Chapter Seventy-Five: The Marvelous Uses of the Spiritual Spring

Chapter Seventy-Five: The Marvelous Uses of the Spirit Spring

This spirit spring appeared anything but ordinary.

After leaving the space, Shen An deliberately drew out a small amount of the spring water. He filled a bottle with it and drank it down.

Instantly—

Boom!

He felt the spirit spring surge into his body; at the same time, it released primordial oxygen, beginning to transform his body from within. He quickly activated his breathing technique, channeling this newfound power.

The force of the spirit spring was incredibly fierce, containing an astounding amount of primordial oxygen. Shen An could hardly imagine that just a tiny bit could have such an effect. Now, he finally understood why those people’s powers were so formidable. With a treasure like the spirit spring at their disposal, it was impossible not to grow strong.

“This must be what legends call a spirit vein!” Shen An suddenly realized.

“The Lishan Sect is aware of outsiders and holds no goodwill toward them—regards them as mortal enemies. Judging from that person’s last words, it seems he knows about the existence of Taoists.”

Shen An pondered for a while, unable to make sense of it, so he let the matter drop. For now, he decided he wouldn’t return here for some time.

Having made up his mind, Shen An checked his potential points.

Innate Talent [Devour], Talent Value: Grade A (1/50,000)
Innate Talent [Space], Talent Value: Grade S (1/1,000,000)
Hidden Talent [Connection to the Future], Talent Value: Grade SA (1/10,000,000)
Available Talent Points: 100,000

Talent Shop: Psychic Mastery 500,000; Hunyuan Body Refinement 1,000,000; …

Because he had purchased the Eye of Insight earlier, it no longer appeared in the shop.

From just ten thousand points a couple of days ago to a hundred thousand now—this number matched the price he’d paid for the Eye of Insight. As expected, treasures acquired from special places command a much higher value.

Previously, the increases had only been in the hundreds or thousands; but when he absorbed the spirit spring, the surge was in the tens of thousands—a difference as vast as night and day.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take many more tries before he could afford the Psychic Mastery. Shen An was full of anticipation.

By now, after a night of rest, his strength had nearly recovered. The battle from the previous day had also brought his abilities to a new level.

He glanced at his phone.

“Hm?”

Eighty-seven missed calls in a row. He checked the messages.

At once, Shen An’s brow furrowed as he opened them.

“Future Group is in danger.”

“Boss, I’m being followed.”

“Shen An, don’t come back.”

“It’s the Shadow Division—they’ve made their move.”

One message after another made Shen An’s fury erupt.

Boom!

He shot to his feet, the wave of energy he released blasting the things around him in all directions.

At that moment, Xiao Miao opened the door; instantly, his braid was blown askew.

Xiao Miao quickly squinted his eyes against the gust.

“Xiao Miao, come with me,” Shen An said.

Without hesitation, Xiao Miao replied, “Alright.”

His master had told him to follow Shen An from now on. Xiao Miao was his master’s only apprentice; their bond was like father and son, and he could not disobey his master’s command.

He packed up quickly—there wasn’t much, just some clothes and a few books, nothing else.

The old, rusted copper-ringed door gave a deep clang as Xiao Miao locked it, shouldered his bag, and followed Shen An down the mountain in silence.

Neither spoke.

Xiao Miao was lost in thought, while Shen An worried about Mu Linqiu and the others.

Before leaving, he called Bai Weiwei, but she didn’t answer—though the call went through.

Next, he tried the Imperial Grand Hotel to check on Wang Bao’s whereabouts, but received no news.

Shen An’s heart grew heavier.

As he hurried back toward Silver City, his phone finally rang.

“Hello? Shen An, I finally got through to you,” Bai Weiwei’s voice came through.

Without hesitation, Shen An demanded, “What’s going on? Tell me—what happened to Mu Linqiu and the others?”

He was furious.

“You need to stay calm. It was the Shadow Division. I’ve been doing all I can—Mu Linqiu seems to have been taken, Viper is gravely injured, Jiang Meng is in critical care, and no one knows where Wang Bao is. All I could find was that he appeared to be chasing the people who took Mu Linqiu.”

Bai Weiwei’s voice was agitated. “Shen An, don’t act rashly. Come back first, and we’ll discuss what to do.”

Shen An ignored her advice and pressed, “What about Future Group?”

“For now, Future Group is safe. But somehow, control has shifted to someone named Liu Jin. I’ve never seen this person before. Shen An, you know I can’t intervene directly.”

Beep, beep, beep!

Shen An didn’t wait for her to finish. He hung up.

At the Imperial Grand Hotel, chaos reigned.

When Shen An arrived, he saw signs of battle everywhere.

The manager spotted him and hurried over.

“Boss Shen, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright. Tell me—which hospital are Jiang Meng and the others at?” Shen An asked.

The manager quickly arranged a car to take Shen An to the hospital.

At the hospital, Shen An found Viper lying on a bench, wrapped tight in bandages. He walked over and looked at the battered man.

Viper’s eyes snapped open.

“Boss… you’re back.”

His sudden movement pulled at his wounds.

Shen An quickly checked his injuries. Viper was not in mortal danger, but Shen An still gave him some energy to help heal the internal trauma.

“Thank you, boss,” Viper said at once.

Shen An waved him off and pointed inside. “How is Jiang Meng?” he asked, worried.

“He was brought in an hour ago—I don’t know his condition. I was afraid to leave in case something went wrong. Boss, Mu Linqiu has been taken,” Viper recounted the events to Shen An once more.

Shen An nodded, saying nothing.

Viper knew that the quieter Shen An became, the angrier he was inside.

After a few minutes, Shen An grew impatient.

He used the Eye of Insight to peer inside.

Everything was revealed to him.

He saw several doctors in heated discussion. Jiang Meng lay on the operating table; the doctors seemed at a loss.

Shen An was about to burst in when he noticed, through his Eye of Insight, a peculiar energy within Jiang Meng—a force that didn’t belong to him, lodged near his heart.

If that energy entered Jiang Meng’s system, it would be fatal.

So that was it. The doctors must have sensed the energy inside him, but didn’t know what it was, so they hesitated. It was something they had never encountered before.

Realizing this, Shen An pushed open the door and strode inside.

“Hey, who are you? You can’t go in there!” a nurse cried as she passed by, trying to stop him.

But Shen An ignored her, already inside and pulling open the door.

“Hmm? Who let you in? Get out!” one of the doctors barked.

The young man before them was reckless beyond belief—charging into a place like this without a second thought.