In the barren mountains.
After the Liu family settled down, Liu Ruyan began assisting Ye Xingchen with his cultivation.
A large portion of the resources purchased with those ten million spirit stones was given to Ye Xingchen.
Of course, Liu Ruyan was also very concerned about Ye Xingchen’s progress.
In less than ten days, she could no longer hold back and asked, “Junior Brother, how is your cultivation progressing?”
There was worry in her expression.
She did not want to stay in this wretched place for even a single day.
She had long grown accustomed to clean and luxurious palaces, wearing elegant clothes, and eating rare delicacies. Now, in this environment, everything had to be done by herself.
Ye Xingchen was one of the few remaining hopes.
But she truly could not wait any longer.
She wanted his talent to be noticed by a powerful figure, so he could take a master. That way, she too could rise along with him, and the Liu family would regain hope.
Qin Hengyu was truly cold-hearted.
So much time had passed. Even after what had happened between them, he had not come to see her even once.
As the saying goes, distance breeds boldness, while closeness breeds weariness.
“Senior Sister, I have reached the 3rd stage Spirit Manifestation Realm!” Ye Xingchen said.
When he mentioned this realm, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Spirit Manifestation… self-castration.
The similarity between the words was almost ironic. One meant opening a heavenly palace, while the other meant losing what made him a man.
Fate was truly unpredictable.
Even as he spoke of his realm, Ye Xingchen felt somewhat uneasy.
He could see Liu Ruyan’s dissatisfaction.
The resources he used for cultivation all came from Liu Ruyan’s sacrifice. Even so, the Liu family still held many complaints.
Ye Xingchen felt uncomfortable about using the spirit stones she had obtained that way, but he had no choice.
Cultivation required him to rely on these resources.
If Liu Ruyan had not prioritized him with the limited resources, he would be even more powerless.
Of course, upon careful thought, it was also Liu Ruyan’s foolishness.
If she had not acted impulsively, he would never have been dragged into this situation.
“Senior Sister, look!” Ye Xingchen said.
Afraid of being looked down upon, spiritual energy surged from his body as he began to display his strength.
First, his Qi Sea manifested.
Above the churning spiritual pool, on a stone floating in midair, a towering tree was growing.
The tree’s branches were ancient and powerful. Each leaf was like a star, each branch like a world. Though it was only a phantom, it carried an ancient aura that seemed to transcend time itself.
This was the World Tree!
A sacred tree capable of connecting heaven, earth, and humanity. Each of its branches corresponded to a great world.
It was because of this phenomenon that Liu Ruyan had once placed great hope in Ye Xingchen. This story is hosted at g.com.
Such a powerful manifestation was a sign of Great Emperor potential.
Since he was in the Spirit Manifestation Realm, what truly mattered was the Heavenly Palace.
Above Ye Xingchen’s head, a palace shrouded in clouds immediately appeared.
Through the mist, vague shapes could be seen, like dragons and phoenixes flying within.
Occasionally, a plaque would be revealed, its characters ancient and profound.
Faint celestial music echoed from within, ethereal and enchanting, making one feel as though they were in an immortal realm.
At the 3rd stage Spirit Manifestation Realm, such a Heavenly Palace was already extraordinary.
After witnessing Ye Xingchen’s display, Liu Ruyan’s brows finally relaxed slightly.
Even though her junior brother had become a eunuch, with such a phenomenon and Heavenly Palace, he could still find a powerful master.
Being a eunuch would only affect advancement into the Venerable Realm and Saint Realm. In this world, there were countless heavenly treasures that could regenerate lost body parts.
After showing his cultivation, Ye Xingchen clearly wanted to test his strength.
He threw a powerful punch toward the ground beneath the cave.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the ground trembled.
Stone dust began to fall from the surrounding rock walls.
A pit had formed in the ground, and the rocks within had been reduced to powder, fully demonstrating the formidable strength of the Spirit Manifestation Realm.
Body Tempering Realm shatters rocks, Qi Sea Realm crushes stones, Spirit Manifestation Realm pulverizes stones, Mystic Ability Realm splits mountains, Dragon Ascension Realm shatters mountains…
This was the general understanding of cultivation realms.
Ordinarily, one would need to reach the 9th stage Spirit Manifestation Realm to achieve this effect, yet Ye Xingchen had done so at the 3rd stage.
Liu Ruyan was about to scold him for nearly destroying the cave they had painstakingly carved out.
However, her attention was quickly drawn to the pit.
The stone powder within the pit was rapidly sinking downward, as if something below was absorbing it.
Once the dust settled, a narrow crack became visible beneath the rock.
The crack appeared deep and unfathomable.
A crack?
Ye Xingchen also noticed the unexpected result of his attack. He exchanged a glance with Liu Ruyan, then lay flat on the ground and peered into the crevice.
“Senior Sister, there seems to be source stones below?” Ye Xingchen said, his eyes widening in disbelief.
To be honest, he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Deep within the crack, source stones were gleaming with light. It was not just a small amount. There were many, forming an entire vein.
A source stone vein?
This was something only top-tier families dared to dream of. Even second-tier families could not protect such wealth.
Source stones, also known as divine source, were far superior to spirit stones.
Encased in stone shells, their spiritual energy did not leak out, making them nearly indistinguishable from ordinary rocks. It was said that only the most skilled spirit seekers could detect traces of them.
A single piece of divine source was worth hundreds or even thousands of high-grade spirit stones.
More importantly, divine source could preserve things within it.
Spiritual herbs, weapons, armor…
Even living beings could exist within them for countless years.
“Source stones?” Liu Ruyan repeated in disbelief.
She immediately dropped all pretense and lay down to look into the crack herself. Through the narrow opening, she could already confirm that there was indeed divine source below.
Any single piece was worth more than what Qin Hengyu had paid for her.
“Pfft!”
Liu Ruyan nearly spat out blood from anger.
This was too infuriating!
However, realizing that a source stone vein existed in this barren mountain, she felt hope rise again.
Even without Qin Hengyu, she could rise once more, perhaps even live better than in the Great Qin Empire.
The key was that this vein must not be discovered. It had to be mined carefully and secretly.
Hope filled Liu Ruyan’s heart once again.
Beside her, Ye Xingchen narrowed his eyes, excitement surging within him.
After darkness came light.
He had discovered this source stone vein himself. He no longer needed to fear being cast aside by Liu Ruyan.
Their positions had subtly reversed.
With such a resource, his cultivation speed would never slow.
Surpassing Qin Hengyu in the future would be effortless.
Perhaps he could even surpass the Great Qin Empire step by step.
However, after discovering the source stones, Ye Xingchen was reluctant to share them with the Liu family. Over the past few days, he had been treated harshly by them.
“Senior Sister, let only the two of us know about this source stone vein,” Ye Xingchen said.
“The more people know, the greater the risk of it being exposed.”
Of course, his words were framed as concern for Liu Ruyan.
“Alright, only the two of us will mine it. No one else must know,” Liu Ruyan agreed after a moment of hesitation.
She did not want the Liu family involved.
Now that her status had declined, the Liu family listened more to Liu Zheng’an than to her. She could only rely on this source stone vein to secretly accumulate strength and seek new opportunities.
At this moment, Liu Ruyan and Ye Xingchen were perfectly aligned.
The two of them began digging along the crack, attempting to reach the source stones at its depths…