Chapter 7: The Scalding Spirit Stone

The deeper Chen Chushi dug into the heart of the mountain, the denser the spiritual energy became. Just by sitting down and cultivating for ten minutes, he could replenish all his depleted mana! With such abundant resources, he seemed to transform into an emotionless digging automaton, working ever more diligently. As for the "drill"—the stream of water—though it could be endlessly reformed, repeated use inevitably led to some loss. Fortunately, the deeper soil was moist enough for water molecules to condense and continue the task...

Two hours later, deep within the pitch-black tunnel.

He was in the midst of a vigorous dig when his "hydraulic drill" suddenly shattered with a bang! His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, and he could see that he'd just reached a patch of paler soil...

So hard?

Diamond soil?

He tried grabbing a handful and kneading it. It was somewhat tough, but with a bit of force, it crumbled easily. His "hydraulic drill" could cut through rock—how could it be stymied by mere soil? Puzzled, he gathered water into a drill again and pressed it into the soil. There was another loud bang, a jarring rebound that made his hand ache, the tip of the drill exploded, and the soil only showed a tiny dent.

How peculiar—these soils seemed to be simply repelling mana.

Chen Chushi tested further, confirming his suspicion: when touched by mana, the soil hardened into blocks, but could be easily dug through by hand...

So, he began clawing his way forward with his bare hands. Progress was slow, but the deeper he went, the paler and even more translucent the soil became, until suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his finger—he’d uncovered a milky white pebble.

A surge of pure spiritual energy rushed over him, and Chen Chushi felt every cell in his body stir restlessly.

A white stone—could it be a crystalized spirit stone?

He held the white stone and cultivated on the spot. A torrent of spiritual energy flooded into his body, pristine and far superior to the thin energy he'd absorbed outside! The little stone contained highly concentrated spiritual energy, so much so that Chen Chushi felt an involuntary gasp of pleasure escape his lips...

Once drained of its energy, the spirit stone turned gray and crumbled with the slightest pressure, indistinguishable from the surrounding soil. Could it be that everything around him had once been spirit stones long ago? The thought struck Chen Chushi with awe. If so, this would be a paradise for cultivators...

Stretching his limbs, Chen Chushi suddenly felt an internal tremor—a direct breakthrough to the third level of Qi Refinement!

Such an effortless advancement left him dumbfounded.

Cultivation... it seemed almost too easy.

But who would refuse such a smooth path? Spurred on, Chen Chushi dug deeper into the mountain, uncovering more and more fragments and small pieces of spirit stones. Some were buried in the soil, others embedded in rocks. He dug out the ones in the earth by hand, smashed the rocks for those inside, and if a stone proved unbreakable... well, he simply moved on to the next. In short, he absorbed every fragment along the way.

Fragments or small spirit stones—it made no difference. Nothing was wasted.

After breaking through to the third layer of Qi Refinement, Chen Chushi felt as if another breakthrough was imminent, and couldn't help but feel a little speechless.

At that moment, his swinging fist struck a rock. The rock didn't even crack, but his hand nearly did. What kind of stone was this? He hadn't used mana, so it shouldn't have been repelled...

The outer layer of the rock flaked off, and his pupils contracted sharply!

It was actually a giant spirit stone over a meter tall, radiating even purer energy. Chen Chushi, delighted, placed his hand upon it. With the help of such a massive stone, breaking through to the fourth, or even fifth or sixth layers of Qi Refinement would be no problem!

Hiss—

A searing pain shot through his hand, and he jerked it away. A burn, red and black, marred his palm...

What was this?

The giant spirit stone was actually scalding to the touch?

Chen Chushi channeled mana into the burn, gently massaging his palm. The pain intensified as the energy gathered, but the wound healed visibly...

He sat on the ground, scrutinizing the giant spirit stone up and down. In appearance, it was no different from the smaller stones—the only difference was its size. Yet, there was no detectable heat, so why did it burn him?

His exhaustive knowledge of cultivation offered no case of a spirit stone that became hot.

After much deliberation, Chen Chushi decided to try absorbing the stone’s energy by different means every five minutes. Fortunately, he was prepared each time, and the injuries remained minor.

Once healed, he tested again!

This was the thirty-second attempt to absorb the giant spirit stone.

He gathered mana in his palm and slapped it forcefully onto the stone. If the stone repelled any kind of power, he’d at least take the opportunity to attempt a quick absorption...

Bang!!!

The spirit stone was sent flying by the blow, tumbling before coming to rest embedded in the soil once more! Chen Chushi’s palm stung, his knuckles ached—he could clearly feel the stone rejecting his energy, yet he couldn’t absorb even a trace.

Frustrated, he focused mana into his fingertip and struck the giant stone from a distance...

At that touch, ripples of light shimmered across the stone’s surface. Suddenly, a multitude of black characters appeared, binding the stone like ropes. As an enthusiast of ancient culture, Chen Chushi immediately recognized them as pictographs!

Pictographic writing emerged early in history. Different regions had their own unique ways of expressing meaning. During the Qin dynasty, there were over twenty different forms for a single character such as 'sword.' In the era of pictographs, with even less standardization, the same thing could be written in countless ways...

Bound by the pictographs, the giant spirit stone began to crack, shedding a fragment. After about ten minutes, the characters gradually faded, and the stone ceased to tremble.

This strange phenomenon made Chen Chushi wary. He carefully picked up the fallen fragment. With mana circulating, the small stone lay quietly in his palm, not exhibiting any bizarre temperature. He tried to absorb it, and indeed, succeeded—though the purity of the energy was much lower than the whole stone naturally emitted...

Once the fragment was entirely drained, it crumbled to dust on the ground. Further contact with mana met with fierce repulsion...

Bold conjecture, careful verification!

Chen Chushi speculated—

The spirit stones had been sealed by some force, a force that simultaneously repelled mana. The smaller stones were like fish that slipped through the net, not fully sealed, but the sealing power still lingered inside. Thus, when a small stone was exhausted and turned to dust, the soil retained the power to repel mana...

Solar helium flash, humanity fleeing into space on starships—this was a classic modern science fiction world. All Chen Chushi wanted was to find spiritual energy in the mountains, to see if he could unearth a few spirit stones. How had it turned into the discovery of something so extraordinary...

He let out a long breath, removed his coat, wrapped the giant spirit stone, and slung it onto his back. As long as he used no mana and didn't attempt to absorb it, carrying it wrapped in clothing would avoid repulsion. There was no point in digging further; he could tell from the surrounding soil that all the stones here had been sealed, the seals like pythons coiling around their prey, crushing the spirit stones, which, once depleted of energy, turned to earth. Though he had no proof, he suspected no new spirit stones would ever form here...

With the giant stone on his back, he climbed out through the tunnel he had dug.

Dusting himself off, Chen Chushi began his descent from the mountain, carrying the giant spirit stone. He might be a cultivator now, but the mountain air was still biting cold.

Aboard the starship, in the department dedicated to research on Earth's survivors.

The staff, upon seeing the protagonist arrive, lit up with joy and busied themselves analyzing his data.