Chapter 450

Chapter 450: The Seed

After crossing the stone bridge, the view before Ji Yang suddenly became wide and bright.

In the distance, he could see many peculiar buildings.

Ji Yang turned back to look; behind him was an unclear mist.

No, that wasn’t mist; it was a Formation!

He thought he had already entered the mansion, but now he realized that the path he had traveled was merely the outer perimeter of this mansion. Arriving here, he had truly entered the mansion.

Ji Yang surveyed his surroundings; the outer edges of the mansion were all covered by this layer of mist Formation.

Just as Ji Yang was about to step forward to search for opportunities inside, he saw the mist swirling not far away, and then a late Void Refinement stage cultivator stepped out from the mist.

After emerging from the mist, the cultivator looked around before revealing a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Upon noticing Ji Yang standing nearby, a wary expression crossed his face, and he quickly retreated into the mansion without lingering.

This person’s arrival reminded Ji Yang of the three paths he had seen earlier.

It seemed that all three paths ultimately led to this mansion, and he had encountered two essences on his path; other paths likely held the chance to meet other essences as well.

He wondered if that cultivator had left behind any essence, but seeing how fast he ran, he probably had some good items on him.

Ji Yang felt regret for missing an opportunity to raid him.

Since they were all now opponents here, Ji Yang wouldn’t show any mercy. Besides, he sensed he was just a step away from Unity with the Dao, while other cultivators often struggled to quickly absorb essences after seizing them.

Compared to searching for essences himself, it seemed easier to snatch the essences obtained by other cultivators.

However, since he had missed the chance, Ji Yang decided against pursuing. The mansion had yet to be explored thoroughly, and who knew what dangers lurked within?

After this person left, the mist began to stir again.

A Void Refinement Stage cultivator sneaked out from the mist, and after emerging, he quickly summoned various defenses, fearing an ambush.

Once he assessed his surroundings, he slowly relaxed, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

When he noticed Ji Yang quietly observing him, the expression on his face changed dramatically.

Seeing that Ji Yang had no intention of attacking, he awkwardly smiled, cupped his fist in greeting to Ji Yang, and quickly left the area.

Ji Yang didn’t pay him much attention; this Void Refinement Stage cultivator was likely among the first batch to enter the mansion, but with his level, seizing an essence inside would require quite a bit of luck.

Still, getting here quickly showed that he had some skill.

After the two left, the mist entrance swirled several more times, each time with cultivators entering, all of whom were not weak, including several from elite sects.

These cultivators entered in astonishment and then flew towards the front without hesitation, eager to enter the place before others arrived.

Before long, several cultivators had already entered the mansion.

Seeing this, Ji Yang also decided not to stay in one spot for too long and quickly vanished from sight.

…

“Spiritual herb garden?”

Looking at the ancient characters on the sign ahead, a spark of excitement lit up in Ji Yang’s eyes.

He had unexpectedly arrived here.

Looking at the half-open door ahead, Ji Yang inspected it before charging inside without hesitation.

Even if there was nothing inside, it couldn’t stop his love for this place. If he could find a complete spiritual plant and harvest it, the gains would be immeasurable.

Upon entering the spiritual herb garden, he was met with a series of abandoned spiritual fields.

Although the surrounding area was filled with spiritual energy, the fields on the ground had long since dried up.

The protective formations for the fields were not set up too intricately, so they had disappeared over time.

Looking at the barren fields, Ji Yang shook his head with regret and continued along the central path, hoping to find any surviving spiritual plants.

As Ji Yang walked slowly, he saw many long-dead spiritual plants in these desolate fields. Most had turned to ashes, but a few retained some roots.

From these roots, it was evident that these spiritual plants must have been precious before the fields dried up, yet they still failed to survive.

Ji Yang entered the fields to see if he could use his powers to revive them, but as he reached out to touch them, the remaining roots turned to ashes and fell back into the soil.

Ji Yang shook his head again; those roots had long lost their vitality. Not even a Celestial Immortal could revive them now.

As Ji Yang continued forward, he suddenly halted when passing by one of the spiritual fields, directing his gaze towards that particular plot.

“Hmm?”

Looking at this seemingly ordinary field, Ji Yang let out a soft exclamation of confusion.

To confirm his suspicion, Ji Yang stepped into the field, crouched down, and rubbed some of the soil in his hand.

After kneading it, a hint of surprise flashed in Ji Yang’s eyes.

He didn’t expect this field to be not entirely dry; it still had a trace of fertility.

However, when Ji Yang noticed the dead spiritual plants in the field, he slightly shook his head.

Although the field had not completely dried up, it was clear it could no longer support the spiritual plants that had been planted there before.

Just as Ji Yang was about to check other areas, his gaze suddenly fell on something beneath the dead spiritual plants, having caught a glimpse of something that differed in color from the soil.

Ji Yang quickly approached and started to dig in the spiritual field.

Soon, a black seed appeared before him. Sensing the faint trace of vitality within the seed, Ji Yang’s eyes filled with delight.

As long as there was some life left, even an iron tree should bloom!

As Ji Yang extracted the seed, the spiritual field instantly became barren. He wiped the dirt off the seed and then promptly stored it in the Heaven’s Secret Pearl.

Just as Ji Yang prepared to leave, he suddenly heard a reprimanding voice behind him:

“Kid, hand over what you just found.”

Ji Yang turned around and saw that, at some point, three cultivators had surrounded him completely.

At such a close distance, Ji Yang should have noticed them earlier, but he had been so absorbed in his discovery that he hadn’t detected their presence. It seemed they had some kind of Special Treasure that concealed their forms, allowing them to witness his recent action.

Though the three hadn’t seen what Ji Yang had taken, anything found here was surely valuable.

With the three against one, they had no reason to let him off easily.

Looking at the unfriendly expressions of the three, Ji Yang glanced around. They were not from elite sects but rather disciples of a large sect, with two at the late Void Refinement stage and one at the Mid Void Refinement stage.

“Kid, hand over the item obediently, and we’ll let you leave,” the leading man said when he saw Ji Yang remain motionless.

If it were other cultivators, they would surely abandon their possession in exchange for safety.

However, this seed was very important to Ji Yang, and he was not one to be intimidated.

As tensions rose between both sides, just as Ji Yang was about to take action, several figures rushed in from a distance.

These were other cultivators who had entered the estate later, and since this place was called the spiritual herb garden, it naturally attracted many.

But when the other cultivators saw the scene unfolding, they made no move to intervene; instead, they stood aside in small groups to watch the show.

While they claimed to be observing, they were actually hoping to see why these four were fighting and whether there was any profit to be gained.

However, upon seeing the situation, the onlooking cultivators shook their heads again.

Three against one looked like a sure thing. In this estate, personal ability was indeed important, but most people were part of a sect. How strong could one person really be?

This thought crossed the minds of many cultivators, and a number began to shake their heads and prepare to leave. They figured they wouldn’t find any gain from this fight and would be better off looking elsewhere.

But just as everyone was about to leave, a sudden scream pierced the air.

“Already?”

Many cultivators turned in surprise to see who had screamed. After all, this person was a late Void Refinement stage cultivator—wasn’t it too pathetic to be defeated in the first clash?

However, as everyone turned to look, they were stunned by the sight before them.

One of the three who had surrounded Ji Yang was now heavily injured, and surprisingly, Ji Yang had struck first, wounding one of them. What incredible strength and courage was this?

Before the crowd could grasp the situation, Ji Yang once again boldly attacked.

Now at the late Void Refinement stage, with a spiritual treasure in hand, he could withstand the Calamity Clouds.

Among cultivators of the same tier, he had no weaknesses in terms of realm, techniques, treasures, or primordial spirits.

More importantly, he had hidden his identity.

In this state, what did he have to fear? Not to mention three opponents, he could fight even double that!

Furthermore, his essence condensation had reached ninety percent. Although he could not actively use it, the chance of it passively triggering during a battle had greatly increased.

With his recent punch, Ji Yang felt he was getting closer to that profound sensation.

Under the astonished gazes of the other two, Ji Yang’s figure shot like lightning and swiftly appeared before another opponent.

As Ji Yang’s fist was about to come down, the cultivator’s heart filled with fear, and he hurriedly summoned a shield.

But as Ji Yang threw his second punch, an invisible profound essence spread out, covering a radius of several feet, all firmly under Ji Yang’s control.

This was the state activated by the essence of War within him; as its condensation increased, its effectiveness grew stronger as well.

Looking at his opponent summoning their treasure, Ji Yang clearly perceived the structure of the shield and its weak points, even the nodes where the spiritual energy gathered became vividly apparent before his eyes.

This was the initial manifestation of the essence of War!

In this state, Ji Yang felt absolutely perfect, while his opponent appeared to be full of flaws.