Chapter 224 - Earth Vein Exploration
Chapter 224: Earth Vein Exploration
In the air, the 33 flying ships were divided into three groups. Coupled with the Great Five Elements Sword Formation of Shu Mountain, they were still continuously launching joint attacks to expend the energy of the Hundred Tempering Mountain’s array formation.
More than 300 cultivators who specialized in Feng Shui array formations had already spread out. They were circling the outer area of the Hundred Tempering Mountain and doing calculations and deductions.
However, the speed was not satisfactory.
Generally speaking, if one wanted to map the Feng Shui earth vein of a mountain range, they would need a professional cultivator to walk through the mountain range bit by bit.
Moreover, a hundred miles around the Hundred Tempering Mountain, there was thick volcanic ash everywhere.
This greatly increased the difficulty of finding the earth vein, so they had to search for it outside the range of the volcanic ash.
This caused the area of exploration to become larger. If a cultivator came alone, it would take at least seven to eight years.
Now that more than 300 cultivators had attacked together, it naturally could greatly accelerate this speed. However, when they finished sweeping through this mountain range, it would take at least ten days.
Moreover, the standards of these 300 Feng Shui masters were mixed. There would definitely be many flaws.
However, their opponent was the Hundred Tempering Mountain, one of the four major sects of the Great Mountain Region. It was already rare for them to find a breakthrough point.
If it was Shu Mountain, the attack and defense of the Five Elements Sword Peak array would be incomparably fierce. It was simply invulnerable. That would be truly helpless.
“Master, I’m also an Array Master. I should be able to help a little.”
Jiang Li directly looked at the two main veins and 173 branches under the mountains below. He decided to do something to help…
“Okay, go ahead. Don’t force yourself.”
Elder He looked at his little disciple and naturally did not believe that he had much ability in this aspect.
After all, this kid had only been cultivating for a year. To be able to reach this level in his cultivation was already a complete genius.
Elder He felt that no matter how talented a person was, it could not surpass this extent. Moreover, Jiang Li did not have much time to learn those miscellaneous things. Even if he really had talent, it was difficult for him to have any achievements.
He also knew that Jiang Li was a registered disciple of the Alchemy Hall, but with his skills, he could not even cook a pot of medicinal soup.
Later on, he learned how to carve array formations for a few days. His standard was probably only so-so.
“That person over there is the Head Elder of the Array Talisman Hall, your Uncle-Master Dongfang Guangling. If you have anything you don’t understand, you can ask him. If there’s a chance, try to learn something.”
Jiang Li responded by jumping off the flying ship. He took a few steps into the air and arrived at a flying ship that was loaded with supplies.
Exploring the earth vein naturally could not be done empty-handed. He still needed some equipment.
However, as soon as Jiang Li entered, he met a familiar face.
“Eh, Junior Brother Jiang Li? Why… why are you here?”
The person who spoke was Shen Ruoshi from the Heaven and Earth Hall, who had fought with Jiang Li before.
She carried the compass in one hand and two probing needles in the other, preparing to leave.
“Senior Sister Shen, are you going to probe the earth vein too?”
Jiang Li remembered that the other party had never learned array formations before, so he asked curiously.
However, he immediately understood. With the profundity of the Earth Dust Scripture, it was very helpful in exploring the earth vein. If she knew even a little about Feng Shui array formations, her advantage would be much greater than ordinary disciples.
“Senior Sister Shen took out two more probing needles. Could it be that she has already found an earth vein?”
Jiang Li was slightly surprised. This vein probing needle was used to test for the earth vein.
It looked like a two-meter-long black metal pole. The tip was extremely hard and could easily break through the ground. Moreover, after infusing spiritual qi, it could continue to extend and stab into the earth vein.
At the end of the needle was a long hollow glass tube with a carving.
This glass also contained a golden liquid metal.
The probe looked like a large metal thermometer.
However, the principle behind it was not thermal expansion and contraction, but the five elements.
It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that earth spirits could produce metal. The golden liquid metal in this vein probing needle was a metal that was extremely sensitive to earth attribute spiritual qi.
If the probing needle stabbed into the earth vein and came into contact with the earth attribute earth vein power, this liquid metal would begin to swell and grow, so the degree of response would naturally increase correspondingly.
The higher the degree of elevation, the closer it was to the earth vein.
The design of the vein probing needle was very ingenious. It was a necessary tool for high-level array masters.
However, it was easier said than done to accurately find an earth vein in a vast area. If one did not have sufficient vision, they would only be able to randomly insert it.
Therefore, most cultivators did not expect to find the earth vein in a short period of time. They only took out a vein probing needle and slowly tested it.
Shen Ruoshi came back and took two more. It seemed that she had found something.
“Junior Brother Jiang, you must be joking. How can I have that ability? Senior Brother Xu Quan is the one who has already found an earth vein. I’m helping Senior Brother Xu retrieve the needles.”
“Then… Junior Brother Jiang, I’ll leave first. You can come and observe later. Senior Brother Xu is explaining the key points to investigate the earth vein.”
After saying that, Shen Ruoshi waved at Jiang Li and ran out of the cabin.
She touched her burning cheeks and looked at Jiang Li’s back in confusion. What was wrong with her? Could Foundation Establishment cultivators even get sick?
“Senior Brother Xu Quan?” Jiang Li muttered in the cabin.
Shen Ruoshi showed respect for Senior Brother Xu Quan in her tone.
This made him feel a little surprised. He did not expect that under the suppression of his Eldest Senior Brother Chu Yunxuan, there would still be someone who could emerge under his shadow.
It seemed that he could not underestimate the heroes of the world.
He shook his head and looked at the female cultivators in charge of distributing supplies.
“Senior sisters, I’m here to collect a few vein probing needles.”
Jiang Li’s mysterious eyes that reflected the Five Elements Sword Peak looked over, and the faces of the female disciples of the Foreign Affairs Hall immediately flushed red.
“Alright! Alright… alright, Junior Brother Jiang… Li.”
A few female disciples stammered as they handed the probing needles to Jiang Li. Only a few minutes after he left did they recover from their shock.
“Eh? How many vein probing needles did Junior Brother Jiang Li take away just now?”
…
“Look, the path of this mountain range is powerful and domineering. It directly cut off the two large rivers and formed a lake at the foot of its mountain.”
“The plants on the mountain are also tall and lush, and they grow extremely well. This means that there must be an earth vein beneath it. Look at this pin drop point I chose. There are other factors to consider…”
Below, a Heaven and Earth Hall senior brother was pointing at the mountain and river in front of him.
The surrounding dozens of disciples nodded as they listened. The words of a wise man was better than studying for ten years alone, they could benefit greatly from this session.
In the middle of them, a probing needle was deeply inserted into the ground. At the end of the glass, the golden liquid metal rose to about 30%.
This was also where his confidence lay.
In such a short period of time, he was the first to find the location of the earth vein. Even the few elders were not as fast as him, which was enough to prove that his attainments in the Earth Dust Scripture were shocking.
The surrounding disciples naturally praised him. On the surface, Xu Quan appeared calm, but in his mind, he was thinking.
‘Chu Yunxuan, oh Chu Yunxuan! There’s finally an aspect where you can’t compare to me!’
Clearly, this person was not very comfortable under the suppression of the Eldest Senior Brother. Now that he could finally showcase what he was good at, he was naturally in high spirits.
However, at this moment, a crisp explosion attracted their attention.
Looking in the direction of the sound, it was a probing needle stabbed into the ground. The glass tube at the end had exploded for some reason.
Xu Quan frowned. He saw the junior brother who was recently known as the strongest genius of the Scripture Storage Valley.
On Jiang Li’s shoulder was a bundle of nearly 200 probing needles.
“Junior Brother Jiang Li, we’ve already searched that place. There’s no earth vein. Don’t waste your effort.”
“In addition, it’s wartime now. Please don’t waste important supplies. Leave the matters here to us!”
Before Xu Quan could speak, a strange-looking foreign cultivator beside him reprimanded Jiang Li.
In just three sentences, he tried to sow discord between Jiang Li and the cultivators present, hinting that Jiang Li did not trust their judgment.
In short, Jiang Li did not know his own limits and was wasting resources at this time to drag everyone down!
His words sounded fine, but his intentions were a little vicious!
This fellow was obviously very displeased with Jiang Li!
Jiang Li still had some impression of him. This was also a cultivator from the Heaven and Earth Hall. He was the variant human cultivator who had almost killed his fellow disciple in the sect competition, named “Karla”.
Jiang Li ignored him and smiled at Xu Quan before speaking.
“Senior Brother Xu, perhaps you can try injecting the needle 50 steps southwest.”
After saying that, he drew another arrow on the ground before turning around and flying into the distance.
“What does Junior Brother Jiang Li mean by that? Senior Brother, is he trying to educate you?”
“Shut up!”
Karla was still fanning the flames but was scolded by Xu Quan.
When they approached, they realized that the vein probing needle was very strange. Not only had it exploded, but there were also golden liquid flowing out from the hole in the glass tube.
“Senior Brother, what’s going on?”
Shen Ruoshi came back to her senses and asked.
“He has found the main vein of the Earth Fire Hundred Cave Mountain!”
Xu Quan’s expression flickered with uncertainty. Earlier, he had personally investigated the earth vein here, but he had missed out on a main vein!
If this caused them to lose this battle, then he would have sinned greatly.
At this moment, he recalled the words Jiang Li had left behind earlier.
“50 steps southwest.”
He muttered to himself. Then, he took the probing needle from Shen Ruoshi’s hand. He walked fifty steps southwest and stabbed it into the ground.
The glass tube at the end immediately changed. A golden liquid surged up and slowly stopped at the 70% mark.
He looked at his previous 30%. Clearly, he had been lucky and had only hit the edge of a branch.
“Who… who exactly is this Junior Brother Jiang Li?”
He really wanted to use luck to explain Jiang Li’s actions, but the iron-like truth completely rejected this possibility.
“Senior brothers and sisters, continue checking for the earth vein. I’ll go help Junior Brother Jiang Li.”
After Senior Brother Xu Quan said this, he directly burrowed into the ground and quickly chased in the direction Jiang Li left.
Beside him, the group of fellow disciples looked at each other.
“Then what should we do?”
“Why don’t we catch up and take a look?”
Jiang Li flew forward at a normal speed. He did not stop to inspect the Feng Shui, and he only landed for a moment from time to time. After inserting a vein probing needle and drawing an arrow, he flew up again.
However, the terrifying thing was that every time he landed a needle, it would show an intense reaction without fail.
This abnormal success rate finally attracted the attention of the cultivators above.
The Head Elder of the Scripture Storage Valley’s Array Talisman Hall, Dongfang Guangling.
The Scripture Storage Valley’s Feng Shui Master, Elder Lin Fengying.
The Shu Mountain Earth Peak’s Head Elder, Hou Hei.
The Benevolent Travel Temple’s Earth Meditation Master Monk, Le Jue.
Those flying in the sky were all Feng Shui array masters of the three major sects. They had to rely on their own judgment and experience to plan the overall situation.
Now, there was a sudden shock.
“Isn’t this Senior Brother He’s little disciple? How can he possibly…?”
Dongfang Guangling naturally knew Jiang Li, but he only knew that the Demon Vanquishing Hall was lucky to have taken in a genius body cultivator disciple. He had never heard that this disciple had such amazing vein probing techniques.
Jiang Li’s ability to probe the earth vein was no longer just surpassing the four of them.
Was he actually testing for the earth vein? No, he was clearly holding the answer script and copying directly. There was no comparison at all.
“This talent… this talent… if he’s in our Array Talisman Hall, his future will be limitless!”
This sentence sounded familiar to Peak Master Hou Hei of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak. Previously, Peak Master Wei Wangxuan had also said this about someone. Wasn’t it…?
“Head Elder Guangling, Jiang Li’s talent in array formations is extraordinary. I’ve given him some guidance in the past, but I never expected that his talent would actually be so absurd…”
Elder Lin Fengying, who had a good relationship with Jiang Li, explained.
The expression on his face was also quite complicated. If he had come out of seclusion earlier, this disciple would have been under his tutelage.
At that time, he only felt that it was a pity to miss out on a good seedling. However, he did not expect that this seedling could actually grow three meters tall in a day. He could surprise people every time. In such a short period of time, he had grown to this extent.
What in the world had he missed out on?
“Let’s go down and take a look.”
Jiang Li had just inserted another vein probing needle and was about to rise into the sky to continue when he noticed three figures suddenly appear in front of him.
Elder Lin’s cultivation was only at the Golden Core realm. He chased after them hurriedly and stood together with the three of them.
“Disciple Jiang Li greets Uncle-Master Guangling, Elder Lin, and the two seniors.”
Jiang Li cupped his hands and bowed. The four of them looked at him and revealed friendly smiles.
Jiang Li was an outstanding disciple of the Scripture Storage Valley. His relationship with Dongfang Guangling and Elder Lin was naturally not bad.
He also had some history with Shu Mountain and Benevolent Travel Temple, so the other two found him pleasing to the eye.
“Martial Nephew Jiang Li, you’ve done very well. If we win this battle, you will be the biggest contributor! However, how do you explain the arrows you drew?”
Dongfang Guangling asked Jiang Li very kindly. However, he did not directly ask about his specific talent. Instead, he politely ignored the oddity and instead asked about the arrowheads on the ground.
This attitude also made Jiang Li have a good impression of him.
“We originally thought that the arrowheads represented the direction of the flow of the earth vein, but after deduction, it doesn’t match. Martial Nephew, can you tell us in detail?”
This Head Elder of the Array Talisman Hall had a long beard and long hair. However, due to long-term brain exhaustion, his hairline was almost reaching the top of his head.
As the Head Elder, he actually said that he did not understand and wanted to ask this disciple for guidance. Just this humility alone was not possible for many people.
“Uncle-Master, this arrow is not about the flow of the earth vein.”
“Actually, I discovered that the earth veins in this area have been forcefully moved by someone with a brilliant array formation attainment! Those arrows are pointing at the original locations of the earth vein.”
“I feel that this matter is still quite important, so I marked them with the arrowheads.”
As soon as Jiang Li finished speaking, the four of them had no time to sigh about the ridiculous talent Jiang Li revealed, and they looked towards the Hundred Tempering Mountain in unison.
Their attack plan had actually been calculated by the enemy perfectly!