Meanwhile, Billy, Casey, Ivy, Azure Dragon, and Revenge unleashed their formidable auras, creating a protective Chi shield around the small boat.
The defensive barrier, crafted by the quintet of God-Emperor Realm powerhouses, proved exceptional. Passing through the waterfall, Night Orchid and the others felt a slight pressure, but it was almost negligible.
The small boat smoothly reached the base of the stone wall. Following Scarletwind Cohen’s guidance, they observed the numerous protruding rocks on the wall.
For this group, all entrenched in the mid-stage of the War Emperor realm, scaling a hundred meters posed no challenge.
Even with Scarletwind Cohen nursing injuries, aided in recovery by Stout, ascending to the cave entrance was equally effortless. Prior to the injury, he stood as a true War God-Emperor in the later stage of the perfection realm.
Fifteen minutes later, they all stood at the entrance of the cave on the stone wall.
“Commander Gardner, step inside!” Scarletwind Cohen continued leading the group into the cave. The walls were adorned with spontaneously glowing crystals, casting a brilliant glow for excellent visibility.
After traversing around four to five hundred meters, they arrived at a pit with a diameter of roughly thirty meters, within which a faint mist wafted.
Approaching the pit, a refreshing and cool breeze greeted them, its aura reminiscent of the spiritual energy in the Ink Pool at Ink Pavilion, albeit less concentrated.
“Is the Spirit Spring beneath this?” Frostblade inquired.
“Indeed!” Scarletwind Cohen nodded.
“How deep is it?” Frostblade further questioned.
“About ten meters!” Scarletwind replied before leaping into the pit.
Without hesitation, Billy and the others followed suit.
“Heh, there’s another stash of treasures down here!” Stout exclaimed, surveying the surroundings after reaching the pit.
The cavern below sprawled extensively, equivalent to two or three football fields, replete with stalactites and unidentified fruit trees. A mountain spring meandered through the cave’s center.
On the northwest side lay a pond with a diameter of twenty to thirty meters, cloaked in thick mist. The origin of the mist in the cave hovered right above this pond.
Stout, examining two fruit trees over three meters tall, exclaimed, “Ivy, are these Heavenly Spirit Fruits?”
“Indeed!” Ivy’s eyes lit up.
“Ivy, what are Heavenly Spirit Fruits?” Soul Chaser queried, curious.
“These are treasures even superior to the Elemental Spirit Fruits we encountered at Ink Pavilion last time. A rare spiritual fruit appearing once in a hundred years, its value is immeasurable!” Stout’s mouth watered.
“Really?” Soul Chaser’s eyes brightened.
“Absolutely!” Stout vigorously nodded. “I never anticipated this cave to harbor such treasures!”
While speaking, he meticulously examined other fruit trees. Although not as valuable as Heavenly Spirit Fruits, they were still rare and precious spiritual fruits.
“Consuming all the fruits in this cave could potentially level up each one of us!” Stout licked his lips.
Upon hearing this, Scarletwind Cohen coughed, his mouth twitching slightly.
“Mr Cohen, if Silent Annihilation Monk is aware of this place, why hasn’t he claimed these spiritual fruits?” Azure Dragon, recognizing the fruits’ preciousness, inquired.
“He is solely interested in the Spirit Spring,” Scarletwind Cohen responded. “In his eyes, everything in Heartbreak Valley will eventually be his, so there’s no rush.”
“Alright.” Azure Dragon shrugged.
“Commander Gardner, behold the Spirit Spring!” Scarletwind Cohen led the group to the pond’s edge and said, “What do you think? It appears to be an ordinary hot spring, doesn’t it?”
Judge glanced at the pond. “Are you kidding? This looks like your typical hot spring!”
The water in the pond was approximately half a meter deep, crystal clear, revealing the bottom. Apart from a dozen stone pillars and a layer of pebbles at the bottom, there was nothing else inside. As for why the pond emitted so much dense fog, no one knew.
“Before activating the Spirit Spring, it indeed resembles a regular hot spring,” Scarletwind Cohen explained. “Commander Gardner, please follow me!”
Subsequently, he guided Billy to a spot ten meters away from the pond.
Pointing to a protruding rock, he said, “Commander Gardner, please place your hand on it and infuse God-Emperor Realm Chi into the rock.”
Billy nodded and placed his hand on the rock.
In the next moment, as potent Chi flowed into the rock, a faint pattern emerged on the wall. The pattern, measuring about three meters in length and width, appeared abstract and challenging to describe.
As the Chi persisted, the image sharpened. After an additional two minutes, several rocks fell within the pattern’s covered area. Following that, approximately thirty stone pillars, as thick as arms, slowly ascended from the wall, each about half a meter long. Upon closer inspection, these pillars aligned precisely along the pattern’s edges.
“This is incredible!” Soul Chaser, standing by the pond, exclaimed, and the others wore expressions of astonishment.
“Ivy, can you discern what this thing is?” Stout turned to his sister.
“It seems to be a formation blessed by a high-level expert.” Ivy replied thoughtfully.
“Another formation?” Stout pouted. “If I had known formations were so potent, I might have forsaken medicine for them!”
“Just you?” Ivy gave him a disdainful glance. “Formations demand a higher level of talent. With your dismal medical skills, can you even grasp formations?”
Stout was even deemed inferior to Ivy Chandler who was the millennium genius of the Secret Essences Sect.
“Ivy, can you not be so discouraging?” Stout pouted, feeling hurt.
“Haha…” Casey and the others exchanged smiles.
“Commander Gardner, you can retract your hand now.” Scarletwind Cohen looked at Billy and said.
“And then?” Billy withdrew his hand.
“Next, we need another God-Emperor Realm expert to join you. Both of you will simultaneously rotate four stone pillars on the left and right sides of the pattern seven hundred and twenty degrees.” Scarletwind Cohen explained.
“I’ll do it!” Casey quickly walked over.
The next moment, as the two simultaneously rotated the stone pillars, everyone by the pond was astonished to see ink-green water columns gushing out from the bottom of the pond.
In less than two minutes, the once-clear pond transformed into a lush green color, and the water level gradually rose.