Chapter 262 : The Use of the Dragon Vein
Chapter 262: The Use of the Dragon Vein
A great war was no trivial matter.
Every time a sect war concluded, a multitude of pressing affairs required handling.
As the Dao Son of Mirror Moon, Chen Beiwu's role carried more symbolic than practical weight, so the tasks he was assigned were relatively simple.
First was to assist Senior Sister in consoling the hearts of the sect cultivators and in calculating and announcing the compensation for deceased cultivators.
Second was to assist Senior Sister Yun in arranging a second-tier supreme-grade Spirit-Gathering Formation, to lock down the dragon vein aura at the heart of the Biyuan Mountain Range, and await the arrival of True Person Nine-Palace with the Formation Hall cultivators.
Third was to dispatch sect cultivators equipped with Gold-Seeking Compasses to chisel into the mountains and prospect for ore, surveying the path of spiritual veins and determining the remaining reserves of the Hollow Gold Marrow Vein.
Thus, it was only by evening that Chen Beiwu returned to the rudimentary cave dwelling he had temporarily carved out.
At the cave entrance, he hung his cultivation plaque, casually set up a few Concealment and Perception-Guarding Formations, and with a single thought, his figure vanished, bringing Golden Egg and Iron Egg into the Chaotic World.
“Buzz!”
As if responding to Chen Beiwu’s arrival, a crimson dragon shadow that had been roaming high above in the Chaotic World abruptly descended, revealing its true form. Its dragon eyes locked onto his, ignoring the nearby Golden Egg.
Golden Egg, meanwhile, looked around in confusion.
It wasn’t Golden Egg’s first time entering the Chaotic World, but it was the first time it had sensed a stirring in its bloodline here—an agitation as if a rare treasure was present, yet it could not sense even the faintest trace of it.
“Gulu?”
Golden Egg turned its gaze toward Iron Egg, who lay sprawled on the ground.
“Woof.”
Iron Egg shook its head, indicating it hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
After all, unlike its master, it couldn't see fate with the naked eye.
Hearing that, Golden Egg instinctively looked toward Chen Beiwu.
‘Such terrifying fate!’ Chen Beiwu was inwardly amazed.
Compared to this crimson dragon of grand fortune, the fate he had accumulated over the past few years through divine abilities was as insignificant as grains of sand.
Thinking this, Chen Beiwu took a deep breath and reached out with his right hand to touch the crimson dragon.
“Buzz!” The dragon’s body suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a current of crimson fortune that swam into the center of Chen Beiwu’s palm.
At the same time, an indescribable intuition surged into Chen Beiwu’s heart.
‘A person who gains grand fortune can avert calamity and has a chance to become a True Monarch; a beast who gains grand fortune is blessed by the heavens and sees its bloodline refined.’
The meaning of this was simple. From today on, Chen Beiwu had three ways to use fate:
First, to use the power of the Nine-Breath Chaos Treasure to activate the eighth breath of the Nine-Breath Divine Ability—【Ascending Fortune】—to continue accumulating fate and improve the quality level of this fortune.
Second, to augment himself, directly absorbing the Crimson Fortune Dragon to enhance his own fate and ward off cultivation path calamities.
Third, to bestow fate upon Golden Egg, granting his Companion Beast the blessing of the heavens, and thereby giving its bloodline a certain probability to evolve into a fourth-tier Mystic Beast.
‘Compared to triggering a fortuitous encounter, direct absorption of fate feels like a terrible deal!’
Chen Beiwu’s heart stirred. He found this new effect of the Nine-Breath Chaos fascinating; using divine ability to augment fate actually required compatibility.
With that in mind, Chen Beiwu closed his eyes and sensed inwardly, connecting with the Nine-Breath Chaos, and discovered that his compatibility with the Crimson Fortune Dragon was lacking. If he were to absorb it directly, he would lose a full ninety percent of the fate.
Losing ninety percent of fate—what kind of concept was that?
Though Chen Beiwu couldn’t see his own fate and didn’t know what level it was at, one thing was certain: at such a rate of loss, if he wanted to fully receive the protection of a single Crimson Fortune Dragon to transform his fate pattern, he would need to consume ten of them.
Such a cost, upon reflection, was utterly exorbitant.
Unless he had amassed a vast amount of fate, how could Chen Beiwu be willing to squander it like that?
Wait a moment—his own compatibility was low, resulting in high fate loss. What about Golden Egg and Iron Egg—how compatible were they with this Crimson Fortune Dragon?
Chen Beiwu’s gaze flickered slightly as he looked toward his two beasts and connected to the Nine-Breath Chaos.
‘Activate Ascending Fortune, bestow Crimson Fortune Dragon onto the Exotic Golden-Scaled Beast—fate will increase, bloodline will be nourished, and at the critical moment of realm advancement and bloodline evolution, it will receive the blessing of the heavens and awaken its most compatible hidden ancient bloodline. Fate loss: ten percent.’
‘Activate Ascending Fortune, bestow Crimson Fortune Dragon onto the Cloud-Treading Snowhound—blessed by the heavens, awakens its most compatible hidden ancient bloodline. Fate loss: seventy percent.’
Upon seeing the results, a hint of confusion flashed in Chen Beiwu’s eyes.
He was clearly the host of the Nine-Breath Chaos!
Why then was the difference in fate loss between himself and Golden Egg so vast—and the disparity between Golden Egg and Iron Egg also so stark?
Could it be that the Crimson Fortune Dragon originated from the dragon vein, making it more compatible with Golden Egg, who possessed dragon lineage?
‘Forget it. Without testing, mere speculation is meaningless. Should this Crimson Fortune Dragon be used to trigger a fortuitous encounter, bestowed upon Golden Egg, or simply stored away?’
Chen Beiwu frowned slightly, then quickly made his decision.
To gain, one must be willing to give.
The more talent and strength he displayed, the more attention he would receive from both the Immortal Alliance and the Southern Wastes, and the higher the circles he would access.
Besides, he wanted to know the effects of fate augmentation, and the only way to find out was to test it.
With a thought, Chen Beiwu activated his divine ability to communicate with the Nine-Breath Chaos.
“Buzz!”
The radiance of fortune in Chen Beiwu’s palm quivered slightly before collapsing, dispersing into countless specks of fate that vanished into the Chaotic World.
In the next instant, under Golden Egg’s astonished gaze, a pillar of light descended in the chaos that had borne no life before, enveloping its entire body.
“Gulu.”
Feeling the nurturing within the light pillar, Golden Egg raised its head, showing a look of comfort.
As time passed, in Chen Beiwu’s eyes, the golden glow of fate above Golden Egg’s head suddenly broke through its shackles and gradually transformed into shape, becoming a Crimson Fortune Dragon—though its form was somewhat illusory.
‘How does it feel?’
Once the pillar of light vanished, Chen Beiwu picked up Golden Egg.
“Gulu.”
Golden Egg revealed a puzzled expression.
After being bathed in the pillar of light, its yearning to undergo bloodline evolution vanished without a trace, as if its bloodline had already been perfected, with no need to rush into transformation.
Yet Golden Egg couldn’t feel even a sliver of improvement in its cultivation strength.
‘That’s perfectly normal.’ Chen Beiwu patted Golden Egg on the head.
There’s a saying that goes: “When fortune comes, the dragon takes flight.”
If Golden Egg wished to be blessed by the heavens, it still had to wait for the right opportunity to arrive.
Until then, the Crimson Fortune Dragon on its body would mostly serve to suppress fate.
Thinking of this, Chen Beiwu stirred his divine sense, left the Chaos Heaven and Earth, brought Golden Egg and Iron Egg along to the Immortal Alliance to purchase a book on formation arts, and then returned to the Southern Wastes Cave Residence.
Soon, he heard bursts of clamor coming from the outside world.
Undoubtedly, because a cultivation placard hung at the cave residence entrance, even if high-ranking members of a sect came to the Biyuan Mountains, no sect cultivator dared to disturb Chen Beiwu.
This was the change brought by the status and position of being a Dao Child.
“Paying respects to True Person of Nine Palaces.”
Chen Beiwu rose and left the cave residence, proactively visiting the Formation Hall Master Yu Shuiyao—he had some questions that needed clarification.
Seeing him arrive, Yu Shuiyao finished instructing her disciples on the preparations for formation deployment and spoke warmly, “No need for such formality, Martial Nephew.”
Yu Shuiyao had a very good impression of Chen Beiwu, believing him to be a fellow traveler on the same path, someone likely to surpass her in the future, and thus a suitable opponent for discussing Dao, so she showed none of the airs of a Golden Core True Person.
If it had been an ordinary true disciple of the sect, they wouldn’t even qualify for an audience with her.
After some brief pleasantries, Chen Beiwu spoke: “Martial Aunt, this disciple has recently been studying an ancient formation text, Eight Analyses of Earth Formations, and finds much confusion regarding the theory of ‘dragon vein spirit-gathering’.”
“Eight Analyses of Earth Formations? What formation book is this?” Yu Shuiyao’s eyes flashed with interest.
There were a total of thirteen thousand six hundred and eighty-five volumes of spellbooks related to formation arts in the Transmission Hall. She had browsed all of them, but none bore the title Eight Analyses of Earth Formations.
Unhurried, Chen Beiwu retrieved a tattered scroll from his storage ring and respectfully presented it with both hands:
“This disciple acquired this remnant scroll by chance. I discovered that using dragon veins to nourish spiritual power can sustain a Third-Tier Treasure Formation for a thousand years without decay. However, the formations described within are exceedingly obscure.”
“This disciple wishes to ask Martial Aunt if within the Earth Proliferation Territory there are suitable places for comprehending the Eight Analyses of Earth Formations, or any methods for locating dragon veins?”
Comprehending Eight Analyses of Earth Formations was merely Chen Beiwu’s pretext. His true goal was to find suitable dragon vein locations.
The reason was simple—compared to using the Nine-Breath Chaos Divine Ability daily to accumulate fate, destroying dragon veins and triggering spiritual energy node hubs yielded more fate, and much more efficiently.
If he could find a few more places where dragon veins converged, Chen Beiwu could take off entirely by harvesting fate.
But such locations were hard to find and were mostly the domains of cultivation clans or sect territories.
Unclaimed dragon vein lands were exceedingly rare, and whenever one surfaced, it would trigger competition among the strong.
For instance, in the Immortal Alliance era, all spiritual vein blessed lands on the Sky Abyss Star belonged to the Immortal Alliance. Privately destroying dragon veins was a grave offense, punishable with heavy penalties.
However, things were different in the Southern Wastes, where strength ruled and resources were abundant.
If Chen Beiwu could locate a dragon vein, as long as he acted cautiously, even if he destroyed it, it would be destroyed—and no one would dare say a word.
To this end, Chen Beiwu directly purchased Eight Analyses of Earth Formations from the Immortal Alliance official website and deliberately masked the knowledge as distinct from that of the Southern Wastes, all in order to seek from True Person of Nine Palaces a method for locating dragon veins.
Yu Shuiyao’s eyes grew increasingly bright as she read.
The Eight Analyses of Earth Formations recorded eight Third-Tier Treasure Formations based on dragon veins. The deployment concepts and utilization of dragon veins were precise to the extreme, with not a trace of spiritual energy wasted. The formation intent differed significantly from mainstream formation paths in the Southern Wastes.
Unfortunately, the book was incomplete. Of the eight treasure formations, only two were intact. The remaining five contained only fragments—but even so, Yu Shuiyao was inspired with many formation insights.
“Finding dragon veins is actually quite simple,” Yu Shuiyao explained. “Ultimately, dragon veins connect Heaven and Earth, and are nothing more than nodes where yin-yang energies and the celestial-terrestrial mechanism converge in harmonious cycles.”
“I have a book here titled Mountain-River Dragon-Seeking Formula. Once cultivated to mastery, it allows one to see the flow of earth qi and perceive the location of dragon vein energy.”
With a flash from her storage ring, Yu Shuiyao took out a technique jade slip and handed it to Chen Beiwu, reminding him:
“Dao Child may use dragon vein sites to cultivate formations, but you must take care—dragon vein lands carry the momentum of Heaven-Earth mountain-river terrain. Forcibly altering or damaging them may provoke Heaven’s backlash.”
“This disciple understands.” Chen Beiwu accepted the jade slip with a solemn expression.
He had heard such tales as well.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t forcibly detonate the spiritual energy node of a dragon vein site.
But if fate could not be obtained otherwise, Chen Beiwu would attempt to destroy a dragon vein even at risk, especially since he had Nine-Breath Chaos to suppress his own fate.
“By the way, the Sect’s Mission Hall always offers bounty tasks for locating dragon vein lands.
If Dao Child fails to master the Mountain-River Dragon-Seeking Formula, you can also accept a mission and team up with the sect’s Earth Masters to search together.” Yu Shuiyao added meaningfully.
Dragon vein sites varied in size and strength—there were those with rivers, and others without.
Some affiliated cultivation families would go to great lengths and expense to find a dragon vein site as a clan base to produce more fortunate prodigies in their lineage.
However, the vast majority of dragon vein lands in the Earth Proliferation Territory were under the sect’s control.
The Mirror Moon Sect was the Heaven of the Earth Proliferation Territory!
“Thank you, Martial Aunt, for your guidance.” Chen Beiwu bowed respectfully and took his leave.
…
On the outskirts of the Biyuan Mountains, in a secluded cave residence near Shuishan Town of the Ze Kingdom—
An old man with hair and beard like snow, yet a face like an infant, sat cross-legged on a mat.
Suddenly, his eyes opened wide, and his flesh and bones emitted strained crack crack sounds.
This man was none other than Shen Wanshan—the so-called deceased patriarch of the Yunhai Shen Clan.
“Heaven seeks to cut me off. The dragon vein’s energy shouldn’t dissipate this quickly!”
Shen Wanshan looked up, gazing through the rocky layers of the cave towards the sky, eyes full of despair.
The three hurdles of Foundation Shattering, Core Condensing, and Gold Tempering were deadly trials that Foundation Establishment cultivators must overcome to advance into Golden Core True Persons. One misstep meant instant death.
For this reason, unless they had consumed the Golden Palace Pill, it was nearly impossible for peak Foundation Establishment cultivators to form a core successfully.
But how rare was the Golden Palace Pill? This top-grade Third-Tier Treasure Pill was something even direct cultivators from core Mirror Moon Sect families might never see, let alone exchange with contribution points.
Most peak Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Earth Proliferation Territory could only risk using secret core-forming methods to break through.
Shen Wanshan had chosen the dragon vein core-forming method. He had successfully passed the Foundation Shattering and Core Condensing hurdles, reaching the Gold Tempering stage—just one step away from forming a Ninth-Grade Golden Core.
But at that final moment, the dragon vein’s energy inexplicably dissipated. The secret method backfired, and Shen Wanshan fell at the last step.
Before dying, Shen Wanshan managed to crush his life-bound jade talisman and send a divine message to his clan:
‘Earth qi changed, dragon vein dissipated. I failed to form a core using secret arts.’
Before the message was complete, Shen Wanshan’s body stiffened and began to burn away at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving only jade-like bones behind in the cave.
Undoubtedly, if no Shen Clan cultivators collected Shen Wanshan’s remains within a hundred years, this cave might become a fated opportunity for some destined person.
…
The battle between the two sects had destroyed the Biyuan Market. The Rotating Star Hall’s teleportation formation was out of service, and it would take one to two months to rebuild the market and repair the teleportation array.
Back in the cave residence, Chen Beiwu hung a sign indicating closed-door cultivation, and delegated most of the Dao Child’s sect affairs to Foundation Establishment cultivators who had taken shelter under his mountain—he claimed it was to test their abilities.
He spent most of his time attending Nascent Soul True Monarchs’ lectures at the Yuqing Immortal Sect in the Immortal Alliance, comprehending the path of cultivation through beast borrowing, and operating the Landscape Diagram of Heaven-Reaching Tree, All-Encompassing River, Ascending Profundity, and Five Elements Unified Dragon Transformation to stimulate Golden Egg’s bloodline.
Occasionally, he studied the Mountain-River Dragon-Seeking Formula, or activated the Companion Beast Transformation Divine Record to transform Golden Egg into a greatsword or spear, completely unaware that his act of seizing the luck of the Crimson Dragon with Nine-Breath Chaos had unintentionally caused the Shen Clan patriarch’s failure in forming his core.
Tides rose and fell, as time passed gently.
Soon, more than two months had passed. The Biyuan Market had been rebuilt, and the Yuqing Immortal Sect’s end-of-term assessment was just around the corner.