The abandoned cannon fodder girl's path to immortality

Chapter 322 Deploying Defenses in Guigu!

Several days later, in the western part of Liusha City.

After bidding farewell to Zhao He and Sha Xie, Chen Jinshu walked alone along the small path in the west of the city three times to make sure no one was following him before summoning the Azure Phoenix Chasing Moon Shuttle and transforming into a streak of green light as he sped off towards Azure Phoenix Valley.

On the flying shuttle, she sat cross-legged, her spiritual energy having recovered to 70% after three days of recuperation.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the Mysterious Female Treasure Furnace trembled slightly. After the Star Sand Mother Crystal was devoured, the spiritual plant space within the treasure furnace was undergoing some kind of transformation.

“Master,” Qingheng materialized from the hairpin, perched on her shoulder, her small face filled with worry.

"Your injuries haven't fully healed yet. Why don't you find a place to rest for the night before continuing your journey?"

"No need." Chen Jinshu shook his head and looked southwest.

“I still feel uneasy. The Blood Hand Demon has suffered such a great loss, he will definitely not let it go. If he finds out the location of Azure Phoenix Valley, we will be in big trouble.”

Qingheng tilted her head: "The maze at the valley entrance can stop cultivators below the Golden Core stage, but that old demon is at the late Golden Core stage..."

“Therefore, it needs to be reinforced.” Chen Jinshu said, lightly tapping the storage bag with his fingertip, and a fist-sized silver-white crystal floated out.

The crystal was about the size of a palm, and it was a scrap of star sand mother crystal, with a star-like luster flowing on its surface.

“Using stardust as the base, the ‘Seven Stars Suppressing the Mountain Formation’ can withstand three full-force attacks from a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stages.” She murmured to herself, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

Qingheng blinked her emerald eyes and rested her chin on her small hand:

"That'll take a lot of stardust! Master, do we have enough?"

Chen Jinshu smiled slightly, and with a flick of his finger in the air, the phantom of the Mysterious Female Treasure Furnace appeared.

The scene inside the spirit plant space unfolded before Qingheng's eyes. The three-zhang-high star sand hill shimmered with silver light, illuminating the entire space. The spirit plants in the spirit fields were happily absorbing star power, their leaves gleaming with a faint silver luster.

Qingheng opened her mouth wide, and after a long while, she stammered:

"Master...Master, did you bring the entire secret realm back with you?"

"More or less." Chen Jinshu rarely made a joke, but then his expression became serious.

"However, I will try to avoid using these stardust as much as possible. I plan to only take the outer, weathered and loosened parts, and keep the core of the mother crystal, which will be of great use in the future."

Qingheng nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up:

"Master, if you mix the Xuanlei Yin Soil with ground star sand, will it become new soil?"

Chen Jinshu was slightly taken aback, and then a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

“You’re right. Stardust contains the power of stars and moon, and Xuanlei Yin Soil contains the power of thunder and yin. If the two could be fused together, perhaps a completely new kind of spiritual soil could be cultivated, which could both nourish spiritual plants and accelerate their growth…”

The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She immediately controlled the shuttle to land in a secluded mountain valley below, took out a few spirit stones for setting up an array, set up a simple concealment restriction around the area, and then sat down cross-legged.

"Master, do you want to try it now?" Qingheng asked, somewhat surprised.

"If I don't verify this idea, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight." Chen Jinshu said, taking out a small pinch of Xuanlei Yin Soil from his spiritual plant space and a small piece of weathered star sand from his storage bag. He then used his alchemical fire to grind the sand into fine powder and carefully mixed it with the Xuanlei Yin Soil.

The dark blue halo of the Xuanlei Yin Earth intertwined with the silvery-white luster of the Star Sand, forming a strange spiral pattern in her palm.

Qingheng nervously gripped her sleeve, her small eyes fixed on the clump of fresh soil.

After half a cup of tea, the feeling of rejection gradually disappeared, replaced by a gentle and lingering aroma, like the weight of the earth and the vastness of the starry sky merging together.

Chen Jinshu placed the clump of fresh soil in his palm and gently rolled it with his fingertips.

The soil has a delicate and elastic feel, with a faint silver-blue sheen on the surface, and you can vaguely see tiny specks shimmering between the soil particles.

"It's done," she said softly, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Qingheng couldn't wait to reach out and touch the clump of soil, then exclaimed "Wow!"

"Master! There is spiritual energy flowing in this soil! It's even more active than the Xuanlei Yin Soil!"

Chen Jinshu nodded; she could indeed feel a strange vitality within the new soil.

Unlike ordinary spiritual soil that relies on external spiritual energy for replenishment, this kind of vitality can absorb the power of stars and moon to maintain stability on its own.

Let's call it 'Starry Spirit Land'.

As she spoke, she took out a seedling of the Green Condensation Tea Tree from her spiritual plant space and carefully planted it in this cluster of starlight spiritual soil.

The moment the tea tree roots touched the new soil, the leaves trembled slightly, then unfolded at a speed visible to the naked eye, the silver veins on the leaves becoming brighter than before.

"They're growing well," Chen Jinshu nodded in satisfaction.

"If the entire spirit field were replaced with this kind of star-shine spirit soil, the growth rate of spirit plants under five hundred years old could be increased by at least 30%."

Qingheng counted on her fingers:

"What if you plant a ten-year-old spiritual herb, and it matures in just one month?"

“That’s true in theory.” Chen Jinshu stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"But Starry Spirit Soil requires Star Sand to prepare, and Star Sand is used sparingly, so we can't be wasteful. Let's try it on a small scale first and see how it goes."

She collected the remaining Starlight Spirit Soil, boarded the flying shuttle again, and continued her journey towards Azure Phoenix Valley.

……

Three days later.

The outline of Qingluan Valley appears on the horizon, surrounded by green mountains on three sides, with a clear stream meandering out from the bottom of the valley.

Chen Jinshu maneuvered the shuttle to land at the valley entrance, retracted the shuttle, and habitually scanned his surroundings.

The maze of green vines at the valley entrance remained intact, and the spiritual herbs in the spiritual fields were growing well.

But she always felt that something was wrong.

"Master, what's wrong?" Qingheng asked softly when she noticed her strange expression.

"It's too quiet."

As Chen Jinshu spoke, he squatted down, picked up a pinch of sand from the valley entrance with his fingertips, and smelled it.

There was a faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood in the sand, so faint that she would have barely noticed it if her senses hadn't been heightened by cultivating the "Mysterious Female True Explanation".

“Someone has been here.” She stood up, her gaze turning cold.

"Moreover, those who came were people who cultivated the Blood Path technique."

Qingheng's face paled: "Blood Hand Old Demon's men?"

"Not necessarily." Chen Jinshu shook her head.

"But at least he's a spy for the Blood Fiend Sect."

She said no more and quickly walked into the valley.

Jiang Yi was practicing his sword on the open ground by the stream. When he saw her return, he quickly sheathed his sword and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Senior, you're back!"

Chen Jinshu nodded, his gaze sweeping across the valley: "Where is Yan Shuo?"

"I'm recuperating indoors," Jiang Yi replied.

"His injuries are healing well, but the damage to his foundation is too severe, and he will need to rest for a while longer."

"Someone has come to investigate around Qingluan Valley. Have you noticed anything unusual?" she asked, as if she had just thought of something.

Jiang Yi's expression changed: "Senior, I..."

"It's not your fault." Chen Jinshu understood what was going on and waved his hand.

“The person’s cultivation level is above yours, so it’s normal that you couldn’t detect him. Besides, he didn’t make any rash moves; he just checked around and left.” Chen Jinshu thought for a moment and decided that it was still necessary to change the layout of the entire valley to make it easier for her to set up a defensive formation.

"Jiang Yi, go and move all the spiritual plants in the spiritual fields to the stream and gather them together for easier protection. If Yan Shuo is able to move, have him help as well."

Although Jiang Yi didn't know what she was going to do, he still clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "Yes!"

Chen Jinshu said no more, and in a flash, he appeared at the entrance of the valley.

She sat cross-legged and placed the Star Moon Guqin across her lap.

"Qingheng, protect me."

"Alright!" Qingheng materialized from the hairpin, landed on her shoulder, and with a wave of her small hand, a wisp of plant life flowed into her body.

Chen Jinshu took a deep breath and placed his ten fingers on the strings.

"Zheng—!"

The first note of the piano rang out, clear and ethereal.

Three star-shaped sands flew up and hovered directly above the valley entrance.

"Clang—clang—clang—!"

As the music turned three times, twelve more stardust particles flew up and arranged in an arc in the void.

Chen Jinshu's fingertips plucked the strings quickly, and the music changed from slow to fast, like streams of stars flowing in the void.

The stardust shifted position in rhythm with the music, weaving a giant star pattern above the valley entrance.

The pattern is somewhat similar to the "Starry Sky Demon Suppression Array" previously laid out in the mine, but it is more complex and precise.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her face was slightly pale, but her fingertips did not stop moving at all.

"The Seven Stars form the foundation, the Twenty-Eight Mansions form the trunk, and the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals form the branches and leaves..."

She softly recited the incantation, her fingers tracing mysterious lines on the strings.

Qingheng watched her nervously, her small hands constantly channeling the vitality of plants to maintain her spiritual energy.

Several hours later, the music finally stopped.

Chen Jinshu's hands slipped off the strings, and he collapsed to the ground, his face as pale as paper and his whole body soaked in sweat.

Above the valley entrance, 108 star-shaped sand grains floated in mid-air, forming a huge star pattern.

The pattern slowly rotated, emitting a silvery-blue light that enveloped the entire Azure Phoenix Valley.

"It's done." She gasped for breath, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

Qingheng quickly transferred a wisp of plant life to her, and her complexion regained some color.

"Master, what kind of formation is this?" Qingheng asked curiously.

“A variant of the ‘Seven Stars Suppressing the Mountain Formation’.” Chen Jinshu stood up, gazing at the star pattern suspended in the sky.

"I used 108 stardust grains as the base of the array, drawing upon the power of the stars and moon in this world to expand the defensive range of this array to the entire valley."

"Let alone a cultivator in the early stage of Nascent Soul, even a cultivator in the middle stage of Nascent Soul would not be able to break this formation in less than three to five days."

Qingheng's eyes lit up: "Then can we rest easy now?"

"It's not fair to say we can rest easy," Chen Jinshu shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"This great formation needs to be maintained by my zither music, and it needs to be reinforced every seven days, otherwise the formation base will dissipate on its own. Moreover, every time the great formation is attacked, it will consume the star power in the star sand. Once the star power is exhausted, the great formation will collapse on its own."

As she spoke, she took out three more high-grade spirit stones and set up several small formations at three different locations at the entrance of the valley.

"This is a 'Spirit Gathering Array,' which can accelerate the absorption of star power by the star sand to restore itself. As long as it's not a continuous attack, this array should be able to hold out for a while."

Qingheng nodded, then suddenly remembered something and said:

"By the way, Master, you said that Starlight Spirit Soil can accelerate the growth of spirit plants. Should we sow some seeds in the spirit field in the next few days? In case a real fight breaks out, having spirit herbs in hand will give us more confidence."

Chen Jinshu was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then chuckled: "You certainly know how to seize opportunities."

She thought for a moment and nodded:

"Alright. Those few acres of spirit fields are just lying fallow anyway, might as well test the effects of the Starlight Spirit Soil."

……

That night.

Chen Jinshu sat by the campfire, with a jade bowl in front of him, half-filled with starlight spiritual soil.

She took out a seed from the Qingning Tea Tree, carefully buried it in the soil, sprinkled it with some spiritual spring water, and then used her spiritual power to activate the spiritual soil around the seed.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the seed sprouted from the soil and grew into a seedling about three inches tall, with tender green leaves and a faint silver sheen.

"So fast!" Qingheng's eyes widened as she leaned closer to examine the seedling.

"Master, how long do you think it would take for this Purple Sun Ganoderma to grow?"

"Ziyangzhi is a rare medicinal herb that has been around for centuries, so it cannot be generalized," Chen Jinshu said, gently stroking the seedling with his fingertips.

"However, Starry Spirit Soil can indeed accelerate the growth of spiritual plants. This Azure Tea Tree would have taken at least three months to grow to this height in ordinary spiritual soil, but it only took the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

Qingheng counted on her fingers:

"If you plant it for a year or two, wouldn't it grow into a medicinal herb that's hundreds of years old?"

"It's not that exaggerated."

Chen Jinshu smiled faintly and then explained, "The growth rate of spiritual plants is related to the spiritual energy contained in the soil. Although Starlight Spiritual Soil is good, the star energy contained in it is ultimately limited and needs to be replenished after it is used up. Moreover, the higher the level of the spiritual plant, the smaller the increase in growth rate."

As she spoke, she took out a seed of Ziyangzhi and buried it in the Starry Spirit Soil.

The seeds of Ziyangzhi are a size larger than those of Qingning tea trees, and are dark brown with fine lines on the surface.

After the seed was planted, Chen Jinshu used his spiritual power to activate it. However, it took a long time for the seed to crack open and sprout a tender shoot, but it did not grow tall for a long time.

“Look, the Purple Sun Ganoderma is a fourth-grade spiritual herb, so its growth rate is much slower,” Chen Jinshu said, pointing to the tender sprout.

"If it is a spirit plant of the sixth rank or above, I'm afraid the Starry Spirit Soil will have even less effect on it."

Qingheng nodded as if she understood, then asked:

"Then, Master, what do you plan to plant with the Starlight Spirit Soil?"

Chen Jinshu remained silent for a moment, then his gaze fell on the star sand in the pile of spiritual plants.

"I haven't decided yet."

"Let's set up the defenses in the valley first. We can think about it later after we get through this crisis."

Just as she was about to turn around, she suddenly sensed something and abruptly looked up towards the valley entrance.

The star pattern trembled slightly, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

"Someone has triggered the formation," she said in a low voice, her brows furrowing involuntarily.

Qingheng also tensed up, her small hands gripping her sleeve: "Master, is it the Blood Hand Demon?"

"Not necessarily." Chen Jinshu said, extending her divine sense. After a moment, her expression relaxed slightly.

"It's the leader of the Sand Scorpion Alliance." (End of Chapter)