Chapter 350: Chapter 297: Top-Quality Divine Vein_2

Li Cheng gave Monk Wumo a glance and agreed, “That makes perfect sense.”

But what if it’s not?

With that thought, Li Cheng took out the Brightness-Extinguish Hundred Lotus and filled it with one hundred and twenty Soul Extinguishing Needles, one hundred and eight of medium quality, and twelve of high quality.

Monk Wumo watched with twitching eyelids; the mere sight of these Soul Extinguishing Needles made his scalp tingle. Was he sure they weren’t taken out just to intimidate him?

But then, remembering they were both Demon-suppressing Envoys and should not fight amongst themselves, Monk Wumo relaxed.

“There’s no need to break this Formation; we can sneak right in. Follow me,” Li Cheng said as he put away the Brightness-Extinguish Hundred Lotus.

Under Li Cheng’s lead, they moved as if the Natural Array didn’t exist at all, and after the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a valley several tens of miles wide appeared before them.

The valley was silent, not even the sound of insects or birds could be heard.

“Amitabha, the monk was wrong, there seems to be no Demon Race here,” the monk sighed.

Li Cheng’s eyes were fixed on the two-mile-wide lake at the center of the valley. “Divine Monk, do you eat fish?” he asked.

The monk shook his head, “How can a monk take a life? How can I eat meat?”

But then his tone changed, and he added: “However, Buddha said, ‘Wine and meat pass through the intestines while the Buddha stays in the heart.’ I have always been mindful of the Buddha’s teachings.”

Li Cheng was no longer surprised by Monk Wumo’s antics; it would have indeed been strange if he didn’t eat.

Having Buddha to take the blame, the fellow surely wouldn’t hesitate to indulge in sensual pleasures.

“Then we are in for a treat, for there are many Snow Spirit Fish in the lake,” said Li Cheng.

The monk nodded, licking his lips, “Amitabha, this monk shall catch a few and liberate them!”

As he spoke, the monk was already above the lake, and with one scoop, more than ten Snow Spirit Fish, each over a foot long, flew out as he muttered, “Shame, I didn’t bring any seasonings.”

Li Cheng arrived leisurely as the monk was already casually preparing the Snow Spirit Fish, appearing to hesitate over how to eat them.

“The flesh of Snow Spirit Fish has the miraculous effect of enhancing one’s Divine Soul, and the taste is exquisite. No seasoning is needed, for often high-end ingredients require only simple cooking. Roast them and eat!”

As Li Cheng spoke, Divine Fire surged forth, and he had the fish perfectly grilled within a few breaths.

“Donor speaks the truth, I’ve learned something new!” exclaimed the monk as he feasted.

While eating, Li Cheng gazed at the lake, which had at least tens of thousands of fish. But that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that the place where Snow Spirit Fish thrived had very rich Divine Qi.

There must be something good at the bottom of this lake!

Monk Wumo clearly knew this too, as his eyes occasionally flicked to the lake, but he didn’t speak up; it seemed he was waiting for Li Cheng to initiate the proposition.

Li Cheng, unhurried, finished eating and washed his hands at the lakeside, feeling the mighty Divine Qi contained in the water and more certain of his speculation.

Unable to hold back, the monk was the first to speak, “Donor, shall we explore the bottom of the lake together? Whatever we find can be split evenly.”

“That was exactly my intention,” Li Cheng smiled. As his mind sank into the Storage Ring, he filled the Ten Thousand Destruction Box with the remaining three hundred and ninety-eight high-quality Soul Extinguishing Needles, just in case.

If there happened to be some kind of treasure below, this monk might not play fair and could end up ‘liberating’ him.

So it was better to be cautious.

If it came to that, he could just throw the Ten Thousand Destruction Box and hide in the Blunt Empty Residence.

Monk Wumo remained calm as both dove towards the bottom of the lake. The deeper they went, the mightier the Divine Qi in the water became, nearly turning into Divine Fluid, but it also greatly hindered Divine Sense exploration.

After diving a kilometer, the surroundings became narrow, and Divine Stones started to appear on the rock walls.

Diving another hundred meters, the rock walls were almost completely covered with Divine Stones. Yet neither of them was distracted, continuing to descend.

Looking at the one-meter-wide passage at the bottom, they exchanged glances and proceeded together. Finally, the way before them opened up.

The entire lake was like an hourglass. After passing through that several hundred-meter narrow channel, it once again became spacious.

This underwater space spanned a colossal kilometer, and as far as the eye could see, the surrounding rock walls were made entirely of Divine Stones, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the lakebed.

“They’re all high-quality Divine Stones, we’ve struck it rich… Amitabha, the monk has become attached!”

“Good heavens! Donor, look, that is a Divine Vein taking shape!”

“Amitabha, the monk has become attached again!”

Li Cheng gave the monk a speechless glance, then turned his attention to the dragon-shaped Divine Vein that was ten zhang long at the bottom of the lake.

The Divine Vein is a special existence formed by the constant gathering of Divine Qi over the years, similar in principle to the Spirit Veins of the Lower World.

When choosing a location for a monastery, one must select a place with a Spirit Vein, so as to ensure the monastery enjoys dense Spiritual Energy.

But whether it’s a Spirit Vein or a Divine Vein, they generally appear when a large amount of the Order of Heaven and Earth accumulates and attracts nature’s spiritual energy.

Even after the Order of Heaven and Earth disperses, the already formed Veins can exist for a very long time.

A Divine Vein that has condensed into a form, like the one before him, is known as a superior Divine Vein. One of them is comparable to ten thousand ordinary Divine Veins, and even an ordinary Divine Vein is valued in the tens of billions.

There are rumors that Veins, both Spiritual and Divine, that have formed shapes may give birth to Spiritual Wisdom. Such a vein could sustain a whole Domain and is truly considered an Ancestor Vein.

Li Cheng didn’t know whether the rumors were true or false, but the one before him, although it had taken shape, didn’t possess Spiritual Wisdom, or else it would have likely fled by now.

“Donor, if this superior Divine Vein could be taken out, it would be enough to exchange for several Divine Dynasties. I wonder if the donor is interested?”

“I’m not interested in controlling a Divine Dynasty, but I am very interested in the Divine Vein,” Li Cheng said.

Monk Wumo nodded, “Wealth is but an external possession; the donor must not cling to appearances.”

“Hmm, the Divine Monk has profound Buddhist Law and should not be enamored with wealth. As the saying goes, ‘If I don’t go to hell, who will?’ The issue of clinging to appearances might as well be left to me!” Li Cheng casually said.

Monk Wumo’s mouth twitched and he coughed dryly, “Without the Divine World, one simply doesn’t have the power to collect Divine Veins, so even if the donor wishes to cling to appearances, it’s impossible!”

“So we leave empty-handed?” Li Cheng laughed.

Monk Wumo pressed his palms together, “Amitabha! Being able to see such a rare object is already a blessing. I do not wish to be blinded by wealth. Please, donor, as you wish.”

After saying that, the fellow quickly left the way they came.

Li Cheng pondered, uncertain of the monk’s intentions. Was he truly giving up or was he playing the mantis stalking the cicada?

Regardless, this superior Divine Vein was his to claim!

No longer detecting the monk’s presence, Li Cheng promptly activated his Domain, enveloping the entire underwater area.

The Domain rapidly expanded, covering not only a kilometer’s breadth of the underwater Space but also spanning a hundred meters in all directions beyond the stone walls.

Right after, Li Cheng willed it and brought it into the Blunt Empty Residence!

Within Blunt Empty Residence, on one side of the courtyard’s fertile ground, a spherical object of enormous size suddenly appeared.

Li Cheng materialized alongside it, controlling the ground to separate and embed the sphere into it, then neatly arranged the environment, forming a lake with a diameter of one kilometer.

“What are you up to, you brat? Bringing a whole lake here… Wait a minute, are those all high-grade Divine Stones?” Ao Jiugai appeared, eyes wide with shock.

Li Cheng had cleaved off half of the spherical object and placed it beside the lake. It was twelve hundred meters in diameter, resembling a colossal bowl with walls a hundred meters thick, seventy to eighty meters of which were filled with Divine Stones!

Mostly high-grade, with a few medium and low-grade ones.

“That’s not the main point, the main point’s at the bottom of the lake!”

Li Cheng spoke and then left Blunt Empty Residence.

Returning to the previous location, he saw a large amount of lake water pouring down, the thunderous sound unceasing; soon the area would be filled, while the lake above would naturally have a lot less water.

Without lingering, Li Cheng burst out of the narrow cave mouth, swimming upstream while casually using his Divine Sense to collect Snow Spirit Fish longer than one chi into the Blunt Empty Residence.

As he emerged above the lake surface, he saw that a whirlpool had formed, and the water level was rapidly decreasing.

By the lakeside, Monk Wumo, who had eaten half a Snow Spirit Fish, was dumbfounded, “You… you actually took that thing?”

“Just luck. But as for the monk, he seems to have been sneaking a bite,” Li Cheng said offhandedly.

Monk Wumo took another voracious bite of the fish, suddenly finding it tasteless.

“Exquisite! Congratulations to the donor!” Wiping his mouth, the monk gave a prayer with his hands pressed together.

Seeing that Monk Wumo had no intention of making a move, Li Cheng quietly heaved a sigh of relief, flew to the lakeside, grabbed the fish that the monk had cooked, and as he ate, said, “I’ve reaped the rewards, so it wouldn’t be right to let the Divine Monk go away empty-handed. How about I help the monk with alchemy?”

Since the other party had no intention of robbing him, Li Cheng didn’t want to hog all the benefits. Since he couldn’t split the Divine Vein, he might as well offer something like alchemy.

Monk Wumo grinned, “The donor is generous. The Snow Spirit Fish have been taken by the donor, over thirty thousand of them. Might this poor monk claim ten thousand?”

Li Cheng subtly raised an eyebrow, put ten thousand fish into a Storage Bag with a smile and said, “I’ll trouble the monk to deliver them salvation!”