Chapter 217: At the Bottom of the Myriad Manifestations Cliff, the Illusion God Technique Shows its

Chapter 217: At the Bottom of the Myriad Manifestations Cliff, the Illusion God Technique Shows its Might

Cui Rongrong looked at the two Black Flood Dragons and said, "It will take some time to peel the skins of these two flood dragons intact. Let's take them back first."

"I only need some of the skin from one of them. As we agreed earlier, the remaining skin of this flood dragon will go to Senior Brothers Lu and Dai," she continued, following up with, "As for the other one, Sister Su has already taken its gallbladder, so Brother Chu, you can decide what to do with it."

Chu Ning's eyes flickered with interest as he examined the flood dragon's body, which remained untouched aside from the precise attacks on its weak points—the snake crown and 'soft spot.' Its defensive capabilities were impressive, to say the least. Though he already possessed a mysterious soft armor of unknown origin, an additional layer of defense wouldn't hurt.

Intrigued, he asked, "What kind of artifacts can be crafted from this Black Flood Dragon's skin?"

"Plenty!" Cui Rongrong replied enthusiastically. "The uses of this dragon skin are diverse. Aside from crafting defensive artifacts of the five elements, with additional materials, it can also be used to forge artifacts of the wind attribute, or even lightning attribute."

"I plan to forge a shield and infuse it with the black flood dragon's skin," she added, "As for Senior Brothers Lu and Dai, they have their own artifact plans as well."

Chu Ning's curiosity piqued at the mention of wind attribute artifacts, and he inquired, "Is it possible to craft an artifact that would enhance my escape technique and provide a certain degree of defense?"

"Theoretically, yes," Lu Ji'an chimed in. "However, if Elder Ge were to craft artifacts of the wind or lightning attributes, the resulting artifacts would be of a higher grade."

"Elder Ge," Chu Ning murmured, recalling the image of the golden core elder with his distinctive head of hair. He hesitated; he didn't exactly have a close relationship with the elder.

Cui Rongrong, quick to notice his hesitation, smiled and assured him, "Brother Chu, leave this to me. I'll ask Elder Ge to help us out."

Su Yuqing, standing beside them, explained, "Rongrong's master is Elder Ge's junior sect sister. They were disciples of the same sect elder."

Hearing this, Chu Ning knew that the odds of their request being granted were high. He turned to Cui Rongrong and said, "Then I'll trouble you to bring this flood dragon back as well. Oh, and this..." He handed the net bag containing the Green Demon Snake to her.

Not quite sure what to do with the snake, he decided to pass it on to Ge Liuyang to see if the elder had any other ideas for utilizing it.

"Sure!" Cui Rongrong readily agreed and proceeded to store both flood dragons in her spatial pouch. She then reached out to take the white net from Chu Ning. "This artifact is quite useful against demon beasts."

As Cui Rongrong spoke, Su Yuqing's gaze fell upon Chu Ning. She watched as he recalled the puppet wolf and saw Ling Xiaobai jump onto his shoulder. Recalling the earlier attack by the fourth-rank Green Demon Snake, she spoke up, "Brother Chu, thank you for sending your puppet to help me block that green demon snake earlier. And this little spirit beast is so adorable! It's already at the mid-foundation establishment stage!"

As she spoke, she noticed Ling Xiaobai's eyes fixed on her, as if it could understand her words. Surprised, she exclaimed, "It seems to understand human speech!"

Chu Ning smiled and patted Ling Xiaobai affectionately. "His name is Ling Xiaobai. He loves spirit fruits. Sister Su, if you have any, feel free to give him one as a reward for his help earlier."

Su Yuqing immediately took out two fairly high-grade spirit fruits from her spatial pouch and offered them to Ling Xiaobai. "Thank you for coming to my aid earlier."

"Cheep!" Ling Xiaobai chirped happily, gobbling up the fruits. He then flashed Su Yuqing a look that clearly conveyed 'you're welcome.'

Though Ling Xiaobai didn't use divine sense transmission to speak to Su Yuqing, she could tell that he understood her words. Once again, a look of surprise flitted across her face.

Typically, even third or fourth-rank spirit beasts and demon beasts couldn't understand a cultivator's speech.

Chu Ning gently patted Ling Xiaobai, and the little guy immediately returned to his spirit beast pouch to happily devour the two spirit fruits.

Looking up, Chu Ning asked, "Earlier at the mission hall, someone mentioned that there are Spirit Concentrating Grasses near the Black Dragon Pool. Now that the black flood dragons have been slain, let's go take a look."

The group had been aware of Chu Ning's intention to find the Spirit Concentrating Grass, as well as the Earth Burying Flower and Black Flood Dragon blood, so they naturally had no objections.

However, after the unexpected encounter earlier, everyone was more cautious. Fortunately, this time, there were no surprises, and the group soon arrived near the Black Dragon Pool. After a quick search, they found a significant number of Spirit Concentrating Grasses in one area.

Chu Ning harvested all the mature Spirit Concentrating Grasses and even collected about half of the younger ones, intending to plant and cultivate them back at the sect. Worried that he might not be able to grow them successfully, he left some behind so that he could return and harvest more if needed.

At that moment, Chu Ning's gaze shifted to the east. "Is that the direction of the Myriad Manifestations Cliff?"

Lu Ji'an nodded. "Yes, that's it. We should be able to get there in half a day at most."

Chu Ning smiled and asked, "So, there shouldn't be any significant dangers there, right?"

"There aren't any particular dangers," Dai Tong interjected. "I've been there a few times."

"The Earth Burying Flower seems to grow at the bottom of the cliff," he continued, "And that cliff bottom leads to a deep abyss."

"If that's the case, it's not too concerning. I refined several furnaces of Clear Heart Pills before, and I still have a few on me. They should be effective against ordinary poisons."

As Chu Ning spoke, he took out several pills from his storage bag and distributed them to everyone, each taking one.

However, no one immediately consumed the pills. According to Dai Tong, the colored mist at the bottom of the cliff wasn't highly toxic. As cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, they had their ways of preventing the poison from invading their bodies.

Chu Ning offered the pills as a precautionary measure.

Soon after, the group flew eastward toward the Myriad Manifestations Cliff.

After about half a day, they arrived at a deep abyss, a thousand zhang wide, sandwiched between two towering peaks.

The abyss below was enveloped in a white haze, rendering their vision useless.

Chu Ning extended his spiritual sense downward, vaguely sensing that the very bottom of the cliff was over two thousand zhang deep.

A layer of white mist hung above, while at a height of about a hundred zhang from the bottom, the colorful mist that Dai Tong had mentioned lingered.

At that moment, he couldn't help but exclaim in awe.

"Wow, this cliff is indeed very deep."

The others assumed that Chu Ning couldn't reach the bottom with his spiritual sense, so they weren't surprised.

Among them, Lu Ji'an had the highest cultivation base, having reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. Even so, his spiritual sense only extended a little over a thousand zhang.

They naturally wouldn't expect that at this moment, Chu Ning's spiritual sense had reached a distance of over three thousand zhang.

Chu Ning scanned the area below and, indeed, didn't detect anything unusual. He asked, "Dai Shidi, do you know where the Earth Burying Flower might be?"

Dai Tong thought for a moment and replied, "I remember that the last time I came here with others, I saw them picking Earth Burying Flowers in the western direction at the bottom of the cliff. After we reach the bottom, we can search in that direction, and we should be able to find it."

Chu Ning could have flown in the airspace above and directly used his spiritual sense to scan the bottom of the cliff.

However, doing so would expose his powerful spiritual sense.

While he didn't intend to guard against these people specifically, possessing a strong spiritual sense was one of Chu Ning's life-saving strategies.

He wasn't about to reveal this advantage lightly.

So, he suggested to the group, "Let's go down, then."

The five of them flew down to the bottom of the cliff, and Chu Ning took a moment to assess the situation.

The toxicity of the colored mist wasn't as strong as he had anticipated. By simply circulating his spiritual power and erecting a protective barrier, he could keep the toxic mist at bay.

Subsequently, the group began their search while moving forward.

After covering a distance of about a thousand zhang, they still hadn't spotted the Earth Burying Flower, but their efforts weren't entirely fruitless.

Both Chu Ning and Su Yuqing found some spirit herbs for pill refining.

Chu Ning gathered about twenty stalks of Flowing Light Leaves, which he needed for his pill concoction.

Initially, he had planned to go back and claim some Qi Dun Fruits from the Pill Refining Pavilion, but now he had enough.

Cui Rongrong also discovered a piece of material suitable for artifact forging.

The group had made some gains, and they continued on their way.

At this point, they noticed that the colored mist wasn't stagnant but was drifting in their direction.

It hadn't been noticeable when they first descended, but now, as they progressed, the mist seemed to be converging toward them.

Nonetheless, overall, the mist wasn't exceptionally dense.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Chu Ning.

"Earth Burying Flower!"

With his powerful spiritual sense, he detected, about a thousand and eight hundred zhang ahead, the presence of an Earth Burying Flower.

However, he also noticed that about a thousand zhang ahead, the mist became noticeably denser.

Although Lu Ji'an didn't detect the flower, his spiritual sense was more refined than the other three. He cautioned the group through voice transmission, "The mist ahead is much denser. Be cautious, everyone. Get the pills Chu Shidi gave you ready, and take them at the first sign of trouble."

Hearing Lu Ji'an's warning, the group grew more vigilant.

As they continued forward, they covered a distance of about a thousand zhang.

True to their expectations, the mist grew denser.

However, what surprised Chu Ning and the others was that aside from the increased density, nothing else seemed amiss.

Even the mild toxicity of the mist didn't seem to have intensified.

With his exceptionally powerful spiritual sense, Chu Ning couldn't detect any abnormalities either.

"It seems like the wind is blowing these mists toward us, causing them to gather here."

Chu Ning muttered to himself, his steps quickening slightly.

At that moment, he not only sensed the presence of the Earth Burying Flower but also detected several more scattered behind them, spaced a few zhang apart.

There seemed to be quite a few of them.

Before long, Chu Ning reached the first Earth Burying Flower.

After scanning the area once more with his spiritual sense to ensure there were no hidden dangers, he took out a wooden knife and carefully dug up the flower, placing it in a wooden box.

Unlike some spirit herbs that required storage in jade boxes, the Earth Burying Flower couldn't come into contact with jade. Instead, it had to be dug up and stored using special wooden tools.

Chu Ning was well-versed in the characteristics of this flower, so he had come prepared.

As they continued their search, walking and digging, they covered a distance of nearly two hundred zhang.

By now, Chu Ning's wooden box contained close to seventy Earth Burying Flowers, including mature flowers, young buds, and even some seeds he had collected from a particularly mature flower.

Sensing that the mist was becoming denser, Chu Ning halted his steps and transmitted his voice to the group, "The mist ahead is too dense, and it might not be safe. Let's turn back.

Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat as he subconsciously released his spiritual sense to search for his companions. The next moment, his expression turned to one of astonishment.

Lu Ji'an, Su Yuqing, and the others were flying towards the depths of the colorful mist. Moreover, from their expressions, they seemed completely unaware of anything unusual.

"Brother Lu! Sister Su!" Chu Ning transmitted his voice towards them, but they seemed unable to hear him, and instead, they flew faster.

At this moment, Chu Ning finally realized that something was wrong. He took a moment to sense the situation and immediately became aware of the force that was influencing him.

"Illusion!" Chu Ning exclaimed. He and his companions had unknowingly entered some sort of illusion.

The force influencing him made Chu Ning feel as if flying deeper into the colorful mist was the way out of the cliff. However, due to his Illusion God Technique, Chu Ning was experiencing two conflicting sensations.

"There's something in that colorful mist, and it's very powerful," Chu Ning's face darkened as he realized what was happening.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to deceive a late Qi Refining Phase cultivator and three mid Qi Refining Phase cultivators without them noticing anything.

With this thought, Chu Ning quickly flew after the four to stop them.

But just at that moment...

"Hee hee! How interesting. You, a human cultivator, are not fooled by my illusion," a voice echoed in his mind.

About fifty zhang ahead of Chu Ning, a strange elk-like magical beast appeared.

The elk had one half of its body white and the other half black, as if two completely different bodies had been fused together. It looked extremely bizarre.

"Yin-Yang Elk!" Chu Ning exclaimed upon seeing the magical beast.

His face darkened as he recognized the creature as a fifth-rank Yin-Yang Elk, comparable to an early Golden Core cultivator in strength. This beast was renowned for its prowess in spiritual sense and illusion attacks.

"Human, what treasures do you possess that allow you to remain so clear-headed in my illusion?" the magical beast's voice echoed in his mind once more.

Chu Ning did not reply but immediately unleashed the Spirit Sealing Technique. Simultaneously, he quietly took out the Cycle of Reincarnation Ancient Tablet.

If he had encountered another type of fifth-rank magical beast, Chu Ning would have had a hard time figuring out a strategy. However, this particular beast, aside from its spiritual sense and illusion attacks, did not possess strong offensive capabilities.

This realization eased Chu Ning's worries considerably. His spiritual sense was incredibly powerful, and with the Full Cycle Ancient Plate, the Spirit Sealing Technique, and the Illusion God Technique, he had the upper hand against the Yin-Yang Elk.

The Yin-Yang Elk watched as Chu Ning retrieved something from his storage bag.

A mocking expression flashed across its yin-yang face, half black and half white.

"You, a mid Qi Refining Phase cultivator, actually think you can survive my illusion?" the elk asked.

As its voice echoed, the Yin-Yang Elk suddenly turned its head, its expression changing.

The next moment, Lu Ji'an, Su Yuqing, and the others suddenly turned around and attacked the elk.

However, they were quickly scattered by the elk, and Su Yuqing flew towards Chu Ning, saying, "Brother Chu, this magical beast is too strong. Let's attack together."

"Alright!" Chu Ning immediately agreed.

He activated the Cycle of Reincarnation Ancient Plate, and a thick, black light shot out from it.

But instead of aiming at the Yin-Yang Elk that was fighting Lu Ji'an and the others, the light was directed at Su Yuqing, who was flying towards him.

"Brother Chu, what are you doing?" Su Yuqing exclaimed, dodging while crying out in surprise.

Chu Ning coldly smiled and flashed towards her.

Su Yuqing dodged continuously, but the Cycle of Reincarnation light seemed locked onto her, relentlessly pursuing her. Moreover, it was faster than she was.

Finally, the Cycle of Reincarnation light struck "Su Yuqing."

"Ahhh!"

A piercing scream rang out, but it wasn't Su Yuqing; it was the fifth-rank Yin-Yang Elk.

"Your illusion is too weak to work on me," Chu Ning thought with a smirk. He immediately flashed towards the Yin-Yang Elk.

This magical beast had very distinct strengths and weaknesses. It excelled in spiritual sense and illusion attacks, and it was also exceptionally fast.

Additionally, its body was agile, making it difficult for ordinary spells to hit it through spiritual sense locking.

However, its weakness was equally obvious: its physical defense was extremely weak. If struck, it would easily be injured.

Normally, Chu Ning was only a mid Qi Refining Phase cultivator, but when the Yin-Yang Elk saw him approaching, a hint of tension flashed across its yin-yang face.

Its body blurred, and in the next moment, it had disappeared from its original spot and reappeared ten zhang away.

When it saw Chu Ning put away the Cycle of Reincarnation Ancient Plate, the elk's black and white eyes flickered.

The next moment, the black elk horn on its head started to shine with black light.

The Yin-Yang Elk possessed a pair of elk horns, one white and one black. The white horn was used for illusions, while the black horn was used for spiritual sense attacks.

As the black light flashed on the black horn, an invisible spiritual sense attack wave rushed towards Chu Ning.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end