Chapter 178: The Foundation Establishment Squad
Chapter 178: The Foundation Establishment Squad
A day later, Chu Ning appeared on the Island of Thousand Illusions, his expression calm as he had expected this summons.
A couple of days ago, Cheng Zuyuan had mentioned that the Thousand Island Alliance had blocked all entrances and exits to the Thousand Lakes and Islands. They were also organizing Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Thousand Lakes and Islands to exterminate the "bandits," and Chu Ning couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If his guess was correct, the extermination of bandits was just a pretext; their true goal was likely to find that Song Li.
Chu Ning didn't particularly care about the Thousand Island Alliance's motives. What truly concerned him was that, as Cheng Zuyuan had predicted, he would not be able to stay out of this matter.
Indeed, soon enough, a messenger arrived, requesting Chu Ning to come to the Island of Thousand Illusions.
The messenger's tone was polite, but the message conveyed was clear: those who refused to participate in this clearance operation would be considered accomplices and treated as such.
Reluctantly, Chu Ning complied.
Upon his arrival, Chu Ning was grouped with eight other Foundation Establishment cultivators, awaiting two additional cultivators who would lead their squad.
Soon, a pair of cultivators, one old and one young, both at the Foundation Establishment stage, appeared to guide them on their mission.
There were around a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators scattered across the Thousand Lakes and Islands. Many of them knew each other, so when they saw Chu Ning, they couldn't help but feel surprised.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, you displayed your prowess in the Thousand Lakes and Islands a few years ago, and now, at such a young age, you've achieved Foundation Establishment. Truly enviable!"
The speaker was a round-faced cultivator in his forties or fifties, at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. His name was Zou Huqing, and he was an island master.
Chu Ning had heard that morning that this man had been at the early stage of Foundation Establishment for quite some time and was close to advancing to the middle stage.
Chu Ning quickly waved his hand, humbly responding, "Island Master Zou, you flatter me. I only appear young due to my cultivation method, but I'm not that young. In fact, I'm probably not much younger than you, Island Master Zou."
Hearing Chu Ning's explanation, the others showed expressions of understanding, realizing that there was indeed a reason for his youthful appearance.
There was a noticeable difference between a forty-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator and a twenty-something one. With Chu Ning's clarification, they guessed that he had previously concealed his cultivation, and coupled with his mention of his age, their interest in him waned slightly.
Chu Ning was pleased with this development.
As they chatted, an elderly cultivator and a young one, both at the Foundation Establishment stage, arrived.
"So, our group is led by Fellow Daoist Wen and Fellow Daoist Chen..."
Zou Huqing greeted them warmly and proceeded to introduce them to the rest of the group.
The older one, a goat-bearded man in his fifties named Wen Linghua, was the island master of Four Directions Island, one of the top ten islands. He was a cultivator at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
His presence naturally commanded respect from the group.
When Zou Huqing introduced the younger cultivator, with his handsome features and a hint of arrogance in his brows, the others' expressions became even more varied.
"This is Chen Xinming, an unparalleled genius in the Thousand Lakes and Islands. At only twenty-six years old, he has achieved Foundation Establishment..."
Chen Xinming—most of the cultivators present had heard this name before, including Chu Ning.
He was the son of the current head of the Chen family and was hailed as the second-best genius in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, second only to Cen Zijin.
Chu Ning had first heard this name from Cen Zijin herself. Initially, Cen Wenquan had intended to arrange a marriage between Cen Zijin and Chen Xinming.
"Oh, so it's Fellow Daoist Chen!"
"I've long heard of your fame, Fellow Daoist Chen. I heard you were in seclusion to establish your foundation, and I didn't expect you to succeed so quickly."
...
Several cultivators chimed in, striking up conversations with Chen Xinming.
A twenty-something Foundation Establishment cultivator was indeed a rare sight in the Thousand Lakes and Islands.
Chen Xinming responded politely to each comment, but his eyes kept drifting towards Chu Ning, his gaze flickering with interest.
"Fellow Daoists, you flatter me," Chen Xinming said humbly. "I believe this fellow Daoist here is even younger than I am."
Before Chu Ning could speak, Zou Huqing interjected, "Fellow Daoist Chu already explained that his youthful appearance is due to his cultivation method. He's actually around our age..."
Hearing that Zou Huqing had already clarified on his behalf, Chu Ning remained silent.
Chen Xinming's expression turned to one of understanding, and his demeanor became even more arrogant.
Without addressing Chu Ning directly, Chen Xinming exchanged a few more words with the group before turning to Wen Linghua, "Uncle Wen, shouldn't we be setting off soon?"
Although Wen Linghua was a middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he immediately agreed with Chen Xinming's suggestion, nodding, "Xinming is right. Let's go."
The group was not surprised by this; after all, Four Directions Island, where Wen Linghua was from, had a close relationship with the Chen family and tended to follow their lead. It was only natural that he would treat Chen Xinming with such courtesy.
And so, the squad set off from the Island of Thousand Illusions.
"Our squad will be heading to the area of Calm Lake Island, Seven Stars Island, White Mud Island, and Frost Moon Island," Wen Linghua explained as they traveled.
Along the way, he also outlined their general plan.
Once they arrived at White Mud Island, he distributed small signaling devices to everyone.
"We'll split into two teams to search the island. If you encounter any bandits, send a signal immediately, and the other team will come to assist," Wen Linghua instructed, pausing to give the group a meaningful look.
"That Song Clan elder, Song Li, is said to have gone berserk due to a tragedy in his family. He's already killed quite a few cultivators on several islands.
"Uncle Wen, don't let it get to your head," Chen Xinming interjected with a smile. "Here in Calm Lake Island, our spiritual senses are limited. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense will be affected.
The main factor is still our magical power, and with two people working together, we should be able to hold out for a while even if we do encounter him. That's more than enough time to send a signal for help."
Zou Huqing, standing beside them, chimed in with a smile, "Friend Wen, I think Friend Chen's idea makes sense.
Let's just make sure we don't stray too far from each other. This island is already quite large, and if we search with a group of five, it will take us days to cover the entire area."
Wen Linghua thought for a moment but ultimately shook his head. "Two people per group is still too risky.
How about this: we'll split into three groups. Xinming, you team up with Fellow Daoists Zou, Chu, and Zhang. It's better to have more people to watch each other's backs."
Among the group, Zou Huqing was the strongest after Wen Linghua, and another cultivator named Zhang Lu was likely second only to Zou Huqing.
Then there was Chu Ning and Chen Xinming, both of whom had recently entered the Foundation Establishment stage, and it seemed that Wen Linghua was deliberately arranging for them to be in the same group to ensure their safety.
Upon hearing this arrangement, Chen Xinming's face betrayed a hint of indecision, but he didn't voice any objection.
Since he had no objections, the others naturally didn't feel it was their place to comment.
So, Wen Linghua led another group of two, while the remaining three formed the last group and dispersed, heading deeper into Calm Lake Island.
Soon, they entered the Ten Thousand Bamboo Forest.
Chu Ning had previously visited Calm Lake Island with Cen Zijin and had even fought two cultivators there.
He was well aware of the peculiar phenomenon that affected spiritual senses on the island, but back then, he hadn't yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and his spiritual sense was much weaker.
Now, his spiritual sense could normally reach up to 600 zhang.
He couldn't help but want to test it out.
Chu Ning deliberately slowed down and fell to the back of the group, occasionally releasing his spiritual sense towards their rear.
"When we first entered the island, my spiritual sense was weakened by about 60%. Now that we've ventured further in, it's dropped to only about 40% of its normal range."
Chu Ning mused to himself that if they went deeper into the meteorite forest, he guessed his spiritual sense would be reduced to a mere 10% of its usual range.
With that thought, he retracted his spiritual sense.
Spiritual sense consumption was rapid in this area, and he needed to be conservative with its use.
Besides, with several people around, he didn't need to specifically scout for anything.
However, as he retracted his spiritual sense, he casually walked forward, moving slightly ahead of Zhang Lu, who was now at the back of their small group.
Zhang Lu, who appeared to be around the same age as Zou Huqing, noticed Chu Ning's action but didn't say anything, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
They had been on the island for almost a day now, and there hadn't been any signs of their target. What difference did it make if he was at the back of the group?
In fact, after several consecutive days of searching with no traces of anyone, everyone was beginning to suspect that Song Li had probably left the Thousand Lakes and Islands through some other means.
Zou Huqing smiled and spoke to Chen Xinming, "This Calm Lake Island is not a suitable place for cultivators to linger. Beyond this Ten Thousand Bamboo Forest lies the meteorite forest.
I once visited it not long after I entered the Foundation Establishment stage, and I can tell you that the consumption of spiritual sense is even greater there. Even if there were bandits, they wouldn't want to stay in such a place.
Friends Chen and Chu have only recently entered the Foundation Establishment stage, so how about we don't venture further into the island?"
Chen Xinming, upon hearing this, looked rather unconvinced. "That's not necessarily true. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest. Who knows, he might be hiding there."
As he spoke, Chen Xinming quickened his pace.
Zou Huqing shook his head and followed suit, and Chu Ning had no choice but to keep up as well.
(End of Chapter)
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