Book 1: Chapter 30: Spiritual Progenitor

On a mountain summit in the Innate Puzzle World:

A red-clad youth stared to the south. This red-clad youth looked very handsome, but he gave off a sinister air. A cold light flashed in his eyes.

A black-clad man knelt on one knee before the red-clad youth and said respectfully, “Ninth Young Master, the outsiders that came this time are very violent. They burned everything down along the way. They also massacred all the natives that went to the entrance to stop the outsiders. Not long ago, they plundered Carefree Valley and burned everything down after that. They are extremely cruel. Everywhere they went, they killed, robbed, and burned!”

A cold light flashed in the red-clad Ninth Young Master’s eyes as he said, “These outsiders are getting increasingly unruly. Humph! Since they are not willing to deal with these intruders, then I’ll do it. In any case, I will be leaving Tengen Island soon. They won’t be able to punish me when the time comes.”

“Is Ninth Young Master going to make a move?” the black-clad man asked excitedly with a gleam in his eyes.

“More than one thousand people lived in Carefree Valley. To think that the outsiders massacred all of them. Humph! Since that is the case, let’s drive them all to Carefree Valley and kill them all. We will rob them all and burn them all as well. However, this time, it will be them in despair!” Ninth Young Master replied coldly.

“With Ninth Young Master making a move, they will die for sure!” the black-clad man said excitedly.

“Inform the animal spirit herding flutists. Drive all the outsiders in the north to Carefree Valley!” Ninth Young Master ordered coldly.

“Yes!” the black-clad man answered.

——

Inside a forest in the Innate Puzzle World:

Song Qingshu recovered significantly after receiving treatment. Although he still felt weak, all the discomfort he previously felt disappeared.

Nearly all the surviving First Song Sect disciples by his side were crippled. As for the other dozens of disciples, the explosion had killed them.

Seeing the crippled First Song Sect disciples, Song Qingshu felt sorrowful, regretting pursuing Gu Hai. However, he felt even more hatred for Gu Hai.

“Many thanks to Division Master Meng Tai for saving us,” Song Qingshu said gratefully.

The group of people before Song Qingshu was the mustached Earth Division Master and his group of Elite Hall disciples.

“Never mind. Song Qingshu, perhaps we will be working in the Elite Hall together in the future. However, my heart feels for you upon seeing you in such a miserable state. Unexpectedly, this newly installed Water Division Master is so vicious, not even letting off his subordinates!” the mustached Meng Tai said with a frown.

Song Qingshu showed an uncertain expression as he said, “Indeed. I still had not done anything to him, yet he laid such a trap for me. Although I survived today, he will definitely think of a way to kill me in the future if I continue to follow him!”

“Song Qingshu, what are your next plans?” Meng Tai asked.

“Kill Gu Hai! If Gu Hai does not die, I cannot rest in peace!” Song Qingshu said in a hateful tone.

However, Meng Tai smiled faintly and said, “The Water Division Master has indeed gone somewhat overboard!”

Toot! Toot! Toot! Toot! Toot!

Suddenly, flute music came from a distance in the forest.

“Huh?” Meng Tai raised his eyebrows.

Meng Tai’s subordinates seemed to be very well coordinated; someone immediately left to scout out the flute sounds.

“It’s not good. There’s an animal spirit wave. Division Master, quickly leave!” the person who left to scout shouted in fear from a distance.

“Ah!”

A loud sound rang out, followed by a scream. Then, something sent that scout flying back like a launched cannonball.

Boom!

A huge being landed not far away and trampled on that scout.

“A wolf spirit?” Song Qingshu’s expression changed.

A ten-meter-tall wolf snarled ferociously as it trampled on that person. That gigantic wolf gave off red light from its eyes as it glowered at the group of people.

“Division Master! Save me!” that person shouted in horror.

“You beast! How dare you!” Meng Tai glared as he drew a saber and chopped down. Then, a saber qi shot out.

“Roar!”

The wolf spirit let out a roar and shot a ball of light from its mouth at the saber qi.

Boom!

A loud sound rang out as the saber qi and light ball immediately exploded. Clearly, the saber qi had been launched from too far away.

However, the group of Elite Hall disciples had charged over during this time. They all raised their weapons, wanting to kill the wolf spirit to save their companion.

“You beast! Scram!” They chopped down with their weapons.

Just at this moment, another enormous figure charged out of the forest, also a gigantic wolf.

Rumble…!

This gigantic wolf immediately knocked the group that rushed over into the air.

“What?” Song Qingshu’s expression changed.

Rumble…!

More wolf spirits continued to arrive. In the blink of an eye, thirty wolf spirits were there. However, their numbers continued to increase.

Suddenly, the first wolf spirit opened its jaws and bit the leg of the person under him.

“Ah! Division Master! Save me!”

Crunch!

The wolf bit that person in half and swallowed him.

Toot! Toot! Toot!

As the flute music rang out, the number of wolf spirits increased. Now, there were fifty wolf spirits already.

Meng Tai had only ten-odd people around him. Furthermore, more wolf spirits continued to arrive. Even if Meng Tai could fight them to a draw, the balance would be upset soon.

“Run! Run quickly!” Meng Tai said, his expression changing.

“Martial Uncle! Save me! Save me!” the crippled First Song Sect disciples on the ground cried out.

Song Qingshu looked at the wolves and felt a chill in his heart. Then, he turned his head away, ignoring his martial nephews, and ran away faster than anyone else. Desperation to survive stimulated one’s potential. His earlier injuries no longer seemed important; he only had one thought in his head: flee!

Whoosh!

The group of people immediately fled into the distance.

“Roar!” The wolves gave chase.

“Martial Uncle! Save me! Save me!” the crippled First Song Sect disciples on the ground cried out in despair.

However, no one could save them now. The wolf spirits that rushed over split up the crippled First Song Sect disciples, consuming them in one bite.

Then, the wolves continued their pursuit into the distance.

However, there were two huge wolves that remained behind the wolf pack. Each of these gigantic wolves had a black-clad man standing on it. One of them was playing a flute to command the wolves.

“Ninth Young Master ordered us to surround them, not kill them. We are to drive them into Carefree Valley, letting them suffer boundless despair first before we kill them in a humiliating manner!” the other black-clad man reminded.

“I know. I was just placating the wolf pack. That way, we can make the outsiders flee even faster. We will slowly herd them over,” the flutist answered.

——

Carefree Valley:

Gu Hai had asked Venerable Lian Sheng about the three spiritual souls and seven physical souls. As Venerable Lian Sheng had a good impression of Gu Hai, he explained everything he knew.

“This little snake used to live here? I believe you must be here for the spirit spring, then?” Venerable Lian Sheng suddenly said with a smile.

“Indeed!” Gu Hai admitted with a nod.

“That’s fine. Everyone, do not give up on it. Let’s go in and soak in the spirit spring together. There is some trick to this spring. It seems that Old Mister Guan Qi made it in the past!” Venerable Lian Sheng smiled.

“Ah? Don’t spirit springs form naturally?” Chen Tianshan exclaimed.

“Old Mister Guan Qi was capable of making one,” Venerable Lian Sheng explained.

“Oh?” Chen Tianshan felt shocked.

“Venerable, please!” Gu Hai smiled.

Venerable Lian Sheng nodded.

Then, the group slowly ventured into the cave together with Venerable Lian Sheng. The cave was very deep. Soon, the group arrived at its deepest part, a hall-like area. There were Night Pearls placed along the walls, brightly illuminating the place.

The inside of the cave was tightly sealed, with only one exit.

There were three round pools in the center with pebbles in them. The pools gave off a faint blue light.

Chen Tianshan reached out and touched the edge of a pool. Then, his face immediately lit up in joy. “It is indeed a spirit spring!”

“Benefactor, this pool gives off blue light once a year. After the valley master soaked in it, the blue light would disappear,” Xiaorou said.

“That is because the Spiritual Energy already entered his body!” Chen Tianshan said somewhat impatiently.

However, Venerable Lian Sheng frowned as he looked at the pool.

“The blue light is water-attributed Spiritual Energy. It only happens once a year? Old Mister Guan Qi planned out all his moves, like playing Go. He would not do anything without thought. Although he already died, there must be some significance to this spring,” Venerable Lian Sheng said seriously.

“Oh?”

“Division Master Gu, how about you try first?” Venerable Lian Sheng smiled as he looked at Gu Hai.

Gu Hai nodded, not refusing. Then, he put down Xiaorou and stepped into one of the pools giving off blue light.

Gu Hai slowly sat down and silently circulated his True Dragon Innate Cultivation Technique.

Buzz!

Suddenly, Gu Hai felt a vast amount of Spiritual Energy pouring into his body through his pores. This was several times faster than absorbing Spiritual Energy from the air. The surging Spiritual Energy rushed to his dantian.

“Hey? Why is Benefactor’s body giving off purple light?” Xiaorou asked in surprise.

“Isn’t this water-attributed Spiritual Energy? Why is it purple?” Chen Tianshan appeared confused.

As the purple light around Gu Hai entered his body, the blue light coming from the pool turned increasingly vibrant.

“Huh?” Venerable Lian Sheng also looked at Gu Hai in surprise.

“Venerable, what happened?” Gu Hai said, feeling some apprehension.

“Purple light? This is Spiritual Progenitor?” Venerable Lian Sheng exclaimed in surprise.

“What is Spiritual Progenitor?” Everyone looked at Venerable Lian Sheng in puzzlement.

“The most primitive form of Spiritual Energy is called Spiritual Progenitor. If Spiritual Progenitor is contaminated with water-attributed energy, it turns into water-attributed Spiritual Energy, diluted by hundreds—thousands—of times. If earth-attributed energy contaminates it, it turns into earth-attributed Spiritual Energy. It turns into whatever Spiritual Energy according to whatever aura contaminates it. However, why are you absorbing only Spiritual Progenitor? What cultivation technique are you practicing?” Venerable Lian Sheng marveled.

Gu Hai felt stunned. He explained his problems in cultivation to Venerable Lian Sheng, not hiding anything.

“Physical cultivation? No wonder…no wonder…no wonder you absorb only one percent of what others do. Even during the time you broke through to the Innate Realm, you wasted so many spirit stones. It turns out that your body absorbs only primitive Spiritual Energy. As you cultivated with physical cultivation, the initial source of your Veritable Energy is the purest Spiritual Progenitor distilled by your physical body. In the future, you can absorb only Spiritual Progenitor.” Venerable Lian Sheng appeared enlightened. As he looked at Gu Hai, he seemed somewhat envious.

“Venerable, is such a physique good or bad?” Gu Hai asked.

“It is both good and bad. It is bad in the sense that it makes cultivation very difficult. Every step would be extremely arduous. Spiritual Progenitor is rare. You can barely find one portion in one hundred portions of Spiritual Energy. This makes your cultivation extremely difficult. However, it is good in the sense that your foundations are firmer than anyone else’s. Now, I finally understand why he scattered his cultivation back then and pursued physical cultivation,” Venerable Lian Sheng sighed. 

“Oh? Who?” Gu Hai asked out of curiosity. To think there was someone else like him.

“The father of your Elite Hall’s hall master!” Venerable Lian Sheng said solemnly.

“Oh? Long Wanqing’s father?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.

“What? Long Wanqing? Isn’t the Elite Hall Master her mother? It was Long Wanqing’s maternal grandfather who pursued physical cultivation back then. How did Long Wanqing become the hall master?” Venerable Lian Sheng asked in surprise.

“It seems that the hall master’s mother already passed away. We are here to find the Unborn Man. Has Venerable heard of him before?” Gu Hai immediately asked.

“Oh?” Venerable Lian Sheng frowned.

“Venerable knows of him?” Gu Hai asked, intrigued.

“I know of him. However, I did not know he was in this Innate Puzzle World. I do not know exactly how he is, but this person…Hah…! See for yourself if you meet him. He is not a simple person,” Venerable Lian Sheng sighed while shaking his head. 

“Alright.” Gu Hai nodded.

As Gu Hai absorbed the Spiritual Progenitor in the pool, there seemed to be boundless Spiritual Energy pouring in from a small hole that led to an underground spring at the bottom of the pool. This led to more water-attributed Spiritual Energy filling the pool, making the blue light shine brighter.

“Division Master Gu, I will occupy one pool. Later, I will sink my consciousness to the bottom of the pool to investigate. As long as I do not wake up, do not disturb me!” Venerable Lian Sheng said.

“Alright. Venerable, don’t worry!” Gu Hai nodded.

Venerable Lian Sheng nodded back. With the flip of his hand, the Buddhist monk staff in his hand vanished. Then, he slowly stepped into another pool and sat down with his palms pressed together. He left only his head out of the water before he closed his eyes and stopped moving.

“Chen Tianshan, Gao Xianzhi, you two occupy the last pool. Xiaorou will share a pool with me. Coincidentally, she can use this Spiritual Energy to treat her injuries,” Gu Hai instructed.

“Yes, Division Master!” Chen Tianshan felt somewhat impatient already.

“Wait!” Gu Hai suddenly called out.

“Huh?”

“Chen Tianshan, you and Gao Xianzhi go out and hide the cave entrance first,” Gu Hai instructed.

“Right, I nearly forgot!” Chen Tianshan immediately smiled.

The two rushed to the cave entrance and wiped away their footprints. Then, they used a large number of charred tree branches to hide the cave entrance, preventing others from noticing anything strange about this place.

Aside from Venerable Lian Sheng, who sat in the pool in all his clothes, Gu Hai, Gao Xianzhi, and Chen Tianshan removed their outer garments, wearing only underpants as they sat cross-legged in the spirit spring.

Xiaorou seemed delighted by the water-attributed Spiritual Energy. She swam around Gu Hai, absorbing the blue Spiritual Energy with all her might.

For a while, the cave was utterly silent. Everyone worked on receiving the baptism of the spirit spring.

——

Outside the cave, Carefree Valley was also silent. However, that silence did not last for long. 

About six hours later:

“Ah! Save me! Animal spirits! Animal spirits! Save me! Senior Brother!”

“Quickly run! Faster! The animal spirits are rushing over! There are so many of them!”

“Something’s wrong. These animal spirits are not trying to kill us. They are herding us here. Why are they herding us here?”

“Ah! It’s over! It’s over! It’s this valley?”

“They are here for revenge. Save me! They are here for revenge!”

Startled cries rang out endlessly in the valley. Countless animal spirits chased the outsiders in the northern part of the Innate Puzzle World, herding them here. Amid their panic, the outsiders who had gone on a killing spree before met one another again.

Terror spread in everyone’s hearts.

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