Chapter 931: No Exit
Ye Mo exited the golden page world and attempted to move the spirit range within, but the effort proved futile. The range remained completely unmoved.
He sighed. To successfully relocate the range, he would need to reach at least the Hollow Spirit state.
Just as he was at a loss, he sensed a slight movement from the spirit range. Careful observation confirmed it: the range had shifted, albeit minimally.
Was it trying to escape? Alarmed, Ye Mo examined the range with his spirit sense, verifying its subtle movement. The spirit range possessed its own will! For countless years it had remained stationary; why the shift now?
He realized the answer. The range must have been controlled by an ancient being, providing spirit chi to the seven herb gardens. A formation within the gardens had bound it. Ye Mo's group, lacking formation expertise, inadvertently destroyed that formation. Even he hadn't recognized the gardens as a single, cohesive formation.
With the binding formation gone, the spirit range was seeking a more advantageous location to progress to the middle grade. A formation! Perhaps he could use a formation to move it into his golden page world.
Immediately, he began constructing a formation around the spirit range. His power was not exceptionally high, but his formation skills were considerable.
A week later, the formation encompassed the entire range. As he continued adding formation flags, the spirit range, and the ground itself, began to shake violently. He feared the valley might collapse if he moved the range. Despite his apprehension, he proceeded.
Finally, with a thunderous crash, the spirit range was pulled into his golden page world! The earth-shattering sound threatened to crush his soul. Without hesitation, he dashed into the golden page world, his earth mobility barely sufficient to avoid the devastating force.
Inside, he saw the spirit range emitting a faint white mist, while Silver watched worriedly. The dense spirit chi filled him with relief. No one would believe he'd captured a spirit range with only golden core state power.
Knowing the external collapse would continue for some time, he sat in the spirit marrow pond to cultivate. He devoured the spirit chi voraciously, his power steadily increasing. Upon opening his eyes, he was shocked. He'd consumed another 20% of the pond, yet had barely reached the middle stage of level one.
He murmured, "How many spirit stones, how many spirit herbs, will I need to reach golden core state level nine?" His consumption rate was alarming. The spirit range's potency, though significant, paled in comparison to the spirit marrow pond. He decided to cease cultivating there, reserving the pond for Yangzhu and Ye Ling.
He began organizing the herbs surrounding the former spirit range, especially the two Five Colors Lotuses, each carefully protected by a formation. The vast expanse of level five herbs filled him with a sense of accomplishment; the risks had been worthwhile.
Emerging from the golden page world, he returned to the herb garden. The scene was utterly devastated. The valley was a chaotic mess; the seven herb gardens were reduced to seven deep ravines. Even the small wooden house had vanished, rendering escape impossible, even without pursuers.
His primary challenge was escape. He searched, but found no alternative exit. The formation he'd once used as a threat was now destroyed. The dense mist remained, too dangerous to traverse. It seemed to be his only option.
He summoned Shadowless, instructing it to approach the mist. However, after flying a few meters, it retreated to his shoulder, refusing to advance. Even Shadowless feared the mist. He was desperate; he'd hoped to repeat his escape from Chang Fen Valley.
He worried; no one would find him here, not in fifty years. Suddenly, he felt a chilling sense of danger. The mist was encroaching, now only meters away!
In panic, he instantly returned to the golden page world, deploying a surveillance formation disk. He saw the valley slowly being consumed by the deadly mist. He'd lost his only way out. The mist, he realized, had likely been contained by the garden's formation.
He established a temporary dwelling atop the spirit range and began concocting pills. He hoped the mist would dissipate naturally without the garden's containment. Otherwise, he could only hope for teleportation after the three months, an unlikely prospect.
Using his Mist Lotus Heart Fire, he concocted pills. With the high-level herbs at his disposal, cauldrons of pills were quickly produced. After a week, he checked again. The mist remained thick, his disappointment growing.
Then, he noticed two ants slowly crawling on the ground. Even Shadowless feared the mist; why were the ants unaffected? The mist felt familiar yet… different. It lacked intelligence. Was this change a result of removing the spirit range?
He summoned Shadowless, and this time, threw it out without hesitation, observing it closely. The creature, initially startled, reacted with fear upon seeing the mist. But then, it paused, walked around the mist, and, seemingly unafraid, continued.
He wondered if the danger had truly passed. With cautious hope, he ventured out into the mist himself.