Chapter 2269 - Source Crystal Lode
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
There were three High-Rank Spirit Spring Eyes – Yang Kai and the Eight Paths Sect each occupied one, while the last one was occupied by two other Sects who had joined forces specifically to do so.
The other fifteen Mid-Rank Spirit Springs were also crowded with people.
The Eight Paths Sect disciples were actually not strong enough to occupy a High-Rank Spirit Spring all to themselves, but everyone had scruples about the brutal Luo Yuan, so none dared to provoke Eight Paths Sect as they did not know when Luo Yuan would return. Seeing how he had chased Protectors Gao Shan and Liu Shui away, no one would have the guts to oppose him.
As he worked with Hua Qing Si to collect the Source Crystals erupting from the High-Rank Spirit Spring, Yang Kai’s expression abruptly changed as he sent her a message, “I’m going down to investigate.”
It was impossible for Source Crystals to simply erupt from below without a reason, so Yang Kai guessed that there must be some mystery beneath the Spirit Springs and wanted to investigate. Now, with his Golden Blood Thread net above the Spirit Spring, blocking the Source Crystals from flying away, he did not need to remain as Hua Qing Si could collect the Source Crystals for him.
What was more, Liu Yan was here too. If anyone was blind enough to come and try to seize this Spirit Spring, the two of them would be enough to chase them off.
“Be careful!” Hua Qing Si did not try to stop him, simply warning him seriously as she saw him off.
Yang Kai nodded and leapt downward for a second time.
Just like before, he plunged into the Spirit Spring and faced a strong resistance that tried to push him upwards. There were also countless Source Crystals whizzing up and striking him as he tried to descend.
Yang Kai felt pain all over his body and was forced to endure it with his Source Qi. He also manipulated the surrounding Space Principles to shield himself, easing his descent.
The more he sank down, the greater the resistance and the denser the surrounding World Energy became.
Yang Kai took out his Sealed World Bead once more and began allowing it to swallow up the surging World Energy mixed with Source Crystals.
He had no idea how deep he had sunken, only that the surroundings were now all but opaque, making it difficult to see anything around himself. Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to compensate, but was only able to scan a ten-metre distance in front of himself, any further was hindered by the boundless World Energy.
At a certain point, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and landed on solid ground.
This should be the bottom of the Spirit Spring. He stood still on the ground and felt the surroundings for a moment. He could clearly sense that the space here was not as small as he imagined; in fact, it was extremely broad.
He stood there thinking with an odd expression for a while before releasing his Divine Sense once more to explore his surroundings vigilantly.
*Xiu xiu xiu...*
Numerous pieces of Source Crystals mixed in with the surrounding World Energy kept shooting upwards in surging torrents.
Yang Kai focused his eye to perceive the surrounding space and soon pinpointed the direction from which the Source Crystals were originating and walked towards it.
Along the way, his harvest was unimaginable as his Sealed World Bead continued to devour the World Energy and Source Crystals.
Not long after, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and stared ahead intently.
In the misty white world filled with Liquid Spirit Qi, there seemed to be something gigantic lying in front of him. Although there was still a distance between them, Yang Kai was able to see its fuzzy silhouette.
He did not know what was before him, only that it was gigantic and did not have the slightest life aura. All he could tell was that all the Source Crystals were shooting out from its direction.
Yang Kai pondered for a while before moving forward again.
He came to the front of this object and upon closer inspection, finally saw exactly what it was.
Yang Kai was stunned and unable to speak for a moment.
After quite a while, he only broke the silence with a burst of joyful laughter.
He realized now that the ‘giant’ lying in front of him was actually a Source Crystal lode. Fist-sized Source Crystals were separated from this lode and entered the flow of World Energy, splitting into eighteen branches as they shot upwards.
The Source Crystals collected by the cultivators above were obviously separated from this gigantic lode.
The lode shone brightly and was extremely pure, containing not the slightest impurities. There would not be another Source Crystal lode as huge and pure as this in the entire Star Boundary, only in Ancient Times would such a treasure be found.
Yang Kai was quietly feeling the eighteen branches of the World Energy torrent on top of the mine and pondering.
[The Eighteen Spirit Springs... are actually connected to each other? So, if this lode was claimed, the people above... ]
He frowned and thought for a while before he gradually stopped restraining his excitement. A tremendous Divine Sense like a Flood Dragon swam out, transforming into a formless power that began enveloping the mine.
In the next instant, Yang Kai’s expression changed as his cheeks turned pale and big drops of sweat condensed on his forehead, rolling down his trembling body.
He underestimated the size of this lode, and with the current strength of his Divine Sense, he could only barely envelop it. As a result, he could not pack it into his Sealed World Bead.
The Sealed World Bead was an Isolated World, and although it could collect anything, including living people, Yang Kai needed to use his Divine Sense to do so. The larger the object he tried to store away or take out, the greater the energy it possessed, and the more Spiritual Energy he needed to expend.
Just like the first time Yang Kai collected the Embodiment into his Sealed World Bead, even though the Embodiment did not resist Yang Kai and was cooperative, Yang Kai still almost collapsed due to its massive volume.
This lode was similar. Although it was no doubt a lot smaller than his Embodiment, which was newly formed at that time, this Source Crystal Lode contained an astonishing amount of energy. Yang Kai reckoned that if he forcefully collected such existence alone, his Knowledge Sea would be damaged.
At this point, he sent a message to the Embodiment in the Sealed World Bead.
The next moment, the Void Crack appeared before the Sealed World Bead and widened leisurely in front of Yang Kai.
Blue veins emerged on Yang Kai’s forehead as his body shook violently and his Source Qi fluctuated violently.
“Now!” He suddenly bellowed.
Two giant hands shot out from the Void Crack. These hands were remarkably hard and had sharp edges to them. They were the hands of the Embodiment.
The Embodiment crossed the boundary between the Sealed World Bead and the outside with its arms, stretching them to the left and right in a hugging posture. Holding the gigantic lode in its palms, it lifted it up with a robust force only possible for a Stone Puppet.
At the same time, Yang Kai sent out waves of Divine Sense, working together with the movements of the Embodiment to draw in the lode.
*Hong long long... *
There was a loud noise.
The lode slowly rose and moved little by little.
Yang Kai’s pale face turned even paler and his clothes were soaked in sweat. He felt pain in his head like ten million needles were piercing his skull.
His Divine Sense had been damaged by his actions.
The Soul Warming Lotus released its seven coloured glow, repairing the damage to his Soul with its soothing power, which made Yang Kai feel much better.
Creaking sounds could be heard from the Embodiment’s arms as rubble actually fell from it. It too seemed incapable of bearing such weight and the scene caused Yang Kai to be extremely nervous and anxious.
It was just a moment, but seemed like ten million years had passed.
Just when Yang Kai could not stand it anymore, the Embodiment in the Sealed World Bead forcefully retracted its arms, together with the Source Crystal lode, dragging it into the Void Crack and disappearing.
Simultaneously, the radiance of the Sealed World Bead flashed crazily as the Void Crack closed.
Yang Kai staggered as he felt like his eyes, ears, mouth and nose were filled with a fishy and salty smell. Stars were floating in front of his eyes, and the world seemed to spin around him. He lost his balance and fell to his butt on the ground.
Only then did he suddenly feel a sense of fear.
Although the Soul Warming Lotus protected his Soul from fatal damage, what he just did was undoubtedly extremely dangerous and reckless. If he used too much of his Spiritual Energy just now and caused crippling damage to his Soul, he might have never been able to recover.
A line of cold sweat rolled down Yang Kai’s forehead as his whole body shivered.
“Who?!” Yang Kai hastily turned around and gazed in a certain direction as wariness flashed across his eyes, “Who’s there?!”
At that moment, he actually heard the sound of footsteps.
He was completely exhausted and could hardly move, so if someone who wanted to harm him appeared at this moment, he wouldn’t even be able to escape. As such, Yang Kai immediately became vigilant and hurriedly wiped away the blood and cold sweat on his face, sitting with his legs crossed to put on a calm appearance.
After Yang Kai called out, the footsteps paused for a moment, but soon they sounded again, this time even faster than before.
Yang Kai’s face turned ugly as he moved his gaze slightly downwards and stared intently at the incoming person.
After a short while, a beautiful figure appeared in front of Yang Kai. This person stood still about ten metres away from him and asked in hesitation, “Grandmaster Yang?”
Hearing this person’s voice, Yang Kai furrowed his brow and revealed an odd face, “It’s you?”
The one who had come was none other than Ye Jing Han, the woman who had tried to latch onto him and just wouldn’t let go no matter how he refused her.
Unexpectedly, she had come down here too.
Yang Kai stayed alert and asked coldly, “Instead of collecting Source Crystals up top, why did you come down here?”
Although Yang Kai did not know what this woman wanted with him, they had no relationship and he had clearly rejected her previously. However, she still kept following him, which annoyed him greatly.
Ye Jing Han replied, “This Mistress is the only person present from Thousand Leaves Sect and she knows she is unable to compete with others up top.”
Her words were full of bitterness and loneliness.
“Seeing that Grandmaster Yang went down, this Mistress thought about coming down as well to take a look...” While speaking, she suddenly coughed twice.
“Are you hurt?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
“A minor injury...” Ye Jing Han answered, “I was hit by someone when I came down.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai roughly understood what happened.
Everyone was busy occupying their own Spirit Spring at this moment, so if Ye Jing Han wanted to come down here, she would need to force her way through one of the Spirit Springs. Someone must have thought she was trying to snatch their Source Crystals and attacked her. Since she only had a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, it was natural that she could not force her way through completely uninjured.