Chapter 37: Supreme Grade Spirit Stone

Jiuyou's eyes brightened. He took a few quick steps forward, then suddenly halted and released his divine sense to full strength.

He pondered for a moment, repeated his old trick, and sent out several Soul Wraith Puppets to carefully scout the area. After confirming there was nothing unusual, he stood well back and manipulated the puppets to slowly approach the glowing cluster.

The instant a Soul Wraith Puppet grasped the light mass, the glow trembled slightly, and a surge of pure, concentrated spiritual energy burst outward. The intensity of that spirit energy was several times purer than the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk Jiuyou had obtained before!

Jiuyou's divine sense swept over in an instant. When he saw clearly what was inside the light mass, a look of surprise flashed across his face, quickly followed by overwhelming delight.

"This is... a supreme-grade spirit stone!"

Supreme-grade spirit stones are incredibly rare.

Only once every hundreds of thousands or even millions of years might such a stone form inside a large spirit-stone vein. It is the quintessence of an entire great vein.

Once possessed, any major faction would treat it like a treasured heirloom; it is one of the absolute top treasures in the entire Tianyuan Sea cultivation world.

Whether for pill refinement, tool forging, or activating ancient formations, its effects are unparalleled. Used to aid cultivation, it can break bottlenecks and solidify foundations—far beyond what ordinary spirit stones can achieve.

Jiuyou's divine sense surged through the Grand Hall again, probing thoroughly, but still found no problems. He drew a deep breath and suppressed the excitement on his weathered face.

The Heavenly Light Mirror and the white-jade bottle had appeared in his hands at some unknown moment, their spiritual radiance shifting subtly, ready to handle any sudden turn of events.

With a thought, the puppet that had grabbed the supreme spirit stone sped back and clenched the light mass in its grasp, flying rapidly to Jiuyou.

Jiuyou examined it carefully again. After confirming the spirit stone posed no issues, he placed it into his Storage Pouch, then retreated swiftly, scanning the surroundings with wary eyes.

But after a long while, the entire Grand Hall remained unresponsive, unusually tranquil.

"Strange."

Jiuyou stroked his beard, frowning slightly.

"Since entering Heavenly Abyss Mountain, it's been danger and Prohibition Mark after Prohibition Mark. For this place to be so calm is truly surprising to this old man."

Before he finished speaking, his brow twitched. His divine sense instantly locked onto a distant direction; another passage lay there, and a very familiar aura was rushing toward them.

From that passage, a cyan light suddenly burst forth. As the light contracted, a figure in green clothing slowly emerged.

If not Old Ghost Qingshan, then who?

At the moment Old Ghost Qingshan appeared, his gaze swept across the empty Grand Hall, then landed on Jiuyou a short distance away, stroking his beard with a stern expression.

He immediately understood: he had come too late. The treasure that had caused the powerful spirit-energy fluctuation here must have already been seized by Jiuyou, that old demon.

"Jiuyou, old demon! I never thought I'd run into you here—die!"

Murder boiled in Old Ghost Qingshan's eyes, without a trace of hesitation. He waved his hand, and the colossal mountain treasure that had been held earlier materialized in his palm, swelling in the wind. It exploded in size within the Grand Hall to dozens of zhang, bearing an overwhelming force as it smashed toward Jiuyou!

Jiuyou's eye twitched. He was instantly blasted backward, shouting angrily as he did so.

"You old ghost! Making such a commotion, aren't you afraid of triggering the ancient formation hidden in this hall?"

Old Ghost Qingshan paid no heed, his eyes filled with madness.

"If I cannot seize the Life-Extending Fruit, I am already a man near death! If I can drag you down as I die, then my wish will be fulfilled!"

Seeing the other unmoved, Jiuyou's eyes flashed with a sinister light, his voice roaring like a strained bellows.

"Heh, you old fool, do you really think this ancestor is a pushover?"

Before his words finished, the white-jade bottle suddenly expanded to the size of several zhang, whirling rapidly around Jiuyou and forming a transparent membrane that wrapped him tightly. He tucked the Heavenly Light Mirror into his sleeve, its radiance shimmering as it prepared.

Old Ghost Qingshan drove the mountain treasure down again. Jiuyou flickered aside to avoid its blade. At the same time, a dense cyan mist surged from his body, and innumerable Cyan Chains shot out like living serpents, coiling toward Old Ghost Qingshan.

Old Ghost Qingshan snorted coldly and waved both hands. Countless cyan vines sprouted from the void, dense and interwoven, entangling with the iron chains. The collision of chains and vines produced a grating metallic screech as fragments scattered.

The two unleashed their techniques, locked in fierce combat in the Grand Hall.

Jiuyou's Nether Capital Ghostfire flared wildly. A beam of ghostly blue shot out, aiming for Old Ghost Qingshan's face.

Old Ghost Qingshan twisted his body, barely evading. The beam grazed him, leaving frost across his robe and briefly slowing the circulation of his divine power.

"Not seen you for centuries, your skills haven't improved much, hahahaha."

Jiuyou sneered coldly. The Heavenly Light Mirror slid from his sleeve, its surface flashing with radiance. The power of the Nether Capital Ghostfire in his palm surged, the blue flames rising into a fire-dragon that roared toward Old Ghost Qingshan.

Old Ghost Qingshan's face changed. He quickly drove the mountain treasure to shield himself. The fire-dragon slammed into the mountain, exploding in a thunderous blast as blue fire scattered. Cracks scorched across the surface of the mountain treasure. Old Ghost Qingshan staggered back several steps, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"You...!"

Old Ghost Qingshan was shocked and enraged. He had not expected the ancient relic in Jiuyou's hand to have such power, boosting the strength of the ghostfire technique by nearly thirty percent.

Jiuyou pressed the advantage mercilessly. He transformed into a cloud of cyan mist and appeared instantly behind Old Ghost Qingshan. He raised his hand and struck; the Nether Capital Ghostfire in his palm condensed into a giant skull that opened its maw and lunged to devour Old Ghost Qingshan.

Old Ghost Qingshan's divine sense leapt wildly. He threw himself aside with all his might. The skull scraped his shoulder, burning the sleeve of his left arm to ashes; the flesh beneath charred and smoked with the stench of scorched meat.

"Damn you!"

Clenching his teeth against the pain, Old Ghost Qingshan forced his circulating power back into balance. His hand seals shifted rapidly, and the shards of the Green Fallen Leaves artifact reappeared, wrapping his body while the mountain treasure hovered overhead, guarding him.

They tangled and clashed again.

Jiuyou grew more aggressive, unleashing Nether Capital Ghostfire, Cyan Chains, and Soul Wraith Puppets in rotation, forcing Old Ghost Qingshan to yield step by step.

Although Old Ghost Qingshan fought desperately, he fell behind in both cultivation and techniques. His wounds deepened, his left arm was nearly incapacitated, and his inner power began to falter.

Jiuyou, however, fought with increasing ease, leaving a margin of strength to guard against any ancient Prohibition Mark that might suddenly trigger within the hall.

Just as Jiuyou began to dominate and the victory hung on a knife edge—

Hum—

The whole Grand Hall suddenly began to tremble.

At first the tremor was slight, but it rapidly intensified until the entire space shook violently, as if something sleeping had been awakened by their battle.

"What... is happening?"

Old Ghost Qingshan's eyes swept the hall continually while his divine sense remained fixed on Jiuyou. He breathed heavily. The fierce fight with Jiuyou had drained much of his power; many wounds marred his body and his inner power churned chaotically.

Jiuyou's hoarse voice suddenly rang out. The Nether Capital Ghostfire around him leapt and flashed, his rage undiminished, though his condition was far more composed than his opponent's.

"Old Ghost Qingshan, look at what you've done! You've triggered the ancient formation, now neither of us can leave!"

"So what?"

Old Ghost Qingshan snapped back to focus. Cyan light flickered in his hands as he quelled the turbulent power within, snarling.

"If we're going to die, we'll die together!"

Before the words finished,

the smooth, mirror-like Golden Wall at the rear of the resplendent Grand Hall began to slowly open from the bottom up.

A crack widened into a door. From it spilled an intoxicating, life-filled aura, brimming with life essence, rapidly spreading outward.

Both sensed that aura and felt an uncanny familiarity. They widened their eyes and exclaimed in unison.

"The Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit!!!"

A great shock struck Jiuyou's heart, a flurry of thoughts flashing through his mind.

At that moment he understood everything.

Why was a supreme-grade spirit stone sitting here unguarded with no Prohibition Mark? It had been a ruse to deceive lookers-on! If Old Ghost Qingshan had not arrived and triggered the fight and thus activated the formation, Jiuyou might have missed this heaven-sent opportunity.

He had been scheming how to cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit after leaving Heavenly Abyss Mountain. With a Little Green Bottle he might have succeeded in time. But if he could seize a fully grown fruit directly, why risk it?

With that thought, Jiuyou looked at Old Ghost Qingshan with murderous intent.

You want mutual destruction?

Then let's see who dies first.