Chapter 55

Upon hearing Li Erniu's words, Zhuang Mingge's lips subtly curved upwards. As expected, this nominal disciple of his was truly sensible. Zhuang Mingge looked at Li Erniu and said with a smile, "Hmm, very good. I was right to take you as my disciple."

"Thank you for the compliment, Master," Li Erniu replied, a simple, honest smile appearing on his face. He knew that earning his master's praise was no easy feat, especially since his master could casually slay even Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Alright, you two stay here for now. Your master will be back shortly," Zhuang Mingge told Li Erniu and Wang Dabao.

Hearing Zhuang Mingge's words, Li Erniu and Wang Dabao were both slightly stunned.

"Master, where are you going?" Li Erniu asked Zhuang Mingge.

"To fetch something," Zhuang Mingge replied indifferently. With that, his figure vanished from the spot.

Seeing this, Li Erniu and Wang Dabao immediately exchanged glances.

"Brother Erniu, what did Master go to do?" Wang Dabao asked Li Erniu.

"I don't know either," Li Erniu shook his head.

"Then what do we do now?" Wang Dabao asked again.

"What else can we do? We wait," Li Erniu grumbled.

***

Meanwhile, in a dense forest a hundred miles outside Qingzhou City, Zhuang Mingge's figure slowly emerged. Scanning his surroundings, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I didn't expect the spiritual energy fluctuations from this Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein to be so intense," Zhuang Mingge murmured to himself. A Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein was a type of ore vein containing powerful spiritual energy. By absorbing its spiritual energy, one could rapidly increase their cultivation. Moreover, a special kind of energy would also be present within the Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein. This energy could help cultivators temper their physical bodies more effectively, enhancing their physical strength. It was precisely because of this that Heavenly Spirit Crystal Veins were so precious. Zhuang Mingge had come here because he sensed the presence of such a vein.

"Since that's the case, I won't hold back," Zhuang Mingge said, a wicked smile gracing his features. With that, he directly sat cross-legged on the ground and began to circulate the cultivation art, "Heavenly Origin Art."

Instantly, pure spiritual energy surged out from the Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein, rushing wildly into Zhuang Mingge's body. His cultivation rapidly increased, moving from Foundation Establishment initial, middle, and late stages, through Golden Core initial, middle, and late stages, then Nascent Soul initial, middle, and late stages, and finally Spirit Transformation initial, middle, and late stages.

Soon, Zhuang Mingge's cultivation reached the peak of the Spirit Transformation late stage, just one step away from the Spirit Severing stage. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"The spiritual energy of this Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein is indeed abundant," Zhuang Mingge murmured to himself.

As his cultivation advanced, Zhuang Mingge's physical strength also rapidly increased. The resilience of his body, the strength of his bones, and the toughness of his meridians all rapidly improved. Zhuang Mingge's power became much greater.

"Now, even if I encounter a Spirit Severing cultivator, I can hold my own," he said with a confident smile. At this moment, even without talismans, he could casually slay Nascent Soul cultivators. This was the improvement of his strength, the exhilarating feeling of increasing power. A look of enjoyment appeared on Zhuang Mingge's face.

"However," he mused, "although the spiritual energy in this Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein is rich, there's no Heavenly Spirit Crystal output." A puzzled expression appeared on Zhuang Mingge's face. A Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein, as the name suggested, should naturally produce Heavenly Spirit Crystals. Yet, this particular vein showed no sign of producing any. This left a trace of doubt in Zhuang Mingge's mind. "Could there be some anomaly within this Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein?" he murmured to himself.

With that, Zhuang Mingge directly closed his eyes. His divine sense spread out, penetrating deep into the Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein. Soon, he sensed a powerful energy fluctuation. This fluctuation was extremely potent, even stronger than the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Heavenly Spirit Crystal Vein itself.

"What is this?" A puzzled smile appeared on Zhuang Mingge's face.

Zhuang Mingge's divine sense followed this energy fluctuation, delving deeper. Soon, he sensed a hidden space. This space was very secluded and also shrouded by a special restrictive barrier. If his divine sense hadn't been so powerful, he probably wouldn't have been able to discover this space at all.

"Interesting," a faint smile appeared on Zhuang Mingge's face.

With that, he directly opened his eyes. His figure flickered, appearing directly before that space. Zhuang Mingge looked at the restrictive barrier before him, a faint smile gracing his features.

"This kind of restriction wants to stop me?" he said with a dismissive smile.

Then, Zhuang Mingge directly extended his hand and pointed a finger. Instantly, that layer of restriction transformed into a puff of smoke, vanishing from the spot. Zhuang Mingge's figure then directly entered the space.

Seeing the sight before him, a surprised smile appeared on Zhuang Mingge's face. "This..." A look of shock registered on his features.