Chapter 235: Silent Calamity Forbidden Land · First Encounter with Suli

Chapter 235: Silent Calamity Forbidden Land · First Encounter with Suli

Mercy Sea.

Cang Ming Sea Area, Cang Ming Immortal Sect.

"Senior Sect Master, trouble!"

The Inner Affairs Elder’s face was taut with tension. "Six hours ago, someone triggered the Supervisor Formation we deployed."

Tie Shan True Sovereign, who had been hunched over an invitation scroll in deep thought, paled. "Who was the guarding disciple? Why wasn’t this reported immediately?!"

Before the Inner Affairs Elder could answer, Tie Shan pressed on. "Which Supervisor Formation gave the warning? What was its intensity? Have the other junior sect brothers been notified yet?"

The priority was handling the crisis.

"Reporting, Senior Sect Master—the warning came from the Silent Calamity Forbidden Land. It seems a Golden Core cultivator crossed into the area… We haven’t informed the other elders yet. I’ll send a voice transmission right away."

The Inner Affairs Elder spoke while pulling out a Voice-Transmitting Spirit Sword.

"Hold on—Silent Calamity Forbidden Land?"

Tie Shan’s brow furrowed. "Who would dare go to a place like that?"

"Are you certain the Supervisor Formation detected a Golden Core cultivator?"

Hearing the unspoken implication, the Inner Affairs Elder nodded fervently. "Absolutely, Senior Sect Master. I saw it myself."

Tie Shan’s eyes flickered. "I’ll handle this. From now on, seal all information about this. If even a whisper leaks out, the offender will face the sect’s full punishment."

"Also, go back and discipline your guarding disciples properly. Delays like this in issuing warnings must never happen again. Understood?"

The Inner Affairs Elder nodded hastily, though his eyes darted curiously. He’d never known what lay within the sect’s Silent Calamity Forbidden Land.

Meanwhile, on the so-called Ji’e Island—Silent Calamity Forbidden Land—Xiao Chen was scouring the area.

Judging by instinct, the snake he’d encountered earlier had likely mutated due to some external force.

He had no intention of waking up halfway through a nap inside a yao beast’s stomach—or worse, stumbling into another disaster.

As he searched, Xiao Chen chewed on sea fish meat and plotted his next steps.

Though the island seemed deserted, that didn’t matter.

Now that he’d reached the Mercy Sea, he’d soon encounter other cultivators.

His cultivation in the arcane arts had already reached the Golden Core Middle Stage.

For the next while, he’d focus on refining true mana and seeking Spirit Herbs to help breakthrough minor cultivation bottlenecks.

As for his body cultivation path, he’d prioritized rushing to the Golden Core Middle Stage earlier, leaving his body cultivation at the Golden Core Initial Stage—a noticeable lag.

Eating sea fish alone was too slow. With ample spirit stones now, he’d buy enhancement-grade body cultivation Spirit Herbs at the bazaar. Dual cultivation was the way to go.

The sky had already darkened to dusk before he encountered the White Mist Group.

Now, after his search, night had fallen. A full moon rose silently.

As silver moonlight bathed the land, he suddenly spotted faint glimmers of silver light within a cluster of ink-green vines.

"Oh? What’s this?"

Brushing aside the dense foliage, Xiao Chen’s pupils constricted.

Three moon-stained jade marrow fungi pulsed with mercury-like lunar radiance. Beneath their smooth caps, dewdrops of emerald Spirit Dew glistened.

"No way… is this just lying here for me to pick up?"

"Am I actually this lucky?"

Xiao Chen’s disbelief stemmed from the fungi’s value. For Golden Core cultivators, moon-stained jade marrow fungi were as vital as the five-color golden lotus for nascent soul cultivators.

The jade marrow infant pill, crafted from these fungi, was a legendary stage-breakthrough Spirit Herb.

"One jade marrow line… two… four!"

He counted. Each of the three fungi had survived over four hundred years—well past the harvesting threshold.

He immediately retrieved a White Dew Elm Glove and a Sealed Medicine Jade Casket from his Han Hai Ring.

Regardless of circumstances, he’d collect them first.

But before he could approach, the air rippled with a mana aura pressure far beyond a Golden Core cultivator.

A Golden Core True Sovereign had arrived!

Xiao Chen leapt back instantly, only to see a white-robed female cultivator descending from the moonlit sky.

Her bare feet hovered above the ground, star-like eyes dark as lacquer, teeth white as frost. Her gauzy robes swirled like mist, her jade pendants glimmering. Twin silver-white tresses cascaded like waterfalls, a vermilion mark on her brow resembling a blooming plum blossom. As she stepped forward, a red-threaded bell at her ankle chimed softly.

At the sight of Xiao Chen, Suli’s calm gaze flashed with unmistakable shock.

The island’s Fourth Stage Maze Formation barred ordinary Golden Core cultivators from even seeing the island, let alone entering.

She’d lived in solitude here for a century, nearly forgetting the outside world.

Now, faced with a stranger, her surprise was profound.

Their eyes met. Suli paused. She saw no fear in his expression—only curiosity and alertness.

"You do have some nerve", she murmured, her voice like icy spring water.

Suli’s bloodline carried the ancient witch clan’s legacy and the moon eclipse curse.

To ordinary eyes, her body writhed with twisted black-violet curse marks, her right face marred by web-like scabs resembling a hellish demon.

"Ah, this junior is new here and unaware you’re cultivating in solitude. I meant no offense, Senior", Xiao Chen bowed, his Divine Veil shielding him from the curse.

Caught red-handed picking Spirit Herbs, he felt awkward.

He’d known his luck was good for finding a Cinnabar Stone, but these moon-stained jade marrow fungi clearly had an owner—and a Golden Core True Sovereign at that.

"Should I just grab them and run?"

The thought flashed through his mind.

Cultivators often seized treasures, especially something aiding Nascent Soul Formation.

But the aura pressure from this stranger was nearly double that of the Dai Clan’s ancestral founder.

Stealing the fungi would provoke her—and her faction.

Xiao Chen decided to tread carefully.

He’d already been dragged into two mysterious conflicts.

Coming to the Mercy Sea, he didn’t want to anger another major force.

He eyed the fungi, plotting.

Chime!

The red-threaded bell rang as Suli suddenly closed the distance.

Their faces nearly touched, close enough to smell each other’s breath.

She tilted her head, revealing her cursed right face. Her hair brushed his nose.

Decaying eyelids oozed pus, emitting a sickly scent of autumn’s withered flowers and rotting leaves.

No one had ever seen her like this and not recoiled in terror.

Her sudden burst of speed even startled Xiao Chen, a body cultivator.

But why was she doing this?

He wondered at her odd move, his instincts flaring.

Since his Golden Light Technique Hermit alias was compromised, and to conserve true mana during his journey across the Kunpeng Sea, he’d dropped his disguise.

He’d assumed the Jingkong Sea Three Great Clans couldn’t have spread wanted posters this far.

Had she recognized him?

Should he just grab the fungi and flee?

Still not scared?

Suli’s eyes widened in confusion.

His reaction defied her experience.

Everyone who saw her twisted curse marks and rotting flesh recoiled in horror.

Yet this Golden Core cultivator remained calm—curious, alert, but utterly fearless.

He truly wasn’t afraid of her?

Wait, what was he looking at?

Following his gaze, she saw the three moon-stained jade marrow fungi.

Then his White Dew Elm Glove caught her eye.

Ah…

Memories surged—over a century ago, scheming cultivators sneaking onto the island, coveting her witch blood.

She realized Xiao Chen was just another greedy cultivator.

"You want the moon-stained jade marrow fungi?"

She stepped back, her tone unreadable. "I’ll grant your wish… if you carve me a few statues. Take the fungi, then."

Though she despised power-hungry cultivators, she held her tongue.

First, she hadn’t spoken to anyone in nearly a century, only pouring her loneliness into cursed, broken statues.

Second, new statues would be a blessing.

Besides, this man was already infected by her curse. He’d likely die within three days—best to use him while she could.

Her terrifying appearance was merely a side effect of the Nine Yin Calamity Spirit Body.

The true danger was that any cultivator near her would suffer the curse’s effects—falling ill, losing focus in cultivation, or even suffering spiritual backlash.

Before her Golden Core breakthrough, her senior sisters and junior sect brothers had suffered inexplicable ailments.

The area within a hundred li radius became barren, and even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn't survive three days within ten li, inevitably mutating and dying from the corruption.

That monstrous serpent earlier had merely passed underground by coincidence, yet still transformed into that grotesque state.

"Senior's command, junior shall naturally obey. However, I do have a small request!"

Though Xiao Chen hadn't yet devised a countermeasure, the other party proactively proposed a deal that made his heart race.

Yet the situation unfolding too smoothly raised his suspicions. This couldn't possibly be this simple. There must be some hidden reason behind the mysterious senior's conditions.

Considering the importance of the moon-stained jade marrow fungus, he still decided to agree to the transaction first.

Just to prevent unexpected situations like Suzu changing her mind or breaking her word midway.

Xiao Chen proposed a condition: "Junior hopes to harvest one moon-stained jade marrow fungus in advance. That way, I'll have more motivation to work."

Better to secure partial payment first—should anything go awry later, he wouldn't end up working for nothing.

Upon hearing this, Suzu snorted inwardly. As expected, another greedy fool.

Still, she nodded: "No problem."

After all, the moon-stained jade marrow fungus meant nothing to her.

"Pick one yourself, then go to the island's opposite side and fetch me two high-quality spirit-sealing cloudwood trunks."

After assigning the task, Suzu turned to leave: "I'll wait for you in the stone house over there. Remember—two trunks are enough. Don't take more."

"Clang!"

The red rope swayed, emitting a crisp sound that pierced the wind.

Though seemingly unhurried, with one step she had already vanished dozens of zhang away, disappearing in an instant.

Hmm?

She left just like that?

Xiao Chen blinked, decisively deciding to secure the moon-stained jade marrow fungus first.

He deliberately chose the most vibrant one with the strongest medicinal potency.

Only then did he determine the island's direction, heading to the opposite side as Suzu instructed to search for spirit-sealing cloudwood.

Frankly, this task proved far simpler than he imagined.

The island's other side was lush with blooming flowers and verdant grass. Especially within a hundred li near the coast, there was an expansive forest teeming with life.

This was completely opposite to this side, where apart from a few spirit herbs, nothing grew.

The spirit-sealing cloudwood grew right in the forest—hundreds of trees in total.

Xiao Chen stood stunned for a moment. Was this really something that required my involvement?

But he quickly realized—she must belong to some major faction, naturally disdaining to handle such menial labor personally.

As the name implied, spirit-sealing cloudwood effectively resisted cultivator mana corruption. Thus, cutting it required pure physical effort, completely beneath a major cultivator's dignity.

Subordinates likely handled such chores regularly, but this time they coincidentally encountered him instead.

So she simply delegated the task to him. This practice wasn't unusual in the cultivation world.

"Got it. I'm just a rough fellow, no shame in chopping wood."

Xiao Chen retrieved his Flying Sword, using it sideways like a saw as he bent down to cut.

Meanwhile.

Suzu returned to a seaside stone house—old and shabby, built near the coast.

She stood silently, gazing at several damaged wooden carvings placed in different positions.

Extending her slender fingers, she gently traced the curse marks on the statues, her eyes flickering with complex emotions.

"He must be no good, going through so much trouble to break the maze formation to get here. Getting cursed is just what he deserves."

Suzu murmured softly, her voice as gentle as the breeze, almost inaudible with her sigh.

The slightly distorted statues before her remained silent as always.

"Senior, I'm back. What's next?"

In less than two hours, Xiao Chen carried two trunks of spirit-sealing cloudwood over a zhang long, placing them directly before the stone house.

"So fast?"

Suzu snapped out of her thoughts, looking at the fresh wood in astonishment.

Spirit-sealing cloudwood was Fourth Stage spiritwood. Even a Golden Core cultivator would find cutting it no simple task.

She originally expected this process to take at least two days, yet it was already completed in less than half a day.

"Who told you to come directly here!"

Suzu suddenly changed her tone: "Stay away from me. Move to the beach below!"

Hmm?

Wasn't it you who said to wait at the stone house?

Xiao Chen rolled up his sleeves, hoisting the spirit-sealing cloudwood again: "Understood."

A true man doesn't dwell on minor details, especially when he can't overpower the other side.

For the sake of the other two moon-stained jade marrow fungi, he'd endure this small matter.

Watching Xiao Chen retreat, Suzu sighed inwardly.

The closer one approached her, the stronger the curse's effect became.

To let this tool survive a few more days and do more work, maintaining distance was best.

"Work on making statues there for the next few days", Suzu's voice carried from afar: "There's a cave below the cliff. On the innermost wall are some paintings. Carve according to those images."

"Once you complete two qualified statues, our transaction will be finished."

Of course, in reality, this was an impossible task.

Though Xiao Chen's speed in cutting wood made Suzu suspect he might have dual-cultivated Body Cultivation, the difficulty of sawing versus carving was worlds apart.

Without four or five days, it couldn't be done.

Truth be told, carving seemed simple but was actually quite challenging.

Though Xiao Chen had strong bodily control, he'd never done such work before. Combined with the difficulty of handling spirit-sealing cloudwood, the resulting statues naturally weren't very presentable.

But it didn't matter, since Suzu clearly didn't care.

It was hard to imagine a Golden Core True Sovereign spending her days doing only two things:

First, staring blankly at the broken old statues.

Second, staring blankly at the distant sea.

Xiao Chen was puzzled. Did Golden Core cultivators have such leisure time?

Didn't she need to cultivate?

During another rest, he glanced over and saw Suzu still holding the weathered statue in one hand, lost in thought.

Strange occurrences always had hidden reasons.

A Golden Core True Sovereign wouldn't neglect cultivation without purpose. There must be deep meaning behind her actions.

Observing carefully, Xiao Chen soon realized that whenever she entered her trance, the surrounding waves would quicken by threefold.

What a sight! Could she be comprehending the Dao through this method?

Legends spoke of prodigies who walked the Path of Comprehension. It seemed he was witnessing one today.

Understanding her cultivation method, Xiao Chen's curiosity faded. He returned to studying the wood in his hands.

After all, the longer he stayed, the more unpredictable events might arise. Completing the two statues and finishing the transaction to leave was the priority.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

The rhythmic sound of the Flying Sword striking wood echoed. Suzu snapped out of her trance, glancing at Xiao Chen.

Two days had already passed. The curse should be starting to take effect now.

She wondered what pitiful state this bold, greedy Golden Core youth would show once he realized he'd been cursed.

Would he angrily curse her? Tremble in fear? Or collapse in despair, begging for mercy?

Either way, he'd surely lose his composure.

But no matter the outcome, she'd fulfill her promise—delivering all the moon-stained jade marrow fungi to bury with him.

"Crack!"

The spirit-sealing cloudwood snapped.

After all, it was raw material yet to be processed. It couldn't withstand Xiao Chen's rough, rushed handling.

Looking at the broken wood, he truly felt the meaning of "haste makes waste."

Earlier, Suzu specifically emphasized "two trunks are enough, don't take more", but now the material was broken. How to handle this?

"Ah..."

Xiao Chen turned, finding Suzu had also looked over. He cautiously asked: "Senior, should I cut another spiritwood trunk?"

He wondered if he'd have to compensate for damaging wood worth over a thousand spirit stones.

"Hmm, go ahead."

Suzu's expression remained calm, showing no sign of anger.

Good, she wasn't holding this small mistake against him.

Xiao Chen skillfully headed back to the forest on the other side, deciding to pick a thicker spiritwood trunk as repayment.

Mainly to reciprocate her kindness, absolutely not because thicker wood was less likely to break.

Flying over the forest, he circled once, selecting a good target.

Xiao Chen leaped from midair, directly landing in a puddle.

Hmm?

He looked down at the knee-deep blood-red water beneath his feet, sensing a massive surge of vital energy within.

As is well-known, cultivators possessed spiritual senses that could perceive most things.

Yet some things remained invisible even under spiritual scanning—like celestial treasures such as moon-stained jade marrow fungus, or the strange small blood pool at his feet.

This pit wasn't large, appearing just like an ordinary forest puddle.

But for some reason, it was filled with blood-red water.

And as if alive, it tried to seep into Xiao Chen's body through his clothing.

Any ordinary cultivator would panic, hastily fleeing to check for poisoning or forbidden object contact.

But Xiao Chen wasn't the least bit afraid. He even sat cross-legged, submerging both hands into the blood pool.

Who cares what it is—just test it directly. Even if there were negative effects, his divine veil would immunize him.

This was the confidence his divine veil granted!

"Whoosh~!"

The blood water boiled upon contacting a living being.

Instantly, Xiao Chen felt a massive surge of vital energy rushing into his body.

But the moment it entered, it seemed to lose its soul, becoming unclaimed energy.

This revealed two things:

First, the blood pool indeed had issues.

Second, this substance was a miraculous treasure!

No need for him to absorb it actively—it eagerly surged through his skin. He only needed to focus on absorbing.

If cultivation had any shortcuts, he was definitely taking one now.

He'd been worrying about his slow progress in body cultivation.

Yet in just half an hour, his life-essence core had expanded threefold in true mana capacity—equivalent to ten days of arduous cultivation.

Moreover, he felt his total vital energy increase significantly.

"Hisss~! Remarkable effect!"

Xiao Chen stood, looking at the now-empty pit with lingering satisfaction.

After all, total vital energy was even rarer than true mana within the life-essence core.

If a cultivator's bottleneck was limited by comprehension, a body cultivator's bottleneck was restricted by total vital energy.

As long as total vital energy was sufficient, one could almost avoid cultivation bottlenecks before reaching the Nascent Soul Stage.

This mysterious blood pool not only increased true mana but also boosted total vital energy—truly a half-chance encounter.

If such good fortune occurred more often, Xiao Chen estimated his body cultivation progress would skyrocket.

The question was—how did this blood pool appear here?

He inspected the area. The surrounding forest was ordinary, and the pit itself showed almost no abnormalities.

If there was any difference, it was the strange odor from the pit's bottom.

Smelling like a mix of fallen leaves and withered flowers—a peculiar scent.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end