Chapter 32: The Stone of Breath Earth

“Li Mu, don’t even think about escaping,” the four early-stage Tribulation-crossers shouted at once upon arriving.
However, they did not strike. They were worried that if they killed Qu Yi, the other three might attack them, which would be very dangerous.
Qu Yi glanced at the four early-stage Tribulation-crossers floating in the air and smiled. “You four, do you know why I’m here? Haha, do you think I wasn’t prepared?”
At these words, all 5,000 cultivators present were shocked.
“Yes, Li Mu isn’t a fool. How could he come alone to deal with so many cultivators?”
“Could Li Mu have some powerful magical artifacts on him? We really need to be careful. If he has a rare artifact that suddenly explodes, it could kill everyone here.”
“Heavens, Li Mu doesn’t even regard these four early-stage Tribulation-crossers as a threat. That means he must have artifacts capable of threatening them.”
“This is too much. Li Mu is insane. I sense danger. I’d better leave.”
Qu Yi’s words sparked their imaginations as the cultivators speculated wildly. Many already felt danger and flew away immediately.
Out of the 5,000 cultivators, over 4,000 left, leaving only those in the late Baihe stage behind. Those who left understood well that since early-stage Tribulation-crossers had arrived, staying would only invite disaster.
Qu Yi watched them leave, laughing heartily, while his spiritual awareness remained fixed on the four early-stage Tribulation-crossers.
Meanwhile, Shan Meng in the air suddenly spoke to another early-stage Tribulation-crosser, “Wei Ming, I didn’t expect the Jin Yang Sect to send you out. How about we work together this time to capture Li Mu?”
Wei Ming, dressed in golden robes that fluttered in the wind, kept his gaze fixed on Qu Yi without moving.
“Shan Meng, your physical body is gone. Could it be because of Li Mu? Working with you isn’t impossible, but make it clear—all the treasures on Li Mu must belong to me,” Wei Ming replied, still staring at Qu Yi, through his spiritual awareness.
Xiao Du Han in the air was also communicating mentally with another early-stage Tribulation-crosser.
“Fellow cultivator, I’m Xiao Du Han from the Xiao family, a prominent clan in the cultivation world,” he said.
The other early-stage cultivator, dressed in gray robes that seemed to be formed from true energy, appeared eerie, with a cold aura surrounding him.

“I know your intentions, but it’s not necessary. I’ve always acted alone and don’t like to cooperate,” the gray-robed powerhouse refused outright.
Xiao Duhan’s expression froze, showing signs of frustration, but he quickly regained his composure.
Qu Yi saw that the four early-stage Tribulation cultivators were silent and realized they were communicating through spiritual awareness. He smiled and said, “It seems you’re discussing how to capture me. But you won’t have that chance, because I’m about to enter the depths of this desert planet.”
The four early-stage Tribulation cultivators in the air were shocked, while the single Consolidation-stage cultivator on the ground also took out his magical weapon, preparing to surround Qu Yi.
At that moment, Qu Yi suddenly flew into the crack in the ground, using the speed of Planet Shift to arrive directly at the layer of yellow sand in the middle of the crack.
The yellow sand layer was no longer in a floating state; it seemed to have solidified, forming a layer of hard yellow sand right in the middle of the crack, like ice.
As soon as Qu Yi arrived, he took out the Golden Spear and channeled his vital energy into it, greatly amplifying its power. He then dug into the yellow sand layer, quickly creating a straight downward passage.
Of course, Qu Yi acted like a drill, spinning the Golden Spear as he continued to move through the yellow sand layer.
The four early-stage Tribulation cultivators in the air noticed Qu Yi’s movements and understood that he intended to enter the depths of the desert planet, using the dangerous environment there to ambush them.
“Hmph! You, just at the beginning of Consolidation stage, still think you can escape from the pursuit of Tribulation-stage cultivators?” Shan Meng was furious and immediately flew down, following the passage Qu Yi had dug.
Wei Ming and Xiao Duhan hesitated for a moment before also rushing into the yellow sand layer.
The last early-stage Tribulation cultivator shook his head and landed on the edge of the crack, sitting there—his intentions unclear.
The hundreds of Consolidation-stage cultivators saw that the early-stage Tribulation cultivator neither left nor went underground. After discussing briefly, they dispersed, unwilling to get involved in the pursuit of Qu Yi anymore.
…
The yellow sand layer was only a little over a hundred meters thick. Qu Yi quickly penetrated it and then discovered that the crack beneath it blocked spiritual awareness, with the entire space filled with a strong Earth energy aura.
“Great! It blocks spiritual awareness. Can those early-stage Tribulation cultivators still find me?” Qu Yi was overjoyed upon discovering this.
Without surprise, Qu Yi entered the Tiny Realm Sphere.
The Tiny Realm Sphere continued flying toward the bottom of the crack.

When Shan Meng and Xiao Duhan broke through the yellow sand layer and arrived in the fissure beneath it, they found that this place isolated spiritual awareness, making it impossible to sense Qu Yi’s whereabouts.
“Hmph, how cunning—actually finding such a place,” Shan Meng growled in anger, but he was at a loss for solutions.
“Li Mu must have been to the Desert Planet before and discovered the uniqueness of this fissure. That’s why he deliberately spread rumors to lure us here before hiding in this fissure,” Xiao Duhan realized Qu Yi’s plan immediately after recalling everything.
“With such strong Earth energy, there must be Earth-type treasures at the bottom of this fissure. I’ll go down and explore,” Wei Ming from the Jin Yang Sect said with some surprise.
Soon, Shan Meng and Xiao Duhan also realized there were treasures in the fissure, likely top-tier spiritual artifacts. Like Wei Ming, they didn’t fly up to leave but continued descending to explore the treasures.
The three powerhouses in the early stage of tribulation didn’t take Qu Yi, who was only in the early stage of fusion, seriously. They believed that if Qu Yi dared to launch a surprise attack, they could capture him right away. Thus, the three of them descended confidently.
Inside the Dimensional Sphere, as soon as Qu Yi entered, he sat by the lake, intending to continue scanning the Three Elements Dao and understanding the formations.
“Qu Yi, there’s no need to rush. The Dimensional Sphere will soon land at the bottom of the earth, and you can also see the Earth Restoring Stone,” the Artifact God said with a smile, leaning sideways on the soft chair.
The fissure was filled with Earth energy precisely because of the Earth Restoring Stone, which contained the primal Earth energy and could summon various forms of Earth energy.
Qu Yi thought about it and then looked at the Artifact God, smiling. “Artifact God, how many of the four in the early stage of tribulation have entered the fissure?”
The Artifact God immediately raised three fingers and said, “Three. Three in the early stage of tribulation, belonging to the Metal, Water, and Earth elements. When your soul realm reaches the middle stage of fusion, you can come and deal with them. Three Yuan Ying in the early stage of tribulation—these are what you’ll need to reach the later stage of fusion.”
Qu Yi’s face lit up. He understood what the Artifact God meant—those three powerhouses in the early stage of tribulation would never be able to escape the fissure.
“Artifact God, so these three can’t leave the fissure?” Qu Yi asked excitedly.

“Haha, you’re indeed very interested. That’s right. If they fly upward now and break through the layer of yellow sand to leave this fissure, they can still escape. But since they were lured by the aura of the Earth Restoring Stone and wanted to come underground in search of treasures, it was their greed that cost them their lives,” said the Artifact God with a smile.

Qu Yi stared at the Artifact God in surprise and asked further, “Can’t we approach this Earth Restoring Stone at all?”

The Artifact God shook his head and said with a laugh, “I’ve already sensed the pattern of the yellow sand layer’s movement. I know that the sand only stops forming sandlands once every sixty years, giving them a chance to do so. But soon, those sandlands will loosen up again and turn into flowing sand. By then, those three won’t be able to break through the flowing sand layer and will be trapped in this fissure. Moreover, they won’t be able to approach the Earth Restoring Stone either—how could treasures of the supreme spirit artifact level be taken so easily? Thus, within those sixty years, those three will be confined to this fissure, unable to use their spiritual senses and unable to see the surroundings, essentially in a state of imprisonment.”

Qu Yi looked at the Artifact God in amazement. Even at the early stage of tribulation, he couldn’t use his spiritual senses to see what was inside the fissure, yet the Artifact God could—proving just how powerful he was.

As they spoke, the Dimensional Sphere landed at the bottom of the fissure, which was actually the core of the Desert Star.

At the core lay a palm-sized, golden stone shaped like a disc, with patterns on its surface resembling the rings of a tree. These patterns kept rotating, emitting waves of Earth Energy in circles.

That stone was the Earth Restoring Stone.

The Earth Energy emitted from it formed nine giant Earth Energy dragons above the stone. Their nine heads kept spewing bright yellow sand, which floated upward into the fissure.

The Dimensional Sphere landed near the Earth Restoring Stone and then remained motionless.

Inside the Dimensional Sphere, Qu Yi released his spiritual senses and found that he could still sense external objects within the core. He also took a look at the Earth Restoring Stone.

“Artifact God, let’s go get this Earth Restoring Stone now!” Qu Yi exclaimed happily.

But as soon as he said that, he rolled around on the grass—his original spirit had been poked by the Artifact God again.

“Idiot, if we take the Earth Restoring Stone, all the Earth Energy in this fissure will disappear, and the yellow sand layer in the middle of the fissure will also vanish. How will you then keep those three early-stage tribulation cultivators trapped here? Just meditate inside the Dimensional Sphere for sixty years. By then, when those three have exhausted their vital energy due to being tormented by the Earth Restoring Stone, you can come and take it,” said the Artifact God calmly.

Qu Yi screamed nonstop as her body rolled. Only when she felt the pain in her vital spirit subside did she stand up, staring resentfully at the Artifact God. She wanted to curse him but dared not, her face turning red with frustration.
“Don’t call me for sixty years. I’ll refuse to communicate with you,” Qu Yi said angrily as she sat by the lake and shouted at the Artifact God.
The Artifact God chuckled and lay back down comfortably on the soft chair.
……
Shan Meng, Xiao Du Han, and Wei Ming entered the bottom of the fissure and could no longer sense each other, forcing them to keep falling downward.
It wasn’t long before the three reached the bottom of the fissure and saw the Earth-Soothing Stone located at the core of the Desert Star.
“So it’s the Earth-Soothing Stone. No wonder there’s such a strong Earth energy aura. If I get it, I’ll surely be able to survive the heavenly calamity, and I’ll have enough Earth energy to reach the Mahayana stage later,” Wei Ming from the Jin Yang Sect said, his eyes filled with eagerness as he gazed at the stone, his face ecstatic.
The Earth cultivation technique he practiced would benefit greatly from this Earth-Soothing Stone.
Undoubtedly, Shan Meng and Xiao Du Han also saw it. Although the stone wasn’t useful to them directly, selling it in the cultivation world would surely bring them immense wealth, so they were also very pleased.
Just as the three wanted to fly toward the Earth-Soothing Stone, the giant dragon formed from Earth energy spat out three blades of Earth energy, aiming at them.
These energy blades were less than a meter long, but the Earth energy within them was on par with that of the Mahayana stage.
The three were shocked and retreated, flying straight upward into the fissure. Though the three blades didn’t hit them, the resulting Earth energy fluctuations caused their vital energies to dissipate instantly, forcing them to vomit blood.
Still reeling from fear, the three almost simultaneously found themselves beneath the layer of yellow sand in the middle of the fissure. They then fearfully discovered that the sand was moving again. None of them dared enter it, knowing that the swirling sand could drain their vital energies and grind their bodies to dust.
Entering the sand meant death.
The three immediately became confused and realized the danger. Trapped at the bottom of the fissure, unable to go up or down, they found themselves in a truly miserable situation.