txolops Chapter 20 Stone Walls and Bronze Doors
Chapter 20 Stone Walls and Bronze Doors
He first encountered a group of mountain-pushing beasts outside a valley. These beasts resembled wild boars, their bodies covered in heavy armor as hard as rock, and each one possessed the strength of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator. Their combined strength was astonishing. Knowing he would be at a disadvantage in a direct confrontation, Luo Ming decided to go around them via a side valley.
Unexpectedly, upon entering the valley, they encountered a flock of red-eyed doves. These doves, though small in size, were numerous, possessed sharp beaks and claws, and were adept at group attacks. Fortunately, the fire crow gave a timely warning and lured away a large portion of the red-eyed doves; otherwise, he might have been entangled by these creatures. In forbidden territory, being entangled by aerial beasts would make one a sitting duck, with inevitably dire consequences.
Luo Ming seized the opportunity and swiftly killed three pursuing red-eyed doves. He then quickly fled into a nearby dense forest, using the complex terrain to completely shake off the remaining doves. He also lost his spiritual connection to the fire crow. This meant either he had been killed by the red-eyed doves, or he had flown too far out of range. Since the fire crow was just an ordinary demonic beast, Luo Ming actually believed the first hypothesis more.
Such is the nature of the cultivation world: the strong prey on the weak, life and death are unpredictable, and sorrow is useless. Perhaps he wouldn't even live to see today; the only way forward is to quickly increase his strength. Suppressing his emotions, he then walked towards the massive bronze door beside the stone wall.
"Why does this place feel like a fortress?" Luo Ming frowned as he looked at the towering stone wall, which was dozens of feet high, and pondered to himself.
This stone wall is not made of ordinary bluestone, but of a kind of black rock that has long been extinct. It bears many traces of magical artifacts and magical explosions. The wall is covered with strict wind-attribute restrictions. Although many years have passed, it still shimmers with spiritual light. If anyone tries to break through, they will surely be torn to shreds by the wind blades.
"I wonder what happened here back then, and what forces built this fortress here," Luo Ming murmured softly as he walked toward the nearest bronze gate.
At the entrance, two decapitated corpses lay on the ground. One was dressed in Tianque Fortress attire, and the other in Huangfeng Valley attire. The cuts on their necks were clean, as if left by some sharp weapon that had swiftly passed by. Moreover, the two were very close together, suggesting that they had been fatally struck at the same time.
Luo Ming frowned and threw down two fireballs, instantly turning the two corpses to ashes.
"Who did this? They didn't even bother to cover their tracks. So unprofessional," Luo Ming muttered, walking towards the inside of the bronze door.
After passing through a tunnel that was at least a hundred feet long, we arrived in front of a barrier of light. We learned from our memories that passing through the barrier meant we had reached the central area.
Luo Ming immediately summoned the Yellow Silk Umbrella, and a yellow light shield instantly enveloped his entire body. He then summoned a magical artifact with his other hand before confidently stepping into the light barrier.
Contrary to expectations, Luo Ming encountered a scene completely different from the surrounding area.
If hell is outside the stone wall, then this place is heaven. Thinking of the scene outside, where there are poisonous swamps everywhere, the various terrains do not seem to have evolved normally, but were artificially created by various powerful means.
A scene immediately flashed through Luo Ming's mind: outside the stone wall, enemy forces were launching a frenzied attack. Among the enemies were those who controlled highly venomous monsters; after being killed, their poison seeped into the pool below, eventually transforming into the poisonous swamp that exists today. A hundred-foot-long sword light slashed towards the ground, leaving behind a valley tens of feet deep.
After scanning the surroundings with his divine sense and finding no enemies lying in ambush, Luo Ming removed the protective shield of the yellow umbrella. Immediately, a rich spiritual energy rushed towards him, and Luo Ming couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Only in places with such a high concentration of spiritual energy and undisturbed by the outside world can many rare medicinal herbs grow."
Only then did Luo Ming truly understand what a real blessed land was.
There is a faint wind-attribute restriction above it; according to the information, the only way to get through is to pass through the bronze door.
He spent most of the day finally arriving here. After passing through the bronze gate, he entered the central area.
Just then, a bright light shone through the thin mist in the distance, gradually dispelling the perpetual fog. It was none other than the Moon Essence Pearl of the Hidden Moon Sect. Although this treasure had no combat power, it could release a strange light.
Looks like I've arrived just in time!
Seeing the thick fog dissipate in the distance, Luo Ming knew it was a good opportunity to find the medicinal herbs. He immediately used his wind manipulation technique to head in one direction, following the map's directions.
At this moment, Luo Ming was not the only one doing this. Some cultivators who had been waiting for the Moon Sun Pearl to dispel the fog were also rushing in from various bronze doors. After all, the better they were, the greater their chance of finding those high-level spiritual herbs.
Inside a stone cave on a mountain ridge, bursts of spiritual energy emanated, accompanied by the sounds of magical artifacts colliding. After a while, a somewhat resentful voice rang out.
"Fellow Daoist, please stop. We'll give you the spiritual herbs here."
"Haha, easy to say, easy to say. There are so many spiritual herbs nearby, it would be unwise for you to compete with me here."
A moment later, a middle-aged cultivator dressed in the attire of Huadaowu flew out with a gloomy face. He had arrived here first, but the disciple from Lingshou Mountain behind him not only had excellent magic weapons, but also a spirit beast that would attack him from time to time, almost overwhelming him. He had no choice but to admit defeat.
After all, this central region is full of spiritual herbs, so he needs to hurry up and check other places marked by the sect.
At this moment, inside the stone cave, a young cultivator dressed in the robes of a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple was excitedly picking spiritual herbs. Beside him, a raccoon dog was warily watching the surroundings. It was Luo Ming, who had been searching the area for two days.
"These two Heavenly Spirit Grasses have basically met the requirements for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, haha! Not bad, not bad, I've collected enough for two Foundation Establishment Pills now."
These past two days have been the most peaceful since entering the Crimson Forbidden Land. Most cultivators are busy harvesting spiritual herbs. Even when there is a dispute, unless there is a significant difference in strength between the two people, they will stop short of fighting. Either the spiritual herbs will be divided equally, or one person will withdraw.
Luo Ming had encountered this situation several times in the past two days. As long as the opponent was alone, they would usually be beaten until they begged for mercy and retreated on their own initiative. Only once was the opponent a group of Hidden Moon Sect cultivators. Luo Ming left without saying a word and headed to the next location.
Although the central area is large, more than a hundred cultivators from the seven sects have entered, and the distribution of spiritual herbs is well recorded. Therefore, the probability of encountering cultivators from other sects is not small. Unless you want to go to the dangerous places marked on the map, you will definitely not encounter other people there, but the probability of encountering level two demonic beasts is very high.
After all, although the spiritual energy in this secret realm is limited and there are no reports of level 5 demonic beasts existing here, there are quite a few level 2 and above demonic beasts. If one of them targets you, you'd better pray for good luck.
After Luo Ming thoroughly searched the cave, he looked at the map and realized that it wasn't far from Yinfeng Valley. So he used his Wind Control Technique to head there.