When Jiang Li finally arrived at the pagoda monument on the eighth level with great difficulty, his eyes were already covered in blood vessels, and he felt a trace of exhaustion that he had not felt in a long time.
Was this the power of Nascent Soul cultivators?
Jiang Li suddenly recalled his master, Elder He. His entire body was covered in beast blood tattoos from head to toe, and he had a ferocious appearance that seemed as if he would fight anyone at any moment.
However, he was exceptionally gentle towards his own people.
In the Scripture Storage Valley, he had personally helped Jiang Li train many times. However, from the beginning to the end, Elder He had never revealed his true aura in front of him.
Even when he stood up for Jiang Li during the conflict with the Immortal Ascension Pavilion’s Pavilion Master, he had deliberately blocked the other party’s might and did not affect him at all.
Now that he faced the five Nascent Soul demonic cultivators, he finally understood what fear was.
Those five guys were clearly tied up and nailed to the ground. They should not be able to move even a finger.
However, just one look was enough to kill.
At this moment, his mental world seemed like a typhoon had passed through. Many ghosts that were absorbed and refined by him had been buried in the ground, but now they were uprooted as they swayed in the air.
Jiang Li’s mind unavoidably suffered some damage. Fortunately, the Nine Nether clone blocked the front and blocked the frontal mental attack. The third Parallel Mind behind him suffered most of the mental pollution.
As a result, the mental injuries Jiang Li’s main body suffered were still relatively limited. He could roughly meditate a few times and recover.
However, it was a pity that the newly born third Parallel Mind had suffered such a situation before it even had a chance to become human.
From the Core Formation realm to the Nascent Soul realm, the mental pollution of hundreds of high-level demonic cultivators was simply unbearable.
The Parallel Mind that was originally only the size of a palm had already grown to more than a meter tall.
Jiang Li’s appearance could still be seen from between his brows, but his entire body was a jet black color, and his figure was even bloated and chubby.
The things stuffed into the third Parallel Mind were not beautiful at all. They were all full of darkness, slaughter, and evil, the worst things in the world.
It was almost worse than the last time the sword cultivator clone had suffered from the blood of madness.
Jiang Li originally wanted to throw it into the outside world and quickly end it, but he suddenly thought of something and did not choose to do so. He made it temporarily maintain this appearance and left it in the consciousness space.
After recovering from his shock, Jiang Li looked at the pagoda monument on the eighth level. Sure enough, it was a stone ball that was floating in midair.
“Senior Demon Subduing, thank you for your trouble.”
He cupped his hands and sat on the mat in front of the pagoda monument.
The mat here was covered in a thick layer of dust. Clearly, it had not been used for a long time.
The Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit looked at Jiang Li, and the expression under its white hair and beard became slightly strange.
It was as if he had been looking forward to this for a long time. When he finally obtained it, he felt disbelief.
He stretched out his hand and patted the stone ball. A strand of pure Earth Vein Spirit Essence was guided out from within, and it was passed through the chain to the back of the meditation cushion before finally being absorbed by Jiang Li.
After modifying the status with ease, this Spirit Essence successfully fused with the Earth Spirit Blessing. From the looks of it, the stone figurine was completely intact.
However, Jiang Li could sense that there was still an empty space in the chest of the tiny stone figure.
That was the final key.
Jiang Li’s tightly shut eyes slowly opened. His eyes seemed to have undergone a strange change.
It was clear and heavy. If one looked closely, they might see five towering mountains in his eyes.
When Jiang Li looked at the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit again, it had already completely vanished.
“Senior Demon Subduing, are we still going to the ninth level?”
Jiang Li smiled as if he did not notice anything.
However, the white-haired elder did not seem to have the intention to continue pretending.
“No, we can’t go down anymore. Even I can’t open the array formation below.”
He waved his hand, and the earth vein power that covered Jiang Li’s body suddenly constricted and became extremely heavy. It connected with the surrounding earth vein energy and instantly bound him firmly on the spot.
[Suppressed by the power of the earth vein. Added Status: Earth Vein Binding.]
“Senior Demon Subduing, what are you doing?”
Jiang Li raised his brows with an innocent expression as if he was really caught off guard.
“Young friend Jiang Li, you already know, right?”
“After you obtained my eyes, you should have seen them, right?”
The white-clothed old man still had the appearance of an immortal, but his expression was no longer kind.
“I did. I saw it very clearly. This is a pair of good eyes. This junior is deeply grateful.”
“Then, perhaps I should change the way I call you? Senior of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak.”
Just as the other party had said, after Jiang Li absorbed the two Earth Vein Spirit Essences that represented his eyes, his Earth Spirit Body became even more complete, and the world before his eyes had already completely changed.
The flowing earth vein power was visible in his eyes.
At this moment, in his eyes, the white-clothed elder who called himself the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit was filled with the power of the earth vein. It was even richer and purer than the eight pagoda monuments he had seen.
The Demon Subduing Pagoda was indeed built using the earth vein of the Five Elements Peak, but its essence should still be a construction-type artifact. It was only using an array formation to borrow the power of the earth vein. Even if it really became a pagoda spirit, it would definitely not be like this.
Therefore, there was only one answer. This elderly man was not the Demon Subduing Pagoda Spirit, but the Earth Vein Spirit of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak.
“Hmph! My name is Lu Yun Five Swords Peak! Not Shu Mountain!”
“Kid, you’re quite smart. Unfortunately, you realized it too late.”
“Do you know who’s locked in the ninth level of this pagoda?”
The image of the white-robed elder of the Shu Mountain Spirit gradually changed. Clusters of crystals grew out of his body. His human appearance was pierced, and his sage-like image quickly shattered.
“Senior Swords Peak, you are probably the only one who can be imprisoned in the ninth level, being above the Nascent Soul realm.”
Jiang Li was still calm and unhurried as he sat there without moving.
“That’s right! Damn the Shu Mountain Sword Sect! They attacked my mountain for no reason and seized my Spirit Essence! They tore my body apart and suppressed me under the Demon Subduing Pagoda for a thousand years!”
“They made me and those demonic cultivators go against each other just to extract our strength! All for the forging of their Flying Swords!”
The more the Earth Spirit elder spoke, the angrier he became. He called the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, and was clearly very dissatisfied with them. He did not acknowledge them at all.
“Hmph, if you were a Shu Mountain disciple, you would know that they do not have a Martial-Granduncle Pagoda Spirit. Unfortunately, you are not.”
“After a thousand years, I still managed to infiltrate a portion of the Demon Subduing Pagoda’s array formation. I’ve waited for countless years before I finally met you! A genius who could reach here!”
At this moment, the Earth Spirit had completely torn apart the appearance of a human, turning into a huge heart made of countless crystal clusters.
This heart was formed by transparent crystals of five colors. When it beat, it even emitted soft and gorgeous lights.
If the dwarves of Middle-earth saw this, they would probably abandon the Arkenstone on the spot and worship this Earth Vein Heart.
He was a portion of the Earth Vein Spirit that had escaped from the ninth level of the Demon Subduing Pagoda, the heart! It was also where the intelligence of the Shu Mountain Earth Spirit resided.
“Senior, you’ve told me so much. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll tell the people of Shu Mountain? Or do you want to kill me now?”
Jiang Li tried his best to put on a terrified expression. Any ordinary human would be able to tell that he was pretending. However, the Earth Vein Spirit was not so scheming and thought that he was really afraid.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. You won’t have a chance to speak again.”
Swoosh!
A crystal ball suddenly grew out from the heart and stabbed directly into Jiang Li’s body.
Even with Jiang Li’s defense, he was helpless against it and was ruthlessly pierced through. Jiang Li felt pain, but he still endured it and did not move.
Following that, waves of energy surged into his body. In Jiang Li’s Qi Sea, a similar Earth Vein Heart began to gradually take shape and beat non-stop.
This was the last piece of the puzzle that could complete the Earth Spirit Blessing.
This had always been Jiang Li’s goal. Before he obtained it, he naturally could not give up halfway.
From the beginning, he had never really trusted this so-called “pagoda spirit”.
This was because his deception and acting skills were far inferior to any human swindler.
An unfamiliar spirit was very enthusiastic towards him for no reason.
Moreover, his words were very purposeful. In just a few words, he explained his origins and the reason for his appearance clearly.
How could a normal person take the initiative to explain their situation without even asking anything?
It was obvious that these words had been fabricated long ago. It revealed a desire to make people believe in him as soon as possible.
Those who said this were most likely liars. The information they reported was most likely fake.
Therefore, from the beginning, Jiang Li had been vigilant. Later on, he even deliberately tested the other party a few times and offended him neither lightly nor lightly.
However, not only was this Earth Spirit not displeased, he even guided Jiang Li to find demon beast materials and used some small favors to gain trust.
This was very illogical.
His words and actions after that revealed his goal.
Thus, how could Jiang Li really believe him?
However, because Jiang Li wanted it and the other party wanted to give it to him, their goal had always been the same. Moreover, both sides were filled with confidence and felt that they would be the final winner. That was why they were so friendly until this point before finally falling out.
In next to no time, the crystal heart in front of Jiang Li gradually weakened and vanished.
A powerful heartbeat appeared in Jiang Li’s body. The Earth Vein Heart had already completely transferred to the Qi Sea in his body.
[Absorbing the Earth Vein Spirit Essence of the Five Elements Peak. Added Status: Earth Vein Spirit Essence (Heart)]
The corners of Jiang Li’s mouth could not help but curl into a smile. Then, he pressed the minus button for five seconds on the negative status [Earth Vein Binding] in the status bar.
The negative status was eliminated, and the heavy restrictions on his body instantly vanished. Jiang Li stretched his back, raised his hand to support his head, and closed his eyes again. His consciousness had already landed on his Qi Sea.
As soon as the heart took shape, it flew towards the rock person impatiently.
The Earth Spirit of the Five Elements Sword Peak was very excited now. As long as he fused with the other eight Spirit Essences in front of him, he could form a small-sized version of himself.
Then, he could snatch this disciple’s body and escape secretly.
Although he could not take away the power of his main body, nor could he take revenge on the powerful Shu Mountain Sword Sect, he could only find a new mountain range to settle down and cultivate from scratch.
He had been locked up in the Demon Subduing Pagoda for too long. His Spirit Essence and consciousness were slowly worn down by the endless confrontation with the demonic cultivators.
Although the Five Elements Peak had a lot of resources, if this continued, as the Earth Vein Spirit, he would probably slowly lose his intelligence and become a pure foundation that would be suppressed by Shu Mountain forever.
Therefore, he could not wait any longer. There were simply too few geniuses at Jiang Li’s level. He had to seize this opportunity and rely on Jiang Li’s body to escape.
If he went out this time, he was determined to find an inconspicuous small mountain to settle down.
Otherwise, when he finally managed to develop the mountain, he would be robbed again in the blink of an eye.
However, just as he collided with the rock person and wanted to fuse it completely, he discovered that he could not enter?
After squeezing for a long time, he was actually bounced out again.
What was going on?
Previously, when Jiang Li was on the upper level of the pagoda, such a situation had also happened. It was clearly his Spirit Essence, so how could he not be able to fuse with it? Could it be that the Shu Mountain had done something to the Demon Subduing Pagoda? They had turned his power into theirs?
The Earth Vein Spirit was filled with grief and indignation. It was furious. This old man’s pitiful body had been ruined to such an extent.
At this moment, the Earth Spirit felt like something had happened to him, but it also felt like nothing had happened.
He felt a little strange, but at this critical moment, he could not divert his attention to use it.
The Earth Spirit pulled himself back and collided with the newly formed body again, but this time, it was unexpectedly successful.
The beautiful Earth Vein Heart formed from five-colored crystals easily fused into the rock person. As the Earth Vein Heart beat, the entire rock person seemed to come alive, becoming agile and full of vitality.
More thick and majestic energy surged out, slowly and firmly modifying Jiang Li’s body.
“Hahaha! I succeeded! I succeeded! I’m finally free!”
In his Qi Sea, the Earth Spirit laughed wildly and was about to attack and seize Jiang Li’s body. However, he was shocked to discover that he could not move at all.
“What… What happened! What did you do to me?!”
The laughter gradually turned into despair.
The Earth Spirit, who had been plotting for more than a thousand years, successfully completed his plan and escaped from the impregnable Demon Subduing Pagoda.
However, he was too unlucky. He crashed into another prison, one that he could never escape from.
Jiang Li shook his head. He had expected this.
If there was anyone to blame, it was this Earth Spirit himself.
The status he could provide was just too good to resist.
Although this Earth Spirit Blessing was a hidden danger, once the buff reached Jiang Li, he could forget about escaping.
There were more than one life-threatening statuses on him. It had been such a long time, since when had any backfired on him?
So what if the Earth Vein Spirit’s will was hidden in the blessing?
He could not change the blessing or eliminate it. He could only silently bless Jiang Li with tears in his eyes for the rest of his life.
From the beginning, this Earth Spirit of the Five Elements Sword Peak would not even have the chance to possess him.
[Earth Spirit Blessing (9/9): Nourishment of the Earth Spirit’s Essence will increase aptitude until it slowly reaches the Connate realm. Great effect in Foundation Establishment, allows the construction of the Earth Five Elements Dao Foundation. Duration: ∞] (−)
The Earth Spirit Blessing’s status was already perfected, and the Earth Spirit Body was no longer incomplete.
Jiang Li stretched out his hand and pressed down on the eyeball. A strand of the power of the earth vein was easily extracted by him, and it transformed into a veil that enveloped his body.
Learning the Earth Spirit’s method, Jiang Li mixed the earth vein power with his surroundings.
Jiang Li took a deep breath. It was time to leave.