Chapter 86 Spirit Vein - 1 I still don't know where Lu Qing is outside...

No one knew what arrangements Lu Qing had made outside. Someone accidentally stepped on a pill, and after smoke spread, the remaining pills exploded one after another, instantly turning the entire valley into chaos.

All the warriors in their tight-fitting clothes darted about in disarray, their spiritual energy fluctuating wildly, making it impossible to distinguish one from another. Wu Chen led the three of them deep into the valley.

The vegetation there was so lush and abundant that it made it almost impossible for them to move.

Wu Chen tapped on the mountain wall, chose a spot, and plunged the Taiyi Sword into it. With a flick of his wrist, the mountain rock shattered and spilled onto the ground, revealing a hole about an arm's width wide, from which a chilling aura emanated.

Yu Jitang stood at the edge, peering inside. It seemed bottomless below, and he was uncertain of his own safety. "Wu Chen, can we really get in? What if we get stuck inside?"

Wu Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry."

"Have you done this before?" Yu Jitang asked, somewhat belatedly realizing.

Lu Qing bit her lip and chuckled. Wu Chen never spoke definitively; if he said something that was almost certainly true, it was basically a done deal. She reached out and gave Yu Jitang a sharp shove from behind, "Let's go."

Caught off guard, Yu Jitang stumbled inside. Luckily, he reacted quickly, drew his sword, and landed on it with a somersault, cautiously looking around.

Lu Qing and Qi Ying followed in, with Wu Chen bringing up the rear. With two swift sword strikes on the mountainside, the entrance to the rockfall cave was blocked.

Yu Jitang said irritably, "Alright, now you've really trapped yourself. Sigh, tell me honestly, did you do this often before? You seem to know it like the back of your hand."

Wu Chen smiled. He had risen from an ordinary disciple with no background, no famous teacher, and no family support to become a divine servant step by step. Naturally, he could not have done so solely through day and night cultivation.

He took a bead out of his pouch and handed it to Lu Qing, saying, "Here, take this."

The bead emitted a faint green light, enough to illuminate a space of about ten feet around it. Wu Chen pulled Lu Qing and squeezed in front of Yu Jitang, saying to Yu Jitang, "I'll go first, you stay behind."

Yu Jitang was a little curious, as he had never entered a spiritual vein before. "Wu Chen, what's inside? Don't tell me you don't know. Or tell me what you've encountered before."

Qi Ying squeezed past him, saying, "Attendant Yu, read more books when you have nothing to do."

Was he being looked down upon? Well, Qi Ying had been looking down on him for quite some time now. Yu Jitang followed, "Alright, I know your shaman servant is capable, and I'm just eager to learn, aren't I? From now on, I'll do exactly what your master does!"

Qi Ying glanced back at him and said, "Then you'll have to work harder. Putting aside everything else, everything you've learned since elementary school was taught by your elders. The books that we disciples on Nukun Peak learn are all copied by our adults from the Seven Pavilions."

"What? Seven Pavilions? Handwritten?" Yu Jitang's hair stood on end.

The Seven Pavilions are the largest palace complex in the Divine Palace, consisting of seven enormous palaces connected together. The books they house are as vast as the stars, a place Yu Jitang has always revered and avoided. Wu Chen also has a library on Nukun Peak, though not as large as the Seven Pavilions. But if he were to copy them, he probably couldn't do it even if he lost his hands or went blind. What's even more terrifying is that the library on Nukun Peak has been constantly being expanded. If all those copies were handwritten by Wu Chen… Yu Jitang felt an urge to cry.

Lu Qing turned around, feeling the same unease, "Once I upset him, and he actually wrote out a 'Heart-Cleansing Mantra' by hand and made me copy it as punishment..."

Qi Ying and Yu Jitang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Wu Chen found it amusing and glanced back at Lu Qing. How dare she say that? Didn't she even consider why she was punished in the first place?

Lu Qing remembered what had happened and stuck out her tongue. But then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she leaned closer to Wu Chen, whispering, "If I do it again, you won't make me copy books again, will you?"

Wu Chen turned around, his eyes reflecting a deep, unfathomable green light. "You can give it a try."

Lu Qing raised an eyebrow: Let's give it a try, you said it yourself.

Wu Chen seemed to understand her expression, pursed his thin lips, and turned his head away with a half-smile.

Lu Qing chuckled.

The two people following behind didn't know what kind of dispute they were involved in. It was Yu Jitang's first time entering a spiritual vein, and he was at the back of the line, so he was a little unsure of himself. He couldn't help but make conversation, "Wu Chen, tell me. What have you encountered?"

As Wu Chen descended, he answered in a low voice, "When I first entered the spiritual vein, I was just an ordinary outer disciple, unable to control artifacts. During a fight with demons, I fell into a deep cave..."

"Such good luck?" Yu Jitang exclaimed in surprise.

"What's so good about it!" Wu Chen sighed as he recalled the terrible scene. "It was a demon cultivator's lair. The demon cultivator was probably some kind of groundhog. The burrow was extremely deep. I fell all the way down, and I don't know how many bones I broke. I couldn't move at all..."

Lu Qing imagined Wu Chen lying there with his limbs twisted like a pretzel, and found it a little funny. "And then what?"

Wu Chen glanced back at her with a hint of disapproval, but surprisingly, there wasn't a single word of comfort or sympathy offered!

Lu Qing met his gaze before belatedly saying, "Ouch, that must have hurt a lot. Where did you fall? Are you alright now?"

Wu Chen was very dissatisfied with such a greeting, "After you leave, recite the 'Purifying Mantra' three times."

Lu Qing was shocked, "This is also a punishment of copying?"

Yu Jitang and Qi Ying chuckled behind them. Yu Jitang said, "Your consolation is so fake. Even I can't stand it."

Lu Qing glared at him fiercely: If you weren't here, I would have said so much more!

Wu Chen continued, "I guess I was lucky. That demon cultivator didn't return immediately for some reason. After I woke up, I searched for water wherever I could move and unexpectedly discovered a spring beneath a spiritual vein. I remembered what was written in that senior's notes, so I jumped in and found a way to survive. Within a spiritual vein, life is endless, but so are dangers. The spiritual vein itself is the biggest trap. The most common problem is the excessively dense spiritual energy. If you don't absorb it properly, you'll either damage your meridians or explode and die. Of course, there are also demons and monsters attracted by spiritual veins. No one knows what they'll encounter down there. You can only be careful and never be careless."

The three little tails nodded repeatedly.

The path down was not smooth. In some places, it seemed like there was no way to go any further.

Wu Chen carefully discerned the direction, still using the Taiyi Sword to clear the way. The Taiyi Sword was very intelligent, glowing faintly in the dark cave, and it sliced ​​through the hard rocks as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Yu Jitang was at the back of the group, constantly suspecting that something was trailing behind him, and he would look back from time to time. To be honest, if it weren't for Wu Chen leading the way, he would never have gone down to such a deep place.

They walked for an unknown amount of time in the darkness, until all sounds from the ground had ceased to be heard. The surrounding spiritual energy gradually thickened. Lu Qing, with her keenest senses, felt every pore on her body relax and open up, as if she were immersed in a hot spring, so comfortable that she almost fell asleep.

Wu Chen kept turning back to check on the three of them. When he saw Lu Qing looking dazed, he quickly pinched her hard and said, "Wake up."

"Huh?" Lu Qing was immediately taken aback.

Wu Chen warned in a low voice, "You must be very careful. This is not where we usually meditate and cultivate. Once you enter a meditative state and lose your focus, you might be killed without even realizing it. You must be extremely vigilant and careful."

Lu Qing came to her senses. "I just felt that this spiritual energy was extremely comfortable, and I was tricked as soon as I relaxed. It's such a pity that so much spiritual energy is right in front of me, but I can't enjoy it."

Wu Chen squeezed her hand. "There are gains and losses. There is never pure benefit or pure harm in this world."

Qi Ying nodded repeatedly. Yu Jitang also seemed to understand. Only Lu Qing squeezed Wu Chen's palm, "Isn't it tiring to stay so awake all the time?"

Wu Chen was slightly taken aback. It was certainly arduous. Over the years, every unexpected gift and stroke of good fortune had required careful consideration and weighing of its value. He had never spoken of the hardships involved. But now, finally, there was someone who, even without him saying a word, reflected him like a clear spring, making everything about him vividly clear in her eyes and heart.

There's a saying that even without all those fancy sweet words, he's content.

Wu Chen said nothing, but squeezed Lu Qing's hand and said, "Be careful and don't be greedy."

Lu Qing nodded. "I understand."

Further down, light gradually appeared...

-----------------------

Author's note: I'm so stuck in writer's block I'm about to die...