Chapter 481: 477: Dragon Spirit_1
She followed the crowd as it began to recede, but halfway through, she noticed many others turning towards the mission hall.
After a moment of hesitation, Yingbao also walked into the mission hall.
A sign had been erected inside the hall that read, “The Wuji Sect is recruiting disciples here.”
She observed for a while before turning around to leave.
By evening, the clan was changing shifts at various posts, including the forbidden area.
This was the moment when the guards were the most lax and the overall situation the most chaotic.
Yingbao concealed herself with a magic artifact and, with Xuanwu’s help in masking her aura, she slowly approached the forbidden area.
Seizing the opportunity when the guards were frequently coming in and out, she stealthily slipped into the mountainside cave.
She then followed the stone steps down, taking a separate path to a deeper passage.
Glimmers of various runes shone on the rock walls, easy to trigger if not careful.
Under Xuanwu’s guidance, Yingbao carefully avoided the seals and made her way to the depths of the earth.
However, just as she approached the Spirit Vein, she was stopped by a stone door.
Radiant light swirled on the stone door with various runes blinking incessantly, emitting a dangerous glow.
“I can’t go any further.” Yingbao frowned.
The restrictions on this place had only grown more potent since she’d last escaped from here.
Xuanwu blinked and suggested, bringing out the Reincarnation Mirror, “Use it to create another door.”
Clearly unwilling, the Reincarnation Mirror wavered.
Yingbao could only compromise, “After the deed is done, I’ll give you half the Spirit Plants.”
The Reincarnation Mirror flickered a few times before flying next to the stone door. It drew a circle on the rock wall with its handle, immediately creating a door shrouded in white mist.
Xuanwu was delighted and rushed in first, with Yingbao following closely behind.
The Reincarnation Mirror transformed into a streak of light and whizzed into Yingbao’s eyes.
In the thick mist, Yingbao followed the light emitted by Xuanwu ahead of her.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, they suddenly entered a vast cave.
“Wow, an innate Spirit Vein!”
Xuanwu exclaimed in astonishment and transformed into a golden ray of light, diving into the spirit pool.
As Yingbao approached the Spirit Vein, she saw a tiny, transparent dragon dancing and spinning energetically. It seemed excited to see her, affectionately rubbing its transparent dragon head against her face.
“Is this a Dragon Spirit?” Touching its transparent horn, Yingbao felt overwhelming sadness.
She was clueless that the so-called innate Spirit Vein was actually formed from a Dragon Spirit.
No wonder everyone wanted to slay dragons. So this was the reason.
Holding back her sorrow, Yingbao gently said to the transparent dragon, “Come with me, okay?”
The little dragon seemed startled, but eventually nodded its head.
In an instant, the dragon emitted dazzling light. The whole spirit pool transformed into a transparent luminescence and slowly flew into Yingbao’s forehead.
Yingbao could feel her cultivation base gradually strengthening, especially her body. It advanced from the Foundation Establishment to the Core Formation, then from the Core Formation to the Nascent Soul stage.
Suddenly, the entire space started shaking. The restrictions outside the cave put out a piercing noise.
“Not good! We’ve been discovered, let’s go!” Xuanwu turned and flew back to the misty passage, with Yingbao following suit.
In the passage, they took out the Reincarnation Mirror once again.
“Take us to the outskirts of the city!” Xuanwu said.
The Reincarnation Mirror shook, indicating that it couldn’t.
Yingbao could only say, “Then take us to my house.”
The Reincarnation Mirror flew out and drew a circular door on the rock wall.
Xuanwu took the lead, with Yingbao following closely behind in a sprint through the white mist.
When they stepped out of the portal, they found themselves in Chen Shuyuan’s room indeed.
Yingbao immediately stowed Xuanwu and the Reincarnation Mirror, sweeping her sleeve to disperse the white mist, restoring calm to the room.
She also concealed her cultivation base back to the early stages of the Foundation Establishment before lying back on the bed and inspecting her Divine Mansion.
The Divine Mansion had expanded several times and appeared more spacious than before.
The Dragon Spirit frolicked back and forth in the Holy Spirit Pool, like a child untouched by worldly matters.
Yingbao felt a tinge of sadness.
When it was alive, it might have been a very powerful dragon. That’s why after so many years, the Dragon Spirit still retained a bit of consciousness.
She didn’t know how many such Dragon Spirits remained in the Immortal Cultivation World, but she planned to find them one by one and bring them into her Divine Mansion.
“Xuanwu, can you sense where my Divine Pupil Fragment is?” Yingbao asked.
Xuanwu replied, “It’s on a person.”
“Who? Where are they?” No matter who this person was, she had to retrieve the Divine Pupil Fragment.
Xuanwu said, “It’s on Fairy Bilian. She’s a Chen Family elder, and you will meet her soon.”
Yingbao scoffed, “Fairy Bilian?” That was Chen Tiantian, wasn’t it? So, she didn’t die.
At that moment, a collapse took place in the Chen Family’s forbidden area, alarming the two Patriarchs.
The Clan Leader along with the five elders arrived on the scene, discovering to their horror that the innate Spirit Vein had disappeared.
“What happened?” The Clan Leader was furious, “Did someone break into the forbidden area?”
The guard captain knelt on one knee, trembling with fear, “We have been guarding the entrance to the forbidden area and didn’t notice anyone entering.”
“Then why is the Spirit Vein gone?” The Clan Leader demanded, “Did it run out of the forbidden area by itself?”
The guard captain’s eyes welled up with tears, “Seriously, no one broke in. The restrictions on the stone door were untouched and there were no signs of any disturbance.”
The Clan Leader raised his hand in anger, but was stopped by the elder, “Clan Leader, this matter is strange. Let’s delay the questioning and prioritize finding the Spirit Vein.”
The guard captain was his grandson, so he naturally couldn’t allow anyone to harm his grandson.
The Clan Leader stamped his feet angrily, ordering a search immediately.
Regardless of how thorough the search inside and outside was, there was no trace at all. It was as if the Spirit Vein had vanished into thin air.
Fairy Bilian slowly stepped forward, examining a rock wall over and over.
She seemed to sense a different aura, corresponding with the Divine Pupil Fragment inside her.
“Someone was here.” Fairy Bilian extended her jade hand to touch the rock wall, then turned to the crowd, “Call all Chen family members to the square, I want to search for someone.”
She was sure that a person carrying the Divine Pupil Fragment had been here using some form of secret technique to penetrate into the earth’s depths and take away the Spirit Vein.
She added, “This person’s cultivation base is not lower than the Nascent Soul stage. It might even be the Mahayana Realm, we must be cautious.”
“What? Mahayana Realm?” The crowd gasped, “What should we do? Bilian, quickly invite the forefathers of the Xiao Family to help us.”
Fairy Bilian said, “Even if we invite them, what good would it do? We don’t know where that person has run off to. Moreover, we can’t always invite others empty-handed, can we?”
The Clan Leader looked grim.
The last Clan Leader had a penchant for carrying all the important Family treasures on him. As a result, everything was decimated in that demonic woman’s self-detonation. Now, the family’s inventory is quite limited. Where could they possibly find the means to part with their treasures so easily?
Now, even the Spirit Vein was gone. From now on, the Chen Family was truly finished.
The elders were visibly perturbed.
The loss of the Spirit Vein to the family was as devastating as having their backbone pulled out. Nothing significant would succeed from here on out.
Both the Patriarchs were in the Body Integration Realm, but due to their dwindling lifespan, they rarely ventured out. However, the gravity of the situation forced them to arrive at the square, scanning the Family members with their divine senses.