Xiao Wenbing was all smiles, about to speak, when suddenly the thick stone slab came crashing down on him. He thought to himself, "This is bad. Could the Mirror God be wrong?"
But this huge rock holds a grudge. So, is it possible that I'm willing to risk everything to seek justice?
However, the matter was too sudden, and even if he wanted to avoid it, he was caught off guard and was about to be injured under the stone slab.
Zhang Yaqi exclaimed in surprise, and the Qiankun Ring in her hand flashed with light, flying out and instantly entangling the person and the stone with lightning speed. Feng Baiyi's speed was even a fraction faster than hers.
However, the thick stone slab showed no intention of harming Xiao Wenbing. Its massive body stopped just half a foot away from him. A large crack appeared on the slab, swallowing the ley line fire into it.
The two women stopped abruptly, glanced at each other, and inevitably saw an unusual sense of unease in each other's eyes.
"Ding..." The crisp and clear sound drifted far away.
Holding the now-shortened sword in his hand, Xiao Wenbing suddenly turned around and asked the old Taoist priest, "Master, are you sure this thing is really the spirit of the earth?"
"What's wrong?" The old Taoist priest, seeing the thick stone slab lying motionless on the ground, letting Xiao Wenbing chop at it, couldn't help but feel extremely smug. Suddenly hearing his question, he was greatly surprised. What else could this thing be but a spirit of the earth?
Are you really sure?
Seeing Xiao Wenbing's peculiar expression, the old Taoist priest Xianyun had a slight doubt in his heart: "It should be right."
"But why do I feel that this guy is more like the Spirit of Gold?"
"What?"
Xiao Wenbing held up the broken sword in his hand and said, "Master, you see, my immortal sword has broken twice, but I still can't do anything to it. This thing's hardness is probably comparable to the Spirit of Gold."
The old Taoist priest Xianyun finally understood, and he said with a wry smile, "Wenbing, don't talk nonsense."
Shrugging his shoulders, Xiao Wenbing naturally knew that although the three seniors, including the old Taoist Xianyun, possessed great magical power, it was absolutely impossible to expect them to deal with the Earth Spirit.
A calamity is a calamity; I doubt anyone wants to get themselves into trouble because of it.
Therefore, figuring out how to pry a rock off this huge creature is something we ourselves need to figure out.
Xiao Wenbing glanced at Feng Baiyi and silently shook his head. The Lightning-Attracting Sword was indeed incredibly powerful, but if he wanted to use the Lightning-Attracting Technique to split the rock, by the time the rock was split, the earth spirit would probably be charred. And whether a charred earth spirit would still possess spiritual energy was something he couldn't know.
Zhang Yaqi? The Universe Ring?
Xiao Wenbing's gaze swept over the three elders. To be honest, there were some secrets he didn't want them to know. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but these secrets were indeed of great importance, and the fewer people who knew them, the better.
"Butterfly Fairy, give me your feather armor, I'll try again."
Xiao Wenbing suddenly remembered something else and quickly ordered, "There's no need to send out the Nascent Soul. Just give me the Feather Robe like this."
The two women blushed slightly at the same time. They naturally knew why Xiao Wenbing was doing this. Once Butterfly Fairy gave away the Feather Armor, there would be nothing left to cover her Nascent Soul. If there were no outsiders here, it would be fine, but with the three elders here, wouldn't that be...
Feng Baiyi was suddenly startled. She had just thought of something: why hadn't she considered Xiao Wenbing as an outsider? A wail rose on her face again, but in the blink of an eye, she thought of everything that had happened between them in the Heavenly Dao Sect, and she was filled with shame and anger, not knowing what she was feeling.
Xiao Wenbing took the feathered robe, flicked his finger, and the entire suit of armor suddenly contracted, eventually transforming into a long sword gleaming with azure light.
Although this item was crafted by the Mirror God, he and the Mirror God are essentially one, and he knows the effects and capabilities of this feather robe just as well.
"Feathered robes transformed into swords?" the Tianyi Sect Master exclaimed in surprise.
Xiao Wenbing nodded and smiled at him, saying, "That's right, it is indeed Feather Robe Transformed into Sword."
The three elders, including the Sect Master of Tianyi Sect, were even more puzzled as to just how powerful this little guy really was.
In the cultivation world, most magical artifacts are either good for offense or for achieving official success, specializing in only one aspect. Those that can excel in both offense and defense are rare. This is because crafting such artifacts requires not only extremely high-quality materials but also a severe test of the craftsman's skill.
Those truly powerful magical artifacts, capable of both offense and defense and possessing certain special functions, are all crafted by renowned masters.
The butterfly fairy's feather armor not only serves to protect herself, but can also transform into a sharp sword to attack enemies, demonstrating that the craftsman's skill level has reached an extremely high level.
Just by looking at Xiao Wenbing's posture, one could tell that this thing was definitely his work. However, he had only been in the world of cultivation for a short time, yet his achievements in the art of weapon crafting already far surpassed those of most of his Daoist predecessors.
This was before they had ventured deep into the cave. Therefore, they hadn't witnessed the strange formation of the feathered armor manifesting in rows; otherwise, their shock would have been far greater.
As his spiritual energy circulated, streaks of azure light began to rotate. Although this armor was specially crafted for Butterfly Fairy by the Mirror God, it did not hinder Xiao Wenbing's ability to use it.
Holding the feathered sword, Xiao Wenbing approached the thick stone slab, aimed at one corner of the slab, and with all his might, slashed down hard.
"puff……"
The longsword plunged into the ground without any obstruction, cutting straight to the bottom and splashing up a sky full of icy spray.
“You…” Xiao Wenbing drew his sword, turned around, pointed at the thick stone slab that had jumped away in the distance, his face ashen.
He wasn't trained in martial arts like Feng Baiyi, and although his skills were decent, once he used all his strength, he couldn't stop halfway through.
As he swung his sword down, it looked like it was about to strike the stone slab, but in that split second, the thick stone slab had already jumped away with incredible speed.
At this moment, the large stone slab moved with incredible agility, completely unlike the solid and stable earth of the Central Plains. Its speed was unparalleled, as swift as a rabbit, as fast as lightning… absolutely comparable to Feng Baiyi.
Caught off guard, Xiao Wenbing was unable to stop in time, and his sword slashed fiercely into the solid ice on the ground.
The ice beneath his feet was extremely solid; even an ordinary person might struggle to break a hole in it, even with an axe, after striking it for a long time.
However, Xiao Wenbing was no ordinary person. He was a master at the Golden Core realm, with extraordinary skill. Although he was still a little lacking in dealing with treasures like Earth Spirits, dealing with these small, ordinary ice blocks was a piece of cake for him.
So, with a single sword strike, snowflakes danced in the air, a truly beautiful sight. Of course, Xiao himself was inevitably splashed with snow water.
"Why did you run away?" Xiao Wenbing roared angrily, holding his feather sword.
Seemingly aware that it was in the wrong, the thick stone slab swayed for a long time before suddenly emitting a buzzing sound.
Xiao Wenbing was startled, and suddenly the voice of the Mirror God echoed in his mind: "It's complaining about you, asking you how many of its true forms you want?"
"Of course it's ten jin."
"Then why did you cut so many pieces just now?"
"How much? It's just one corner of Bo."
“A horn? This is the spirit of the earth... A mere fingernail-sized horn already weighs ten pounds. If you were to cut off one of its horns, wouldn’t it weigh at least a thousand pounds? Of course it wouldn’t agree.”
"Ah...oh...uh, I see!"
Volume 4, The Divine Artifacts, Chapter 141: Retrieving the Stone (Part 2)
------------------------
Xiao Wenbing suppressed his anger, gave an awkward smile, and suddenly a buzzing sound came from his mouth.
Everyone was taken aback. What was that sound? They had never heard it before.
Listening closely, well, at first glance, it does seem somewhat similar to the spirit of the earth. However, no matter how you listen to it, it sounds extremely awkward, like a one-year-old child babbling, which is both laughable and absurd.
“Buzz buzz buzz…” However, unlike the old Taoist priest Xianyun and the others, the Earth Spirit immediately became extremely excited upon hearing this sound, and its enormous body seemed to begin to tremble.
No need to ask, this voice must belong to the unique dialect of spirits like the Earth Spirit.
"Buzz...buzz." Unlike the earth spirit's joy, Xiao Wenbing had a sullen face. As he spoke these sounds he had just learned, he complained in his heart, "What kind of pronunciation is this? It's so hard to learn. Sigh...a stone is a stone, different from humans."
After such a long and arduous standoff, haggling, and protracted negotiations, the two finally reached a mutually agreeable agreement.
Xiao Wenbing picked up the Feather Sword, walked to the Earth Spirit, bent down, and gently and carefully slicing down on the large stone slab.
Under the eager gaze of everyone, a yellow stone strip the size of a little finger was finally safely retrieved.
The thick stone slab bounced up and down a bit. It was unclear whether Xiao Wenbing's blow had hurt it, but compared to its size, that tiny thing was nothing.
It came to Zhang Yaqi. With a whoosh, it shrank and disappeared into the burial circle.
Holding the stone slab he had painstakingly acquired, Xiao Wenbing weighed it in his hand. He was secretly shocked. Good heavens, the Mirror God was right. This thing weighed at least a hundred pounds. If he hadn't been prepared and used his spiritual power, he definitely wouldn't have been able to lift it.
He was also very puzzled. If such a small thing weighed over a hundred pounds, how much would the entire large stone slab weigh? Yet the Earth Spirit was carrying such a heavy thing and jumping around on the ground, without even leaving a mark.
It seems that these kinds of rare and precious objects from heaven and earth do indeed have an extraordinary aspect...
"Xiao Wenbing, were you speaking face-to-face with the Earth Spirit just now?" The Tianyi Sect Master grew increasingly curious, and seeing that the conversation had come to an end, he couldn't help but ask.
"Exactly."
"What language is this? The language of stones?"
“Hehe…” Xiao Wenbing’s face showed a smug smile, and he said, “This is a relatively advanced language system, and not everyone can learn it.”
"Then where did Elder Xiao learn it from?"
“This…” Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, then immediately said, “Of course it is because I am exceptionally gifted, unmatched in the world. That is why I was able to suddenly understand the principles when communicating with the spirit of the earth, without any teacher.”
"Self-taught?" The Sect Master of Tianyi's gaze grew increasingly suspicious. He turned to look at the old Daoist Xianyun, only to see that the latter also wore a bewildered expression. Although he knew that these words were most likely untrue, he could only listen to them for now and believe them if he so wished.
Xiao Wenbing boasted for a while, then realized it was hard to convince anyone, so he simply stopped explaining. He waved the yellow stone strip in his hand and said, "Sect Master, we have completed our mission. Please accept this." With that, he tossed the stone strip to Sect Master Tianyi.
The Sect Master of Tianyi reached out and caught the stone slab. Suddenly, he exclaimed "Eh!" and his wrist sank slightly. However, the old man's skill was profound, and he only sank for a moment before steadily holding it.
Xiao Wenbing admired him inwardly. This old man's cultivation was far superior to his own. He had taken a hundred-pound load without any warning and still looked completely unfazed. If it were him, he would have been utterly humiliated on the spot.
"This?" The Sect Master of Tianyi picked up the yellow stone strip in his hand, which was incredibly heavy but only the size of an average person's little finger, and his eyes were full of questions.
For someone of his status and position to seek advice from a junior in the Golden Core stage would be an extremely undignified act.
However, at this moment, neither the old masters like Xianyun nor the two women in white felt anything was amiss.
After all, Xiao Wenbing's performance had far exceeded anyone's expectations. Unbeknownst to many, he had been in charge of the entire operation. Although there were some minor mistakes, his ingenuity and the strangeness of his actions were both original and highly effective.
Even with the abilities of the three elders, they could only observe quietly and could not get a word in edgewise.
Only when Xiao Wenbing announced that the mission was completed did the Tianyi Sect Master and the others finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But could their wish really be fulfilled with just this small stone slab?
"Sect Master, you are wise. The Spirit of the Earth is formed from the essence of heaven and earth. A piece the size of a fingernail contains an inexhaustible reservoir of pure spiritual energy. This piece weighs over a hundred pounds, and the amount of spiritual energy within it is unimaginable. If you put it into the eye of the earth, it will surely turn into nothingness within a thousand years, and new mineral resources will inevitably appear on the earth."
The three elders, including the Sect Master of Tianyi Sect and the Taoist Master Xianyun, simultaneously showed relieved smiles, as if a huge worry had been lifted from their hearts. They clasped their hands and shouted, "Amitabha!"
"Master, now that this matter is settled, I must take my leave," Xiao Wenbing said suddenly, bowing to the old Taoist priest Xianyun and the others.
"Goodbye? Where are you going?"
"Tian Ding Star".
Why go there?
"Braid promised the Earth Spirit that he would obtain a large amount of ley fire for it, uh, right, ley fire source, so we must go to Tianding Star."
The old Taoist priest's expression changed, his face hardening, and he said, "No, this is absolutely unacceptable."