LRAB Chapter 7: Primordial Qi
Chapter 7: Primordial Qi
The core area of the Starry Sky Forest.
Zhang Qingxuan held his breath and quickly traversed the forest, having already penetrated deep into the true core area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
This place is home to a 100,000-year-old soul beast, and very few people have ever been here.
As for Li Yuntian and his wife Yang Wanqing, they had already returned not long ago. The Li family cannot be without a strong person to guard it for a long time. Now, in this dangerous core depth, he is the only one traveling alone.
"Strange, according to the system prompts, the check-in point should be here, so why hasn't it been triggered yet?" Zhang Qingxuan frowned slightly, his sharp eyes sweeping over the surroundings.
It's so quiet here—you can't hear a single chirp of insects or birds, only the rustling of the wind through the leaves.
This unusual silence often signifies the presence of something nearby that terrifies all living beings.
He concealed his presence and continued deeper into the forest. The further he went, the stronger the life force in the air became. He could even see some rare herbs that had long since disappeared from the outside world emitting a faint glow under the tree roots.
After walking for another half an hour, the view suddenly opened up before us.
A huge lake appeared in the center of the field of vision, its water as clear as jade.
The lake was calm and still, like a giant mirror.
What's most impressive is that the life energy emanating from the lake is so concentrated that it's almost tangible. Every breath makes you feel refreshed, and the flow of Qi is three times faster.
Lake of Life!
Zhang Qingxuan's heart skipped a beat, and he knew he had found the right place.
【Ding! 】
A crisp system notification sounded in my mind.
[Sign-in successful! Congratulations, host, you have obtained two strands of innate Qi!]
In an instant, two warm yet vast and powerful energies appeared out of thin air in the meridians of the body, like two awakened dragons, flowing along the limbs and bones.
Zhang Qingxuan shuddered, almost groaning out in pleasure.
What shocked him even more was that deep within his dantian, the two long-dormant martial souls trembled simultaneously at that moment!
Immediately afterwards, a stream of information flooded into Zhang Qingxuan's mind, revealing the reason why they were ignoring him:
"These two martial souls are of extremely high grade, exceeding the divine level. They need to be further awakened with innate Qi as a guide before they can be fully awakened."
"After awakening, there is no need to hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings. You can automatically condense soul rings by absorbing the purest energy in the world, and the power is several times greater than that of ordinary soul rings."
Zhang Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled: "Good heavens, these two have quite the appetite. Heaven and earth energy... where am I supposed to find an energy source that meets my requirements?"
Before he finished speaking, the two martial souls in his dantian suddenly trembled violently!
The tremor was not chaotic, but rather subtly pointed in a certain direction of the forest, from which a strong attraction emanated, as if something was calling to them.
"This reaction... could it really be due to the existence of celestial energy?"
Zhang Qingxuan's eyes lit up. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately activated his cultivation technique, concealing his aura to almost nothingness.
He took one last look at the shimmering Lake of Life, then his figure flashed like a ghost into the dense forest on the other side of the lake.
……
It was about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after he left.
The lake of life, which is always as calm as a mirror, suddenly has a ripple spreading out from its center.
Ripples spread, the lake water rose, and a huge shadow slowly emerged—it was a blue bull's head, as large as a small mountain.
It gazed silently in the direction Zhang Qingxuan had left, a hint of apprehension flashing in its eyes.
"Aunt Rou, that human... went towards the direction of the Green Willow of Life."
The deep voice of the Azure Bull Python echoed across the lake, creating tiny ripples.
"Um."
A delicate, white rabbit, as smooth as jade, leaped out and landed on a blue stone by the lake.
She wasn't particularly large, but her pink eyes held a wisdom far exceeding that of ordinary soul beasts.
"Aunt Rou, should we follow them and take a look?" The Azure Bull Python's voice was hesitant.
It was sleeping at the bottom of the lake when that human approached.
Normally, if any foreign object were to intrude into the area of the Lake of Life, it would have already appeared to drive it away.
But this time—the faint aura emanating from that human body made it tremble from the depths of its soul.
It was a kind of superior aura, as if it were born to suppress all soul beasts.
Several years ago, when it underwent its 100,000-year tribulation, the aura contained in the heavenly lightning that descended from the sky was somewhat similar to this oppressive force!
The Soft-Boned Rabbit shook its head, its gaze fixed on the depths of the forest, the direction Zhang Qingxuan had gone, and also the location of the Life Willow.
"No need. The Life Willow's cultivation is nearing its limit of 100,000 years, and the Heavenly Tribulation will descend soon."
"If you and I approach the tribulation zone, the heavenly tribulation will see it as a provocation, and then... my heavenly tribulation will probably arrive ahead of schedule."
The Azure Bull Python's enormous eyes turned to her, its voice deepening: "Aunt Rou, you're almost a hundred thousand years old too. With the bloodline and strength of your Soft Bone Rabbit clan, how do you expect to survive the Heavenly Tribulation..."
It didn't finish speaking, but the meaning was already clear.
The Soft Bone Rabbit clan is too weak among soul beasts, with ordinary bloodlines, and has been prey for powerful soul beasts for generations.
Trying to withstand a 100,000-year heavenly tribulation on one's own is almost certainly a death sentence.
A hint of sadness flashed in the soft-boned rabbit's eyes, then it raised its head and revealed a gentle smile: "It's alright, I have already made my decision. Once my cultivation reaches 100,000 years, I will transform into a human."
"Aunt Rou!" The Azure Bull Python's voice was filled with reluctance.
Transforming into human form means abandoning 100,000 years of cultivation and starting cultivation from scratch.
Not only must they struggle to survive in the perilous world of soul beasts, but they must also be constantly on guard against being discovered by powerful soul masters who will hunt them down and steal their soul rings.
The Soft-Boned Rabbit's tone was gentle yet firm: "It's alright, Daming. This is my own choice, and besides—"
She paused, her eyes reflecting the shimmering light on the lake.
"Don't I still have you and Erming? You'll protect me, right?"
The Azure Bull Python took a deep breath, and the surrounding lake water rippled gently as it slowly sank into the water, revealing only its terrifying eyes.
"Yes, Erming and I will definitely protect Aunt Rou."
The sound was not loud, yet it was like the heaviest vow, sinking heavily into the heart of the lake, lingering for a long time.
A lake breeze blew by, and the soft-boned rabbit's snow-white fur fluttered gently in the wind.
She gazed into the depths of the forest, in the direction where the humans had vanished, a flicker of fear crossing her eyes.
At this moment, Zhang Qingxuan, guided by his martial spirit, arrived at an area completely different from the rest of the forest.
The trees here are no longer ancient trees that block out the sky, but willows that emit a faint bluish light.
At the very center, a giant willow tree, hundreds of feet tall and emerald green as jade, stands there. Thousands of willow branches move without wind, and every branch exudes an extremely rich life force.
"This is..." Zhang Qingxuan's pupils contracted slightly, and before he could speak, he heard a voice.
Boom—!
Zhang Qingxuan looked up and saw that the sky, which had just been clear and sunny, had suddenly turned dark, filled with all sorts of calamity clouds!
At this moment, the two martial spirits within the dantian emitted an unprecedented, almost joyful tremor.