Xiao Ling and the little girl Lin Xiaoxue stood at the edge of the ship, watching as it lifted off.
The ship slowly rose from the ground until it reached a certain height, and then its turbines lit up with a terrifying yellow glow that spiraled ominously. Suddenly, it shot forward like a missile.
The scenery warped due to the speed, but, incredibly, the people inside weren't affected by inertia, nor did the gusts of wind from outside hit their bodies. It was all thanks to the superb formations embedded in the ship.
"This is really amazing! I didn't know it could go this fast!" Xiaoxue whispered, awestruck by the view outside.
It was the first time anyone on this ship had experienced the world distorting due to the high speed of a moving vehicle.
"Yes, me too." Xiao Ling nodded, equally amazed.
They had ridden the sect's ship before, but since the distance was short, it hadn't gone very fast, making the trip much calmer.
Xiaoxue admired the scenery for a while, until she remembered something that made her curious.
"Sister Ling, who do you think that man beside the sect leader was?" She asked innocently, but with curiosity.
To her disappointment, Xiao Ling shook her head.
"I'm almost as new to the sect as you are. There's still a lot we don't know, and it's best not to pry. Sister Xiaoxue, remember—curiosity can be one of the most dangerous things in this world." Xiao Ling advised her in a low but firm voice.
Xiaoxue didn't think the sect was dangerous to its disciples, but seeing the serious look on this kind older sister's face, she could only nod reluctantly.
Xiao Ling looked at the little girl with concern.
'She's still very young and innocent. Even though the sect seems kind and upright, we still know very little about it. We must be cautious.' She thought, determined.
She truly liked what she'd seen of the sect, but the problem was she had seen very little, which made her hesitant to trust that everything was as good as it appeared.
Only time would reveal the truth.
"Excuse me, are you Senior Sister Xiao Ling?"
A voice called from behind them, and when they turned, they saw an older man with silver hair and a few wrinkles on his face—but still looking quite healthy.
Xiao Ling recognized him as one of the five inner disciples, like herself, and he also wore the new white robes of the inner disciples.
The robes had the same functions and tier as the previous ones, just in a different color. It was promised that the inner disciples would receive better sets once they reached Foundation Establishment, as the current robes were already beyond what their realms could handle.
Of course, Aotian couldn't simply say they lacked the materials to make better ones.
"Yes, I am. You must be Junior Brother Cang Song. Were you looking for me?" She asked politely.
Although he was older in age, his cultivation was still at the 9th level of Qi Refinement, while she had already reached perfection, so there was no awkwardness in how they addressed one another.
It had been a month since Cang Song began cultivating in the sect, and in that time, he had advanced from the 6th to the 9th level of Qi Refinement. In truth, if he had been able to focus solely on cultivation, just a few days would have been enough to reach perfection. But ironically—and unfortunately—he had spent far more time stabilizing his realm than actually cultivating.
Xiao Ling had also experienced this, but with her perfect roots, she cultivated even faster—and even with several days dedicated to stabilization, one month was enough for her to reach perfection in Qi Refinement.
"Yes. Apparently, we were assigned the same mission, and since neither of us had a defined group, the sect paired us together." Cang Song said, raising a jade slip and showing it to her.
Xiao Ling nodded, already aware of that fact. She had received the same jade slip from the mission pavilion.
"The sect decided that just the two of us are enough for this mission. So, to ensure nothing goes wrong, I thought it would be prudent to come speak with Senior Sister and decide how we'll proceed." He explained clearly and humbly.
"Very well. Just give me a moment." She agreed but asked for a second.
"Don't worry, I was the one who was abrupt. Take your time, I'll wait over there." Cang Song quickly waved his hands apologetically and pointed to a more distant spot.
But Xiao Ling shook her head.
"No need, I just want to say goodbye to my little sister. You can stay here, it won't take long." She waved off his concern and smiled at her fellow disciple, assuring him.
"Oh! All right then." He nodded understandingly and waited.
Xiao Ling turned to Lin Xiaoxue, who looked at her with sad eyes, and smiled gently.
"Don't make that face. You need to find your team too. Just promise me you'll be okay, and that you'll be careful—with everything and everyone. Can you promise me that?" She gently stroked the little girl's black hair and asked seriously.
They had known each other for only two days, but Xiao Ling had already developed a protective heart for this curious and innocent little girl.
Likewise, Xiaoxue had developed a strong bond and sense of sisterhood for her kind older sister.
"Uhm, I promise, Sister Ling!" She replied softly, but with determination in her eyes.
She was also making a promise to herself to be cautious so she could keep her word to her big sister.
"Good, now go!" Xiao Ling said, seeing her off.
"Uhm!" Xiaoxue replied, a little sad, but turned and left to find the group she would join for the mission.
They didn't know that Aotian had grouped the younger disciples of the sect together, sending a few external elders to look after them during the journey. Fortunately, there weren't many of them, and just two elders were enough to manage the young disciples.
Seeing that Xiao Ling had finished her matters, Cang Song calmly approached.
"Senior Sister Xiao, our task this time is to explore the tomb of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It'll just be the two of us, and our objectives are two Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques, four Founder-tier spells, twenty-three different types of Founder-tier herbs, one Founder-tier artifact..." He listed several materials the sect had designated as targets.
Xiao Ling couldn't help but feel curious.
"How does the sect know exactly what's in the tomb?" She asked absentmindedly.
Cang Song paused his list when he heard the question, looked at the girl in front of him, and became a bit more serious.
"I'm not sure, but I heard some senior disciples like us speculating that it might be the work of one of the sect's crystal orbs—artifacts that belong to the same set as the crystal library we saw earlier. But I'd recommend we don't think too much about it. The sect is full of mysteries, and if they're meant to be revealed one day, they will be." He spoke with caution and offered a serious warning.
Xiao Ling was surprised, thinking that theory made a lot of sense, but she nodded, finding it wise not to dwell on it.
...
The other disciples also received similar missions. But most of them were simply assigned to explore spiritual mines. Only the stronger ones were designated to tomb exploration missions.
But in reality, all disciples would end up at spiritual mines one way or another.
In this desert continent, most Foundation Establishment tombs are located in spiritual mines. That's because it's extremely difficult to guarantee a peaceful rest within a spiritual vein, not to mention that spiritual veins are far too rare to be used as burial grounds.
Another problem with using veins as tombs is that they are very visible and highly coveted. Their presence attracts the desire of cultivators, clans, and sects—disrupting any chance of eternal rest.
Spiritual mines, on the other hand, are more discreet. Buried under layers of earth or stone, they provide a hidden refuge, while still containing condensed raw spiritual energy—enough to keep defensive formations active for centuries.
Spiritual mines form in places where the Feng Shui is favorable enough to attract the natural flow of regional energy, but not quite strong enough to form a vein. The energy then sinks underground and slowly condenses over thousands of years into raw energy.
Spiritual mines are nowhere near as rare as spiritual veins, but they are still quite rare.
In fact, spiritual veins themselves were once prototypes of mines, but due to superior environment and Feng Shui, the mana accumulation from an entire region flowed into them, birthing a spiritual vein instead of a mine. That's why spiritual veins also produce spiritual stones, just like mines—and it's also why very few, or almost no mines, form in vast areas where a spiritual vein is gestating.
After the gestation completes, it's the vein that begins producing energy and enriching the environment, making it possible for more mines to be born nearby.
When Aotian learned these things from Rihai, he was amazed, especially because the Blue Cloud City had five spiritual veins gestating side by side—showing that somehow, all five had found a kind of balance under its Feng Shui.
Such an incredible situation made Aotian understand why Rihai had lamented the cultivators of that time destroying it out of greed, thereby creating a massive low-level spiritual vein. He also wondered what would have happened if such a unique event had been allowed to unfold—and what the resulting veins would have been like.
And he had other questions he needed to research on his own, such as why veins were mostly born in mountains.