Chapter 997 Primordial Ancient Mine

Yue Ling'er's mouth opened slightly, and she froze.

The meaning behind these eight short characters, "reversing the five elements and disrupting yin and yang," terrified her.

It can not only distort enemy attacks, but also be used as a sealing technique.

Without the aid of escape techniques, the enemy fighting against the ruler lost the ability to flee.

Ji An raised the crimson flag. "Let's go to the central area to test it out and see how much you're restricted when using Earth Escape Technique."

The unique ability of the Flame Banner will greatly limit the Five Elements Escape Techniques, including the ability to burn one's own life force, which is often used by demonic cultivators.

These kinds of secret techniques are related to the water element, and it's questionable how much speed they can maintain in a realm where the five elements are reversed.

Yue Ling'er's features contorted slightly as she smiled bitterly:

"Your Majesty, you should find cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm to conduct the tests."

This is too unfair! I only have the cultivation level of the Nascent Soul stage, but the Flame Banner is a top-grade fifth-tier spiritual treasure.

"All I need to do is unleash the pressure of the magical treasure, and I will lose the ability to resist."

If converted, a fifth-tier top-grade cultivator is equivalent to a cultivator at the peak of the Three Flowers Realm.

They are worlds apart, completely incomparable.

Ji An gently waved his hand and explained:

"Of course I will not use my power to intimidate people. I will only activate the magical power of the spiritual treasure to reverse the five elements, and will not release any pressure."

After saying that, he approached Yue Ling'er and activated the Golden Light of Leaping Earth, arriving as if by teleportation above a white area not far from the Gathering Yuan Tree.

After landing, Ji An pointed downwards twice, silently urging the other party to hurry up.

Yue Ling'er had no choice but to agree reluctantly, "Your Majesty, if I am not out after ten breaths from the moment you activated the magical treasure's power, please deactivate the magical treasure's power."

She was worried about potential harm, as she was currently at a crucial stage in her spiritual practice. If all went well, she could attempt a breakthrough in a few years.

It is crucial to avoid injury during this period, otherwise it will affect your performance.

Sometimes breakthroughs depend on timing; if a problem occurs at a crucial step, it can take many years to make up for it.

"You still don't believe me?"

Ji An shook his head and chuckled, then continued:

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

The effects of the spiritual treasure have a much smaller impact on me, as my divine sense can monitor the situation within a thousand feet underground.

If we discover there's a problem with you, we will immediately retrieve the ground-based flame flag.

He gave the other person an encouraging look and waited for them to take their place.

At this moment, the golden retriever came running over. Over the years, its cultivation level had not improved much, but it had learned the ability to shrink its body.

The Golden Retriever is now less than two feet long, with fluffy fur that looks like strands of gold.

It stopped at its owner's feet, stood up, and stared at Yue Ling'er with a silly expression.

Amused, Yue Ling'er cupped her hands in greeting to Ji An, then used her escape technique to disappear from the spot.

Ji An sensed her location, waved the Flame Banner that was lifted off the ground, and the crimson spiritual light rippled, dyeing the yellow earth red.

Yue Ling'er immediately sensed the change; the land became unfamiliar, and the fragrance of earth elemental power transformed into surging heat.

It felt like being in a land of lava, with a constant smoky, roasting sensation.

She tried to activate the Earth Escape Technique, but the earth elemental energy in the vicinity had become thin. In the past, she could instantly travel about a thousand feet, but now she only moved seventy or eighty feet.

She emerged from the ground and smiled, explaining the difference between using Earth Escape Technique and doing so under normal circumstances. She then added:

"Hehe, it's much better than I expected."

She had thought she would be unable to move an inch, but to her surprise, she could still move. The difference between her and the Flame Banner was simply too great.

Ji An nodded slightly, "So try things out before drawing conclusions, don't scare yourself. Now, attack me."

He was not disappointed. The Flame Banner had only revealed its power to reverse the five elements today, so the weak effect was acceptable.

The gap between Lingbao and his opponent was indeed enormous, but he did not unleash any power at the level of a fifth-grade top-quality Lingbao, so the difference in their realms was negligible.

Yue Ling'er made a hand seal, and a dozen or so yellow sand tornadoes generated by earth-elemental spiritual power began to rage.

Ji An waved the Flame Banner off the ground again, and the swirling winds that had been gathered showed signs of spreading. The earth elemental light on the outer edge turned red and burst out with thousands of sparks.

He only released the magical power of the treasure for a moment, and then activated his magic to form a semi-transparent light membrane.

The tornado shrank by about 10%, and when it collided with the light membrane, it was like an egg hitting a rock, and the gale dissipated.

Witnessing the outcome, Yue Ling'er sighed inwardly and asked:

"Your Majesty, how much power does the magic still retain?"

A perfectly good earth-elemental spell was forcibly split into two parts. When the power cannot be concentrated in one place, the spell's power will inevitably be greatly reduced.

"It's about 80% done, let's go again."

Yue Ling'er released the same spell again, this time Ji An was activating the power of the Flame Banner to reverse the five elements throughout.

The tornado grew smaller and smaller, until it collided with the light membrane and was only one-fifth of its original size, completely lacking any power.

"Judging from the intensity of spiritual pressure, only 10% of its power remains."

Ji An didn't say one more thing: if the distance is far enough, this spell will automatically 'disintegrate', so there's no need to worry about it at all.

When fighting against cultivators of the same level, the elemental power carried by the enemy's spiritual treasures will be greatly weakened, so you only need to focus on the attacks from those physical spiritual treasures.

Yue Ling'er was very disappointed. "In the future, the power of the Flame Banner will become stronger and stronger. If I am the Lord's enemy, I'm afraid I will have no way to survive."

Ji An smiled faintly and offered words of comfort:

“But you are not an enemy. On the contrary, we are allies with a blood pact, so you should be happy.”

Yue Ling'er smiled back, her snow-white teeth like neatly arranged seashells.

Time flows like water, and the world of gourds has been transformed into a silver-clad world five times by heavy snow.

Big Yellow entered the small world and said with lowered eyes:

"Your Majesty, the Hermit of Clouds has come to visit and is waiting outside the cave."

The cave is protected by a magic array, and it does not have the authority to open the magic barrier.

Ji An stopped thinking and rubbed his head, which was starting to throb:

"Ah Yun, quickly prepare some spiritual tea, roasted pine nuts, and pastries, then come with me to greet them."

He led the puppet away from the small world, activated the seal with a magic gesture, quickly walked to the entrance of the cave, and solemnly cupped his hands in greeting:

"Haha, I've been waiting for you for so long, and finally you're back, fellow Daoist."

Yunmiao Sanren slightly curled his lips and said jokingly:

"Fellow Daoist, you wouldn't have acted so approachable before."

She covered her mouth and chuckled softly, then returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said:

"I learned from Fellow Daoist Queyue that you have made a breakthrough in your cultivation. Congratulations!"

Fellow Daoist's progress is so rapid that it puts us to shame.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down and ate half a cup of tea and some pastries. Ji An then spoke:

"I urgently need a large number of sea beast carcasses of mid-grade or higher fifth rank. Fellow Daoist, could you allow me to accompany you on your next hunting trip?"

To quickly improve the grade of one's spiritual root, one must either burn the corpses of high-level demonic beasts to create compost, or obtain a large amount of Dao essence.

Although his planting spells are powerful, using spells to improve spiritual veins is something that takes a long time to yield results.

If all the spiritual roots of heaven and earth are upgraded to the fifth-grade superior level as soon as possible, the spiritual veins can be upgraded earlier. By then, the third stage of the Yin-Yang Cave True Technique will surely have been created, so as not to delay cultivation.

Yunmiao Sanren was overjoyed upon hearing this, "That is indeed my wish, I dare not ask."

Do you know that many times I've encountered powerful sea monsters? They just passed right by me, and since I couldn't fight them, I could only watch them leave.

Opportunities are fleeting; if you don't seize them, you'll lose them completely.

The opponent's strength has been tested in the Vast Ocean Realm, and with his addition, the gains will surely increase significantly.

Even if the two of them split the spoils, they will get more than before.

Finding a sea monster's lair in the vast ocean is no easy task. Even though she raises hundreds of sea fish as her tamed beasts, it takes her an average of six months to find a suitable target.

Ji An was very happy and asked:

"How long should I rest before setting off again, fellow Daoist? Is there anything I need to prepare?"

Yunmiao Sanren pondered for a moment and said:

"I will process the harvested materials and convert them into suitable elixirs. I will set off in three to five years at the earliest."

As for you, fellow Daoist, I don't think there's any need for special preparations; just ensure you have enough Yuan Crystal reserves.

The opponent's combat power is strong enough. Back in the Vast Sea Realm, he was only at the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm, yet he was already so powerful that he instilled fear in his enemies. Now that his cultivation has broken through, his endurance and combat power will be further enhanced.

If the opponent has four or five Yuan Crystals, then they have no weaknesses.

She prefers to work with strong allies, as it means more room for error and also more gains.

Ji An scratched his head. "There are almost no cultivators willing to sell their Yuan Crystals. This is too difficult for me. Do you know of any unclaimed high-grade mineral veins?"

He needed to prepare for two possibilities. On the one hand, he would send Wuyue Sanren to make more trips to see if he could acquire the minerals; on the other hand, he could search for mineral veins located in dangerous areas and try his luck.

"There is a Primordial Ancient Mine in the Tianren Mountains of Ziwei Star, where the spiritual veins reach the sixth level and are nurtured with Yuan Crystals."

The mine can be roughly divided into twelve levels. It is said that there are slumbering monsters of the cave-heaven level on the last two levels, so you must not enter.

I suggest you stay on the seventh, eighth, or ninth floor. You can mine in any deserted cave. I found two Yuan Crystals on the eighth floor.

Generally speaking, as long as you don't enter the eleventh floor, your safety is guaranteed.

There's a chance of encountering monsters at the Cave Heaven level on the tenth floor, while the ninth floor is much safer.

"If you intend to try your luck at the Primordial Ancient Mine, I can provide you with a map."

However, the map was drawn more than 600 years ago, so there will likely be some degree of inaccuracy.

The Primordial Ancient Mine has a unique spiritual energy, and the growth rate of monsters there is significantly faster than in other places, making it more dangerous.

It's not just demonic beasts; conflicts between cultivators also occur frequently.

Before entering the Vast Ocean Realm, she was unaware of the other party's strength, and since the other party had only broken through to the middle stage of the Three Realms a few years before setting off, she did not recommend that he go to the Primordial Ancient Mine.

Yunmiao Sanren now has great confidence in Ji An, believing that the risks are manageable.

Ji An took out a porcelain jar. "Please give me the map, fellow Daoist. This is a little Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea. Please accept it."

"Fellow Daoist, you're too kind. Helping you is helping myself."

This also contains information about the monsters found in the mine. Fellow cultivators, you can also encounter groups selling maps in the mining area; you can buy another copy for reference.

Yunmiao Sanren took out the jade slip and handed it over, then happily accepted the porcelain jar. The other party's gifts had never disappointed her.

She thought for a moment, then said:

“If you are going to the Primordial Ancient Mine, then we will set off in five years.”

It takes about six months to fly from Starfish City to the Primordial Mine. If we set off five years later, the other side will have a full four years to search.

If you're lucky, you might find a Yuan Crystal.

Ji An extended his divine sense, briefly examined the contents of the jade slip, and said:

"Okay, we'll set off in five years."

Yunmiao Sanren put away the tea leaves and asked again:

"When will the celebration be held for you, fellow cultivator, who has become a late-stage Three Flowers Realm cultivator?"

"Three days later, invite your friends to gather in the cave and hold a celebration."

Ji An replied that they were just waiting for the other party to come back so they could have a party.

Three days later, Ji An discussed the power of various immortal cities on Ziwei Star with several guests in his cave, and also had in-depth exchanges on cultivation matters.

After the music ended and the crowd dispersed, he led the Five Mountains Hermit away from Starfish City, flying southwest.

The Five Mountains Hermit's escape speed was somewhat slow, so he had to fly with him.

After nearly four months of flying, they finally entered the outer perimeter of the Tianren Mountains.

This mountain range is the largest mountain range on Ziwei Star. Ji An had only heard of it before and had never set foot there.

As night fell, the stars twinkled across the sky, and a campfire was lit beside a stone wall.

The orange flames flickered, casting shadows of people onto the stone wall.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the shadows twisted and swayed on the stone wall.

The Hermit of Five Mountains put down the jade slip containing the map of the mineral veins and smiled:

"Your Majesty, we will reach the entrance to the Primordial Ancient Mine, the closest one to us, in two more days."

According to the map, there is a camp near the entrance where you can replenish supplies.

If we're lucky, we might be able to buy elemental crystals at the camp.

These past few days, traveling day and night, he had become a complete burden, his self-esteem severely damaged, and finally he no longer needed the emperor to carry him.

Ji An chuckled, "You're dreaming. How could a cultivator who can obtain Yuan Crystals not know the value of something?"

To buy Yuanjing, one must inevitably bear an extremely high premium, so high that it puts us out of reach.

The Yuan Crystal, which couldn't be bought in Starfish City for hundreds of years, couldn't possibly be obtained from a certain entrance to the Primordial Ancient Mine.

He took out the array plate and array flags, and used a telekinesis technique to send them out:

"Go set up the magic array. I'll summon Yue Ling'er to keep watch at night. We'll both get some rest and conserve our energy."

Once we're inside the mine, such leisurely times won't be possible anymore.

Yuanjing is a fifth-tier top-grade resource, but it is not the most valuable spiritual item in the mine. You can also find metal and earth elemental spiritual items of the same level inside.

For Ji An, it would be acceptable not to find any Yuan Crystals, as long as he could obtain a high-grade or higher fifth-tier metal elemental spirit item.

This is another reason why he was willing to come: to find materials to improve the Plain Cloud Banner.

(End of this chapter)