Chapter 388

Chapter 388: Vast Tribulation Soil

“Tribulation soil, it’s everywhere!”

“Who is facing tribulation here? It must not be someone at the All-Manifestation Realm advancing to the Grand Method Realm; my Master must have gotten stuck at this barrier. There can’t be such a vast calamity power over Mirror Lake.”

“Could it be that someone at the Grand Method Realm is advancing to the Traveling Realm?”

“Terrifying! It has nearly destroyed the small heavenly cave.” Li Hui gazed into the distance, shocked, and said, “This person should know the calamity is immense, so they hid in the small heavenly cave to suppress it. Unexpectedly, the calamity power accumulated to such an extent that it affected the entire small heavenly cave.”

“After all that effort to get in, am I going to draw water with a bamboo basket?” Bai Ze appeared, scanning the surroundings, suddenly intrigued, “What a powerful tribulation soil! It’s divided into Thunder Marsh tribulation soil, Ding Fire tribulation soil, Wind Fright tribulation soil… ninety-nine types of tribulation soil with ninety-nine layers of calamity power. Just selling tribulation soil could take hundreds of years, and it could also be used to absorb calamity power for talisman-making.”

“No, there must be treasures here that are beneficial to me. Earlier, a glimmer of golden light mixed with white leaked out, with hints of purple, perfectly aligned with the profound qi route; perhaps it can help me enhance my power.”

Bai Ze stepped onto the ground and released the Blood-Mouth Bird. Numerous birds drilled into the ground, creating red ripples. The benefits of using abundant heavenly marrow worms to enhance spiritual sense became evident; at least in terms of penetrating power, it surpassed the All-Manifestation Realm.

Li Hui sat cross-legged, continuously sensing the small heavenly cave.

This place had encountered a great calamity and suffered severe damage. Many areas were scattered, not boundless at all. After about a stick of incense, Bai Ze looked towards the north, roaring loudly.

“Ninety-nine types of tribulation soil yet there are a hundred layers of calamity power; the extra layer of calamity power has already found a transformation.” Li Hui opened his eyes, looking toward the north alongside Bai Ze. Suddenly, he turned his head to the south, exclaiming in surprise, “So fast! I sensed movement and immediately switched directions. It’s quite mystical, and it leaves no trace. It’s hard to catch a glimpse of its essence, and I don’t know what kind of calamity it is.”

In the next moment, faint talisman light transformed into bubbles and floated away.

“Command!”

With everything set, Li Hui began to pull the net closed.

Under his command, the Five Spirits Transformation Talisman flew back. From a distance, they saw the talisman light ascending high, resembling a strongman burdened with a heavy package that cracked the ground as it struggled to fly away.

“What is that thing?” Guang Jin appeared.

“It looks pretty terrifying!” Yao’er and Xie Xuan also emerged from the Mysterious Pearl, while over twenty little children surrounded them, watching intently.

Li Hui quickly stored away the Five Spirits Transformation Talisman. Just from that brief moment, the consumption of profound qi was secondary; unexpectedly, the talisman power decreased sharply. If he suppressed it any further, it would damage the roots.

“Trap it!”

The little spirits sprang into action, each possessing Condense Essence Stage strength, and following their elder sister, they scattered talismans, binding the calamity power in a series of restraints so that it could not escape, revealing its form.

“Ah! What’s going on? It’s become Bai Ze.”

“Look! It turned back into elder sister’s form.”

Li Hui was quite surprised; the first hundred layers of calamity power were initially formless and intangible, yet now it kept transforming, changing everyone’s appearance. Scanning with his spiritual sense, after several identifications, he still couldn’t tell the real from the fake.

Guang Jin said curiously, “If I hadn’t seen it change face-to-face, I’d almost think it was real. Only the eyes seem somewhat dull; everywhere else is exactly the same.”

“It seems I’ve found something impressive. I need to visit the Heart Refining Branch,” Li Hui waved his hand. “Take it into the Mysterious Pearl and seal it with the talisman formation.”

“Okay!” The little spirits worked together to uphold the portal, starting to drag the calamity essence a bit at a time. It might truly be a mass of energy, albeit quite heavy.

Li Hui looked out at the vast tribulation soil and shook his head. “No, there are still treasures. This mass of calamity power does not have the treasure light Bai Ze observed. It’s hidden so deeply; where can it be?”

After searching fruitlessly, with no other option, he took to the skies and used the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique to collect the tribulation soil.

“Gather, gather, gather…” The winds and clouds stirred as dragon claws grew.

Enormous dragon claws spread out everywhere, each the size of ten acres. Although they had little attack power, they were sufficient for gathering the tribulation soil.

A Purple Crystal Shield appeared overhead, folding together like a spearhead piercing the ground, “Buzz, buzz, buzz,” drilling underground, starting to excavate the spiritual soil.

This small heavenly cave was severely damaged; even if it had once held Miao Jade veins, they had perished in the calamity. It was a miracle it had survived to this day.

Li Hui prepared to gather as much of the cave as possible. If this place weren’t damaged, it couldn’t be utilized. As for the source of the treasure light, he hoped to force it out while collecting.

Collecting all ninety-nine types of tribulation soil would take seven or eight hours, even with the powerful Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique. Adding time for gathering spiritual soil to expand the Mysterious Pearl would take even longer.

In fact, after only “working” half an hour, Li Hui had to stop.

Ghost Fox arrived, and the River God of Li River came, though they appeared quite battered and had broken through the formation.

Eight Ghost Foxes, three-headed and six-tailed, formed from the strongest among them. The River God, who had originally been tall and powerful with numerous bronze artifacts to resist calamity, now had only one large cauldron left.

As soon as they surfaced, Li Hui acted.

“Woo, woo, woo!”

The rooster crowed three times, the red sun rose in the east, flicking away ghosts and eliminating the dark; peace returned to the world!

“Not good, the Morning Rooster Dao Soldiers.” The eight Ghost Foxes snapped loudly, as if red chains were strangling them, their power perfectly countering the Ghost Foxes.

With just one strike, five hundred Morning Rooster Dao Soldiers turned into little chicks; they would need time to grow stronger.

Seeing that they were in peril, Li Hui took out a top-grade treasure talisman, grinning wickedly at the Ghost Fox, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, as he unleashed a green light.

“Crack…”

The earth shook; this was the Green Emperor Dragon Elephant Talisman, crafted from Celestial Tree leaves with one hundred and eight demonic spells harvested and nurtured over several months by Yao’er and the others, the power amplified to match the killing blow of a mid-stage Bosa cultivator.

In a moment, Li Hui threw out dozens of Green Emperor Dragon Elephant Talismans, bombardment surrounding the Ghost Foxes. Before they could adapt to the attack, he suddenly retreated.

“Boom, boom, boom…” The Buddhist light blazed, its radiance stacked. The terror spread, and the Ghost Fox shrieked in agony.

Li Hui felt a rush of fear and muttered to himself, “Indeed, there’s a reason the Great Buddha Temple in Wan Miao Cave perished. They somehow produced something reminiscent of a Secret Demon Thunderbolt; I don’t know how many bones of monks were used to craft the Buddha Treasures. They even dared to steal the Buddhist pagoda containing the bodies of high monks for this; even failing, it’s still so fearsome, claiming it could save the entire world afterwards.”

Amid the Buddhist light, the River God cried out, “Young master, spare my life! This little god is willing to submit to you as my master, with no ulterior motives, and vows my loyalty.”

Seeing the wall grass bending in the wind, Li Hui disregarded him and bolted further away.

Deep underground in the Great Buddha Temple of Wan Miao Cave, thirteen Buddha Treasures were found; today they were used for the first time, with the Buddha light wildly spreading. It seemed magnificent, yet it bore a hint of extinction.

“It is said that the Great Buddha Temple was destroyed by other Buddhist sects; they did well. This isn’t saving the world, but annihilating it!” Li Hui marveled at the power of the Buddha Treasures and decided to find an opportunity to use them urgently. Keeping them close might not be safe, and if he hadn’t acted quickly, he might have lost his life.

“Li, you cannot escape! The next dark moon’s arrival will be your death,” Ghost Fox faded away. If she hadn’t suffered from the formation’s suppression earlier, they might have resisted the extinguishing Buddhist light. Now they could merely watch themselves disappear amidst the golden light.

Guang Jin suddenly transmitted a message: “The Divine Proof ensures the River God of Li River’s safety, guiding him into the Primitive Shell Symbol. This fellow has survived a great calamity!”