Chapter 63: Successive Losses

Successive Losses

Morning mist greets the day, and Dan Qi descends upon the Valley of the Sun. Within the dense, deep forests of Huang Shoushan, one could faintly see the morning sun casting down threads of light. Green mist suddenly steamed up between the trees, and every blade of grass and every tree seemed to drip with verdant color. A small beast unknown to them darted through the bushes, causing a rustling sound in the forest. A dozen figures swept rapidly through the trees. Someone seemed to tilt their head to look, but was quickly stopped. "Everyone, do not be distracted. Do not strike out randomly in the forest, lest you disturb the spiritual energy."

After a cultivator reaches Foundation Establishment, observing the aura field becomes an instinct that never ceases. There is no need to intentionally activate one's spiritual sense; unless the spiritual energy is turbulent, everything around them is within their grasp. Some dangerous places look like they are filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, yet they are rarely visited by humans; this is because the spiritual energy in those places is extremely chaotic. When a cultivator falls into such a place, it is as if they were blind and deaf, which is extremely uncomfortable. The spiritual energy of this Huang Shoushan is naturally somewhat unstable, which is why no sect resides in the mountain. There are only some mountain folk, but they usually live deep in the mountains and are rarely seen.

"The morning sun is rising; everyone, rest for two hours before moving on." Li Pingyan transmitted his voice from far ahead. Everyone gathered toward him. They saw a large tree there, its trunk wide enough for over a hundred people to join hands around it. Li Pingyan was standing on one of the branches. "All of you, come up here. The Green Jade Miasma is particularly thick here. Everyone, be careful. Once the medicinal power of the Miasma-Avoiding Pill passes, you must take another. Also, carefully check the talismans you are holding."

It seems that in the area southeast of the Profound Heaven Sect, the Green Jade Miasma is the primary miasma. This miasma grows close to the ground, so during the two hours in the morning when the miasma is at its thickest, the cultivators dared not stay on the ground. They had also prepared enough miasma-avoiding items before entering the mountain. Ruan Ci had learned the Miasma-Avoiding Talisman from Meng Lingyue and had drawn hundreds of them long ago. She was very attentive to this type of talisman, probably because of a lingering regret from childhood when she could not learn a single bit of the "Pure and Still Dust-Avoiding Scripture."

As the group walked in the mountain, they did not walk shoulder-to-shoulder in a group of a dozen. The mountain paths were narrow, sometimes just a vague trace, with vegetation growing on both sides. Naturally, everyone walked one after another. Li Pingyan walked in front, and both Ruan Ci and Meng Lingyue had quite fast movement techniques, following not far behind. Chi Pengpeng was unwilling to be with them and fell to the middle of the team, surrounded by cultivators from small sects in front and behind. After a while, they arrived one after another. Meng Lingyue was muttering to herself, counting the number of people, when her expression suddenly changed. She called out, "Something is wrong. We are missing one person. We were sixteen people originally; how come there are only fifteen?"

Everyone hurriedly identified each other. Everyone was a cultivator, with sharp minds and good memories. As soon as Meng Lingyue finished speaking, she remembered. "It's Senior Brother Wu from the Wind Sand Sect! Why didn't he keep up?"

Chi Pengpeng said, "Senior Brother Wu's movement technique is not as good as ours anyway. I'm afraid he will be here in a moment."

Meng Lingyue had a worried look on her face but did not suggest going back to look for him. Ruan Ci saw the green mist steaming on the ground, becoming more and more lush, and could not help but frown secretly. She said, "I'm afraid we'll have to wait a while."

At this time, they had entered the peak hours of the Green Jade Miasma. It was not suitable to fly over the ground, and of course, it was not easy to walk in mid-air either. No one knew how many demonic beasts were hidden in the mountain; they might be hiding in the trees. If Senior Brother Wu was resting in the treetops, waiting for the miasma to fade before chasing after this group, I'm afraid it would take a lot of time. Chi Pengpeng said, "Waiting for this, waiting for that, how much time is wasted on waiting for people? We just entered the mountain not long ago. If Senior Brother Wu can't find us, it's better for him to turn back. You wait for him once today, do you intend to wait for him every time in the future?"

What she said was not unreasonable. The cultivators around them all said, "It is better not to do this useless waiting. If it were normal times, waiting for him would be nothing, but Huang Shoushan is a dangerous place and has its own rules."

Ruan Ci said, "I have never spoken two words to Senior Brother Wu. He has always followed behind Senior Sister Chi. Since Senior Sister Chi has said so, what more can I say?"

She and Chi Pengpeng were at daggers drawn, and everyone felt a bit awkward, but it was inconvenient to get involved. Li Pingyan said, "Senior Brother Wu seems to have arrived."

In the mountain, the range of spiritual sense is smaller than outside. After Li Pingyan's voice fell, it was a while before everyone sensed a familiar pulse of spiritual power coming from the forest. They couldn't help but look at Li Pingyan in surprise. A cultivator named Meng Zhixuan beside Chi Pengpeng smiled and said, "Senior Brother Li's cultivation is indeed profound. I'm afraid this spiritual sense far exceeds ours, even Senior Sister Chi is not as good."

Li Pingyan smiled slightly and did not answer. Chi Pengpeng said frankly, "That's right, I am not as good as Senior Brother Li."

The Golden Wave Sect is a flourishing sect attached to the Profound Heaven Sect, but Li Pingyan was cold to Chi Pengpeng, instead being close to Ni Ci. With Meng Zhixuan saying this, Chi Pengpeng's heart was a bit narrow, and the two would leave a knot in their hearts. Ruan Ci glanced at Meng Zhixuan and thought to herself, "This is in the mountains; why is this person so unwise? If it were me he offended, I would have slashed him with a sword to see if his mouth was still cheap."

She came back to her senses and couldn't help but frown secretly, feeling that she was influenced by the murderous aura in the sword, and also had a bit of a reckless attitude toward human life. Meng Zhixuan's provocation of Li Pingyan and Chi Pengpeng was indeed annoying, but it hadn't reached the point of deserving death.

Meng Lingyue glared at Meng Zhixuan but did not scold him. Both of them were disciples of the Pinghai Sect. Ruan Ci guessed that they might be relatives of the same clan, but she had no intention of asking in detail. She just frowned and said, "Senior Brother Wu should be careful. The Green Jade Miasma has already risen. Since he is already within our sensing range, it is better to rest in the trees and wait for the poisonous miasma to fade before catching up. A cup of tea's time is still worth waiting."

Just as she was speaking, a cultivator swept in between the threads of green mist. It was indeed Senior Brother Wu from the Wind Sand Sect. His face was tight, and he only smiled when he saw everyone. While waving to greet them, he accelerated his flight. The green mist lingered around him, hooking onto his wrists. White light flickered on Senior Brother Wu's body; it was the Miasma-Avoiding Talisman taking effect. However, the white light was flickering and weakening, while the green mist was still constantly strengthening. Ruan Ci shouted, "Senior Brother Wu, activate another Miasma-Avoiding Talisman!"

This Senior Brother Wu didn't know whether he was holding a spell or a talisman. I'm afraid that when he saw them, he was happy for a moment and forgot that the power of the talisman was about to run out. Only after being reminded by Ruan Ci did he look down and see that the green mist was about to swallow the white light. He hurriedly flipped his hand to take out a talisman and muttered words. The talisman flashed with white light and was about to attach to his body when Senior Brother Wu's expression suddenly changed. He saw that the white light of the talisman flashed for a moment, but then dimmed. It was obvious that the talisman had malfunctioned; it was a bad talisman.

At this time, Senior Brother Wu was still more than a hundred feet away from the group. The green light on the ground was flourishing, and the Green Jade Miasma had reached its most vigorous hour. Everyone dared not get off the tree to meet him. Li Pingyan flew a talisman from his waist, shot it toward Senior Brother Wu, and shouted, "Senior Brother Wu, catch the talisman quickly!"

Senior Brother Wu had just flipped out a large stack of talismans from his waist. Seeing that the talisman power on his body was about to run out, he panicked and channeled his magic power into the whole stack of talismans. As soon as the white light flashed, seeing Li Pingyan's flying talisman arrive, he hurriedly dispersed his magic power and flew toward the talisman. However, just as his figure moved, the white light around his body flashed and completely shattered. The green mist around him suddenly flourished, wrapping him up.

Fear immediately appeared on Senior Brother Wu's face, and he reached out to everyone as if asking for help. But as soon as the green mist touched his skin, it turned into tiny insects the size of mosquitoes, surrounding him and gnawing. Before long, they had gnawed away his flesh and blood. Amidst Senior Brother Wu's screams, one hand had turned into white bones, and his robes quickly bulged underneath; it was the green mist drilling into his clothes, and before long, it had gnawed him clean, leaving only a skeleton on the ground.

But this was not the end. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there is an inner landscape world in the flesh. Senior Brother Wu was no longer able to hold the spell. Once the Body Purification Spell was released, the phantom transformed by the inner landscape world appeared above his head. The green mist wrapped around the six layers of Dao foundation, turning into small insects to eat the Dao foundation, and then drilled into the Jade Pool to drink the spiritual liquid. In just a moment, it had eaten Senior Brother Wu from the inside out. Only then did it buzz and disperse into green mist, floating and dancing on the forest floor, occasionally following the wind to the branches above. But fortunately, it was only a thread, and with the protection of the cultivator's talisman power, it was not enough to kill on contact.

Ruan Ci had heard about the power of poisonous miasma in Nanzhuzhou, but this was the first time she had seen a cultivator swallowed by poisonous miasma, and just a moment ago, he was a fellow traveler. She couldn't help but turn pale with fright. Chi Pengpeng also exclaimed. Li Pingyan's face was as heavy as water. Meng Lingyue didn't have much feeling and said to Ruan Ci, "Don't look... Senior Brother Wu was too arrogant. How can the Green Jade Miasma be underestimated? But if we fell into the miasma, we wouldn't be like him. He didn't cultivate the Flawless Golden Body, and there was the aura of a living person on his skin. As soon as the Green Jade Miasma encountered human aura, it immediately turned into small insects."

She stretched out a hand, dispersed the talisman power on her hand, and reached under the branch, weaving through the green mist. The green mist was misty and winding, but it was still just gas. Meng Lingyue said, "Look, if you cultivate the Flawless Golden Body, although you can't stay in the Green Jade Miasma for a long time, it won't be that dangerous."

Junior Sister Lian sighed, "He was too overconfident. Without cultivating the Flawless Body, how dare he trespass into Huang Shoushan, and be so careless, drawing a bad talisman, and finally losing his life in vain."

According to the customs of the Central Continent, Senior Brother Wu's death was entirely due to his lack of consideration, and it was not worth being sad for too long. However, losing one person just after entering Huang Shoushan was ultimately a disappointment. Everyone's mood was low. They rested on the treetops for two hours. After the Green Jade Miasma completely retreated, Li Pingyan jumped into the forest, first took back his talisman, and then put Senior Brother Wu's bones and belongings into a Universe Bag, saying, "Does he have any relatives or friends?"

Everyone looked at each other. Meng Zhixuan said, "He is a disciple of the Grace Sect, and the friends he made are all left in the Golden Wave Market. He thought there were many people, so he took a big boat over. Only he followed our team."

This is wanting to cling to high-ranking cultivators, but overestimating one's own ability, and not inquiring clearly about the situation of Huang Shoushan, sending his life in vain. Chi Pengpeng sighed, "Forget it, I'll keep it for him. When I come back from Ten Thousand Butterfly Valley, I'll ask the sect members to send him home."

With Chi Pengpeng's status, naturally no one doubted her motives. Meng Zhixuan said, "Senior Sister Chi is really responsible."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Pingyan with his eyes. Neither Li Pingyan nor Chi Pengpeng said anything, just pretending not to hear. Ruan Ci frowned slightly, feeling that this person was annoying with his yin and yang tone. Meng Lingyue said, "Let's go. The speed of flying in the forest is limited, we can't delay."

The group set off again, this time being several times more careful than before. After a few hours, Li Pingyan suddenly stopped his movement and transmitted his voice to everyone, "Everyone, there is a snake path ahead!"

Probably because of the Green Jade Miasma, the ecology in this area is very similar to the Green Jade Bright Hall. Near the ground, there are many snakes, insects, rats, and ants, while in the forest treetops, there are many bird demons. However, the ground of the Green Jade Bright Hall is covered with thick bamboo leaves, while the ground of Huang Shoushan can still see soil, which is relatively safer. With a sweep of spiritual sense, it is easy to find the traces left by the demon snake's advance.

"The snake path is round and narrow, and there are two snake paths side by side. This is the Mandarin Duck Golden Ring Snake, right? This snake has always been in pairs, and there is a wonderful induction between the male and female. The snake gall can be used as medicine. Senior Brother Li, we have many people and are powerful, why not..."

Although Chi Pengpeng had the most supporters, she had no idea about this kind of thing when she went out for the first time. Everyone still unconsciously took Li Pingyan as the leader. Meng Zhixuan, Junior Sister Lian, and Li Pingyan didn't get along well, but at this time they were very cooperative. Li Pingyan said, "Junior Sister Ci, Senior Sister Chi, what do you say? Looking at the size of these snakes, these two snakes are about at the late Foundation Establishment stage. It's not completely impossible to deal with. The Mandarin Duck Golden Ring Snake is highly poisonous, but it is not large in size and its speed is not very fast. With so many of us, we can indeed deal with it."

Chi Pengpeng said, "Senior Brother Li, just arrange it."

She looked relaxed, obviously having life-saving means. The people present were also eager to try. Although most of them were in the early Foundation Establishment stage, they were, after all, the proud children of heaven, and killing enemies across small realms was a common occurrence. Li Pingyan was not polite, and immediately sent one of his junior brothers to spy on the demon snake's tracks and lead it here. Meng Lingyue took out the array disk and ordered everyone to set it up in various places in the forest, each guarding an array eye. Chi Pengpeng took Meng Zhixuan to guard the Yin gate, while Ruan Ci and the other two guarded the Yang gate. The rest of the people were in ambush in the array, all restraining their aura. Ruan Ci released her spiritual sense, and among the dozen people, she could only faintly find seven or eight.

She had not suffered any hardships in the Qi Refining stage, and it could be said that her combat power was invincible at the same level. But this time, traveling abroad after Foundation Establishment, she did not dare to be so confident. After all, Ruan Ci had not even stepped firmly into the first layer of Foundation Establishment, and which of the people traveling with her did not have the cultivation of the third or fifth layer? At this moment, her heart was also slightly cold, and she thought to herself, "You just wanted to kill Meng Zhixuan with one sword, not knowing that after Meng Zhixuan hid his tracks, you couldn't detect his whereabouts. Even if he couldn't beat you, it wouldn't be difficult for him to escape."

Just as she was thinking about how to play against Meng Zhixuan if she wanted to hunt him down, Li Pingyan's voice came into her ears, "Junior Sister Ci, you must be careful. When I collected Senior Brother Wu's body just now, I checked it. Senior Brother Wu made more than four hundred Miasma-Avoiding Talismans, but they were all secretly erased by someone. He was not unlucky, but was singled out long ago, wanting him to die in the Green Jade Miasma in these few days."

Ruan Ci's expression remained unchanged, and she secretly transmitted her voice, "Senior Brother Li, who do you suspect?"

Before Li Pingyan could answer, a scream was heard from afar. His expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "Not good, something happened to Junior Brother Xiao!"

Just as he was about to rush to check, Meng Lingyue pulled him back. Ruan Ci also tried her best to restrain her aura, lying on the array disk, and transmitted her voice, "Senior Brother Li, the snake is coming!"

Sure enough, a golden light flashed in the distant mountain, and only the rustling of grass could be heard. Before long, two large snakes had quickly swam from the grass into the forest. These two snakes were several people high, colorful, and had four rings on their snake heads. As soon as they entered the array, they realized something was wrong, but these snakes were fierce by nature, not only did they not turn around and run away, but they circled and stood up, opened their mouths and hissed, turning the golden rings on their heads from virtual to real, shooting them out, rolling everywhere in the forest, testing the surrounding environment. A great battle was on the verge of breaking out!

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Updated, sorry for the long wait, everyone. Let's send out red packets for this chapter~

Sigh, I have to go to the hospital again recently. Although it's not a big problem, I still feel that going to the hospital is a waste of time. Everyone should also pay attention to their health! I am quite careful, but in fact, sometimes this is also a matter of luck...

Because I went to the hospital yesterday, I didn't read much. Today for lunch, I had meat pie steamed with eggs, and hot and sour soup~

. Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2020-08-21 11:57:00 and 2020-08-22 11:57:52~

Thanks to the little angel who voted for the rocket launcher: Zi Ye 2002 1;

Thanks to the little angel who voted for the grenade: Dong Yi 1;

Thanks to the little angels who voted for the landmine: Lychee who had her account stolen, Whispers of Time, Yu Wanyao 1;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 17804320 50 bottles; Rou Rou Ni Ni 20 bottles; Mu Liu Feng Piao, Xi Nian, Xiao Kui 10 bottles; Wa Wang Wang 6 bottles; Qian Mian Mo Fang, Ye Mu 5 bottles; Jiu Wo 3 bottles; Jiu Pin Lian Hua, Zhao Sheng Wu Gu You 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!