Chapter 61  : All The Way To The West.

Along the outskirts of the Zhong Zhou Province, on a luxury bus, two men and a woman were conversing. The older man looked spirited and energetic despite his old age while the other younger man’s expression suggested he possessed a sharp mind and sound judgment. The girl beside them was young; she watched the two men with a pair of witty eyes.

They were Chen Fan and his entourage.

Chen Fan had politely refused Zhou Tianhao’s offer for a ride. He was not in a hurry, and therefore, he had decided to take a bus so that he could enjoy the view on the way. The bus was slow, it had been three days, and they had just crossed the border into Zhong Zhou Province.

The girl next to him was A’Xiu.

A’Xiu sat quietly with determination written all over her face. Regardless of how many times Chen Fan had asked her to leave, she just stared back with a pair of watery eyes, begging to stay with him.

Master Wu took pity on the girl and braved a request for her to travel with them. Chen Fan kept his silence, which Master Wu took as permission.

However, the girl quickly proved to be quite a helper.

Both Chen Fan and Master Wu were used to having everything done for them. Therefore, they asked the girl to handle most of the chores, such as buying train tickets, booking a hotel, and asking for directions.

Chen Fan looked at Master Wu with a half smile.

Master Wu’s real name was Wu Shanhe.

The smile on his face frozen in place when he noticed Chen Fan was studying his face intensely.

“Why are you looking at me like this? I have already told you everything I know. ”

“Really?” Chen Fan fished out the grey crystal from his pocket and asked, “What really is going on at the Yin Dragon Pond? Don’t try to fool me again. I know more than you about this Yin Dragon Pond.”

Yin Crystals only formed around areas where Yin Qi conglomerated.

Such a place was practically a heaven for sentient beings that cultivated the Yin Qi. Calling it a sacred ground was not overstating it, particularly on earth where most of the Qi had already dried up. It was like a lush oasis that would attract all kinds of animals, big and small.

Not all sentient beings cultivated the Spirit Qi. Some felt a closer affinity for the Malice Qi, Yin Qi, and even Fiend Qi.

If Master Wu and his sect were really in charge of such a sacred ground for cultivation, he would have at least reached the Ethereal Enlightenment level. However, Chen Fan knew that that was far from reality.

Master Wu’s smile evaporated from his face; his body quivered as he stammered... “Master Chen, you already knew about that place?”

“Know what?” Chen Fan’s face was placid and calm.

The old man no longer dared lie to Chen Fan, so he shared it all. “Actually... this pond indeed belongs to my sect.

“My sect is called the Yin Ghost Sect, and our founder was an infamous Captain of the Tomb Raiders—Yes, it was a thing ever since back in the Han Dynasty. Our founder lived during the Qin Dynasty, and he stumbled upon an ancient tomb of the Tang period, and it turned out to be a treasure trove. From the tomb, he had gained a secret art of the ancient Tang dynasty family, and he started cultivating following the method outlined in the art. After a while, he started up his own sect. ”

“I am the third-generation disciple of our founder. I have two more sect brothers. Their powers were both on par with mine. My teacher had passed away many years ago, and the three of us had been managing the sect since.

“The Yin Dragon Pond was a sacred ground discovered by our founder. My grandmaster realized that the area was filled to the brim with Yin Qi, and therefore would be beneficial for cultivation. He went into the pond for a long period of cultivation before the tragedy struck suddenly.”

Master Wu’s eyes suddenly lost focus as fear surfaced on his face.

“What kind of tragedy?” Curiosity spurred A’Xiu to ask.

“Unknown to our founder, there was a.., monster living inside the pond.” Master Wu gathered himself and then said, “It was a half snake and half water dragon with a mouth that breathed deadly Yin and Malic Qi. Our founder fought with the monster but was wounded and defeated. Those wounds eventually took his life a few years later.”

“Luckily, the monster still lived deep inside the pond and didn’t seem to want to wreak havoc in the world.

“My teacher led my two sect brothers and me to the pond to investigate a few years ago. The monster came right at us. We didn’t even think of fighting back, so we snatched a few crystals from the pond and ran away.”

After Wu Shanhe had finished his story, he looked at Chen Fan fearfully.

“Master Chen, I really didn’t mean to lie to you. I didn’t tell you the truth because I was afraid that you wouldn’t believe me.

magic “That monster looked like a water dragon, and therefore, our founder had named the place the ‘Yin Dragon Pond.’ My grandmaster was the only person who saw it with his own eyes. That monster had outlived two generations of disciples and should be over a hundred years old by now.”

“Really?” A’Xiu gasped incredulously.

Chen Fan and Lin Hu both possessed incredible abilities, but their power was still comprehensible to a normal human. However, a hundred-year-old water dragon sounded straight from mythical tales.

“Well, it’s not a water dragon, just a Yin Snake.” Chen Fan said lightly. “The real water dragon could summon wind and rain on a whim, and controlling the flow of air with ease. That little snake would need at least five hundred years to achieve such power.”

“Master Chen, you seem to know such a monster?” Wu Shanhe was taken aback.

“Of course.” Chen Fan replied lightly, “It’s just a snake.”

If Wu Shanhe was right, the Yin Snake had grown to a dozen meters long and was able to breathe out Yin and Malic Qi; it must have reached Ethereal Enlightenment level in its cultivation.

However, the power of such cryptids were no match against a cultivator even though they were at the same level.

A cultivator had the help of various Dharma Treasures and was aided by immortal arts, while the animals had no such advantages.

“Nonetheless, I have reached only the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment level. It might be challenging for me to take on the snake right now.”

So thinking, Chen Fan furrowed his brows.

“I should wait until I reach the late-stage of the Foundation Establishment level and try to use the Immortal Enlightenment level spells. Either that or I should further refine the Jade Marrow Talisman and increase its damage.”

Chen Fan had named the talisman the Talisman of Thunder ever since he had used the Arcane Bulwark of Thunder to defeat Master Wu. This was the first Drahma Artifact he had owned on earth.

Finally, Chen Fan decided that they would halt their travel to Dong Du City, to start focusing on refining his talisman for now.

He asked Wu Shanhe, “Is there anywhere suitable for cultivation? I also need some herbs to aid in my progress.”

“Herbs for cultivation?” Wu Shanhe mulled on the question for a while. Suddenly, he slapped his head and said, “Yes! there is one of the largest medicinal herb markets in the Jiu Ding City.”

“Oh?” Chen Fan’s eyes lit up with interest.

He had heard of the Jiu Ding City before; it was a famous distribution and warehouse center for traditional Chinese medicine.

Chen Fan had searched hard for precious herbs to help him with his cultivation; however, Chu Zhou was a small city and therefore had a very limited supply of herbs. Even thirty-years-old ginseng would cost a fortune.

Chen Fan was confident that once he could find enough high-grade herbs, he would be able to improve his cultivation further.

He could also leverage other unique Dharmic Formulations to improve the power of the Talisman of Thunder further.