12dz Chapter 46 Trials 5
Chapter 46 Trials 5
This is Cheng Jiu's first serious training experience. He usually stays in the sect. After all, Guiyuan Sect is one of the five major sects, so it still has the demeanor of a blessed land of immortals.
She had seen other people's training in the water mirror, but when she was actually in the Qingli Mountains, her only feeling was that there were so many insects.
Besides rare and exotic animals, the mountains are filled with insects, especially those from the cultivation world. To avoid predators, these insects have evolved in bizarre ways, and some are even predators themselves.
The size of the spiders was also much larger than in her previous life. For example, the purple-bellied spider she saw when she looked up was not only highly venomous, but it could also fly.
Cheng Jiu's fear of insects is like Schrödinger's cat; she usually avoids them whenever possible, but when it comes to killing them, she is ruthless.
Seeing the spider pounce on her, she moved her sword with the power of her will, and chopped the spider into eight pieces.
Even after regaining her senses, she was still a little scared and instinctively clutched her chest.
Senior Sister Ying stepped forward and took out the spider core and spider silk from the Purple-bellied Spider. The spider core is a top-quality material for alchemy. A single spider core from a Foundation Establishment stage spider is worth one mid-grade spirit stone.
"This is a herbal pouch made by my third senior sister. Some low-level poisonous insects don't dare to approach it. After that, I'll have your senior brother Wen take the lead. He has a fire spirit root, and most poisonous insects really hate him."
Senior Sister Ying also noticed Cheng Jiu's aversion to these poisonous insects. Everyone needs to be careful in the forest, and Cheng Jiu showed no mercy when dealing with those poisonous insects that attacked.
Cheng Jiu took the herb pouch: "No need, Senior Sister Ying, this is just for training, I can handle it." After killing so many, she wasn't afraid at all.
Besides these demonic beasts and insects that are obvious, the most terrifying thing is a kind of flying ant that looks like mist. This flying ant is extremely small, and it can even be said to grow in reverse. No matter how high their cultivation level is, they are only that small.
They are mostly seen in forests, and when they gather in groups of thousands, they look like a thin layer of mist from a distance. However, if your defenses are not strong enough, they will burrow into your flesh and suck your blood, and it is very difficult to remove them.
Some defensive talismans and magic arrays are too small to defend against, and others can even corrode the spiritual energy shield and penetrate it.
However, the powerful figures in Medicine King Valley invented a method, though it was quite painful, called the Poison Blood Method. One would take a pill that made one's blood extremely poisonous to kill the flying ants, then take an antidote pill, and finally take a marrow cleansing pill.
This whole process is extremely painful. You should try to avoid these flying ants if you can. Fortunately, these flying ants also have natural enemies. Birds and monsters that are afraid of fire and water feed on them.
If it weren't for so many flaws, it would probably be on the list of the most dangerous monsters in the cultivation world.
The three were facing such a predicament. This time seemed to be a crucial time for the flying ants to reproduce, and at this time, the flying ants had an almost abnormal possessiveness of their territory, just like those high-level demonic beasts.
Anyone who gets close will be attacked by flying ants, even their natural enemies. From a distance, this forest looks as if it is shrouded in mist.
However, this is the only way to their destination.
The three of them also tried to take a detour, only to find that there was a towering cliff in front of them. Not only that, but there were also many demonic birds nesting on it.
On the other side was a long ravine leading to the inner forest. The inner area was far beyond their reach; it was home to many demonic beasts at the Nascent Soul and Tribulation Transcending stages. Going in would be pure suicide.
The key point is that flying on a sword is forbidden in this kind of forest, except for those powerful beings. Flying on a sword is equivalent to invading the airspace of these demonic beasts, and one will be attacked by a concentrated force of many demonic beasts.
"Why is the path to that secret realm so eerie?" Yingyue exclaimed, looking at the misty flying ants.
No one would want to provoke them. Not to mention the pain of their attacks penetrating the flesh, even the treatment is extremely painful, equivalent to having one's tendons and marrow removed.
"How do you suggest we get over here so that Senior Brother Wen can lead the charge?" After all, Wen Sishu has a fire elemental root and can envelop his entire body in fire energy, so even if those flying ants attack, they won't be able to break through the outer layer of fire shield.
Wen Sishu agreed and released the fire shield on his body: "Leave it to me, junior sister."
Cheng Jiu looked at the forest and estimated, "But, is Senior Brother's spiritual energy enough to carry us through? I'm afraid Senior Brother's fire shield won't be able to hold up halfway through." Moreover, if he were to put fire shields on the two of them as well, I'm afraid it wouldn't even be enough for a third of the way, let alone halfway through.
"What should I do?"
"Why don't we use Heavenly Thunder to blast it over?" Cheng Jiu thought for a moment.
The other two hurriedly shook their heads: "No, junior sister, it's the breeding season for flying ants. These guys are quite vengeful. If we can wipe them out, that's fine. But if we leave even one alive, given their breeding speed, they'll definitely fight us to the death."
The three of them were at a loss. How were they going to get across? Cheng Jiu looked around a couple more times, and finally looked at the alchemy furnace at Wen Sishu's waist. He clapped his hands and said, "We've got it! We'll crawl into Senior Brother's alchemy furnace and have the little cloud beast take us in."
The little cloud beast has a secret technique that allows it to turn its body into clouds and mist. It can also create wind, rain, and thunder, making it easy to expel flying ants that try to burrow into its body.
The other two thought this method was good. Wen Sishu released her alchemy furnace, and Cheng Jiu summoned her little cloud beast. She took out a seventh-grade pill and stuffed it into its mouth. The little cloud beast chewed happily, and after hearing her request, it patted its chest and whimpered twice, indicating that it would take care of it!
After the three of them were put into the alchemy furnace, another problem arose: the furnace was too heavy. Even a cultivator at the Dao Integration Realm would have difficulty moving it, let alone a spirit beast like the Little Cloud Beast, which was not a strength-type creature.
It pushed and shoved, its face turning red, but the alchemy furnace could barely move an inch. Finally, exhausted, it lay down on the ground, its plump body sending a message to its master.
The alchemy furnace is Wen Sishu's natal alchemy furnace, so it has no weight for Wen Sishu. However, for others, its inherent weight is astonishing.
As for Cheng Jiu and Senior Sister Ying's alchemy furnaces, neither of them are defensive in nature.
Cheng Jiu slowly turned his gaze to the high mountain beside them: "Why don't we find a higher place and let the alchemy furnace roll down? The little cloud beast can watch from the side and notify us if it leaves the territory of the flying ants. Even if it doesn't, the little cloud beast can still drive the flying ants away. For the rest of the journey, our senior brother can set up a fire shield to lead us out."
The two thought about it carefully and felt that the idea was very good, but when the three of them actually carried it out, the range of motion alone would be enough to give them a hard time.
Moreover, the alchemy furnace, weighing tens of millions of jin, rolled down from a mountain ten thousand meters high. However, the gravitational acceleration was like a bomb, leaving nothing but barren land along the way. Flying ants dared not approach this huge creature, as they would be sucked in by its force and become nothing more than dead souls.
What they didn't expect was that the flying ants were actually stationed in a small forest on a cliff. From a distance, they couldn't see the cliff hidden below the small forest at all. So when the alchemy furnace emerged from the forest with an unparalleled momentum, it was about to fall off the cliff with a long throw.
The little cloud beast desperately pulled on the alchemy furnace to stop it from falling. Finally, it landed on a platform halfway up a mountain. Although it created a huge crater, at least it didn't fall into the bottomless abyss.
The three of them climbed out, and before they even started vomiting, Cheng Jiu noticed a shallow crack slowly spreading from the small platform.
Upon seeing this, the three hurriedly rushed into a small cave halfway up the mountain. The platform in front of the cave slowly broke apart, and a large piece of the mountain fell down. For a long time, the three did not hear the sound of it hitting the ground.
They patted their chests in alarm, thankful for the little cloud beast; otherwise, they would have really fallen in, and who knows what was inside.
However, it must be said that Wen Sishu's alchemy furnace has really good defensive capabilities.
The three of them felt dizzy, but they did not suffer any internal injuries.
The cave was about three or four meters high, like a small hole drilled into a cliff, but the platform outside was quite large, with a small forest on it, though it had fallen down due to the power of the three people's alchemy furnace earlier.
The little cloud beast was exhausted. It lay down in front of Cheng Jiu, whimpering, its little eyes looking pitiful and incredibly endearing.
Cheng Jiu took out an eighth-grade pill from her ring and put it into his mouth. The little cloud beast happily crawled into her spirit beast pouch.
On the other side, Wen Sishu lit a torch, and the three of them also wanted to check the cave where they were temporarily hiding.
However, they discovered that the cave was unusually clean, meaning they did not see any trace of any spirit beasts.
Further inside were some very strange runes, which at least the three of them did not recognize, and which looked very ancient. After bypassing these runes, the view suddenly opened up before them.
Above their heads was a halo of light, like stars and the moon, shining brightly and illuminating the vast space.
The space is a small valley, with a small waterfall whose origin is unknown, seemingly formed by accumulated water within the valley. Below the waterfall is a winding stream, and there are even patches of land.
The land was planted with medicinal herbs, and next to the land was a small courtyard that looked like any ordinary person's, covered by a thin protective shield.
The area around the cave was planted with bamboo. What surprised the three of them the most was that this was not a naturally formed cave, but a man-made one. The cave was carved out by a swordsman, sword after sword.
"This must be the secluded dwelling place of some great master!" The three of them carefully examined the place.
After all, it was the cave dwelling of a powerful being, so the three decided to be careful. The most eye-catching place was the courtyard in the very center, where they should be able to glean some information about the cave dwelling's owner.