yan Buji quickly leapt up the cliff in two strides.

But at this moment, the scene Yan Buji had seen before is completely different now!

That mutated flesh pillar has actually slowly grown into a humanoid form!

It seems Senior Li really does have a way to suppress mutations; unfortunately....

"Hmph, you brat, dare you come back? Have you perhaps obtained the Six Apertures Exquisite Heart?" Li Dao Ren asked lightly, seemingly no longer fearing Yan Buji's approach.

Yan Buji smiled faintly: "Senior, you didn't tell me that the Third Princess is actually a reincarnation of a great adept of the Xuan Gen Dao."

"Huh?!"

Li Dao Ren opened his eyes, surprise flickering in his strange, twisted pupils, but then his face filled with dissatisfaction:

"That means you didn't get it!"

"I've come back this time to see you, senior, because I have important news to report. If you don't want to hear it, you can just kill me." Yan Buji said indifferently.

Li Dao Ren narrowed his eyes, hesitating for a moment.

Just what news has this brat gathered?

Could it be...

"What do you know?"

"This time I went to Gen Dao Huang Du, and some interesting things happened. For instance, the Gen Dao Emperor secretly colluded with the reincarnated great adept, the Third Princess, to seize the Lingyu of Gen Dao Huang Du!"

Li Dao Ren turned pale: "Impossible! How dare they... Oh, so it's Qinghe Xianzi's plan. No wonder she suddenly underwent corporeal liberation a thousand years ago; I thought it was a failed attempt to break through to Nascent Soul, but it turns out it was for this! Hehehe."

Yan Buji's heart stirred, and he asked: "What is Qinghe Xianzi?"

"That is the Third Princess's past life."

"Since you, senior, know their identity yet still sent me to my death, it seems you never really intended to tell me how to suppress mutations." Yan Buji sneered.

Li Dao Ren laughed: "Kid, it's just that you're lucky, your strength is low, and you're cautious. But you coming back to see me—could it be that you've made contact with them?"

"Not bad, this time I went..."

Yan Buji briefly recounted his experience at the one-line meeting, not hiding the key points either, since he didn't fully understand the stakes involved; it was better to lay it out and see how the other party would react.

"Treasure Dragon Land? What's so remarkable about a few rotten bones? Hmph, it must be for the dragon vein within the Lingyu."

"Dragon vein? I wonder if senior could explain to me what the dragon vein is all about?"

Li Dao Ren chuckled: "Want to know?"

Yan Buji nodded.

"You're not qualified yet."

"Whether qualified or not, I've come to see you, senior, to report this—isn't it just to ask you to make arrangements? Or are you willing to stay here and watch the Gen Dao Emperor and the Third Princess seize the treasure and slip away?"

Li Dao Ren took a deep breath, smiled, and said: "You kid sure know how to talk; alright, I'll explain."

"The dragon vein isn't some rare treasure; of course it can also be counted as spiritual material. But it's different from the spiritual materials you've seen lately. Do you know why both dragon vein and earth vein share the character 'vein'?"

"I hope senior will enlighten me." Yan Buji said, clasping his fists.

Although it wasn't sincere, the due respect still had to be given.

On the path of cultivation, the principle that the capable come first is fundamentally sound.

"The earth vein is the earth's network and also key to giving birth to spiritual lands. The dragon vein, however, is the core of a Lingyu; the existence of the dragon vein supports the Lingyu, like the foundation of a building—if it disappears, the building collapses in an instant."

"The Lingyu of Gen Dao Huang Du was born many years ago when a true dragon fell and perished here, similar to the Lingyu formed after a Nascent Soul cultivator's corpse liberation. However, unlike the Lingyu's domain spirit, which retains a cultivator's lifelong obsession and some spirituality, the dragon vein is completely devoid of reason, like a raging beast."

Yan Buji listened, stunned.

Can there be domain spirits within a Lingyu?

Are domain spirits formed from a Nascent Soul cultivator's lifelong obsession and some spirituality?

Is the dragon vein like a raging beast?

"Could it be that the Lingyu of Gen Dao Huang Du was calmed only after cultivators suppressed the dragon vein?"

"That's right, but this involves some plans of the Eight Dao Mysterious Sect, which doesn't concern you." Li Dao Ren said lightly.

Yan Buji narrowed his eyes.

"Could it be that the Xuan Gen Dao uses some art to reduce mortals' lifespans and increase population in order to suppress the dragon vein within the Lingyu?"

"No, if that were truly the case, why would the Third Princess's reincarnation, known as Qinghe Xianzi, also be plotting the Lingyu with the Bao Cheng Emperor?"

"Unless there are more secrets in this Lingyu than these."

Seeing Yan Buji silent, Li Dao Ren knew he was just guessing wildly, and so spoke:

"Don't overthink it; I already know about this. I'll go with you to Gen Dao Huang Du. When the time comes, just tell me what they do; as for the benefit, the method I promised you to suppress mutations will naturally be told to you after success!"

"Besides that, I'd also like to ask you, senior, to refine two Accumulation Devices for me?" Yan Buji said with a smile.

"Do you have any surplus mana right now?" Li Dao Ren said coldly.

"Then please, senior, give me some Spiritual Material; I'll figure out how to refine it myself."

"Hmph, greedy brat, you won't let go without seeing the benefit. Since you've done such a two-faced deed, though it's shameful, it also conforms to the way of survival for lone cultivators." Li Dao Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Besides that, if any other cultivator dared to speak to him like that, he'd have been slapped to death long ago."

"Before, he lacked the opportunity and ability, so he didn't dare act; but now Li Dao Ren has partially recovered his human form, and using a portion of his strength is entirely possible."

"Heck, this kid has extraordinary guts, daring to take advantage of both sides at once!"

"Dealing with such people can easily be done by binding them with interests, but one must also see whether the other side has that worth."

"Obviously, being able to gain the approval of the Baocheng Emperor and Fairy Qinghe, and even slip out from under their noses to find oneself, this level of initiative is worth valuing."

"Yan Buji wasn't worried that Li Dao Ren would strike a killing blow, after all he wasn't completely unprepared."

"If anything were to happen to me, within a few days someone would send Li Dao Ren's whereabouts to the Baocheng Emperor, and then he wouldn't fare well either."

"To scheme with a tiger is tantamount to entrusting one's life to the scales."

"It merely comes down to whether the stake is enough to whet the other's appetite."