Chapter Thirteen: The Sharp Gold Stone

The Tiny World Ball fell downward from the cave entrance; it hadn’t yet reached the bottom of the entire cave. At that moment, the Artifact God controlled the Tiny World Ball, sending it flying further down, and soon they arrived at the bottom of the earth.

The bottom of the earth was no longer pitch black—it was illuminated by ten thousand faint lights that lit up the entire area. Each of these lights was straight and bright, without any fluctuations, shining directly on the cave walls everywhere, with the light scattering throughout the entire space.

The bottom of the earth was about a thousand miles long, shaped like a hemisphere, as if half of the core of Feiyun Star was occupied by this empty underground space. At the center of the bottom, where these ten thousand lights originated, there was a palm-sized golden stone in a diamond shape. The Tiny World Ball landed beside this stone.

Qu Yi, inside the Tiny World Ball, released his spiritual sense and discovered that he could sense his surroundings. “Artifact God, there are no restrictions on spiritual sensing here. I see only one stone in the center. Could the ‘great thing’ you mentioned be this stone?” Qu Yi exclaimed excitedly.

“You’re right. It is this Sharp Gold Stone,” the Artifact God replied lazily, rolling over on the soft chair in a childish voice.

Qu Yi chewed his lip, looking at the infant-like, pale Artifact God. He was so angry he almost wanted to swallow it whole—couldn’t the Artifact God speak properly? But he quickly calmed down. He was by no means a match for the Artifact God. Not to mention getting close to it; even just thinking such a thing would likely cause the Artifact God to pierce his vital spirit severely.

“Artifact God, what’s special about this Sharp Gold Stone? What’s its use?” Qu Yi asked kindly, wearing a smile and showing utmost respect, almost bowing low.

“Oh, it’s very useful. Now that you have the Tidal Stone and the Flame Heart Stone, and now this Sharp Gold Stone as well, it will be extremely helpful for you to comprehend the primal energies of the five elements,” the Artifact God said lazily again.

Seeing that the Artifact God wouldn’t explain further, Qu Yi’s interest faded, and he released his spiritual sense to observe the Sharp Gold Stone more closely.

This Sharp Gold Stone seemed to have absorbed all the gold-element energy from the entire underground space of Feiyun Star, continuously emitting faint lights that never diminished or weakened. Around these lights, a golden glow permeated the air, illuminating the entire bottom of the earth. Due to these lights and golden glows, there was a strong sense of sharp killing intent—seemingly, any disturbance would trigger endless golden rays to strike.

“Vessel God, how do I obtain this Sharp Gold Stone? Can’t you have the Tiny Realm Ball absorb it?” Qu Yi’s spiritual sense sensing danger, he couldn’t help but ask.
At that moment, the Vessel God leaped up from the soft chair in a flash, pointed at Qu Yi, and shouted, “You idiot! You have the divine talisman card inscribed with the ‘Five Energies and Three Flowers’ technique—don’t you know how to use it?”
Qu Yi pressed his lips together, once again suppressing his anger. The Vessel God would often become irritable from time to time and lash out, and Qu Yi had gotten used to it.
“Hmph, I won’t argue with you since you act like a child. As for your age, it’s extremely ancient. I, Qu Yi, respect the elderly and care for the young. I won’t quarrel with you, Vessel God. Do as you please.”
Thinking this, Qu Yi stepped out of the Tiny Realm Ball and channeled his vital energy into the divine talisman card.
This talisman card was a defensive treasure. Once his vital energy was infused, it emitted a white light sphere that completely enveloped Qu Yi.
At the same time, this white light sphere also covered the Sharp Gold Stone, preventing even the slightest light from escaping. Naturally, all the light underground disappeared, turning the area instantly black.
When Qu Yi tried to pick up the Sharp Gold Stone with his hand, he found that the light emitted by the stone had strong lethal power—each ray was like a sharp sword, making it impossible to approach.
“Qu Yi, use a Chaos Crystal to unleash Chaos Energy and encase this Sharp Gold Stone, then put it inside the Tiny Realm Ball,” the Vessel God suddenly said.
Hearing this, Qu Yi immediately took out a Chaos Crystal from his space ring, channeled mixed energy into it to activate the Chaos Crystal, which then quickly enveloped the Sharp Gold Stone.
Chaos Energy was far superior to the Five Elements primordial energy. Thus, as soon as the Chaos Energy covered the Sharp Gold Stone, not a single ray of light could escape. Qu Yi easily picked up the stone and then disappeared, entering the Tiny Realm Ball.
With the Sharp Gold Stone inside the Tiny Realm Ball, it became Qu Yi’s domain. The previously deadly light was now under his control; all the rays were twisted and directed in one direction, no longer posing a threat to anyone.
Seeing Qu Yi succeed, the Vessel God smiled and said, “Qu Yi, congratulations! Now you have the Sharp Gold Stone. It contains Gold Element primordial energy, which will be of great use to you in the future.”
Only then did Qu Yi finally learn a little about this Sharp Gold Stone.

The Tide Stone contains the primal energy of water, the Flame Heart Stone holds the primal energy of fire, while the Sharp Gold Stone holds the primal energy of metal.
“Divine Vessel, are there any other treasures that contain the primal energy of earth and wood?” Qu Yi exclaimed excitedly.
“You’re right,” replied the Divine Vessel lazily, lying back on the soft chair and closing its eyes to sleep comfortably.
Qu Yi glanced at the Divine Vessel before shaking his head helplessly. Since he couldn’t get the truth out of it, he would ask again later.
※※※
When Qu Yi successfully obtained the Sharp Gold Stone, tens of thousands ofclouds and mist peaks in the entireclouds and mist Mountain Range trembled simultaneously, and then all the peaks stopped emitting white clouds. It seemed as though all those peaks were connected to each other underground.
Inside the Dimensional Sphere, Qu Yi didn’t notice anything unusual until he controlled it to fly toward the entrance of the cave. Only then did he realize that his spiritual sense could still sense what was happening outside—this was very different from when he fell into the cave. However, Qu Yi didn’t bother to think too much. After all, he had achieved a cultivation breakthrough and obtained the Sharp Gold Stone, which was good enough. He didn’t care about the changes in theclouds and mist Mountain Range.
Just as the Dimensional Sphere was about to emerge outside the cave, Qu Yi stepped out of it, took out the Golden Spear, and quickly flew out of the cave entrance into the air.
“What kind of cave is this? It trapped me for three months, preventing me from using my spiritual sense. Life was really tough. Thankfully, I’m out now. I’ll never come to this mountain range again,” Qu Yi shouted angrily once he was in the air.
After shouting, he flew toward the Hidden Cloud Gate.
Of course, he said this on purpose for those nearby to hear. That early-stage Tribulation expert from the Taiyuan Gate was sitting in meditation on a nearby peak. The Divine Vessel sensed this and told Qu Yi, who then shouted those words.
The moment Qu Yi left theclouds and mist Mountain Range, that early-stage Tribulation expert arrived in the area where Qu Yi had been, smiling slightly. “You’re truly lucky to have survived in that cave where even spiritual sense is restricted. Good. I’ll have to keep tracking you every day.”
With that, the early-stage Tribulation expert vanished, continuing to follow Qu Yi.
By this time, not only did tens of thousands of peaks in theclouds and mist Mountain Range stop emitting white clouds, but the white clouds already flying in the air were also slowly dispersing, likely to disappear soon.
……
The Qianhuo Palace sent people to demand an explanation, but almost all of its experts were wiped out. Nearly three months had passed since then.

Over these three months, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin, along with the disciples of Hidden Cloud Sect, went to the surrounding areas and reclaimed all of Hidden Cloud Sect’s former territories. Throughout this process, no other sect dared to question Hidden Cloud Sect; those who usually bullied its disciples fled in terror like mice seeing a cat. Hidden Cloud Sect’s influence suddenly expanded, and the sect showed signs of prosperity. Despite these exciting developments, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin could not feel happy at all. It had been three months since Qu Yi set out to pursue True Master Gouhuo, yet he still hadn’t returned. True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin were very worried, knowing that it was Qu Yi who had brought about Hidden Cloud Sect’s current prosperity. If anything happened to him, Hidden Cloud Sect would be eliminated by other sects. Inside Smile Cloud Palace, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin sat gloomily. “Hanjin, where on earth has the sect leader gone? Why hasn’t he returned after three months? Even if he had to fly around the entire Feiyun Star, it should be enough time by now,” asked True Master Floating Cloud, frowning with concern. “Yes, given the sect leader’s strength, he should be able to defeat True Master Gouhuo. Why isn’t he back?” Hanjin replied, also feeling frustrated. The two fell into silence, lost in thought. “Hanjin, there’s no need to overthink it. Since the sect leader hasn’t returned, there must be a reason. We should focus on managing Hidden Cloud Sect and stabilizing the current situation until his return,” said True Master Floating Cloud firmly. His words enlightened Hanjin, who’s eyes lit up as he smiled. “Right! With his cultivation at the late stage of Divided Spirit, he can even compete with those at the late stage of Combined Body. We can’t guess his ways. Maybe he’s already nearby, observing us. Then let’s work together to manage Hidden Cloud Sect well and welcome his return.” Haha, realizing this, the two immediately laughed. “True Master Floating Cloud, True Master Hanjin, you haven’t disappointed me. I’m back!” At that moment, Qu Yi’s voice came through. “Sect leader!” “Sect leader!” Hearing Qu Yi’s voice, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin rushed out of Smile Cloud Palace and met him in the air. Qu Yi scanned the entire Hidden Cloud Peak with his spiritual sense, looked at the two of them, and smiled. “Hidden Cloud Sect is doing well now. Excellent. Its next goal is to rule the entire Feiyun Star!”

Upon hearing this, True Person Floating Cloud and True Person Hanjin were stunned at first, then their faces lit up with joy.