Chapter 364 â Searching for Stone Ova
Gu Zuo stared distractedly: âThis is an Earth Worm?â
Gongyi Tianheng ruffled his hair: âAfter this, weâll have to be even more careful.â
Shen Yuanbai opened his mouth: âThatâs right. This thing is an Earth Worm.â
Gu Zuo couldnât help remarking: âIt looks tiny. Wouldnât it be difficult to keep our guards up during ambushes? Though, when I used my psychic power to chop it up, killing the Earth Worm wasnât hard.â
At this time, Lan Wenxi smiled, and said: âDonât focus on how this Earth Worm is thin and small. Itâs only because this thing is so young and the outer skin is so weak. But if itâs an Earth Worm that has matured for a few years, there are differences in its physical state. The outer skin would be much more tough and durable, and dealing with it would be harder.â
Gu Zuo paused: âThis is only a young worm?â
Lan Wenxi nodded his head: âThatâs right. When theyâve matured, their appearances will be different⊠Once some time has passed, youâll understand when you encounter them. Itâs just that, from now on, we canât treat these things lightly.â
Shen Yuanbai supplemented accordingly: âAll martial artists must properly protect their pharmacists. After the worms mature, theyâre rather repulsive and weakly poisonous. While itâs not very harmful to martial artists, if it latches onto a pharmacistâs psychic power, itâll be easy for the pharmacistâs Tianfu Acupoint to collapse and their psychic power to disintegrate.â
What happened to a pharmacist who didnât have psychic power?
To use a modern phrase, it was brain death.
â Of course, martial artists also possessed mental energies. Some powerful pharmacists could even use their own psychic powers to deal with martial artists, but the physical bodies of martial artists were resilient. The qi energies, which covered their entire bodies, defended them. Whether or not an ordinary pharmacist could break through that layer of a martial artistâs defense and burrow their psychic power into that martial artistâs mind depended on the gap in strength between both parties.
However, the Earth Worms of this place had no way of breaking through the defenses of a martial artistâs physical body. As a result, although a martial artist couldnât kill the beasts, those Earth Worms basically couldnât harm a martial artist.
Shen Yuanbaiâs idea was simple. If an Earth Worm came to launch an attack and the pharmacist couldnât react in time, the martial artists would hurriedly use their own bodies to block the ambush! They absolutely couldnât allow the pharmacists to have their brains eaten by Earth Worms.
Gu Zuo was speechless.
Okay. He would be even more careful.
Gu Zuo didnât want his familyâs big brother to put himself in harmâs way at all.
Matters that had to be explained were made clear. Following this, the group needed to start looking for stone ova.
Gu Zuo placed that Earth Wormâs corpse into the storage space. Soon after, he earnestly listened to Shen Yuanbai and Lan Wenxiâs introduction.
As mentioned previously, stone ova were produced by leylines. The things that were born from the stone ova depended on the environment of the land as well as the nourishment provided by the leyline. The reason why everything in this leyline had stone appearances wasnât because it had all dried up. Rather, it was a type of camouflage for spiritual objects. Why would the leyline allow people to find and freely take away the stone ova it painstakingly nurtured? The countless stone forests, dragons, beasts, and coral reefs automatically took shape to conceal any traces of the stone ova.
Anyone who wanted to find the stone ova needed to release their psychic power and explore bit by bit. Using the naked eye to look for them would be very difficult.
Shen Yuanbai stated: âThe rest of you will split into three groups, but donât stray too far from each other while searching.â
Lan Wenxi smiled: âThis little brother will follow your orders.â
Tianheng also agreed: âWe understand.â
Hence, everyone formed groups of two so that they could keep their promise to watch each otherâs backs and to search for spoils.
Gu Zuo and Tianheng were naturally in one group.
Tianheng still held Gu Zuoâs hand: âAh Zuo, you can search with peace of mind. Your elder brother will protect you.â
Gu Zuoâs heart warmed. He returned the grip, and said: âBig brother should also take care.â
After the pair exchanged a sentence of concern for one another, Gu Zuo released his psychic power.
Presently, because he had been refining medicinal pills of considerable difficulty for a long time, his control over his own psychic power had become as free and effortless as moving his arms and fingers. At this moment, his psychic power was meticulously split into innumerable silk threads, which were weaved into many giant nets. These nets were cast towards the closest dozen or so stone corals. After that, these silk nets continuously expanded in all directions.
Within Gu Zuoâs consciousness, he âsawâ everything within the envelopment range of these silk nets. Every inch was brought into crystal-clear focus, and nothing could be hidden from him. It was like flowing water. As his psychic power flowed through the land, it would flit across areas that were flat and smooth, while whirlpools would form in places with obstructions.
However, Gu Zuo consciously exercised control over the direction of the silk nets, and didnât crowd the other pharmacists. If he carelessly bumped into their psychic powers, both sides would quickly move out of each otherâs way.
After a while of this carpet-style searching, Gu Zuo suddenly sensed the presence of a whirlpool.
Gu Zuo subconsciously paused.
After that, he lightened the psychic power silk nets in other areas, gathered his attention, and carefully distinguished the location of that whirlpool. Then, he discovered that there was something that was repelling his psychic power. It gave off a feeling that was different from the other rocks.
Gu Zuo abruptly opened his eyes: âBig brother.â
Tianheng focused his attention on Gu Zuo. Hearing what was said, he responded: âWhat is it?â
Gu Zuo said: âI want to go over there.â
Tianheng raised an eyebrow. Reaching a hand around Gu Zuoâs waist and holding his pharmacist close to his chest, Tianheng rushed out just like this. Within a short couple of breaths, they arrived at the place Gu Zuo pointed out.
This area was a stone dragonâs front claw. Its five talons pressed against the ground, and its might was extraordinary.
Gu Zuo patted Tianhengâs forearm, and Tianheng let him go. Immediately following which, Gu Zuo walked closer to the claw, reached out a hand, and felt around a small crack between those five talons.
Sure enough, a hint of a sweet scent overflowed from within that small crack.
Gu Zuoâs complexion was elated: âBig brother, come take a look!â
Just as his voice fell, Tianheng extended a hand once more. His fingers were like pincers as they tightly captured an ashen-white creature that was as thick as an arm.
When Gu Zuo turned his head and called out to Tianheng, he saw this scene.
â Those mandibles filled with sharp teeth were directed straight at his skull!
Naturally, it wasnât really aiming at his head. Rather, it was aiming for the psychic power that he hadnât completely put away. Fortunately, the instant it drew near, it had already been grabbed by Tianheng. Otherwise, it wouldâve definitely taken a bite out of his psychic power, which wouldâve caused him to suffer damage.
This was a mature Earth Worm!
Looking at its form, it was two meters long. Compared to that young worm just a while ago, this one was much bigger.
Gu Zuo didnât hesitate. An invisible dagger was promptly sent out from the space between his brows, and slashed at the Earth Worm. However, the first strike wasnât able to slice it in half. On the contrary, it could only cut open a large wound, which caused the Earth Worm to struggle even more fiercely. If it wasnât for Tianhengâs incredible strength, perhaps it wouldâve gotten away!
After that, Gu Zuo produced a few more blades, which simultaneously targeted one location. In the end, the Earth Worm was chopped in half and perished. Gu Zuo collected its corpse, and placed it inside the storage space.
Tianheng moved closer.
Gu Zuo didnât let this brief interlude negatively affect his state of mind. He now realized that the Earth Worm probably hadnât been sensed by his psychic power because both were natural enemies of each other. He just reminded himself to pay more attention to this fact. Afterwards, he stretched out his fingers, and finally fished out the round object that had been stuck in the hollow of the dragonâs claw.
At this time, that faintly sweet scent suddenly became dense and rich.
What appeared in Gu Zuoâs palm was an ashen-white ovum. It was exactly the same as the Snowy-Jade Cicadaâs stone ovum that Shen Yuanbai gave. This one was somewhat larger, and was the size of a clenched fist.
Finding one this quickly was indeed a good start.
Gu Zuo grasped the stone ovum, and examined it carefully. This stone ovum had only partially transformed into jade. Therefore, it overflowed with a medicinal fragrance, but the specific type of wondrous medicine inside couldnât come out â It had to be cut open.
The medicinal fragrance was pleasing and delightful, so it ought to have been rather precious. In any case, one didnât need to think about it too much.
Gu Zuo placed the stone ovum inside the storage space, and discharged his psychic power once again.
Shen Yuanbai, Lan Wenxi, and the others werenât considered too far away, and they naturally saw Gu Zuo and Tianhengâs movements. At this moment, they couldnât help glancing to this side, and notice the stone ovum in Gu Zuoâs hand.
Lan Wenxi laughed and said: âSure enough, a pharmacist with heaven-level potential has sharper senses.â
Shen Yuanbai nodded his head, but didnât have much to say.
Upon seeing this, the remaining pharmacists felt their heartstrings stretch taut.
It wouldâve been fine if everyone couldnât find a stone ovum, but Gu Zuo located one so quickly. This caused feelings of urgency to rise up in their hearts.
Subconsciously, they started searching with even greater concentration.
But when it came to psychic power, this thing, every pharmacist would have different levels of sensitivity.
Why were the potentials of some pharmacists at the profound level or earth level, but others could actually reach the heaven level? In addition to the inner cultivation methods that each person practiced, it was said that there was the factor of oneâs medicinal beads â There was a big relationship between the sharpness of an individualâs psychic power and the positions of the medicinal-bead acupoints on the palms.
Only those who possessed medicinal beads could practice the path of spirituality, become pharmacists, and utilize psychic power. However, the medicinal beads of each and every pharmacist werenât in the same acupoint locations. And there were a total of twenty-eight palmar acupoints that could store medicinal beads.
On the Central Continent, many pharmacists knew that the closer oneâs medicinal beads were to the
Daling and Yangchi Acupoints
, the better that personâs talents in medicine refinement. And if oneâs medicinal beads were set precisely in the Daling or Yangchi Acupoints, the pharmacistâs potential was generally at the heaven level.
Gu Zuo knew that when he refined medicine, his internal qi would pass through his medicinal beads and discharge during his hand seals. However, he never carefully distinguished which acupoints his medicinal beads were located in.
He naturally didnât know that, because his medicinal beads were special, his initial psychic power had received the nourishment of his medicinal beads and was incredibly keen. Later on, he used an extremely exquisite inner cultivation method for training. It was to the point that, after continuously refining medicine, his sensitivity had far surpassed that of numerous pharmacists at equivalent spiritual path realms!
As a result, Gu Zuo easily sensed the existence of these whirlpools. Though, because the other few pharmacists werenât sensitive enough, they would often have difficulties sensing any whirlpools. Naturally, they had to search over and over again before occasionally detecting clues.
Tianheng accompanied Gu Zuo. Half of his attention was focused on his pharmacist releasing psychic power, and the other half remained vigilant of their surroundings. This was in case an Earth Worm launched a surprise attack to gobble up the psychic power.
Fortunately, those Earth Worms werenât able to recklessly swallow Gu Zuoâs psychic power. If the psychic power became slender and spread out, it appeared quite thin. Even if the Earth Worms jumped at it, the creatures wouldnât be able to devour anything.
It didnât take long for Gu Zuo to âseeâ everything within a kilometer radius, and he didnât once detect a second stone ovum. Shen Yuanbai, Lan Wenxi, and the others were similarly left empty-handed.
Gu Zuo dwindled his psychic power, and pretended to rest.
Lan Wenxi sighed and said: âAs expected, the search wonât be easy.â
Gu Zuo made a suggestion: âWhat if we move somewhere farther away?â
Shen Yuanbai and the others didnât object: âVery well.â
The vastness of the leyline extended as far as the eyes could see.
Because they stood very close together, they were actually able to arrive at the same place after entering the leyline. But once the Gate Opening Pearls were stimulated, even those who were a slight distance away had been delivered to locations that were far from their current location.
To put it simply, no one else could be seen within a kilometer radius, but traveling farther away didnât necessarily mean that they would run into others.
Gu Zuo felt that this was good.
If they really did meet someone, on the off-chance that both parties werenât able to come to an agreement, the collision of psychic powers would be unfavorable to pharmacists like them.
The group gradually moved beyond the kilometer mark.
They stood in front of a dragon head, and what greeted them was an enormous stone tree. The tree trunk was large enough for dozens of people to encircle it. Every branch of the tree was incredibly thick and solid. The surfaces of these branches were densely-packed with stone leaves â While they were called stone leaves, they were better off being called thinner stems and twigs. This created a type of scene that seemed to hide the sky and cover the earth.
Gu Zuo raised his head to look around, but he wasnât able to see the crown of the tree at all. When he released his psychic power to extend his senses, he realized that his psychic power, which smoothly swept through the stone dragons, corals, and other things just a while ago, was only able to spread around ten meters out on this enormous stone tree.
âŠThis couldnât compare to how far the naked eye could see. That was because psychic power was even more detailed when it could envelop things.
Lan Wenxi lamented: âThis is the great work of Greater Emperor Medicine Sage. Back then, she could form such magnificent scenes after sealing the leyline. If it wasnât sealed, these sights of stone forests and dragons wouldnât have appeared. At that time, the leyline probably wouldâve erupted, and many abnormal environments mightâve clashed against each other to take shape. And if we wanted to harvest the stone ova, we wouldâve had to go through those environments and endure many dangers.â
However, risks and benefits went hand in hand. The current hazards were small, but without the guidance of abnormalities, it was difficult to judge what was in the stone ova based on the external environment â This was because the environment was just a big pile of rocks! There basically wasnât anything special!
If someone to make a judgment about a stone ovum obtained in this way, they would either have to cut open the stone ovum or rely on a pharmacistâs knowledge and psychic power to distinguish it.
After sighing with sorrow, Lan Wenxi said: âAn ancestor once mentioned that, within the leyline, most stone ova appeared on these trees, but there were dead ova among them. It was extremely difficult to see through the exterior appearances of these dead ova. Perhaps, the wondrous objects inside had already rotted and wasted away due to excessive maturation. Or maybe, the things being nurtured were wicked, and would turn around to bite the handler once they broke through their shells.â
Gu Zuo was curious: âCould it be that there arenât any dead ova among those produced by the stone corals, dragons, and beasts?â
Lan Wenxi smiled, and said: âThere are very few. Usually, there would be just one dead ovum among dozens of stone ova. But if itâs on the stone trees, the number of dead ova is around eighty percent.â
Gu Zuo understood clearly.
The risks of plucking stone ova from the trees really werenât small⊠There was only a twenty percent chance of gaining a useful stone ovum. Wasnât this pit a little too big? Going through so much trouble to get one, only to open it up to find trash. Wouldnât that be upsetting? Moreover, it was one thing if the ovum had wasted away, but it was pure, rotten luck if the thing inside ended up attacking the person.
But these kinds of stone trees were opportunities that everyone entering the leyline wouldnât miss.
After several people exchanged glances, Shen Yuanbai stated: âLetâs split up and search.â
They all responded: âOkay.â
Soon after, everyone divided into the same groups as before. Each person climbed up along the side of the enormous stone tree. As they climbed, they also looked around.
Tianheng grabbed Gu Zuoâs arm, and tossed his pharmacist onto his own back. Gu Zuo was caught off guard, but his movements bespoke of an even stronger tacit understanding. Just like when they were on the Road of Heavenâs Chosen, he swiftly wrapped his legs around Tianhengâs waist, and folded his arms around Tianhengâs neck. He responded: âBig brother, this is?â
Tianheng said: âSince this task needs strength, itâs naturally easier for a martial artist to do it. This elder brother will climb, and Ah Zuo can search. If we coordinate with each other, weâll find some more stone ova.â
Gu Zuo heard this, and felt that it was reasonable. He answered positively: âOkay, big brother.â
Consequently, Tianhengâs long arms stretched out to grab the tree bark that protruded from the stone tree. Following this, his long legs exerted strength, and his feet stamped out. He had already leaped over a dozen meters up.
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