As his nine Heaven Eyes spread out in all directions, images were instantly reflected in Nie Tian's mind.
The soul power within his Heaven Eyes allowed him to not only capture clear images of his surroundings, but also detect even the slightest signs of life and soul fluctuations.
Through his nine Heaven Eyes, Nie Tian obtained a thorough grasp of the environment around him, including the mountains, rivers, woods and plains, as well as marks of battle left by powerful beings. The only thing he didn't find was any sign of life or soul fluctuations.
Aside from Dong Li and him, there didn't seem to be a third living being within his Heaven Eyes' detection range.
Of course, it was also a possibility that Profound realm or Soul realm human Qi warriors or high-tier outsiders that excelled at using soul magics were intentionally hiding their soul fluctuations.
However, if that was the case, those powerful experts would have probably already discovered his Heaven Eyes and descended upon him.
After a second thorough search, Nie Tian still failed to find any living things in the vicinity.
Eyebrows furrowed, Nie Tian muttered, "All of the others from the Realm of a Hundred Battles entered the colorful mist before us, but how come we can't find any of them?"
Dong Li pondered for while, then said, "The colorful mist might have separated us, and sent people to different areas of the continent the moment they stepped into the mist. If my speculations are correct, Qin Yan, Cao Qiushui, and the others might have also been sent to this part of the continent. We're only not seeing them only because there is a fairly long distance between us."
Nie Tian nodded, agreeing with her judgment. Then, a major question suddenly hit him: how would they return?
The gate through which they had entered this mysterious dimension was in the space above the boundless gray mist. Then, they had come to this continent through a huge vortex.
Now, not only was the huge vortex nowhere to be found, but the colorful mist they had come from was also gone. How would they go back?
Even if they managed to find the huge vortex, it kept spiraling downwards, which meant they probably wouldn't be able to return via the same route they had taken to get here.
After he expressed his worries to Dong Li, Dong Li smiled and said breezily, "Don't worry. According to Cao Zhaoji, that mysterious huge vortex isn't always swirling downwards."
"What do you mean?" Nie Tian asked, looking confused.
"Cao Zhaoji believes that the huge vortex that carried us to this place is going to reverse at some point." Dong Li didn't know the mechanism behind it either. She just reiterated Cao Zhaoji's speculation. "When that happens, major changes will take place, and the huge vortex will start spiraling up towards the top.
"At that time, as long as we can find that huge vortex, we'll be able to return to the top space through that swirling band."
Nie Tian was taken aback. "How can Cao Zhaoji be sure of that?"
Dong Li shook her head. "I don't know, but I know that Cao Zhaoji is a big fan of exploring new realms and strange places, and he's very experienced. In fact, Cao Qiushui only developed a strong interest in this field because of Cao Zhaoji's influence. Cao Zhaoji has very deep and unique understandings regarding all kinds of spell formations, mysterious realms, and profound mysteries of heaven and earth.
"Since he's said so, I think his speculation will be mostly correct. All we need to do is go find the huge vortex when the time comes. Before that, we can just travel around and search for valuable spiritual materials."
"I hope he's right about that." Nie Tian chose to believe Cao Zhaoji's theory for the time being.
He had realized that Cao Zhaoji's speculations about the laws of the swirling band that led to this continent weren't completely accurate soon after he had entered it.
"Nie Tian!" Dong Li exclaimed. "Can you feel the rich spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in this place?!"
Since coming here, Nie Tian had focused on examining the vicinity with his Heaven Eyes. Upon hearing her words, he started practicing the Qi Refining Incantation with his eyes narrowed.
After a brief moment of observation, his eyes lit up. "You're right! The spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in this place is probably richer than in any realm of the Domain of the Falling Stars!"
He could sense with great clarity that, as he practiced the Qi Refining Incantation, the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth being channeled into his seven vortexes of spiritual power was not only pure, but also very rich.
He didn't even need to refine it much. The spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth rapidly sank towards the bottom of his vortexes of spiritual power, where it became liquidized spiritual power.
Back in the Domain of the Falling Stars, after he had channeled the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth into his spiritual sea, he normally needed to refine it repeatedly with his vortexes of spiritual power before it would liquidize.
Even the spiritual power within the spirit stones from the Domain of the Falling Stars usually contained large proportions of impurities. He would have to get rid of the impurities and refine it over and over with his vortexes of spiritual power to make it pure enough.
However, the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth on this continent was many times richer and purer than anywhere in the Domain of the Falling Stars.
Practicing cultivation here, Qi warriors would be able to progress significantly faster.
Dong Li grew increasingly excited. "There must be all kinds of rare and precious materials on this magical continent! Wherever the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is very rich and pure, all things are nourished, thus producing a large number of unique treasures. I bet there are spirit stone mineral veins here. There might even be plenty of spirit jades and spirit crystals lying around!
"Even the most common spirit stones here are probably purer than those in the Domain of the Falling Stars. Let's search the hell out of this place!"
Nie Tian was infected by her enthusiasm as he saw her glittering eyes.
He also knew that precious treasures probably existed on such a magical continent that was blessed with such rich and pure spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, he temporarily cast his worries about their return out of his mind, and started scanning the earth with his Heaven Eyes.
Soon after they walked out of the mountain valley, they discovered a pond. The water was so clear that everything at the bottom could be seen with a single glance. Around the pond grew all kinds of bryophytes.
"It's been a long time since I took a bath!" With these words, Dong Li cheered like a little girl and quickly skipped towards the pond, completely forgetting about her lady's grace.
Just as Nie Tian was about to follow her towards the pond, she turned around and exclaimed softly, "Don't you come close!"
SPLASH!
Most of her garments fell lightly on the shore like feathers as she leapt into the clear pond with nothing but her tight inner garment.
"I can't believe the pond water contains such rich water power!" Dong Li exclaimed as she stretched and moved her well-built legs like a mermaid in the water. "If Qin Yan were here, by merely submerging herself in the pond, she would be able to absorb a copious amount of water power!"
Standing in his original place, Nie Tian saw her exclaim something and dive into the pond immediately afterwards.
From the look of it, she must be a good swimmer.
A meaningful smile appeared on Nie Tian's face as he ignored Dong Li's warning and walked towards the pond.
After arriving on the shore where Dong Li had left her garments, Nie Tian discovered that Dong Li was swift like a fish in the incomparably clear water. At this moment, she had already reached the bottom of the pond, where there seemed to be a handful of sparkling gems in the waterweeds.
Dong Li swam over to grab one of the gems and rose to the surface.
Upon surfacing, her wet, long hair stuck to her long, white neck. The faint redness of excitement could be seen on her gorgeous face as she held a sparkling stone in her right hand. She noticed Nie Tian, who was standing on the shore. However, instead of blaming him for approaching, she waved her bare arm towards him and exclaimed, "Guess what this is!"
"What is it?" Nie Tian asked.
"This is a Water Spirit Jade!" Dong Li exclaimed joyously while beating the water with her milky-white arm. "It's a third level Premium grade spiritual material! But compared to the Water Spirit Jades in the Domain of the Falling Stars, this is purer, and the water power within it can be refined more easily! If Qin Yan were here, she would be more excited than I am!"
With these words, she once again dove towards the bottom of the pond and started gathering the other Water Spirit Jades.
A quarter hour later, she finished searching every corner of the pond, and stored all of the Water Spirit Jades she had found in her ring of holding.
Then, she grabbed a handful of waterweeds and surfaced. As soon as she did, she exclaimed, "Water Ripple Weeds! These are sixth level Premium grade spiritual materials. The Pill Pavilion Sect makes Water Element Pills with them! Just one of these is worth nearly ten thousand spirit stones!
"We're rich! Hahaha! This is indeed a land blessed with treasures!"
Overjoyed, she flaunted her discoveries to Nie Tian, completely unaware that her garment had already come loose, revealing part of her white and tender bosom.
Neither did Nie Tian remind her. His eyes didn't spend a second on the few Water Ripple Weeds she was holding. His heart started racing as he was completely dazzled by the sight of her chest.
Dong Li noticed that he showed no response to her words, and rapidly realized what was going on.
"Nie Tian! What the hell are you looking at!!?"
"N-nothing..."