The land of Danzhou.

Late at night, the moon bright and stars sparse, a few layers of cloud drifted past, briefly veiling the moonlight.

At the Barrier leading to the Yangnao Land, Luo Tianxing was sitting cross-legged in meditation when he suddenly seemed to sense something.

His eyes snapped open; his figure shot straight up into the sky as he looked toward the boundless earth in the distance.

"What a strange trend of Heaven and Earth!"

"For no reason at all... the Spirit Veins within ten thousand li of central Danzhou’s land seem to be rapidly declining!?"

Gazing at the region in the distance where the grand momentum of Heaven and Earth had suddenly changed, Luo Tianxing’s expression grew grave. He then spread out his Divine Sense, wanting to see what exactly this sudden anomaly was about.

At the same time, within that region where he sensed the drastic change in the grand trend of Heaven and Earth, some powers that had Golden Core Cultivators sitting in town were also plunged into panic.

These Golden Core Influences had been rooted in Danzhou for countless years; the locations of their Mountain Gates were often Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands where Spirit Veins converged.

Within the Sect, Spiritual Qi was dense, far exceeding that of the outside world.

Yet just moments ago, disciples of these Golden Core Influences who were in seclusion suddenly felt the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the surrounding air plummet.

After those Golden Core Ancestors investigated, they were shocked to discover that the Spirit Veins beneath their Mountain Gates were being rapidly sucked away by a mysterious power!

"Who did this!?"

"Go investigate at once!"

For a power, even the loss of a sliver of the Spirit Vein beneath its Mountain Gate was a tremendous loss.

Yet now that mysterious force had directly drawn away thirty percent of the Spirit Veins beneath their Mountain Gates, and showed no sign of stopping. The Golden Core Ancestors of these powers were instantly enraged.

Under the night sky, large numbers of Cultivators, faces full of killing intent, were Controlling the Sky across the heavens above Danzhou, wanting to find the thief who had stolen the Spirit Veins.

However, once they left the sphere of influence of their own Sects and discovered that everything around them was in chaos, they finally understood that it was not only their own Spirit Veins that had been stolen. In that instant just now, the Spirit Veins of nearly half of the entire Danzhou region had all had thirty percent drawn away at once!

A group of Golden Core Cultivators gathered together in the night sky, gazing at the vast land below. Some wore expressions of anger; others were on the verge of tears.

"Fellow Daoists, this is not the time to hide things. Whoever among you possesses a Secret Skill capable of discerning the mysteries within, I ask that you deploy it at once."

"We must hurry and drag that thief out, otherwise the Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands where we have each dwelt for countless years will be ruined!"

"Indeed! That thief is far too vile!"

"To destroy another’s Spirit Veins—such a vicious method must surely belong to some Evil Demon!"

The group of Golden Core Cultivators shouted in anger, yet they were helpless, able only to watch as the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi around them dissipated bit by bit.

In the more distant void, Luo Tianxing stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at the land below. Seeing that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Veins around were still weakening at a speed visible to the naked eye, his eyes were full of doubt.

He was familiar with methods of extracting Earth Veins as well.

But under normal circumstances, unless one was creating a cave abode or establishing a power, no one would waste the effort to extract the surrounding Spirit Veins for no reason.

After all, this stuff could not be directly used for cultivation.

Even when building a cave abode or constructing a power’s Mountain Gate, one would typically only extract the Spirit Veins within several hundred li, at most a thousand li.

And that was on the premise that there were no other powers in the vicinity.

Otherwise, who would dare commit such a monstrously outrageous act, extracting Spirit Veins from nearly ten thousand li in one go and offending dozens or even hundreds of powers of all sizes?

Standing in the void, Luo Tianxing carefully swept his Divine Sense across the land below, faintly sensing that the Earth Vein Spiritual Power was rapidly converging toward the deeper parts of Danzhou’s earth.

This meant that the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi in this region of Danzhou was not being drawn away by someone, but was being absorbed downward by something deeper within the ground.

This discovery made Luo Tianxing even more puzzled.

"Senior?"

Just as Luo Tianxing was frowning in thought, those at-a-loss Golden Core Cultivators discovered him.

Having guarded the Barrier between Danzhou and the Yangnao Land for decades, Luo Tianxing was known to all these Golden Core Cultivators of Danzhou.

Dozens of Golden Core Cultivators came forward together and cupped their hands. "We beg Senior to help us."

In their eyes, as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, Luo Tianxing was omnipotent and would surely be able to easily resolve the current anomaly.

Meeting their hopeful gazes, Luo Tianxing gently shook his head and sighed. "This old man is no Immortal God. In such a situation... this old man has no means."

Hearing this, the many Golden Core Cultivators were instantly stunned.

"Senior..."

Some seemed unwilling to believe that a dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch would have no solution, thinking he simply did not wish to trouble himself.

"The Earth Vein Spiritual Qi in this region has not been extracted; it is being drawn downward into deeper ground."

Luo Tianxing spoke calmly. "This situation is somewhat akin to a punishment from Heaven and Earth... This old man truly cannot stop it."

With that, his figure flickered and he vanished directly from before their eyes.

Staring at the now-empty void, the group of Golden Core Cultivators looked at one another, all wearing expressions of dejection and fear.

A punishment from Heaven and Earth...

"Could it be that earlier we sat by as those beasts of the Yinhe Sect slaughtered the Qishan Cultivators without intervening, and it is for this that this Heaven and Earth has now descended punishment?"

An aged old Cultivator spoke, his voice trembling.

Everyone’s faces changed slightly.

"How could that be?"

"If Heaven truly wished to punish for that, those who most deserve punishment are those beasts of the Yinhe Sect. What has it to do with us?"

"Exactly. They were the ones who wantonly slaughtered. We never raised a hand!"

Among the dozens of Golden Core Cultivators, some chose to roar and argue there; others left in silence.

The Earth Vein Spiritual Qi in the region below was still rapidly declining. In the span of just a single night, the various Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands within nearly ten thousand li had already been completely destroyed, reduced to places whose Spiritual Qi concentration differed little from that of the surrounding ordinary regions.

Some powers already sensed that if this continued, this region would ultimately become a Punishment Land devoid of any Spiritual Qi, no longer fit for Cultivators to cultivate and dwell.

These powers with foresight, after a brief reorganization, immediately fled with their entire Sects, rushing toward the outskirts of Danzhou—those places that had not suffered "punishment"—to seek new Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands and establish new Mountain Gates.

Cyan Ruo Sword House, being in northern Danzhou, was not affected.

But with the Spiritual Qi concentration in half of Danzhou suddenly plummeting, as time passed, even in those surrounding regions that had not yet been affected, the Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth would inevitably disperse toward places with lower Spiritual Qi concentrations.

Cyan Ruo Sword House quickly passed this news on to Huang Lingshan and the others far away in the Yangnao Land, wanting Huang Lingshan to invite Jiang Xiuqi of Luoxia Mountain to make a trip to Danzhou and set up a Grand Array for Cyan Ruo Sword House’s Mountain Gate, to lock down the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi and minimize its loss.

Huang Lingshan conveyed this news to the Shen Family at the same time.

On the second floor of Black Water Pavilion, Shen Chongming brought this news before Shen Yuan.

"Grandfather, this matter..."

Yet when Shen Yuan heard this news, there was not much surprise on his face, causing Shen Chongming to speak with some hesitation.

Shen Yuan slowly rose to his feet and sighed. "If anyone brings it up, just feign ignorance."

Shen Chongming paused, then fell briefly into a daze.

With those words from Shen Yuan, he instantly understood as well—what had happened in Danzhou truly was related to that brat Xiubai!

"By the way, is it about time we delivered the Essence of the Five Elements to Xiubai?"

Changing the subject, Shen Yuan spoke in a deep voice.

Shen Chongming collected himself and cupped his hands slightly. "According to our previous agreement, the three months will be complete the day after tomorrow."

After pondering briefly, Shen Yuan said, "Later, bring the Essence of the Five Elements to this old man. I will deliver it to him personally."

Shen Chongming did not ask further. After cupping his hands in acknowledgment, he left Black Water Pavilion.

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