Chapter 1549: Chapter 30: Cross Immortal Gate’s Hidden Vault, Growth of the Immortal Sapling! (Part 2)

Hearing the words "secret vault," Jiang Ning’s gaze sharpened.

"No rush. We’ll pry their mouths open bit by bit. Since they’ve already surrendered without a fight, they won’t be able to keep their mouths shut for long!" At this point his tone paused. "Mr. Shen, I want seventy percent of whatever we get from the vault!"

"Seventy percent is far too little!" Shen Wenyan shook his head. "Everything from the secret vault should go to Brother Jiang! Without Brother Jiang’s contribution today, talking about breaking the Cross Immortal Gate would be nothing but nonsense! As for the rewards from this campaign, confiscated fields and businesses are more than enough!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ning pondered briefly, then spoke. "I only need to take away the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, elixirs, and other things useful to me. The rest, whatever I can’t use, can go to the state treasury."

Shen Wenyan did not decline and cupped his hands solemnly. "Brother Jiang, such magnanimity. In quelling the Cross Immortal Gate rebellion, the greatest credit is yours; the items in the secret vault are what you rightfully deserve. Furthermore, the Cross Immortal Gate has a heritage of several hundred years. The sect may have records of Ancient secrets, texts of fragmented Immortal Dao scrolls; they might aid Brother Jiang in comprehending the supreme principles of heaven and earth, and among them there may also be a method to resolve the curse upon Brother Jiang."

"Then I won’t stand on ceremony." Jiang Ning nodded.

...

At the same time.

In an Immortal blessed land.

The conversation between Jiang Ning and Shen Wenyan fell into the ears of two men and one woman.

The man on the left let out a cold laugh. "People of the outside world, their vision really is low."

"That’s normal." The female cultivator spoke faintly. "They’ve never seen the great era of the Immortal Dao, nor the splendor of a Grotto Heaven."

As they conversed, the light curtain before them slowly dissipated.

"Let’s go. There’s nothing more to see. At this point, whether the Cross Immortal Gate perishes or not no longer matters. Their usefulness ends here." The clear voice of the man on the right rang out.

...

The outside world.

At this moment, Jiang Ning felt that sensation of being watched slowly fade away.

"They finally left."

He couldn’t help but secretly let out a breath of relief in his heart.

Without those gazes upon him, he felt the pressure ease somewhat.

He had never dared to take an Immortal Cave Heaven lightly.

Because no Immortal Cave Heaven could possibly be simple.

They were all the accumulated foundations left behind from the previous era, possessing complete inheritances.

Perhaps the figures within an Immortal Cave Heaven were unremarkable in the Ancient Era.

Because he now knew quite a bit about the Ancient Era.

Those truly powerful—glimpse them and you forget yourself—such as the Goddess of the Moon Palace, such as the Nine Netherworld Tribulation Fire Great Celestial Venerable.

He did not believe that the strength the Martial Saint possessed could surpass existences of that level.

Yet eight hundred years ago, the Martial Saint had still, with his strength alone, forced all the Cave Heaven Blessed Lands under heaven to bow their heads and lie low.

Now, even though that Martial Saint had reached the end of his natural lifespan, those Immortal Cave Heavens still did not dare to clash with him head-on, and only probed from the shadows.

But that was in front of the Martial Saint.

In front of his current level of strength, any Immortal Cave Heaven was an existence he could not possibly contend with.

With the hidden gazes gone, his heart naturally felt much more at ease.

As his thoughts turned.

He walked to the center of the plaza, to the spot where Ling Xuzi had just vanished.

Spiritual Energy still lingered there; on the broken ground, tender green sprouts had pushed through the soil, vying to grow.

The air was exceptionally fresh; the vegetation around the plaza, which had been lying dormant in the winter cold, had already revived and was growing madly.

Such a phenomenon was particularly strange in this harsh winter.

Jiang Ning paused for a moment, his Heart Spirit stirring as the pores all over his body opened.

In an instant, he felt tiny streams in the air flowing into his body through his pores, a gentle vitality circulating within him.

"A place of Immortal fall, nourishing the world in return—it truly confirms what the old texts recorded." He spoke inwardly to himself. "With Spiritual Energy this dense, letting it dissipate would be a real waste."

His eyes half-closed, with a turn of thought, the pores over his whole body opened wide, continuously drawing those tiny streams from the air and devouring them into his body.

In just a brief moment, within his perception, the phenomenon of a hundred rivers flowing into the sea appeared.

As the Spiritual Energy entered his body, though he had no Immortal Dao Cultivation Technique to directly refine it for his own use, Qi is of a single source; the dense Spiritual Energy piled up within him still brought him many benefits, and his Essence, Qi, and Spirit all increased.

It was just like the effect he had obtained when he had devoured Spirit Crystals in the past.

This scene fell into Shen Wenyan’s eyes. He closed his eyes slightly and likewise felt the abnormality in the surrounding void; he then opened his eyes again, a trace of surprise in his gaze.

"Brother Jiang actually has such a keen perception of nature’s spiritual energy. Truly worthy of being the foremost man in eight hundred years."

He spoke to himself inwardly.

A moment later.

Jiang Ning continued to devour nature’s spiritual energy into his body, piling it up within.

Something suddenly stirred in his Dantian, and his gaze turned inward to his Dantian.

He saw that the Immortal seedling in his Dantian was now also swaying its branches, its roots extending, as if stretching outward toward the external world.

The scene from just now instantly resurfaced in his mind.

Ling Xuzi had walked out from the Grotto Heaven, an Immortal tree manifesting behind him, six feet tall, its root system climbing and merging with heaven and earth, its pressure surging.

He looked again at the Immortal seedling within his own body.

Its height had just passed one foot; it still counted only as an Immortal seedling, not an Immortal tree like Ling Xuzi’s six-foot-tall creation.

"An Immortal Cave Heaven truly cannot be underestimated." Amazement filled his heart.

Along his own path to this point, he had received all sorts of fortunes before finally nurturing an Immortal seedling just over a foot tall.

Yet a mere chess piece tossed out by the Flying Immortal Sect—a piece thrown to test the waters—had displayed an Immortal tree six feet high.

Such a display made him value Immortal Cave Heavens even more.

There was a clear discrepancy between reality and what was recorded in the old books.

According to the ancient texts, to possess an Immortal tree you had to shed the mortal flesh and condense an Immortal body before you could enjoy such a creation.

Yet Ling Xuzi had clearly not reached that step.

In the current state of heaven and earth, it was impossible to reach that step.

If one truly had, it would be impossible to die so easily at the Martial Saint’s hands.

But despite that, the facts were laid bare before his eyes.

As his thoughts flowed in his heart.

He sensed tiny traces of something abnormal being transmitted along the Immortal seedling’s roots.

The next moment, he saw the Immortal seedling in his Dantian start to grow, its growth speed visible to the naked eye.

One moment earlier it had just passed one foot.

The next it had reached one foot and one inch.

Then it continued to grow, and his attention remained fixed on the height of the Immortal seedling.

...

On the other side.

Ye Zhengqi walked quickly toward where Jiang Ning and Shen Wenyan were.

In the next instant, at Shen Wenyan’s signal, his steps halted.

Shen Wenyan glanced at Jiang Ning again, then quietly walked toward the spot where Ye Zhengqi had stopped.

"Marquis!" Ye Zhengqi saluted Shen Wenyan, holding a yellowed register in his hands. "Marquis, the roster of core Disciples and elders of the Cross Immortal Gate has been preliminarily compiled. Also, in the dungeon we found dozens of imprisoned jianghu figures and common folk, all abducted by the Cross Immortal Gate for drug testing or to serve as forced labor."

Shen Wenyan took the register and glanced over it, then said blandly, "Handle them according to the law. Punish the guilty, release the innocent. As for those who were abducted, give them Silver Coin and send them back to their native places."

"Yes!" Ye Zhengqi accepted the order and left.

Before long, Zhuge Qingsong also walked out from the depths of the halls, excitement on his face.

Seeing Shen Wenyan make a hush gesture, he immediately slowed his steps.

When he reached the edge of the plaza, Shen Wenyan also walked over.

"Marquis!" He saluted Shen Wenyan.

"What is it?" Shen Wenyan asked.

Zhuge Qingsong’s gaze immediately passed Shen Wenyan and fell on Jiang Ning behind him. "Dongling Marquis, this is...?"

Shen Wenyan shook his head. "In his current state, it’s best not to disturb him. Report directly to me."

Hearing this, Zhuge Qingsong’s face showed a hint of hesitation.

Seeing the look on Zhuge Qingsong’s face, Shen Wenyan immediately understood.

"It’s fine. We can wait."

Zhuge Qingsong quickly bowed to express his apology.

...

Less than the time for one cup of tea later.

Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes, a faint excitement in his gaze.

Because in this brief span of time, the Immortal seedling within him had grown to more than one foot three inches tall.

Even the leaves on the Immortal seedling had become broader.

He didn’t understand the reason behind it, but he knew this was a tremendously good thing.

The taller the Immortal seedling, the farther he had invisibly walked on the path of the Immortal Dao.

To the side.

Seeing Jiang Ning open his eyes, Shen Wenyan and Zhuge Qingsong immediately walked over together.

"Family Head Zhuge, now you can speak." The two of them stopped, and Shen Wenyan spoke.

"My lords Marquis, we’ve found the Cross Immortal Gate’s secret vault!" Zhuge Qingsong said excitedly.