"Collect!"
As soon as the word fell from Yang Fan's lips, the colossal Tianxing Boat trembled slightly.
It didn't work?!
A flicker of surprise flashed in Yang Fan's eyes as confusion stirred within him. Yuan Lao-da and his companions also looked over in bewilderment. For a brief moment, it seemed as if the "Tianxing Boat" had shuddered, but the water surrounding it remained undisturbed, as if giving a visual illusion.
"Failure... How could that be?"
Yang Fan muttered under his breath, though he did not lose heart. Immediately, he sent his consciousness into the Xianhong Ring.
"What happened?" he inquired.
"The item you're trying to collect is too large; Master's magical abilities aren't strong enough," the small dog replied.
"Not enough magical power? What does that mean?" Yang Fan asked coolly.
"To pull something from the outside world into the Xianhong Ring, it requires your magic to support it. If it were a small boat, that wouldn't be an issue. But this vessel, being so large and heavy, increases the difficulty by ten, even a hundredfold," the dog patiently explained.
"So there's such a restriction?" Yang Fan pondered briefly and quickly understood.
If there were no such limitation, then wouldn't it be possible, with just enough space, to collect anything one laid eyes on with a single thought? See a mountain, take the mountain; see a river, take the river. It was inconceivable. The larger the object, the greater the magical power required.
Of course, if someone reached a level of magic so vast that it pierced the heavens, then collecting stars, the moon, even the sun, would not be impossible. But the problem was that Yang Fan was still just a low-level cultivator.
"Is there another way?"
Yang Fan mused aloud.
"There is," the dog said with a cheerful glint in its eyes, which reflected an image of the enormous Tianxing Boat. "You just need to refine it slightly, establish a connection, and you'll be able to collect it with ease."
"This method sounds feasible," Yang Fan nodded, his consciousness retreating from the Xianhong Ring.
"This Tianxing Boat, I will take for now," Yang Fan said aloud, "I need to refine it a little before I can properly store it. Let us meet again, if fate allows."
Leaping aboard the vessel, Yang Fan bid farewell to Yuan Lao-da and the others.
"Farewell, my lord. Until we meet again," Yuan Lao-da managed a forced smile, clasping his hands in respect, though there was a trace of disappointment in his heart.
However, he wasn't surprised. Such a colossal magical artifact as the Tianxing Boat, even a high-level cultivator would struggle to collect it without first refining it.
Yang Fan offered a faint smile. Alone, his figure stood tall on the deck of the boat as it sailed across the surging waters of the Qingjiang River. In no time, his silhouette vanished from their sight, leaving only the Tianxing Boat shrinking into a distant black dot.
Li Yueshuang stared blankly at the vanishing figure, an indescribable feeling stirring within her heart. At that moment, an image of a gentle, refined man suddenly appeared in her mind… yet she could not reconcile the two vastly different people.
"Yueshuang! Why are you still standing there? Hurry back to the shore and inform the others," Yuan Lao-da said urgently.
"Yes, Big Brother." Li Yueshuang snapped out of her reverie.
"Sigh! From this day forth, the 'Seven Brothers of Tianxing Boat' will be no more, each of us going our separate ways. I only hope that man treats the boat kindly..." Yuan Lao-da let out a deep sigh, as though ten years of weariness had suddenly descended upon him.
A few miles away, Yang Fan stood on the deck of the Tianxing Boat. Though he had traveled far, he could still faintly feel Li Yueshuang's gaze lingering on him. He sighed softly, shaking his head. In his nineteen years of life, aside from **Xi, he had never truly opened his heart to any woman.
But there was still over half a year until the appointed duel at Cold Mountain, and before that, Yang Fan had many matters to attend to.
"I should focus on refining this artifact first."
Clearing his mind of distractions, Yang Fan guided the Tianxing Boat toward a secluded area within the Qingjiang River. Yesterday, when he had arrived in this region, he had flown in a wide arc, surveying the terrain, and had gained some familiarity with the surrounding geography.
After about half a cup of tea's time, the boat reached a narrow tributary of the Qingjiang River, winding through increasingly hidden paths. Eventually, the banks were lush with greenery, dense forests flourishing on either side like a secluded paradise.
"Yes, this is the spot—perfectly concealed."
Yang Fan brought the Tianxing Boat to a stop. In truth, the waterway had become too narrow to accommodate such a large vessel.
"Sink!"
Yang Fan's gaze focused sharply, his hands weaving through incantations. The command token in his hand glowed with faint threads of emerald light. Instantly, a mysterious azure aura enveloped the boat, and it began to descend into the depths of the river.
Soon, the massive iron-clad vessel, along with Yang Fan himself, disappeared beneath the water's surface.
At the bottom of the Qingjiang River, Yang Fan sat cross-legged on the deck, his eyes tightly shut. He extended his spiritual senses, wrapping them around the entirety of the boat. One by one, he cast incantations, and the soft, green threads of light wove themselves around the Tianxing Boat like delicate strands of silk.
To refine such a large magical artifact through this method consumed a tremendous amount of magic and mental energy. Even with Yang Fan's extraordinary regenerative abilities, after half a day, his reserves of magic and mental focus were almost completely depleted.
He dared not drain himself further, for this was not the safety of his own home. Here, caution was essential.
Yang Fan withdrew to the Xianhong Space to recover, sitting on the green earth within, replenishing his energy. Half an hour later, his strength had returned to its peak, and he resumed the refining process. And so, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, a violent surge rippled through the Qingjiang River as its waters parted, and the Tianxing Boat, glowing faintly with its mysterious blue radiance, burst out of the depths. The narrow waterway churned in chaos, with swirling currents and turbulent underflows spreading in all directions.
"Collect!"
A black shadow soared into the sky, suspended mid-air. A hand extended downward, striking the Tianxing Boat.
*Hum!*
In an instant, the massive iron-clad vessel trembled and then vanished from sight.
"Haha... it worked!"
Standing atop the turbulent waters, Yang Fan's heart surged with joy. Over the past fifteen days, his mastery over both magic and the Tianxing Boat had reached a whole new level. His spiritual awareness had become more acute than ever before.
At that moment, Yang Fan's mind flickered, and his spiritual senses expanded over a radius of one li. Even the depths of the river could not escape his "eyes."
"Hmm?"
Yang Fan suddenly let out a soft exclamation, as if he had made a discovery. "I didn't expect there to be something strange beneath the river..."
His eyes gleamed with curiosity, and after a moment of contemplation, he dove into the water.
Once submerged, he felt completely at ease. In his heightened state of awareness, life force continuously flowed from his body, merging with the surrounding space, blending seamlessly with the natural vitality of the water.
Before long, Yang Fan had fully adapted to the aquatic environment. Here, he could even breathe effortlessly, without the need for any special spells or techniques.
After swimming for a short while, he entered a dense patch of aquatic plants. Reaching out, he pushed them aside. Before long, a dark, soil-covered passage appeared before his eyes, resembling an ancient well.
However, this "well" was sealed by a barrier, and it seemed to be quite formidable.
Yang Fan activated his Nine Nether Demonic Art and delivered a powerful strike.
*Boom!*
The barrier wavered but remained undamaged.
Seeing this, Yang Fan's face showed a hint of contemplation. He mused, "If there is someone beneath this, my strike must have alerted them."
"But this barrier seems to be sealing spiritual energy... Could there be a spiritual spring beneath?" An idea suddenly dawned upon him.
In such a narrow passage, it was unlikely that there would be a cultivator's dwelling below. Moreover, who would choose to establish a residence at the bottom of a river?
*Boom! Boom!*
With that thought in mind, Yang Fan unleashed another series of attacks upon the barrier. After seven or eight strikes, the barrier's strength had been reduced by half.
"It seems the one who set this barrier was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. They are likely not nearby; otherwise, they would have come by now," Yang Fan thought to himself.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and summoned a mid-tier spiritual weapon—a large, azure-colored brick.
This weapon was a heavy-duty divine artifact, with formidable power. Yang Fan poured all of his Nine Nether demonic energy into it. In an instant, the brick expanded into a massive block, nearly two zhang in length, shimmering with a mix of azure light and flowing black energy. A wave of powerful spiritual pressure swept across an area spanning over ten zhang.
Yang Fan's heart skipped a beat. He could feel that the might of the brick
was far beyond his imagination. It carried a strange and ancient aura, exuding the same mysterious presence as the spirit spring below.
Could there really be a "Demonic Spirit Spring" beneath the barrier?