Chapter 349: News from Cen Zijin

Chapter 349: News from Cen Zijin

Upon hearing this, Chu Ning's heart stirred, and he retracted his spell, stepping out of the cave abode.

Standing outside was none other than Zhao Jinbiao.

However, when facing Chu Ning, the harsh expression he had worn previously was gone, replaced by a forced smile.

Ever since Zhao Jinbiao was beaten by Chu Ning half a year ago, he had not only refrained from reporting the incident to the sect, but he had also been exceptionally polite whenever their paths crossed.

"A mission? What kind of mission?" Chu Ning asked casually, not bothering to hide his indifference towards Zhao Jinbiao.

"You'll know soon enough, Li. Hold on, I still need to call the other dao friends," Zhao Jinbiao replied, proceeding to gather the rest of the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the peak.

Soon, over a dozen people flew out once again, arriving at the same dao field they had come to when they first reached Little Yao Mountain half a year ago.

However, this time, Chu Ning noticed that only around fifty people were present from the original hundred or so who had entered with him.

There were also sixty or seventy others, also at the Foundation Establishment stage, who were presumably existing members of the Purple Moon Sect.

When Chu Ning and the others arrived, two cultivators were already waiting in the dao field—Xue Caiyin and Wu Le, the two mid-Golden Core cultivators.

Pei Jicai, the late-Golden Core cultivator, was notably absent.

As Chu Ning and his companions appeared, Xue Caiyin, with her alluring appearance and captivating voice, was the first to speak:

"Some of you have been in the sect for a long time, while others have only recently joined us. Regardless, the sect has never treated any of you unfairly. Now, it's time for you to repay the sect's kindness."

Xue Caiyin's enchanting demeanor and flirtatious gaze stirred the hearts of many male cultivators present, and Chu Ning was no exception as he found himself naturally wearing the same expression as the others.

Unperturbed by the attention she was receiving, Xue Caiyin continued, "As for the nature of this task, there's no harm in sharing it with you.

This mission will not be taking place on Little Yao Mountain, but rather near the Biyu Mountain Range.

Taking advantage of the fact that we've dispatched many of our cultivators here, the Yin Demon Sect has seized one of our bases.

This time, we're going to take it back."

Hearing this, Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He had heard some rumors in Wang Shan City—the Purple Moon Sect's recruitment of so many Foundation Establishment cultivators was likely due to two reasons.

Firstly, the Purple Moon Sect's style of conducting itself differed greatly from the three major sects in the surrounding area, and this had caused dissatisfaction to arise among several sects in recent years.

Perhaps they were worried that these sects would join forces against them.

Secondly, the Purple Moon Sect had long intended to eradicate the remaining cultivators of the Yao Chi Palace who were in hiding.

They would need sufficient manpower for that as well.

When Chu Ning first heard about the mission, he had assumed it would be to deal with the cultivators of the Yao Chi Palace, and he saw this as an opportunity.

Now that he learned it wasn't about the Yao Chi Palace but the Yin Demon Sect instead, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

However, Xue Caiyin's next words soon recaptured his attention.

With a charming smile, Xue Caiyin addressed the crowd, "For many of you, this will be your first mission since joining the sect.

Later, when we evaluate contributions, the top ten cultivators who have contributed the most in killing Yin Demon Sect members will not only receive abundant rewards, but they will also be given a female cultivator from the Yao Chi Palace as a prize. She's a righteous and ethereal immortal, so don't miss out on this opportunity, dao friends."

These words caused a stir among the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Chu Ning's eyes, too, flashed with a hint of surprise.

After delivering this information, Xue Caiyin fell silent.

Wu Le, on the other hand, casually waved his hand, causing a massive bone boat to appear above the dao field.

The boat was crafted entirely from white bones, emitting strands of gray mist that sent shivers down one's spine.

Wu Le, always one of few words, paid little attention to the reactions of the crowd as he flew onto the bone boat without hesitation.

In a cold tone, he ordered, "Get on!"

Immediately, the cultivators who had already been with the Purple Moon Sect boarded the bone boat one after another.

Most of the cultivators who had entered the sect with Chu Ning, however, remained hesitant and continued to observe.

Noticing this, Chu Ning took the initiative and flew onto the bone boat, landing directly on its deck.

Seeing Chu Ning take the lead, the rest of the cultivators followed suit and flew onto the bone boat as well.

Xue Caiyin's eyes, filled with allure, landed on Chu Ning. "I remember your name is Li Qun, and I heard that you beat up the executive who received you on your first day?"

Chu Ning's gaze toward Xue Caiyin was filled with just the right amount of fervor. "I report to Protector Xue that he was the one who deducted my spirit stones first."

Xue Caiyin smiled slightly. "I'm not blaming you. On the contrary, I admire your boldness. Being able to suppress a cultivator of the same stage shows your strength. Let's see how you perform on this mission."

Xue Caiyin's words immediately drew the attention of many cultivators on the bone boat toward Chu Ning.

Some looked at him with envy, others with disdain or coldness, but most simply regarded him with curiosity before turning their attention elsewhere.

In a sect like this, relationships between cultivators were often shallow, and Chu Ning was, after all, just a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

On the bone boat, the crowd settled down, with most cultivators beginning to meditate and adjust their breaths.

A small number of cultivators, however, couldn't help but glance at Xue Caiyin's back from time to time.

Even when she was simply sitting there, her silhouette seemed to exude an alluring charm.

Chu Ning was well aware that this was due to her having cultivated her bewitching arts to an extremely high level.

Given this, Chu Ning believed that there was a high probability that the female cultivators of the Yao Chi Palace had fallen into her hands.

After all, if the Purple Moon Sect had captured numerous female cultivators from the Yao Chi Palace, it was highly likely that they would have been handed over to this woman for "training."

As this thought crossed his mind, Chu Ning felt that this might be a good opportunity.

Chu Ning had no reason to show any mercy towards this sect. Whether it was back in Qingxi Zong or later in Qianshu Qiandao, he had dealt with this sect's cultivators countless times.

The bone boat flew for half a month before arriving at a mountain.

From above, one could vaguely see some small courtyards where cultivators resided, and behind them was a connected mountain range.

With his powerful spiritual sense, Chu Ning didn't worry about being discovered by the two Purple Moon Sect cultivators in front of him. Instead, he directly probed downwards with his spiritual sense to understand the situation.

As he did so, a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"This is actually a small spirit stone mine? No wonder the two demonic path sects are fighting over it."

Discovering a spirit stone mine would be a huge fortune for any sect.

Even though this mine didn't seem very large and only seemed to produce low-grade spirit stones, it was still worth fighting for.

The Yin Demon Sect had obviously stationed some Golden Core cultivators to guard the mine.

As the bone boat approached, two figures flew into the air.

When they saw the huge bone boat, their faces changed, and they cried out in surprise.

"Purple Moon Sect! Attack!"

As their voices fell, several figures flew up from below.

"Everyone, attack! Leave no one alive!"

After giving this order, Xue Caiyin and Wu Le flew out from the bone boat and confronted the two Golden Core cultivators from the Yin Demon Sect.

Among the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Purple Moon Sect, those who had probably participated in missions before were doing fine.

However, those like Chu Ning, who were new to the sect, had looks of caution and hesitation on their faces.

But this did not include Chu Ning.

As soon as Wu Le finished speaking, Chu Ning had already flown towards the Yin Demon Sect's base with the first batch of cultivators who charged out.

There were only Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Yin Demon Sect's base, so it seemed that the Qi Refining cultivators were in the mine at the back.

When these cultivators saw Chu Ning and the others rushing in, they all drove their magical artifacts to meet them.

Chu Ning, on the other hand, actively sought out a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Wearing the rings he had refined in Wang Shan City on both hands, he pounced on his opponent like a fierce tiger descending from the mountains.

This mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Yin Demon Sect still had some intention to test his opponent, and he did not use his full strength.

Facing Chu Ning's attack with the Golden Armored Divine Shadow Fist, he immediately fell into a passive position.

After just a few punches, the cultivator was directly blasted to death by Chu Ning, who then immediately rushed towards another Foundation Establishment cultivator without hesitation.

In this kind of battle, Chu Ning's appearance was like a higher-level player entering a lower-level game.

Even though Chu Ning had suppressed his cultivation to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he deliberately sought out mid-Foundation Establishment and early-Foundation Establishment cultivators, crushing them with ease.

In a short period of time, he had killed nearly seven Yin Demon Sect cultivators.

At this moment, the Yin Demon Sect cultivators seemed to finally realize something was wrong.

A Yin Demon Sect cultivator who had killed a late-Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Purple Moon Sect flew towards Chu Ning.

Naturally, Chu Ning could no longer display his ability to crush his opponent at this moment.

However, he was still able to fight on equal footing with his opponent.

In the end, Chu Ning pretended to be "injured" and created an opening for his opponent to exploit.

Then, he took the opportunity to activate the ring artifact in his hand, severely injuring his opponent before finally killing him.

However, after killing this person, Chu Ning no longer engaged in battle but instead retreated to the back voluntarily.

He put on an act of being seriously injured and unable to continue fighting.

The battle ended quickly.

The Purple Moon Sect had an obvious advantage in numbers, and they were also more prepared.

In particular, the two Golden Core cultivators from the Yin Demon Sect were no match for Wu Le and Xue Caiyin. One of them was at the mid-Golden Core stage, while the other was only at the early-Golden Core stage.

Wu Le easily suppressed and killed the early-Golden Core cultivator, and then joined forces with Xue Caiyin to kill the other Golden Core cultivator from the Yin Demon Sect.

When the two leading Golden Core cultivators from the Yin Demon Sect were successively killed, the rest of the Yin Demon Sect cultivators lost their morale and scattered in all directions.

As a result, they were easily slaughtered by the Purple Moon Sect cultivators.

In just half an hour, the battlefield was left with only corpses.

The Purple Moon Sect showed no mercy to the low-level disciples of the Yin Demon Sect who were left in the mine or the loose cultivators who were obviously captured to work as laborers.

At Wu Le's order, they were all slaughtered without exception.

The Purple Moon Sect did not come out of this battle unscathed either. Three late-Foundation Establishment cultivators had died, along with nearly twenty mid-Foundation Establishment and early-Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Wu Le and Xue Caiyin quickly regrouped the cultivators who had just finished fighting.

"While I was fighting the Golden Core cultivators from the Yin Demon Sect, I also specially arranged for someone to watch all of you. I know that some of you were slacking off and not using your full strength when fighting the Yin Demon Sect cultivators.

From now on, those whose names I call out will have their resource supply cut off for half a year.

If there is a next time, you will be killed without question!"

As soon as Xue Caiyin's words came out, several cultivators' faces changed drastically.

"Zhang Guang, Hong Yunyuan..."

Xue Caiyin ignored their expressions and called out their names one by one.

Then, she continued, "Of course, with punishment comes reward. The top ten contributors in this mission will receive double the amount of resources as a reward, as well as a female cultivator from the Yao Chi Palace."

"Impressive. This protector's judgment was indeed correct!"

Hearing Xue Caiyin's words, everyone's gaze fell upon Chu Ning, whose expression remained calm and composed.

They committed this ruthless man's appearance and name to memory.

With only mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, he had managed to surpass so many late-Foundation Establishment cultivators to claim the top spot.

Moreover, since Chu Ning had injured an executive of the sect on his first day, they naturally associated him with ruthlessness.

At this moment, a subtle hint of a smile appeared on Chu Ning's stoic face.

Xue Caiyin then proceeded to announce the names of the remaining nine cultivators.

However, Chu Ning wasn't particularly interested in that; his concern was the female cultivator from the Yao Chi Palace that Xue Caiyin had mentioned.

The only worry Chu Ning had at the moment was whether, now that the mine had been captured, they would be tasked with guarding it.

After all, the Purple Moon Sect would hardly leave the mine unattended.

If that were the case, it would cause another delay in his plans.

Fortunately, Chu Ning's worry didn't come to pass.

After merely five days at the mine, the Purple Moon Sect arranged for other personnel to take over its management and extraction.

And so, Chu Ning and the others boarded the bone boat and returned safely to Little Yao Mountain.

The bone boat landed in the dao field, and soon enough, Xue Caiyin's voice rang out.

"The Purple Moon Sect never mistreats those who contribute to the sect. Various rewards and resources have been prepared, so come and collect them now."

As she spoke, Xue Caiyin promptly had someone bring over spirit stones, pills, spirit herbs, and artifacts for everyone to choose from according to their contributions.

As the top contributor in this mission, Chu Ning naturally had the first pick.

However, with his current identity, there wasn't much that caught his eye.

He took some spirit stones and casually selected a few high-value spirit herbs.

Noticing his choices, Xue Caiyin smiled gently and said to Chu Ning, "Li Executive, as the top contributor in this mission, rest assured that I will assign you a female cultivator from the Yao Chi Palace with excellent aptitude.

She will definitely meet your expectations."

"Thank you, Protector Xue," Chu Ning replied, naturally displaying a slightly infatuated expression, while a faint chill lingered in his heart.

From her words, Chu Ning could tell that the Purple Moon Sect had captured numerous female cultivators from the Yao Chi Palace.

Given Cen Zijin's talent, if she had indeed fallen into their hands, she would likely be among those that Xue Caiyin referred to as having excellent aptitude.

Back in his temporary cave abode, the usually calm and composed Chu Ning felt restless for the first time.

He both hoped to see the female cultivator from the Yao Chi Palace soon and felt a twinge of anxiety.

At this moment, forceful cultivation would be of no benefit, so Chu Ning paced back and forth in his cave abode.

After a full hour of this, Chu Ning's heart stirred, and he looked up toward the entrance of the cave.

"Is Chu Fellow here? Protector Xue sent me to bring a female cultivator over."

Standing outside the cave were two enchanting female cultivators. The one in front was a mesmerizing young woman in her thirties, with a charm that permeated her every movement, indicating that she had cultivated allure techniques.

However, her cultivation was far inferior to Xue Caiyin's.

Standing slightly behind her was a young girl with a delicate and beautiful appearance.

With only a perfected Qi Refining cultivation, she kept her head lowered, looking pitiful and vulnerable.

Chu Ning glanced at them and said in a deep voice, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist. Please let her come in."

Hearing this, the mesmerizing young woman pointed, and the girl walked into the cave abode.

The young woman glanced inside and then turned to leave.

As the girl entered, she raised her head to look at Chu Ning, and her eyes immediately widened in surprise.

The surprise quickly turned into a mix of joy and sorrow.

"Master!"

After a soft cry, the girl rushed forward and threw herself at him.

However, she didn't land in Chu Ning's arms but in Bai Ling's instead.

Against a Qi Refining cultivator like her, Chu Ning's Illusion God Technique was incredibly effective, and she had almost no resistance to it.

Even as Chu Ning sat by the stone table, she wouldn't have noticed him at all.

"Master, Fen'er missed you so much. Did you come to rescue me?"

The girl knelt before Bai Ling, softly sobbing.

Bai Ling comforted her with a few words and then began to ask about the matters that Chu Ning wanted to know.

"Fen'er, do you know where the other sect members are?"

"Most of the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators were captured..."

The girl innocently shared what she knew.

When she didn't mention the person Chu Ning truly wanted to ask about after speaking for a while, Bai Ling directly asked, "What about Cen Zijin?"

"Elder Cen? Master, why are you calling the Elder by name?" The young woman named Fen'er looked at her with surprise.

"Elder Cen?"

Chu Ning, sitting nearby, muttered to himself.

"So, Cen Zijin has already formed her core."

Bai Ling also realized what this meant.

"I'm talking about Elder Cen. Have you seen her?"

"I haven't seen Elder Cen, but I heard from other senior and junior sisters that Elder Cen seemed to have escaped the sect with two other elders.

She should have gotten away, but we don't know what happened after that because we were kept locked up."

"She escaped!" Chu Ning finally received confirmation of Cen Zijin's whereabouts and breathed a sigh of relief.

With a casual wave of his hand, the girl named Fen'er fell into a deep slumber.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end