“Dig here?!”

The entire team stared at the ordinary-looking hill and then exchanged surprised glances with one another. They didn't sense any unusual energy undulations, let alone the so-called ancestral qi.

Mu Youlan, Bian Buji, Han Jinhe and the others displayed some hesitation and then cast a look in Qin Lian’s direction.

Qin Lian pondered for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, “Dig.”

But there was obvious worry in her eyes. If Zhou Yuan was right, he would develop trust in everyone’s hearts, but if he failed, it would undoubtedly affect his prestige.

After all, there were many unaffiliated cultivators in their team, and they all came not to win glory for the Tianyuan Region, but for their own benefits. If Zhou Yuan repeatedly acted wilfully and ordered them to do things without any benefits, the unaffiliated cultivators, who were like employed soldiers, might retreat or even join other forces.

But seeing Zhou Yuan so persistent, Qin Lian didn’t try to persuade him.

Boom!

Following Qin Lian's order, the numerous teams no longer hesitated, and they erupted with bursts of Genesis Qi. Their Genesis Qi transformed into countless swirling drills and burrowed into the ground.

The earth quaked, the ground split apart, and a pit began to expand. After a while, a huge dark pit appeared in front of everyone, but the expected ancestral qi vein did not.

Faint commotions broke out in the team. After a whole day of unfavorable events, many were unable to bear it any longer. Although they didn’t dare to disobey orders, they couldn’t stop themselves from grumbling complaints.

Seeing this, Qin Lian scrunched her brows and was about to scold them. Zhou Yuan waved his hand and stopped her. He stared into the depths of the giant pit as a Saint rune flowed in the depths of his eyes.

"Interesting, the vein is like a living thing and knows how to hide,” he chuckled. No matter how everyone dug madly, there wasn’t a glimpse of the ancestral qi vein. But it wasn’t that nothing was in this area—the vein was just constantly hiding from them.

Generally speaking, in such a situation, one could only cast a wide net to form a containment zone. Although the efficiency of this method wasn't particularly good, as long as they could discover a little flaw, they could detect its whereabouts.

Moreover, the vein seemed to have a strong spiritual intellect.

As Zhou Yuan stretched out his hand, snow-white hair swept out of his palm like a wave and transformed into a python-like torrent.

Swoosh!

Wrapped in mighty power, the white python sped down, breaking through the thick soil and rocks. It madly tunneled into the depths of the earth.

Boom!

The white python-like waterfall set off tremendous tremors, and even the entire mountain seemed to be overturning. Everyone helplessly watched the earth being turned upside down, but they couldn’t understand why they still couldn’t see the ancestral qi vein. It was as though Zhou Yuan was chasing an invisible target.

However, Zhou Yuan paid no attention to the countless doubtful and puzzled gazes, and he focused on manipulating the torrent into the earth’s depths.

This was because he could see that the ancestral qi vein was constantly avoiding his encirclement as he gazed at it with his Decoder Saint Rune. Fortunately, he had locked the area with the Earth Suppression Pillar. As a result, the ancestral qi vein couldn’t escape and could only hide and evade in the constantly shrinking area.

The ancestral qi vein would be caught sooner or later.

Stronger experts like Qin Lian or those who had some achievements in Spirit finally noticed something strange as Zhou Yuan closed in on the ancestral qi vein. Their eyes widened.

“I finally caught you.” After ten breaths, the corners of Zhou Yuan's lips curved upwards, and he pressed his hands together.

Boom!

The white python-like torrent smashed through the underground boulders, and an indescribable ancient qi erupted like a volcano amidst countless shocked gazes.

In the depths of the earth, a pale yellow current flowed out. The current seemed illusory, but vaguely, it transformed into a long dragon-like silhouette. It was clearly just a current of qi, but many people felt an ancient spiritual nature and intellect. Moreover, everyone felt the Genesis Qi in their body surge when they laid eyes on the pale yellow current, a sign of extreme desire and covetousness.

Roar!

The pale yellow current seemed to be roaring.

"It's the ancestral qi vein!" someone exclaimed.

“We really found it?!”

Everyone cast surprised gazes towards Zhou Yuan’s slender figure one after another, and they were all at a loss for words. The outcome was evidently unexpected. They would never have thought that an ancestral qi vein would exist in such a barren area.

Qin Lian, Mu Youlan and the others also stared at Zhou Yuan in amazement.

"You...how could you perceive the ancestral qi vein so clearly?" Qin Lian couldn't help asking in shock.

The ancestral qi vein was extremely difficult to detect, and even they needed to rely on the Qi Observation Platform to perceive the general direction before they could gradually search for it. But even if the ancestral qi vein was perfectly concealed and they had exhausted everything and failed to find the slightest trace, Zhou Yuan had managed to capture it precisely.

They couldn't see what happened underground, but it was obvious Zhou Yuan was chasing the ancestral qi vein.

But how could he detect it?!

Zhou Yuan smiled. He naturally wouldn’t expose the Decoder Saint Rune, so he just let them think that his Spirit perception was especially strong.

"Prepare the altar and connect it to Hunyuan Heaven, then guide the ancestral qi vein into it,” Zhou Yuan commanded.

Boom!

But just as his voice faded, the ground began to vibrate.

“What’s happening?” Qin Lian increased her guard.

Zhou Yuan wrinkled his brows and immediately shifted his gaze towards the huge pit’s depths where the ancestral qi vein was. With his Decoder Saint Rune, he saw countless strange auras surging in the ground’s depths like a tide.

"Is it an ancient beast born from this ancestral qi vein?”

Zhou Yuan ran his eyes across the barren mountain range in deep thought. The reason they couldn’t see a single ancient beast—there likely wasn’t any—was because this mysterious ancient beast underground had swallowed them all.

"All teams, be alert! Prepare to fight!" Zhou Yuan roared.

The torrent-like aura underground exuded a dangerous atmosphere and should not be underestimated.

But this only made Zhou Yuan even more curious. He only chose this area on the Observation Qi Platform because he had detected a vague abnormality with the ancestral qi vein through his Decoder Saint Rune. Perhaps the ancient underground beast would have some answers to these anomalies.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's order, everyone increased their guard and erupted with mighty Genesis Qi one after another. Genesis weapons emitting chilling aura flashed to their hands.

The ancestral qi vein was right in front of them. As long as they could eliminate this last obstacle, they could enjoy the nourishment from the ancestral qi. This would be their opportunity and blessing, and so, their fighting spirit was extremely high.

Countless eyes filled with fighting spirit locked on the giant pit’s depths.

The vibration grew increasingly violent, and at a certain moment, the pit’s depths were suddenly torn apart. A black torrent gushed out with an ear-piercing sonic boom and ferocity.