The Prodigies War
chapter-714

Along the way, Lin Xun ran into many people from both the empire and the Magi Brute Race.

Even the top figures of the Cyclic Derivation Stage traveled in groups. It was very rare to encounter someone exploring the woodland on their own.

Lin Xun didn’t pause for long along the way. Whenever he detected someone, he would avoid them to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Boom!

Before long, he again sensed enemies ahead and, just as he was about to avoid them, blood-red lightning struck down from above.

Instantly, a group of Magi Brute experts exploded into smithereens and vanished with the blood-red lightning. Not even a fragment of their bones was left behind.

It happened so abruptly and unexpectedly that Lin Xun couldn’t help but gasp out loud. He quickly glanced around and found nothing in the sky and saw no traces of the source of the blood-red lightning.

This was another terrifying aspect of the Mulberry Woodland. It was full of many unpredictable natural disasters and strange phenomena. The slightest carelessness could lead to various accidents and cost him his life.

Lin Xun pursed his lips and took a deep breath before he continued onwards. The ominous and peculiar dangers along the way undoubtedly tested his courage and fighting spirit.

Ordinary cultivators likely would have been frightened off and given up already.

Before long, wisps of mist and clouds started to gather between the sky and earth, growing redder and redder like blood and bringing an intense fiendish qi.

The blood mist was very bizarre in that it blocked his spirit-sensing powers and, if not dispelled, it could invade his body and corrode his spirit and qi.

Shua!

He drew the No-Nonsense Bow, ready to strike. After arriving in this area, his spirit power had been obstructed so he could no longer perceive danger like before. He could only rely on his fighting instinct to avoid any disaster.

However, the No-Nonsense Bow was able to display its remarkable ability at such a time. It possessed omni-vision, which allowed it to see through the truth and even emptiness!

As expected, Lin Xun’s field of vision instantly became wider, and he could see thousands of feet into the distance. The blood-red mist could no longer obstruct his sight.

Huh?

A moment later, the Broken Blade quivered as it hung by his waist. Lin Xun’s dark eyes lit up, observing quietly.

Soon, he came to an ash-brown mound, which looked ordinary and inconspicuous, but the Broken Blade vibrated more intensely as he came closer to the mound.

He paused for a moment before he crouched down and dug a hole in the soil using the Broken Blade.

Ding!

When he reached around five feet deep into the ground, the Broken Blade clattered against something and a ray of soft silvery white light flashed in his vision.

“Is it a silver vein jade stone?” Lin Xun’s spirits were instantly lifted. He examined it closer and found that it was around the size of a bowl and its silvery body shimmered like water.

With a crackling sound, Lin Xun crushed it between his fingers, revealing a little jade-green branch shaped like a deer antler. Lin Xun’s face lit up with joy when he saw that the branch was imbued with divine jade light and vitality.

“Last time it was a leaf and this time it’s a branch, but they all contain unfathomable aura and vitality. Could a sacred tree have collapsed in the past, but its branches and leaves never disappeared and were sealed by the strange jade stones? Then, after many years of changes, they were buried under the soil?”

“Mulberry Woodland…Mulberry Woodland…Perhaps, the leaf last time and the branch this time both came from a mulberry tree with incredible powers?” Lin Xun speculated.

As he thought about it, he allowed the Broken Blade to absorb the vitality in the branch.

Within seconds, the Broken Blade glowed brightly with strong life force while the branch crumbled into powder and faded.

Lin Xun calmly observed and found that the Broken Blade had transformed a little again. It might not be obvious, but it was no doubt an improvement.

The mysterious veins on its surface were looming like the moon in the lake. Although still hazy, they were beginning to grow clearer.

Lin Xun’s black eyes gleamed. The Broken Blade already possessed terrifying powers and could be considered a heaven-defyingly strong blade. If it was further repaired and transformed, it would also raise his combat strength.

Lin Xun didn’t hurry on with his journey, but he explored the surroundings to see whether the Broken Blade would react again. Its buzzing indicated that there were treasures hidden in the nearby area.

The Broken Blade’s ability to detect such treasures saved Lin Xun a lot of energy and time. He only needed to search areas where the Broken Blade vibrated near.

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed by.

During that period, he had collected four pieces of silver vein jadestone and two gold vein jadestone, and each hid a leaf or branch in them. Although they were all extremely small, they were all filled with abundant mysterious vitality.

The Broken Blade refined all the vitality.

By this time, Lin Xun had realized that, if he wanted to further transform Broken Blade, then those drops of vitality weren’t enough.

However, he was very patient. He came to the Mulberry Woodland not to look for any unique opportunities. He also had no intention of participating in those treasure-hunting operations that drew the attention of even Life Death Stage Kings.

He was already very satisfied with being able to repair and transform the Broken Blade.

……

He suddenly shuddered inexplicably, feeling a bizarre pressure, as though something terrible would happen when night fell.

Boom!

Suddenly, a flash of dazzling lightning pierced the void, illuminating the world, while a wave of terrifying aura swept out from the distant world.

From afar, Lin Xun could make out a figure bathed in divine flames in a fierce battle, exuding superiority.

“King Yan Qiong of the Fire Tribe!”

Even if Lin Xun had never met the brute king before, he could identify him right away because he was too eye-catching. His body was bathed in divine flames, and his aura was one of the most terrifying he had ever seen. Only King Yan Qiong could have such a bearing.

However, it was King Yan Qiong’s opponent who truly amazed Lin Xun—

It was a broken bronze spear!

As the spear moved, it produced earthshaking visions across the sky. And with a sweeping motion, the sky seemed to be collapsing and the void tearing apart.

The battle was spectacular.

Lin Xun wanted to watch longer, but unfortunately, the battle that broke out quickly ended even quicker. It was over within a few breaths.

King Yan Qiong was no match for the spear and retreated in fury. He roared before he left, “You are just a broken saint weapon. I will defeat you one day!”

Those words shocked Lin Xun. A broken saint weapon was as strong as an invincible master and forced King Yan Qiong to retreat.

That night was never peaceful. Just as the earthshaking duel came to an end, several waves of terrifying auras appeared in different areas.

Faintly, the roar of gods and demons and the howling of ghosts and wolves echoed in the dark night, sending shivers down many people’s spines.

The experts in various areas of the Mulberry Woodland quickly stopped what they were doing and went into hiding.

When night fell, the Blood Kill Battlefield would become hundreds of times more terrifying than compared to the daytime. But it was even more dangerous in the Mulberry Woodland.

No one dared to continue with their operations anymore and went into hiding, making use of the time to rest.

Lin Xun also hid, circulated the Suanni Qi, and started to meditate. The Mulberry Woodland was beyond terrifying at night. The slightest bit of carelessness could lead to instant death.

That night seemed torturously long because everywhere were frightening auras stirring the wind and clouds as they spread.

The weeping of gods and the enraged howls of ghosts reverberated. Anyone without a strong mind would have long been scared out of their wits and become possessed by demons.

Even Lin Xun had to mobilize the Little Divine Meditation Art to calm his mind. Even so, many chilling thoughts still flooded his mind and made him break out in cold sweat that night.

It wasn’t until dawn broke and the darkness gradually faded that the frightening and unpredictable scenes disappeared and peace was restored.

As daylight came up, all the experts in different areas of the Mulberry Woodland breathed a sigh of relief. However, they were all aware that many experts likely had suffered a calamity or had been killed by the unpredictable dangers during the night.

Lin Xun got up and resumed his operation.

It was the best time to explore the Mulberry Woodland in daylight, so he didn’t want to waste any time.

However, in the next few days, he made no harvest. On the contrary, he encountered many Magi Brute experts, many of whom were half-step kings. If he hadn’t activated the omni-vision ability of the No-Nonsense Bow and avoided them then he likely would still be stuck in a fierce battle.

Although he made little harvest in the past few days, he gradually adapted to the dangerous environment of the Mulberry Woodland.

Furthermore, he had a feeling that he was approaching the depths of the Mulberry Woodland. The experts he encountered on the way were more and more terrifying than the previous.

Almost all of them were top Cyclic Derivation cultivators, and it wasn’t uncommon to run into old monsters at the half-step king level.

However, he wasn’t certain whether he could reach the end of the woodland even if he continued forward because it was too vast like a mysterious demon world.

One day, he came to a barren stone forest area that was abnormally enveloped in blood-red fog.

Huh?

He was about to avoid the area when Broken Blade vibrated much stronger than ever. It even produced a clear cry filled with desire.

Lin Xun slightly hesitated, but he finally gritted his teeth and rushed into the blood-red fog of the stone forest. After a moment, he discovered something—

A dilapidated altar emitting an ancient and extraordinary aura.

An altar!

Is there such a thing in the Mulberry Woodland?!

He stood motionless for a while before he decided to check it out. He found that the altar was in a state of disrepair. The secret runes that covered the altar had been worn away and only some mottled marks remained.

Yet the Broken Blade continued to buzz frantically with an intense desire. It seemed as though it coveted something hidden in the dilapidated altar.

Lin Xun drew a deep breath and cautiously inched forward. He only began to dig after repeatedly confirming that no danger was around.

Kacha…

The excavation easily destroyed the dilapidated altar, and ancient stone fragments crumbled down.

“That…”

He quivered, feeling waves lifting high in his heart. Under the altar was a blaze of spectacular light as dreamy as a rainbow.

It was emanating from a pile of jade stones! They were covered in gold veins, silver veins, jet-black veins, fire veins and water veins...

Each one was around the size of a fist, overflowing with seemingly tangible sacred light.

Lin Xun almost screamed out in excitement. He had found nothing for several days. Who would have thought that so many would appear all at once?