57. Spiritual Veins II

Nine days later, Clay is sitting on the front yard of the cabin as he enjoyed the last meat from the boar he killed for his little experiment. He wanted continue making Spiritual Vein Models but that night, he felt the Beast Cores within his body were expanding so he was forced to seclude.

The growth eventually stopped the after three days but considering Urda’s warning about his days being numbered, he stayed inside the cabin and meditated for nine consecutive days. Since then he had not felt any changes so he decided to come out.

If possible, he would like to start his journey tomorrow and search of a cure but he is apprehensive that he may die after a days so he made a resolve to wait and just accept his demise or if he is still alive, then at least he travel with a peace of mind.

In the mean time, he will look at the Spiritual Vein and see what he missed. He has sufficient Qi Crystals left but he will save them in the event his Cores will surprise him with an advancement.

After eating the last portion of meat, Clay flew to where the small Spiritual Vein was located.

As Clay was floating in the air, he felt something was amiss. Nine days ago, he could barely feel any Qi but today, he felt a slight difference so he immediately activated his Godly Eyes.

“Oh my god!” Clay could not believe what he is seeing. He thought first his experiment failed but looking at the dense energy a few kilometers from him, he is certain the source is the first Spiritual Vein Model he created.

Clay changed his route and upon arriving on the rivulet, he landed the observed the Vein he created.

When he first extracted the circulation circuit of the boar, the root like structure that was attached to the Core was thin but now, it had changed that there are only six roots left but they are as thick as his pinky finger.

Clay scanned the area.

With the unusual presence of Spiritual Qi, it did attract more than twenty Spiritual Beasts but what got his attention were the succulent leaves of the fauna near the waters. It just occurred to him that he has no idea how to turn the Spiritual Qi in the air to a crystal form but if it is the leaves, then they can act as alternative.

Clay did not gather the leaves but instead, he looked into his spatial ring for a simple Isolation Array. That time when the Formation set up by Urda attacked he had to study the few related magic tools and while he still could not fully understand them, he can at least operate something basic.

Using his Qi Projections, he scattered twelve circular metal plates and after positioning them evenly, he activated the small pillar acting as the central control then shortly after, the metal plates released an invisible force field creating a dome covering an area of five hundred meter radius.

From the outside, even his presence his hidden using the naked eye but more importantly, the Spiritual Qi is prevented from leaking out. Later, he found an empty flat spot and meditated.

They say that the faster a clock moves, the slower time passes according to someone in a different form of reference.

One thing Clay observed about cultivation is that if someone watches a cultivator breaks through, that person can feel the flow of time however, that person meditating felt like he had gone to sleep and wake up and won’t even realize eight hours had passed.

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When Clay opened his eyes, it was already morning. He had patiently waited for this day but seeing that there are no changes in his body, he did not know if he should celebrate. In a way, he felt relieved but the fact that his body is transforming into a monster, he felt it is high time he starts his journey.

Clay got to is feet then extended multiple Qi Tentacles from his body then started harvesting every succulent left along the stream of water. And to prevent them from drying, he used specialized jade boxes he found from the spatial rings of the Nascent Elders he killed. They look like giant coffins but Clay did not care about appearances. As long as he can preserve them is all that matters.

After harvesting the leaves, he deactivated the simple Isolation Formation and stored it in his ring together with the Spiritual Vein Model he created.

Then a few minutes later, he activated his wings and departed.

Clay has no idea which part of the world he is at but after flying for an entire day, he had finally found a city built upon a Spiritual Vein. He did pass a few towns but the lack of veins means there are fewer cultivators and for him who needed advance knowledge about the cultivation world, it would be better to interact and trade within a place full of cultivators. Maybe he can find someone more knowledgeable about his Beast Transformation.

To avoid attracting attention, Clay landed three kilometers away from the city and started walking.

It is a drizzling evening and despite the weather and the hour, Clay noticed the influx of people traveling to the city like it is mid-day. On top of that, majority of the people walking in the direction of the city have two pointy ears. Unlike the Elves in San Ruk town with four ears, these Elven breed are blonde and have two pointy ears but what is weird is that they do not emanate the same level of elegance that makes him feel inferior. It feels like meeting a normal human.

Clay quietly approached the gate and asked one of the guards as he paid his toll.

"I have never seen a city so lively like this."

"You should see this place ten days before new year. Look friend, there is an on-going sect recruitment and would appreciate if this human friend behaves during his stay."

“I know my place and thank you for the kind reminder. I know it is crazy but could you tell me the name of this city?” Clay smiled. It is probably his size and the aura he purposely released. He did not like showing off but earlier, he saw how a non-cultivator was treated so he revealed a portion of his strength without using Boosted Power.

“He he he. You don’t need to be polite. It’s called Ab'atuan City, the biggest trading post you’ll ever see within the border. I recommend you hire a local to tour you around or you could buy this map for five silvers."

Clay tossed a gold coin for the map then thanked the guard with a slight bow.

As he walked towards the city square, he notice how bustling the city is and the most crowded area is where the recruitment tests are being held.

He was attracted by the display of techniques and other competitions but he ignored it for now. He felt like in a shopping center back on Earth and as a cultured man, he should first seek to accomplish what he needed to buy so he continued walking towards the nearest guild indicated on the map.

As he walked towards his destination, Clay noticed the number of people started dwindling and when he was about to cross a street, he saw a group of Elves coming from the opposite direction.

Clay wanted to ignore them especially that their leader looked intimidating however, he felt something unusual about them.

Clay activated his Godly Eyes.

“The hell is that?” Clay silently exclaimed.

He knew that Elves have secondary dantian and use it as Qi reservoir but this group of cultivators are using their secondary dantian to store Death Qi. And they seem to be fine.

Clay felt they hold the answer to is Beast Transformation so Clay waited until they walked past him.

“Excuse me. I am Clay, an itinerant cultivator. I wonder if these friends could spare some time and enlighten me about Death Qi?”

The leader of the group signaled everyone to stop then turned towards Clay.

“Pardon our discourtesy but let me remind this friend that presumptuously asking random people their cultivation secrets is not a good thing. Seeing that you’re young, I will forgo your naivety.”

Clay did not know what to do. Every time someone turns hostile against him, he would immediately kill them but this time, he wanted answers. He will kneel if he has to and would even give up all his treasures for a cure but he just did not know how to apologize.

Unaware, the group of Elves had already left.

Clay clench his teeth and decided to follow them.