Chapter 628: Investigation

Ye Lin quickly arrived in the primeval forest.

The primeval forest surrounding the Paolong Sacred Land is vast, almost covering three‑tenths of the entire Paolong Sacred Land!

Within this area live countless demonic beasts and a variety of Spiritual Materials grow. Naturally there are many strange treasure sites, but generally outsiders are not allowed to enter.

Even Paolong Sacred Land disciples cannot enter without permission, but Ye Lin happened to receive a task from the Internal Affairs Hall, allowing him to come in to gather Spiritual Materials, so he passed the inspection.

"The forest's Qi seems less abundant than that inside the Outer Gate," Ye Lin said, looking around. He felt the flow of Qi seemed to move toward the inhabited areas, recalling that this primeval forest is also one of the Paolong Sacred Land's abundant Qi sources, perhaps a gathering formation has been set up.

As he walked, Ye Lin suddenly stepped on something soft, bent down to sweep away the dead branches and fallen leaves, and a tiny hole in the ground appeared before his eyes.

"What is this..."

Ye Lin's expression turned strange as he sensed an unusually strong Qi bursting from the hole, reached in and grabbed.

A pale earth‑colored pure crystal stone appeared in his hand; Ye Lin sensed it carefully and exclaimed with delight, "It's actually a Supreme Spirit Stone?!"

Spiritual Stones have grades; although they may not possess special abilities, the fact that they can restore Qi and convert it into magical power alone makes them highly valuable to cultivators.

And this Supreme Spirit Stone truly is the kind only seen in legends. Even in the massive cores of Spiritual Stone veins, finding a Supreme Spirit Stone is rare, yet he picked one up on the road?

"What luck—if this Spiritual Stone were auctioned, it could fetch a sky‑high price!" Ye Lin laughed.

Supreme Spirit Stones not only contain massive pure Qi, but their exceptionally pure composition allows absorbed Qi to convert directly into magical power without any cultivation technique—though that is the most wasteful use.

It is said that some Celestial Pills and Celestial Accumulations require the Qi of a Supreme Spirit Stone to be forged successfully; because they are rare and lack substitutes, Supreme Spirit Stones are virtually unseen on the market.

Ye Lin happily took the Supreme Spirit Stone, looked around and said, "It should be ahead."

He planned to first go collect Spiritual Materials; that area is said to be inhabited by a pack of great demons, so caution is advisable.

Soon, Ye Lin arrived at the place where Spiritual Materials grow and saw a herd of demonic beasts resembling large horned goats, their bodies wreathed in green flames; Ye Lin furrowed his brow:

"Green Flame Sheep, these beasts live in packs, unafraid of swords or blades, and can even unleash fire‑type demonic arts..."

Ye Lin, of course, would not be foolish enough to confront them directly, so he chose to create some noise nearby, drawing away a group of Green Flame Sheep.

But seeing many Green Flame Sheep still on guard, Ye Lin did not dare be careless. The herd he lured away was likely the youngest of the group, leaving behind lambs and old sheep; though their combined strength was still not negligible, Ye Lin activated a secret technique and slipped forward quietly.

"Fortunately it only takes two jin..."

Ye Lin moved closer, looked up at a sleeping Green Flame Sheep nearby, crawled forward cautiously, and saw a white pattern on the large stone beneath it, immediately beginning to tap it delicately.

Knocking the white pattern off the stone revealed white crystals. This is a three‑turn Spiritual Material called 'Snow Salt'; although it looks like ordinary table salt after grinding, it is specifically used to craft special Accumulation Devices.

For example, the Storage Accumulation Device familiar to cultivators requires Snow Salt in many refining methods.

Ye Lin knocked down two jin of Snow Salt, then immediately retreated without over‑harvesting.

The Paolong Sacred Land has devised a method to stably produce Snow Salt; according to cultivation lore, Snow Salt is otherwise only mined near the crust tens of thousands of meters below, with virtually no other sources. Its discovery stemmed from ancient crustal movements that exposed underground Snow Salt veins to the surface, allowing people to find and use them.

However, the Paolong Sacred Land accidentally discovered that when the Green Flame Sheep population expands, they can generate Snow Salt on cliffs or in valleys; though the amount is small, it is far easier than seeking Snow Salt veins.

Similar methods of cultivating Spiritual Materials are common among major factions.

The Paolong Sacred Land is not the first, nor will it be the last. Thus, this vast forest contains not only areas that use demonic beasts to cultivate Spiritual Materials, but also many other diverse cultivation methods. Moreover, the beasts themselves hold value, so nothing is wasted.

This is one of the reasons the Paolong Sacred Land forbids outsiders and ordinary disciples from entering freely.

After obtaining Snow Salt, Ye Lin did not rush to leave; instead he headed to the place Yan Buji had mentioned earlier to investigate.

"The Yin‑Dead Land?"

Ye Lin thought for a moment; he had heard Elders lecture that most Yin‑Dead Lands arise from mass extinction of living beings, though they are said to have some connection to the legendary Youming Jie, and such sites do not appear often.

But Ye Lin did not know where the Yin‑Dead Land lay in the forest, so he could only search according to the directions Yan Buji provided.

He walked for most of the day.

Ye Lin sensed an unusual aura ahead and proceeded forward.

The deeper he went, the surrounding air suddenly grew cold; Ye Lin involuntarily channeled magical power and felt fine ice particles drifting in the air, trying fiercely to pierce his skin through the pores!

"Sss! What is this... no, an Illusion Formation?!" Ye Lin realized, biting his tongue to draw blood, then immediately cast a technique to break free from the strange sensation.

Opening his eyes again, Ye Lin stared wide‑eyed around, his whole body feeling stiff.

Everywhere he looked had turned into scorched earth!

Burned trees, blackened ground, and a foul, acrid stench filled the air; countless charred corpses littered the ground, the stench overwhelming.

"What... what's going on? Who would dare set fire here?"

Before Ye Lin could react, a flash of sword light surged toward him!

Whoosh!

"Who?!"

Ye Lin reacted swiftly, dodging the incoming flying sword, then slapped his storage bag to summon a protective Accumulation Device shield, and brandished a blue longsword, staring at the projectile.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

More hidden weapons flew in; Ye Lin used the shield to block, slashing the projectiles aimed at his face with his sword, and coldly addressed the surroundings, "Come out! Who hides their head and shows their tail, think you're a hero?"

"Hmph! Since you, kid, uncovered this place, you shall remain here forever!"