Li Qiye and Shi Wawa left the village and moved through the canyon.
The place was normally quiet with few visitors. Today seemed to be different.
Many cultivators riding their beast arrived. Others were capable of leaping through a thousand miles with each jump…
They consisted of humans, golems, heavenly devils, demons…
They came from all sects and kingdoms – Firmaments Gate, Divine Stone Range, Celestial Star… [1]
“They’re going to Stoneshell Valley.” Shi Wawa quietly said while watching the waves of people.
Even the golems from the villages were joining in.
“Little one, it’s about to begin. Gather your stuff and we’ll go.” A few golem experts were ready to bring their juniors to see the fun on top of a potential harvest.
“Other golems want to watch the show.” Shi Wawa saw golems around the same age as him and became envious.
“You want to go?” Li Qiye glanced at the excited youth and said.
“I haven’t been there before because Father said that it’s too dangerous since the beetles there will come out of the ground. Some source stones can be found so it can be beneficial to take a trip. It’s just that he never took me there before.” Wawa had a dejected expression by this point.
“Okay, we’ll go there then and pick up a few source stones along the way.” Li Qiye smiled.
“Really?” His expression changed to excitement right away; his eyes lit up.
“It’s on the way anyway.” Li Qiye said.
“Perfect, I’ve never seen one before!” Wawa shouted.
The two changed direction and headed for Stoneshell Valley.
“You’ve been there before?” Wawa was curious because Li Qiye seemed to know the way.
“No, but everyone is going there, no need to know the direction.” Li Qiye chuckled.
“True…” Wawa smiled awkwardly, thinking that it was a stupid question.
More and more people were coming to the valley during their trip.
“All the source stones will be mine!” One youth flying through the sky declared.
Sure enough, a crowd of people filled the entrance, whether it be in the sky or on the ground, on the tree branches or the peaks. It was tough finding a place to stand.
The valley wasn’t that large and didn’t look special either. It was barren with just rocks. This made it quite hot due to the sun.
However, there was a deep, slanting cave at the end of the valley, seemingly bottomless.
Some of the young first-timers looked around and became disappointed.
“This is Stoneshell Beetle Valley? What’s special about it? We traveled so far, for what?” One of them complained.
“Patience, you’ll find out soon enough.” A senior nearby said.
“Say the name again, we obviously have to wait till the beetles come out of that cave.” Another older cultivator nearby smiled: “They always come out during this time of the year and go to that cave to produce some source stones.”
“They can produce source stones? That’s amazing.” The young one became surprised.
“Yes, that’s why this place is special. These beetles can only be found here.” The cultivator smiled back.
This area was unique to the canyon. On the day after the petrification winds, the beetles would come out of the ground and go into the cave to produce stones.
“Why don’t we just enter the cave if there are stones in there?” Another youth stared at the cave and asked.
“Its depth is unimaginable, very dangerous too. Rumor has it that all the dangers in this region actually originate from there.” An older cultivator said with a serious expression: “An invincible Heavenly Sovereign entered that place alone before, barely managing to escape a while later with wounds everywhere. On the second day after returning to the sect, he exploded and died.”
The ones nearby shuddered after hearing this. Even a Heavenly Sovereign couldn’t survive? Just what was in there?
The cave has been a mystery all this time. The only consensus was that nothing good would come from entering that place. This prevented the greedy adventurers from doing so.
“So why can those beetles go in?” Another one curiously asked.
“It is in accordance with the heavenly dao and the laws of creation. The various beings have different fits.” An elder-level character said.
All eyes were on the secretive cave now. Li Qiye also gave it a glance. His bright eyes could reach the deepest area. Of course, he wouldn’t personally go down.
“I heard the beetle king is very majestic, do you know what it looks like, Young Master?” Shi Wawa asked Li Qiye.
“I haven’t seen it.” Li Qiye shook his head.
“I have.” An older cultivator near them stroked his beard and smiled: “These Stoneshell Beetles all have the same color, only the king is different. It has a golden shade and can control its kins.”
“That’s not all, the source stones produced by one are extraordinary, priceless even.” A different expert added.
“Yes, they’re the main focus every time. So many people want it.” One more jumped in; his eyes had a flashing glint, seemingly very interested in the beetle king.
“Haha, that is if one is capable enough.” Another crowd member snorted: “The beetle king is dangerous enough, let alone all the greedy competition.”
“Everyone wants that source stone, only to throw their lives away for nothing.” Some became worried. They made up their mind – to leave once they got their stone instead of being greedy.
Why? Because the source stone from a beetle king always brought about a massacre.
People could actually smell the stench of blood after listening to the conversations.
“An elder from Firmaments got the stone from the king last time. He got something amazing inside and immediately went into isolated cultivation.” A knowledgeable cultivator became envious.
“It’s that good?” Others started salivating.
“He’s from Firmaments. Not everyone can hope to do the same.” Another woke the crowd up.
Firmaments was a famous sect in the northern West King. An elder from there was naturally powerful. It wasn’t surprising for him to be able to get a source stone from a beetle king.
“Do you want the king’s source stone, Young Master?” Shi Wawa asked. He believed that Li Qiye was unfathomably strong after surviving the fog. Anything else should be easy for him.
His carefree comment changed the atmosphere in the valley.
In reality, everyone wanted this source stone. However, they kept it to themselves and tried to act nonchalant for now.
1. Star here can mean something completely different depending on the context