"What's that?" Chu Yang looked at the cave, a burst of surprise.
The cave was hidden in an especially concealed location, perfectly obscured by the waterfall cascading from above, its entrance overgrown with vines and weeds.
Chu Yang had been cultivating here for several days, yet he hadn't discovered it.
He decided to take a look, standing at the very bottom of the waterfall, ever since he had opened the first Vein Gate and advanced to the Spirit Vein Realm.
The impact of the waterfall on him wasn't so severe anymore.
He leaped up, briefly dispersing the waterfall with the spiritual energy surrounding him before jumping into the cave halfway up the mountainside.
The cave was filled with a faint scent of flowers and wasn't stuffy, as if the air wasn't stagnant despite being concealed for a long time.
The view inside the cave was slightly dark, and Chu Yang proceeded with great caution, unaware of the potential dangers within.
He didn't even know how deep the cave was.
After walking for quite some time, Chu Yang suddenly noticed a light emanating from ahead, the view in front of him broadening.
At the very end of the cave, there was a moon-shaped groove emitting the light.
Embedded above the groove was a dark yellow pearl, which, if Xu Zimei were present, he would recognize as identical to the one he had fought Cui Yuan for, and to the one from the Chang Family.
The light shone down from the groove, precisely illuminating a corner of the cave.
In this corner, a pile of dry grass lay spread out, and on top of it was a silver-white sword.
The sword sheath emitted a silver-white radiance, adorned with an etching of a dragon.
"This, this is," Chu Yang's gaze was utterly captivated by the longsword.
Whereas Ink Elder's attention remained focused on the pearl.
"This is a mundane object, but it is forged from Heaven and Earth Mysterious Iron, impressive," Ink Elder commended.
"A mundane object," Chu Yang felt a tinge of disappointment.
"Yang, it's precisely because it's a mundane object that I praise it. If it were an Earth Tier weapon, I'd actually think less of it," Ink Elder said: "All weapons must evolve from their most basic form.
Weapons born at Earth Tier or Heavenly Tier often have limited potential."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yang felt a surge of joy. He took the longsword in his hands and drew it out bit by bit.
The moment the sword was drawn, it seemed as though a silver dragon was roaring, a flash of sword light zooming past.
The sword was three feet long, its blade meticulously crafted, gleaming coldly, with three letters inscribed on its surface.
"Wandering Dragon Sword," Chu Yang murmured delightfully.
"Yang, take the pearl from that groove so I can have a look," Ink Elder said earnestly.
Chu Yang nodded and took out the dark yellow pearl, which was somewhat cloudy inside, though its surface was covered with patterns.
"What use is this pearl?" Chu Yang asked curiously.
Ink Elder pondered for a long while before asking slowly, "Have you ever heard of the legend of the Hundred Great Battle Bodies?"
"What are the Hundred Great Battle Bodies?" Chu Yang looked puzzled.
"Our current epoch has gone through three eras, namely the present Era of Emperors, the previous Wild Desolation Era, and the even more distant Mythical Era," Ink Elder explained gradually: "Legend has it that at the dawn of the Mythical Era, which is the beginning of this epoch, Heaven and Earth graced us with a hundred great battle bodies.
Anyone who could merge with one of these battle bodies would undergo a fundamental transformation of their life essence, endowed with extraordinary talents and extreme strength."
"That powerful? How can one possess a Battle Body?" Chu Yang asked in amazement.
"They are scattered across heaven and earth, and no one knows where these battle bodies are," Ink Elder said: "Even the Battle Body ranked at the very bottom, number one hundred, is sought after by many Great Emperors to no avail.
Throughout history, more than seventy of these scattered battle bodies have been discovered across heaven and earth.
Yet, more than twenty remain in the world, luring many with their allure.
However, what baffles many is that while there have been bits and pieces of news about the other battle bodies, there has been absolutely no word of the top three among the Hundred Great Battle Bodies.
Many even doubt the existence of the top three battle bodies, and some sages have predicted that these three great battle bodies will not emerge easily, but once they do, they will manifest together and forge a glittering and unparalleled splendid epoch."
"Does Ink Elder know of any place where a battle body might be found?" Chu Yang inquired.
"I do not know, but I have once read an ancient tome from the Mythical Era, which stated that the top three battle bodies are not the same as the others," Ink Elder said slowly: "The other battle bodies are all a single entity.
As for the top three, each of them is divided into three parts, scattered throughout the cosmos.
Only by collecting all three parts can one fuse and form the battle body."
"Ink Elder means to say, could this bead be one of the three parts of the top three battle bodies?" Chu Yang asked.
"The first-ranked battle body is known as the Prison-Suppressing Divine Body, the second as the Axe Breaker Emperor Body, and the third as the Crimson Flame Emperor Body," Ink Elder nodded, adding, "But what I cannot ascertain is which of the top three battle bodies this bead in your hand constitutes one-third of."
"Let's keep it for now. There may come a chance to complete it in the future," Chu Yang said excitedly.
At that moment, they heard a series of footsteps approaching from outside.
"Who's there?" Chu Yang was alarmed and quickly drew his sword, looking towards the entrance of the cave.
A figure clad in black walked in slowly. He looked at Chu Yang and said indifferently, "Hand it over."
"What exactly?" Chu Yang took a step back, asking in confusion.
He could feel the powerful aura emanating from the stranger, clearly beyond his abilities as someone within the Spirit Vein Realm to defeat.
"You insect," the black-clothed man sneered. His sword glinted, and even before Chu Yang could react, he felt his chest split open.
Blood flowed instantly, staining his chest red.
"Who are you, exactly?" Chu Yang endured the pain; he had not expected that he would be targeted just after acquiring this fortuitous opportunity.
The man in black did not respond but continued to advance towards Chu Yang step by step.
If it weren't for Xu Zimei's order, Black Thirteen would have slain Chu Yang with that sword stroke just now.
Several days ago, upon receiving orders from Xu Zimei, he had made haste to Qingyang Village without delay.
He had not disturbed the grass or startled the snake, lurking around the outskirts of Qingyang Village, shadowing Chu Yang.
It wasn't until today, when the other party inadvertently discovered the cave behind the waterfall, that Black Thirteen knew his mission was about to reach its completion.
......
The three Prison Suppression Pearls that Xu Zimei sought to collect were indeed the three components required to assemble the first-ranked Prison-Suppressing Divine Body.
In his past life, Chu Yang had assembled the Prison-Suppressing Divine Body, and it was one of his greatest trump cards.
Based on his experiences from his past life, Xu Zimei only knew of the existence of these three Prison Suppression Pearls, with the location of one completely unknown to him.
Another was in the possession of the Chang Family, and a third had been obtained by Chu Yang in Qingyang Village.
As for where exactly in Qingyang Village it had been found, Xu Zimei was also unclear.
He had not expected to inadvertently receive the pearl whose location was unknown to him from Cui Yuan's hands, and then to combine it with the pearl from the Chang Family.
Because he was unclear about the pearl's location in Qingyang Village.
Thus, he had Black Thirteen follow Chu Yang, for the protagonist would surely obtain the pearl by virtue of fortuitous encounters. When that happened, he could simply reap the benefits.