“Let’s go…” Hu Mazi said.
Chen Ping nodded, and the two began to press forward against the wasteland’s wild winds.
The wild winds above the wasteland were like furious beasts, carrying fine grains of sand and gravel as they howled past with overwhelming force.
Those grains of sand and gravel struck the face like countless tiny silver needles, stinging with sharp pain.
Chen Ping and Hu Mazi had only travelled a thousand li from Black Wind City when they faintly heard intense sounds coming from ahead, like the crisp clang of metal clashing, mixed with angry roars and vicious curses.
“There seems to be a fight ahead.”
Hu Mazi slightly narrowed his shrewd eyes and peered intently in the direction from which the sounds came.
In a nearby mountain hollow, two groups of cultivators were locked in fierce combat, the scene a complete chaos.
One side wore cyan tight-fitting garments and wielded long sabres with vigorous sweeps, each strike carrying sharp killing intent.
The other side wore black cloth clothes and used iron fists as weapons, their fist winds whistling fiercely and powerfully.
Both groups tightly encircled a spring eye emitting wisps of white mist, their eyes full of greed and ferocity, as if that spring eye were the world’s most precious treasure.
The spring eye was not large, only a few feet across, yet it emitted a faint glow like stars twinkling in the night sky.
The air was filled with a thin yet extremely pure immortal qi, wispy strands lingering without dissipating. Clearly, this was a natural immortal spring, an elusive cultivation holy site for any cultivator.
“What a coincidence. We are just short of immortal qi for cultivation.”
A barely perceptible smile flashed in Chen Ping’s eyes, one laced with confidence and composure, as if everything were firmly under his control.
Before his words had fully faded, he strode directly towards the hollow, his steps steady and resolute. Each one seemed to tread between heaven and earth, carrying an unquestionable aura.
Seeing this, Hu Mazi hurriedly followed close behind. He knew Chen Ping too well and understood what was in his mind.
Though the immortal qi of this immortal spring was not as dense as that of immortal stones, it excelled in natural purity. For Chen Ping, who had just depleted much of his spiritual power, it was the perfect means to replenish it.
The pair had only just reached the mouth of the hollow when they were spotted by the fighting cultivators.
A cyan-robed cultivator was swinging his sabre to drive back his opponent. Hearing the noise, he abruptly turned his head, eyes bulging with rage, and bellowed loudly, “Where did these wild cultivators come from? Can’t you see we are fighting over the immortal spring? If you do not want to die, scram at once!”
That voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the hollow.
Another black-clothed burly man also halted his movements and sized up Chen Ping and Hu Mazi from head to toe.
When his gaze fell upon Chen Ping, a flicker of disdain crossed his eyes. He sensed that Chen Ping’s aura was merely at the fifth grade of the Earth Immortal realm, while Hu Mazi had only just reached the Human Immortal realm. To him, these two were nothing more than ant-like existences.
“With your levels of cultivation, you dare to join the fray? Get lost and stay away, lest blood splatter all over you later!”
The black-clothed burly man spoke with utter contempt, as if Chen Ping and Hu Mazi were merely two ants he could trample at will.
Chen Ping halted his steps and slowly swept his gaze over the immortal spring.
He saw that though the spring eye was small, the immortal qi within its waters rose slowly, like light silk ribbons drifting in the air.
In his mind, he quietly calculated that absorbing all the immortal qi from this spring would suffice to stabilise his fifth-grade Earth Immortal cultivation.
With this in mind, he spoke in an even tone, “You two groups killing one another over a single immortal spring is hardly worthwhile. Why not yield the spring to me? Then you need not harm each other further. How does that sound?”
His voice was as calm as still water, yet it carried an innate majesty, as if his words were an imperial decree that brooked no defiance.
