Chapter 173: There’s a Way Now

Boom—

The door was violently shoved open, and a young boy rushed in, gasping for breath.

“Huff—huff—Senior Chu, something terrible has happened!”

Qin Mu wiped the sweat off his face; he had been sprinting all the way here.

Chu Jiujiu looked at the figure in front of her, casually walked over to Qin Mu, and said, “Young Master Qin, speak slowly, no need to panic.”

As she spoke, she lightly tapped her jade-like finger, and the kettle beside her automatically poured a cup of water, floating it over to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu took the cup and downed it in one gulp, his expression turning serious.

“Senior Chu, I’ve heard some shocking news!”

Before Qin Mu could specify what the news was, Chu Jiujiu curled her red lips and said,

“You’re talking about Ghost Elephant Mountain colluding with someone, right?”

Gah!

Qin Mu was dumbfounded.

“Senior Chu… you mean… you already know?”

“Of course. Although I don’t have complete control over the entire Gu Clan, here, in my village, everything is under my control—including the fact that I deliberately leaked my whereabouts these past few days for Ghost Elephant Mountain to find out.”

Chu Jiujiu spoke lightly, as she had already obtained this intelligence long ago.

Qin Mu opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

He had rushed over in panic to deliver the news, only to find that Senior Chu had it all under control.

He suddenly felt like a fool.

Seeing Qin Mu’s dejected look, Chu Jiujiu said,

“Still, I appreciate Young Master Qin coming all the way to inform me. Please, have a seat.”

Since everything was already under Chu Jiujiu’s control, Qin Mu stopped worrying and found an empty chair to sit on.

“Senior Chu, since you already know their plan, why not take action to stop it?”

Wasn’t it better to prevent trouble before it happens?

If things spiraled out of control in the end, wouldn’t it be a disaster?

Chu Jiujiu turned and sat down in the main seat, not hiding anything.

“Young Master Qin, have you ever fished for a big fish before?”

“I have.”

Qin Mu lied without a blush or a missed heartbeat.

How could he admit that he’d never caught a big fish, only small ones, and often returned empty-handed?

No way!

“Then, Young Master Qin, when you hook a big fish, you play with it, let it tire itself out, and then slowly reel it in. I’m waiting for all of them to show up, so I can catch them all in one net.”

I see!

“As expected of Senior Chu, your foresight is admirable. This junior is impressed!”

Qin Mu somewhat understood Senior Chu’s reasoning, but in the end, flattery was never a bad thing—no one disliked it, except for those with peculiar tastes, like masochists.

“I heard that Young Master Qin was looking for me this morning. What was it about?”

Chu Jiujiu had promised Qin Mu earlier that she would fully support him.

Qin Mu told Chu Jiujiu everything he had discovered, holding nothing back.

After listening, she fell into thought, then looked at Qin Mu.

“If Young Master Qin were standing at the Spiritual Energy Convergence Point, could you see more clearly?”

This stumped Qin Mu.

He had no idea.

But since it was a convergence point, there would probably be more branch veins or filaments.

“Probably? This junior isn’t sure either.”

Hearing this, Chu Jiujiu’s delicate, beautiful face broke into a smile.

“Young Master Qin, come with me to a place where the spirit energy is exceptionally dense.”

Hearing that he had to go somewhere again, Qin Mu immediately stood up.

“Senior Chu! I think… there’s no need for that in person, right?”

Given his constitution, everywhere he went triggered some tasks, both side and main.

“Young Master Qin, don’t worry. It’ll be quick.”

The next moment, Chu Jiujiu appeared right in front of Qin Mu.

His instinct was to run, but with his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, how could he escape the grasp of a Tribulation Stage cultivator?

Suddenly feeling a weight on his shoulder, Qin Mu knew without looking that it was Senior Chu’s hand.

He resigned himself and closed his eyes.

In just a few breaths, when Qin Mu opened his eyes again, he found himself facing an endless blue sea.

Where has this taken me?

If not for Chu Jiujiu standing beside him, Qin Mu would have thought he had been randomly tossed somewhere.

“Senior Chu, where is this?”

Listening to the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, Qin Mu marveled—just a moment ago he was in the main hall, and now he was by the sea.

The Tribulation Stage’s methods were truly formidable.

“Young Master Qin, sense the spirit vein here.”

Chu Jiujiu had brought Qin Mu all the way to the southernmost coast of the Heavenly Profound Continent.

Further in would be the island region.

Qin Mu’s eyes turned golden.

The green threads here were noticeably denser than where he had been last night.

Looking up, his pupils suddenly dilated.

Above him was a spirit vein much larger than the one last night, stretching all the way into the sea.

“Oh, kid, not bad. This scale—no mistake, it’s the main vein of the Southern Domain Region.”

The voice of the Divine Dragon echoed in Qin Mu’s mind.

A spirit vein of this scale truly shocked Qin Mu, but there was one difference from what he had seen last night.

Last night, the branch vein in the Gu Clan’s area had obvious blood-red streaks, but the main vein showed none.

“Senior Divine Dragon, what’s going on?”

Qin Mu was momentarily puzzled.

Had he seen wrong last night?

“Kid, don’t make a fuss. If the main vein were also contaminated, things would be much more serious. It seems only the branch vein in the Wildlands is affected. That makes it much easier to handle.”

The Divine Dragon began to educate Qin Mu.

As the main vein of a spirit vein, it contained an incredibly vast amount of spiritual energy and had a self-purification function.

Branch veins had similar functions, but weaker.

The smaller the branch vein, the weaker the self-purification.

As for the green threads, they had no self-purification function at all—they merely served as conduits for releasing spiritual energy.

When spiritual ingredients died, including various races of the Human Clan, they would eventually turn into spirit energy and return to the vein, forming a cycle.

Qin Mu nodded after listening.

Having a walking encyclopedia by his side was really handy.

Five-star rating!

“But Senior Divine Dragon, if that’s the case, isn’t this trip useless? There’s nothing wrong here.”

“Ah, not at all. If the main vein were also in trouble, our chances of success would be extremely slim. But since the main vein is safe, there’s a way. We can use the power of the main vein to expel the contaminant inside the Wildlands’ branch vein.”

Qin Mu instantly felt reinvigorated!

Seeing the joy in Qin Mu’s eyes, Chu Jiujiu quickly asked,

“Young Master Qin, have you come up with an idea?”

After all, even though Chu Jiujiu was at the Tribulation Stage, she couldn’t fully perceive the spirit vein’s existence.

She only had a vague sense of it.

Perhaps only by reaching the Great Ascension Realm could one faintly see its presence.