https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-623-Severely-Wounding-the-Giant-Tree-Reaping-the-Benefits/12946835/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-625-The-Three-Secret-Arts-Unveiled/12946837/
Chapter 624: The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 624: The Calm Before the Storm
Once again, Chu Ning returned to the secret room on the fifth floor of the Treasure Pavilion from the ice cave.
This time, he was much more composed than he had been decades ago.
"Bai Ling, bring out all the Ice Crystal Leaves and let's see how many there are."
Bai Ling, who had transformed into a human form, waved her hand, and a pile of Ice Crystal Leaves appeared before the two of them.
Chu Ning's Divine Sense swept over them, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Nine hundred leaves, not bad! This is much more than what we collected in the Celestial Sky Temple."
Chu Ning could roughly guess that the previous Celestial Sky Temple Grandmaster, who cultivated an ice-attributed technique, probably collected them in a similar manner.
"It's a pity that my internal Essence Energy is insufficient, otherwise, I could stimulate this Colossus to produce another wave."
Chu Ning joked as he stored all the Ice Crystal Leaves in his Storage Bag.
His Essence Energy mainly relied on the dual cultivation of two techniques.
Then, he utilized Volume Three of the Nine Transformations Body Cultivation Art to drive them.
This method indeed allowed Chu Ning to use Essence Energy during battles, but the drawback was also evident, as it couldn't make Essence Energy as self-replenishing as spiritual power.
Just now, he had consecutively driven the Annihilation Hammer and the Celestial Mirror, especially the Celestial Mirror, which required a massive amount of Essence Energy.
Now, with barely any Essence Energy left within him, it was natural that he didn't dare to continue fighting.
However, obtaining nine hundred Ice Crystal Leaves, plus the two roots of the Ice Crystal Colossus, was also a significant gain for Chu Ning.
Of course, there was an even greater harvest, as he had also basically tested the power of the Celestial Mirror.
The Ice Crystal Colossus should be comparable to a Demigod-level existence in this world, yet the Celestial Mirror could still inflict significant damage on it.
This meant that even against a Half-God-level opponent, Chu Ning had a means that would make them extremely wary.
This greatly relieved Chu Ning.
Ever since he had encountered the Demigod-level beings in this world, Chu Ning had felt a sense of crisis.
Because he was well aware that if cultivators of that level took action against him, he wouldn't have much ability to defend himself.
Now, at least he had the power to protect himself.
After putting away the Ice Crystal Leaves, Chu Ning took out two large jade boxes and placed the two roots he had just cut off inside, sealing them with talismans.
He added an extra layer of sealing restriction on top.
The Essence Energy imprint left by the Ice Crystal Colossus on its roots was not particularly complex, as Chu Ning had already tried it.
However, at this moment, Chu Ning didn't have the time to deal with it.
For Chu Ning, the real challenge was the Ice Crystal Cold Light that had entered his body.
This wasn't the first time Chu Ning had been struck by the Cold Light condensed by the Ice Crystal Leaves, so he wasn't overly terrified.
However, to be safe, it was still best to deal with it first.
Chu Ning had already clearly felt that these Ice Crystal Cold Lights didn't have as much destructive power against him.
It seemed that purging and refining them would be easier.
After all, upon reaching the Late-stage Essence Incarnation, his strength had significantly improved.
After returning to his cave abode, Chu Ning continued to use the Purple Sun Spirit Flame to seal and contain the Ice Crystal within his body.
Then, he began to cultivate the second layer of the Primordial Divine Art and the Nine Transformations Body Cultivation Art.
After replenishing the Essence Energy he had already consumed by eighty to ninety percent, he started to replenish the power of the Purple Sun Spirit Flame.
Only then did Chu Ning truly begin to deal with the Ice Crystal Cold Light within his body.
First, he used his Essence Energy to purge the power of the Ice Crystal, and then he refined it with the help of the Purple Sun Spirit Flame.
This time, Chu Ning only spent half a month refining all the Ice Crystals without any injuries.
Instead, he took advantage of the pure Essence Energy on the Ice Crystal Leaves to enhance his cultivation.
"By using the Ice Crystal Leaves for cultivation, the speed can reach nearly three times that of normal cultivation."
Chu Ning picked up an Ice Crystal Leaf, his face filled with surprise.
It was known that he was now at the Late-stage Essence Incarnation, and with the terrifying cultivation speed of the Primordial Divine Art, his absorption of Heaven-Earth Spirit Qi was already astonishing.
Yet, with the help of the Ice Crystal Leaves, he could still achieve a speed of about three times faster.
This was undoubtedly a rare treasure.
"Now I have nine hundred Ice Crystal Leaves in my hand, plus the original stock in the Celestial Sky Temple, totaling nearly one thousand.
These Ice Crystal Leaves no longer have the power of Essence Energy, only pure Essence Energy. It will take me about ten days to refine one.
This way, it will be enough for my cultivation for three to five decades."
After muttering to himself, Chu Ning casually took out the two roots of the Ice Crystal Colossus from his Storage Bag.
Following the previous method, he began to erase the Essence Energy aura from them.
After three days, four roots were placed in front of Chu Ning.
"The roots and leaves of the Ice Crystal Colossus can condense Essence Energy, which means it is highly likely that it can absorb both Spirit Qi and Essence Energy simultaneously.
If he were to plant it himself, he would also need to set up an array to allow the Origin Stones to release their Origin Power.
Chu Ning now had no shortage of Origin Stones.
Over the past twenty years in Snow Mist Valley, he had explored every cave in the depths of the valley.
Among them was, of course, the cave where the Origin Power resided.
A hundred years had passed, and this cave had once again produced numerous Origin Stones.
Chu Ning even managed to harvest another Origin Water Droplet there.
He was curious about the mysterious place behind the Origin Vortex, wondering what kind of wondrous land it was that could continuously produce such abundant Origin Power.
However, Chu Ning also had an innate reverence for the Origin Power.
Not fully understanding the situation below, he dared not venture in recklessly.
Chu Ning wandered around the Snow Peak Mountains behind Longsky Hall and found a place where the Ice Crystal Colossus could be planted and an array set up.
With the Spirit Planting Technique he had previously mastered, Chu Ning tried to find a way to cultivate and nurture the tree.
To his delight, the spells he had used to gather spiritual energy and promote growth also worked on the Ice Crystal Colossus.
In just over a month, a small sapling had already grown.
However, this sapling was very short, and it had not yet grown the Ice Crystal Leaves that Chu Ning was familiar with.
Instead, only the trunk and branches had formed.
The growth above ground was very slow, but the roots in the snow were growing rapidly.
Chu Ning's divine sense detected that the roots of the Ice Crystal Colossus had already grown to about a zhang in length beneath the snow.
This was much better than the growth of the trunk and branches above ground.
Knowing this was probably the nature of the Ice Crystal Colossus, Chu Ning accepted it.
In the following time, Chu Ning cultivated the second layer of the Primordial Chaos Art while pondering the subsequent cultivation techniques.
At the same time, he nurtured this Ice Crystal Tree.
After a year, the growth of the Ice Crystal Tree became normal. In addition to the continued growth of its extensive root system, small patches of leaves also began to sprout.
However, these leaves did not contain much spiritual energy or Origin Power for the time being.
Chu Ning was not in a hurry.
After all, the Ice Crystal Colossus in the ice cave had grown for tens of thousands of years to reach that size.
Chu Ning didn't expect the tree to have leaves as rich in spiritual energy as the one in the ice cave.
As long as he could cultivate a tree that could aid his daily cultivation, it would be enough.
Chu Ning looked at the Ice Crystal Tree in front of him and casually cast a few spells to aid its growth.
Then, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"I wonder when the Ice Crystal Tree will truly be able to assist my cultivation.
In the end, I left them in the Nine Lotus Sect for Zi Jin to take care of."
As this thought flashed through his mind, Chu Ning looked up at the sky, and a trace of longing appeared in his eyes.
It had been almost eighty years since he parted ways with Zi Jin, and now he had officially begun cultivating the second layer of the Primordial Chaos Art.
Things were stable at Longsky Hall, and he was considering making a trip to the Western Alliance Continent.
As this thought arose, Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
T
It would be a pity if he used it all up during the journey.
"But now that I'm cultivating the Primordial Chaos Art and have reached the late Nascent Soul stage, the time needed to replenish my spiritual power has decreased.
I can get some treasures from Longsky Hall to restore my spiritual power, and I don't necessarily have to use the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk."
With this thought, Chu Ning's heart stirred.
There must be such treasures within Longsky Hall.
If not, he could always refine some pills using other treasures.
With this in mind, Chu Ning prepared to visit the Treasure Pavilion.
Just then, a message talisman fell into the restrictions outside his cave mansion.
Chu Ning waved his hand and took a quick look.
His face remained calm as he left the cave mansion and arrived at the Heavenly Long Pavilion through the restricted passage.
"Chamberlain!"
Inside the Heavenly Long Pavilion, Lu Ziyou, Ren Heng, and several other Nascent Soul Cultivators stood in the hall.
Chu Ning's gaze swept across them, and he was surprised to see all the Nascent Soul Cultivators present.
Since he became the Chamberlain, the responsibilities of these Nascent Soul Cultivators had been clearly defined, and it was rare for them to gather like this.
"Why are you all here together? Is there something important?"
Chu Ning casually took his seat at the main position in the hall and asked casually.
Ren Heng spoke up, "Chamberlain, the Huanying Sect has been making various small moves over the past half a year. We have discussed it and believe that this matter requires your personal decision.
"Huanying Sect is making some moves?"
Chu Ning was slightly surprised at this revelation.
"What kind of moves?"
"We've learned that the Huanying Sect has been recruiting numerous unaffiliated cultivators to join their ranks. Many of the sect powers around the Sea Cloud Basin have also been lured by them.
It seems that the Huanying Sect is eager to expand its influence, and this is indeed an unusual move."
Upon hearing Ren Heng's words, Chu Ning also felt a little surprised.
Among the three landmasses in the Northern Chill, the Sea Cloud Basin had the smallest area and relatively weaker strength.
Although the Huanying Sect dominated the region, they didn't have as many top-tier cultivators as Longsky Hall.
Therefore, in most cases, the Huanying Sect didn't aggressively recruit from the smaller sects and unaffiliated cultivators in the surrounding areas.
After all, even if they were recruited, they might not be able to provide sufficient resources.
"Do we have any further information?"
After Chu Ning's question, Lu Ziyou took over the conversation, "According to the cultivators we've placed in the Sea Cloud Basin, Yu Taohang seems to have left a few years ago and returned half a year ago.
Moreover, there's news that he might have returned to the sect with other cultivators.
It's highly possible that they are Nascent Soul Cultivators."
"Oh?"
Chu Ning exclaimed in surprise.
As the most powerful force in the Northern Chill, Longsky Hall kept a certain level of surveillance on the major sects.
These highly secretive informants often obtained secret information about the sects, and Lu Ziyou was in charge of this operation due to his relatively calm demeanor.
Since the information came from Lu Ziyou's informant, it was unlikely to be incorrect.
Furthermore, the fact that Nascent Soul Cultivators of this level could be detected by Longsky Hall's informants suggested only one possibility.
These people didn't seem to be trying too hard to conceal their activities.
"Where did the Huanying Sect find Nascent Soul Cultivators?"
Hearing Chu Ning's question, both Lu Ziyou and Ren Heng shook their heads.
Lu Ziyou hesitated, "There are only a few Nascent Soul Cultivators in the Northern Chill, but it's certain that the one who appeared isn't the master of Mysterious Wind Island, as our cultivators would have recognized him."
"Just because there aren't any in the Northern Chill doesn't mean there aren't any elsewhere," Chu Ning said calmly.
Lu Ziyou and the others also spoke seriously, "We speculate that they might be cultivators from other continents, for thousands of years, there have been almost no foreign cultivators in the Northern Chill.
But we don't know..."
"They should be from the Sky Curtain Continent," Chu Ning interrupted before Lu Ziyou could finish.
"In the past few thousand years, there might not have been any foreign cultivators in the Northern Chill.
But don't forget where Fan Ze Xian, Lu Xuedao, and Dantu Ze encountered trouble, and how I returned to the Northern Chill."
After Chu Ning's words, the others fell silent.
They had their suspicions, but they didn't dare to voice them due to Chu Ning's identity.
Chu Ning spoke calmly, "What you may not know is that ten thousand years ago, a group of Nascent Soul Cultivators from the Sky Curtain Continent came to the Northern Chill.
There was an ancient teleportation array between the two continents, so it's not surprising that cultivators from the Sky Curtain Continent are here.
Now, we only need to confirm why they have come.
Given the Huanying Sect's recent actions, it seems highly likely that they are targeting Longsky Hall."
A cold light flashed in Chu Ning's eyes.
The appearance of cultivators from the Sky Curtain Continent, especially their involvement with the Huanying Sect, suggested that they could be from the Demon Slaughter Sect. After all, Fan Ze Xian, Lu Xuedao, and Dantu Ze had used the teleportation array to travel to the Sky Curtain Continent.
Yu Taohang could have done the same.
The teleportation array they used led to the Demon Slaughter Sect's territory.
Even though decades had passed, the Demon Slaughter Deity Lord would have managed the teleportation array after repairing it.
Yu Taohang's most likely encounter after teleporting from the Northern Chill would be with the Demon Slaughter Sect.
Yu Taohang and the Demon Slaughter Sect would both suspect themselves for the disappearances of Dantu Ze and Huang Kui.
This increased the likelihood that they were targeting Chu Ning.
As Chu Ning thought this, the next words he spoke caused the Nascent Soul Cultivators from Longsky Hall in the room to reveal shocked expressions.
"If cultivators from the Sky Curtain Continent have arrived, it's possible that not only Nascent Soul Cultivators have come, but also Demigod Realm cultivators.
The storm is approaching, and the Northern Chill will no longer be peaceful!"
(End of Chapter)
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