Chapter 162: CH. 162 | Paradise Called Saintess Spring Valley
At first, Lin Tian thought the Saintess Spring Valley was hidden inside a cave or an underground dungeon.
But the moment his feet touched the grassy cliff, an incredible sight unfolded before his eyes.
Warm sunlight bathed the entire valley in a comforting glow.
A vast forest stretched endlessly before him. Several floating islands hovered high in the sky, pouring waterfalls without end. The cascading water bent the sunlight, creating brilliant rainbows.
Birds flew freely overhead. The grass and trees looked unbelievably lifelike. The air was fresh, and a gentle breeze swept past them.
The breathtaking scenery looked like a paradise from the heavens.
Lin Tian was left speechless. Li Qingxue walked over as he slowly approached the edge of the cliff.
"This place... is far better than I imagined," Lin Tian said.
"The Saintess Spring Valley was created through the Saintess’s immense spiritual power long ago. This separate dimension was said to be where she sought a higher Dao comprehension," Li Qingxue replied.
"Could she have been stuck at the Nascent Soul Realm?"
Li Qingxue let out a soft laugh at his question. Her eyes remained fixed on the endless forest and floating islands beneath the clear blue sky.
"Do you really think the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator alone could create a real dimension like this?"
Lin Tian turned toward her.
Li Qingxue continued explaining the Saintess’s identity based on everything she’d learned as a core disciple of the Yuntian Sect.
"From what I understand, the Saintess lived during the Empire’s Golden Age. The Dao she pursued was completely different from what Nascent Soul cultivators seek. The same goes for this dimensional space."
"It’s possible... she needed to elevate her Dao comprehension beyond the limits of the Mortal Stage."
"What do you mean?"
Li Qingxue smiled before turning to look at the curious Lin Tian.
"She was an Ascension cultivator. Just half a step away from the Immortal Realm."
Ascension? The Immortal Realm?
Lin Tian was slightly surprised, but not enough to show it.
He already understood that Ascension couldn’t possibly be the end of cultivation. The universe was far too vast, and too little was known about the Immortal Realm.
"How do you know the Immortal Realm exists?"
"The Qin Sect Alliance has been searching for artifacts and historical records from the Empire’s Golden Age. We learned that Ascension is the peak of the Mortal Realm, while the Immortal Realm exists above Ascension," Li Qingxue answered.
"I don’t fully understand what it’s actually like."
"But that’s not something we need to worry about right now."
"Our priority is finding the Soul Spring and restoring your soul while hoping to receive heavenly enlightenment through the Saintess’s blessing."
Lin Tian understood that he hadn’t come to the valley to study the Immortal Realm.
His goal was to restore his injured soul and find an opportunity to break through to the Soul Formation Realm.
If fortune favored them, both of them might achieve a breakthrough during this trip.
I can’t let myself get distracted.
I have to stay focused on my goal.
He tapped his bag of holding and took out the map token Zhu Wei had given him. Li Qingxue looked at it with confusion.
Lin Tian formed a simple hand seal before channeling spiritual qi into the token. His eyes glowed white.
A crimson route appeared before his vision as the map synchronized directly with his mind.
"What’s that?" Li Qingxue asked.
"Before I came here, Zhu Wei of the Zhu Clan made a deal with me."
"He gave me a Heaven-grade technique in exchange for rescuing his two children."
"The token contains a map leading to the palace ruins of the Yang Sun Ring and the Yin Moon Mirror."
"Yin and Yang?" Li Qingxue frowned.
"What should we do? It looks like we’ll have to go to two different places."
"Should we split up?" she asked.
Lin Tian stored the token away before looking toward the direction indicated by the crimson qi path.
"We’re staying together."
"Let’s go."
The two of them shot forward, leaving the cliff behind as they flew among the white clouds.
A year ago, when the ancient gate to this valley first opened, countless cultivators had entered to gamble with their lives.
Lin Tian could easily imagine how crowded this place must’ve been back then.
Now, however, everything was different. Not a single cultivator could be seen. Even the lingering traces of qi had nearly faded away.
The valley was eerily silent. No one was here except the two of them.
It made their journey feel both quick and safe.
But it didn’t last long. Lin Tian’s eyes narrowed sharply.
He suddenly stopped and grabbed Li Qingxue’s hand, pulling her backward.
"What is it?" Li Qingxue asked.
"Something’s coming."
Lin Tian looked toward the two floating islands ahead. Two spiritual beasts flew out and landed directly in front of them.
Powerful qi swept across the area as fierce winds howled around them. Two medium-sized wolves appeared before them.
Their fur was silver-white, and each had a glowing blue crescent moon mark on its forehead.
They let out loud howls, releasing dense Yin mist that quickly engulfed the surrounding area.
Lin Tian and Li Qingxue immediately went on guard.
Although the qi they emitted was only at the Profound-grade spiritual beast level, the thick, freezing Yin mist made them extremely difficult to track.
An attack could come from anywhere without warning.
Such overwhelming Yin energy... These must be guardian spiritual beasts.
"Can you still detect them?" Li Qingxue asked.
"Let’s get rid of this mist first," Lin Tian replied.
He summoned his sword and slashed sideways. A powerful sword strike tore through the Yin mist in every direction, splitting it apart and successfully wounding one of the wolves.
Slowly, the mist began to disperse.
The two of them could finally see where the wolves were hiding. Li Qingxue engaged one wolf while Lin Tian charged the other.
Li Qingxue unleashed her Trident Wave Technique against one of the beasts. Meanwhile, Lin Tian summoned white runes and fired thousands of qi swords at the wolf charging toward them.
BLAST!
A massive explosion erupted.
The spiritual beast was killed instantly. Lin Tian and Li Qingxue had successfully defeated both guardian beasts.
Their bodies dissolved into condensed particles of qi before forming two blue crystals.
The crystals floated toward the cultivators who had defeated them.
Each of them received one blue crystal.
"What are these?" Lin Tian asked.
"Spiritual Crystals. They’re filled with abundant spiritual qi, similar to spirit stones," Li Qingxue explained.
"But using them like spirit stones in this place would be foolish."
"There are many locations throughout the valley that can only be opened by consuming large numbers of Spiritual Crystals."
"So it’s better to save them for when we really need them."
Lin Tian listened and stored the crystal inside his bag of holding.
With the guardian beasts defeated, they continued their journey.
The valley’s separate dimension was enormous and incredibly complex. Danger lurked everywhere.
If they weren’t careful, they could be injured or even suffer the same fate as the cultivators who died in the tragedy seven months ago.
This place is unbelievably vast and complicated.
It’s like flying through a world filled with hidden traps and deadly threats.
I need to be careful.