The terrifying energy ripped a massive gap in the waterfall.
The surrounding currents were completely cut off.
Jiang Chen saw clearly that there was a cave behind the waterfall. A brilliant, multicolored light shone from within, and at the cave's center was a spring!
The energy that had just parted the waterfall was erupting from that same multicolored spring.
'This is a Spiritual Source Spring! There's no doubt about it. Father once told me that some places in this world are natural treasure troves, their unique geography allowing them to birth all sorts of worldly treasures. The Spiritual Source Spring is one of them. To think I'd actually find one!' Jiang Chen clenched his fists in excitement.
Although he hadn't found the Blazing Flame Vermilion Fruit, discovering the Spiritual Source Spring felt like he'd gone looking for a pebble and found a mountain of gold!
The Blazing Flame Vermilion Fruit was a rare worldly treasure, to be sure. A Martial Artist who consumed one could directly advance one or two Small Realms.
But the Spiritual Source Spring was different!
It was the result of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi condensing to its absolute limit, forming a liquid that pooled together to become a source of Spirit Liquid!
As more and more Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered, the source could no longer contain all the Spirit Liquid. It would then erupt at irregular intervals, expelling the excess.
This maintained the equilibrium of the Spirit Liquid source.
The scene Jiang Chen had just witnessed was the source erupting with excess Spirit Liquid. This phenomenon was also known as a "Spiritual Source Spring"!
'Father said that when a Spiritual Source Spring erupts, the Spirit Liquid condenses into Spirit Crystals upon contact with the air... That eruption just now was quite large, so it should have created some Spirit Crystals. I just wonder...' Jiang Chen's eyes glinted as he looked toward Spiritual Monkey Valley again.
The Six-Eared Spiritual Apes, which had been hiding motionlessly in their caves, were now chattering incessantly as they all poured out.
They darted and leaped all around the valley.
Before long…
Some of the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes began carrying fist-sized, crystalline-glowing stones back to the highest cave.
Jiang Chen's sharp eyes made out the true nature of the glowing stones. 'It looks like these Six-Eared Spiritual Apes are long accustomed to the Spiritual Source Spring. What's more, they're taking all the Spirit Crystals they find to that highest cave. That cave must be their warehouse. Even though two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes are guarding it, if I'm careful, I should be able to kill them silently with a sneak attack and get inside!'
'Once I get my hands on those Spirit Crystals, I'll be able to raise my cultivation rapidly.'
Jiang Chen's fists tightened. He had made his decision.
Spirit Crystals are the crystallized form of extremely dense Spiritual Qi.
'The Spiritual Qi they contain is incredibly rich. If I can get enough Spirit Crystals, coupled with the terrifying absorption speed of the Profound Yellow Undying Technique, I'll definitely be able to advance my cultivation rapidly!'
At this thought, Jiang Chen began to move slowly toward the warehouse cave.
Upon reaching the cave, Jiang Chen didn't act rashly. Instead, he waited quietly until the middle of the night.
The two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes were drowsy. Jiang Chen carefully slid down a vine, but just as he neared the entrance, the apes' eyes snapped open, their eerie green gazes locking onto him.
However… before the two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes could even make a sound, a silver gleam of sword light flashed through the darkness. SWISH!
A single, fatal strike!
With a light flicker of his body, Jiang Chen slipped into the cave. He arranged the corpses of the two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes as if they were sleeping on their backs, then silently ventured deeper into the Treasure Vault.
The cave was very deep, extending several hundred meters.
It was hard to imagine such a deep cave existing on a sheer cliff face without seeing it firsthand. No wonder the Six-Eared Spiritual Ape clan used it as a warehouse for their Spirit Crystals.
The deeper he went into the cave, the denser the Spiritual Qi in the air became.
'The Spiritual Qi is so dense! I'll use this chance to break through to the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts in one go!' Jiang Chen clenched his fist in excitement.
He finally reached the deepest part of the cave. Before him lay a multicolored, dazzling array of Spirit Crystals, piled high and each emitting a dense Spiritual Qi.
Colorful clouds of Qi hovered over the piles of Spirit Crystals, refusing to disperse. The Spiritual Qi here was easily three to four times denser than outside.
'The Blazing Flame Vermilion Fruit Elder Jiang Ming mentioned has probably been eaten by the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes. But even though I didn't find the fruit, I stumbled upon a Spiritual Source Spring. I guess it's a blessing in disguise!'
Jiang Chen didn't dwell on it. His gaze fell back to the pile of Spirit Crystals. 'So many Spirit Crystals. I need to hurry and cultivate!'
Grasping a Spirit Crystal in each hand, he circulated the Profound Yellow Undying Technique to its absolute limit. His body instantly transformed into a bottomless black hole and began to furiously devour the Spiritual Qi.
These Spirit Crystals contained a torrential amount of energy. An ordinary expert at the Third Stage of Martial Arts, absorbing with all their might, would need ten hours to fully deplete a single one.
But now…
Jiang Chen needed only ten minutes to completely drain two Spirit Crystals, turning them into ordinary rocks.
'This cultivation speed is five times faster than on the 4th Floor of the Sword Tower! The feeling is incredible. I have to keep going!' Jiang Chen grabbed two more Spirit Crystals.
CLINK! CLINK!
One after another, the Spirit Crystals in his hands turned into ordinary stones, their abundant Spiritual Qi absorbed completely.
Before he knew it, Jiang Chen had spent five full days in the cave.
Fortunately, he had brought enough rations and didn't need to venture out for food, allowing him to immerse himself completely in his cultivation, forgoing food and sleep.
As a matter of course, his cultivation broke through to the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts.
This place was truly a Cultivation Treasure Land!
'The first three stages of the Martial Arts Realm are for Qi Gathering, and my Dantian is now brimming with True Qi. The Fourth Stage begins Qi Condensation, where I must refine my True Qi. Breaking through becomes much more difficult from this point on. Still, if I can continue to cultivate here, I'm confident I can reach the Sixth Stage of Martial Arts before the Yulan Festival!' Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed in excitement.
However… just as he was about to continue absorbing Spirit Crystals to condense his True Qi, an enraged roar suddenly echoed from outside the cave. "ROOOAR!"
The roar was utterly terrifying.
It contained a surging power like a thunderous tide. The sound waves rolled in, stirring up a foul, violent wind that gusted into the cave. A shiver went down Jiang Chen's spine. 'Crap, they found me!'
'I can't stay here any longer!'
Spiritual Monkey Valley was the home of the Six-Eared Spiritual Ape clan. If he was discovered, he would have to face the entire clan.
Although the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes were only First-Grade Demon Beasts, with strength equivalent to human experts of the Third or Fourth Stage of Martial Arts, their Ape King was an expert on par with the Martial Arts Seventh Stage.
'I'm no match for it!'
At this thought, Jiang Chen bolted toward the cave entrance at top speed. He hadn't even reached it when he came face to face with two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes.
Both Spiritual Apes were comparable to experts at the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts. Before his breakthrough, Jiang Chen would have had to expend some effort to deal with them. But now that he had also reached the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts, handling two of them was child's play.
SWISH! SWISH!
He unleashed the Aurora Sword Technique. The sword in his hand left its sheath in an instant, a cold silver light flashing across the Fine Steel Sword.
His sharp blade struck each of the two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes in the chest. As Jiang Chen brushed past them, twin jets of blood erupted. He had killed them both in one move.
"Fuck, I've really gone and poked the monkeys' nest!"
When Jiang Chen reached the cave mouth and saw the scene outside, his scalp went numb with dread.
Down in the valley, dark figures were roaring in fury as they charged toward the highest cave.
The figures were, of course, the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes.
Among them were five Six-Eared Spiritual Apes whose black fur was streaked with white—adults, equivalent in strength to the Peak of the Fifth Stage of Martial Arts.
These five, with their green faces and long fangs, snarled as they charged the cave. They were incredibly fast, their eyes filled with rage and cold killing intent.
"ROAR!"
An earth-shattering roar came from the waterfall. Jiang Chen's pupils contracted violently as a pair of massive hands ripped the curtain of water apart. A five-meter-tall Six-Eared Spiritual Ape, its entire body shimmering with silver light, stepped out from behind the falls.
Its eyes landed on him instantly, sending a chill down his spine. This was, without a doubt, a terrifyingly powerful Demon Beast!
'The Martial Arts Seventh Stage Ape King? Run, I have to run now!' His scalp tingling with fear, Jiang Chen scrambled up the rock face to the top of the valley and fled at full speed.
The few Six-Eared Spiritual Apes at the Fifth Stage of Martial Arts were tough, but Jiang Chen could have barely managed them.
But that Ape King was simply too powerful!
At the Seventh Stage of Martial Arts, one began to condense True Essence. It was a fundamental transformation. He was no match for such power.
After fleeing for more than ten kilometers, Jiang Chen hid in a large tree to rest. He panted heavily, his heart still pounding with lingering fear. 'I should have shaken them off by now, right?'
However, the thought had barely formed when ferocious howls erupted all around him.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
A dozen Six-Eared Spiritual Apes had him completely surrounded.
Jiang Chen gave a bitter smile and shook his head in resignation. "Looks like this fight is unavoidable."