The Mysterious Mountain spans across the eastern west of the Godly Jin Dynasty for around one hundred thousand miles while the Wanxiang Pagoda only occupied a part of it.
South of the mountain range was the Grand Southern Prefecture, and to the north was the Ancient Jiang Prefecture.
The Wanxiang Pagoda was located at the south near the boundary of the Grand Southern Prefecture.
The Spirit Treasure Tower was located in a mountain that hovered near the sky where hovering clouds and strange birds were flying around. It was not only the sacred ground of Treasure Seeking Masters but also a land of fairies.
Within the radius of five hundred miles, everything was part the tower’s territory. Many Treasure Seeking Masters in training wished to open a cave in these lands.
Because there were so few Treasure Seeking Masters, there were less than five hundred students and teachers at the Spirit Treasure Tower. Moreover, the majority of them frequently went on journeys so the ones that remained at the tower were even fewer.
Feng Feiyun and Murong Ta walked for two hours straight, but they didn’t manage to see anyone. This silence was a bit too much since there were no bustling sounds, unlike the other sacred grounds.
“Hey, Big Brother Feng, I feel that the purple bamboo branch over there is a great piece of treasure.” Murong Ta pointed deep into the bamboo grove.
This was a very special bamboo since it was as thick as a bucket. Each of the bamboo’s sections was several feet long, and its stalk was completely purple. Upon a closer inspection, one would find that there was a flowing metallic sheen on its body.
It emanated an ancient aura, and the spirit energy around this bamboo was concentrated to the point where it was almost a liquid. Just by taking in a whiff of air, one would get a refreshing feeling as one’s blood would start to boil.
If one could open a cave under this purple bamboo and train here every day, then their cultivation speed would be twice as fast.
A shining purple light that was as clear as purple jade ran through each of the bamboo leaves.
Naturally, Feng Feiyun also saw the extraordinariness of this purple bamboo, but he didn’t dare to recklessly go closer.
Murong Ta was too excited, but before he could reach even ten meters of the bamboo tree, a loud shout came from above the tree as a suppressing aura came down, denying him another step.
“Whew!” A five foot long great sabre of the Spirit Treasure level suddenly pierced the ground before Murong Ta. The sabre was as wide as a door, so it must weigh several thousand pounds. Its blade was covered with a thick layer of ice that emanated chilling waves.
This chill was able to freeze the blood of people, so Murong Ta didn’t dare to move at all as his teeth started to rattle uncontrollably.
“Juniors, leave. Do not disturb my quiet training.” Above the purple bamboo was a purple divine radiance. The bamboo leaves were gently swayed by the wind, causing a cluster of sacred purple light to shine through the gaps.
One could only hear an old voice from above the bamboo tree; they couldn’t see this predecessor.
Feng Feiyun respectfully bowed and quickly dragged Murong Ta away.
Between these mountains were many old monsters that had lived for several hundred years. These people did not know contemporary events and lived in seclusion to train. Although they were not famous, their cultivations were extremely frightening. These monsters that had never stepped into the cultivation world played a big part in the pagoda being called the number one cultivation sacred ground in this world.
It had one hundred divine towers, and each Tower Lord was extremely capable. A few retired Tower Lords might be occupying the depths of this mountain range, so someone might be able to meet one by accident.
“Over there is a two thousand year old lingzhi root. This is a real spirit medicine ah! It can be the leading ingredient for a rank four pill. If someone eats it, their cultivation might go up by one level.” Murong Ta pointed at a cliff far away. A lingzhi root the size of a dustpan showed itself by emitting a faint light. It was as if this root was the ear of the earth.
Although they were separated by a valley, one could still smell the medicinal aroma that came from the huge lingzhi root.
Feng Feiyun looked around and also saw the lingzhi root hanging in the air. It was way too big, so big that it might even exceed two thousand years of age. This was a real spirit medicine, so its value could not be measured with money.
If he could take it, then it could help him reach intermediate God Base, or maybe even directly take him to peak God Base.
At this time, even Feng Feiyun could not remain calm as he rushed towards the cliff. However, the moment the two were under the cliff, a huge palm came from inside and blew the two of them away.
“Juniors, quickly leave. This millennium lingzhi already has an owner.” An old voice came from the stone wall that was as hard as steel.
This was the retreat of another old undying.
This old man’s cultivation was also horrifying. It wasn’t something the current Feng Feiyun could deal with. He could only look at the millennium lingzhi before his eyes and had no choice but to leave.
“Motherfucker. One day, I will take away all the treasures in this place.” Feng Feiyun secretly cursed and left in exasperation.
Although there were several places filled with spirit energy around the tower, they were all taken. Feng Feiyun and Murong Ta then walked to a huge lake with bamboo tree reflections on both of its banks.
The reflections of the bamboo trees caused the river water to become even more green like a flawless piece of jade.
The river was sparkling with rising mist among the water lotuses; this was as beautiful as the sacred Jade Lake on Mount Kunlun.
Although the spirit energy here was not very dense, there was a lake with a beautiful mountain right behind it — this was a scenery as beautiful as a painting. Feng Feiyun and Murong Ta planned to open their cave at this place for their future training sessions.
Feng Feiyun opened two caves on the cliff and also arranged two simple formation arrays right outside while Murong Ta went to gather some firewood. He also hunted more than ten chickadees and began to roast them next to the river.
Once Feng Feiyun finished preparing the caves, Murong Ta’s food was also cooked. The aroma of meat escaped far and wide, rendering others with no option but to drool.
The sun descended to the south as the night curtain appeared.
“I didn’t know that you could also roast meat.” Feng Feiyun sat by the lake while staring at the moon’s reflection with many thoughts in his mind.
Murong Ta handed him a cooked chickadee; he accepted but had no appetite.
“Are you still thinking about tomorrow’s battle?” Murong Ta asked.
Feng Feiyun nodded his head. This battle was not trivial. It was unlike any of his previous battles where he could run if he couldn’t win. Now, at the Martial Exhibition Tower, either he or Ji Feng shall fall; there would be no other outcome.
“Are you not confident about winning?” Murong Ta asked.
Feng Feiyun slightly smiled and said: “If I could break through intermediate God Base tonight, then maybe I could put up a fight tomorrow.”
“What if you can’t break through?” Murong Ta asked.
“Then it will be my death!” Feng Feiyun calmly replied with a smile.
Murong Ta was silent for a while, then he suddenly threw the meat into the flames and stood up. His body was weak and he had a sallow complexion, but he looked at Feng Feiyun with a serious expression and said: “Wait an hour for me!”
Having said that, he immediately walked into the darkness and disappeared into the depths of the bamboo forest.
Feng Feiyun looked at the disappearing shadow and felt that his pair of eyes was a bit familiar but also foreign. It was a very strange feeling.
‘What does he want to do?’ Feng Feiyun remained by the lake and felt that this new friend of his had something strange going on about him, but he couldn’t pinpoint it.
Before an hour elapsed, Murong Ta had come back. His thin shoulders carried a lingzhi root. The aroma of this root was even richer than the chickadees as it emitted a faint light.
This was a two thousand year old lingzhi root. It could raise one’s cultivation by one level, and it was the exact one growing on that cliff.
Feng Feiyun immediately stood up and said: “You…”
“With the help of this millennium lingzhi, would you be able to break through intermediate God Base tonight?” Murong Ta’s complexion was extremely pale. His originally weak body became even more fragile. It seemed as if he would fall down at any time without being able to get back up.
It appeared that he was assailed with a sickness and had no strength to speak.
Feng Feiyun was alarmed and started to speak after a long silence: “How did you get this millennium lingzhi from that predecessor? A two thousand year old lingzhi can save people from the brink of death; even Heaven’s Mandate cultivators are tempted by it, so no one would give such a rare spirit medicine to someone else.”
“I traded four pounds of blood for it…” After struggling to speak these words, Murong Ta directly fell onto the ground. [1. Four jin to be exact, and a jin = .5 kilogram. So it is 2 kilograms of blood.]
Feng Feiyun was left completely speechless.
Murong Ta was a natural spiritualist and his spirit sense was countless times greater than an ordinary man. Only spiritualists could become Grand Treasure Seeking Masters. Powerful Treasure Seeking Masters from the previous generation must borrow the blood of spiritualists if they wanted to break through to the grand level.
He used half of his blood to trade for this two thousand year old lingzhi, causing Feng Feiyun to feel an overwhelming emotion; he couldn’t calm down for a long time.