The azure earth-core lotus bloomed quietly in the underground cave, emitting a faint azure glow.
Sensing the approach of the divine power radiating from Yuan Shu's body, it excitedly twisted its azure petals.
Yuan Shu reached out a finger, and the azure earth-core lotus extended its petals, affectionately rubbing against her fingertip.
This was a spiritual object of heaven and earth, born with sentience, naturally seeking advantage and avoiding harm!
Knowing that the divine power in Yuan Shu could help it, it took the initiative to approach and curry favor.
"Today, I will untangle the meridians of your origin power. This process might be a bit painful for you."
"But if you endure it, your origin power will be able to regenerate. When that time comes, you won't have to watch helplessly as the power of this spirit vein gradually dries up."
Yuan Shu explained to it softly. The azure lotus rubbed against her palm, seemingly understanding, bobbing its little head.
Yuan Shu didn't start immediately. Instead, she sat cross-legged on a nearby stone platform, waiting quietly.
She had already sent a message to Qu Qing, the sect leader of the Falling Immortal Sect, that she would be untangling the spirit origin power of the spirit vein today.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely rush over.
Sure enough, not long after the thought crossed her mind, Qu Qing appeared at the entrance of the underground spirit vein cave.
"Guest Elder Yuan, is everything ready?"
"Naturally." Yuan Shu nodded.
In truth, untangling the spirit origin meridians didn't require any preparation. The pills Yuan Shu prepared were to ensure that the Hehuan divine tree could smoothly absorb the spirit origin power.
Of course, she couldn't say that out loud.
It was best to let Qu Qing think that untangling the spirit origin power of the spirit vein was no easy task for her.
"Sect Leader, please stand guard for me. I am going to begin."
Hearing this, Qu Qing nodded heavily. His tone carried a hint of apprehension and a great deal of hope. "Go ahead, do not worry."
Yuan Shu wasted no more time. She sat cross-legged on the spirit-gathering array surrounding the spirit vein.
Then, she brought her hands together in front of her to form seals. An endless stream of spiritual energy flowed into the hand seals, forming a fiery red imprint.
Once it had condensed to a certain degree, Yuan Shu pushed the hand seal forward.
The azure earth-core lotus was an underground spirit vein. Although its attribute was wood, due to its high tier, it was not affected by the fire element.
It only shrank back for a moment when Yuan Shu's power appeared. But once it caught the scent of the Hehuan divine tree's divine power, it lunged at the red energy like a starving wolf pouncing on its prey.
The azure and red energies intertwined, changing the color of the entire underground spirit vein cave with their glow.
At the same time, the Hehuan divine tree inside Yuan Shu's body trembled slightly and began to madly devour the spirit origin power brought by the azure earth-core lotus.
The azure earth-core lotus felt some pain and trembled slightly, but because Yuan Shu had given it enough divine power, it forcibly endured the agony.
Compared to its already withered spirit origin power, Yuan Shu's ability to generate a new, self-regenerating cycle of spirit origin power for it was what mattered most.
The key lay within this divine power!
Qu Qing stood quietly in place, waiting. Watching the surging energy in the cave, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Sect Leader, can she really bring the spirit vein back to life?"
The Soul Formation realm elder responsible for guarding the spirit vein also appeared in the cave. Afraid of disturbing Yuan Shu, he specifically set up a barrier before speaking.
Qu Qing shook his head. "I do not know, but we have to try. What if she succeeds?"
If she failed, the spirit vein would simply continue to decay as it always had.
But if she succeeded, it would be the future of the Falling Immortal Sect!
With the spirit vein intact, this entire mountain range of the Falling Immortal Sect would be nourished by it. The spiritual energy would be abundant, making it a true blessed paradise.
Hearing this, the elder said no more. He stood alongside Qu Qing, quietly standing guard.
Within her sea of consciousness, the Hehuan divine tree emitted an excited, trembling hum.
The spirit origin power of the spirit vein was immensely strong, serving as a crucial force to unlock its second-tier tree foundation.
It could already feel its own growing strength.
Even Ling Chi, who had been curled up in a ball nearby, slithered over and climbed up the trunk of the Hehuan divine tree.
It joined the tree in absorbing this hard-won spirit origin power.
As the spirit origin power continued to pour in, the originally dim second-tier foundation of the Hehuan divine tree finally bloomed with a faint azure light.
Simultaneously, the cross-legged Yuan Shu acutely sensed a massive force flooding into her meridians and flesh!
It surged forward unstoppably, directly smashing through the bottleneck of her late Golden Core stage!
A breakthrough!
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow, secretly breathing a sigh of relief in her heart.
Her efforts had not been in vain after all.
Meanwhile, in the cave, a large portion of the azure earth-core lotus's spirit origin power had been absorbed, and it visibly shrank in size.
Yuan Shu let out a soft breath and called out to the Hehuan divine tree. "Hehuan, it is up to you now!"
"Do not worry, Shushu!"
The anthropomorphic face of Hehuan blinked. Having eaten its fill, its branches quivered wildly as layers upon layers of divine power surged out, pouring entirely into the azure earth-core lotus.
The twelve green veins beneath the azure earth-core lotus quickly lit up. Swirling with divine power, a surging energy rushed toward the center of the lotus.
A hurricane whipped up within the entire cave. For a moment, spiritual energy surged wildly, sending sand and stones flying.
This process lasted for nearly half an hour before slowly subsiding.
Qu Qing, who had steadied himself on the side, hurried forward to look at the azure earth-core lotus. Upon seeing it, his eyes widened dramatically, and he cried out in shock.
"Newly born spirit origin power!"
The other two elders quickly followed. They, too, saw the spirit origin power emanating unusual energy fluctuations from the center of the earth-core lotus, and their expressions were deeply moved.
"It worked! It actually worked!"
"Newly born spirit origin power... We have guarded this place for hundreds of years, until our beards turned white, and finally, finally, we have seen newly born spirit origin power!"
Tears streamed down the old elders' faces, crying and laughing in their excitement.
With the first wisp of newly born spirit origin power, could the second be far behind?
Once the spirit vein could generate its own spirit origin power, it would truly be alive again!
Beside them, Qu Qing's eyes were bright, his expression filled with endless joy. Even the gaze he directed at Yuan Shu softened considerably.
In his mind, he was already considering what kind of reward to give her.
Just as he was thinking, Yuan Shu's figure in front of him suddenly flickered and became transparent.
Qu Qing was slightly taken aback, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. He looked closer, only to see Yuan Shu's figure turn transparent once more, and then—swish!—she vanished!
Qu Qing's expression changed abruptly. "Guest Elder Yuan?"
Seeing this, the two guardian elders hurried over as well. Looking at the empty ground, they stared at each other in dismay.
"What happened? Where is Guest Elder Yuan?"
...
A surging wave of wood-element power rushed at her face. In an instant, it enveloped Yuan Shu entirely.
Yuan Shu, who had been immersed in the joy of the azure earth-core lotus's newly born spirit origin, froze slightly.
Sensing something was wrong, she slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself sitting cross-legged on a lush green lawn.
Surrounding her were various leafy spiritual trees and flowers, and the air was filled with a fresh, natural floral scent.
?
Where was this place? Wasn't she just in the underground spirit vein cave?
Yuan Shu was bewildered for a moment when a bizarre green vine suddenly wrapped around her ankle and yanked her backward!
Caught off guard, Yuan Shu fell to the ground. She looked up, only to see a familiar silhouette!
