Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 417: 1 Road to Immortality 8

Yun Chu was sandwiched in the middle of the team, his mind was clear, all his senses were focused on one thing, and he carefully felt every "breath" of this legendary holy land that contained the essence of the immortal medicine sect's thousands of years of plants and trees.

Yun Chu could feel that the white jade alchemy cauldron recommendation order in his sleeve seemed to be attracted by the majestic vitality of this place. The warm feeling became clearer and clearer, and even a tiny alchemy cauldron phantom was outlined in his sea of ​​consciousness, emitting a faint sense of guidance.

The space inside the hall is much wider than imagined. On the dome, which is over a hundred feet high, there are flowing and twinkling star-like light spots, reflecting the criss-crossing jade paths below.

The paths were not lined with soil, but with countless jade stones inscribed with array patterns, separating them into numerous "herb gardens" of various shapes. Some were steaming hot, and were planted with fire-type spiritual plants;

Some places are filled with cold air and planted with Ice Soul Fairy Grass;

Some are filled with mist and are filled with strange fragrance;

Some even float in mid-air, their roots absorbing the energy of the void like streams of light. This is where the name "Hundred Herbs" comes from.

Elder Song finally stopped beside a broad main road leading deep into the temple. At the end of the road, a simple stone door entwined with mysterious runes could be vaguely seen.

"This is the first level of 'Debate on Subtleties.'" Elder Song's voice remained calm, yet it carried an unquestionable power.

"This place is filled with a riot of medicinal auras, the product of the blending and nurturing of countless spiritual herbs. Within one hour, you must find the purest trace of the 'Heavenly Star Soul Flower' aura within this tangled mess, and engrave its scent rhythm onto the jade slip."

"Remember, this aura changes rapidly. It cannot be obtained without extremely sharp spiritual awareness and a deep sensitivity to the spiritual energy of plants and trees. If you fail to obtain the aura or forge it by the time limit, you will be eliminated."

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of blank jade slips appeared silently in front of each candidate.

"start."

Without hesitation, everyone immediately sat down cross-legged, closed their eyes, and concentrated their minds, trying their best to integrate their consciousness into this vast ocean of medicinal energy. Some people frowned, sweat dripping from their foreheads;

Some people pinched their fingers and cast spells, with various lights radiating from their bodies, trying to sense that specific aura;

Some people looked confused and dizzy in this complex torrent.

Yun Chu also sat quietly, she did not immediately release her spiritual sense to search forcibly.

Yun Chu's experiences in his previous life made him deeply aware that the spirits of plants and trees have their own unique rhythm and order.

Yun Chu closed his eyes, not to "search" but to "listen".

Just like realizing the dust in Ke'anju's hut, Yun Chu's soul, nourished by the bark space, has long possessed an indescribable delicacy and affinity with nature.

The mixed medicinal aroma transforms into rushing streams, swaying meadows, roaring forests... countless sounds intertwined in the senses.

Yun Chu's mind was deeply focused, clearing away all distractions, just like an experienced fisherman sensing the subtle changes in water flow deep underwater.

Time passed by minute by minute, and there were continuous sighs of failure and the sound of jade slips breaking - that was the proof that the aura forgery failed and was automatically destroyed.

Three or five people have been cleared out of the team silently.

Yun Chu still sat still as a rock.

Until one moment, her consciousness "heard" a sound: it was a very thin, very cool breath, as if it was made up of the fragments of thousands of stars.

With a unique rhythm that is cool and yet contains infinite vitality, it is as slippery as ice silk in the rushing hot and cold waves, but it is difficult to be completely submerged because of its clear essence.

It was like a lone star in the night sky, clearly present yet obscured by the surrounding light. It was the Celestial Star Spiritual Flower!

Yun Chu suddenly opened her eyes, put two fingers together and pointed at the jade slip in front of her. A strand of extremely condensed spiritual consciousness mixed with her most subtle perception of the breath turned into a mysterious rune mark, which was imprinted into the jade slip with incredible precision.

hum!

The jade slip glowed slightly, then stabilized, its aura pure and harmonious.

Not far away, the young man in brocade robes who had previously expressed disdain for Yun Chu also successfully engraved his mark. Though his face was slightly pale, he couldn't hide his pride. He glanced at Yun Chu, who had just completed his task, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, then turned into a more intense scrutiny.

Elder Song's eyes swept over Yun Chu and the young man in brocade robe, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

The nine people who successfully passed the "Bian Wei" were guided to go deeper and finally stood on an open jade platform near the ancient stone gate.

Opposite the jade platform is a row of seven crystal balls of different colors, each of which quietly contains three herbs or minerals with completely different shapes and scents.

The air was filled with extremely pure fluctuations of fire and ice spiritual energy.

"The second level is controlling sperm."

Elder Song stood with his hands behind his back, his voice as firm as stone, "Controlling the essence of the spirit is the foundation of alchemy."

"Before you are seven nodes in the 'Ice Flame Mysterious Combination Formation', each sealing a pair of objects with mutually restraining properties—such as the 'Burning Star Crimson Fire Vine' and the 'Earth Vein Mysterious Ice Crystal', the 'Scorching Sun Golden Glaze' and the 'Mysterious Soul Jade Marrow Liquid'."

"You must use your own spiritual power or consciousness to remotely mobilize the spiritual power of water and fire without touching the node crystals, and refine one set of materials at the same time."

"Goal: Extract three-tenths of the Scarlet Flame Vine's essence, and melt only seven-tenths of its outer shell from the Mysterious Ice Crystal. This must be completed within one stick of incense. Even the slightest error will cause the properties to become unbalanced, the materials to be completely destroyed, and the process will be considered a failure. Choose a location and begin."

The requirements were so strict that several candidates gasped.

This requires not only strong spiritual power, but also precise control!

If you are not careful, the collision of ice and fire will not only damage the materials, but you may also suffer backlash!

The young man in brocade robe snorted coldly, walked to a crystal ball in the center first, and selected a set of the most domineering "Burning Sea Sulfur Stone" and "Cold Soul Lotus", obviously wanting to prove his true strength.

The others also chose their targets and used their own methods.

Yun Chu's eyes were calm as he chose a node on the edge. His target was the most basic but also the one that tested the most on controlling the fire, the set of "Burning Star Red Fire Vine" and "Earth Vein Black Ice Crystal".

Yun Chu slowly raised his hands, but there was no dazzling burst of light.

To outsiders, her cultivation at the middle stage of Qi Refining seemed extremely weak, with her spiritual power wielding only strands. However, her spiritual awareness, enhanced by the warm aura of the tree bark space, became exceptionally strong and sharp.

Yun Chu's spiritual power transformed into two strands as thin as hair: one strand was as hot as a fire needle, and his spiritual consciousness attached to it, accurately piercing the inner meridians of the red fire vine, avoiding those violent fire core energy nodes, and carefully stripping away only the outermost three parts of the pure and gentle red flame essence;

The other strand was as cold as an ice string, and the consciousness contained the thought of guarding the heart. It wrapped around the black ice crystal of the earth vein like a soft thread around a finger. The cold power only penetrated into seven parts of the surface of the ice crystal, melting its outer shell with the gentlest force, and did not dare to touch the core ice soul inside that was enough to freeze the soul.

The movements are smooth and flowing, without a trace of worldly airs.

Heat and cold form a delicate balance circle within the narrow node, neither conflicting nor acting on their respective targets.

Yun Chu's aura was completely restrained, as if he had merged into the world, leaving only the two precisely controlled strands of spiritual power jumping silently.

The incense stick had burned more than halfway, and other nodes had heard a few suppressed groans of pain or the light had collapsed due to the energy turbulence erupting from the crystal ball - this was a sign of attribute imbalance, and three more people were eliminated.

In the node in front of Yun Chu, the red fire vine shed its violent outer flame, leaving behind a small ball of the purest ruby-like red flame liquid; the outer shell of the earth vein black ice crystal melted, revealing the crystal clear and flawless ice soul crystal inside that exuded extreme coldness.

She slowly withdrew her hand, and the moment she withdrew her spiritual power, the light of the node formation flowed smoothly, and the scene in the crystal ball solidified.

A success!