Great World, northern region of the Feather God Sect — the Jade Spirit Divine Pool.
The Jade Spirit Divine Pool was situated on a small floating mountain. Springs surged within the mountain, cascading down its slopes, and at its center lay a pool of water that occasionally birthed Spirit Stones.
The divine pool absorbed vast amounts of Heavenly Dao power from its surroundings and used that energy to form Spirit Stones. Because the Dragon Ruins Realm contained a great number of divine pools, the Heavenly Dao power between heaven and earth had become extremely thin — yet people had obtained Spirit Stones condensing enormous amounts of Heavenly Dao power from these pools.
A divine pool, much like a flower or tree, had a certain lifespan. Within three thousand years was its most vigorous period, producing the highest quantity of Spirit Stones each year. Once it surpassed three thousand years, the divine pool would gradually dry up.
The Jade Spirit Divine Pool had already existed for over five thousand years. In a single year, it could at most produce a few thousand Spirit Stones. Most larger factions wouldn't bother with the Jade Spirit Divine Pool, which was why this particular pool had been claimed by Hua Ling and his group.
Hua Ling happened to be patrolling the Jade Spirit Divine Pool at the moment. Recently he had received two rather pleasant pieces of news — a double blessing, so to speak — and his mood was quite good. One piece of news was that the Jade Spirit Divine Pool had slowly begun showing signs of recovery. The other good news was that Xiao Yu had been ambushed and killed once by his people, which brought Hua Ling considerable satisfaction.
Hua Ling had long been annoyed by Xiao Yu. Every time, Xiao Yu looked down at him with that cold, arrogant gaze. And the guy was a grown man yet somehow prettier than most women — every time he showed up, he drew screams from the girls, which irritated Hua Ling to no end.
"That fool Xiao Yu was asking for it. If he ever dares come to the Great World again, I'll kill him every time I see him! His old man had the nerve to compete with my father for the position!" Hua Ling snorted coldly and glanced back at the Jade Spirit Divine Pool. This divine pool was the foundation of his foothold in the Great World. It produced several thousand Spirit Stones a year — not a huge amount, but still quite decent.
There were over sixty of them in total, and each person could receive a fair share every year. During normal times, when standing guard, they could simply cultivate nearby, because practically no faction would bother contesting the Jade Spirit Divine Pool.
Of course, powerhouses from minor Heavenly Origin Worlds were not limited to their group alone. Deep in the vast expanse of the Great World, other strong individuals from minor Heavenly Origin Worlds had also claimed various divine pools for themselves.
Just as the group was cultivating, three streams of energy came sweeping toward them.
Hua Ling narrowed his eyes and looked, a glint of cold light flashing in his gaze. Then he burst into hearty laughter: "That idiot Xiao Yu actually dares show his face here again? He really doesn't know how to die. Does he think bringing two extra people can make any difference against us?"
Hua Ling was well aware of the strength backing Xiao Yu. The Small Exquisite World was depleted of talent — the entire Feather God Sect had only a handful of people from the Small Exquisite World!
Even if they killed Xiao Yu, he'd have nowhere to cry for help.
But this time Xiao Yu had actually come back. His head must have gotten caught in a door.
Nie Li, Xiao Yu, and Lu Piao hovered in the air, looking down at the people gathered around the Jade Spirit Divine Pool.
Nie Li's gaze settled on Hua Ling in the distance.
"Hua Ling, get over here!" Lu Piao shouted toward the pool.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh — over sixty figures shot up into the sky.
Hua Ling's eyes landed on the three of them, and a cold smirk crept across his lips: "Xiao Yu, it seems you want to die again! Coming to throw your life away wasn't enough — you even brought along two more short-lived fools!"
"Hua Ling, bullying Xiao Yu one-on-many like this — you should be ashamed!" Lu Piao planted his left hand on his hip and pointed at Hua Ling with his right. "Now tell me how you plan to settle this. Are you going to pay up, or get on your knees and kowtow to apologize?"
"Pay up? Kowtow and apologize?" Hua Ling seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world and burst into roaring laughter. "Are you out of your minds? You think coming to the Great World is the same as being in the Heavenly Spirit Academy? Three idiots!"
The people behind Hua Ling erupted in a wave of laughter. Nie Li's group truly had no idea what they were up against — only three people, and they had the audacity to strut around like this?
"You hurt my people, so you'll have to pay a price. Leave everything you have on you — consider it compensation for Xiao Yu's losses. I might spare your lives then." Nie Li appeared calm and composed, his sharp gaze sweeping over Hua Ling and his followers.
Hearing Nie Li's words, Xiao Yu's face flushed slightly, and he lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.
"Unbelievable — you actually want us to pay? In this Great World, the strong devour the weak. Without any real power, you dare act this arrogant? You won't even know what killed you." Hua Ling waved his hand and bellowed, "Brothers, send these idiots back to the Spirit Hall!"
Sixty people swiftly encircled them, forming a tight encirclement around Nie Li and the other two.
"You're the one who said the strong devour the weak. In that case, I've got no choice!" Nie Li shrugged, his gaze turning cold and menacing as he locked onto Hua Ling.
The instant Nie Li finished speaking, wave after wave of powerful aura locked down Hua Ling and his subordinates, rendering them completely immobile.