At the end of the underground passage, a faint white light appeared in Liu Yu's sight. A moment later, Liu Yu and Han Yue, following him, arrived at a cave entrance shimmering with white light.
Liu Yu didn't mind Han Yue following him in.
Entering the cave, Liu Yu and Han Yue were greeted by a subterranean world filled with stalactites. The milky white stalactites stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see, emitting a pale white glow that illuminated the entire subterranean world.
While Liu Yu remained indifferent, Han Yue was filled with awe. This was her first time witnessing such a breathtaking natural wonder. The ubiquitous stalactites reminded her of a rare treasure that might be nurtured within this treasured land—the Earth's Core Tempering Milk!
Furthermore, the Snow Demon Sky Ape, a fifth-level magical beast, could speak human language, most likely due to this Earth's Core Tempering Milk.
At this moment, Liu Yu released his invisible soul force, sensing the concentration of energy in this underground world. Upon discovering a spot where the earth's power was most intense, he headed towards it.
His target soon appeared before him: a massive stalactite, one end connecting to the mountain's dome and the other plummeting downward. Its immense size was a hundred meters long and as wide as two people could hug.
A pale white light enveloped it, illuminating it like a crystal pillar. This stalactite was undoubtedly the largest in the underground world, a king among stalactites.
Beneath it lay a massive bluestone, mostly buried beneath the earth. At its summit, a recess less than half a foot deep filled with a milky liquid, a faint white mist lingering above it that seemed to never dissipate.
Han Yue, who happened to be beside Liu Yu, breathed in a breath of fresh air and felt instantly refreshed, as if her entire body were nourished and ethereal.
"Earth Core Tempering Milk, formed by the forces of heaven and earth, takes a hundred years to become mist, a thousand years to become liquid, and ten thousand years to become milk..." Han Yue muttered, a flicker of desire in her clear eyes. This was a truly rare treasure of heaven and earth. If she could consume some, she would quickly break through to the Dou Wang realm!
Liu Yu glanced at the diluted Earth Core Tempering Milk and immediately transformed his Dou Qi into wings, soaring upward along the massive vertical stalactite. He wanted to first obtain the pure, authentic Earth Core Tempering Milk.
Liu Yu quickly reached the summit of the mountain dome. There were also several hanging stalactites around it. Where the giant stalactite touched the mountain dome, a faint fluorescence permeated the stalactite, illuminating it with a beautiful, transparent crystal.
With a thought, the Thousand Machine Fan from the system space appeared in Liu Yu's hand. With a flash of blood, the Thousand Machine Fan instantly transformed into a small knife.
Liu Yu sensed the approximate position of the liquid within the stalactite and gently cut into it along its base.
The knife gently touched the stalactite, then sank into its crystal-like form. With exquisite skill, Liu Yu sliced through it in a circular motion.
"Crack!"
The knife sliced through the stalactite, and a circular fragment of stalactite fell away. Liu Yu used his feather soul power to lift it aside. Simultaneously, a powerful light suddenly burst out from the fragment's location.
Within the stalactite, a viscous, emerald-colored liquid suspended in a cloud. As if possessed by a spirit, this liquid slowly flowed through the stalactite, imbued with an extremely pure energy.
This was the true Earth-Tempering Body Milk, and only the most mellow jade could protect it. The most common items in Liu Yu's ring were jade bottles and jade boxes, used to store elixirs, and today they came in handy again.
He removed two jade bottles, cut one in half with the knife, and used it as a jade spoon. Carefully, he inserted the spoon into the stalactite, scooping out a large portion of the Earth-Tempering Body Milk and pouring it into the other jade bottle.
After collecting the jade bottle containing the Earth Core Tempering Milk, Liu Yu used his soul power to reattach the fallen stalactite fragments, restoring the stalactite to its original state.
A portion of the Earth Core Tempering Milk still remained within the stalactite, and after a period of nurturing, it could be retrieved again.
It's an unwritten rule in the alchemy world to leave a silver lining. When encountering rare treasures, one must not destroy their roots, so as to preserve them and leave a path for future generations.
As a high-level alchemist, Liu Yu naturally led by example.
After obtaining the true Earth Core Tempering Milk, Liu Yu slowly descended from the dome and landed beside the bluestone.
Han Yue, still standing there, bit her red lips upon seeing Liu Yu return, wanting to ask if she could take some of the Earth Core Tempering Milk, but she didn't know how to begin.
"There's quite a bit of 'Earth Core Tempering Milk' in here. You can take some." Liu Yu noticed that the 'Earth Core Tempering Milk' in the groove hadn't been touched, and seeing her hesitate to speak, a 'jade spoon' suddenly appeared in his hand. He offered it to her, chuckling softly.
Han Yue glanced at Liu Yu gratefully, then took the 'jade spoon'. A fleeting smile, like a fleeting flower, crossed her cool, pretty face. "Thank you. My name is Han Yue."
Liu Yu nodded gently in response, his face betraying no emotion, though a hint of surprise lingered within him.
'Han Yue,' and someone from the Inner Court, must be the Han Yue from Zhongzhou.
Han Yue then pulled a jade bottle from her ring and carefully scooped some 'Earth Core Tempering Milk' into the bottle with the 'jade spoon' before handing it back to Liu Yu.
Liu Yu looked at the half-filled jade bottle, considering the 'Earth Core Tempering Milk' in the groove on the bluestone table could easily fill five or six bottles, so he didn't take the 'jade spoon'.
"Fill it up!"
Han Yue's gentle words touched her heart, and she gave up her pretense and filled the jade bottle in her hand.
Liu Yu then took out several jade bottles and poured all the "Earth Core Tempering Milk" into them, filling five of them completely.
Although this was diluted, the effect was quite good. While it couldn't quite cleanse the marrow and refine the bones, it still had a significant tempering effect on the body, a kind of knock-off version of the Earth Core Tempering Milk.
"Can I know your name?" Han Yue asked, looking at Liu Yu pretentiously.
"Liu Yu," she replied casually, and Liu Yu was the first to stand up and leave the underground world.
Han Yue followed closely behind. As they entered the passage, Liu Yu asked Han Yue to go out first, as he had some matters to attend to.
A moment later, sensing Han Yue had left the cave, Liu Yu manifested a blood-red longsword in his hand. Simultaneously, a raging ice-blue flame surged into the sword, and suddenly, a blood-red glow blazed brightly!
Under the illumination of this blood-red light, with the blood-red light as the center, blood-red ice crystals continuously blossomed and spread throughout the passage.
A constant flow of power poured into the blood sword, making it shine even brighter. At this moment, the small passage where Liu Yu was located was completely filled with blood-red ice crystals. Seeing that the time was almost right, Liu Yu fiercely plunged the blood sword into the passage.
"Boom!"
In an instant, an icy force containing extreme cold surged out from Liu Yu as the center, and everything it passed was turned into a thick layer of blood-colored ice. In the blink of an eye, under the perception of Liu Yu's soul power, most of the passage was already filled with blood-colored ice crystals, and the blood-colored ice crystals were still spreading.
Seeing his goal nearly achieved, Liu Yu quietly spread his six blood-red wings. With the ripples of space, Liu Yu disappeared into the passage, which was about to be completely frozen.
...
Han Yue, exiting the cave, felt a surge of extremely cold air surge through it. Because her fighting spirit was of the ice attribute, she could sense the general situation within.
At this moment, the void of space slightly distorted, and Liu Yu suddenly appeared in mid-air.
"I hope you can keep my affairs confidential." Liu Yu lowered his head slightly and looked at Han Yue below.
"Yes!" Han Yue nodded gently. Although Liu Yu was probably the uninvited guest who had intruded into the inner courtyard, she felt that he was not a bad person, and she had also received benefits from him. "
A teachable child," Liu Yu thought to himself. Then, a jade bottle appeared in his hand and floated in front of Han Yue.
"This is hush money. Then, we'll meet again if we're destined to."
With a vague and ethereal voice, Liu Yu disappeared silently into the small valley.
Looking at the jade bottle in his hand, Han Yue's expression was bewildering, his thoughts unsettled...
...
The mountains behind this inner courtyard were quite vast, in some ways comparable to the Magic Beast Mountains of the Gama Empire.
It would take Han Yue quite some time to escape from these vast mountains. If danger arose, she should be careful and her life would be safe.
Liu Yu had shown his utmost kindness to Han Yue, allowing her two bottles of "Earth Core Tempering Milk," one as compensation for her involvement in this incident, and one as hush money and travel expenses.
Liu Yu was now soaring slowly above the forest. This time, he would return to the Tianfen Refining Qi Tower to quickly obtain the source of the Fallen Heart Flame. Then, he would journey to the Eastern Continent to search for the unknown strange fire.
As Liu Yu pondered this, a loud movement somewhere below caught his attention. "Stinking monkey, I'm just eating one of your fruits, why are you yelling like a monkey? It's so noisy!" A little girl in white, looking no more than twelve or thirteen, had long lavender hair that
fell to her waist. Her face was as delicate as jade, and her clear, watery purple eyes held a sly slyness. In her tiny hands, she held a golden, ape-shaped fruit. As she spoke, she took a bite, and golden liquid dripped from it. "Roar!" Opposing the little girl was a golden ape, roughly three meters tall. Its arms were slender and powerful, its muscles exceptionally developed, bulging and rock-hard. Anger nearly overflowed from the golden ape's golden eyes. This golden fruit was his companion, the "Mighty Vajra Fruit," which contained immense energy and could also temper the body. This fruit only ripened once every hundred years, and there were only a few of them, all essential for his cultivation. Yet, one had been stolen by the thief before him. "Roar!" The golden ape pounded its chest, a dull drum-like sound. With a roar, its fists shone with golden light. Bend its knees and exert force, it instantly transformed into a streak of golden light and launched itself forward. Seeing this ferocious blow, the little girl paused, clenched her fists, and gathered a dense ball of purple energy. She flew forward and punched directly at the ape. "Boom!" The golden and purple energies collided, and the radiating energy ripples destroyed the surrounding trees, creating a small clearing. Both figures were sent flying backward simultaneously. It was incredible that within this petite frame, the little girl possessed power comparable to that of a fifth-tier magical beast. Steadying herself in mid-air, the little girl shook her delicate white hands, took a bite of the golden fruit in her other hand, and challenged, "You stinky monkey, aren't you strong enough to withstand a punch from me!" Then, transformed into a streak of purple light, she charged at the golden ape again. The ape, hearing this provocative remark, grew even more enraged and roared in return. In the artificially created clearing, golden and purple light flickered continuously. In a brief moment, the little girl and the golden ape had already exchanged several punches. Liu Yu, observing from the shadows, looked at the little girl in white and, after a brief moment's reflection, he roughly determined her identity. She looked "very young," could swallow medicinal herbs directly, and withstand their wild power. She also possessed brute strength, capable of battling a fifth-tier monster with her physical strength alone. And since she had appeared in the mountains behind the inner courtyard, it was almost certain she was Zi Yan! The most legitimate royal family of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, his father was the former Taixu Ancient Dragon Emperor, Zhu Kun, a peak-level Nine-Star Dou Sheng. He was one of the Dou Qi Continent's most powerful figures. The only flaw was that, due to his greed, he had been trapped in the Ancient Emperor's Cave. Ah, a false figure... (Zhu Kun: ...) One more "little brother" meant one more way out. This Dou Qi Continent wasn't about fighting and killing, but about the "human relationships and worldly wisdom." Liu Yu had already convinced himself that he planned to seize the opportunity, sell a favor, and then lure him with elixirs to recruit a little brother. In the small clearing, the battle between Zi Yan and the golden ape reached a fever pitch, both sides clashing with true rage. "Roar!" The golden ape, sent flying backwards once again, roared to the heavens, its entire body aglow with a dazzling golden light that shot straight into the sky. Within the golden light, the golden ape underwent a breathtaking transformation! Originally only about three meters in size, it suddenly expanded to around fifty or sixty meters. Golden energy raged throughout its body, a terrifying sight. The golden giant ape hunched slightly, looking down at the tiny ant at its feet. The golden air exhaled from its massive nostrils, transforming into a golden whirlwind that roared towards Zi Yan. Is this akin to a natural ability to grow in size? Truly a terrifying one. Originally only three meters tall, it had now exploded to fifty or sixty meters, nearly twenty times its original size. While size doesn't guarantee strength, it certainly does, Liu Yu muttered. This golden ape seems even stronger than the Snow Demon Sky Ape. Originally a mere one-star Dou Wang, its aura now rivals that of several high-ranking Dou Wangs. However, its weakness is also obvious: it's too clumsy. A lower-ranking Dou Wang with speed could easily outlast it until its transformation is complete. Against the Snow Demon Sky Ape, the odds are even more stacked. After all, the white ape is incredibly fast, especially after activating its Berserk Bloodline. (End of Chapter)