Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-442

Lu Ping’s cultivation session only lasted for a year because his presence was needed for the expansion of the island.

Guo Xuan-Shan was on the island, and it would be disrespectful if Lu Ping did not attend to him personally. However, with Tian-Lin present, Lu Ping ended up being an extra despite being the owner of the island.

As an expert in geomancy, Guo Xuan-Shan immediately turned toward Lu Ping’s residence the moment he stepped foot on the island. “It seems like the island is growing at an incredible speed. I heard that plenty of our cultivators rely on the island during their adventures in the ocean. To be frank, I’m envious of your achievements.”

“Junior uncle, you’re flattering me. You’re in charge of taking care of the sect right now. There’s no way you’d be interested in what I have.”

“Ha. What you have is incredible,” Guo Xuan-Shan replied indifferently.

Lu Ping nodded. “Of course. I’m not going to be selfish. Only by giving will I be able to receive more. What I give will eventually return to me.”

“You’re just as shameless as a certain someone. Don’t worry. The Great Ancestors of the sect hold you in high regard, so you can ignore what some people think about you to a degree. We just need a gesture to keep their mouths shut.” Guo Xuan-Shan cheekily pointed at Lu Ping.

“Understood.” Lu Ping nodded.

Guo Xuan-Shan took out an inter-spacial pouch and delivered it to Lu Ping. “This is for you.”

“That’s a lot!” Lu Ping couldn’t help but exclaim after looking at the contents.

“Ha. Are you really surprised by only a couple hundred spirit stones?” Guo Xuan-Shan mocked.

“There are five hundred top-tier spirit stones inside. I suppose there aren’t even that many on Ice Frozen Island.”

Although Lu Ping’s tone suggested that he was surprised, he was eager to own the spirit stones. After all, he had used up most of the spirit stones in his possession. Previously, Lu Ping had sped up his cultivation by utilizing two Spirit Gathering Formations, which cost him an arm and a leg. Additionally, concocting pellets further depleted his spirit stones.

“These are your rewards for discovering the large-scale spirit vein on Ice Frozen Island with Xuan-Lei and the others. Later, you discovered another intermediate spirit vein, allowing us to occupy the spirit vein for ourselves, which has never happened before. For this, the sect decided that you must be properly rewarded. Don’t forget that you also made the sect proud by defeating the Crystal Palace’s Zhang Shi-Jie.

Guo Xuan-Shan paused and said, “The sect wanted to reward you with something else, but Senior Sister Tian-Lin requested the rewards be spirit stones. This is the result.”

Lu Ping praised his master inwardly and kept the spirit stones in his interspatial ring. “This is my duty.”

Hu Lili slowly approached Guo Xuan-Shan and reported that the preparations were complete. Guo Xuan-Shan nodded and started walking toward the formation’s core.

Tian-Lin and Qu Xuan-Cheng were standing at the core of the formation, which had consumed a large amount of Hu Lili’s time, effort, and materials.

After noticing Guo Xuan-Shan, Qu Xuan-Cheng looked around and queried, “You’re the important person today, but where’s Xuan-Yin?”

Guo Xuan-Shan replied, “It appears that Xuan-Yin is occupied with something. It’s been a while since I heard from him.”

“Oh.” Qu Xuan-Cheng, who was also curious, asked. “That’s interesting. He’s barely left the mountain throughout these years. He’s also on the verge of forming his Golden Core, so we should have heard about him.”

Qu Xuan-Cheng asked, “Lu Ping, Xuan-Yin’s disciple is on good terms with you. Have you heard anything from his disciple?”

As Lu Ping, Yin Xuan-Chu, and the others were on good terms and had been keeping in touch with one another, Qu Xuan-Cheng figured that Lu Ping would know something.

“Hmmm.” The moment they mentioned Xuan-Yin, Lu Ping instantly recalled when he overheard the conversation between Xuan-Yin and the mysterious cultivator. He realized that the disappearance of Xuan-Yin was probably related to Xuan-Yin’s wife, who was mentioned in their conversation. However, Lu Ping would not reveal this secret. Hence, he replied, “That’s beyond my knowledge.”

Qu Xuan-Cheng was only asking casually, so he didn’t question Lu Ping further. Furthermore, Xuan-Yin was on the verge of forming his Golden Core and a master assassin. With his strength, he was almost unrivaled in the cultivation world aside from Law Avatar Realm cultivators. Those on the same level would only fear him and wouldn’t dare to plot against him.

Guo Xuan-Shan slowly walked toward the altar set up by Hu Lili in a serious manner. A mountain-shaped weapon slowly emerged from behind Guo Xuan-Shan as he walked toward the altar. It started enlarging quickly. Lu Ping felt a heavy pressure pressing against his shoulder, anchoring him to the ground and immobilizing him.

Lu Ping raised his head and fixed his eyes on the mountain. He knew this was the effect of the Gargantuan Alteration Spell cast by Guo Xuan-Shan. Unlike him, the pressure seemed insignificant to Tian-Lin and Qu Xuan-Cheng, from their calm and relaxed demeanor. Hu Lili had already walked away as she knew what would happen when the Gargantuan Alteration Spell was cast.

Lu Ping channeled his energy and shrouded himself with a blue color mist before absorbing the mist back into his body. After doing this, the pressure vanished, and he regained control over his body.

Unbeknownst to him, Qu Xuan-Cheng and Tian-Ling started talking to each other. Qu Xuan-Cheng said, “This rascal’s energy is insane. The pressure of Senior Brother Guo’s Mystic Tool, the Winged Peak, is not something that mid-Core-Forging Realm cultivators can easily purge.”

Tian-Lin felt a little strange. He commented, “I’m more curious about his raw strength. From the looks of it, this brat has consumed lots of good stuff, including rare pellets that can strengthen the body. His raw strength is absurd.”

A massive presence started emerging at the center of the altar. It seemed that Guo Xuan-Shan had instantly activated all the formations around the altar. A blurry light shone around the formations as the entire Huang Li Island rumbled. No one was caught off-guard by the sudden movements, as everyone on the island was already informed beforehand. However, the power displayed by Guo Xuan-Shan left the cultivators in awe.

With a serious expression, Guo Xuan-Shan reached his hand out. After stretching his palm out and clenching his fist, a black whip appeared in his hand. With a swing, the whip swung forward, splitting the ocean ahead of him apart. With another swing, the island rumbled vigorously once more.

Such was the power of Guo Xuan-Shan’s Origin Mystic Tool. The Summit Crusher was a powerful weapon with seven Mystical Inscriptions. When used with the divine ability, Gargantuan Alteration Spell, Guo Xuan-Shan could attach the whip to an island far away from Huang Li Island and pull the two islands closer.

As he continued swinging his whip, the mountain floating above Guo Xuan-Shan’s head emitted bright yellow halos that flew toward the ocean. The altar beneath his feet started shaking, and massive cracks formed, reaching deep into the ground.

Guo Xuan-Shan swung the whips eighteen times, causing vibrations to spread across the island. It was as if a gigantic creature was roaring beneath the ocean. In the meantime, a basic spirit vein flew out of Lu Ping’s residence and was anchored to the formations’ core, replacing Guo Xuan-Shan as the anchor.

Guo Xuan-Shan walked down from the altar, which instantly collapsed. Guo Xuan-Shan explained without being asked, “The island I targeted should be closest to Huang Li Island. The Gargantuan Alteration Spell has been successfully cast, but it will take some time until the island moves closer and connects with Huang Li Island. It should take approximately a month. The minor spirit vein should be sufficient to sustain the spiritual energy consumption.”

Lu Ping nodded, expressing his understanding. He then delivered a bottle of pellets, “Please take this to replenish your energy before we proceed to the next altar.”

Guo Xuan-Shan burst out laughing, “There’s no need to rush. The altars and formations are saving me a lot of trouble and effort. With the energy I have left, I can cast the Gargantuan Alteration Spell again to pull another island.”

Guo Xuan-Shan suddenly thought of something and took the bottle from Lu Ping. After taking a look inside, he happily said , “Not bad. I didn’t expect to see the rare late-Core Forging Realm Spirit Anchoring Pellets. I thought only the Liao Family from the North Ocean was capable of concocting them. How come you know this as well? Anyway, I’ll take them. Thank you.”

After hearing their conversation, Qu Xuan-Cheng walked over and added, “The brat can make Spirit Anchoring Pellets? Splendid. So you have the recipe? No. Wait. I’ll get you the necessary materials right now. I want at least three bottles of them!”