C553 The
Deep within the Relic, a barren mountain soared five thousand feet into the sky.
Known as Yellow Mountain, it was rumored to harbor veins of yellow copper ore.
Once refined, this metal could be used to construct pill furnaces and forge an array of flying shuttles and carriages capable of soaring through the skies and burrowing beneath the earth.
With the resurgence of spiritual energy in the Absence Relic, the ore within Yellow Mountain began to show signs of coalescing.
At the mountain's base, Su Xiangtian declared, "This is as far as I'll take you."
Gazing up at the towering peak, Su Che's face lit up with excitement. He pointed to a freshly carved inverted triangle on the mountainside, "This has to be the place!"
A similar mark, greenish-black and inverted, adorned his own forehead.
This mark was the handiwork of a wandering cultivator from the Devil Moon Empire, who had encountered Su Che six months prior and imbued the symbol with a fragment of his sophisticated Spiritual Spell.
Whenever Su Che focused his mind on the mark, he could discern the intricacies of Liang Jingyin's Spiritual Spell.
"Soul Wandering Stage cultivation is certainly formidable," Su Xiangtian remarked, his gaze lingering on the mountain. "To be handpicked by such a cultivator as a direct disciple is a stroke of luck. While different from training in a major sect, following a master like this has its own advantages."
Su Che responded with fervor, "Thank you for your protection along the way, Patriarch. I will not forget that I am a member of the Su family!"
"Your duty now is to dedicate yourself to your training," Su Xiangtian advised.
Su Che's determination was clear. "Once I've made progress in my cultivation, I will seek out that young master of the Yu family. He'll learn the hard way what happens when you cross the Su family!" he declared with a huff. "He may lack the backing of a sect or the favor of a powerful cultivator, relying solely on luck, but I refuse to believe he can defy the odds forever!"
After thorough investigation, Su Che was convinced that Yu Yuan had not been taken under the wing of a sect, nor had he been chosen as a personal disciple by a great cultivator like his own master.
Su Che was confident that with time, he could overtake Yu Yuan in both realm and martial prowess.
The path of cultivation stretched endlessly before him, but he held a steadfast belief that one day, he would stand before Yuan Lianyao with pride, not only as Liang Jingyin's disciple but also as the future patriarch of the Su family.
"Go on," Su Xiangtian said with a dismissive wave of his hand, offering no further words.
As Su Che departed, Su Xiangtian's expression shifted subtly. His gaze was drawn, almost instinctively, to the far side of the mountain. There, a formidable soul shadow drifted away from Yellow Mountain. This apparition was likely the Yin God on a distant journey. Su Xiangtian scrutinized the phenomenon, detecting only a flash of golden light before it vanished toward the newly established city crafted by the seven lower sects.
"Whose terrifying soul shadow could this be? And what brings him here? Perhaps he's in search of that independent cultivator..." Su Xiangtian pondered briefly before shaking his head in dismissal.
"Brother Su, I appreciate your assistance in escorting him," he muttered to himself.
On the other side of Yellow Mountain, a stone door swung open. There stood the independent cultivator Liang Jingyin, clad in yellow robes, his smile beaming as he nodded in greeting to Su Xiangtian.
"My disciple, Su Che, pays his respects to Master!" Su Che called out with vigor.
Liang Jingyin gestured invitingly with a smile. "Come up here."
Beneath Su Che's feet, a stone stirred to life, lifting him gently into the air and guiding him to the stone doorway where Liang Jingyin awaited.
"The young men of the Su family are now in your capable hands, Senior Liang," Su Xiangtian said, bowing with clasped fists before taking his leave.
Half a day later, Old Cash, piloting the dilapidated Jade Tower, made an unexpected appearance on Yellow Mountain. This mountain had once been his private domain. Before the Spirit Void Sect's space teleportation array came into existence, Old Cash, a formidable figure in the Relic, had pursued his cultivation here.
The yellow copper mines nestled beneath the mountain held the spiritual materials he coveted for the construction of the Jade Tower. He had entrusted Yu Yuan with a request to return to the Absence Relic, surmising that with the resurgence of the Relic's Spiritual Qi, the yellow copper ore would coalesce more rapidly.
His intention was to harvest the pure yellow copper iron and employ it in the reforging of the Jade Tower.
Upon his arrival, he immediately sensed something amiss and erupted in fury, "Who dares to usurp my nest!?"
His words had barely faded when he caught sight of the familiar inverted triangle insignia, and his countenance grew grim.
Midway up the mountain, Liang Jingyin, clad in yellow, emerged with a grin, cradling a golden pagoda. "Old Cash, I thought you were at the Crack Archipelago?"
"Old Monster Liang! What business do you have taking over my Yellow Mountain?" bellowed Old Cash.
"Your Yellow Mountain?" scoffed Liang Jingyin, his face etched with mockery. "You, too, were once a force to be reckoned with in the Relic. Don't you know the law of the land? Might makes right here. I declare Yellow Mountain mine, and so it is. If you disagree, prove it through combat."
With a whoosh, the golden pagoda soared from his palm, hovering midair between them.
The radiance bursting forth from the pagoda was so intense that Old Cash felt a stinging pain on his skin.
"Your Jade Tower, painstakingly crafted over a century, was reduced to rubble in the Crack Archipelago. How do you plan to contend with me?" Liang Jingyin stood nonchalantly, hands clasped behind him. "Consider your next move carefully."
Old Cash grimaced, giving the golden pagoda a piercing look, and declared, "I shall return!"
With those words, he mounted the remnants of the Jade Tower and departed in a huff.
"Return?" Liang Jingyin let out a derisive snort. "Come back a hundred times if you must, but without the Jade Tower restored, the outcome will remain unchanged."
Behind him, Su Che watched with eyes full of reverence, his fists clenched in awe.
...
The moon shone resplendent in the night sky.
A Fifth Level Moon Swallowing Ape stood erect, arms lofted high, drawing in the moon's radiant essence, infusing it into its sinews and flesh.
"Huff! Huff!"
The spiritual energy of the surrounding five miles surged like a tidal wave, funneling into the Ape as it basked in the moon's glow.
The Moon Swallowing Ape, having journeyed from the Desolate Swamp to the Absence Relic, reveled in the thrill of empowering itself in this new domain.
Crackling and popping, the silver moonlight coursed through its flesh like streaks of lightning.
The battle prowess of the Fifth Level Moon Swallowing Ape was on par with cultivators at the Penetrating Stage. Should it ascend to the Eighth Level, the ape could break free from the Boundless Land and ascend to the moon for cultivation.
Such a Moon Swallowing Ape would be a force to be reckoned with.
Legend has it that the Moon Demon Clan once suffered greatly at the hands of these creatures.
A Ninth Level Moon Swallowing Ape had traveled from moon to moon, voraciously gathering lunar essence to refine its demonic form, compelling the Moon Demon Clan to launch an assault.
The clash ended with the Moon Swallowing Ape slain by the combined might of the Moon Demons, but not without the Moon Demons incurring severe casualties.
As a result, three distant moons were shattered.
The Moon Swallowing Ape, in the midst of refining its form, displayed a flicker of panic in its icy Demonic Eye.
Beneath the full moon, a dark cauldron swelled in size.
Enveloped in tendrils of demonic light and smoke, the cauldron unleashed a fearsome demonic energy that threatened to rip the ape's body asunder.
With a thunderous crash, the cauldron struck, and the Fifth Level Moon Swallowing Ape was instantly ripped open.
The body of a Fifth Level Demonic Beast stood no chance against the ferocious impact of the Evil Cauldron, its Demon Bones shattering one by one.
An ice-blue wraith emerged from the cauldron and slipped into the ape's body.
The robust and towering Moon Swallowing Ape barely had time to cry out before it was rapidly encased in ice from head to toe.
It was then that Yu Yuan leisurely made his way over from a distance.
"Is this cauldron the young master's find from the Ember Waters?" Qin Yun inquired, trailing behind. Watching Yu Yuan effortlessly dispatch the Fifth Level Moon Swallowing Ape with the cauldron, he exclaimed in admiration, "It's truly as they said."
"What's truly as they said?" Yu Yuan responded.
"When Miss Yu Zhu was present, I visited the new city built around the space transfer array. I heard tales of the young master's astonishing exploits during his trials in the Ember Waters." Qin Yun observed the dark cauldron as it enveloped the frozen Moon Swallowing Ape, and watched an ice-blue shadow ascend from the apex of the ape's head.
"I thought it was an exaggeration. Even if it were true, I assumed that the Devil Palace would demand the return of the Evil Cauldron after you, young master, had claimed it."
"That cauldron was once a Divine Level Artifact, after all!"
When Qin Yun learned that Yu Yuan had acquired the long-lost Evil Cauldron during his trial, he found it hard to believe.
In the vast expanse of the Boundless Land, the great cauldron that had once made the Evil Sect renowned was still considered a Divine Level Artifact, despite any damage it may have sustained.
An Artifact of such divine stature was not meant to be wielded by a cultivator of Yu Yuan's level.
Yet now, Yu Yuan had effortlessly slain a Fifth Level Moon Swallowing Ape, at the Penetrating Stage, confirming the veracity of the rumors.
"The Devil Palace has implicitly consented to my possession of the cauldron."
With a radiant smile, Yu Yuan leaped into the Evil Cauldron and used the altar within his Qi and blood microcosm to strip away the ape's vital essence.
Swoosh!
Old Cash, looking utterly dejected, returned from Yellow Mountain and paused next to Qin Yun, his gaze fixed on the dark cauldron.
"Why have you come back?" Qin Yun asked, surprised.
With a heavy sigh, Old Cash replied, "Yellow Mountain has been taken."
