"After passing the Soul Soothing Spirit Crystal area, there will be another fork. If you continue left, you will enter a place of white light. Inside are white insects that feed on divine sense and continuously attack..."
He explained in detail the routes Xiao Ran had taken in the novel, including her encounters, opportunities, and dangers.
But everything he knew was only what Xiao Ran had seen herself.
The rest was unknown.
Fu Young thought for a moment and said, "From what Master says, it sounds like this is more like a record of a cultivator’s travel notes. So in other words, Master only knows the detailed situation of the left path, while the right path is completely unknown?"
Hearing this, Xiao Shou nodded.
He simply treated the novel as some kind of travel journal.
"Yes. The records say the paths here are strange. Every time you pass a special area, two new paths appear. After passing eight such forks, if you survive the final area where the Wind Eye Stone mine is located, you will find a narrow winding path."
"If you follow that path out, you will reach the ancient desolate lands. But if you try to retrace your steps, you cannot find that path again. And if you return to the entrance of Wailing Ghost Valley, you cannot enter a second time."
"In other words, this place can only be entered once."
Fu Young nodded thoughtfully. "From what you say, it is indeed strange. The right path may contain unknown and better opportunities, while the left is a known and simpler route. So which should we take? Let me say this first, my luck has never been good. Anything I choose usually doubles in difficulty and halves in reward. Do not rely on me for choices."
Monk Tongchan spoke very bluntly.
Xiao Shou’s mouth twitched.
So this was bad luck?
Compared to that, his own lack of luck suddenly felt worth celebrating.
But then he glanced at Fu Young.
There was one person here whose luck was absurdly good to the point of envy and hatred.
He sighed.
"Uh, my luck is not great either. So the decision is yours."
"This is not something that should depend on luck. It should depend on structure."
Fu Young’s eyes shone with excitement.
"Based on what Master said, this is clearly an interesting formation or layout. I have a way to take you through all the paths inside before we leave. Do you want to try it?"
In just a few moments, he had already completed multiple mental calculations and formed a rough understanding of the structure here.
Xiao Shou looked at his disciple’s confident expression and nodded silently.
"Then you lead the way."
"Amitabha. This monk has no objections."
Monk Tongchan said calmly.
Although he did not have a good impression of Fu Young, he had full confidence in his intelligence.
Fu Young said expectantly, "Then let us begin. First, we take the left path and head to the Soul Soothing Spirit Crystal area."
So the three of them, led by Fu Young, stepped forward toward the Soul Soothing Spirit Crystal area.
The feeling of constantly consuming divine sense was not pleasant.
Fortunately, all three had already tempered their souls at the entrance before coming in.
After they had consumed most of their divine sense, they finally arrived.
Before them lay a barren expanse.
A wasteland of gray gravel stones spread across an area of roughly a tenth of a mu.
"Amitabha. So this is the Soul Soothing Spirit Crystal area. It looks no different from ordinary rubble."
Monk Tongchan looked around in confusion.
This place was originally a rare treasure Xiao Shou had accidentally discovered.
Xiao Ran had later used the information Xiao Shou had revealed to her to easily obtain this opportunity.
Recalling the novel, Xiao Shou said with a hint of mischievous interest, "Try using your spiritual energy and physical strength to crush these stones."
Something this simple?
Fu Young seemed to understand something.
He picked up a few stones using his divine sense and held them in his hand.
He tried using spiritual energy, only to find it had no effect at all.
Spiritual energy was completely suppressed here.
Then what about physical strength?
His body that has been strengthened by demonic beast core refinement was no weaker than a high-level demonic beast.
Fu Young tried one-tenth strength.
Nothing.
Two-tenths.
Still nothing.
Ten-tenths.
Still nothing.
Fu Young was already extremely intelligent.
Recalling Xiao Shou’s restriction on both spiritual energy and physical strength, he quickly changed his approach.
He condensed his divine sense into a physical form and pressed down on the stone.
Still nothing.
The always confident Fu Young who had rarely met obstacles before had finally stumbled.
His face instantly turned bright red.
He even turned his head away, too embarrassed to look at Xiao Shou.
"Heh heh..."
Monk Tongchan added fuel to the fire with a chuckle.
It was the first time Xiao Shou had seen his disciple look so embarrassed.
A strange sense of satisfaction rose in him.
He finally stopped teasing and said with a suppressed smile, "Young’er, your reasoning was correct. Divine sense is indeed the only thing that affects these stones. However, using it like you just did, spreading it in all directions, will not work."
"You need to compress your divine sense into a sharp tool. Cutting, grinding, and carving. Only then will you see the true Soul Soothing Spirit Crystal."
He then recalled how, in the novel, Xiao Ra had not gone through the soul tempering at the entrance.
With the help of Heavenly Orb, she had refined a soul-based spiritual artifact, using it to cut through the stones and obtain the Soul Soothing Spirit Crystal.
For some reason, Xiao Shou did not want to lose to her.
With a flicker of competitive spirit, he instantly focused his mind and condensed his divine sense into a set of tools he had once seen his sculptor father use in his previous life.