Chapter 348: A Ruthless Man

Chapter 348: A Ruthless Man

"This man's speed is not slow."

As Chu Ning watched Pei Jicai, who was speaking softly on the stage but with a hint of mockery in his eyes, he couldn't help but think to himself.

Of course, what Chu Ning considered as not slow would be akin to a ghostly speed in the eyes of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had come this time were unaffiliated cultivators, and among them, there weren't many who could practice more advanced spells.

Naturally, their exposure and experience were limited.

Pei Jicai, a late Golden Core cultivator, displayed his exceptional art of evasion, stunning all the cultivators present.

Moreover, the ruthlessness with which he acted far exceeded everyone's expectations.

For a moment, not a single cultivator dared to speak up.

Seeing this, Pei Jicai's voice rang out again.

"Everyone, please step forward one by one."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the person at the very front of the group.

The two other mid-Golden Core cultivators also fixed their eyes on different cultivators.

The cultivators who were singled out had their faces turn pale.

But under the intimidation of these Golden Core cultivators, they obediently stepped forward.

Then, the three Golden Core protectors of Purple Moon Sect proceeded to plant restrictions on different cultivators one by one.

There were some cultivators who wanted to take the opportunity to escape, but after sensing the array that enveloped the dojo and considering the three Golden Core cultivators on the high platform, they gave up on their plans.

Chu Ning stood in the crowd, and soon it was his turn.

At this moment, he appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with average looks—neither handsome nor ugly.

However, as he walked among this group of unaffiliated cultivators, he stood out a little.

After all, the unaffiliated cultivators present were generally older, and their appearances reflected their middle to old age.

Even the one or two cultivators who were around his age were only at the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

His cultivation at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, coupled with his youthful appearance, did make him rather conspicuous.

However, he had already altered his appearance with the Illusionary Transformation Art when he first entered Wangshan City, and to avoid arousing suspicion from the Purple Moon Sect, he hadn't changed it back.

Later, he thought that it might not be a bad thing.

After all, to gather information within the sect, he would need to interact with the members of the Purple Moon Sect, and if he were too inconspicuous, he might not achieve his goal.

As expected, when Chu Ning approached the Golden Core female cultivator named Xue Caiyun, her enchanting eyes lingered on him for a moment.

"You're quite young, and it's rare to see someone your age among unaffiliated cultivators. What's your name?" Xue Caiyun's voice carried a hint of allure.

"Charm Technique!"

Hearing her words, Chu Ning smiled to himself.

With his spiritual sense and the Secret Art of God-binding, even if Xue Caiyun were a late-Golden Core cultivator, her charm technique wouldn't work on him.

However, at this moment, he pretended to be very cooperative and showed a dazed expression on his face.

He quickly replied, "Li Qun."

Seeing Chu Ning's expression, Xue Caiyun not only didn't get annoyed but also giggled and gave him a coquettish look.

"Li Qun, nice name. I'll remember you. Stretch out your hand."

Hearing this, Chu Ning obediently stretched out his hand.

The beautiful woman immediately grabbed his hand, performed a secret technique, and planted a restriction talisman on him.

Finally, she even used her finger to tickle his palm slightly.

Chu Ning walked away with a dazed expression on his face. Only after walking a few strides away did his expression return to normal.

Then, with a horrified look on his face, he turned his head to look at Xue Caiyun, who giggled again upon feeling his gaze.

This behavior attracted the attention of many cultivators present.

Some female cultivators frowned, while others looked curious, their expressions varied.

As for the male cultivators who knew that this woman was using allure techniques, some looked over but quickly turned away, not daring to look directly.

"This woman's allure technique is indeed effective against these Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Moreover, this restriction talisman doesn't seem to be something that an ordinary Golden Core cultivator can perform. It must be refined using a special method.

Even a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator or a regular Golden Core cultivator wouldn't be able to undo it.

However, this kind of restriction is useless against me."

Chu Ning had too many ways to remove this kind of restriction.

Not to mention that he could directly burn it away with the Earth Vein Spirit Fire, but even relying solely on his spiritual power, he could easily destroy it.

However, at this moment, Chu Ning didn't hurry to remove the restriction to avoid arousing suspicion from the Purple Moon Sect.

Chu Ning stood aside and watched as the three Golden Core protectors of the Purple Moon Sect planted restrictions on all the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After they finished with everyone, Pei Jicai calmly swept his gaze over the crowd.

"Everyone, although having a restriction planted on you may not be pleasant, you will soon experience the benefits of being in the Purple Moon Sect.

Here, might makes right. Once you adapt to this, you will be very happy."

"Giggle!" Xue Caiyun giggled.

"Protector Pei is right. In the Purple Moon Sect, strength is everything.

Whether it's cultivation resources or those female cultivators from the Yao Chi Palace, as long as you have the power, you can obtain them.

From now on, it all depends on your performance, fellow daoists."

"Van Executive, please lead them to their respective caves."

After speaking, Pei Jicai and the other two left directly.

Then, the chubby Fan Hailai appeared with several other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Fellow daoists, we will now take you to your respective caves.

Don't have any ideas, fellow daoists. This restriction talisman is a secret art of our sect, and everyone in the sect has one.

Take me, for example. I'm living a very comfortable life."

Fan Hailai had a smile on his face, and several cultivators led the group toward different peaks.

He barely spoke to them along the way, only introducing himself as Zhao Jinbiao without further elaboration.

It must be said that while the Purple Moon Sect's methods were undoubtedly demonic, they didn't seem to mistreat cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage like Chu Ning.

The peak they arrived at was rich in spiritual energy, and it had various large and small caves, likely once used as cultivation grounds by Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Yao Chi Palace.

Chu Ning was assigned one of these caves, neither too big nor too small.

Zhao Jinbiao brought Chu Ning to his cave and took out some spirit stones from his storage bag, handing them over to Chu Ning.

Chu Ning held them in his hand and quickly scanned them with his eyes—they were five hundred lower-grade spirit stones.

He immediately raised his gaze to meet Zhao Jinbiao's and spoke in a slow and calm voice, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, this amount seems incorrect. I believe the other cultivator received a different sum.

I also didn't hear anything about there being a distinction in the initial allocation of spirit stones based on one's cultivation stage at the mid or late Foundation Establishment stage.

It was only mentioned that resources would be distributed based on contributions later on."

Zhao Jinbiao glanced at Chu Ning when he heard this, a sneer playing at the corners of his mouth as he said, "What you say is true. For this batch of incoming Foundation Establishment cultivators, the sect does not differentiate in the initial distribution of spirit stones.

But that's within the sect. Here, with me, there is a distinction."

As he spoke, a mocking glint flashed in Zhao Jinbiao's eyes. "If you're unhappy about it, then it's up to you to get assigned to a position like mine in the future. That would be a display of your ability."

Zhao Jinbiao was in charge of escorting ten cultivators to their caves, and the first one he brought was a cultivator at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Chu Ning was the second, and standing beside them were eight other cultivators.

Some of these cultivators showed a hint of strangeness in their eyes upon hearing Zhao Jinbiao's words, while others remained calm.

The sect had provided a total of a thousand spirit stones, but this man had embezzled five hundred of them.

While the amount wasn't significant, it wasn't negligible either, especially considering the ruthless display by the Golden Core cultivators of the Purple Moon Sect earlier.

On top of that, despite Zhao Jinbiao being only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, his demeanor was ruthless and intimidating.

None of them wanted to incur his wrath, so they remained silent.

Zhao Jinbiao clearly saw through their thoughts and took advantage of their hesitation to act without restraint.

After looking down on Chu Ning and speaking condescendingly, he turned to leave.

But just then, a deep voice rang out. "Give me the rest of the spirit stones!"

A hint of astonishment flashed across Zhao Jinbiao's face, and his body, which had already turned halfway, spun back around.

His gaze landed on Chu Ning, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I said, give me the rest of the spirit stones," Chu Ning replied expressionlessly, his eyes fixed on Zhao Jinbiao.

A mocking smile appeared on Zhao Jinbiao's face. "What if I don't?"

"If you don't?" Chu Ning's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Zhao Jinbiao. "I recall the two protectors mentioning that here, the one with the strongest fist makes the rules, isn't that right?"

"You..." Zhao Jinbiao's face twisted in anger at Chu Ning's words.

But before he could finish his sentence, a golden fist appeared out of thin air in front of him.

It was the Golden Armored God Shadow Fist.

Even without the integration of the jin energy, Chu Ning's display of power at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was still formidable. The might of his fist caused Zhao Jinbiao's heart to fill with dread.

Zhao Jinbiao stumbled backward in a hurry to avoid the attack.

The other cultivators were also shocked by Chu Ning's sudden action, and they quickly scattered to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Chu Ning pursued Zhao Jinbiao relentlessly, and the golden light on his fist burst forth, transforming into a golden fist shadow that shot toward Zhao Jinbiao!

Zhao Jinbiao, still reeling from the previous attack, hastily brought out a curved dagger that shimmered with a cold light. He swung it in a desperate attempt to block the incoming attack.

However, the golden fist shadow penetrated the dagger's light and slammed into Zhao Jinbiao's body.

The impact sent him flying backward, and he crashed to the ground a full three zhang away.

This turn of events left the eight mid and early Foundation Establishment cultivators nearby, as well as the late Foundation Establishment cultivator who had just entered his cave and now emerged again upon hearing the commotion, all staring with their mouths agape.

Chu Ning, however, paid no heed to their reactions. He flashed forward and appeared before Zhao Jinbiao once more as the latter struggled to his feet, his face bearing a mix of dismay and astonishment. Zhao Jinbiao held the curved dagger in his hand and eyed Chu Ning warily.

Chu Ning's voice was cold and steady as he said, "Give me the rest of the spirit stones."

Upon hearing Chu Ning's words, Zhao Jinbiao paused for a moment, then reached into his storage bag without hesitation and took out five hundred spirit stones, handing them over to Chu Ning.

Chu Ning took the spirit stones and turned away without another word, heading toward the cave that had been assigned to him.

At that moment, a vicious look crossed Zhao Jinbiao's face, and he raised the curved dagger in his hand, slashing it downward.

A blood-red light flashed through his body and shot toward Chu Ning's back in the blink of an eye.

The other cultivators' faces changed slightly at this sight, but none of them spoke up to warn Chu Ning.

The two men were too close, and just as the blood-red light was about to strike Chu Ning's back, a defensive shield suddenly appeared on Chu Ning, blocking the attack.

Zhao Jinbiao's eyes widened in surprise as the blood-red light was deflected by the shield.

"Did you think I would be unprepared?" Chu Ning turned around, his hand raised slightly.

The others could vaguely see what appeared to be an activated talisman dissipating from his hand, and their faces showed astonishment.

All except for Zhao Jinbiao.

At that moment, the ruthless Purple Moon Sect executive's face twisted in extreme displeasure.

A golden fist shadow blasted towards his body!

Zhao Jinbiao was sent flying once again by this punch, and as he crashed to the ground several meters away, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"This is the last time, and the only time. Next time, you might not get up at all," Chu Ning said coldly, standing calmly where Zhao Jinbiao had been moments ago.

Zhao Jinbiao, several paces away, struggled to get up but couldn't. It was clear that he had been badly injured by Chu Ning's punch.

However, Chu Ning paid him no heed and, holding his share of spirit stones, entered his cave abode.

Outside the cave abode, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances, a strange light flashing in their eyes.

"That fellow daoist is ruthless!"

At this moment, almost everyone had reached the same conclusion.

Although Pei Jicai had indeed said that whoever had the strongest fist made the rules, they were still shocked that Chu Ning had dared to make a move on his first day and with such force, no less.

Of course, everyone was happy to see this.

After all, if Zhao Jinbiao dared to skim Chu Ning's share of spirit stones, he would surely do the same to them.

So, for them, it was a good thing that Zhao Jinbiao would now think twice before being greedy again.

Of course, none of this mattered to Chu Ning.

As he entered his cave abode, the coldness and anger on Chu Ning's face faded, replaced by an air of calm.

The reason he dared to act so boldly was not only because of what Pei Jicai and Xue Caiyun had said but also because his spiritual sense was keen.

He had overheard Zhao Jinbiao's secret conversation with the other cultivators.

Knowing that Zhao Jinbiao, like him, was a newcomer to the Purple Moon Sect, he didn't have many reservations.

Since he intended to gather information within the sect, it was only natural to display some of his strength.

Moreover, what Chu Ning had shown was merely the strength of a relatively powerful mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, comparable to a late-stage cultivator.

There wasn't much to attract unwanted attention.

When he decided to join the Purple Moon Sect, Chu Ning had already planned his identity and strength accordingly.

While he possessed numerous treasures, he lacked top-grade artifacts. Most of his high-grade ones had been sold by Xi Yunxia in the Iceland Immortal City.

And even if he had them, none would be suitable for his current needs.

So, in Wangshan City, Chu Ning had temporarily refined a new artifact.

As for its shape, he modeled it after the iron lion's pair of artifacts, which had amplifying effects on metal-type spells.

After inducting Chu Ning and the others, the Purple Moon Sect seemed to have no intention of interfering with them.

In the following months, they were left to their own devices in their respective cave abodes.

However, their freedom wasn't overly restricted.

Aside from a few cave abodes belonging to the Golden Core protectors, which were off-limits, Chu Ning and the others were free to roam elsewhere.

Chu Ning did explore many places but failed to encounter any cultivators like those from the Yao Chi Palace.

Eventually, he stopped venturing out and stayed in his cave abode most of the time.

It was a quiet place, ideal for cultivation, although he couldn't plant his spiritual herbs and plants.

Chu Ning set up an array formation in his cave abode to prevent others from prying and to minimize the release of powerful spiritual fluctuations during his cultivation.

Thus, he cultivated peacefully.

Aside from cultivating the Five Elements Chaotic Technique to improve his cultivation base, Chu Ning spent the rest of his time practicing the top-grade, high-level water-type spell, the Green Whirlpool Technique, which he had obtained from the Great Void Abyss.

He had already comprehended this spell during their flight across the Boundless Sea.

Now, he was merely at the practical cultivation stage, which, for someone with a Water Spirit Body like him, was not difficult.

Six months later, inside his spacious cultivation room within the cave abode, Chu Ning waved his hand, and ten water columns shot forth, forming a crisscrossing web that soon resembled ten chains, creating a confined area in front of him.

The next moment, these water chains began to rotate rapidly, forming a massive whirlpool in their center.

Chu Ning waved his hand again, and a fiery spirit bird flew out, diving into the whirlpool. In the blink of an eye, it was shredded by the violent currents.

"After six months, I've finally mastered the Green Whirlpool Technique.

This spell's offensive power is indeed formidable, but its primary use is for trapping enemies.

As for its true might, I'll only know when I face other cultivators in battle."

With that thought, Chu Ning checked his cultivation proficiency.

【Five Elements Chaotic Technique (Heavenly Mid-grade), 3rd Layer (28,800/200,000)】

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, 2nd Volume, 2nd Layer (67,040/90,000)】

【Refine God Technique, 4th Layer (64,000/64,000)】

In the past six months, Chu Ning's cultivation progress had been steady.

Although he hadn't used the Snow Crystal Herb's spirit liquid to cultivate the Five Elements Chaotic Technique, his Golden Spirit Seed's refinement rate still yielded nearly 25 points of improvement per day.

On the other hand, his progress with the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique was slightly slower due to less frequent cultivation.

However, the tempering he had undergone in the passage beneath the Snow Mist Valley, bathed in the power of origin, had greatly enhanced his body refinement progress.

Overall, his cultivation speed was still impressive.

As Chu Ning pondered these things, a polite voice echoed from outside the cave abode.

"Fellow Daoist Li, are you there? The sect has assigned a mission."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end