txolops Chapter 34 Departure from the Crimson Forbidden Land! Qingxu Sect!
Chapter 34 Departure from the Crimson Forbidden Land! Qingxu Sect!
Chapter 34 Departure from the Crimson Forbidden Land! Qingxu Sect!
Over time.
One after another, more disciples who had participated in the Crimson Forbidden Zone arrived at the sect's council hall.
Lin Chuan raised his eyes slightly and saw several familiar figures in the crowd.
Han Li has also arrived.
He was still wearing that unremarkable Yellow Maple Valley disciple's robe, his face was ordinary, and his aura was more solid than it had been a few months ago.
He had already broken through to the twelfth level of Qi Refining!
It seems that Han Li has fully mastered and refined the pill formula given to him a few months ago.
He silently walked to the edge of the crowd, and when his eyes met Lin Chuan's, the two nodded almost imperceptibly as a greeting.
Immediately afterwards, a slightly aloof and lonely figure in purple appeared at the entrance of the palace.
It's Chen Qiaoqian.
Today she wore only an elegant light purple dress and had no makeup on her face.
Her once delicate and lively eyes were now shrouded in a faint sense of aloofness and coldness.
She was like a thorny ice flower, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.
Alone, without speaking to anyone or even glancing at her brother Chen Qiaotian, she walked straight to a corner and stood there, her eyes lowered, lost in thought.
The moment she entered the hall, Lin Chuan quietly shifted his gaze and pretended to whisper something unimportant to Han Li beside him.
Although I fed her the Forget-Dust Pill, there's no guarantee of safety. I absolutely cannot let Chen Qiaoqian pay any extra attention to me.
Or a sense of déjà vu.
Finally, a small old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with an ordinary face, wearing a faded disciple's robe, and whose cultivation level was only at the tenth level of Qi Refining, slowly strolled into the main hall.
He looked somewhat sleazy and leaned against the least noticeable pillar.
Lin Chuan glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye.
Be vigilant.
But his expression remained completely unchanged.
And he casually looked away!
A gesture of respect!
This old man, who was disguised as a Qi Refining Level 10 cultivator, was actually a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Great Jin Dynasty!
He's here?
It was simply to find the reverse spirit passage.
They won't interfere in other matters at all.
As long as you don't provoke them, you don't need to worry about what this old monster might do.
At this point, there were exactly twenty-five Qi Refining disciples gathered in front of the main hall.
This is an agreement among the seven major factions, setting a maximum number of people allowed to enter the Crimson Forbidden Zone for each faction.
A Foundation Establishment stage deacon with a serious expression stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the crowd as he said in a deep voice, "Disciples, now that everyone has arrived, according to sect rules, we will bestow upon you aids before departure."
He first took out a jade plate, on which dozens of mid-grade spirit stones of different colors, but all with a rich spiritual energy, were neatly arranged.
This is automatically claimed based on one's spiritual root attribute.
Then, the deacon took out a dusty, seemingly ordinary storage bag and said, "This bag contains various magical artifacts prepared by the sect for this trial, ranging in quality from mid-grade to high-grade. What you draw depends entirely on your own luck. The bag's opening is sealed to prevent divine sense from probing, to ensure fairness."
He gestured for his disciples to step forward one by one, reach into the bag, and grab a magical artifact by feeling.
When it was Lin Chuan's turn, he calmly reached into the bag and tried. His divine sense was indeed unable to penetrate the strange restriction.
He casually touched several nearby objects, found them all to be similar, and then grabbed the one closest to him and pulled it out.
It felt slightly heavy in my hand. It was a small, palm-sized, octagonal tortoise-shell shield with an earthy yellow color. Its spiritual energy fluctuations were not weak, making it a decent high-grade defensive magic weapon.
"Earth Element Tortoise Shell Shield, a high-grade defensive magic artifact. It can grow larger after being infused with spiritual power. Its defensive power is decent, and it has an additional effect of resisting earth-type magic attacks." The deacon next to him glanced at it and casually announced the name and grade of the magic artifact.
Lin Chuan nodded, thanked him, and put away the tortoise shell shield.
He was truly unmoved.
He now possesses several top-tier magical artifacts, and a high-tier defensive magical artifact is merely icing on the cake; having multiple spares is just a bonus.
Shortly afterward, a slight commotion and whispers were heard outside the hall.
The sect leader, Zhong Lingdao (a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator), and several Foundation Establishment deacons with high status within the sect escorted an elderly man dressed in a green robe. He appeared to be about seventy or eighty years old, but was vigorous and his eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he entered the main hall.
The old man was not tall, but he possessed a calm and dignified demeanor.
As soon as he appeared, even the Foundation Establishment stage deacons subconsciously concealed their auras.
Each of them looked respectful.
Sect Leader Zhong stepped forward, facing the twenty-five Qi Refining disciples, and announced loudly, "Listen up, disciples! This is none other than Grandmaster Li Huayuan, a Core Formation stage elder of our Yellow Maple Valley! This time, the expedition to the Crimson Forbidden Land will be led personally by Grandmaster Li!"
Master Li!
Core Formation stage cultivator!
Lin Chuan was already mentally prepared.
Some Qi Refining disciples felt an indescribable pressure and excitement.
These are high-ranking members of the sect whom they would never normally have the opportunity to meet; they are the big shots who truly determine the fate of Huangfeng Valley!
However, Li Huayuan didn't seem to intend to say much more to these junior Qi cultivators.
His gaze swept calmly over the crowd, seemingly casual, yet making everyone feel as if they were being thoroughly seen through.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
"Set off."
Li Huayuan uttered only these two short and concise words, his voice not loud.
Yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying an undeniable authority.
After saying that, he didn't look at the crowd again, turned around, and walked out of the hall first.
Sect Leader Zhong and the others quickly followed.
The disciples dared not be negligent and followed closely behind in order as they left the council hall.
Outside the palace square, a colossal creature was lying prone!
It was a giant python that was over twenty feet long!
Its entire body is covered with palm-sized, shimmering, dense scales that reflect a cold light in the sunlight.
The python has a single, spiraling silver horn on its head. Its body is thick and strong, coiled up like a silver mountain of flesh, exuding a terrifyingly fierce aura and immense demonic power.
Level 3 Monster - Silver-Armored Horned Python!
Moreover, judging from its size and aura, it is probably already at the peak of level three, equivalent to a human cultivator in the mid-stage or even late-stage Foundation Establishment.
At this moment, Grandmaster Li Huayuan stood with his hands behind his back atop the ferocious head of the silver-armored horned python, his green robe fluttering slightly in the wind.
"hiss----"
Many disciples gasped, their eyes filled with shock and awe.
Is this the power of a Core Formation cultivator, riding such a ferocious beast as a mount?
Lin Chuan's gaze fell on the silver-armored horned python and Li Huayuan, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of longing and envy in his eyes.
Riding spirit beasts, roaming the world, possessing the power to move mountains and overturn seas with every move – this is the true demeanor of a cultivator!
"Come on up, and stand firm," a Foundation Establishment deacon commanded in a deep voice.
The disciples then suppressed their shock and carefully leaped onto the silver-armored horned python's broad back, which was as wide as a small square.
The scales were cold and hard, yet remarkably stable.
Once everyone was on their feet, Li Huayuan slightly pushed off with his feet.
"hold head high--!"
The silver-armored horned python let out a low roar, the sound like muffled thunder rolling across the sky.
Its massive body slowly stretched out, and then with a flash of silver light, it soared into the air, transforming into a huge silver streak, carrying more than twenty people on its back, and shot towards the sky!
Its speed far exceeds that of ordinary flying magical artifacts.
A strong wind blew in my face.
However, the silver-armored horned python naturally formed a layer of light silver protective demonic power around its body, protecting the people on its back from the attack of the gale.
The silver-armored horned python traveled day and night for two days and two nights straight.
They finally landed on a desolate, barren, and uninhabited nameless mountain.
The place is full of jagged rocks, sparse vegetation, and little spiritual energy, making it seem quite unremarkable.
The disciples jumped off the python's back.
Take a short break.
After two consecutive days of high-altitude flight, even with the protection of demonic beasts, one's spirit is inevitably fatigued.
Several Foundation Establishment managers then explained, "This is the agreed-upon meeting place with the other six factions of our Yue Kingdom. Only when all the teams from the seven major factions participating in the trial have arrived will we cast a spell together to open the entrance to the Crimson Forbidden Land."
"It is impossible for one sect alone to open and maintain the stability of the entrance. During this waiting period, no one may leave at will, and even less may they clash with disciples of other sects; violators will be severely punished!"
Everyone suddenly realized and agreed.
Lin Chuan found a clean rock, sat down cross-legged, and began to regulate his breathing to recover.
He noticed that Grandmaster Li Huayuan had already descended from the python's head and was sitting cross-legged on a flat rock, his eyes closed. The silver-armored horned python was coiled up beside him, its aura restrained, like a sculpture.
The wait didn't last long.
About an hour later, Lin Chuan, who was sitting cross-legged, seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.
In the originally clear blue sky, a few twinkling points of light first appeared, then quickly enlarged and stretched, transforming into a magnificent seven-colored rainbow that stretched across the sky!
"Look at the sky! What's that?"
One of the disciples couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"What a beautiful rainbow!?"
"Quiet!"
A Foundation Establishment manager from Huangfeng Valley ahead frowned, turned around and scolded in a low voice, "What kind of behavior is this! This is the Qingxu Sect's unique flying magic weapon—the Snow Rainbow Silk! Making a fuss over nothing, you're just making a fool of Huangfeng Valley's face!"
Upon hearing this, the disciples suddenly realized what was happening.
They all immediately fell silent, but their eyes still couldn't help but look curiously at the sky.
Several dazzling rainbow lights streaked across the sky at incredible speed, and in a short while they reached the sky above the barren mountain before slowly descending.
The silhouette of a person standing on it is revealed.
There were dozens of cultivators dressed in gray Taoist robes, most of them with their hair tied up in a bun and holding whisks, exuding a faint Taoist aura.
The leading middle-aged Taoist priest had a handsome face, a long beard, and an air of otherworldly elegance. With a warm smile on his face, he raised his hand and beckoned as the rainbow light completely landed.
Suddenly, the several magnificent rainbows spanning the sky flashed, contracted rapidly, and finally transformed into a light veil like brocade.
The middle-aged Taoist priest's gaze swept over the group from Yellow Maple Valley, finally settling on Li Huayuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the rock face. His smile deepened, and he stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said loudly, "Amitabha! I didn't expect that Benefactor Li would personally lead the group again this time. This humble Taoist, Fuyunzi, greets you!"