Chapter 264: You Do the First, I'll Do the Fifteenth

Chapter 264: You Do the First, I'll Do the Fifteenth

Chu Ning flew for over a hundred miles without rest. However, with Ling Xiao Bai's help, he was able to sense various spiritual herbs and fruits with great sensitivity. Along the way, Chu Ning collected several rare herbs.

Chu Ning became even more convinced of the previous speculation about this spirit domain. It seemed more likely that a small space had been transferred from elsewhere, forming this domain. With just a glance, he could tell that these spiritual herbs had been growing for at least a few hundred years, a maturity that couldn't be achieved in the short few decades since the formation of this spirit domain.

"If that's the case, there might even be some powerful demons here. I should focus on traveling and try to avoid confrontations with cultivators and high-level demonic beasts."

With this in mind, Chu Ning deliberately avoided two cultivators after using the Divine Concealment Art. He also bypassed the lair of a sixth-stage demonic beast without investigation.

After flying for about fifty more miles, Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed as he sensed a cultivator approaching from ahead. He immediately activated his Divine Concealment Art, preparing to evade once again.

However, at that moment, he detected another cultivator rapidly approaching from the side. Both of them exuded a powerful aura, indicating their advanced cultivation levels.

Chu Ning decided to land in a small valley below and hide in a concealed spot. With the wind concealment array on his robe and the Divine Concealment Art, he could avoid detection from these two cultivators. He could always continue his journey after they had passed.

"Hmm?"

But soon after, Chu Ning was surprised to find that one of the cultivators had also landed in the valley, not far from his hiding place. Through the cave's opening, he could clearly see the newcomer.

The cultivator had a withered, skeletal appearance and exuded a faint demonic aura, identifying him as a member of the Demon Path Alliance. He was clearly a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

As soon as the cultivator landed in the valley, he began to scan the area with his spiritual sense. However, with the Divine Concealment Art, Chu Ning remained undetected.

Chu Ning was puzzled as to why this cultivator had come to this insignificant small valley. Suddenly, the other cultivator, who had been approaching from a different direction, also landed in the valley, right in front of the member of the Demon Path Alliance.

To Chu Ning's surprise, he recognized this new arrival as Ao Langtian from the Great Luo Sect.

"So, the Great Luo Sect has some sort of connection with the Demon Path Alliance."

Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and he sighed inwardly. The relationships between the different alliances in the Western Alliance Continent were indeed complicated. Such dealings might be occurring between all the alliances.

The two cultivators met without exchanging any greetings, and Chu Ning immediately realized they were communicating through divine sense transmission. Chu Ning's eyebrows twitched as he realized they believed their conversation would be private. While he couldn't hear them, Ling Xiao Bai could.

"Xiao Bai, relay their conversation to me."

"Whine!"

Chu Ning heard Ling Xiao Bai's voice in his mind, and then the little guy relayed the conversation.

The skeletal cultivator from the Demon Path Alliance spoke first. "Brother Ao, we agreed that after entering this spirit domain, we would avoid meeting. We will cooperate again when it's time to obtain the spirit seed..."

Before the skeletal cultivator could finish, Ao Langtian raised his hand, signaling for him to stop talking. The next moment, Chu Ning felt Ao Langtian's familiar spiritual sense sweep over him, but with the Divine Concealment Art, he remained undetected.

The skeletal cultivator, whose name was apparently Zou, chuckled. "Brother Ao doesn't trust me? I already scanned this area with my spiritual sense."

Ao Langtian laughed. "Brother Zou, I'm just being cautious."

"Hmph, if you're being cautious, then you shouldn't have suggested meeting here." Zou's tone carried a hint of suspicion.

Ao Langtian's smile faded, replaced by a hint of darkness. "I just sensed your presence nearby and wanted to ask for your help with something."

Before Zou could respond, Ao Langtian continued, "I want to trouble you to call upon your connections in the Demon Path Alliance. There's a cultivator from the Jiuhua Sect named Chu Ning, who is at the early Golden Core stage. I want him killed. I will be deeply grateful and offer a generous reward."

As he spoke, Ao Langtian took out a portrait.

Hearing this through Ling Xiao Bai's relay, Chu Ning's heart chilled. "Ao Langtian truly hates me to the bone. He's even willing to contact the Demon Path Alliance to have me killed."

Zou asked, his tone filled with curiosity, "Brother Ao, you took the risk of contacting me just for this matter? May I ask what this early Golden Core cultivator did to offend you so greatly that you're going to such lengths to have him killed?"

Ao Langtian's expression remained dark as he replied, "There's no need for Brother Zou to inquire about the specifics. It will be difficult for me to act in a crowded place. As long as you can bring me his head, I will definitely reward you handsomely. I never go back on my word."

Zou chuckled upon hearing this. "Alright, let's see if luck is on our side and we encounter this little lamb, so I can receive Brother Ao's generous gift."

The two cultivators, who clearly had some sort of prior agreement, then parted ways. It seemed that they had already discussed other matters and come to an understanding.

It wasn't until long after they had left that Chu Ning emerged from his hiding place, his expression equally gloomy.

There were four cultivators from the Great Luo Sect, including two mid-stage and one early-stage Golden Core cultivators.

With that in mind, Chu Ning hoped to avoid any further encounters with the remaining cultivators from the Great Luo Sect during this trip. Otherwise, he wouldn't hesitate to show them his merciless side.

If you insist on starting something, be prepared for the consequences.

With his thoughts racing, Chu Ning glanced at the direction ahead and continued to fly forward.

One advantage of this spirit domain compared to the Wood Spirit Domain he had entered earlier was that flight restrictions didn't seem to apply here. Otherwise, covering such large distances on foot would have been extremely time-consuming, even for someone like Chu Ning.

As Chu Ning flew forward, he noticed an increasing number of cultivators the closer he got to the core area.

Along the way, he spotted one or two cultivators from the Cloudsoar Alliance but none that he was familiar with, so he didn't initiate any contact.

Flying forward from the valley, he covered another hundred miles or so.

Suddenly, Chu Ning came to a halt in mid-air.

He extended his spiritual sense, locking onto a location about twenty miles to the southeast and a figure rapidly flying towards him from the southwest, about fifteen miles away.

His eyes began to flicker slightly.

"A cultivator from the Great Luo Sect!"

Chu Ning used his spiritual sense to probe the figure flying towards him from the southwest and recognized the cultivator as the elderly man with the furrowed brows who had accompanied Ao Langtian to the Jiuhua Sect before.

Later, Chu Ning also learned that this man's surname was He, and he was one of the older mid-stage Golden Core cultivators in the Great Luo Sect.

However, at this moment, Chu Ning did not choose to confront the elderly man with the surname He directly.

There was another cultivator about twenty miles to the southeast, and if the two of them started fighting, it would easily attract unwanted attention.

Chu Ning used his spiritual sense to scan the situation at the location twenty miles to the southwest and quietly waited. When the elderly man with the furrowed brows closed the distance to about ten miles, Chu Ning suddenly locked onto him with his spiritual sense.

At this moment, Chu Ning deliberately controlled the strength of his spiritual sense, keeping it close to the level of an ordinary early Golden Core cultivator.

At the same time, as soon as his spiritual sense landed on the elderly man, he quickly withdrew it as if he had been startled.

However, these actions did not go unnoticed by the elderly man.

The man paused slightly, and in the next moment, he swept his spiritual sense towards Chu Ning.

Without waiting any longer, Chu Ning transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the southwest.

The elderly man with the surname He pursued closely behind him.

With their rapid speed, the distance between the two quickly widened to over ten miles.

Under Chu Ning's deliberate control, the distance was maintained at around five miles.

At this moment, in the location that Chu Ning had previously locked onto in the southwest direction, a middle-aged cultivator was examining the corpse of a sixth-stage demonic ant beast.

Just then, he sensed something and quickly looked up, his gaze falling on the sky not far away.

Using his spiritual sense to probe, he was surprised to find a cultivator flying straight towards him. The middle-aged man's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Just as he was about to collect the beast's corpse, a white light suddenly shot towards him.

At the same time, a green mist swept towards the demonic beast's corpse on the ground.

"How bold! How dare you try to take something that belongs to my Celestial Extreme Alliance!"

The middle-aged man shouted angrily and waved his hand, causing two golden lights to flash.

One golden light intercepted the green mist attempting to take the beast's corpse, while the other confronted the incoming white light.

Instantly, both the white light and the green mist dissipated.

"A spell from the Great Luo Sect of the Cloudsoar Alliance?"

The middle-aged man from the Celestial Extreme Alliance seemed to be well-versed in various techniques, as he recognized the origin of the spell after just one exchange.

However, what puzzled him was that after the attacker had made their move, they didn't seem to take any further action.

When he used his spiritual sense to search for the attacker, he couldn't find any trace of a cultivator in the nearby area.

Just as the middle-aged man was feeling confused, he noticed a figure flying towards him from a short distance away.

He immediately asked loudly, "Who are you?"

"I am He Huirong from the Great Luo Sect. May I ask who you are, fellow cultivator..."

The approaching figure was, of course, the elderly man with the surname He who had been lured by Chu Ning.

When the middle-aged man heard that he was from the Great Luo Sect, his face turned angry.

"Great Luo Sect? You've come at just the right time!"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man took out a golden measuring ruler and flew towards He Huirong, while several golden lights shot out towards his opponent.

"What do you mean by this, fellow cultivator?"

He Huirong had just arrived when the middle-aged man attacked without any explanation, causing his expression to turn cold.

He also took out a flying wheel-like magical treasure to defend himself.

"What do I mean? I'm targeting your Great Luo Sect, of course!"

The middle-aged man's attacks became more fierce, and the two of them immediately engaged in a fierce battle in the air.

As the battle raged on, they gradually moved away from the original location.

At this moment, a figure appeared next to the corpse of the sixth-stage demonic ant beast.

It was Chu Ning, who had cast a few spells and then hidden himself earlier.

However, at this moment, Chu Ning didn't pay any attention to the beast's corpse. Instead, he quickly flew into the cave.

"Xiao Bai, are you sure you sensed Tian Yuan Grass here?"

"Yes, I smell that unique fragrance."

Ling Xiao Bai replied confidently, and without any hesitation, Chu Ning rushed into the cave.

Tian Yuan Grass was something Chu Ning had obtained a small amount of in the Thunderfire Sect. Later, he had refined it into Little Tian Yuan Pills.

Later, during the Great Luo Sect's visit for a duel, he had also given one to the severely injured Yuan Rongzhang.

Now, he only had two pills left in his possession.

Chu Ning felt that it was necessary to have more of this lifesaving item in stock.

Especially now that his pill refining prowess had improved, he was no longer limited to refining just Little Tian Yuan Pills.

He was more than capable of refining Tian Yuan Pills as well.

Chu Ning entered the lair and indeed, in one corner, he spotted over ten stalks of Tian Yuan Grass.

"I wonder if some of them were eaten by that sixth-stage demonic beast. What a waste of such precious resources."

As he sighed inwardly, Chu Ning quickly took out a jade box and collected all the Tian Yuan Grass.

Then, he flew out of the lair once again.

The two cultivators in the distance were still entangled in battle, and Chu Ning unceremoniously collected the corpse of the demonic beast into his storage bag.

He was about to leave when his gaze toward the distant fight flickered slightly.

Just then, he had swept the area with his spiritual sense and was surprised to find that the middle-aged cultivator from the Celestial Extreme Alliance was at a disadvantage against the elderly man with the surname He from the Great Luo Sect.

"If this continues, this middle-aged man will either flee or be severely injured by this frowning elder He."

Chu Ning pondered to himself, deciding to stick around a little longer.

He didn't care what happened to the middle-aged cultivator from the Celestial Extreme Alliance, but as for Elder He from the Great Luo Sect, he had no intention of letting him off the hook.

With the help of the wind concealment array on his robe and the Divine Concealment Art, Chu Ning once again stealthily approached the two combatants.

In the heat of their battle, neither of them noticed his presence.

"Fellow Daoist He from the Great Luo Sect, I concede!"

Just then, the middle-aged cultivator, whose surname was Qiu, and who had been pressured by Elder He's fire wheel-like magical treasure, and had already sustained minor injuries, shouted out loud.

"I'll give you the sixth-stage demonic beast I killed. How about we call it quits?"

Upon hearing this, Elder He with the furrowed brows coldly harrumphed, seemingly angered by the middle-aged cultivator's unprovoked attacks earlier.

He completely ignored the offer and continued to drive his magical treasure more forcefully.

Gradually, the middle-aged cultivator became more and more overwhelmed, although he managed to land a few counterattacks, injuring Elder He.

However, after several exchanges, it seemed that he had exhausted all his tricks.

Finally, the golden light emanating from the measuring ruler that the middle-aged cultivator, Qiu, was wielding dissipated under Elder He's relentless attacks.

Evidently, he could no longer wield his offensive, and his face paled noticeably.

Immediately, he opened his mouth and spat out a lustrous, golden pill.

This pill flew toward Elder He's flying wheel, causing it to be knocked away.

But the middle-aged cultivator's face grew even paler, and his eyes glinted with a hint of madness.

He burst into laughter and said to Elder He, "Come on then! If you have the guts, show me your Golden Core, or call out your hidden accomplice!"

Elder He, who was manipulating his flying wheel, had his expression change slightly at these words.

"Accomplice? What accomplice? Between us..."

Elder He was about to say that he thought there might have been some misunderstanding between them.

However, at that moment, the middle-aged cultivator Qiu seemed to sense something and interrupted Elder He before he could finish.

Without hesitation, he drove his Golden Core toward Elder He.

At the same time, from his side, a green sword light flashed and pierced through his body.

The middle-aged cultivator Qiu, who had just unleashed his Golden Core, didn't have much defensive capability left, and his vitality was quickly fading.

His face twisted with hatred, and he shouted, "This is your doing! Die with me! Boom!"

Along with his loud roar, the Golden Core that had just flown toward Elder He exploded.

Under his deliberate control, the massive force of the explosion was concentrated on Elder He.

Elder He hadn't expected that the cultivator would detonate his Golden Core so readily.

By the time he reacted, it was too late to dodge, and he could only activate his defensive shield in an attempt to withstand the blast.

However, the power of a self-destructing Golden Core was not something that ordinary defenses could withstand.

Elder He was blown away for over a dozen miles before he stabilized himself, his face deathly pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Evidently, he had sustained serious injuries.

His gaze fell on the figure holding a green sword, and his expression turned ugly as he asked, "Who are you, and why did you instigate our fight?"

Chu Ning looked at Elder He and said with a smile, "Elder He, what are you talking about? Your sect's Ao Langtian has a prior agreement with my senior brother-in-law.

I just happened to pass by, saw your fight, and decided to lend a helping hand."

Upon hearing Chu Ning's words, Elder He's expression flickered with suspicion.

"You're from the Black Cloud Sect?"

As he spoke, Elder He eyed Chu Ning warily, clearly on guard.

"Indeed," Chu Ning replied with another smile.

"Elder He doesn't seem to trust me? Your sect's Ao Langtian specifically asked our sect for help in killing Chu Ning from the Jiuhua Sect.

Surely, there's no falsity in that?"

Hearing this, Elder He's heart relaxed slightly.

Although he was unaware of this matter, it didn't surprise him that Ao Langtian would engage in such dealings.

Moreover, ordinary cultivators wouldn't typically know about such matters.

Just as he was slightly relieved, his expression suddenly changed again.

At that moment, the green sword in Chu Ning's hand shot out and assaulted him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end