Chapter 611: That Barrier

"I hear that there's been a sacred level practitioner clearing out Spirit Mountain's cave swellings. Six or seven have already been swept. They're extremely fast and don't leave even weeds behind."

These weeds were the weeds that often grew near magic herb fields. When Ling Xiao gathered magic herbs, he'd take the entire field of magic herbs, so he'd often end up taking the weeds as well.

"That person probably isn't a rainbow mage, but most likely a sacred realm practitioner."

"No shit."

If it weren't a sacred level powerhouse, then it would be extremely difficult for them to break through the seals on the cave dwellings, never mind act so swiftly. Plus, with such crude methods, it was unlikely to be a mage.

"Who do you think it is?"

"Uh, they seem to be acting alone. We'll have to look into it if we want to know." Sacred level powerhouses usually drew a lot of attention when they acted alone. The other powers had definitely noticed.

Ignoring these guesses, Fu CangQiong looked at You JunQi next to him. "Brother You, who do you think it is?"

You JunQi raised an eyebrow. This was very much like that person's style, but it had been almost a year since he last saw them; could it be them?

"What do you think?" You JunQi tossed the question back at him.

Fu CangQiong said in a meaningful tone, "I believe my thoughts match yours."

You JunQi began to laugh uproariously. "I hope that our guess is correct." These days, he was constantly missing his son. He didn't know how he was doing recently, but he had heard that Ling Xiao had been injured. Was it just a rumor or truth?

"If it's true, then neither the Vermillion Blood Clan nor the Demon Phoenix Clan will let them go," Fu CangQiong brought up lightly.

Ever since Ling Xiao and You XiaoMo successfully escaped, You ZhenTian had continuously sent people to look for them. He hadn't given up even after a year, and his persistence was suspicious.

If they had betrayed the Vermillion Blood Clan, then there was no need to make such a big deal out of it, but You ZhenTian's prioritization of this had people wondering.

As for the Demon Phoenix Clan, after what happened with Ji YunLang, Ji He and his family saw them as threats that needed to be eliminated.

Recently, though Ji he seemed to have something against TianGou openly, he was also sending people to look for You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao in secret.

"And the GuMa Tribe," You JunQi added calmly.

Three months ago, they had received news that You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao had appeared in DongZhou. Originally, there this wasn't anything shocking, but then they had received news that the two had gone against the GuMa Tribe and even killed Chief Mo Ma's twin daughters, turning the whole thing into a blood feud.

From You JunQi's understanding of the two, the daughters might not actually have been killed by them.

Back then You JunQi felt that his son and son-in-law were really good at pulling aggro. Of the ten something great powers of the TongTian Continent, they had managed to blood feud with three of them. This was the road to suicide.

You JunQi felt that he really needed to get stronger, otherwise, considering their personalities, they'd probably make more feuds, which put pressure on him as father!

Seeing his conflicted expression, Fu CangQiong comforted him, "Don't worry too much. If they dared to enter the tiger's den, then that means they have confidence that they'll be able to make a full retreat. Plus, you shouldn't underestimate Ling Xiao. He's not so simple; he can definitely ensure your son's safety."

That, You JunQi wasn't worried about.

Though he had only known Ling Xiao for a very short time, he could tell that Ling Xiao valued his son's life more than Ling Xiao valued himself.

"I hear that five of the Eight Mansions in Spirit Mountain have already been opened; there's only three left..."

The Eight Mansions of Spirit Mountain were Gate of Beginnings, Gate of Peace, Gate of Life, Gate of Injury, Gate of Negation, Gate of Nature, Gate of Death, and Gate of Terror. Currently, only the Gates of Life, Injury and Terror were left untouched. However, apart from the Gate of Life, the Gate of Injury and the Gate of Terror were both symbols of great misfortunes. Level twelve Water Demons had appeared in the Gate of Death, so it was clear that the Gates of Injury and Terror would be exceptionally dangerous.

"Isn't there still a Gate of Life? They just have to find it first." Fu CangQiong's eyes flashed.

The Gate of Life was a symbol of good fortune, bringing only good and no danger, as it's name suggested. Compared to the neutral Gate of Negation and Gate of Nature, apart from the seals around it that would have to be broken, the Gate of Life most likely wouldn't have any dangers inside.

Those who had tasted the benefits the Gate of Beginnings and Gate of Peace could bring definitely wouldn't leave the Gate of Life be.

The Eight Mansions of Spirit Mountain seemed to be placed randomly, but since it was designed based on the eight gates, then there would definitely be a pattern to it. This wasn't a problem for those in search of them. The Gate of Life would be found, the only question was when.

You JunQi was also very interested in the Gate of Life. However, he didn't want it for himself, but for his son.

His appearance in the Peach Spring Ruins was for this; he was here to help his son collect all sorts of rare magic herbs and seeds.

"Let's not dawdle. We need to find the Gate of Life."

Fu CangQiong led the disciples of the Cang Alliance onwards towards the top of Spirit Mountain because, according to his calculations, the third mansion of Spirit Mountain was very likely at the very top. Not only that, but the two great gates of misfortunes, the Gate of Injury and Gate of Terror, were very likely at the top as well.

Along the way, they met the Black Turtle Clan and Beast Transfiguration Guild who were also aiming for the top, temporarily allying with them because the people of the Beast Transfiguration Guild told them news that the Vermillion Blood Clan, MuGa Tribe and Demon Phoenix Clan had also made an alliance. Their goal was also the peak.

Spirit Mountain was a massive mountain; the ancient practitioners and mages seemed to have predicted that such a day would come, because they had set many traps on the mountain, especially on the path to the peak. No matter what path you took, danger was abound. Some lone cultivators thought they could get up there on their own, only to fall halfway.

Ling Xiao's promised half a month was also fast approaching.

On the way, he had gotten news that the great powers were all aiming for the peak because the remaining three mansions were up there, but he didn't go and join in.

When time was up, Ling Xiao returned.

The seals on the cave dwelling were set by Ling Xiao. The original seals had already been broken, so when he entered, he didn't startle anyone.

In this half a month, several groups of people had passed by. Most of them had left directly. Some were more cunning, seeing the seals and thinking it hadn't been cleared out, and thus attacking.

It was good that Ling Xiao's seals were very powerful, and those people couldn't break through no matter how hard they tried. In the end, they were forced to give up.

Not long later, Ling Xiao found the stone room You XiaoMo was cultivating in.

You XiaoMo was sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed. The spiritual energy around him swirled like a whirlpool, fighting to get inside him. It continued for four hours before it finally stopped.

Then, You XiaoMo suddenly made a hand motion. His pale skin turned pink, then redder and redder, like dripping blood. His motionless body also steadily began to tremble.

Currently, his sea of consciousness was undergoing a wild transformation.

The seven crystals seemed to have been connected by a beam of light, like the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, they constantly changed speed and shape, seven colors flashing. A golden light would snatch the leading position, then a purple, like they were fighting over leadership. Slowly, the seven colors began to balance each other and harmonize.

After who knows how long, when the seven crystals were spinning at their limits, You XiaoMo heard a huge crash in his ears, and that tense feeling disappeared, replaced by a feeling of relief, like that of the open ocean and sky.

You XiaoMo felt his inner energy and almost jumped with joy.

The barrier that had been hindering him all this time had finally disappeared. He thought back carefully, and finally figured out why he had failed to advance all this time.

The crystals in his sea of consciousness was originally rainbow colored, and now each one held a spectacular color to it, radiating warmth and light, feeding into each other and reaching a unique balance.

The reason why he had been failing to advance was because he lacked this sort of balance.

Grade three to four was a huge leap for rainbow grade mages, because a balance was required to advance further, and this balance was the colors of these crystals.

He had once heard the advice and experiences of Ancestor Dan Qing for rainbow grade mages in the Wall of Time. Back then, he had heard the other talk of balance and hadn't understood, but now he knew.

The spiritual energy of Spirit Mountain had the effect of calming and cleansing one's mind, preventing negative emotions when achieving breakthrough. That was why people said it was easier to cultivate at Spirit Mountain. It was true.

"Ling Xiao, I can help you refine the Reincarnation Pill now." The first thing You XiaoMo saw upon getting up was Ling Xiao, standing in the doorway to the room. He lunged for the other without hesitation, voice filled with excitement. He had been waiting for the day he could refine the Reincarnation Pill for Ling Xiao and now he had finally met all the requirements.

Ling Xiao curled one arm around his waist, his other hand lifting the other's chin teasingly.

You XiaoMo's arms were wrapped around Ling Xiao's shoulders, standing on his tip toes, very uncooperatively and eagerly kissing him. You XiaoMo opened his mouth, willingly offering his tongue and acting even hungrier than the one who was teasing him.

There was no such thing as refusing a feast that practically jumped into your mouth. Ling Xiao didn't try to refuse this offering and sucked on the other's tongue, dominating his mouth. As a perfect husband, he had to satisfy his wife's needs.