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Chapter 120: Blue Moon Cave, Intra-Sect Conflict
Chapter 120: Blue Moon Cave, Intra-Sect Conflict
Chu Ning and his companions only saw the five Golden Core elders take action simultaneously.
Five lights of varying colors shot towards the forest in front of them.
Then, in the seemingly normal air, ripples began to form, gradually giving way to a small black hole.
As the five Golden Core cultivators continued their spellcasting, the hole expanded until it was large enough for two people to pass through side by side.
"Everyone, get in quickly!"
It was the elder in the blue robe who spoke again.
Hearing this, everyone immediately walked towards the black hole.
Chu Ning followed in the middle of the group, his heart calm and focused.
He held a talisman in each hand, his spiritual power ready to be channeled into the magical artifacts worn on his wrists.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the Golden Core elders, he stepped into the black hole.
As soon as the last person's figure disappeared, the five elders withdrew their spiritual power, and the black hole vanished.
The Golden Core cultivators looked a bit fatigued after the exertion of breaking the formation.
"This is a desperate gamble!"
Elder Xie, the plump elder who had first spoken up to question Xin Wuyao, shook his head at this moment.
"Breaking the formation twice in a row has increased its strength. If we want to break it again, we'll have to wait at least a year."
Elder Mu, after glancing back, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes, replied, "There's no other choice. With our cultivation, supporting over three hundred people at once is already pushing our limits. We have no option but to split into two batches."
"Elder Mu, are you worried about your family's junior?" Elder Xie asked with a smile.
"Since you're concerned, why did you let her come? Even though we're short on manpower, if you had asked, the Sect Master would have granted your request."
Elder Mu shook his head. "Let her come. This girl has abysmal talent. Perhaps she'll get lucky here. If, when obtaining the Wood Spirit Seed, she happens to acquire a strand of Spirit Qi to wash her meridians, temper her bones, and transform her body, it'll be her good fortune."
Plump Elder Xie nodded.
"True. If we succeed in obtaining the Spirit Seed this time, it will likely be our only chance."
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly," Elder Mu murmured.
At this moment, the rest of the elders remained silent, their eyes fixed on the formation, a glimmer of anticipation in their eyes.
...
"Whoosh!"
The first sound Chu Ning heard after landing was the rushing of water.
Then, he saw a waterfall right in front of him.
"Blue Moon Cave!"
Chu Ning quickly realized where he was.
"Looks like my luck isn't bad. At least it's not an especially dangerous place."
Chu Ning muttered to himself.
According to the previous map explanation, the Blue Moon Cave was located in the far southwest corner of the entire spirit domain.
The downside was that it was very far from the formation's location, but the upside was that it was relatively safe, with hardly any demonic beasts lurking about.
The plump elder had mentioned earlier when explaining the map that everyone would be transmitted to different locations within the spirit domain.
Most people would arrive at normal destinations, but there could also be exceptions.
For example, some might be transmitted directly to the formation's location, while others might end up in a demonic beast's lair.
Chu Ning had wondered before if he could transmit himself near the place he had entered and exited last time, as it seemed quite close to the formation's location.
However, it was clear that his wish had not come true, as he had been transmitted in a completely different direction.
Even though the Blue Moon Cave was safe, Chu Ning did not let down his guard for a moment.
His figure flashed and he hid behind a large stone, holding a talisman in each hand while his spiritual power remained ready to be channeled into the magical artifacts on his wrists.
Then, Chu Ning released his spiritual sense to scan for any signs of danger in the surrounding area.
Only after confirming that there was no immediate threat did he take out the guiding needle from his storage bag.
At this moment, Chu Ning saw that the needle was pointing northeast.
"Looks like the map's general direction is accurate."
Chu Ning put away the needle and prepared to head in the direction of the formation.
After some thought, he took out the puppet bird from his storage bag.
This puppet bird could scout ahead, and although its range was only a hundred meters, it was still much farther than his own spiritual sense.
At the same time, Chu Ning wanted to see how much spiritual power and spiritual sense it would consume to control the puppet bird.
He channeled his spiritual power into the puppet bird, and after a few breaths, it took flight.
Chu Ning immediately took out the magic mirror and, following the instructions within, directed the puppet bird to fly northeast.
Upon sensing it, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The consumption of spiritual power and spiritual sense was far less than what was required for talisman-making.
Chu Ning estimated that even if he continuously manipulated the puppet bird for most of the day, his spiritual sense would be able to withstand it without issue.
With that in mind, Chu Ning didn't retract his control but instead allowed the puppet bird to fly ahead and scout the situation.
After walking for about two li, Chu Ning's footsteps abruptly came to a halt.
A hundred zhang ahead of him, a cultivator was engaged in a battle with a magical beast.
The beast was a Greenfire Spider, resembling a spider in shape but with a body that was over ten feet in size.
Its spider legs were as thick as chopsticks.
At that moment, the Greenfire Spider was continuously spitting out spider webs, but unlike ordinary spiders, its web was a crimson red.
Chu Ning had learned about this magical beast before, and although it looked intimidating, it wasn't particularly powerful.
It was merely a first-rank mid-tier magical beast, roughly equivalent to a cultivator at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refining.
What surprised Chu Ning slightly was the Qi Refining cultivator fighting the beast.
He was a fellow disciple with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but he had already reached the late Qi Refining stage, attaining the seventh layer.
Apparently, this person was one of those who had entered a day earlier than them.
"This place, Blue Moon Cave, is already quite remote. Even though he entered a day earlier, why is he still here?
Moreover, since he's at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, it shouldn't be difficult for him to kill such a low-level magical beast.
Yet, he doesn't seem to be using his full strength, which is rather odd."
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Chu Ning slowed down his pace.
He stayed in place, using a large rock to conceal his figure while observing through the magic mirror and the puppet bird flying above.
At that moment, the Qi Refining cultivator with thick eyebrows and big eyes seemed to be handling the Greenfire Spider with ease.
The Greenfire Spider tried several times to approach him using its silk web, but it failed each time.
And whenever the spider tried to form a larger web, the man would wave a fan-like artifact in his hand, sending out several white blades of spiritual power that easily cut through the webs.
However, the blades didn't target the spider itself, resulting in a stalemate where neither could harm the other.
"Could it be that he's trying to collect the spider webs?" Chu Ning wondered to himself. If the other cultivator continued like this, Chu Ning decided that he would just bypass them and continue on his way.
Even though the sect elders had suggested that everyone should travel in pairs, Chu Ning still felt that it would be much more convenient for him to travel alone.
Just then, a figure appeared within the range of the magic mirror.
Not tall and slightly thin, Chu Ning immediately recognized him as one of the Qi Refining cultivators at the sixth layer who had entered the spirit domain with him.
He remembered him because they had stood relatively close to each other before.
"Fellow junior disciple!"
The Qi Refining cultivator with thick eyebrows and big eyes was delighted to see the thin young man and immediately called out to him.
"Quick, come and help me! This magical beast is extremely troublesome."
Upon hearing this, the thin young man seemed surprised, but he didn't hesitate and quickly rushed to the thick-browed cultivator's side.
At the same time, he raised a hook-like artifact in his hand and attacked the Greenfire Spider.
A flash of golden light later, the artifact's spell directly struck the Greenfire Spider.
The spider, already exhausted from its previous battle with the thick-browed cultivator, was now severely injured by the gold-attributed spell.
It lay on the ground, unable to move for the moment.
Seeing this, the thin young man's face showed a hint of bewilderment.
"Senior brother, this magical beast isn't that troublesome..."
Before he could finish his sentence, several white blades of spiritual power shot out from the thick-browed cultivator's fan and struck the thin young man.
With their proximity and the thin young man's complete lack of guard, the blades easily hit their mark.
His pupils dilated in shock as he stared at the thick-browed cultivator, unable to utter a word. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
Chu Ning, witnessing this scene through the magic mirror, was equally stunned.
When the thick-browed cultivator had called for the thin young man's help earlier, he had found it a bit odd.
But he never expected that the other cultivator would directly attack his fellow disciple, who was of a lower level.
The next moment, the thick-browed cultivator's slightly triumphant laughter echoed through the air.
He then crouched down and took the hook-like artifact from the thin young man's hand. He also took the other's storage bag and stood up to leave.
Watching this unfold, Chu Ning sighed inwardly.
He had not expected that, right after entering the Spirit Domain, he would witness such a scene of fellow sect members killing each other for treasure.
Previously, Chu Ning had indeed considered that, without the sect's constraints within this domain, and with everyone's cultivation levels vastly different, there would likely be some with nefarious intentions who might resort to such actions.
After all, even though the Golden Core elders emphasized that they must work together to complete the task before leaving the Spirit Domain, such reminders did not carry absolute authority.
What surprised Chu Ning, however, was how quickly this situation had escalated.
Being a hundred zhang away, he had neither the time to stop it nor the intention to get involved in such a mess.
For him, the most important thing was to keep his life intact, participate in the array-breaking task calmly, and then leave this place.
After the man with thick eyebrows left for a while, Chu Ning continued on his way, still using the puppet bird to scout ahead.
As he passed by the thin young man's corpse, Chu Ning casually cast a few Fireball spells to dispose of the body, turning it to ash. It was better than leaving it exposed for beasts to devour.
After walking a few more li, Chu Ning suddenly paused, sighing softly and turning his gaze to the side.
In that direction, a youth with thick eyebrows was emerging from behind a large rock.
Earlier, the youth had hidden himself, staying out of the puppet bird's line of sight, and even Chu Ning's enhanced spiritual sense had failed to detect him.
However, as soon as the youth moved, Chu Ning's sharp spiritual sense immediately picked it up.
"This puppet bird can only provide a limited range of vision, and if there are obstructions, it's useless. It's still not as convenient as having my own spiritual sense."
As Chu Ning mused, his eyes fell on the thick-browed disciple, who was walking towards him with a smile.
"Fellow junior disciple! Wonderful, oh, I've finally met someone."
The thick-browed disciple exclaimed with delight.
"I lost my guiding needle during the transmission, and I've been waiting here for a whole day before you finally passed by, fellow junior disciple.
Let's travel together."
"Sure! It will be much safer with a senior brother like you."
Chu Ning smiled and agreed, but then he pointed behind the other in confusion.
"Hey, didn't you have a companion?"
"Huh?" The thick-browed disciple turned around in surprise at Chu Ning's words.
There was nothing behind him.
"You must be seeing things..." The thick-browed disciple said as he turned back.
But what met his eyes was a flash of golden light.
Before he could react, he felt a chill on his neck.
Instinctively, he tried to look down, and the next moment, his head dropped to the ground.
Perhaps he would never understand what had happened, even in death.
Chu Ning's expression remained unchanged as he killed the seventh-layer Qi Refining disciple with a single Golden Sword Talisman.
Obviously, the thick-browed disciple never expected that Chu Ning had already witnessed his previous actions, which was why he dared to strike.
Otherwise, with a little vigilance, he wouldn't have succeeded so easily.
Chu Ning approached the corpse and, without hesitation, took the storage bag.
He now had two storage bags, including the one from the thin young man.
After casually inspecting the thick-browed disciple's bag, Chu Ning furrowed his brows, puzzled.
In fact, he had always believed that this man, who killed his fellow sect members for treasure, was most likely a disciple of the Yin Demon Sect.
He still suspected that some members of the Yin Demon Sect could use certain means to evade Elder Mu's spiritual sense technique.
What surprised him slightly was that he found nothing in the thick-browed disciple's bag to indicate any affiliation.
Chu Ning then searched the man's body, even stripping him naked to inspect him, but aside from a small worm that was rather unsightly, there was nothing noteworthy.
"In my past life, someone said that those with thick eyebrows live well. Seems that's not always the case."
Chu Ning muttered softly before casting another Fireball spell.
"This man was probably just immoral and not a disciple of the Yin Demon Sect. Maybe I'm overthinking this."
Shaking his head, Chu Ning continued on his way.
(End of Chapter)
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