"Maybe I'll just call it Blue-Silver..."
Li Ye was still muttering the name to himself when he suddenly changed his mind mid-sentence.
"Ahem… better yet, let's call it Qingluo Silver Grass! And if I ever manage to cultivate it to Tier-4, I'll call it Qingluo Gold Grass!"
Though he was half-joking with the name, the Qingluo wood spirit responded with a ripple of joy upon hearing it. Its leaves swayed gently, and the glow around it became noticeably livelier.
Li Ye sent another strand of Wood God Art power to nourish the plant. Seeing it grow just a little more, clearly content, he couldn't help but smile.
He had long known that the Wood God Art was particularly effective when it came to nurturing plant life.
For instance, if used not in combat but in reverse to nourish spiritual plants techniques like the Verdant Spirit Light and Wood God's True Flame could yield miraculous results.
The Verdant Spirit Light could transform into pure wood-element energy to replenish a plant's foundation and accelerate growth, while the Wood God's True Flame could "burn away" impurities, purifying the plant's spiritual essence and improving its overall condition.
When used together, these two were nothing short of divine treasures for any spiritual plant.
Their effectiveness was leagues above ordinary plant-nurturing spells!
Paired with Li Ye's mastery of plant cultivation arts, they were a huge boon for the few acres of spiritual fields he currently tended.
Of course, his farming was ultimately in service of his cultivation. And since these two secret techniques consumed his inner reserves when used for nurturing, he wouldn't normally use them unless necessary.
But now that the Qingluo Silver Grass had shown such extraordinary potential and utility, once its condition stabilized, Li Ye had no issue spending some of his hard-earned accumulation to give it a boost pulling up the seedling to make it grow faster, so to speak!
Once it fully matured, its ability to elevate other Tier-2 Qingluo Grass would likely increase as well. The sooner he could cultivate enough to form the small spiritual nodes needed for his formation's energy regulation, the better it would be for him.
"Originally, I thought all I had to do was keep an eye on that group for the time being… never expected such a pleasant surprise to land in my lap. Guess it's a good way to pass the time," Li Ye said with a teasing tone.
As he adjusted the formation's spiritual energy flow and tended to the Qingluo wood spirit, he also began channeling its now budding void-related properties to disperse its spiritual energy throughout the surrounding area.
.........
With the three major sects paving the way in full preparation, the cultivators exploring the underground this time managed to last nearly twice as long as in previous expeditions.
Except for a few Qi Refining cultivators who took their chances, and some unfortunate Foundation Establishment cultivators who got separated from the main group, three full days had passed and there were still no signs of any large group returning.
"Three days should be about right…"
"The Earthfire Passage isn't that deep, and the outermost layers of the formation restrictions don't hold much power. They're not enough to stop the disciples of the three sects, especially when they're prepared. But once they lay eyes on the Lava Palace… that's when this whole dungeon truly shows its horror."
Under the Voidrealm Tree, Li Ye lounged lazily on a reclining chair, casually tweaking the formation's flow. He looked completely at ease, showing not a hint of concern.
So what if you knew there were treasures down there?
Even with his mastery of formations having reached Tier-3 level, there were still places he wouldn't dare to tread.
Never mind the formation traps just the noise alone could draw in any number of Tier-3 fire beasts. If that happened, very few of those people would even make it back alive.
If anyone hoped for a real harvest, it would likely take their Golden Core elders personally stepping in before there was any real chance of success.
It's still far too early for that!
Just then, Li Ye's expression shifted slightly. He sat up and looked in the direction of the Tengyun Market.
"Well now! Speak of the devil looks like some of them are already coming back?"
Although he couldn't observe the area from such a distance in detail, he could still sense when his arrangements were triggered. That alone was enough for him to make a solid guess.
With a wave of his hand, his maid Rong Yue arrived swiftly, her large eyes blinking with faint anticipation.
"Do you have orders for me, young master?"
Li Ye simply said, "Tell them below to gather information on how things went this time and bring it to me."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Streaks of spiritual light pierced through various sealed formations, flying up from the underground one after another. Most didn't even stop to rest they left straight away.
Among them were the disciples of the three major sects. After flying for a bit, they landed on a nearby mountain peak, and their expressions were uniformly grim.
"Fellows, did any of you find anything?"
Liao Shengtao piped up in his usual shrill tone, wearing a smug smile that made others want to hit him.
"Liao, you damn shorty, could you not spout nonsense for once?"
Kong Changsheng snapped, clearly annoyed.
"You know exactly what kind of crap we ran into down there!"
"Nothing but deadly traps and rocks! Not a single useful thing! That bastard lured us into a death trap and we barely escaped. Damn, unlucky!"
"If he hadn't died right there and then, I swear I'd have skinned him alive!"
Despite the insult, only Liao Shengtao showed a flash of anger at being called short. The others didn't disagree in fact, some even nodded slightly in agreement.
It was clear just how frustrated they all were.
Zou Zifu's face didn't look any better, but he spoke with some composure:
"We still don't know how far this place stretches underground, or what turned it into this… If it was truly breached in the past, then many of the treasures were likely taken long ago by the forces responsible."
"Those outer ruins are nothing but empty shells!"
For them, the local fire beasts posed little real threat, and though the formation restrictions in the Earthfire Passage were formidable, they weren't without flaws.
With guidance from their sect formation masters, they'd made steady progress and soon ventured deep underground into the lava zones.
There, they finally laid eyes on the unbelievable underground palace and the many shattered buildings floating on lava that formed isolated islands.
Coming from Golden Core sects, they had keen judgment.
Such a grand-scale site couldn't possibly be the legacy of some minor Golden Core force this was at least from a Nascent Soul sect, maybe even Soul Transformation level!
They were all shocked, but the excitement quickly followed. To stumble upon a site of this magnitude was almost dreamlike.
Still, the formations in this place were far more dangerous. Reaching the central palace was nearly impossible, so each group, following their own formation expert's advice, chose a nearby island structure to explore.
They had high hopes even then.
But after carefully breaching the restriction on one island and searching it thoroughly they found nothing.
At the same time, a crowd of lesser cultivators Foundation Establishment from minor sects and lone rogue cultivators arrived at the underground site. They were awestruck by the scene and, filled with glee, rushed toward the various island buildings.
They weren't fools either. They could tell the formations here were dangerous. Seeing even disciples of the major sects advancing cautiously, none dared to charge ahead blindly.
But when the crowd gets large enough, someone always makes a mistake.
Someone triggered a deadly restriction. The formation's power activated instantly and obliterated him on the spot.
That in turn triggered a massive chain reaction, setting off a storm of formation energy that engulfed the entire area.
The terrifying force erupted again and again, killing many instantly. Even the disciples from the three sects had no choice but to flee in panic.
This first real foray into the depths where they finally saw the true face of the ruins ended with massive effort and… nothing to show for it.
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