A terrifying surge of spiritual energy gathered at Gu Ze’s fingertips.
The Dragon Vein realized what was happening and tried to flee, but it was already too late.
A full-powered strike could only be received with all one’s might.
The Dragon Vein’s thoughts were not so complex; no matter how it tried, it simply couldn’t understand how Gu Ze, only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, could suddenly unleash such a terrifying attack.
In an instant, one of the earth-yellow eyeballs was pierced through.
Accompanied by a painful dragon’s roar, the surrounding cave walls lost their dragon scale patterns, and the other dragon eye vanished without a trace.
The Dragon Vein burrowed back underground, leaving behind only a wisp of earth-yellow dragon qi, which was instantly devoured by the Yulong Jade.
The remaining eyeball shattered into large pieces of ore, from which a few strands of dragon qi also steamed out.
The Yulong Jade greedily tried to absorb them, but unexpectedly, the dragon qi fused into Gu Ze’s body, even though he was further away.
Hmph, if it had surrendered its dragon qi sooner, it wouldn’t have had to take a beating, would it?
Gu Ze patted the dust off his body, climbed to his feet, and picked up the jade pendant that had fallen to the ground.
He turned and raised the spoils in his hand, smiling as he called out, “Junior Sister, Senior Brother Lin, it’s all over now.”
Li Xunmiao let out a long breath, her flustered expression finally calming down. “As expected of Senior Brother Gu, that last move was incredible.”
Senior Brother Gu really was different from the rest.
Clearly possessing such means, he hadn’t used them on the two who had followed and even threatened his life.
Yet, he had unleashed such a powerful move just to help her reclaim her pendant.
If Gu Ze hadn’t intervened, Li Xunmiao could only have watched helplessly as her pendant was swallowed by the Dragon Vein.
“Junior Brother Gu, once again you’ve shown the power of a top-tier artifact. Truly enviable for someone like Lin. May I have the honor to see this treasure up close?” Lin Tianya was shocked.
This kind of power, at the peak of Qi Refining, could only come from a top-tier artifact.
That meant Gu Ze had brought two top-tier artifacts just to fulfill his commission—how extravagant.
Gu Ze was a bit embarrassed by the praise. He spread his hands helplessly and said, “That artifact was a one-time use item; it’s already turned to dust. Honestly, I don’t have many tricks left up my sleeve.”
He had already used up the system’s reward.
How could he show it off now? He could only come up with an excuse.
The two in front of him nodded simultaneously, tacit understanding in their eyes.
Gu Ze must have other trump cards!
[ Ding~ Li Xunmiao has obtained a fortunate encounter: Innate Dragon Qi ]
[ Host has received a reward: Dragon-Binding Rope ]
Dragon-Binding Rope: Can restrain targets of the same realm or lower; those bound cannot use any techniques, divine abilities, or innate talents, nor can they break free of their own will.
Extra effects against dragonkind, and can be used across realms.
Xiu Shi.
Isn’t this invincible among peers!
It seemed it could only be used on one target at a time, but that was already incredible.
Most importantly, it could counter formidable dragonkind.
If he had obtained the Dragon-Binding Rope earlier, would he have ever feared a Qi Refining stage Dragon Vein?
A pity this was a reward for defeating the Dragon Vein and seizing its dragon qi.
This was also the first time Gu Ze had received a proper artifact from the system.
But—this artifact appeared out of thin air before Gu Ze, dropping from his waist onto the ground right before the eyes of the other two.
Looking at the bundle of thin red rope on the ground, Lin Tianya’s gaze turned sharp.
It seemed similar to certain items used by Xiu Shi with special hobbies. Someone had even once commissioned him to forge such an artifact to bind others…
Gu Ze hurriedly snatched up the Dragon-Binding Rope.
Held in his hand, it felt as hot as a burning yam.
With both of them staring at him, he could only force out an explanation: “One can never be too careful when traveling; it’s reasonable to have some rope handy for catching bad people, right?”
Li Xunmiao’s eyes were blank, but she nodded along in agreement. “Very righteous!”
Lin Tianya wanted to mock Gu Ze, but in the end, he held back and simply said, “Junior Brother Gu, I can’t tell the grade of this artifact. It’s surely no ordinary treasure; your methods are as inexhaustible as ever.”
Gu Ze blushed at the praise and quickly changed the subject.
***
During the battle just now, he had been bathed in the Dragon Vein’s pressure, and somehow ended up absorbing a great deal of pure dragon energy.
When he shattered one of the Dragon Vein’s eyeballs, even more pure dragon qi entered his body.
The Qi Gathering Technique he cultivated was the most common and basic breathing method in Yunhai Immortal Pavilion—absorbing the five elemental energies and the essence of heaven and earth, with almost no refining process.
How much one could absorb depended entirely on one’s own talent.
He never expected that a technique that absorbed spiritual energy so slowly would have such a vast and open feel when absorbing dragon qi, like all rivers flowing into the sea.
Could it be that the Qi Gathering Technique was not as simple as it appeared?
To be selected as the foundational cultivation method of a sect with a thousand years of inheritance, perhaps there were secrets hidden within.
But this wasn’t something Gu Ze could dig into right now.
Without the Dragon Vein’s pressure, he brushed off the dust and stones covering him, feeling as if he’d been reborn—light and relaxed all over.
The pure dragon qi that had fused into his body also made the circulation of his technique much smoother.
Li Xunmiao noticed the change in his aura, her eyes blinking.
“Senior Brother, did you break through?”
Gu Ze quickly stabilized his aura, cultivated for a moment, but regretfully shook his head.
“It seems I’m just one step away. I’ve reached the bottleneck; after a period of closed-door cultivation back home, there’s a good chance I’ll break through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.”
Such a terrifying cultivation speed made Gu Ze both delighted and a bit apprehensive.
He really didn’t want anyone to notice how abnormally fast his cultivation was advancing.
If he could keep himself hidden under Li Xunmiao’s radiance, that would be ideal.
But for some reason, this little girl had learned to hide her cultivation since the second layer of Qi Refining.
As a result, Gu Ze became the most conspicuous one by her side.
From the third layer to nearly breaking through the sixth, Gu Ze had taken less than a month.
If word got out, Qingquan might want to take him as a disciple on the spot.
After all, those closest at hand get the moonlight first—being promoted from a personal attendant to a personal disciple, wasn’t it just a matter of one word from her?
Actually, Gu Ze was quite afraid that Qingquan would ask him how his talent advanced so quickly.
If that Origin Water left any trace for Qingquan to find, and his identity was revealed, things would get very difficult in the days ahead.
“Junior Brother Gu, your cultivation has advanced, so why don’t you seem happy?” Lin Tianya asked, puzzled.
They had only met a short time ago, when Gu Ze was just at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
Now he was about to be equal with Lin Tianya—what fortune had he encountered!
The battle just now, against the manifested Dragon Vein, was probably the moment Gu Ze had made a desperate breakthrough, reaching his bottleneck.
“Growing stronger is naturally a good thing, but standing out too much doesn’t suit my low-profile style.” Gu Ze explained.
Li Xunmiao nodded in strong agreement.
One should always be low-key; the more you play weak, the easier it is for your enemies to underestimate you, and then you can easily defeat them in one strike.
She had subconsciously accepted her role of playing the pig to eat the tiger.
Little did she know, Gu Ze wished she would shine more brightly, becoming the focus of the Yunhai Immortal Pavilion and even the entire Immortal Realm.
That way, if he borrowed a bit of fortune, it wouldn’t draw too much attention.
“That’s true. The higher your cultivation, the more trouble comes with it. If I were still the me from half a month ago, I wouldn’t have come here looking for iron marrow, and none of these dangers would have happened.” Lin Tianya sighed deeply.
Still, things had turned out for the better.
He glanced at the pile of golden shards on the ground—fragments left behind when the Dragon Vein’s eyeball was shattered.
Even though Gu Ze had smashed the eyeball, the spiritual ore it left behind was still usable.
These were the essence of the earth veins, countless times rarer than the iron marrow they were searching for.
Lin Tianya was tempted, but since this was Gu Ze’s trophy, he suppressed his greed and said nothing.
Although, the spirit ore was extremely tempting to him.
Gu Ze glanced over, but couldn’t see anything special about it.
He didn’t know how to identify ores, but he knew that anything that fell from the Dragon Vein was definitely a rare treasure.
“Senior Brother Lin, you can keep these spiritual ores. Neither I nor Junior Sister Li have any use for them.”
“This…this is too much, but if you insist, I’ll gladly accept!” Lin Tianya tried to decline, but inside he was overjoyed.
Before, he hadn’t really believed Gu Ze when he said: If they found spiritual ore, it could all go to him.
But now, Gu Ze was keeping his word and not going back on it—truly gratifying and touching.
“Junior Brother Gu, I’ll remember your kindness today. If you ever need anything, just come find me at Songhuo Peak anytime!”
He quickly stored away the spirit ores, cradling his now bulging storage pouch like a treasure, as happy as a child.
Lin Tianya had long lost track of how many favors he owed Gu Ze. In short… that meal money was well spent!
Li Xunmiao tugged at Gu Ze’s sleeve, her other hand tightly gripping the Yulong Jade he’d returned to her.
In a low voice she said, “Senior Brother, after the Yulong Jade devoured the dragon qi generated by the earth vein, it feels a bit different now. I think it’s trying to communicate with me, as if it has something to say.”
“Oh? What did it say?” Gu Ze asked, curious.
After absorbing dragon qi, the Yulong Jade was probably just saying thank you or something like that.
“It said… not enough.” Li Xunmiao looked up, her expression calm.
The air fell silent for a few seconds before Gu Ze reacted.
Not enough? The corner of his mouth twitched.
So it wasn’t just the Dragon Vein that had changed—had the Yulong Jade also changed?
Was it trying to devour all the Dragon Vein’s dragon qi?
Thinking about it, that made sense; in the book, the Dragon Vein hadn’t fully formed, and there wasn’t enough dragon qi for the Yulong Jade to absorb.
Now, the Dragon Vein was even scheming to devour the Yulong Jade to replenish its own intelligence, so it was only fitting that it became the prey of the Yulong Jade.
“Senior Brother Gu, you just heavily wounded that dragon and are about to break through. Actually, along the way, I’ve seen a lot of new things and gained many insights—I’m about to break through too.”
Why don’t we cultivate here for a few days? After our breakthroughs, we’ll be in our best state to go after that dragon and capture it!” Li Xunmiao was eager to try.
She spoke of breakthroughs as casually as eating a meal.
Both Gu Ze and Lin Tianya put on pained expressions.
This was the difference between geniuses and ordinary people; even their way of thinking was completely different.
“Let me think it over.”
After being heavily wounded by Gu Ze, the Dragon Vein had less than seventy percent of its strength remaining.
It would take a long time for it to recover.
Right now, the three of them were almost unscathed—if their cultivation improved a bit more, they really could give it a fight.
Lin Tianya clapped his hands. “I think it’s worth a try! With the spirit ore, I can now forge a mid-grade artifact. I’m at least ninety percent sure I’ll succeed.”
“Besides, an artifact forged from the spirit ore dropped by the dragon-shaped earth vein will be especially effective against it, far surpassing an ordinary mid-grade artifact.”
With time, place, and people all in their favor, Gu Ze pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily.
“Alright, let’s utterly defeat that Dragon Vein—strip every last dragon scale from its body and take them all with us.”
“If we really can’t beat it, we can still escape under the protection of the Frost Dust Mirror. The Dragon Vein definitely won’t dare to leave the depths of the earth vein so recklessly.”