“How the hell does this Jade Infant Tree possess such a powerful Spirit pressure? Thank god my Spirit is strong. I should be the first to have broken free.”
Zhao Qingfeng wiped away the cold sweat on his brows as he mumbled to himself. He then lifted his head, only to see Zhou Yuan stepping onto the island, a sight that made the former’s expression abruptly change.
Zhao Qingfeng cried out in alarm, “How?!”
Angry white and green interlaced on his face. He had originally believed that his mid Illusory stage Spirit was enough for him to turn his nose up on everyone else here. Yet, how could he have imagined that the youth that looked even younger than himself be freed from the Spirit pressure before him.
The fluctuating emotions within Zhao Qingfeng’s eyes ultimately culminated into a flash of viciousness.
As someone who had already aligned himself with Qi Manor, if he failed here, his value in Qi Hao’s heart would surely fall, something that was undoubtedly extremely disadvantageous to him.
Hence, he had to obtain the Jade Infant Fruit.
As this thought flashed in his mind, Zhao Qingfeng’s Genesis Rune Brush abruptly streaked across the air, the Spirit between his brows flickering. A Genesis Rune was completed a split second later.
“Grade 2 Genesis Rune, Ghost Face Spirit Devouring Rune!”
In the wake of Zhao Qingfeng’s final stroke, light exploded from the Genesis Rune, transforming into a ray of greyish-black that shot towards Zhou Yuan’s back.
The expressions of Su Youwei and the rest instantly changed upon seeing this as they anxiously shouted, “Careful your highness!”
A piercing noise rang out as the greyish-black light shot through the air. If one was struck by this Spirit attack, the body would be fine, but one’s Spirit would definitely be gravely injured, an outcome that was even worse than losing a limb.
From this, one could see just how malicious Zhao Qingfeng’s attack was.
As the greyish-black light whistled towards Zhou Yuan, he too sensed something and abruptly turned his head. Murder flitted across his eyes as the view of the attack and Zhao Qingfeng entered his eyes.
“I originally planned to ignore you, but since you want to die so badly, I’ll just have to grant your wish!”
Light flickered between Zhou Yuan’s brows as a rune of light slowly emerged. It was a Genesis Rune that had been prepared in advance.
“Grade 2 Genesis Rune, Spirit Severing Rune!”
With a swish, the rune turned into a ray of invisible light as it shot forth. Like a blade made of Spirit, it powerfully slashed downwards at the incoming greyish-black light.
Zhou Yuan had made use of the time while they were journeying towards Blackwater to learn several grade 2 Genesis Runes from Yaoyao. The Spirit Severing Rune was one of them and utilised Spirit power to attack.
He had originally planned on saving this rune for Qi Hao. Who could have expected that he would end up using it at this juncture.
Ch!
A faint ‘ch’ sound was heard as the greyish-black ray was split into two.
Zhao Qingfeng’s pupils shrank as he involuntarily cried out, “What?!”
His grade 2 Genesis Rune had actually been sliced into half by Zhou Yuan?
“Mid Illusory stage. So you too are at the mid Illusory stage!” It was at this same moment that Zhao Qingfeng finally sensed Zhou Yuan’s Spirit undulations, Spirit undulations that were the same mid Illusory stage as himself.
Zhou Yuan’s eyes were cold. The Spirit between his brows flashed as a blurry silhouette shot out. A second later, it appeared in front of Zhao Qingfeng and rushed towards his forehead.
“Since the jade tree was unable to satisfy your craving for fear, let me send you another helping!”
As Zhou Yuan’s icy voice faded, the scenery before Zhao Qingfeng’s eyes began to ripple. This time however, instead of a barren wasteland, it was a formless void.
Rumble!
A loud sound was suddenly heard. Zhao Qingfeng raised his head and quickly saw the endless giant shadow of a divine grindstone slowly looming towards him.
Before the divine grindstone, the towering jade tree from earlier now seemed so insignificant in comparison.
An indescribable feeling of dread surged in Zhao Qingfeng’s heart as his Spirit began to tremble uncontrollably. A faint breaking sound was heard as cracks started to surface on Zhao Qingfeng’s spirit.
AAHHH!
Zhao Qingfeng let out a blood-curdling scream as his eyes rapidly became hollow and blank. His Spirit had crumbled on the spot, unable to withstand the fear of the divine grindstone.
Splash!
His body fell into the water, ultimately transforming into a pool of blood.
The lake bank was completely silent as everyone watched this scene in shock. Though a bout of Spirit power was not visible, everyone clearly understood just how dangerous it was.
However, none of them had expected the one to make the first move, Zhao Qingfeng, would suffer such a pathetic defeat mere moments later…
This was clear evidence of just how powerful prince Zhou Yuan’s Spirit was!
“Useless!” A terrifyingly icy voice escaped from between the teeth of a stormy-faced Qi Hao as he watched this scene. Zhao Qingfeng had bragged of how great of a genius he was in front them earlier. Yet, this very same ‘genius’ had turned out to be such weakling in front of Zhou Yuan and was defeated after a single exchange.
On the small island, Zhou Yuan cast an indifferent glance at the body that had fallen into the lake. Without further ado, he turned around and walked towards the Jade Infant Tree at the center of the island.
As he raised his head to gaze at the two crystal infant-shaped fruits hanging on the tree, a look of excitement surged in his eyes.
“Eh?”
However, just as he was about to pluck the Jade Infant Fruit, he suddenly turned towards one of the branches where a dull silver ring was hanging.
A faint but peculiar ripple pulsed from the ring.
Chapter 80 Treasure Obtained
“What is this?”
Under the jade glow, Zhao Yuan blankly stared at the flickering silver ring. The undulations from the silver light felt a little familiar to him.
He hesitated slightly as the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand suddenly grew, transforming into its martial form. With a gentle flick of the brush tip, he retrieved the ring from the branch.
Zhou Yuan reached out and grabbed the ring as a cold sensation entering his hand. At closer inspection, he realised that there were some ancient-looking patterns on the ring which gave off a strange aura.
Moreover, while he was holding the ring, Zhou Yuan felt the Spirit between his brows stir restlessly as if its power was being amplified.
“This ring can strengthen one’s Spirit?” A thought flashed in Zhou Yuan’s mind as he raised his head and looked at the Jade Infant Tree. the Spirit undulations from the Jade Infant Tree had weakened after removing the ring from the branch.
“The earlier Spirit attacks were the Jade Spirit Tree’s instinctive protective measures, but how can a Jade Infant Tree have such a powerful Spirit?” Zhou Yuan’s eyes flickered with thought before he turned once again to stare at the dull silver ring in his hand.
Could it be… that this ring was the reason why the Jade Infant Tree’s Spirit had been strengthened, giving it the power to protect itself.
After mulling over it for some time, Zhou Yuan decided to give up for the time being and let Yaoyao take a look later. She would likely know the ring’s function.
Zhou Yuan kept the ring and retrieved two jade boxes from his Universe bag. The tip of his foot pushed off the ground as he flew up towards the Jade Infant Tree. Light flashed at his fingertips and the two Jade Infant Fruits on the tree fell into the boxes.
Zhou Yuan immediately closed the boxes so as to prevent better preserve the effects of the Jade Infant Fruit ,before very carefully returning them to inside his Universe bag.
“Finally got them.”
Zhou Yuan’s entire body relaxed as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Now that he had obtained the Jade Infant Fruit, he would be able to help his mother regain her lost lifespan. Then, he would no longer have to worry about Qin Yu’s ten year life expectancy...
...
By the lakeside, Qi Hao expression was rather ugly as he watched Zhou Yuan collect the treasures on the island.
There was a mysterious expression in the Black Venom King’s eyes as he remarked, “Prince Zhou Yuan does indeed have some skills.”
Qi Hao’s expression was as dark as a storm as he flatly said, “Let him be happy a little while longer. Don’t worry, whatever he obtains now will ultimately fall into our hands.”
“The current him is merely akin to the dowry of a bride.”
“It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of expression he will have when all of the treasures he so painstakingly collected ends up in our hands.”
After speaking, Qi Hao could no longer be bothered with this area and stormed off.
Nearby, Wei Canglan and the rest finally began to relax upon seeing the Qi Hao’s group depart. The former had been closely watching the latter since the beginning.
Wei Canglan and the rest understood that it was not because Qi Hao’s group had given up, but because they did not want to start a fight with the former here.
After all, the most important Fire Spirit Grain had yet to be seen.
Zhou Yuan inspected the entirety of the small island. Only after ascertaining that there was nothing else was he satisfied. He then proceeded to return with the two Jade Infant Fruits and the dull silver ring.
Wei Canglan smiled and cupped his fists together towards Zhou Yuan who had just reached the lake bank. “Congratulations on successfully obtaining the treasures your highness.”
Zhou Yuan chuckled, his eyes narrowing as he shot a glance in the direction Qi Hao had left in. He knew that this was only a tiny setback to the latter, and the real battle would only begin when they found the Fire Spirit Grain.
There were still several factions around the lake watching Zhou Yuan with greed-filled eyes. The allure of the Jade Infant Fruit was not small after all.
However, due to the strength of Zhou Yuan’s party and the Alpha-Origin stage Wei Canglan, all of these groups had no choice but to restrain the greed in their hearts as they regretfully withdrew, turning towards other places in the ruins to see if they would be luckier there.
Zhou Yuan did not intend to waste any more time and said, “Qi Hao’s group has already headed towards the depths of the ruins where the Fire Spirit Grain is located. We cannot tarry any further, let us prepare to move.”
The Fire Spirit Grain was too important and could not be allowed to fall into Qi Manor’s hands or their strength would definitely soar.
Everyone nodded upon hearing this.
Hence, the party swiftly began their preparations before heading towards the depths of the ruins.
Along the way, Zhou Yuan found a chance to pass the dull silver ring to Yaoyao and let her have a look.
“This ring is a treasure… it should be a Genesis artifact.” There seemed to be some interest in Yaoyao’s voice as she continued to inspect it. “It seems to have the function of strengthening and nourishing one’s Spirit and is very beneficial for Spirit cultivation. The Spirit attacks from the tree were probably only possible through the help of this artifact.”
“But… it seems to be broken.”
Yaoyao pointed at the faded ancient rune on the dull silver ring. It seemed that it had been damaged because the Jade Infant Tree had used too much of the ring’s power.
“If this artifact is repaired, it may be able to temporarily amplify one’s Spirit to a pretty astonishing level.”
Zhou Yuan scratched his head. “Is there anyone who can repair it?”
With his mastery of Genesis Runes, he could not even identify the Genesis Rune on the ring, let alone repair it.
“Who else do you know besides me?” Yaoyao laughed softly.
Only then did Zhou Yuan chuckle. “Then I’ll have to trouble big sis Yaoyao.”
...
The group no longer made any pit stops on their way to the deepest part of the ruins. Every obstruction they encountered was completely swept away by their full power.
They would occasionally pass by several locations leaking the light of treasures that drew over numerous factions. But Zhou Yuan decisively chose to turn a blind eye and continue towards the depths of the ruins.
The Fire Spirit Grain was the most important thing for now.
After an hour of their full speed travelling, they began to sense the surrounding ruins grow increasingly clustered and grand. The battle puppets that appeared were also growing stronger and stronger, so strong that even an elite party like theirs suffered several injuries.
Rumble!
A berserk wave of Qi exploded from a particular area in the ruins, shattering the surrounding rocks.
Atop a boulder, Zhou Yuan’s expression was grave as he observed the battle field in front of him where eight Heaven Gate level battle puppets had appeared. As such, even Lu Tieshan and the other Heaven Gate experts had been forced into action this time.
“It is fortunate that we managed to win general Wei to our side. I really cannot imagine how great of a price we would have to pay to enter the deepest part of the ruins without him.” Zhou Yuan sighed in his heart.
As he sighed, the intense battle drew to a close. Lu Tieshan and the rest gradually defeated the battle puppets with their superiority in numbers.
However, their side had also suffered injuries. The only silver lining was that no one had died yet.
Zhou Yuan gazed at Lu Tieshan and the other fighters as he smiled and said, “It’s been hard on all of you.”
“Your highness, the Fire Spirit Grain is likely right ahead.” Wei Canglan suddenly interjected. He had sensed that the Genesis Qi some distance to their front was extremely abundant and vigorous.
Zhou Yuan nodded as his eyes seemed to burn.
“Go!”
The party proceeded onwards with a wave from Zhou Yuan after Lu Tieshan and the other fighters rested for a while. A flurry of figures shot forth as the sounds of shuttling wind rang out.
The group swiftly ascended a hill as the view before them suddenly opened up and a desolate valley appeared before their eyes.
Another group was standing on one side of the valley. It was Qi Hao and the Black Venom King.
They had also sensed the arrival of Zhou Yuan’s group, but only gave the latter a glance before turning their heads away, their burning gazes staring into the valley.
Zhou Yuan and the rest stopped on another side of the valley and looked down. They immediately saw dazzling fiery-red plant gently swaying at the bottom of the valley.
The plant was entirely red, as if flames were burning on it. A wave of pure Genesis Qi pulsed from it along with a faint fragrance.
The eyes of Zhou Yuan and his group could not longer shift away after seeing the fiery-red plant.
Zhou Yuan licked his lips, his eyes burning with excitement.
“Is this the grade 4 Genesis Food, Fire Spirit Grain?”
Chapter 81 Great Battle in the Valley
A scarlet glow was emitted from the Fire Spirit Grain at the bottom of the valley like a small sun, drawing the attention of the two groups at the top of the valley. Everyone’s eyes were filled with longing and excitement.
Qi Hao withdrew his gaze with some difficulty, the unconcealable greed pulsing in his eyes turning to a dark look as he turned towards the other side of the valley where Zhou Yuan’s group was.
“Zhou Yuan, I advise you to leave now or it will soon be too late for regrets.” Qi Hao’s tone was intimidating.
Zhou Yuan was expressionless as he shot a glance at Qi Hao. The former really could not be bothered with the latter’s rubbish.
Upon seeing that Zho
u Yuan was ignoring him, iciness flashed within Qi Hao’s eyes as he said, “Since you are so insisted on seeking death, I will grant your wish today!”
“City lord Black, it is time for you to act.” Qi Hao looked towards the Black Venom King.
The Black Venom King let out two piercing laughs as his grating voice sounded, “Since you’ve paid the price of three cities, I will naturally lend my aid till the end.”
As his words faded, the Black Venom King’s body jolted and boundless black Qi poured out from the top of his head, covering the sky above like ominous black clouds.
An appalling stench spread from the black clouds, an indication of the strong poison contained within.
This was the Black Venom King’s Genesis Qi, the grade 4 Devil Miasma Qi.
The Devil Miasma Qi was obtained by the Black Venom King through a fortunate encounter. Not only had it enabled him to reach the Alpha-Origin stage, it had even given him to power to tower above the numerous experts of Blackwater.
So much power that even Wei Canglan had repeatedly suffered at the former’s hands.
While the Black Venom King was displaying his might, Wei Canglan also took a step forward, his frosty gaze fixed on the Black Venom King as similarly vigorous Genesis Qi poured out from the top of his head.
Wei Canglan’s Genesis Qi had a dark gold lustre. It gave a strong military aura and was filled with deadly killing intent.
This Gold Militant Qi was likewise a grade 4 Genesis Qi. It felt as sharp as a blade and was rather domineering.
“Wei Canglan, who would have expected someone like you, who has repeatedly suffered at my hands, to still have the courage to fight. I truly admire your bravery!” The Black Venom King smiled coldly.
Murder flashed in Wei Canglan’s eyes. “This time, I will kill you to repay all the torture you’ve inflicted on me over the years!”
“Haha, I’m afraid that you don’t have the capability!” The Black Venom King laughed loudly. Soon after, the swirling Devil Miasma Qi in the sky descended and wrapped around his body, bringing him into the air.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 51
