Although his Heavenly Eyes were not fully developed, he could still sense the extraordinary nature of these stone mills.
Before long, Master Zhang also joined in: "Is there really a divine source inside?"
Master Zhang couldn't see anything unusual about the stone mill, but he believed Jiang Liu's words. Because it really might have been left behind by the legendary First Source Master.
"Why don't we open one and see?" Zhang Wuye suggested.
"open!"
Jiang Liu's hand swept swiftly across the stone mill, sending large swaths of stone dust falling, but there was no treasure inside. However, both Jiang Taixu and Master Zhang fell silent, for a hole the size of a human head had appeared in the center of the stone mill.
"Try another one!"
Jiang Liu opened three stone artifacts in succession, but found no source inside. However, this made the three of them frown.
Because, although the last stone artifact was not hollow inside, a strange plant had been petrified inside.
Jiang Taixu, being a man of great experience, remained silent for a long time before saying, "It might be an ancient divine herb, capable of reviving the dead and restoring flesh to bones. Unfortunately, its essence has been lost, and it has already turned to stone!"
Chapter 339 The Target: Holy Land Stone Archway
Jiang Liu opened several more stone tools, each containing something unusual. When he found a few red hairs inside one of the stone pillars, Zhang Wuye was immediately terrified, stammering, "No... we can't open any more! It's ominous... Brother Jiang, our ancestor suffered a great misfortune in his later years, growing red hairs and disappearing in the night..."
Jiang Liu glanced at the few red hairs, not taking them to heart, and said, "Grandpa, I can go and come back from that mountain, these things can't scare me! Even a great emperor can hardly live forever, let alone us. If we are afraid of ominous signs in our old age, we might as well be ordinary people. A hundred years of birth, aging, sickness and death is also a lifetime. We have embarked on the path of cultivation, so we must forge ahead bravely, without any reason to retreat even half a step."
"Whether mortal or emperor, in the end, we are nothing but a handful of dust." Jiang Taixu, with a few red hairs sticking to his head, said calmly, "Brother Zhang, let's open them all! If others find out about these things, it will be a disaster. It's better to destroy them!"
Master Zhang nodded: "Then let's open them all! To avoid causing trouble later..."
After saying that, he walked out of the courtyard and headed towards the other houses in the stone village. There were too many such stone tools in the entire stone village, enough to number in the hundreds.
By nightfall, Zhang Wuye's courtyard was piled high with stone tools.
Under the cover of night, the river began to flow, section by section.
Most of the items were empty, but there were still some finds.
"The head of an ancient creature should have been encased in divine source back then! But now it has decayed..." Jiang Liu shattered it into powder with a single palm strike; it had been completely decayed over countless years.
"What power could have absorbed all the essence of these divine sources and medicines? Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine..." Jiang Taixu watched as Jiang Liu dissected the stone tools. From his initial surprise to his current solemnity, he also sensed that something strange seemed to have happened in this place back then.
Finally, some divine energy flowed out of the river, but it was only the size of a melon seed and could not be considered precious.
Then, a fragrance suddenly wafted from a huge stone mill, refreshing and invigorating, as if it could penetrate into one's very bones.
"We really found a treasure!" Master Zhang said solemnly. After cutting through so many stone artifacts, he only found a few pieces of divine essence the size of melon seeds. Now, the aroma wafting from them meant there must be a treasure inside.
Jiang Taixu sniffed slightly, closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, and said, "It's a Human Essence Fruit!"
"What is the Human Essence Fruit? Brother, how do you know?" Although Master Zhang could see that Jiang Taixu was extraordinary, he still considered himself an ordinary cultivator.
"A sacred fruit that can increase lifespan!" Jiang Taixu was not good at deceiving people, so he said the truth.
Stone chips flew everywhere, and soon, a drop of liquid fell, emitting a fragrant aroma. Carefully peeling away the stone skin, a pinkish-red fruit, somewhat resembling a peach, was revealed from the center of the millstone.
"Quickly retrieve the Source Seal..."
Without Jiang Taixu's reminder, as soon as the fruit appeared, a source enveloped it to prevent its essence from leaking out.
Then Jiang Liu cut out a divine stone gallbladder. The Book of Origin clearly records that when a divine stone gallbladder is formed, it can brighten the eyes, greatly enhance divine perception, and give birth to the Heavenly Eye.
"This stone gall is of great use to me; it can help me cultivate the Origin Heaven Divine Awareness and reach the perfect realm." Jiang Liu carefully took the purple stone gall into his hand, his heart filled with excitement.
The Celestial Eye, the Yin-Yang Eye, and others are all types of Heavenly Eyes. They are innate and cannot be developed later in life unless one achieves great spiritual progress.
When the Source Heavenly Awareness reaches perfection, it can become the Heavenly Eye. All generations of Source Heavenly Masters have developed the strongest Heavenly Eye, which can see through illusions and directly see the origin.
Jiang Taixu looked at the Stone Gall and the Human Essence Fruit, shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that the Stone Gall is purple, not golden, and it hasn't fully matured yet. The Human Essence Fruit is the same; neither of them is ripe yet. I suppose it's precisely because they're not ripe that they escaped this calamity!"
Jiang Liu said, "Fortunately, this stone gall was not damaged. We can seal it up for now and use divine energy to provide it with essence so that it can mature. It's just a pity about this human essence fruit, which has been damaged and can no longer grow."
Stone gall is a priceless treasure to Master Yuan, something that cannot be exchanged for anything, as it can help him achieve the Great Perfection of Yuantian Divine Awakening.
A true Source Master can see through the ancient mines of the earth and roam the world without using Source Techniques. He can also understand the secrets within the Source.
“These two treasures will be of great use to us, Master Zhang. I will use the source to purchase them…” Jiang Liu said.
Master Zhang immediately shook his head and said, "Look at what you're saying. Although these things are precious, if others find out, it will be a disaster for us. You have protected our Stone Village for half a year and taught the younger generation to cultivate. This is a great kindness. Er Lengzi and the others have already awakened their bloodlines and will be able to protect our Stone Village from bandits in the future..."
"Brother Zhang, don't worry, with me here, no one will dare to touch a single brick or tile of the stone village!" Jiang Taixu said, his back seemingly straightening up, his eyes like stars, but in an instant he returned to calm, reverting to his old man state.
"Then thank you very much, Brother Jiang and Young Master Jiang!" Master Zhang had no idea of Jiang Taixu's identity and assumed that the two of them shared the same surname, Jiang.
With the help of the Yuan Fruit, Jiang Taixu's recovery accelerated even further. This fruit can increase lifespan, and even those at the Great Sage level will benefit from it. If it were given out, it would undoubtedly cause a bloodbath among the major powers.
Every day, Jiang Taixu would sit in the sunlight, absorbing the divine power from the Human Essence Fruit while teaching the boys in the stone village how to cultivate. As the days passed, when Jiang Taixu had absorbed all the Human Essence Fruit in his hands, Jiang Liu had also grasped most of the essence of cultivation.
"Brother, we've almost used up our divine energy and divine fruit. How about we go gamble on stones? The stone workshops in various holy lands have treasures. They're just sitting there anyway, so let's take some to increase our strength!"
Jiang Taixu laughed and said, "Brother, with your Origin Technique, you can indeed plunder the stone workshop, but be careful not to get out of there!"
"With you, brother, as my powerful backer, who would dare to keep me here!"
“Then let’s go take a look! Three thousand years have passed, and everything has changed! However, don’t expect me to help. If those old monsters find out that I’ve survived, some super strong ones will definitely come to kill me. I can’t even protect myself, let alone protect you…” Jiang Taixu smiled bitterly.
"Brother, how much of your strength have you recovered? If all else fails, we can go and gather divine herbs. The Seven Forbidden Lands of Life all contain elixirs of immortality!"
Jiang Taixu waved his hand and said, "There's no need to take risks. Those places are dangerous. Even if you have the protection of immortal fire, you might still find yourself trapped and unable to escape. Now, with your acupoint body tempering method, you will slowly recover given enough time. However, that time will be quite long."
"Then let's loot the stone workshop, open the divine source, and obtain the divine medicine..."
When Jiang Liu said this, all the shopkeepers of the stone workshops in the various holy lands felt a chill run down their spines, sensing that something bad was about to happen.
Chapter 340 Duan De and the Dog
Before they even set off, the sound of barking dogs echoed outside the stone village. The barking was deafening, accompanied by screams of agony, which sounded utterly horrific.
Jiang Liu's lips twitched. The voice was somewhat familiar, and the barking of the dog made him frown.
"It can't be such a coincidence!" Jiang Liu muttered to himself.
Jiang Taixu glanced at the direction of the commotion and said, "It looks like that black dog who came out with us..."
Jiang Liu rushed over immediately and saw a fat Taoist priest with a bloated figure, a ruddy complexion, and wearing a Taoist robe.
It was none other than the Boundless Taoist, Duan De.
At this moment, he screamed repeatedly, a huge black dog biting his rear end. It was much larger than a common Shiba Inu, about the size of a cow, its entire body as black as ink, with a square head and large ears, bigger than a tiger. However, its thick tail was half bald, with almost all the fur missing.
The big black dog bit Duan De's buttocks. No matter how much it jumped around, even when Duan De's palm, the size of a prayer mat, struck the dog, it only made a sound like metal or stone, leaving it completely unharmed and refusing to let go.
It seemed that the big black dog was not made of flesh and blood, but rather cast from metal and stone.
Duan De also saw Jiang Liu at this moment and immediately ran over, shouting as he ran, "Brother Jiang, quickly save your brother! This dog's mouth is too poisonous, this dog is just too damn poisonous... Ahhh... Serves you right for biting me..."
Amidst cries of pain, he continued to pound the big black dog with his fists.
But the black dog ignored him completely, staring with its big eyes, and bit Duan De's buttocks even harder, causing Duan De to scream even more pitifully.
"...Shut up, I give up...Damn it, I've had the worst luck in the world today, to be bitten by a dog..."
The big black dog stared at Jiang Liu and Jiang Taixu, who were walking slowly with his hands behind his back, and immediately let go of his mouth, preparing to escape.
"Since you're here, don't leave!" Jiang Liu stepped forward and cut off the big black dog's escape route.
"What are you going to do? Don't think I won't bite you!" The big black dog bared its blood-red maw, ready to bite Jiang Liu as well.
Jiang Liu dodged the attack, raised his hand and swung it down like a giant millstone.
"How could the Great Emperor Wushi have kept a mongrel like you as a pet!"
"Ah... what do you know?" The big black dog was about to go crazy, but Jiang Liu immediately revealed its origins, which made it even more frantic.
Jiang Liu unleashed a "Transformation Technique"—a massive millstone of heaven and earth—but it seemed unable to harm the large black dog's physical body, which appeared to have reached an indestructible state.
"I know a lot, I even know about your bald tail. How about I find another monkey to teach you a lesson?"
"I'm not going to stoop to your level, I'm leaving!" The big black dog was dumbfounded and tried to escape.
"You scoundrel, if you dare to leave, I'll spread your story throughout the Eastern Wilderness and see where you can escape to!" This large black dog was proficient in divine runes and possessed great abilities. Jiang Liu wanted to enter the Forbidden Land of Life, and this large black dog would be of great use to him.
The big black dog immediately stopped in its tracks, gritting its teeth and saying, "I'm called Black Emperor. If you dare to call me a mongrel again, I'll bite your throat off in the middle of the night!"
"No matter what, I've done you a great favor. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be out here..."
"Brother Jiang, where did you get stuck? Take me to see..." The fat man rubbed his buttocks and came over, his face covered in smudged grime, showing no trace of his earlier disheveled state.
“Look… I’m afraid you’ll really not be able to get out once you go in!” Jiang Liu gestured towards Zishan with his chin and said.
Fatty Duan glanced at Zishan, somewhat sullen, but still said, "What are we afraid of if we brothers join forces... Besides, you said a year, what time is it now? Almost three years! I've waited for you for three years, searched for you for three years, and this is how you treat your brother..."
"How about we form a group and take a luxury three-day trip to the Primordial Ancient Mine?" Jiang Liu said.
Fatty Duan curled his lip and said, "Let's forget about the Primordial Ancient Mine. There's a major disaster happening right now..."
“What’s there to be afraid of if we brothers join forces…” Jiang Liu’s words made Duan De’s lips twitch.
The Black Emperor coldly glanced at Jiang Liu and Duan De, baring his teeth as he said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
"Old Duan, what's your opinion on the elixir of immortality I mentioned last time?" Jiang Liu suddenly asked, and immediately noticed that Black Emperor's ears perked up and his steps slowed down.
"An elixir of immortality? Should we go check it out?"
"But we're missing someone who's proficient in divine runes..."
"I know how to use divine runes!" Duan De said confidently.
"Pah! You call that a divine mark? You're not even worthy to wash my feet!" The Black Emperor spat at Duan De's feet, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Duan De got angry when he saw the big black dog. The bite he had just received had really hurt, and it still stung. "Hey, you dog, why aren't you leaving? Believe me or not, I'll slap you to death!"
"Believe it or not, I'll bite off your third leg and turn you into a perverted, dead transvestite!"
"Alright, you two can argue all you want. We'll talk when you're done!"
Jiang Liu stood beside Jiang Taixu, watching with great interest as the dog and the fat man engaged in a verbal battle.
“That dog is not simple, and this fat man seems to be no simple man either…” Jiang Taixu seemed to have noticed something unusual, but he wasn’t sure.
“A ruthless, greedy fat Taoist priest named Duan De, very mysterious, with extremely deep roots…” Jiang Liu paused for a moment, then transmitted his voice, “He might have been even more powerful than you in his past life!”