Infusing astral qi into the Mountain River Martial Soul, Ling Xiao instantly entered the “soul entry” state.
His vision now became even more terrifying.
With a single glance, the terrain within a ten-mile radius was fully mapped in his mind.
What’s that?
A spark of excitement flashed in Ling Xiao’s eyes.
In his vision appeared an ancient structure.
According to the Mountain River Martial Soul’s analysis, if he could reach it, his survival odds exceeded ninety percent.
Ling Xiao didn’t know how the soul calculated this survival rate.
But he could roughly guess.
The structure’s exterior resembled a coiled divine dragon.
It must hold some kind of mystery.
Inside, there was a basement with a tiny entrance, perfect for his size, but nearly impossible for the massive Vigorous Divine Ape to squeeze through.
Without overthinking, Ling Xiao pushed his speed to the limit, charging forward, he had to act before the ape caught onto his plan.
Of course, to throw off the Vigorous Divine Ape, he took a convoluted route, zigzagging like a headless fly.
Yet his true target remained singular.
Seeing Ling Xiao’s flustered state, the Vigorous Divine Ape let out a smug chuckle.
“Laugh all you want, you won’t be laughing soon!”
Ling Xiao was truly desperate, reckless now, he swallowed his second astral qi pill, as long as he survived, more pills could be obtained.
If he died, no amount of pills would matter.
The ape trailed behind, utterly relaxed, not even bothering to go full speed, it even chased a passing butterfly for fun.
Clearly, well-fed and watered, the ape was just playing now.
Ten miles!
Eight miles!
Six miles!
…
Ling Xiao drew closer to the structure.
Finally, when he was just a few hundred meters away, the Vigorous Divine Ape grew anxious.
It seemed to sense the building’s danger, knowing it could thwart its pursuit, so it suddenly accelerated.
Before, the gap between Ling Xiao and the ape had been six miles.
But in mere moments, Ling Xiao covered a hundred meters, while the ape surged five miles!
That speed was downright horrifying.
The ape couldn’t fly, yet a single leap spanned miles, no wonder it never worried about Ling Xiao escaping, only panicking when it saw the structure.
Ling Xiao had known the ape’s speed was monstrous, but it still jolted him.
No time to dwell, he had to gamble.
He tossed the last astral qi pill into his mouth.
Like a madman, he bolted forward.
Boom!
The instant he shot off, the Vigorous Divine Ape landed where he’d just stood.
The ground split into countless fissures, radiating outward.
Oddly, when the cracks neared the dragon-shaped structure, they couldn’t advance further.
Huff—!
Collapsed on the ground, utterly spent, Ling Xiao realised he’d made it inside the dragon-shaped building.
Despite the ape’s furious attempts to charge in, it was repeatedly repelled by an invisible force.
Awoo—!
The Vigorous Divine Ape glared at Ling Xiao for a while, then plopped down at the structure’s entrance to nap.
It seemed to say, “Stay in there forever if you dare, or I’ll eat you the moment you step out!”
Ling Xiao had no energy left to bicker with it.
He eyed the pitch-black tunnel within the building.
After a moment’s thought, he stood and slowly ventured inside.
Though his body was exhausted from overexertion, resting at the entrance felt risky.
He wanted a safer spot.
Besides, he still had some fight in him, not entirely defenseless, as long as another terrifying Level 8 beast didn’t show up, or he’d just end it himself.
The dark tunnel didn’t hinder Ling Xiao.
With the Mountain River Martial Soul, his eyes pierced the blackness.
“This building’s strange.”
After walking a bit, Ling Xiao was stunned to find the walls weren’t made of brick or metal.
The material looked more like animal bones and hide!
Hardened, of course.
Even stranger were the countless bleached bones scattered along the way.
Bones of wild beasts, demon beasts, and humans, who knew how many creatures had perished here.
They seemed ancient, corpses wouldn’t turn to bare bones without long decay.
Hiss—! So cold!
Ling Xiao shivered suddenly.
He was shocked to notice the tunnel had somehow turned icy, layer upon layer of frost.
The temperature plummeted, forcing him to use astral qi to ward off the chill.
Good thing the third pill’s effects hadn’t worn off, or he’d have frozen to death.
After nearly an hour.
Ling Xiao dropped to his knees!
Why?
Because he saw a pool!
The pool radiated wisps of cold air, brimming with snow lotuses, some a hundred years old, others two hundred, five hundred, even a thousand!
But that alone wouldn’t bring him to his knees.
Snow lotuses were top-tier alchemy ingredients, sure, but he’d only be thrilled.
The real kicker was the pool’s water, it wasn’t water!
It was golden liquid!
He couldn’t be mistaken, this chilling pool was filled with liquid gold, easily worth millions of taels.
He wasn’t overly greedy.
But don’t forget, cultivating the “Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique” required gold.
Finding this bizarre icy golden pool, how could he not be ecstatic?
What’s that saying?
Survive a great calamity, and fortune follows!
Seems it wasn’t a lie.
Escaping the Vigorous Divine Ape’s jaws, stumbling into this structure, and discovering this strange golden pool, that was luck!
Never mind how vital this pool was for the “Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique.”
The fact that it nurtured golden snow lotuses, including ten millennium ones, plus plenty of five-hundred and eight-hundred-year-olds, spoke volumes of its value.
As Ling Xiao gazed at the pool, the Mountain River Martial Soul began analyzing its composition and effects.
The verdict: not only harmless, but an exceptional body-tempering substance.
Per the soul, this golden liquid was a tempering fluid produced within the “Golden Divine Dragon” clan.
This very liquid gave the Golden Divine Dragons the most terrifying strength and physical resilience among dragonkind.
What was there to doubt?
Ling Xiao let out an excited shout and leapt straight into the golden pool.
The moment he plunged in, his weary body sprang back to life, fatigue vanishing completely.
