Chapter 417 - 264: Crossing Realms (2)

Chapter 417: Chapter 264: Crossing Realms (2)

Dressed in casual clothes, the old man strolled leisurely beside Yu Fei, looking like a retired government official. Yet, no matter how fast Yu Fei’s Body Technique was, Ye Shuping remained right at his side.

Ye Shuping’s cultivation level was too high; Yu Fei couldn’t discern anything about it at all.

No one noticed him along the way. Even when they entered the Cross-Border Black Fog, the Grandmaster guarding the gate was completely oblivious, as if blind.

"This place is still the same as it was!"

Ye Shuping gazed nostalgically at the desolate land, lost in thought as he stared at the bleak, pale sun.

"Come, I’ll take you somewhere good!"

With that, Ye Shuping waved his large sleeve, and Yu Fei was swept up into the sky.

Fierce winds battered them as the mountain range behind them turned into a blur.

"Teacher, aren’t we going to the Huan Cui Mountain Range?"

Yu Fei heard Ye Shuping say scornfully, "What good could there be in the Huan Cui Mountain Range? I’m taking you to see a real sight!"

"Huh?"

Yu Fei was confused. He realized Ye Shuping seemed very familiar with the Golden Stone Gang Realm. He pondered, ’With the old man’s life experience, could it be...?’

As they sped onward, the deeper they went, the more shocked he became.

Gleaming raw ore lay exposed on the ground. He even saw a mountain range of shimmering silver metal, the entire range emanating an extraordinary aura.

There were even Grandmaster-level members of the Gang Tie Race and Jade Spirit Race roaming about. The vastness and wealth of this world far exceeded Yu Fei’s imagination.

"We’re here. This is the place!"

With that, Ye Shuping brought Yu Fei down to land on a barren hill.

A faint golden light glowed in Yu Fei’s eyes as he looked toward the ground.

With his X-ray vision, his sight could only penetrate ten meters of solid matter.

"This is..."

Beneath this barren hill, there was an artificially excavated tunnel!

Yu Fei was greatly surprised. ’How could Ye Shuping know about this place?’

The old man clasped his hands behind his back and said with a smile:

"Do you think you’re the only one who wants to come here and strike it rich? Cultivation beyond the Grandmaster realm is incredibly expensive. The Bright Jade Alliance has a few special slots reserved for promising Grandmasters, allowing them to explore this realm for treasure.

"When entering and leaving the realm, they have to leave behind fifty percent of their haul. This is considered the Bright Jade Alliance’s investment.

"This organization has been around for a very long time, dating back to the era of the Great Ancestor.

"They’ve always prioritized amicable business, and many Martial Saints have benefited from them in the past. Plus, the organization itself plays by the rules, which is how it’s managed to last so long!"

"Teacher, don’t tell me you... back then?"

"Yes, I’ve mined in this realm before. That was several hundred years ago.

"I just wasn’t as lucky as you, having a storage space. The amount of material I could carry back then was limited, so my gains weren’t that great.

"The Seven Greats have some connections with the Bright Jade Alliance. Every year, they can recommend a few Martial Artists to come here. We usually give this opportunity to Grandmaster Martial Artists, as they need more resources."

At this point, Ye Shuping sighed. "But even for a Grandmaster who has perfected Body Refining, how many resources can they possibly transport at one time? Not like you, little one. With a storage space a thousand meters wide, I bet you could haul an entire mountain back!"

Ye Shuping didn’t know that his storage space had already been upgraded. It now had a diameter of thirty kilometers—nearly the size of a major city.

As Yu Fei listened to Ye Shuping’s explanation, he suddenly realized the Bright Jade Alliance operated with an impressive long-term vision.

’No one can refuse resources practically handed to them. They’ve always maintained good relationships with the promising Grandmasters of the Seven Greats and also provide resources to the Seven Greats and some Martial Saint organizations. That’s how they’ve ensured their long-term survival.’

But then Ye Shuping continued:

"However, in recent years, the Alliance Master of the Bright Jade Alliance seems to have other plans. Two years ago, he began to limit the number of times Grandmasters from the Seven Greats could enter and exit. This person seems to be trying to stir up trouble!

"That’s why I was a little worried about you coming here alone! And also to see this cross-realm teleportation of yours for myself!

"If you can really manage cross-realm teleportation, as long as you act discreetly, you won’t have to worry about cultivation resources from now on!"

"Come on, let’s go down!"

With another wave of his great sleeve, Yu Fei saw what looked like runes flash by, and a passage cracked open in the ground.

"Teacher, what kind of technique is this?"

If he didn’t understand something, he would ask. He had long noticed another system of knowledge within the martial world. For example, there was the Celestial Secret Tower built by humans in the Abyss, and the Micro-Flow Particle model for super-powered bullets. But he had never seen anything like it in the Shenhan curriculum.

Ye Shuping smiled and said, "These things are still too far beyond you. You can start studying them after you become a Grandmaster. For some knowledge, if your cultivation level isn’t high enough, you can’t even get your foot in the door.

"Becoming a Grandmaster is the single greatest metamorphosis on the path of martial arts. It’s like a cocoon transforming into a butterfly; you’ll instinctively grasp many extraordinary abilities."

The two descended deeper. Yu Fei’s perception was quite good, but all he could sense were massive energy fluctuations up ahead. He was oblivious to everything else.

After an hour of winding their way diagonally downward, they finally arrived at their destination.

"This is..."

Yu Fei was stunned. A vast expanse of raw jade ore appeared before him.

Traces of artificial excavation were everywhere. The area had been expanded into a huge, hollow cavern, and the excavators had deliberately left behind numerous load-bearing pillars to prevent a collapse.

At the far end of this underground space was an uneven rock face of raw ore. Jades of various qualities embedded within it shone with a faint glow, illuminating the cavern.

With a single glance, he spotted many mid-grade jade materials, and quite a few high-grade ones as well.

Yu Fei also noticed a man-made shelter, which he guessed was where Ye Shuping had rested back in the day.

Then, Ye Shuping said smugly:

"So, what do you think? This is a rich deposit I discovered back in the day. Much better than picking up scraps in the Huan Cui Mountain Range, isn’t it?

"This underground vein isn’t just massive, the quality is also high. The portion I excavated back then was probably less than one percent of it. If you can travel between the two realms, this place is your golden opportunity.

"With the resources here, cultivating to the Grandmaster realm will be a breeze!"

Gazing at the densely packed raw ore in the vein, a surge of heroic ambition welled up in Yu Fei’s heart.

’The three pillars of cultivation: talent, resources, and willpower.

’As for talent, he had the Fate-Defying Pearl, which was practically a cheat. He was only three years into his martial arts journey, but his innate abilities already far surpassed those of ordinary people.

’As for diligence in his cultivation, he had never slacked off for a single day; he had more than enough willpower.

’Therefore, the only thing that had always constrained the speed of his cultivation was resources.

’The many Cultivation Techniques he practiced were all incredibly resource-intensive. Even though his ability to acquire resources was already far beyond others, it still held him back.’

"Teacher, I’m going to try setting up a world anchor and attempt a cross-realm teleportation!"

"Good!"

Yu Fei immediately leaped up, located a piece of jade emitting a high-grade extraordinary aura, and with a surge of Sword Qi, he extracted it.

This high-grade jade was about two feet tall, with a bright yellow luster that gave off a warm aura.

Ye Shuping watched from the side with curiosity.

He watched as Yu Fei mixed his vital aura, Inner Qi, and a portion of his soul’s characteristics in a specific ratio, sketching out strange, three-dimensional runic arrays inside the jade.

Ye Shuping tried to emulate it. But the moment he began to draw, a sharp, tearing pain shot through his soul, and his vision went black.

’How uncanny. This boy’s ability is truly bizarre.’

’With his power as a Martial Saint, how could his soul be injured so easily? But the runes Yu Fei was carving seemed to carry the aura of fundamental Laws, making them impossible to replicate.’

’Ye Shuping considered that perhaps he should try studying the beacon that Yu Fei had developed.

’But he would have to be upfront with Yu Fei about it. He could only study it if the boy agreed. If he wasn’t willing, then he’d just drop it.

’Yu Fei’s personality was naturally suspicious. Their master-disciple relationship was going quite well at the moment, and he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary friction.’

While he was in the middle of carving, the bright yellow jade in front of Yu Fei suddenly shattered. Its extraordinary aura dispersed chaotically, and the material was ruined.

"Teacher, this jade’s properties are incompatible!"

Ye Shuping asked thoughtfully, "What kind of material properties would be more suitable?"

Yu Fei thought for a moment, then followed his intuition and said, "Teacher, perhaps raw ore with composite properties would be more suitable!"

"Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Shuping instantly flew to the front of the ore vein. After sensing it for a moment, he formed a claw with his right hand and grasped. Dozens of high-grade jades immediately broke off from the vein, all with mixed auras.

"Try these!"

With a wave of his sleeve, the jades of various sizes landed neatly in front of Yu Fei.