When Su Youyi, looking utterly content, emerged with her hair still slightly damp, alongside Wan Tinggui and Pang Qingshi, she was met with the sight of her senior, He Zhiqing, and Ke Mengzhan, the three forming a triangle around the collapsed figure of Uncle Orange on the lawn.

And at this moment, the three of them wore worried expressions, occasionally heaving sighs.

Uncle Orange lay sprawled on the ground, his soft belly facing upwards, eyes tightly shut, and not a trace of vitality to be felt from his body.

"What happened to Uncle Orange?"

Su Youyi and her companions were taken aback by this sudden turn of events. What was going on?

"Oh, Uncle Orange is fine. He'll be bouncing around again after lying down for two or three days…"

As Su Youyi approached, a faint scent reached Liang Yi's nose, prompting him to take a couple more sniffs before speaking.

"How did he suddenly lose so much Essence Blood?"

It wasn't until Su Youyi and her friends got closer that they noticed Uncle Orange's life force was still vibrant despite his breath being barely perceptible, so faint they had mistaken him for lifeless.

Wan Tinggui merely glanced at Uncle Orange and immediately realized that his condition was due to excessive consumption of Essence Blood, which he found quite strange.

"But if you say there's nothing wrong with Uncle Orange, then who's the one in trouble? The three of you are sighing and lamenting over here."

Pang Qingshi caught a glimpse of the map in Liang Yi's hand, his expression changing with an uneasy guess: "Don't tell me Uncle Orange failed to find the location of the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core?"

"That's not it. Uncle Orange has found the place; it's precisely because of this that he consumed a lot of Essence Blood. It's just that this place is a bit of a headache to deal with."

He Zhiqing waved his hand, discounting Pang Qingshi's speculation.

Through a year of collaboration with Pang Qingshi, although their relationship remained merely cordial, He Zhiqing at least felt that Pang Qingshi's subtle hostility towards him had lessened significantly.

"Our current worry is this; this place is somewhat troublesome to handle."

Ke Mengzhan scratched his hair, his expression also one of frustration.

"Where is it? Surely it's not Xia Kun's place of seclusion?"

Su Youyi, puzzled by the three's behavior, randomly conjectured a location. Could their luck really be so bad?

Contrary to her expectations, Liang Yi and the others all heaved a sigh, with Liang Yi handing over the map in his hand.

After Su Youyi took it, Wan Tinggui and Pang Qingshi also leaned in to see exactly where the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core was.

"The Beisheng Domain in the extreme east of the Fushui Fus Mountain?!"

Wan Tinggui's expression changed in an instant upon recognizing the place on the map, anger surging in his heart.

"The Devouring Spirit Sect!"

Su Youyi too looked serious, having not expected it to be this location.

"A Devouring Spirit Sect guarded by Tian Anyu? This is certainly more complex than heading to Xia Kun's place of seclusion…"

A flicker of worry crossed Pang Qingshi's eyes.

The three had naturally included Fushui Fus Mountain in their previous exploration of the Spirit Vein's path. Having been there, she understood why Liang Yi and the others were so troubled now.

"How did you manage to investigate under the nose of the Devouring Spirit Sect? Was Tian Anyu not there?"

Liang Yi suddenly looked up at He Zhiqing, reasoning that if He Zhiqing and the others had successfully scouted the location, they must have safely returned from there.

"We camped out near there for more than half a month beforehand to get a clear understanding of the Devouring Spirit Sect's peripheral defense forces, and also waited a long time for Tian Anyu to leave. After that, we took advantage of Pang's Floating Life Bell and Shi Wuzhe's stealth to infiltrate the outskirts, allowing Ke Mengzhan with his remarkable investigation power to remotely scan the Spirit Vein's path throughout that vast region before Tian Anyu's return."

He Zhiqing understood Liang Yi's concerns, thus explaining their prior experience briefly.

"Do you think we'd have a high success rate if we tried it again?"

Liang Yi looked straight at He Zhiqing, perhaps reflecting on the chance of duplicating their first success.

"If we were to replicate the same process exactly, we should be successful. However, that's contingent on Tian Anyu leaving there without any other Great Cultivator of the Ninth Realm taking his place, and their defensive setup remaining unchanged. Only under those conditions would it be possible."

Ke Mengzhan rubbed his brow, contemplating the conditions for success.

"Moreover, our objective this time differs from before. To explore the Spirit Vein's direction, I can do so without venturing too deep. But when it comes to destroying the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core, I guess it won't go unnoticed, right?"

"That's true…"

Liang Yi also felt a headache coming on; they had been brainstorming for quite a while but hadn't thought of a suitable approach.

After all, this time they were aiming to destroy the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core, shattering the heart of the world's Spiritual Power. It was impossible to do so silently.

Thus, besides figuring out how to get in, they needed to plan their escape after the destruction.

Liang Yi didn't fancy being hailed a hero of the Mystical Mechanism Continent for just a split second only to be immediately crushed by the will of the Abyss and die a glorious death. That would be a complete loss for him.

"Now that we know the imminent location of the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core, we still know nothing about it. If we blunder into it rashly, we won't be able to handle any emergencies that arise."

Su Youyi brought up another aspect that the group needed to contemplate beforehand.

"That is indeed the case. After all, none of us have seen a Heavenly Vein Spirit Core before. Uncle Orange only mentioned that we are capable of destroying it, but he didn't specify how exactly to do it."