lcionline Chapter 93 The Essence of Earthly Fire
Chapter 93 The Essence of Earthly Fire
"Young Master!"
Suddenly, the Taoist priest stood up from the side, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said:
"Young master, this old Taoist priest has something to report."
When the old Taoist priest traveled the world, he once sensed an unusual aura of earth fire near a mine in Yangcheng.
At that time, the old Taoist's cultivation was still shallow, and he thought it was some kind of ferocious creature, so he did not dare to investigate further.
But listening to what Senior Jiang said today, it seems to be the essence of earth fire.
The mine isn't too far from Yangcheng, and the location is secluded, perfect for you, young master, to search for the essence of earth fire. Hmm, this old Taoist priest is willing to lead the way for you!
Bai Sheng was also stunned. Was it really such a coincidence?
He quickly retrieved the footage previously transmitted by his clone to confirm that the two were not plotting anything.
Could it be that these two were secretly communicating?
Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the two people in front of him.
The old Taoist priest was clearly aware of Bai Sheng's suspicions, and quickly stepped forward to show his loyalty:
"Young master, rest assured, this old Taoist has absolutely no ulterior motives! If you are still worried, you can certainly search my soul to investigate me."
Jiang Xuelan quickly stepped forward to clarify her situation, proclaiming her innocence: "Senior, you can search my soul; I am utterly innocent!"
"Um!"
Bai Sheng didn't stand on ceremony and directly searched their souls.
No clues were found in their memories, which confirmed that the two had not colluded or conspired.
Bai Sheng nodded: "Okay, then we'll set off tomorrow, both of you come along."
……
In the afternoon,
Bai Sheng led Jiang Xuelan and the Taoist Master Huanzhen out of Yangcheng.
Head northeast.
The Taoist priest, relying on his memory, led the way at the very front.
Jiang Xuelan then returned to the Soul-Capturing Incantation to rest.
Her soul lay dormant quietly inside the snake bones, for she still had much to do.
Occasionally, he would communicate with Bai Sheng telepathically.
Remind him to pay attention to the changes in the terrain along the way.
They walked for about half a day, covering two hundred li (approximately 100 kilometers).
The terrain gradually transitions from plains to undulating hills.
I don't know when,
A sulfurous smell began to fill the air, growing stronger as we went further.
Bai Sheng thought to himself, "This must be the unusual landform that Jiang Xuelan was talking about."
"This is probably the place."
At the entrance to a mountain valley,
The Taoist priest stopped, pointing his withered finger forward.
He said, "This is the site of the sulfur mine I passed through during my travels years ago."
Come to think of it, this place used to be an open-pit mine!
But what appears before them now is...
It's not a mine.
Instead, it was a clear and wide lake!
The lake water was dark green, clear but bottomless.
A thin layer of white mist rose from the lake, shimmering in the sunlight.
Bai Sheng observed the surrounding environment.
The lake was surrounded by dense shrubs and wild grasses, with exceptionally lush vegetation.
It's quite remarkable that the leaves here are so green they're almost black!
Clearly, there is something underground that continuously nourishes this land!
Exactly the same as what Jiang Xuelan said.
The earth's fire veins will cause the surrounding vegetation to grow exceptionally lush!
"The sulfur mine you mentioned, is it located at the bottom of this lake?"
Bai Sheng approached the lake and probed downwards with his divine sense.
The lake was quite deep, warm on the surface, but getting hotter as you went deeper.
At the bottom of the lake,
The water temperature far exceeds the normal geothermal gradient!
A thick layer of sulfurous sediment was visible on the lakebed.
Further down,
His consciousness was blocked by something thick.
The substance was dark red.
Based on what Jiang Xuelan said, Bai Sheng deduced that the essence of earth fire was located below this energy layer.
He withdrew his divine sense and said to Jiang Xuelan:
"The essence of earth fire should be at the bottom of the lake, but it's covered by an extremely thick layer of unknown substance. If I were to break through the shell and take it directly, how much of a commotion would I cause?"
Jiang Xuelan floated out of the Soul-Capturing Technique and landed beside Bai Sheng, staring at the lake for a long while:
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost misjudged you."
This shell is naturally formed, and the essence of earth fire itself has an extremely high temperature, enough to melt gold and stone at its core!
Substances in water are refined at high temperatures, then quenched by continuously seeping in cold water. This melting and quenching process forms a shell layer!
"Is it difficult to break?" Bai Sheng asked.
"It is indeed difficult. If you use brute force to break it, this lake will boil over."
The sound of steam billowing into the sky could be seen for dozens of miles around!
The downtown area must be only half a day's walk from here; anyone paying attention would notice.
Bai Sheng frowned; this was bound to be troublesome.
Jiang Xuelan added, "But I have a way to cover it up!"
When I was traveling in the far north, I obtained a diagram of the "Water Dividing Formation" from the ruins of a fallen sect.
This formation can create an independent space underwater, completely isolating the water flow inside and outside the formation.
No matter how loud the commotion is inside the formation, it won't be detected outside!
The young master only needs to set up a water-dividing array at the bottom of the lake to safely extract the earth's energy.
Although I am but a remnant soul and cannot personally set up the formation...
"But the battle formation diagram is still in my memory, and I am willing to dictate it to you, my lord."
Bai Sheng made no attempt to hide his interest, "Alright! Explain the formation diagram in detail."
Jiang Xuelan nodded slightly and began to verbally describe the formation diagram of the water-dividing array:
"The array eye must be set in the very center of the lake bottom, at the weakest point of the shell, and the array core must be condensed with true essence."
Several nodes need to be placed around the core of the array, corresponding to the four directions of Kan, Li, Zhen, and Dui respectively.
Each node is connected by a network of true essence threads, forming a closed loop…
As Bai Sheng listened, he simultaneously deduced the events within his mind.
His Foundation Establishment stage divine sense allowed him to fully grasp the energy flow route and node distribution of this formation in a very short time.
He even discovered a very subtle redundant design in the array diagram.
A one-way barrier was added above the array core, allowing energy to escape from inside the array but not allowing external energy to penetrate into it!
After hearing Bai Sheng's design, Jiang Xuelan's beautiful eyes lit up, and she praised him:
"Young master, this detail is extremely crucial when drawing earth energy into the formation!"
Refining the essence of earth fire will inevitably produce a lot of residual energy. If it is not released in time, the pressure inside the formation will increase and eventually cause the formation to explode!
With this one-way barrier, waste energy can be continuously discharged from the lake surface and dissipated into the air.
At most, there will be more mist on the lake surface; it won't arouse any suspicion.
The Taoist priest, who was guarding the shore, took the initiative to take on the responsibility of protecting Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng walked into the water along the lake shore.
The lake water was ankle-deep and only lukewarm.
The water started to get hot before it reached my knees, and by the time it reached my waist, the water temperature was already close to boiling!
"How strange!"
Bai Sheng was surprised.
These must be some of the changes that have occurred in the world after the revival of spiritual energy.
after all,
An ordinary person would get burned within a few breaths if they stood in this position.
Bai Sheng channeled his true energy to condense an extremely thin layer of true energy shield on the surface of his skin.
The water temperature was kept out, and the skin only felt a constant warmth.
next moment,
He sank completely into the lake!
The underwater world was quiet, with light filtering down from the surface of the lake overhead.
It refracted into countless shimmering beams of light in the water.
The feeling of being in the underwater world is truly quite magical.
This was the first time Bai Sheng had ever dived so deep.
He's always been a landlubber and can't swim at all.
Even though Yangcheng is a coastal city, Bai Sheng has never been to the sea.
He walked down the slope at the bottom of the lake, his feet sinking into the soft sulfurous sediment.
Each step stirs up a small clump of grayish-yellow mud and sand.
Right in the center of the lake bottom,
This is the weakest point of the energy shell that Jiang Xuelan mentioned.
Following the diagram of the Water Dividing Formation, Bai Sheng divided his true essence into several streams and extended them outwards.
Several nodes were sketched out one by one on the rocky layer at the bottom of the lake.
Then, with a sudden clench of his five fingers, he tightened all the true essence threads at the same time!
The water-dividing array is activated!
Instantly, the bottom of the lake trembled!
An invisible force spread out from the center of the formation.
It divides the lake into two.
A huge, transparent cavity appeared out of thin air at the bottom of the water.
The cavity is hemispherical, with a diameter of several feet.
The cavity walls are composed of a mesh-like barrier woven from true essence silk threads.
The lake water was kept out of the cavity by the barrier, and the stone layers inside the cavity were completely exposed to the air.
Jiang Xuelan's soul floated out of the Soul-Capturing Technique and hovered beside Bai Sheng.
She looked down at the slightly writhing dark red mass below the center of the formation: "This is the essence of earth fire!"
Bai Sheng sat cross-legged in the very center of the formation, concentrating all his divine sense on the dark red layer.
Beneath the thin film,
The extremely violent essence of earth fire was surging and churning wildly.
The beast, which had been imprisoned for thousands of years, sensed that the cage binding it was loosening, and it desperately tried to break free!