Chapitre 18: Chapter 18 The Fragmented Spirit of the Immortal Mansion
Lu Li swam slowly toward the spring's eye.
The spring's eye was not large, only about ten feet in diameter.
The closer he got, the more he felt a burst of icy Spiritual Energy that invigorated his spirit.
Before long, he reached the top of the spring's eye.
Lu Li activated the Demon Refining Pot to transform into a slightly smaller sea serpent, then submerged himself.
"Sss... This spring water is so cool!"
As soon as he dove in, he felt a bone-chilling cold assaulting him, making him shiver uncontrollably.
The surrounding walls were cylindrical in shape, and there was a faint glow emanating from the sides.
He continued to dive downward when several small red fish approached him.
Lu Li focused his gaze, and his expression changed.
The little fish were completely red, their eyes sparkled with spiritual light, and their scales were very tight, with a slight trace of gold at the tail.
"Could these be the top-grade spiritual materials, the Dragon Pattern Fish? How could such things be here?"
Legends said that this kind of spirit fish contained a strand of Dragon Clan bloodline, and consuming it over a long period could greatly strengthen one's muscles, blood, and Qi. It had significant benefits for Demon Beasts when eaten.
Lu Li was somewhat uncertain, he moved forward, channeling his Mana, and firmly grasped the body of the spirit fish to examine it closely.
The spirit fish struggled desperately in his hand, with such force that it suddenly spat out a jet of water that scattered his Mana.
"Indeed, it is a Dragon Pattern Fish."
Feeling the struggle in his hand, he was overjoyed.
Lu Li gave chase once again, and with an effort, he captured it.
He continued diving further down and encountered a few more spirit fish; none escaped his clutches.
It wasn't long before Lu Li reached the bottom of the spring's eye.
Two peculiar items immediately caught his attention.
There was a broken crescent-shaped shard in the middle of the spring's bottom, emitting faint russet light, with an irregularly jagged edge.
Beside it lay a bead-like object, the size of a fist, with a misty halo around it.
Seeing this object, Lu Li's breathing started to hasten.
"Could this be the Spiritual Spring Eye? No wonder there are Dragon Pattern Fish here."
The ledger of spiritual objects in his clan stated that this item was mostly spherical in shape, emitting a faint luminescence, and was very cold to the touch.
A first-rank Spiritual Spring Eye can absorb the Earth's essence and exhale Spiritual Energy, and even without a Spirit Vein, it can be equivalent to a high-grade first-rank Spirit Vein.
As for those above the first rank, they were even more precious, and most importantly, this object was very convenient to carry.
"It looks like my luck is good today."
Lu Li's face lit up with joy, and just as he was about to move forward to collect it, a surge of fluctuation came from below.
"Finally, someone has come. Your illusionary technique is quite interesting; it can even disguise your soul's fluctuations."
At that moment, a ghostly voice entered his mind.
"Who's there? Stop playing tricks!"
Lu Li tensed up, immediately drew his Flying Sword, and looked around guardedly.
Having his greatest secret exposed with just a few words, he could hardly contain the murderous intent boiling within him.
"Making a big fuss over nothing. What top-level Secret Technique hasn't this old Taoist Ancestor seen before?"
As he spoke, a spirit resembling a monkey sprang out from the shards at the bottom of the spring's eye.
The Spirit Monkey had a very silly and adorable appearance, yet it spoke with an ancient, weathered tone.
At this moment, it was crossing its arms and looking at Lu Li with a sidelong gaze.
"Who are you?"
The sudden appearance of a monkey spirit startled Lu Li greatly.
"Listen well, I am the Senior Immortal of the Upper Realms, Li Hong, who fell into such a state due to being harmed by enemies..."
The Spirit Monkey raised its head, full of arrogance.
"What do you want?"
Lu Li put away the Spiritual Spring Eye and turned to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey... don't go!"
The Monkey saw Lu Li completely disinterested and turned to walk away, which made him somewhat panicked.
For tens of thousands of years, he had finally encountered a person and did not want to give up easily.
"Don't you want to become immortal?" he asked.
"I don't!" replied Lu Li as he continued to walk away.
"Don't you want to learn the top divine skills of the upper realm?"
"I don't!"
Seeing that Lu Li was not behaving as expected, the Spirit Monkey's soul howled in rage.
"I am the remnant soul of an Artifact Spirit of a Pure Yang Immortal Treasure. The Immortal Lord Li Hong was my master..." he said, but upon seeing Lu Li still uninterested and about to leave, his face became blank.
"Wow... boy, you've angered this old ancestor! I know the path of Innate Demon Gods, and your mere mortal body that has just started Qi Cultivation will forever only struggle in the cycle of reincarnation..."
Lu Li heard the desperate shouts from behind and a slight smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
"The Innate Way? What's that?" He turned around and walked towards the Spirit Monkey.
"Hmph!" The Spirit Monkey snorted coldly, clearly still very upset.
Lu Li wasn't in a hurry either, and the two of them just quietly looked at each other.
After a short while, the Spirit Monkey gave in.
"Forget it, this old ancestor doesn't wake up often, so I won't stoop to your level," it said.
"You seem to practice the Golden Core Qi Cultivation path, which was created by several Taoist Ancestors countless eons ago."
Lu Li nodded indifferently, waiting for what was to come.
The Spirit Monkey paused before continuing, "At the beginning of Chaos, when Demon Gods were born, they were already the most superior Chaos Demigods."
"And in some minor worlds, Innate beings birthed by the worlds correspond to what you call the Foundation Establishment Stage."
"Over time, however, as the Innate Qi dispersed, no more Innate beings were birthed. But, as the saying goes, life finds a way..."
"What's the difference between the Innate Way and the latter Foundation Establishment?" inquired Lu Li, suddenly very interested.
"Innate beings of the same stage are much more powerful. The initial stage Innate beings are equivalent to the late stage of Foundation Establishment in your realm, and the peak Innate beings equate to the Purple Mansion Realm of Qi Cultivation."
The Spirit Monkey paused again and added, "However, that is only if one has mastered divine skills; acquiring those is difficult, and learning them is extremely arduous."
Lu Li nodded and asked a critical question.
"Can I learn it?"
"Not now, your physical body is too weak!" observed the Spirit Monkey as it glanced at Lu Li.
"When can I learn?"
"You have a slight chance only when your essence, Qi, and spirit reach the mortal body's limits; it's a dead end to forcibly cultivate."
The Spirit Monkey somewhat mockingly added, "I haven't even said I'll teach you yet."
Lu Li's expression remained calm: "Tell me, what are your conditions for leading me here?" He didn't believe the other party would have no demands and dared not learn anything for free.
Seeing Lu Li interested, the Spirit Monkey suddenly seemed somewhat sorrowful, "If I pass this Cultivation Technique to you, you must swear by your Daoist heart that if you have the chance to cultivate to the level of a Heavenly Immortal, you must inherit all the karma of my master."
Lu Li stood quietly, not immediately agreeing.
The Spirit Monkey silently waited.
Lu Li pondered for a while, "Didn't your master cultivate into an Innate Demon God?"
"No, the God Demon Tribulation is extremely terrifying and is accompanied by the Inner Demon Tribulation, which is more than ten times stronger than the Heavenly Immortal Tribulation..."
"Don't think too much; not even a single Heavenly Immortal has been born in this realm. Perhaps you are the destined one for this old ancestor."
Lu Li's mind was abuzz with thoughts; this was clearly a tremendous opportunity, and missing it might be a lifelong regret. He'd deal with the future when it came.
He was still just a minor Qi Cultivating cultivator now, and the matter of becoming immortal was too far off. With this thought, he silently nodded to himself.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone