Chapter 360

Chapter 360: A Sea of Tulips

Zhang Yang had acquired the Spirit Saint Stone veins when he first arrived at the Abyss of the Buried Immortals on Ghost Island. He had traded the Holy Weapon Moon Blade and the moon-returning dragon for them. At that time, the moon-returning dragon had personally written down the precise location and had even generously promised double compensation if anyone else excavated them in the meantime.

It was from that moment onward that Zhang Yang began to see the moon-returning dragon in a new light.

He had long been eager to step into the Opening the Sky realm.

However, until now, he hadn’t had a moment’s peace.

This was finally an opportunity. When he mentioned the Spirit Saint Stone veins, Bing Yuyan immediately showed great interest. She even shamelessly pointed at his back with an infuriating smile and said, “I’m good with directions. You can’t find it, but I can.”

Zhang Yang felt helpless. He had never quite understood the problem of being directionally challenged, yet clearly, he was.

He pulled out the address.

According to the instructions, the landmark was Heavenly Reaching Mountain. From there, one needed to travel approximately eight thousand miles north into a valley filled with red tulips. Three hundred meters underground lay the Spirit Saint Stone veins.

They set off quietly.

At first, Zhang Yang had been eager to take the lead. But after only a dozen miles, Bing Yuyan tugged at him, pointing out that he had veered west. That frustrated him to no end. After correcting his direction, he tried leading again, only to find himself heading northeast without realizing it. Determined to redeem himself, he made another attempt, but this time drifted into the northwest.

Altogether, he tried six or seven times, but never managed to maintain a true northern course for more than five or six miles.

In the end, he hung his head, beginning to seriously doubt his sense of direction.

Meanwhile, Bing Yuyan laughed so hard that tears nearly streamed down her face.

It was hard to believe that such a genius, someone destined to be unmatched could be so hopelessly lost when it came to direction.

In the end, Bing Yuyan took over, grabbing his shoulder and darting through the Falling Star Mountain Range with a speed rivaling flowing light.

Zhang Yang was left in awe, marveling at her swiftness.

By now, Bing Yuyan had indeed reached the Great Boundless Perfect Stage, achieving an incredible level of cultivation, and she still had untapped potential.

With her Realm of Thunder inheritance, the foundation of the ice path, and his guidance on the Great Perfection Slaughter Sacred Thunder, she had yet to formally step onto the saint’s path. But when she did, the extraordinary foundation she was building would no doubt unleash unparalleled power.

This was why, at lower stages, building a solid foundation could lead to astonishing growth in the future.

Soon, they reached the eight-thousand-mile mark indicated by the map.

Bing Yuyan hovered in the air, surveying the vast landscape below.

Her gaze swept across dozens of miles until her eyes landed on the valley filled with red tulips.

They flew toward it.

From outside the valley, it appeared as a dazzling sea of red, fragrant and captivating.

But stepping into the valley, the experience changed. Both of them clearly felt a unique aura emanating from the tulips, one that seemed to stir their bloodlines. It was a sensation that could only be fully felt by entering the area.

“This must be a place where immortal blood once flowed,” Bing Yuyan said. “And it came from a very powerful immortal. Its bloodline was clearly special, possibly from an immortal flower race during the Era of Competing Races. Over countless years, the mysteries of that blood may have faded, yet they still nourish this entire valley of tulips.”

“I believe the Spirit Saint Stone veins underground are connected to this place as well.”

“Indeed, the Falling Star Mountain Range is extraordinary. There are immortals within the Abyss of the Buried Immortals. And on Heavenly Reaching Mountain lies the power to shake Eternal Night. This place too, though its mysteries may have long since faded—still holds a wonder that even Eternal Night must respect.”

These were Bing Yuyan’s reflections.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help but recall the location of the First Lamp, where there resided a holy beast, the Black Tiger that had never appeared in the world, one that was absolutely invincible.

It seemed the Falling Star Mountain Range truly was filled with magic.

And with the many wonders that Flower Phantom had been searching for across the region, Zhang Yang couldn’t shake the feeling that the entire mountain range concealed a deeper, unpredictable mystery.

“I wonder how vast the underground Spirit Saint Stone veins really are,” Bing Yuyan said eagerly. “If they’re abundant, I could use them during my seclusion when I break through.”

Her current training wasn’t about raising her cultivation rank. She was still progressing within the Great Boundless Stage, forging a brand-new ice-thunder path, and working to comprehend the Saints’ laws. At the moment, Spirit Saint Stones or ordinary Spirit Stones weren’t particularly useful to her.

Still, Zhang Yang felt a strong sense of anticipation.

With Spirit Saint Stones, he wasn’t just aiming to break into the Opening the Sky realm. If possible, he intended to push straight through to the ninth level—or maybe even reach the Small Boundless realm. Why not?

Others might struggle with such progress, but he could do it.

At least in the realms below the immortal path, his cultivation speed was so rapid that even he sometimes found it startling.

“Open up!” Zhang Yang commanded.

Bing Yuyan swept her sword across the mountain wall, opening a hidden cave.

She was careful not to disturb the sea of red tulips surrounding them.

The two of them stepped inside.

Then, without hesitation, Bing Yuyan raised her sword again and struck downward.

With her power, if she exerted herself, Bing Yuyan could easily slice through the earth to a depth of a thousand meters.

The recorded depth in the address was three hundred meters.

This time, her strike carried immense force and cut down to three hundred and thirty meters.

From within, a rich aura of Spirit Saint Stones surged upward, so potent that Zhang Yang felt as though he was on the verge of breaking through to the Opening the Sky realm without even needing to cultivate intentionally.

The two of them floated downward.

Their feet touched the ground.

Then, they both froze for a moment.

Before them was nothing but empty space, there was no sign of the Spirit Saint Stone veins. It was as if everything had been completely hollowed out.

“Someone must have found it earlier and dug it up,” Zhang Yang muttered, frowning.

The moon-returning dragon had warned him about this possibility, primarily because they hadn’t known how long they would remain in the Abyss of the Buried Immortals. With so many cultivators visiting the Falling Star Mountain Range, such discoveries were not uncommon.

Bing Yuyan asked, “But if someone did dig it up, shouldn’t there be some kind of trace left behind? I didn’t see any pathways or signs of excavation. How could they have done it?”

“There aren’t any,” Zhang Yang replied. He had even surveyed the area from the sky. Though he hadn’t used his fire-eyed golden sight, he was confident he would have noticed any obvious damage or irregularities. “It’s strange… Could the tulips be hiding it?”

The moment he mentioned the tulips, he suddenly froze.

Bing Yuyan’s expression shifted as well.

If there had been a passage under the sea of tulips, why replant flowers to conceal it? What would be the point? If they loved flowers so much, why choose that exact location to dig? More importantly, looking around now, there were no visible entrances or pathways. Had it all been sealed again?

“Let’s leave. Now,” Zhang Yang said in a low, urgent voice.

But just as they began to move, a chilling sense of danger crept over them.

“Be careful!” Bing Yuyan shouted, pulling Zhang Yang close as a surge of powerful ice thunder erupted from her body, radiating outward in all directions.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

From within the emptied Spirit Saint Stone veins, bursts of light suddenly shot out. Forbidden Law Patterns ignited, releasing beams of radiant energy like swords, piercing straight toward them.

The ice thunder met them head-on.

However, the Forbidden Law Patterns fully activated, revealing their hidden presence from all directions. They linked together with beams of light, forming a massive array that instantly sealed the space around Zhang Yang and Bing Yuyan.

“We’ve been set up,” Bing Yuyan said gravely. “These are forbidden laws imbued with holy power, only a Saint could have created them. If a Saint really took the Spirit Saint Stone veins, there would’ve been no need to go this far unless… unless they knew you were coming. This trap wasn’t meant to protect, it was meant to kill. Someone knew you’d come here.”

Zhang Yang’s expression turned dark.

Could it have been… the moon-returning dragon?