The stone door opened.
Inside was an octagonal stone chamber. Each corner of the chamber possessed a formation image, each one profoundly mysterious and intricate—all were formations, and all these formations were connected to a well at the very center.
The well was about a meter wide.
Its body was crimson red.
Inside, it emanated a relatively rich Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy.
This well was precisely the Spiritual Vein Source, also the central formation eye of the Yunxia Sect.
"Ever since the Yanyang Heart lost its efficacy, the Spiritual Vein Source dried up. Later, after the Calamity, it gradually recovered. But it was only the spiritual vein that recovered. Without the Yanyang Heart, the spiritual vein will eventually run dry one day."
Huode sighed with a heavy heart.
Gu Qingfeng stood beside the Spiritual Vein Source, projecting his divine sense to probe inside. Just as Huode had said, the Spiritual Vein Source was now only relying on the spiritual vein to nurture spiritual energy. A spiritual vein was ultimately just a spiritual vein; the Yanyang Heart was the foundation. Without the Yanyang Heart, this Blazing Sun spiritual vein would slowly wither away.
The relationship between the two was akin to the Golden Core of a cultivator.
With a Golden Core, one's spiritual power flowed endlessly.
Once the Golden Core was lost, the physical body would gradually wither.
After probing for a while and finding nothing unusual, Gu Qingfeng asked, "You said the Spiritual Vein Source has something strange about it?"
"Probe carefully. Is there something different about the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy?"
Different?
Gu Qingfeng carefully probed the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy nurtured by the Spiritual Vein Source. Apart from being somewhat impure, it didn't seem particularly different.
Hmm?
Gu Qingfeng's expression shifted slightly. He discovered the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy was not merely impure.
"Although we've lost the Yanyang Heart, the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy nurtured solely by the Blazing Sun spiritual vein might not be very pure. But, kid, have you noticed? The Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy is also somewhat chaotic. Especially recently, not only has it become extremely turbid, but it's also sometimes very unstable."
"At first, I thought it was influenced by the Great Nature's Spiritual Transformation. But this situation started even before the Great Nature's Spiritual Transformation, right after Hongxiu fused with the Yanyang Heart. It wasn't very obvious for all these years, but after the Great Nature's Spiritual Transformation, it suddenly became even more chaotic."
Gu Qingfeng probed carefully and discovered a peculiar Spiritual Breath contained within the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy. It was precisely this peculiar Spiritual Breath that caused the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy to become impure and unstable.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng said, "First, stop all the formations."
Huode nodded, his hands forming spirit seals. After a while, he finally stopped the operation of all the formations.
Once the formations stopped, the Spiritual Vein Source ceased nurturing spiritual energy.
Gu Qingfeng reached out a hand and instantly drew out every last bit of the remaining Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy from the Spiritual Vein Source. Then he projected his divine sense to probe again. This time, without the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy, that peculiar Spiritual Breath still existed, its source at the very bottom.
Gu Qingfeng followed it downward and was astonished to discover a formation hidden extremely deep.
He didn't know the name of this formation; it was the first time he'd seen it. However, the method of concealment impressed him greatly—it was hidden silently within the very structure of the Spiritual Vein Source, and the concealment was flawless, without a single flaw to be found.
As for why the formation was emitting a peculiar Spiritual Breath,
Gu Qingfeng examined it in detail. It wasn't due to any cause; it was deliberately emitted.
In other words, someone had hidden such a formation within the Spiritual Vein Source, intentionally letting the emitted Spiritual Breath merge with the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy.
Why?
Was it poisoning?
No!
Although Gu Qingfeng couldn't discern what that peculiar Spiritual Breath was, he was certain it wasn't a poisonous breath and likely held no harm. If it did, the people of the Yunxia Sect, having absorbed the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy all these years, would have long been dead.
But if it wasn't a poisonous breath and held no harm,
why set up such a formation?
What was the purpose?
Gu Qingfeng didn't continue pondering. After deducing the formation once, he began forming spirit seals. Turbid spiritual power crackling with lightning and sparks condensed at his fingertips. With a series of crisp crackling sounds, spirit seals emerged one after another in an instant—over nine hundred in the blink of an eye. With another gesture, another nine hundred-plus appeared…
In the time it takes to blink, over ten thousand spirit seals fell into the Spiritual Vein Source one after another.
Huode, watching from the side, was dumbfounded.
He knew Gu Qingfeng had always been monstrous.
Yes.
He knew.
Better than anyone.
But witnessing Gu Qingfeng form spirit seals with his own eyes now, the corner of his mouth still twitched uncontrollably, and his soul trembled.
He couldn't comprehend it.
It was a dazzling blur.
The crisp crackling sounds made his scalp tingle, his heart panic, and sent shivers down his spine.
This time, he wisely refrained from asking, fearing his heart couldn't take it.
When Gu Qingfeng stopped forming seals, a *bang* sounded from within the Spiritual Vein Source, followed by a surge of bloody mist that billowed out. The blood mist was vast and mighty. As it surged forth, it instantly filled the entire stone chamber. Enveloped by the blood mist, Huode immediately felt suffocated. The overwhelming pressure made him dare not breathe, dare not look up. His physical body felt as if it were being crushed, his soul as if squeezed.
Gu Qingfeng raised a hand, pulling Huode behind him. Though still enveloped by the blood mist, that overwhelming pressure had vanished. Huode's face was ashen, cold sweat pouring from his entire body. He collapsed on the ground, eyes wide, mouth agape, not even daring to take a deep breath. Meanwhile, Gu Qingfeng stood tall, his eyes slightly closed. Suddenly, he took a massive inhalation. At that moment, all the acupoints on his body opened wide. With a *whoosh*, he sucked all the blood mist into his body.
This scene was simply too monstrous, too exaggerated, making Huode's hair stand on end.
Opening his eyes, Gu Qingfeng raised his arm, fingers spread, palm facing down. With a forceful pull, a crystal gradually emerged.
The crystal was crimson red throughout, its surface shimmering with a mysterious luster, but inside it held a single drop of blood.
"This…
What is this?"
Huode's voice was hoarse, unsure if from fright or sheer astonishment.
"It should be a Blazing Sun Seed."
For the Yunxia Sect, occupying a Blazing Sun spiritual vein and nurturing a Blazing Sun Seed wasn't particularly strange.
What was truly strange was that drop of blood inside this Blazing Sun Seed.
And Gu Qingfeng could tell that the peculiar Spiritual Breath from before originated precisely from this drop of blood.
What was going on here?
Who would fuse a drop of blood into a Blazing Sun Seed and then disperse it through the Spiritual Vein Source?
The drop of blood inside was sealed within the Blazing Sun Seed. Gu Qingfeng examined it. The technique was remarkably similar to that used to seal souls in the Lunar Seed. It was likely Yun Nishang's doing. Moreover, whether it was the seal on the Blazing Sun Seed or the formation hidden within the Spiritual Vein Source, both dated back around three thousand years. This meant that for three millennia, almost all the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy absorbed by everyone in the Yunxia Sect had been connected to this drop of blood.
Why?
Gu Qingfeng pondered, then suddenly, his narrowed eyes snapped open as a thought struck him inwardly.
Three thousand years ago, Yun Nishang sealed her own seven souls, performed a supreme technique, destroyed her own physical body, and passed on her legacy through her bloodline.
Bloodline inheritance held too many variables.
No one could guarantee the bloodline would definitely be passed down. Even if it was passed down, the bloodline might not necessarily awaken.
Yun Nishang hid a drop of her own blood within the Yunxia Sect's Spiritual Vein Source, dispersing it through the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy.
Her purpose was likely to stimulate her own bloodline.
What puzzled Gu Qingfeng was, how did she know her bloodline inheritance would definitely be within the Yunxia Sect?
He didn't know and couldn't figure it out.
But one thing was certain: Yun Nishang had succeeded.
Otherwise, Hongxiu wouldn't be in the Yunxia Sect, nor could she have awakened. This might be related to the Yanyang Heart, but more so, it was due to the influence of this drop of blood.