Chapter 2268 , Source Crystal Eruption Translator: Silavin & Danny Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Among the eighteen Spirit Springs, only the one occupied by Yang Kai remained calm and peaceful. Everyone had seen how brutal Yang Kai could be and avoided competing with him for anything, not daring to provoke him. Yang Kai was naturally pleased to see this. He did not pay attention to the fights occurring above the other Spirit Springs and instead sent a message to Liu Yan with his Divine Sense, asking her to escort Hua Qing Si and the others to him. He then rushed towards the Spirit Spring Eye and landed above its centre axis. In the next instant, Yang Kai was surrounded by rich, liquid World Energy. The feeling of the World Energy pouring into his body made him feel extremely comfortable and his Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation was rapidly being consolidated. Yang Kai was overjoyed and immediately circulated his Secret Art to absorb more World Energy. At the same time, he took out the Sealed World Bead and opened a gap in it to allow the surrounding World Energy to pour into it. Yang Kai soon frowned though and looked down intently, his eyes gleaming, as if trying to see across space. He seemed to have vaguely sensed something down below that was rising up along with the gushing World Energy from the Spirit Spring Eye. A moment later, a whooshing sound appeared beneath where he sat. “Not good!” Yang Kai’s heart sank. He did not know what was shooting up from inside the Spirit Spring Eye, but he felt an extremely dangerous aura coming from it, so he quickly urged his Source Qi to protect himself while also hurriedly trying to retreat from where he stood. But he acted one step too late. *Xiu xiu xiu... * *Hong Hong Hong... * One by one, inexplicable objects rushed out at an incredible speed and struck Yang Kai, each one carrying an extremely potent force behind them like a falling meteor. Yang Kai felt pain all over his body but still managed to use these impacts to help himself leave the range of the Spirit Spring. Right behind him, streaks of white light, like shooting stars, shot up into the cavern. “What the hell!” Yang Kai looked shocked and quickly dodged aside, finally able to analyse what was happening. Soon, his irritated expression was replaced by one of excitement. The objects which had emerged from under the Spirit Spring and struck him turned out to be fist-sized Source Crystals! Judging from the colour and purity of these Source Crystals, they were all at least Mid-Rank, with a large number of them being High-Rank. Yang Kai gawked at the scene, his eyes hot with enthusiasm. Across the Star Boundary, the currency for trading between cultivators was Low-Rank Source Crystals. For example, he had spent ten million Low-Rank Source Crystals to purchase the Faceless Profound Grass from Gao Xue Ting in Azure Sun Temple. If those were to be converted directly, they would total a hundred thousand Mid-Rank Source Crystals, or a thousand High-Rank Source Crystals. The Source Crystals that Yang Kai had obtained so far were basically all Low-Rank, with a few Mid-Rank and even fewer High-Rank mixed in. High-Rank Source Crystals were not easy to obtain and could only be mined from the Top-Grade Source Crystal lodes. Top-Grade Source Crystals lodes were always controlled by great forces, and once any High-Rank Source Crystals were mined, they would directly enter the Sect’s coffers for internal use, rarely being circulated to the outside world. The higher the rank of Source Crystals, the more useful they were. Many of the massive Spirit Arrays Sects arranged required High-Rank Source Crystals to run, and when it came to making breakthroughs, High-Rank Source Crystals were the preferred choice for high-level cultivators. As such, how could Yang Kai not be shocked when so many Mid-Rank and High-Rank Source Crystals suddenly appeared in this place? While he was still lost in his thoughts, the seventeen other Spirit Springs erupted together. A large number of Source Crystals shot up from below the Spirit Springs together with the eruption of World Energy. Whooshing sounds rang out all over at the cavern which was illuminated by the countless white streaks of light. The cultivators who did not notice the incoming Source Crystals in time were struck by them and could not help but grunting loudly, traces of blood often trickling from the corners of their mouths. Just a moment later though, the entire underground was filled with excited cultivators. “Source Crystals, High-Rank Source Crystals!” “This Spirit Spring actually has High-Rank Source Crystals coming from it! Hahahaha, I’m rich!” “Scram! This Spring Eye is ours! Be wise and leave, otherwise don’t blame my fellow brothers for not considering the relationship between our Sects.” “What a joke, treasures belong to those who can occupy them! You think the few of you can hoard all of these for yourselves? If you have a death wish, I’ll grant it!” “Since you refuse my kind gesture, then you will suffer the consequences!” The appearance of the eighteen Spring Eyes had caused chaos, but the emergence of countless Source Crystal put all the cultivators present into a maddened frenzy. After all, Spring Springs could not be taken away, and everyone present knew they had a limited amount of time to cultivate here before word spread and true powerhouses came to claim this place; however, Source Crystals were different. Source Crystals could be stuffed into one’s Space Ring and taken away, and they were a common currency used across the entire Star Boundary. One piece of High-Rank Source Crystal was equivalent to ten thousand pieces of Low-Rank Source Crystal. From the number of Source Crystals that emerged from this eruption, just occupying a single Spirit Spring for a few days would be enough to double or even triple a small Sect’s financial resources. Due to this phenomenon, Sects that were already on bad terms became more hostile with each other, and tension even formed between Sects which were previously allies. Men die for wealth, birds die for food. This was an immutable truth. “Yang Kai!” While Yang Kai was still glancing around in shock, Hua Qing Si had rushed over with Zhang Ruo Xi, Liu Yan, and Qin Zhao Yang to his side. Seeing the wonders of this place for the first time, Hua Qing Si’s eyes were filled with awe and her delicate hand covered her red lips, “What’s going on here?!” “Spirit Spring Eyes appeared, then Source Crystals began erupting out of them, that’s what happened,” Yang Kai grinned. Zhang Ruo Xi was young and had little experience, but she still paled at the sight of such a shocking scene. Qin Zhao Yang’s eyeballs almost dropped out of their sockets as he stared at the Spirit Springs and Source Crystals before him for a long time, his limbs shaking, speechless. “Ruo Xi, don’t worry about anything else, just find a safe place to cultivate, Liu Yan will stand guard for you,” Yang Kai gave Liu Yan a meaningful look. Liu Yan nodded and guided Zhang Ruo Xi to sit next to the High-Rank Spirit Spring in understanding. While she stood there, Liu Yan reached out and snatched any Source Crystals that flew her way. Yang Kai saw this and tossed a Space Ring to Liu Yan before saying to Hua Qing Si, “Follow me and collect these Source Crystals, we’ll leave cultivating for later!” “Good!” Hua Qing Si nodded. With a sway of her tender body, she and Yang Kai floated up to a spot above the Spirit Spring. Source Crystals were constantly erupting from the Spirit Spring, so Yang Kai stretched out his hands and released a hundred Golden Blood Threads, weaving them together into a giant golden net. *Chi chi chi...* The Source Crystals that spewed out all entered the golden net while Hua Qing Si immediately formed a series of seals with her hands, creating a kind of suction force that drew the captured Source Crystals over to her, swiftly storing them into her Space Ring. The two worked together seamlessly to capture every Source Crystal exiting the spring, leaving none behind. “It seems that you don’t need my help here...” Qin Zhao Yang watched them for a moment as his mouth twitched slightly, “Brother Yang, you continue to deal with your business here, I’ll seek my own opportunities!” This was a great opportunity to accumulate a fortune and greatly enhance the foundation of the Qin Family. The Spirit Spring occupied by Yang Kai no longer required Qing Zhao Yang’s assistance, so he decided to move elsewhere. His eyes swept around before he grinned meaningfully and with a flicker, Qing Zhao Yang appeared above the Mid-Rank Spirit Spring where Duan Yuan Shan and the others from Maplewood City were gathered, “Greetings City Lord Duan, fellow brothers.” “Is this old thing trying to seek some undue advantage?” The Du Family Patriarch, Du Li Shen glared at him. The Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Yi snorted, “Old Dog Qin is pretty good at faking sincerity, where did he learn such skill from?” “How am I being fake?” Qin Zhao Yang was immediately unhappy as he pulled his beard in anger, “You two disrespectful fools! Do you want this Old Master to beat you up so badly your mothers can’t recognize you?” Zhou Yi and Du Li Shen looked at each other and laughed, “Would your mother recognise you if she was still alive?” Qin Zhao Yang’s face darkened immediately. “Good, let’s stop the nonsense, help out since you’re here. Every Source Crystal we miss winds up in someone else’s pocket,” Duan Yuan Shan waved his hand and shouted in a low voice. “I will obey City Lord Duan’s orders!” Qin Zhao Yang grinned meaningfully and joined the team. The Patriarchs were all from Maplewood City and had known each other for quite some time, so although there were some grievances between them, they were much more accepting of each other than the foreign enemies they were facing. Despite their banter earlier, their relationship would not be affected. “Hey, Zhou Yi, you old fart, you actually managed to break through to the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. The Heavens must really be blind...” Qin Zhao Yang commented as he collected Source Crystals after noticing the Patriarch of the Zhou Family had also broken through as he had. “What are you talking about!” Zhou Yi snapped, “If an old fart like you can break through, why can’t this Old Master?” “It seems that everyone has made a breakthrough,” Du Li Shen grinned meaningfully. Qin Zhao Yang only then thought of investigating the cultivations of the others and realized that everyone had indeed made a breakthrough. All the old Patriarchs had now reached the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, together with Drunkard! Meanwhile, Duan Yuan Shan had reached the Third-Order Dao Source Realm! “Oh, congratulations everyone!” Qin Zhao Yang laughed. “Let’s rejoice together!” Duan Yuan Shan grinned meaningfully, “Today, Maplewood City can no longer be regarded as weak! As the saying goes, internal disunity dissolves at the threat of external invasion. This Duan hopes that we all can work together in the future.” If these Patriarchs all joined forces, together with the strength of Duan Yuan Shan and Drunkard, they would be quite formidable. At least, they would be able to go up against some second-class Sects and families. The only thing they were missing now was the protection of an Emperor Realm Master. However, there were not many Emperors out there, and most second-class forces did not have such a Master assuming command. Everyone nodded solemnly after listening to Duan Yuan Shan’s statement.