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墨書 Inktalez
No one needs to help with this matter, but it is absolutely essential to have Chu Xi. Not only is Chu Xi knowledgeable, but she also possesses that precious Nine Li Cave Heaven map, or rather, her master does.
Lingyi, dressed in a black night outfit, swiftly carried Li Hong and Chu Xi across the deep blue night sky of Jiu Li. Their destination was the forbidden area of their sect, Revival Valley.
The name Revival Valley sounds magical; many disciples initially thought that the valley itself had some peculiar properties, such as being able to revive the dead if placed inside. However, that is not the case at all. It is called Revival Valley because there exists a unique Soul Returning Maple Forest within the valley.
The Soul Maple is an ancient miraculous tree that must grow near the Heaven and Earth Fire Spirit Eye. Its seeds take a thousand years to germinate, another thousand years to grow into saplings, and yet another thousand years to reach the thickness of a bowl. After that, it must grow for three thousand more years before producing its precious sap. In other words, it takes tens of thousands of years for a Soul Maple to mature.
The sap produced by this tree is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, capable of reviving the dead for mortals and serves as a primary ingredient for many Elixirs with life-restoring abilities; hence it is called "Soul Maple."
A Soul Maple that has lived for over ten thousand years produces only a few drops of sap each year. Older Soul Maples yield more sap, but once a Soul Maple surpasses twenty thousand years in age, it will bloom, producing only three to five flowers. The flowers are as large as wheels and emit an extraordinary fragrance, lasting for up to ten years. After they wither, they bear a single fruit containing only one seed. Once the seed falls to the ground, the Soul Maple will die.
Because Soul Maples are extremely difficult to mature, have long growth periods, and not every seed will germinate, the expansion of this Soul Returning Maple Forest in Revival Valley is incredibly slow.
Every part of the Soul Maple is valuable; its sap is a rare treasure, and even its branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits are extraordinary. It is said that this small patch exists only in Nine Li Cave Heaven within the entire Cultivation World. The existence of this Soul Returning Maple Forest is a high-level secret of Nine Li Sect, kept confidential from the Cultivation World, known only to a few prominent figures in Immortal Sect.
The preciousness of the Soul Maple is evident; it is no surprise that such a place is designated as a forbidden area within the sect.
One of the main ingredients listed in Heavenly Torch's prescription is Revival Maple sap. To assist Heavenly Torch, Li Hong had no choice but to violate the Rules of the Sect once again and play the role of a thief. Naturally, he needed to enlist Chu Xi's help for this endeavor.
Chu Xi readily agreed and even managed to "obtain" that valuable map from her master again. Before setting off, they carefully studied the map and discovered that Revival Valley was located near Fire Cave, less than a hundred miles from Nine Separation Peak. With so many eyes around, they had no choice but to adopt the method used during their last infiltration into Li Fire Formation and approach via a detour.
As they flew on, the air gradually filled with a hot sulfurous scent. In the distance, a mountain peak erupted with blazing flames, resembling an ancient fire dragon exhaling fiery breath into the sky.
That was Fire Cave—the place where they almost got trapped last time.
Li Hong squinted at it for a long time when suddenly Chu Xi pinched his waist hard from behind. Li Hong felt both ticklish and numb; just as he was about to ask why, he heard Chu Xi whispering while pointing below: "We've arrived at Revival Valley!"
A deep gorge, with two peaks facing each other and three surrounding peaks, leaving only a narrow line of sky above. Inside the gorge, everything was dark and unclear. Li Hong reminded Chu Xi to be careful, while the envoy Lingyi quietly circled around to survey the terrain.
At the mouth of the gorge, there was a faint flickering light resembling a small lamp. In the darkness, Li Hong saw the outline of a stone house, with the light emanating from a window on the west side of the house. Li Hong dared not approach and paused on tiptoe as Lingyi turned towards the back of the gorge. There stood a sheer cliff, towering thousands of feet high, but with a Flying Sword, even the most terrifying natural barriers felt like flat ground.
The two quickly descended before the sheer cliff. Before them lay a grove of rare Soul Maples. They were immediately stunned by the beautiful and extraordinary sight of the Soul Maples.
From above, they could not see it, but now standing in front of the Soul Returning Maple Forest, they discovered that the trunks of the Soul Maples emitted a faint glow at night.
This grove of Soul Maples had fewer than a hundred trees, growing widely apart and spreading towards the mouth of the gorge. Each mature Soul Maple reached about a hundred feet tall, with straight trunks that only began to branch out high above. The trunks and branches glowed softly at night, divided into two distinct colors. One part clearly belonged to younger trees with thinner branches, shining emerald green; while another part belonged to older trees, thick as barrels and gleaming golden like cast gold. Only at the very top did dense leaves grow. The leaves did not emit light and were identical to ordinary maple leaves but much larger.
Green and golden light seeped through the branches of the Soul Maples, slightly transparent, allowing one to see their intricate patterns clearly. It was so beautiful that no brush could capture it. Near several golden old maples, there were extremely fine white lines at their vascular centers; this indicated that these Soul Maples contained precious sap.
Chu Xi gasped in amazement, quickly regaining her composure. She pushed Li Hong forcefully and gestured for action.
Li Hong transmitted a message to her: "Take out what we need; I'll do the work while you keep watch."
Chu Xi nodded and pulled out her Spirit Bag from her waist, first retrieving a small knife and handing it to Li Hong. Just as Li Hong nodded in approval, she saw Chu Xi follow up by handing over several jade bottles.
Li Hong couldn't help but smile wryly. This Chu Xi was young yet had years of experience in thievery! And she was quite greedy; it was clear she wanted to take as much as possible.
The small knife was undoubtedly one of Ling Xiangzi's treasures that Chu Xi had taken.
Extracting sap from a Soul Maple was extremely difficult; their trunks were incredibly hard, comparable to jade. Moreover, one could not use tools made from materials like metal or jade; otherwise, the sap would spoil and become ineffective. This knife was made from Eternal Dragon Tooth, perfectly suitable for this task.
Li Hong only took one small jade bottle and tossed the other two back into Chu Xi's arms.
Chu Xi was unwilling to accept this; she gritted her teeth and made many strange faces, clearly indicating—if we're going to steal, we should steal more!
Li Hong, feeling helpless, decided to just go along with it for now. He transmitted a message with irritation, "Do you think I have multiple hands? Just hold this for now, and I'll switch with you once I'm done."
Chu Xi fell silent.
The two of them stealthily approached the nearest golden old maple tree.
They easily reached the old maple, and in the blink of an eye, Li Hong had placed his dagger against the white line on the trunk. He was astonished; such a precious Soul Maple had no Restrictions here, and there wasn't even a small spirit beast guarding it. How could it be so easily obtained?
It felt a bit Strange. Nevertheless, he continued, channeling his spiritual energy through the dagger, the sharp Jiao Tooth Dagger slicing into the white line as if cutting through tofu.
Just as he was about to create a long diagonal cut to collect the sap, a Strange low roar suddenly echoed in his ears. It sounded like a cow growling nearby.
********
The Strange cow-like roar grew louder; it was actually the Soul Maple itself that was roaring!
Li Hong was startled and his hand trembled, causing the dagger to fall to the ground.
"Who dares trespass in Revival Valley!" someone shouted from the valley entrance. By the time he reached the last word, the voice was almost right next to him.
Such high cultivation! Li Hong broke into a cold sweat as he bent down to pick up the Jiao Tooth Dagger and summoned Lingyi, pulling Chu Xi along as he jumped upwards.
A familiar voice transmitted into his ear: "Don't panic, I'll hold him off; you hurry up and act!"
Li Hong was overjoyed; Yun Jiuzi had indeed come to help as promised. He jumped off Lingyi and transmitted to the flustered and confused Chu Xi, "Let's keep doing what we were doing; help has arrived!"
Chu Xi was still skeptical until Li Hong made a gesture with his fingers showing "nine." She immediately understood, her face lighting up with joy as she pulled out a jade bottle and ran back.
As the small knife cut in, the Soul Maple let out increasingly loud roars, like an angry old bull bellowing.
Li Hong was sweating profusely, finally understanding why the extremely precious Soul Maple didn't need any guards.
As long as someone made a move on the Soul Maple, it would call out on its own!
But from a distance, the rapid sounds of magical treasures clashing echoed, and a strange voice shouted, "Who are you! State your name. If you are one of our own, we will gladly offer you Revival Maple Syrup. Do not force our hand!"
This expert was clearly not on the same level as Yun Jiuzi, having already fallen into a disadvantage with just one move. If it weren't for Yun Jiuzi not wanting to take his life, he would have been finished by now. Realizing this, the man's voice sounded urgent and angry.
Yun Jiuzi remained silent, but his subordinates were clearly not slow. The man continued to fire off questions in quick succession, his tone growing more frantic and furious.
Li Hong was multitasking, keeping an eye out for any approaching helpers while also continuing to extract Revival Maple Syrup. Fortunately, the long cut had already formed, and milky white sap began to drip from the wound. Chu Xi quickly pressed a small jade bottle tightly against the lower part of the cut, slowly collecting the precious liquid drop by drop.
Just managing to collect fifteen drops, the fine white line on the Revival Maple had disappeared, and the roaring sound in his ears had diminished. The sap from this Soul Maple had been fully extracted.
Just as Li Hong was about to leave, Chu Xi snatched the small knife from his hand without hesitation and rushed to another golden old maple tree to start extracting sap again.
The angry bellowing resumed.
Chu Xi felt emboldened and kept casting gleeful glances at Li Hong. After finishing with this tree, she dashed over to another golden old maple.
Having not stopped her last time, Li Hong was now anxious: "That's enough! We need to leave!"
However, Chu Xi was confident; only after finishing extracting from the third Revival Maple did she quickly put all her items into her Spirit Bag, jumping onto Lingyi and wrapping her arms around Li Hong's waist.
Not daring to linger any longer, Li Hong soared into the air with his sword and swiftly headed far away.
In the Soul Returning Maple Forest, Yun Jiuzi was engaged in a fierce battle against Elder Yao and his two children, showing no signs of backing down. Elder Yao heard the furious roars of three Soul Maples, and his anger grew deeper.
This year, they had already harvested Revival Maple Syrup once, and these last five trees were reserved for emergencies. The thief was ruthless, cutting down three trees in one go! This was intolerable! Moreover, the opponents were highly skilled; even with his late-stage Transmutation cultivation and two Initial Golden Core children, he found himself at a disadvantage. It was terrifying to think that there must be a traitor among them. This matter was serious; he needed to report to the sect leader immediately and bring people to capture him!
In the midst of his busy schedule, he managed to take out a communication talisman while Yun Jiuzi was unprepared. He ignited it with spiritual energy, transforming the talisman into a yellow bird that flapped its wings and stealthily flew upwards.
The yellow paper bird flew quickly, almost catching up with Li Hong, who had retreated ahead. Just then, a sudden black light shot through like lightning, and the yellow paper bird vanished instantly.
A few specks of black ash slowly drifted down.
Chu Xi had been looking back anxiously. Fearing that pursuers were close behind, she happened to witness this scene. The sky was deep blue, and she recognized that black light from her previous encounter; it left a strong impression on her. Even though it passed by in an instant, her keen eyes identified it as Yun Jiuzi.
She gasped in surprise, "So it's him!"
The person who had drawn away the guards outside the Li Fire Formation was actually Yun Jiuzi. He had been paying attention to Li Hong long before they formally met.
Chu Xi fell into deep thought.
Until they returned to the Green Pavilion, both of them hurriedly changed out of their thief's attire without exchanging a word. Li Hong thought it might be because she was scolded earlier and was about to apologize when Chu Xi informed him about the black light incident. She sincerely said, "Brother Chu Hong, although Yun Jiuzi treats you very well, he has clearly shown an intention to befriend you, but I fear his intentions may not be good."
Li Hong did not think so at all. He felt an instant connection with Yun Jiuzi; even if Yun Jiuzi had noticed him before due to the Six Spirit Salty Ritual, now knowing that the owner of that black light was Yun Jiuzi made him feel even more at ease.
There are some secrets here—such as the truth behind the enmity between Heavenly Danzi and the Nine Li Sect, the origins of Yue Que, and that incomplete map of the Ancient Immortal Mansion. He didn't tell Chu Xi, no wonder she thinks this way.
This girl is meticulous and the most trustworthy person. Li Hong thought for a moment and called Chuxiong over, deciding to share everything he knew with both of them. Finally, he instructed, "These matters must not be leaked." He turned to Chu Xi and said seriously, "I know you have a very good relationship with Ling Xiangzi, Master Uncle, but please keep this confidential."
Chu Xi replied without hesitation, "Brother, you can rest assured. These secrets are too astonishing; I will definitely not reveal a word to Master. I promise!"
Li Hong nodded slowly and took out the incomplete map from the Cosmic Bag, handing it to Chu Xi. "Take a look first. If you come across similar items in the future, you'll know what to do. One day when we piece together the map, think about it—the Ancient Immortal Mansion has so many treasures inside!"
Chu Xi was deeply moved, her eyes gradually shimmering with silver light. She touched the incomplete map in her hands and choked up, saying, "Brother, you are truly too good to me."
She understood very well that Li Hong didn't have to tell her about the map; such a great benefit could easily be kept for himself. She recalled how well he had treated her over the years since entering the Mountain Gate—he always thought of her when it came to magical treasures and Elixirs, even saving her life before. Now he had revealed all his secrets to her. What did this mean?
Unconsciously, her face flushed hot, and her heart raced like a startled deer. Afraid that Li Hong would notice, she stole a glance at him and saw he was talking to Chuxiong. She quickly lowered her head to hide her feelings and focused on the map.
For some reason, although Li Hong's gaze was not on her, Chu Xi felt a small disappointment... A myriad of emotions swept through her heart in an instant; this clever girl was entangled for the first time.
The candlelight flickered as Chu Xi looked enchanting under its glow. The incomplete map trembled slightly in her hands, yet she was unaware of it herself.
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