Chapter 245: Black Chains

Chapter 245: Black Chains

Not long after Chu Ning and You Jing's figures disappeared from the battleground, a new figure appeared where they had clashed.

The newcomer was a burly elder with black hair and thick eyebrows. His aura was astonishing, far surpassing that of You Jing from earlier.

"Judging by the lingering spiritual energy fluctuations, the two who fought here earlier seemed to be at the Golden Core stage," the black-haired elder remarked as he scanned the area, sensing the remnants of the battle.

Then, a cold light flashed in his eyes as he murmured, "But when I sensed them with my spiritual sense earlier, I clearly felt the presence of that Chu boy from the Jiuhua Sect.

Could it be that the Jiuhua Sect has other Golden Core cultivators here?"

As he spoke, the elder, whose name was Ao Langtian, of the Great Luo Sect, let out a cold huff.

"As long as Yu Changge isn't here, even a Golden Core cultivator won't be able to do anything. Today, I must find that brat and avenge Xuan'er's serious injury!"

Just then, Ao Langtian's eyes narrowed as he sensed something. He fully unleashed his spiritual sense to carefully scan the area.

The next moment, his expression turned ugly.

"What's going on? Within the range of my spiritual sense, I can only detect an injured Demon cultivator. Where's that Chu brat?

Even if Yu Changge came here personally, with their speed, they shouldn't have been able to escape my spiritual sense so quickly."

Ao Langtian frowned as he continued to search meticulously with his spiritual sense.

However, what frustrated him even more was that aside from sensing You Jing's presence growing fainter as he fled, indicating that he would soon disappear from the range of his spiritual sense, there were no other cultivators in the area.

After some hesitation, Ao Langtian transformed into a fleeing light and chased after You Jing.

"Since I can't find that Chu brat from the Jiuhua Sect, I'll ask that Demon cultivator what's going on first."

You Jing, who was fleeing at top speed, suddenly felt a powerful aura approaching from behind. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately took out an object, infusing it with his spiritual power. In the next moment, a pitch-black light shot into the sky.

The black light was so bright that it could be seen from hundreds of miles away, including by Ao Langtian, who was in hot pursuit.

"Someone from the Xuan Yin Sect!" Ao Langtian's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the black light.

The next instant, he coldly huffed and accelerated, chasing after You Jing.

Before long, the two were a hundred miles apart, with You Jing in the lead.

Ao Langtian's cultivation was indeed at the late Golden Core stage. Despite You Jing's use of a secret escape art and his head start, the distance between them had shrunk to just over a hundred feet.

"Stop right there, or don't blame me for being impolite!" Ao Langtian called out. He was mainly interested in finding out about Chu Ning's whereabouts and didn't have any ill intentions toward the Xuan Yin Sect cultivator.

However, You Jing interpreted his words differently.

"This man must be a senior disciple from that woman's sect. How did she get reinforcements so quickly? Damn it!" You Jing's heart seethed with hatred as he suddenly raised his hand and launched several attacks at Ao Langtian.

Then, he accelerated and continued to flee.

Ao Langtian was infuriated to see You Jing daring to attack him. Without hesitation, he summoned a treasure and counterattacked.

Just then, a chilling voice rang out from the distance.

"How dare you attack a protector of the Xuan Yin Sect! Who are you?"

Hearing this voice, You Jing's face lit up with joy.

"Brother Tu, save me!" he shouted.

You Jing's plea caused Ao Langtian's expression to change slightly.

But the next moment, he coldly huffed, "So what if it's the Xuan Yin Sect? I, Ao, want to stop someone and ask them a question. Who can stop me?"

As he spoke, Ao Langtian accelerated and quickly closed in on You Jing, reaching out to grab him.

Just as he was about to capture You Jing, a light that intertwined black and white flashed, and a person appeared beside You Jing. This person immediately launched an attack on Ao Langtian.

This newcomer had an astonishing aura and was also a late Golden Core cultivator.

The two late Golden Core cultivators clashed...

On the other hand, after Chu Ning fled the scene, he did not head toward the Jiuhua Sect. Instead, he flew in the direction of Jin Peak Fortress.

As he employed the Shen Feng Escape Art, Chu Ning also activated the Spirit Concealment Art.

"That spiritual sense from earlier is very familiar. It belongs to none other than Ao Langtian.

To think that a late Golden Core cultivator from the Great Luo Sect would appear here as well," Chu Ning thought to himself.

Chu Ning was well aware that Ao Langtian was no ordinary Golden Core cultivator. He was the real deal, and if Chu Ning were to be entangled by him, he would have almost no chance of escape.

Moreover, Chu Ning had no doubt that Ao Langtian intended to kill him. After all, Ao Xuan had been seriously injured by him to the point of losing the chance to form a Golden Core.

Fortunately, Chu Ning had the Spirit Concealment Art, which could block spiritual sense probes. Although Ao Langtian's spiritual sense was indeed powerful, Chu Ning's own spiritual sense was now comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator.

The Spirit Concealment Art could block spiritual sense probes from twice his level.

With the Spirit Concealment Art and the Shen Feng Escape Art, Chu Ning quickly covered a distance of nearly a hundred miles, leaving his pursuers far behind.

When he finally sensed that no one was chasing him, Chu Ning relaxed slightly and landed in a secluded spot. However, his brow furrowed as he considered his next move.

"For now, I can't head toward the Jiuhua Sect. With my Spirit Concealment Art, Ao Langtian won't be able to detect me.

But he might very well be lying in wait along the way back to the Jiuhua Sect.

Although I can use the Illusion Technique and the Yin Wood Spirit Body to change my aura and appearance, it would be best if I didn't have to face him at all."

Chu Ning was well aware that these Golden Core cultivators were not to be trifled with. If any one of them discovered him by chance and decided to attack, it would be a troublesome situation.

With these thoughts in mind, Chu Ning's gaze shifted to a certain direction—the location of Jin Peak Fortress.

Then he retracted his gaze, intending to pay another visit to the fortress.

However, before that, he needed to recover his spiritual power and divine sense.

After the battle with You Jing and the subsequent escape using the Shen Feng Escape Art, along with keeping the Spirit Concealment Art active, Chu Ning had consumed a significant amount of spiritual power and divine sense.

Recalling the confrontation with You Jing, Chu Ning's brow furrowed even deeper.

You Jing was indeed a Golden Core cultivator, but most of Chu Ning's tactics seemed to have little effect on him.

Especially the Reincarnation Law Disc and the Double Fire Rings, which surprisingly failed to inflict any damage on You Jing.

This was completely unexpected by Chu Ning.

"This You Jing must hold a significant position in the Xuan Yin Sect, possessing such extraordinary abilities far beyond that of Sun Shifan."

With these thoughts in mind, Chu Ning took out his Double Fire Rings, the Withered Leaf Flying Blades, and the Ice Shadow Sword Talisman to assess their condition.

Upon inspection, a pained expression crossed Chu Ning's face.

At that moment, the Ice Shadow Sword Talisman had lost more than half of its power, and it seemed like it could only be used one more time.

"I must be cautious when using this Ice Shadow Sword Talisman from now on; I need to save it for analyzing the talisman's source.

If its power is completely depleted, the jade talisman might shatter, making further analysis impossible."

Although he had these thoughts, Chu Ning was also aware that in a critical moment, he would have to use it regardless.

Subsequently, Chu Ning's gaze fell upon the Double Fire Rings and the Withered Leaf Flying Blades.

The Double Fire Rings were fine and had not sustained any damage.

However, the Withered Leaf Flying Blades had suffered during the attack from the black chains, and now their spiritual essence was diminished by nearly half, resulting in a reduction of their overall power to around fifty or sixty percent.

For Chu Ning, their value had diminished significantly.

"The power of those black chains was incredibly strong!"

Chu Ning thought to himself as he naturally took out the black chains to examine them.

"Hmm?"

What surprised Chu Ning was that when the black chains were in You Jing's hands and used to attack, they were filled with a chilling aura and demonic energy.

However, now that Chu Ning held them, he didn't sense even a hint of the previous chilling aura or demonic energy.

"These iron chains don't seem like demonic path magic treasures. The chilling aura and demonic energy on them earlier seemed to be a result of You Jing's cultivation technique."

At this moment, Chu Ning had a vague guess.

But it also made him even more astonished. During the attack, the chilling aura and demonic energy on these black chains were no less intense than that emitted by You Jing's small black flag.

And that small black flag was clearly You Jing's signature magic treasure.

"It seems these black chains are also extraordinary, and they don't seem to be magic treasures at all."

Chu Ning was no longer the novice he used to be when it came to artifact refinement.

Over the past three years, although he hadn't refined many artifacts himself, he had gained a lot of knowledge about the subject.

He could vaguely sense that these black chains were not a complete magic treasure.

However, his understanding of artifact refinement was still limited, and he couldn't discern anything further.

At this point, he decided to stop researching and simply put the black chains away.

While he didn't have deep knowledge about artifact refinement, there were experts in the Jiuhua Sect who could help him analyze it further.

He could always ask Greed Liu Yang for assistance when he returned.

"I hope this thing turns out to be valuable; otherwise, the losses I've suffered this time are truly too great."

Chu Ning sighed softly.

Then he began to meditate to restore his spiritual power and divine sense.

Time passed slowly, and soon the sky began to darken, signaling the arrival of a deep night.

Chu Ning, who had been meditating, stood up and took out a set of clothes from his storage bag, putting them on.

At the same time, he used the Illusion Technique to change his appearance, and then he headed straight for Jin Peak Fortress.

Due to the death of the Snow Shadow Spider, the usually heavily guarded Jin Peak Fortress seemed a little less vigilant in recent days.

Chu Ning quietly arrived at Jin Peak Fortress and released his divine sense, carefully avoiding the area where Jin Deqian resided.

Then he began to search the area.

With his current strength of divine sense, perhaps Jin Deqian might be able to detect a hint of his presence.

But the others would not be able to perceive him at all.

Soon, Chu Ning found his target.

His figure flashed repeatedly, and he silently appeared outside a courtyard.

Chu Ning casually took out several small flags from his storage bag and quickly set up a simple formation around the courtyard.

As he flashed into the courtyard, he struck out with a magic formula, causing it to land on one of the formation flags in the corner.

Instantly, a restriction enveloped the entire courtyard.

This was to prevent any noise from alerting others.

Finally, Chu Ning appeared outside a bedroom.

He swept the room with his divine sense, and his eyebrows twitched slightly.

At that moment, lewd noises could be heard from within the bedroom.

"Master, you are truly amazing. I..."

Before the woman could finish her sentence, she collapsed on the ground as if she had lost consciousness.

Then, a man's voice replaced hers.

"These ordinary female cultivators are so boring; they can't take any stimulation at all. If I had a Foundation Establishment female cultivator to nourish me, my cultivation would definitely increase significantly."

The voice belonged to none other than Jin Changhui.

Inside the bedroom, Jin Changhui looked at the woman lying on the ground, clearly unsatisfied.

As he spoke, a hint of regret could be detected in his tone.

"That Shang Xiaohuan from the Jiuhua Sect has a rare Yin Body. If I could use her for nourishment, tsk tsk! I wonder if the sect would be willing to hand her over. Such a woman would definitely be of great benefit to the Golden Core elders of the sect."

"So, it was you who informed the Xuan Yin Sect about Shang Xiaohuan's whereabouts?"

Just then, a soft and gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.

Jin Changhui's face changed, and he immediately jumped off the bed, holding his storage bag, and shouted, "Who's there?"

Before Jin Changhui could finish his sentence, the bedroom door opened, and a figure slowly appeared in the room.

"Fellow Daoist Chu, I thought you were returning to Jiuhua Sect. I didn't expect you to still be here."

Chu Ning didn't directly respond to his words. Instead, he glanced around and said indifferently,

"Young Master Jin seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit. But your cultivation of the Xuan Yin Sect's techniques for absorbing essence doesn't seem to be that impressive."

Hearing this, Jin Changhui's eyes flickered, and he forced another smile.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Chu is also well-versed in this art. Why don't we go find some women with exceptional cauldrons and furnaces? I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"Never mind, if I asked you directly, you definitely wouldn't answer, so let's just cut to the chase!"

As Chu Ning's voice rang out again, Jin Changhui's face changed, and he reached for his storage bag.

But the next moment, his body trembled, and his movements became sluggish as his face turned deathly pale.

Spirit Illusion Thorn!

At this moment, Chu Ning unleashed a secret spirit technique inherent in the Refine Spirit Art.

As he was wary of backlash, Chu Ning rarely used such techniques.

However, considering the gap in their spirit power, Chu Ning didn't hesitate to employ it now.

Indeed, as Jin Changhui only had the early Qi Refining cultivation base and focused mainly on body refinement, his spirit power was quite ordinary.

Chu Ning's Spirit Illusion Thorn immediately inflicted severe damage to his spirit power.

The next moment, Chu Ning's figure flashed, and he appeared beside Jin Changhui, delivering a heavy punch to his dantian.

With his current cultivation, Chu Ning easily subdued Jin Changhui, who was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

At this point, Chu Ning reached out and placed his hand on top of Jin Changhui's head, and a black light flashed between his palms.

In the next moment, various chaotic thoughts flooded into Chu Ning's mind.

After a long while, Chu Ning withdrew his hand, having thoroughly searched Jin Changhui's soul. He now understood everything.

In fact, when he first saw Jin Changhui, Chu Ning vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

Ever since he perfected the Undying Golden Body, Chu Ning seemed to have an unusually keen perception of demonic cultivation techniques.

And Jin Changhui was deliberately trying to conceal the demonic technique he was cultivating, which only drew Chu Ning's attention.

However, at that time, Chu Ning didn't intend to meddle in other people's business, so he naturally didn't pay any further attention to Jin Deqian's son and what cultivation technique he practiced.

It was only when You Jing appeared that Chu Ning suspected something was off about Jin Changhui.

And when You Jing revealed that they were both disciples of Jiuhua Sect, Chu Ning was almost certain.

What surprised Chu Ning, though, was that Jin Changhui was, strictly speaking, only loosely affiliated with the Xuan Yin Sect.

He obtained some cultivation techniques and resources from the Xuan Yin Sect and was responsible for procuring female cultivators for them.

The one who liaised with Jin Changhui was also merely a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, and in his memories, there was no information about You Jing at all.

Originally, Chu Ning had intended to teach the Jin family a lesson if they were deeply involved with the Xuan Yin Sect.

Now it seemed that Jin Changhui was acting alone, so Chu Ning let go of that idea.

However, this Jin Changhui...

Chu Ning unleashed his Sky Piercing Fist again, instantly killing him.

Since this person had dragged him into a dangerous situation, Chu Ning had no reason to spare his life.

After finishing all this, Chu Ning was about to retrieve the formation flags he had set up around the courtyard when he suddenly sensed something. In his spirit sense range, a figure was rapidly approaching the courtyard.

At this moment, the distance between them was less than eighty feet.

Even if he left the courtyard now, he wouldn't be able to avoid this person.

In a flash, Chu Ning activated his spirit power, altering his appearance to look exactly like Jin Changhui.

After carefully examining his reflection and ensuring there were no flaws, Chu Ning waved his hand, casting a fireball that reduced Jin Changhui's body to ashes.

At the same time, he took a set of clean clothes from the wardrobe and changed into them.

Then, he attached Jin Changhui's storage bag to his waist and walked out of the bedroom.

At that moment, a tall man in a blue robe appeared outside the courtyard, looking around with a puzzled expression at the formation enveloping the area.

Chu Ning beckoned to him, quickly gathering the formation flags he had set up earlier.

The man in the blue robe, whose name was Yan Chunyin, walked into the courtyard and asked curiously, "Why did you set up a formation in the courtyard?"

Chu Ning recognized Yan Chunyin's face from Jin Changhui's memories.

"There used to be a Snow Shadow Spider lurking around Jin Peak Fortress, so I set up this formation to test its effectiveness. But now it's useless.

Brother Yan, why are you here? Did you succeed in your mission?"

Yan Chunyin was the late Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xuan Yin Sect who was in contact with Jin Changhui.

Hearing Chu Ning's question, he shook his head and said, "No, something unexpected happened. There was a conflict between our sect and the Cloudsoaring Alliance, and many high-level cultivators have appeared in this area.

I just received an order from the sect to temporarily hold off on sending back the female cultivators we captured. They will be kept in Honghu City for now.

I'm a bit short-staffed here, so I'd like you to help me out.

There are several Protectors from our sect in Honghu Port. Let's go meet them."

Chu Ning gleaned a lot of information from Yan Chunyin's words, and his eyes flickered as he formed a vague guess.

His face also inadvertently revealed a look of great joy.

"Brother Yan, which Protector from the sect are we under?"

As he asked, Chu Ning's face was filled with eager anticipation.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end