Chapter 300 : Frantic Extraction
Yun Qingyue's words immediately caught everyone's attention. Following her gaze, they quickly found where her eyes had settled—dressed in white monk's robes with a gleaming bald head, who else could it be but Tan Xin?
Tan Xin wasn't close to the group, but his perception was keen, and he almost immediately looked up in their direction.
Seeing him look over, Yun Qingyue showed no restraint and directly waved him over. The young monk approached without hesitation.
Seeing this, Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu were somewhat puzzled and asked: "Why call that young monk over? What help could he provide?"
Yun Qingyue didn't answer, only saying: "Be patient. Let's wait until he arrives."
Seeing Senior Sister summon someone else, Jiang Mo felt a twinge of jealousy, though her rationality remained intact. As she watched the young monk approach, she suddenly remembered something—regarding the demonic realm invasion tens of thousands of years ago, she had found the merperson's account familiar. At the time, she had thought the strong sense of déjà vu came from numerous stories she had read before, but now she suddenly realized that she had indeed heard this information in this world!
The first time she had heard this story was from Tan Xin, when he had just obtained a Seven Treasures Glass Heart from the Foguang Temple in the Canglán Secret Realm. According to Tan Xin, that Seven Treasures Glass Heart was precisely one of the objects that had suppressed the sealing formation.
Understanding the connection, Jiang Mo's eyes immediately brightened, and she abruptly looked up at Yun Qingyue.
Yun Qingyue returned her gaze, and though they hadn't spoken, with just one exchange of looks, they seemed to understand what the other wanted to say. She nodded slightly to Jiang Mo, indicating for her to remain calm.
Tan Xin arrived quickly. From beginning to end, his demeanor had remained serene, neither participating in the crowd's earlier "intimidation" of the White Tiger, nor feeling anxious when the White Tiger turned on them. He had simply stood with his fellow disciples—when needed, he would step forward to help; when not needed, he would quietly remain on the sidelines with a minimal presence.
Now, standing before the group, Tan Xin put his palms together and bowed, then asked: "May I ask why Cloud Senior Sister has summoned this humble monk?"
Yun Qingyue didn't explain further. Her red lips parted, uttering only three words: "Foguang Temple."
Tan Xin didn't ask anything more, understanding immediately appearing on his face: "Seven Treasures Glass Heart."
There was only one Seven Treasures Glass Heart in the world, and even after tens of thousands of years, legends about it still circulated. It was said to be the Buddha's heart from a previous incarnation, and suppressing the seal was part of the legend. However, with the passage of time, tens of thousands of years had worn away the past, and for young cultivators in the cultivation world who were only decades or a few hundred years old, events from tens of thousands of years ago were merely legends.
Fortunately, both Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu were knowledgeable and well-informed individuals. Hearing this, they instantly understood something, their gazes burning as they looked at Tan Xin. Since Tan Xin had mentioned the Seven Treasures Glass Heart himself, he naturally had no intention of concealing it, slightly nodding to indicate that the object was indeed with him.
Zhu Baiyi couldn't help but marvel: "Truly a child of Buddha..."
Talk of being a Buddha's child wasn't the point now. The appearance of the Seven Treasures Glass Heart was both good and bad news—good because with this suppression object connected to the formation's energy, they could use it to replenish the merperson pearl beneath the altar; bad because the Seven Treasures Glass Heart had left its original suppression location, causing the formation to develop problems, leading to the current situation.
But ultimately, the current situation had formed without their involvement, so the group felt no psychological pressure. They immediately shared the information the merperson had provided with Tan Xin. Equally intelligent, Tan Xin instantly understood the key points.
The young monk placed a hand over his heart, pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said to everyone: "The Seven Treasures Glass Heart was indeed an object meant to suppress the seal, and now that it's needed, I naturally have no objection. However, this island is truly strange—I can't retain even a trace of spiritual power within my body. If you want to convert energy through me, I'm afraid that will be a problem."
This was no lie. Although the young monk had many extraordinary attributes, even being able to counteract merperson blood, his greatest reliance was actually the Seven Treasures Glass Heart. The heart itself contained considerable energy, but using it consumed a vast amount—even if he wanted to help, it would likely be a drop in the bucket.
As Tan Xin finished speaking, everyone, intentionally or not, turned their gaze toward Jiang Mo.
Jiang Mo instinctively stepped back under their scrutiny: "Why are you all looking at me?"
Yun Qingyue, having received Jiang Mo's Array-Breaking Pearl, knew its benefits and felt uncomfortable speaking up. Zhu Baiyi was different—she had been force-fed one, and the one-time Array-Breaking Pearl wasn't as powerful as a real one; it had merely broken through a restriction once. Not finding it particularly precious, she didn't stand on ceremony and directly said: "How did you help me break through the restriction earlier? Can you do the same for the young monk?"
Jiang Mo was immediately depressed as the system's voice timely sounded in her mind: "Host, that will be 1000 points."
Her savings shrank once more, yet Jiang Mo couldn't refuse. She reluctantly said: "Deduct it, go ahead and deduct it."
The system cheerfully deducted 1000 points and promptly delivered a one-time Array-Breaking Pearl to Jiang Mo's hand. With an impatient expression, she tossed the pearl to Tan Xin, saying irritably: "Just swallow it."
Tan Xin caught it, recited a Buddhist phrase, and without a hint of doubt, swallowed the one-time Array-Breaking Pearl. The effect was immediate—everyone saw his aura surge, and his spiritual power began to recover at a visible rate. Without needing any reminder, Tan Xin opened his storage pouch, took out pills and spirit stones, and began to meditate to restore his spiritual power.
Seeing this, Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu were slightly relieved. Qingyu's gaze subtly flitted toward Jiang Mo, though she ultimately said nothing.
But how could her Master's gaze be ignored? Jiang Mo knew why Qingyu was looking at her. Gritting her teeth, she spent another 1000 points to buy another one-time Array-Breaking Pearl and offered it: "Peak Master, please restore your spiritual power quickly too. We'll need everyone shortly."
At this juncture, Qingyu didn't stand on ceremony either. After expressing her thanks, she accepted it.
Her process of restoring spiritual power after consuming the one-time Array-Breaking Pearl was the same as Tan Xin's. Soon, she was also sitting cross-legged beside him. The circulation of spiritual power around their bodies quickly attracted everyone's attention—cultivation was a cultivator's foundation. Even with the tense atmosphere and unfavorable situation, seeing the two suddenly recover their cultivation, the other cultivators' eyes were practically red with envy.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo scoffed disdainfully and turned away, not bothering to pay them any attention. However, unexpectedly, as she turned her head, she found herself looking directly into a pair of clear, glass-like beautiful eyes, and inexplicably, her face reddened.
"Se-Senior Sister, is something wrong?" Jiang Mo stammered a bit.
Yun Qingyue's eyes seemed to contain many swirling emotions, and even Jiang Mo could see her hesitation. In the end, however, she said nothing, merely shaking her head slightly before shifting her gaze to the two who were meditating to recover.
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Given Qingyu and Tan Xin's status, the two naturally didn't lack cultivation resources. After being able to access their storage equipment, they quickly utilized pills and spirit stones to restore their internal spiritual power to its peak.
With all preparations complete, the group naturally had no intention of delaying, so they walked together toward the altar.
Seeing this, the cultivators immediately scattered. They clearly hadn't forgotten the earlier incident and feared that the White Tiger, in a moment of displeasure, might send them to the altar. Only after the group had positioned themselves in front of the altar did the crowd, uncertain and anxious, begin to whisper among themselves. These faint whispers reached the ears of the group, but no one paid them any attention.
Tan Xin walked at the very front, with Zhu Baiyi and Jiang Mo behind him, followed by Qingyu and Yun Qingyue.
The Buddha Sect disciples, who had been keeping their distance, now approached as they saw Tan Xin leading the way. Huineng seemed to have guessed something and didn't inquire. He raised his palm, recited a Buddhist phrase, and together with his disciples, formed a protective circle around the group.
This further confused the cultivators, prompting various speculations, though no one provided explanations. Seeing this, the people from Xuanqing Sect and Crimson Blood Sect likewise moved forward to form a protective circle, intentionally or not creating a standoff with the remaining cultivators.
Zhu Baiyi scanned the surroundings but didn't entrust the protective duty to others. She waved her hand to set up a barrier, then said to Tan Xin, who was leading: "Let's begin."
Tan Xin responded with a deep acknowledgment, and as he put his palms together, Buddhist light suddenly emanated from his body, his countenance solemn and dignified.
He was now facing the altar, separated by no more than an arm's length. Had someone stood directly in front of him, they would have seen a brilliant light suddenly appear at the location of his heart. Unfortunately, no one witnessed this; even those who noticed the flickering light on his body thought they were merely dazzled by the Buddhist light... After a moment of preparation, he suddenly pushed forward with both hands, pressing them directly onto the altar.
The observing cultivators immediately gasped. The altar, in their eyes, was no different from a savage beast, yet Tan Xin touched it voluntarily—was he seeking death?
Clearly not! Because Zhu Baiyi and Jiang Mo's palms were immediately placed against Tan Xin's back, followed by Qingyu and Yun Qingyue.
This gesture was all too familiar to the onlookers—clearly, they were transmitting spiritual power. Did they hope to satiate the altar with spiritual power? Impossible! Earlier, so many high-level spirit beasts had been thrown onto the altar, containing considerable spiritual power, with their flesh, blood, and souls all completely sacrificed, yet to no avail. What difference would the small amount of spiritual power from these few people make?
No one had confidence in the group's actions, but the fact that they had restored their spiritual power made everyone envious. After seeing their movements, many people offered to help, hoping to learn the method of breaking the seal.
However, who would pay them any attention? In fact, Jiang Mo and the others couldn't respond even if they wanted to, because from the moment Tan Xin's palms touched the altar, the spiritual power within their bodies began to surge outward uncontrollably.
This spiritual power passed through Tan Xin's body, circulated around the Seven Treasures Glass Heart, and was transformed into energy similar to that of the merperson pearl. The latter, like soil that had been parched for too long and finally found a trace of vitality, only wanted to seize more. Thus, Tan Xin's palms seemed to be glued to the altar, and the spiritual power within his body was frantically extracted by the altar.
Large drops of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his face grew increasingly pale, gradually becoming almost transparent.
Jiang Mo and the others weren't faring well either. Even though the sacrifice had already progressed halfway, the altar's absorption of spiritual power far exceeded their expectations. Before long, the previously abundant spiritual power within them had been completely drained, yet that suction force remained, as if wanting to absorb their life force as well.