Chapter 304: Capturing the Earthfire, Revealing Traces

Chapter 304: Capturing the Earthfire, Revealing Traces

As the Fire Spirit Sword was about to fall into the lava, a black chain appeared in Chu Ning's hand.

It was the Black Chain made of Black Metal Essence.

Chu Ning whipped the chain out swiftly, sending it rushing towards the falling Fire Spirit Sword.

The chain wrapped around the sword, halting its descent.

Simultaneously, a suction force erupted from Chu Ning's hand, pulling the black chain back towards him.

With a forceful yank, the Fire Spirit Sword, which was about to touch the lava, was abruptly lifted high into the air and flung behind Chu Ning.

Now outside the range of the lava's influence, the Fire Spirit Sword once again came under Chu Ning's control.

Without hesitation, Chu Ning quickly retreated, reaching out to draw the sword back into his hand.

A violent surge of fire spirit energy threatened to burst out of the sword.

In response, Chu Ning struck a series of hand seals above the sword to suppress its power.

Then, he swiftly flew out of the hundred-zhang-long passageway and back into the spacious outer cave.

He paused momentarily, his expression changing slightly as he examined the Fire Spirit Sword in his hand.

"The power of this Earthfire is too strong. I must suppress and refine it immediately, or the Fire Spirit Sword will be damaged."

With that thought, Chu Ning tossed the sword into the air and began performing a series of hand seals with both hands, creating a fire net.

He then pointed at the sword, and the blazing sun spirit bird that had been hidden within it flew out.

However, the moment the bird appeared, it was completely scattered by the force of the Earthfire.

The purple-red mass of Earthfire shot towards the lava.

Chu Ning quickly unleashed the fire net he had prepared, capturing the Earthfire within.

But to his surprise, the power of the Earthfire far exceeded his expectations, and it tried to break free from the net and escape.

Reacting quickly, Chu Ning flew forward and blocked the fire's path with his body.

He raised his hands, creating a massive fire wall—a giant fireball—in front of him to hold back the Earthfire.

Taking advantage of the stalemate between the Earthfire and the fire wall, Chu Ning began casting a series of hand seals, directing them towards the Earthfire to gradually calm it down.

As the fire wall vanished, the Earthfire hung motionless in the air.

Chu Ning didn't stop, continuously casting his hand seals to stabilize the fire further.

After nearly a hundred seals, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and gestured for the Earthfire to come to him.

It flew into his hand, still emitting a powerful aura despite being enveloped by his spiritual power.

Chu Ning could sense that the slightest disturbance could cause the fire to melt through his control.

"Ideally, I should refine this Earthfire now.

But a few days may not be enough to complete the process."

Chu Ning's eyes flickered as he considered the fire in his hand.

"In that case, I'll have to seal it for now and slowly refine it after leaving Snow Mist Valley."

Holding the fire carefully, Chu Ning formed intricate seals with his hands and chanted obscure incantations.

He applied a completely different set of hand seals to the Earthfire, a technique distinct from his previous efforts.

It took him almost half a day to finally encase the fire in a four-colored light group—a seal created by his Five Elements Chaos Technique.

Sensing the relatively stable aura within the light group, Chu Ning relaxed slightly.

However, he remained vigilant and took extra precaution.

He retrieved an empty storage bag and placed the sealed Earthfire inside, separate from his other possessions.

He didn't want to risk the Earthfire erupting and destroying everything in his storage bag.

"I've already spent almost a day in this cave.

There are six days left until the blizzard returns, and I still need to find the Nine Ceremonial Gold for the sword's refinement."

Chu Ning pondered as he swiftly flew out of the cave, heading west along the outer wall.

Although he had successfully captured the Earthfire, which exceeded his expectations, and believed that refining it would likely allow him to melt a section of Black Steel, he knew that the Nine Ceremonial Gold was an essential primary material for the sword's refinement. Without it, he would be unable to proceed.

After exiting the cave, Chu Ning decided against venturing further outward.

Instead, he followed the outer wall of the cave westward.

While Snow Mist Valley was vast within, its overall direction was north-south.

The towering cloud-piercing mountain ahead seemed like a boundary, offering no path forward.

However, since someone had previously found the Nine Ceremonial Gold in the deepest part of the valley, Chu Ning reasoned that even if the terrain had changed after several openings, the precious metal might still be found near the northern depths.

Since he was currently at the easternmost point, heading west might increase his chances of discovering the Nine Ceremonial Gold.

He proceeded slowly, carefully scanning his surroundings as he walked.

...

As Chu Ning explored the deepest reaches of the valley, chaos had already erupted within it.

"A Tier 7 Blue Sea Eagle? This is a demon beast that's only supposed to be found in the outer seas. How did it end up here in Snow Mist Valley? And there are two of them!"

A late-stage Golden Core cultivator frantically dodged the attacks of the two Tier 7 demon beasts.

However, despite using all his tricks, he couldn't escape their relentless assault. In the end, he chose to self-detonate his Golden Core.

Elsewhere, an elderly cultivator at the peak of the late Golden Core stage had just emerged from the blizzard region.

Even though he was one of the most outstanding Golden Core cultivators in the group, he looked exhausted from his ordeal in the blizzard.

He withdrew the defensive barrier he had maintained around his body and breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, his expression changed as he sensed something ahead on his left.

As he focused his gaze, his eyes widened in shock.

"An Enlightened Demon!"

Not far to the side stood a humanoid creature with the head of a bird.

It was an eighth-tier Enlightened Demon, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Perfect timing. I was getting bored waiting here," the bird-headed demon said, sending a chill down the old cultivator's spine.

Without hesitation, the old cultivator turned and fled.

He had lingered at the peak of the late Golden Core stage for too long, and because of that, he knew all too well the terror of an Enlightened Demon, which rivaled a Nascent Soul cultivator.

But as fast as he was, the bird-like demon beast was faster.

In the blink of an eye, it appeared behind the white-haired old cultivator.

Its hands glowed with surging demonic power as it swiped at the old cultivator.

Faced with this attack, the old cultivator didn't dare to continue fleeing. He hastily summoned a treasure to counter the demon's claws.

However, the treasure that had never failed him before was easily shattered by the claws.

The protective light around it weakened noticeably.

Unimpeded, the bird-like demon's claws descended with a powerful gust of wind-attribute demonic energy.

"Ah!"

Despite erecting a defensive barrier at the first opportunity, the late-stage Golden Core cultivator was severely injured by the attack.

After a few more exchanges, the old cultivator met his end at the claws of the bird-like demon beast.

If even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator couldn't withstand the demon beasts, the rest of the cultivators didn't stand a chance.

The demon beasts quickly launched a massacre, with the Outer Court cultivators bearing the brunt of the attack, followed by the Golden Core cultivators.

Almost every cultivator faced a higher-tier demon beast and stood no chance against them.

At that moment, only the late-stage Golden Core cultivator in the depths of the blizzard remained unaware of the impending danger.

The four eighth-tier demon beasts seemed reluctant to enter the blizzard, opting instead to guard the perimeter of the blizzard region. They ambushed and killed any cultivators who ventured near.

However, at that moment, in front of a cave that constantly blasted hurricanes outward, there stood three people—two men and a woman.

They were the trio from the Illusion Spirit Sect who had entered Snow Mist Valley later.

The red-robed beauty, Meng Chen, stood gracefully in the midst of the blizzard, her body shielded by a defensive barrier.

While the blizzard had challenged even late-stage Golden Core cultivators, she seemed to be handling it with ease.

Beside her, the middle-aged man in luxurious clothes, Elder Wu, had also erected a defensive barrier, encompassing both himself and Tan Tai.

Tan Tai's eyes flickered as he gazed at the cave.

"If the Yellow Courtyard Seal hadn't been lost, I could have used it to enter this cave directly, even on my own.

But now, even my two senior uncles dare not enter casually. What if the Spirit Clarity Fruit is inside? What then?"

As if reading Tan Tai's thoughts, Meng Chen's eyes turned serious.

"Junior Brother Tan, the spatial storms in this cave are too strong. It's not worth the risk.

The Spirit Clarity Fruit usually grows in places with abundant and pure spiritual energy. The chaotic spatial energy here isn't conducive to its growth."

Elder Wu nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. I tried to probe inside with my spiritual sense earlier, but I could only reach about 300 zhang in. This cave is very different from the others.

It's quite bizarre. I suspect that the blizzards in this valley are related to this cave.

It's best not to go in."

Hearing the consensus between Meng Chen and Elder Wu, Tan Tai could only nod reluctantly.

"Alright, let's continue eastward, then.

We've been searching for quite some time now, and while we've found some treasures, they aren't particularly rare or valuable.

Could it be that the Spirit Clarity Fruit is just a myth?"

After they had left for a long while, a figure cautiously appeared at the cave entrance.

Looking in the direction they had gone, Chu Ning's expression turned solemn.

"I didn't see Dantaisong enter the valley earlier. How did he end up here, and with two Nascent Soul cultivators no less!"

The appearance of Nascent Soul cultivators in Snow Mist Valley undoubtedly surprised Chu Ning.

If it weren't for him consistently using the Soul-Concealing Art and the ring left by Jiuyuan Shangren, which allowed him to detect their spiritual sense scans, he wouldn't have been able to hide in this cave in advance.

This was truly troublesome.

However, just as the two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Illusion Spirit Sect had said, this cave was indeed unusual.

Even with the protective ring, Chu Ning only dared to venture six hundred zhang into the cave.

He could clearly sense that beyond that point, the violent storms of spatial force would tear him apart.

Fortunately, the Illusion Spirit Sect cultivators seemed cautious and didn't dare to delve too deeply into the cave.

At this moment, Chu Ning looked up at the direction outside the valley, then at the west, hesitated slightly, and ultimately headed west.

"This Snow Mist Valley is truly peculiar. There seems to be a cave every set distance, and each one contains a different attribute power.

The intensity of the spiritual energy in each cave is completely different.

So far, I've encountered fire-attribute, earth-attribute, and now spatial-attribute caves.

The earth-attribute cave was ordinary; I went all the way to the bottom and only found some decent materials and spirit herbs. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The fire-attribute cave was slightly more interesting, but I couldn't get close to the lava at the bottom.

As for this spatial-attribute cave, it's the most formidable, preventing me from venturing too far in. Its structure is truly unique."

A look of surprise flashed across Chu Ning's face as he speculated that there might be other attribute-based caves further ahead.

"The Illusion Spirit Sect trio headed east, and I've already searched the caves in that direction. They probably didn't find anything of value.

However, the western caves might have been searched by them or other cultivators as well.

But if I'm just looking for the Nine Ceremonial Gold, I might still have a chance.

After all, I have the Golden Winged Spirit Butterfly, which gives me an advantage in detecting metal-attribute treasures."

Of course, what was more important to Chu Ning at the moment was that Snow Mist Valley was the only place he had concrete information about the Nine Ceremonial Gold.

If he left, he wouldn't know where else to look.

As he continued forward, Chu Ning's speculations were validated.

Some of the caves along the way had indeed been searched by others, including one with a water-attribute and another with a wind-attribute, but Chu Ning found nothing of value.

What surprised Chu Ning was that he encountered yet another spatial-attribute cave.

However, this discovery caused Chu Ning's eyes to light up.

"When the Illusion Spirit Sect trio encountered the spatial-attribute cave earlier, it seemed like it was their first time seeing it.

Perhaps they entered from the central region and haven't explored the western caves yet."

With this thought, Chu Ning's spirits lifted.

He once again sensed the violent storms of spatial force within and, finding them as formidable as before, chose to retreat.

Continuing westward, he also consumed two pills to restore his spiritual energy.

Even with his various means, the constant exposure to the harsh blizzard was quickly draining his spiritual power.

After traveling for about half a day, Chu Ning came across another cave.

As he stepped inside, his eyes lit up.

"What a rich metal-attribute spiritual energy! This cave has a metal attribute, and the spiritual energy here is strong!"

However, Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he realized that someone had been here before.

He scanned the area with his spiritual sense and noticed signs of digging in several places.

"I hope the Nine Ceremonial Gold hasn't been taken by someone else," Chu Ning muttered.

Nevertheless, he released the Golden Winged Spirit Butterfly.

Perhaps sensing the dense metal-attribute spiritual energy, the butterfly fluttered about happily.

Then, it flew straight toward a section of the cave wall about a hundred zhang deep into the cave.

As Chu Ning watched the butterfly hover uncertainly before the wall, he tried to scan the area with his spiritual sense.

However, his spiritual sense was blocked as soon as it touched the wall.

The next moment, his eyes flashed, and he drew out his flying sword, quickly digging into the wall.

After digging for about five or six zhang, a piece of bluish-gold material appeared before Chu Ning.

"Azurite!"

Upon seeing this material, Chu Ning felt a twinge of disappointment, but the next moment, a glimmer of expectation rose within him.

The Golden Winged Spirit Butterfly had indeed proven its worth. It could detect treasures buried within walls that his spiritual sense couldn't penetrate.

Immediately, Chu Ning directed the butterfly to continue searching within the cave.

As they ventured deeper, about three hundred zhang in, five metal-attribute refining materials had appeared in Chu Ning's hands.

Some were embedded in the cave walls, while others were buried underground.

"The metal-attribute spiritual energy here is even denser, and it has actually condensed into pure metal energy!"

With that thought, Chu Ning reached out with his hand, and a wisp of pure metal energy was drawn into his palm.

Just as Chu Ning finished digging through the rocks on the ground, a gleam of golden light shone through.

"This is... Nine Ceremonial Gold!"

A glint of joy flashed across Chu Ning's face as he quickly used his flying sword to break apart the surrounding rocks.

A piece of material the size of an infant's head, golden in color, appeared before him.

It had nine faces, each one smooth and lustrous, with golden light radiating from within.

It was the Nine Ceremonial Gold that Chu Ning had been longing for! ! !

Chu Ning held the Nine Ceremonial Gold in his hand, examining it carefully, and a smile soon appeared on his face.

"This piece of Nine Ceremonial Gold is not only large enough but also of extremely high quality. It's sufficient to forge the Golden Spirit Sword!"

After storing it away, Chu Ning's gaze fell upon the dense metal-attribute spiritual energy ahead, and he fell into contemplation.

At this moment, he had two choices: one was to continue exploring westward.

To search for the rumored Spirit Clarity Fruit or venture to the westernmost end to find the place where Di Yan claimed to have found the Primordial Stone.

The other option was to absorb and refine some Geng Metal Qi here and then leave Snow Mist Valley as soon as possible.

As these two thoughts crossed Chu Ning's mind, he soon made up his mind to head deeper into the cave.

It had already been six days since he entered Snow Mist Valley, and there were only four days left until the blizzard reappeared at the valley entrance.

To ensure a sufficient buffer, Chu Ning only had about half a day left.

He didn't know if the Spirit Clarity Fruit was real or not, and even if it was, he had no idea where to look for it in the short half-day period.

As for the mountain cave with the Primordial Stone, after the geographical changes, it was uncertain if it was still at the westernmost end.

From here, Chu Ning didn't know how far it was to get there, and although he was curious, he decided not to take the risk.

He continued to venture deeper into the cave.

Aside from the dense metal-attribute spiritual energy, there didn't seem to be anything unusual about this cave.

Chu Ning went to the deepest part and released the two Golden Thunder Eagles to absorb the metal-attribute spiritual energy.

He himself sat down cross-legged, using his hands to draw in strands of Geng Metal Qi into his body, preparing to refine it after leaving the valley.

After doing this for half a day, Chu Ning left the valley without any hesitation.

Even though there was an endless supply of Geng Metal Qi in the cave, he had already absorbed enough.

The journey out of the valley was full of unknowns, so he wanted to set off early.

As he exited the cave, Chu Ning no longer continued westward but instead plunged directly into the blizzard, heading for the outer region.

"The strength of the icy power and spatial power within the blizzard has increased."

At this moment, Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately unleashed the Thunderstep, rushing forward at high speed.

It wasn't until he burst out of the blizzard that Chu Ning realized the area affected by the blizzard had also expanded significantly.

Previously, it only covered a distance of ten li, but now it spanned nearly fifteen or sixteen li.

"Hmm?"

Just as he exited the blizzard, Chu Ning's keen senses detected a powerful spiritual sense sweeping over him.

Although Chu Ning had already activated the Soul-Concealing Art, which could shield him from spiritual sense scans, the intensity of this spiritual sense still took him by surprise.

"Such a powerful spiritual sense must belong to a Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, with my spiritual sense, which is comparable to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, I wouldn't have almost failed to block it with the Soul-Concealing Art.

But the spiritual sense that just swept over me doesn't feel like it belongs to a Nascent Soul cultivator. It feels more like... a demon beast!"

Startled, and considering that the blizzard had a certain effect of shielding spiritual sense, Chu Ning immediately retreated back into the blizzard.

At this moment, Chu Ning's expression was uncertain.

If his speculation was correct, then this demon beast was an eighth-tier demon, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator!

"What's going on? This Snow Mist Valley already has Nascent Soul cultivators, and now there's even an eighth-tier demon? What's happening here?"

Chu Ning's mind was filled with questions, and he didn't dare to release his spiritual sense casually.

After some thought, Chu Ning activated the Soul-Concealing Art again and left the blizzard, placing an object on the ground before quickly using the Earth Shadow Escape Technique to burrow underground.

The next moment, a lifelike puppet bird rose from the ground.

It was the same puppet bird that Chu Ning had possessed back when he was still in Qingxi Sect.

However, after refining it again with the knowledge he gained from studying the art of artifact refining in Jiuhua Sect, this puppet bird looked even more realistic, and he could control it from a farther distance, up to nearly a thousand zhang away.

He had also added some concealment and shielding arrays to it.

Even a Golden Core cultivator probably wouldn't be able to casually detect the presence of this puppet bird unless they saw it with their own eyes.

As Chu Ning hid underground, using the puppet bird to scout the area above, his eyes widened in shock.

Within the puppet bird's line of sight, which was about eight to nine hundred zhang away, a humanoid figure with the legs of a bear suddenly appeared! It was a shape-shifting demon!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end