Long Yiran, she's really, *really* generous!
After a short while.
Seeing Wang Yu still immersed in the contents of the *Earth Mother Scripture*, Long Yiran couldn't help but speak up to remind him.
"Brother Wang, you can delve into it slowly later. The *Earth Mother Scripture* isn't an ability one can master in a short time. Some cultivators study it their entire lives, hair turning white, yet still struggle to fully comprehend it."
"That's true. But what about the methods within it, Array Master Long? How much have you grasped?"
"I've gained some understanding."
Her foundation was solid. Once the legacy was completed, this past year-plus of silent comprehension was essentially raising the upper limits of her various abilities.
Next, the two began dividing the spirit herbs.
The most important were naturally those third-tier spiritual materials. Among them, one or two were helpful for Long Yiran's Core Formation. Her legacy seemed to have a matching Golden Core pill formula.
Through friendly negotiation, they distributed according to need.
Exactly six plants each. The third-tier toxic plants Wang Yu obtained could mostly be used in alchemy. One of them happened to be a material for the **[Exquisite Inner Pill]**, named **
Just from the name, one could tell it was a treasure of the same category as Golden Qi Root, but its main effect was defilement, even more vicious than divine sense poison.
If an ordinary cultivator accidentally ingested it, their meridians would clog, their body would become turbid, their soul weak, and their spirit feeble, greatly damaging their potential and aptitude.
For this thing to be one of the three main Qi Root materials for the Exquisite Inner Pill, even Wang Yu couldn't quite figure it out, unable to discern the pharmacological principles behind this pill formula.
Apart from that.
The other five plants were common varieties. Due to their toxicity, finding the right buyer could fetch a higher price. If sold to merchant associations like the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion or Golden Abundance Pavilion...
Twenty-something thousand spirit stones per plant would be the ceiling, not very cost-effective.
After thoroughly sweeping the underground herb garden, Wang Yu discussed the Archaic Heaven Soul Sect ruins with Long Yiran, mainly the clues he possessed.
The inverted "mountain"-shaped landmark element made Long Yiran quite emotional. She said:
"Brother Wang, what you described is indeed a type of layout, derived from Earth Layouts, transformed by a high-level Earth Master into a Human Layout—the **[Nether Tiger Prison-Suppressing Layout]**!"
Wang Yu frowned. "What does that mean?"
She explained: "In Geomancy and Mystical Arts, **[Mountain]** often represents suppression and sealing. An inverted mountain means suppressing while simultaneously locking everything within the layout.
"It's like the wedge at one end of an iron lock, nailing it firmly into the earth, making it as difficult to leave as a prison."
Wang Yu immediately understood. "Then what about the Nether Tiger?"
"The tiger is the mountain lord. An inverted mountain is the Nether Tiger. The Archaic Heaven Soul Sect cultivated the soul path. This layout was likely set up to lock in place the various Yin souls and fierce spirits they captured."
The soul path, said to cultivate the soul, actually dealt with divine sense power.
Soul and divine sense were inseparable yet distinct. The latter was like the limbs of the former; exercising them could increase strength while also making the body itself stronger.
It was a relationship where prosperity and loss were shared. Therefore, enhancing either could drive synchronous growth in the other.
During the Archaic Era, the demonic path flourished. Since the Heaven Soul Sect was established in Scarlet Kite, it was a member of the demonic sects. Drawing power from Yin souls and fierce spirits to enhance oneself was a common practice in demonic arts.
However, such behavior easily defiled one's own soul, making it difficult to condense a Nascent Soul in the future.
Wang Yu could understand the intricacies.
The Ancient Soul Art was the solution. Cultivating an Ancient Soul could block all those impurities, chaotic wills, and memories.
The creator of this technique was truly a genius.
After clearing up his doubts, Wang Yu asked the key question.
"How do we find it?"
"Brother Wang, rest assured. Since there is such a distinct layout, we just need to find Yin veins. Let's go out first. You'll understand in a moment."
"Alright."
After performing the Purple Earth Dragon Traveling Art, with no obstructions, Wang Yu moved almost unimpeded underground, easily traversing back to the surface.
Long Yiran's methods perfectly suited her identity as an array master. Holding a small triangular flag, she gently waved it, and the soil and rubble parted.
After she passed through, they returned to their original state.
There was no trace that anyone had passed through, not even a lingering true essence aura—something Earth Traveling Arts couldn't achieve.
"Impressive."
Wang Yu's admiration prompted an explanation from Array Master Long.
"This is the Earth Mother Loam Banner. It will also become my bonded magic treasure in the future. Unfortunately, my cultivation is insufficient, and I lack a rare spiritual material, so it's incomplete for now."
Her character—speaking frankly and concealing nothing—was truly admirable to Wang Yu. Like a piece of shining gold, everyone liked it.
Especially since he couldn't do it himself, he appreciated it even more.
They successfully returned to the surface.
As expected, they were no longer at the "White Serpent Depression." Instead, they were in a dense forest.
After heading to the highest nearby terrain and flying to the treetops to survey the land, they confirmed they had deviated from the depression by about three hundred *li*, moving considerably north.
A ring of golden light shone in Long Yiran's eyes—the practical manifestation of the **[Gazing at Qi Golden Pupils]** secret method. This method could penetrate the earth and directly observe the flow of earth qi.
In Geomancy and Mystical Arts, earth qi was a crucial element.
Places with dense earth qi often indicated the presence of earth veins. Following the direction of their flow and locking onto the source could often reveal natural layouts.
Similarly, spirit veins, five-element veins, dragon veins, etc., which mutated from earth veins, could all be located through the Gazing at Qi Golden Pupils. This secret method was also top-tier within the Earth Master legacy.
The only drawback was it couldn't see too far.
"The Nether Tiger Prison-Suppressing Layout is an artificially reversed Yin layout, highly likely to be filled with various Yin veins, naturally gathering ghostly entities.
"There's a place in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest called **[Yin Ghost Mountain]**. Why don't we go there first to search?"
"Agreed."
Wang Yu naturally nodded.
Searching on his own was like a headless fly. The suspected White Serpent Depression wasn't the real target either.
That divine sense poison surrounding the wind belt might have been arranged by the Serpent Dwelling's master, or it might have been a coincidence. Following a professional increased the chances of finding it significantly.
But he still had doubts.
"Yin Ghost Mountain is a relatively famous exploration site within the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest. Haven't any powerful Earth Array Masters come to look?"
Hearing this, Long Yiran smiled proudly.
"The *Earth Mother Scripture* is no ordinary Geomancy and Mystical Art. What I can discover, other Earth Masters might not necessarily find. Just having a top-tier Qi-Gazing secret method isn't something ordinary people possess.
"And the **[Chapter on Capturing Dragons and Stabilizing Veins]** is the essence of the *Earth Mother Scripture*. Brother Wang—"
"Hmm?"
Long Yiran, who had just been smiling, now wore a serious expression. She said, "The first three chapters of the *Earth Mother Scripture* are still within reason. But the secret methods in this fourth section... unless absolutely necessary, do not use them."
"Why?"
"They harm heaven and earth too much. It's easy to incur heavenly retribution."
The term "heavenly retribution" was originally used by ancient cultivators who couldn't bear to see demonic cultivators slaughter living beings. Facts proved that whether slaughtering one's own kind or demonic beasts, no heavenly retribution occurred.
Only by damaging the fundamental basis of heaven and earth would one truly incur heavenly retribution.
At that point, the lightning tribulation would turn into Heavenly Retribution Blood Lightning, dozens of times more powerful than normal. Touching it meant certain death; there were no known survivors.
If it wasn't yet time for tribulation and one was living fine, over time, heavenly retribution would continuously accumulate power. Upon reaching a certain point, natural disasters would descend.
Earthquakes, landslides... even meteorites falling from the sky. One would get struck by lightning just going outside.
If one still didn't die, and heavenly retribution accumulated to a critical point...
The person would become extremely unlucky. Various natural and man-made disasters would come one after another. One could choke to death just drinking water.
Wang Yu knew these details because he had read such典籍in the Scripture Exposition Hall. At the time, he treated them as amusing tales and jokes, not taking them too seriously.
After all, to incur heavenly retribution, one needed the capability.
He never expected that at just the Foundation Establishment stage, he would possess such a disaster-inviting, self-destructive weapon.
Damaging the foundation of heaven and earth was no simple matter.
On a large scale, even slaughtering all life across two regions or sinking continents—such physical destruction—had no effect whatsoever.
On a small scale, destroying a dragon vein nurtured by the earth would bring heavenly retribution.
A smart person might ask: If the continent is sunk, wouldn't the dragon vein be destroyed too?
Actually, no.
Whether earth veins, dragon veins, five-element veins, Yin veins... these were essentially types of heaven-earth qi. Though they had form, they lacked substance. For cultivators to destroy them was extremely difficult.
At most, one could use secret methods to capture and forcibly relocate them. Among the many "veins," only destroying a dragon vein would incur heavenly retribution. The others basically didn't matter.
This showed the uniqueness of this type of "vein."
A fully developed dragon vein was a treasure of the world. This world might not even have one. Weak dragon veins, however, were numerous. The Refining Heaven Demonic Sect and Heavenly Void Sword Sect had both captured dragon veins to strengthen their sect's fortunes.
The *Earth Mother Scripture* recorded that the largest dragon vein in this world was a fifth-tier dragon vein, far from being a complete form, located within the **[Sea Dragon Abyss]** of the Chaotic Ancient Sea, difficult for cultivators to enter.
All sorts of strange tales and anecdotes greatly expanded his horizons.
As the two made their way to Yin Ghost Mountain, they conversed. Occasionally, Wang Yu would ask about the customs and practices of the Tai Lake Spirit Domain. Before sixteen, he had lived an entirely mortal life.
Confined to Stone Lake City, his understanding of Tai Lake was limited, let alone the Tai Lake cultivation world.
Knowing her cover was blown, Long Yiran stopped hiding things. Wang Yu asked, and she answered.
The situation there, though not without its share of scheming and petty dealings, was generally very prosperous. Famous cultivators known throughout the world—Long Yiran could name over a dozen off the top of her head.
As for Wang Yu, apart from the names of Nascent Soul cultivators, he truly didn't know any famous geniuses. Probably the mortality rate was a bit high. Scarlet Kite only spread the fame of the strong.
Those who died would be forgotten in a few years, as if they had never appeared—realistic and cruel.
"I feel Brother Wang doesn't seem to be from Scarlet Kite either. Why not go cultivate in Tai Lake? Apart from strict rules and scarce resources, it's still much safer than Scarlet Kite."
Hearing this, Wang Yu fell silent.
He had tried, and was chased back.
Back then, he said Scarlet Kite was more suitable for development. But from the moment he ambushed the slaver team, hadn't there been an idea to stay in Tai Lake?
After all, the Placement Slot was more useful than any secret method. That was the confidence behind his choice.
"Discussing this now is meaningless. Array Master Long, if you don't want to die in Scarlet Kite, return as soon as possible after the Heaven Soul Sect matter is concluded."
Hearing this, she fell silent.
She knew Wang Yu's reminder came from goodwill. But for wandering cultivators, resources in Tai Lake were too scarce. She was already over two hundred years old; she *had* to break through to Core Formation.
Ahead, Yin Ghost Mountain came into view.
**(End of Chapter)**