Chapter 156: It Really Is Possible

The rock walls deep underground were exceptionally sturdy and hard. It took Xiao Wenzi half an hour to tunnel a passage just large enough for him to squeeze through, bringing him close to the top-grade fire spirit stone.

Observing it closely, the irregular stone was only about the size of an ordinary chicken egg. Its outer crust was crystal-clear, while the pure fire spiritual energy contained within condensed densely, glowing as brilliant and radiant as a gorgeous red gemstone.

Xiao Wenzi was in no mood to admire its so-called beauty. He first internalized the cultivation technique of the Demonic Flame Cauldron, and once he gained some insight, he swung his claw and slashed fiercely at the fire spirit stone.

*Crack.* A fracture appeared on the hard crystal, and scorching fire spiritual energy immediately surged outward.

It was precisely due to this outer layer of crystal that the fire spiritual energy had been prevented from dissipating, allowing it to coexist with spiritual stones of other attributes inside a storage pouch.

Now that the crystal was broken, the fire spiritual energy inside would gradually leak away over time. Daring not to delay, Xiao Wenzi hurriedly channeled the secret technique of the Demonic Flame Cauldron to attempt absorption and refinement.

"Mmh~~, it really works. This makes things much easier."

His mosquito body was not very large, and the passage clawed out by his sharp limbs was naturally only slightly thicker than a fist.

In such a confined environment, the vast majority of the spiritual energy from the top-grade fire spirit stone was successfully absorbed, and Xiao Wenzi's body showed no discomfort or rejection. Overjoyed, he continued to absorb and refine without stopping.

A top-grade spiritual stone was truly a top-grade spiritual stone; the fire spiritual energy contained within was extremely pure. Once all of it had been absorbed and refined, a faint, hazy prototype of a three-legged cauldron appeared within Xiao Wenzi's sea of qi.

Knowing that a single top-grade fire spirit stone was not enough to complete the cultivation of the Demonic Flame Cauldron, Xiao Wenzi did not hesitate. He swung his sharp claws to gouge open the rock wall, making his way toward another nearby top-grade fire spirit stone.

A day later, having absorbed the fire spiritual energy from eight or nine top-grade spirit stones, Xiao Wenzi discovered that the embryonic flame cauldron in his sea of qi no longer flickered in and out of existence.

Two days later, the illusory projection of the flame cauldron began to grow increasingly solid and tangible.

Lost in thought, he unhesitatingly swung his claws to dig into the rock wall ahead and to his side, because more than five feet deep within it lay yet another top-grade fire spirit stone...

Time slipped away bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed.

Having failed to capture Chu Xiner for so long, not only were Zhou Peng, Qing Yushuang, Yang Hong, and the others in the Lingtian Gorge filled with anxiety, but even the three Supreme Elders sitting in command outside were growing restless.

In the pavilion on the peak, the woman in white furrowed her brow and spoke, "Senior Brother Wu, that little girl surnamed Chu is hiding deep underground and refuses to come out. Could it be that she stumbled upon the Patriarch's legacy by sheer coincidence?"

The Lingtian Sect's lineage was ancient—so ancient that the other three major factions in the Northern Plains of Pingzhou did not even know who their founder was. Even she, a Supreme Elder who had lived for over a thousand years, had only heard fragmented legends about Patriarch Liang Tianyun.

Had the Lingtian Sect not been in steady decline over recent years, compounded by the threats from the Extreme Demon Sect and its allies, they would not have repeatedly dispatched people to search the Lingtian Gorge based merely on guesswork.

Chu Xiner was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. The fact that she could continuously evade elite disciples searching for her meant either that she was trapped deep underground or that she had encountered a supreme fortune.

"Senior Brother Wu, Junior Sister Yun's words make sense. Perhaps our initial direction was wrong from the very start..."

Illusory and ethereal fortunes were difficult to predict. Hearing the white-robed woman mention the objective of their plan, the middle-aged man with a black beard immediately chimed in.

It was true that the Lingtian Gorge was an independent spatial realm carved out by the founder of the Lingtian Sect, but the rules prohibited cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage from entering, restricting it solely to a trial ground for lower-tier disciples.

This ran completely counter to the practice of certain powerful sects and clans who used such places as blessed immortal caves. As the saying goes, wherever things are abnormal, demons are afoot; it was hardly surprising that they interpreted this as a place where the Patriarch had left behind his legacy to await those fated to receive it.

The founding patriarch of the Lingtian Sect possessed boundless divine might, rumored to have stepped into the final realm of immortal cultivation, wielding supreme divine abilities capable of shattering the heavens and rending the earth with a wave of his hand.

If they could find the legacy left behind by the venerable master, leaving aside those cultivation techniques and secret arts lost in the long river of history, any random miraculous pills or elixirs could potentially help them break through their bottlenecks.

This was why the three of them cared so deeply, though unfortunately, they had failed to achieve their wish for centuries.

According to conventional reasoning, the place where the Patriarch left his legacy should be a hidden grotto-heaven somewhere, openable only by those fated to enter. But what if it wasn't on the surface?

If it was truly hidden deep underground, then even if they cast a wide net and coincidentally allowed descendants of Patriarch Liang Tianyun's lineage to enter, they still wouldn't be able to find the legacy at all.

Having listened to the black-bearded middle-aged man's analysis, the white-browed elder, Senior Brother Wu, mused, "Junior Brother Li's conjecture is not entirely impossible. Let's do this: distribute high-grade Earth-Escaping Talismans down the line. Even if we have to search inch by inch, we must drag her out."

Although he could not enter the Lingtian Gorge, the elder was fully aware of every movement inside. Based on the reports and analysis from Yang Hong, Qing Yushuang, and the others, Chu Xiner had successfully escaped last time by relying on Xufeng's top-grade Earth-Escaping Talisman.

This meant she was still beneath that mountain range, within a radius of no more than five hundred miles.

The elite disciples dispatched over these past few days had already surrounded that region. The reason they had failed to find her was simply because the Earth-Escaping Talismans in their possession were mostly exhausted, and their average quality was too poor to allow them to submerge deeply enough.

In the Lingtian Gorge, within the mountain range where Xufeng had perished, military tents were pitched everywhere, and thousands of young men and women had gathered.

They were disciples sent later to reinforce the sect. After all, those external cultivators participating in the trial had to pass the test of the Heart-Inquiring Path before they could become official disciples.

Moreover, nearly half of the three-month period had already passed. Most of the trial-takers, including Liu Pi and Xulingzi, were striving hard to earn contribution points and find the Heart-Inquiring Path.

Following the Supreme Elder's decree and the backing of a large supply of high-grade Earth-Escaping Talismans, the previously dejected spirits of Zhou Peng, Wang Lingfei, Yang Hong, and the others surged once more.

Forming several small teams, they dove deep underground to search inch by inch. Soon, someone joyfully discovered the "spiritual stone vein."

"Senior Brother Zhou, so many spiritual stones! This must be a massive vein; we've struck it rich."

Perhaps by coincidence, the team led by Zhou Peng was the very first to arrive. Gazing at the spiritual stones embedded in the rock wall ahead, someone immediately cried out in uncontrollable excitement.

"Struck it rich? Do you intend to swallow it all by yourself? Go inside and survey it first, then report back to the sect."

Zhou Peng was no naive greenhorn. Having just swept his divine sense outward to investigate, he knew clearly that the vein before them was extraordinary. A few of them alone could never digest it, so he immediately rebuked the man with a stern face, though a flicker of greed lurked deep within his eyes.

"Right, Senior Brother Zhou is right to discipline me," the young man dared not argue and immediately fawned with a smile.

They spoke of not embezzling it privately, but when one middle-grade spiritual stone after another gleaming with rich spiritual energy was revealed, Zhou Peng's throat felt somewhat parched, while the others swallowed hard in waves.

"Um, Senior Brother Zhou, these are all middle-grade spiritual stones. Opportunities like this are rare; why don't we..."

Xue Panyun, who had teamed up with Zhou Peng last time and ranked as the second strongest in the squad, read his expression and, seeing that Zhou Peng also seemed tempted, immediately stepped forward to suggest.