What Lies Beneath the Natural Concealment Array

Picking up Blake Azure's ring, Joe Di couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Back then, he had racked his brains to escape Blake Azure's pursuit, barely making it in time for the opening of the Sky Screen. But today, Blake Azure couldn't even withstand a single strike before him.

Joe Di's divine sense landed on Blake Azure's ring, which contained millions of top-grade spirit stones and a pile of pills. Spirit stones no longer mattered to Joe Di—Miles Phantom had already helped him exchange nearly a hundred million, along with a mountain of high-grade refining materials. As for pills, Joe Di cared even less.

On the contrary, it was the high-grade spirit herbs in Blake Azure's ring that delighted Joe Di. Blake Azure clearly had different priorities; the lowest grade in the ring was a level-six spirit herb. In just over two months, the ring had amassed a huge collection.

This made Joe Di feel a bit regretful. If only he had encountered Blake Azure two years later, he would have struck it rich.

After sorting all the spirit herbs from Blake Azure's ring and sending them into his own small world, Joe Di piled the rest of the items in a corner of that world before heading over to the creek.

The Rainbow Immortal Peach was a top-tier spiritual treasure in the cultivation world—such a precious thing could never grow just anywhere. Since this Rainbow Immortal Peach grew beside the creek, it meant there might be other supreme treasures nearby.

Joe Di's divine sense was at the tenth level, but after searching for nearly a whole day, he found nothing except for this little creek.

If there was anything unusual, it was that the creek water carried a trace of spiritual energy. While this energy allowed the nearby spirit herbs to thrive, it was still far from enough to nurture a Rainbow Immortal Peach.

Joe Di followed the creek upstream, but after walking less than ten zhang, he stopped. Although some of the creek's water came from the mountain, its main source was actually a spring. He sent his divine sense below the spring, but found nothing unusual—it was just groundwater from rain seeping through the mountain.

This place was at the foot of the mountain. Joe Di had already swept his divine sense over the area hundreds, if not thousands, of times—there was absolutely no way there could be a spirit vein or spiritual marrow here.

Regardless of whether he had missed something, Joe Di wasn't going to waste any more time here. Just as he was about to leave, a thought struck him.

The reason divine sense couldn't reach far in Little Central Star was mainly because the place was filled with natural restrictions and arrays. Sometimes, you could be standing right on a natural array without even knowing it. That's why, even though Little Central Star only opens once every hundred years, people still manage to find ten-thousand-year spirit fruits.

Thinking of concealment arrays, Joe Di immediately took out the Terraflame Banner.

If his tenth-level divine sense couldn't detect a concealment array, the only way to reveal it was to disrupt its perfection by adding an array banner—only then could the array be exposed.

If there really was a natural array here, it meant his array mastery wasn't high enough—otherwise, he would have noticed it long ago.

The Terraflame Banner was a primordial innate treasure. Joe Di couldn't believe this natural concealment array was of a higher grade than the banner in his hand.

After Joe Di tossed out the Terraflame Banner, it turned into a streak of red light, landing at the foot of the concealed mountain.

Immediately, Joe Di was delighted to find that his divine sense could vaguely sweep over the array base. It really was a concealment array—his guess had been absolutely correct.

Fortunately, his divine sense was at the tenth level; otherwise, even with the Terraflame Banner, he might not have discovered this concealment array.

Now that he'd found the concealment array, things were much simpler. Even if Joe Di couldn't unravel it, he could always force his way through.

Joe Di summoned the Skyveil Blade, striking down again and again.

Each time, Joe Di's Skyveil Blade landed on the weakest spot of the array. After several days, a faint cracking sound emerged, and an almost invisible fissure appeared before him. Without hesitation, Joe Di struck once more—the fissure widened abruptly. With the Terraflame Banner in hand, he flashed through the gap and vanished.

Then Joe Di was stunned. Before him lay an open-air spirit stone mountain, with massive, uncut spirit stones of various grades piled together and stretching into the distance. Even with his divine sense, Joe Di couldn't perceive the end of it.

At the edge of this spirit stone mountain stood a withered fruit tree—the very Rainbow Immortal Peach tree.

So the Rainbow Immortal Peach outside had actually sprouted from a seed left behind by this withered tree.

Joe Di sighed, not feeling much joy. He'd rather have a few spirit veins than a mountain of spirit stones. With so many spirit stones, there was no way he could take them all, nor would he waste time mining here.

The only benefit was that here, he never had to worry about a lack of spiritual energy for cultivation.

Joe Di suddenly recalled what Miles Phantom had said. Back then, in the depths of Xieya Snow Mountain, he'd obtained a huge amount of Earthvein Gold. After he left, Xieya Snow Mountain erupted, and someone discovered a spirit stone mine below.

It seemed that the female cultivator with only her soul remaining had found Xieya Snow Mountain because she knew there was a spirit stone mine beneath it. As for why—she possessed tenth-level divine sense and also the Terraflame Banner.

Now he had tenth-level divine sense and the Terraflame Banner as well—so this time, it was his turn to discover the spirit stone mine.

Right now, everyone in Little Central Star was scrambling for high-grade spirit herbs—he'd have to be crazy to hide here and mine.

Standing atop the massive spirit stone mountain, Joe Di mused that if he could move it, helping Sherry Jing establish several Starstream Schools would be more than easy.

With a slight turn of the Starstream Technique, Joe Di instantly felt a surge of spiritual energy rush toward him, and soon he clearly sensed his cultivation rising.

Joe Di's heart trembled—the sensation was far stronger than anything he'd ever felt while cultivating before. It was as if...

Joe Di remembered the feeling he had during his tribulation. His favorite time to cultivate was when he was crossing a lightning tribulation, because his progress was like riding a rocket. The feeling now, absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate, couldn't compare to tribulation, but it was still leagues better than using spirit stones or even spirit veins.

He had to stay and cultivate here for a while; no amount of spirit herbs outside could distract Joe Di from his urge to train at this moment.

After choosing a spot on the spirit stone mountain, Joe Di began to circulate the Starstream Technique with all his might.

Spiritual energy surged toward Joe Di as if evaporated by a raging fire. He was ecstatic—not just because the energy was abundant, but because he finally understood why cultivating atop a spirit stone mountain was so much better than using spirit stones.

The spirit stone mountain's laws were complete. As Joe Di absorbed its energy, he could practically sense the process by which the mountain had formed—from a tiny spiritual source, accumulating over ages into this vast deposit.

It was as if a lover were whispering in his ear, telling him the story of its journey—from nothing to existence...

It was a natural growth, and also a growth in accordance with the Dao of Heaven. Immersed in this spiritual source and enlightenment, Joe Di's cultivation soared.

The faded, spiritless mineral dust around him seemed to be absorbed by the spirit stone mountain. Joe Di remained seated atop the endless mountain of spirit stones.

When Joe Di first saw the spirit stone mountain, he hadn't planned to mine it—he was going to hurry out and search for spirit herbs. But now, completely immersed in cultivation, he'd forgotten all about searching for herbs.

Cauldron Ascendant Stage, fourth layer... fifth layer...

A year passed quietly, and Joe Di had reached the seventh layer of the Cauldron Ascendant Stage.

Even though each breakthrough took longer, Joe Di's rate of absorbing spiritual energy only grew stronger. His Star River Meridian was like a bottomless pit, and only this place could provide enough spiritual energy for him to cultivate.

Eighth layer, ninth layer...

When Joe Di opened his eyes again, he was already at the peak of the ninth layer of the Cauldron Ascendant Stage.

He could hardly believe his progress. While others entered Little Central Star to frantically search for spirit herbs, he'd spent two full years in seclusion here.

In two years, he had gone from the third layer to the peak of the ninth layer of the Cauldron Ascendant Stage. If he hadn't found this place, breaking through to the ninth layer in Little Central Star would have been truly difficult.

Joe Di stood up. He knew that no matter how abundant the spiritual energy here was, or how perfect the mountain's laws, he couldn't use this spirit stone mountain to break through to the Tribulation King Stage.

To reach the Tribulation King Stage, he had to leave and search for eighth-grade spirit herbs, become an Eighth Grade Alchemy King, and find Vanafruit to refine the Tribulation Convergence Pill.

Glancing back at the spirit stone mountain beneath his feet, Joe Di didn't start mining. He felt a bit reluctant—while cultivating here, he seemed to sense that the spirit stone mountain was alive. It was this feeling of life's nurturing that had helped him comprehend its laws.

Joe Di suspected that, one day, this spirit stone mountain would become a spiritual entity and leave this place. Since he'd benefited so much here, he might as well come back for a few years of training after reaching the Tribulation King Stage. As for the spirit stones—he had plenty already. Better not to mine them.