Chapter 38

From inside the stone door came a "clang-clang-clang" sound of something falling.

"Those inside, listen: you have been surrounded by the Cloud Hidden Sect. Release the hostages, lay down your weapons, and surrender immediately—this is your only way out..."

Indeed there was someone inside, but at this point he was riding a tiger and could not get off—Wei Yuning couldn't stop. He set his posture for escape while continuing to shout loudly.

A "thud" came from inside again, as if someone had hit something, then another "clang-clang-clang" sounded, but this time the sound was much fainter.

Wei Yuning furrowed his brows; the other side seemed to be fleeing—could there be an escape passage inside?

After that, there was no more sound from inside.

After a few breaths, Wei Yuning grew bolder; he shouted while kicking the stone door with his foot, but there was still no response from inside.

He hardened his resolve and thought: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub? Knowing there's a tiger in the mountain, I still head toward…… wrong, I used the wrong saying—there are no tigers in the mountain, monkeys reign supreme! Here I come!"

Wei Yuning shoved the stone door open, and the interior lay fully before his eyes.

This was a crude stone hut, two zhang wide, three zhang deep, and one zhang high. Apart from a small wooden bed at the far end, the only furniture was a large table in the middle of the room; several earthen jars lay scattered around the table, their contents spilling out a deep red liquid. Beside the bed stood a rotating stone door, tilted askew, its interior pitch‑black and empty—clearly the enemy's escape passage.

Wei Yuning's gaze first fell on the table, where a woman lay prone, hair disheveled, face down, motionless. Judging by her attire, she must be the captured female cultivator of the Azure Phoenix Sect, Haiyan.

He stepped forward, lifted her hair, and revealed her face. Her looks were decent—above average among the Azure Phoenix Sect's female cultivators—and combined with a cultivator's unique aura, she would certainly be considered a beauty on Earth. At the moment, her face bore clear tear tracks, her makeup smudged, making her look pitifully delicate.

Just then, he heard a faint rustling from behind the rotating stone door, and the smell of sulphur drifted in again.

Wei Yuning's heart suddenly pounded. After all his calculations, he assumed the enemy had fled and never considered the possibility that the interior was merely an inner chamber with no passage at all.

Surely the enemy had noticed the loud thunder but light rain outside, sensed something fishy, and was preparing to come out.

"Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic!" Wei Yuning warned himself while reaching into his Small Cosmos Bag for something and aiming it at the rotating door.

He threw things.

Three large tubs of Spirit Spring Water, two sacks of sludge from the Pill Peak Spirit Lake, and a big handful of various vine seeds—these

were the items he had gathered at night after learning the Plant Entanglement Technique. Although he was a Physical Foundation Establishment cultivator, he did not want to engage in close‑quarters combat with the enemy, so he had to rely on his Wood Spirit Root Innate Technique—at least this counted as a ranged attack!

The sludge from the Pill Peak Spirit Lake is excellent fertilizer, long reserved for the precious Spirit Herb Nursery. Of course, this rule applies only to outsiders; the menial workers of the Herb Garden, living close to the water, can easily sneak out three or five sacks without issue.

Fortunately, Xu Ye had earlier told him the conditions for using the Plant Entanglement Technique; otherwise, in this all‑stone room, with his current spellcasting level he would likely have to kneel even against a peer‑level opponent. Judging from the situation, the enemy capable of easily subduing the female cultivator Haiyan must be at least at the Foundation Establishment Peak.

However, what Wei Yuning now intends to cast is not the Innate Plant Entanglement Technique, but the Wood Spirit Root Disciple's Innate Technique—the Plant Growth Technique.

Perhaps the repeated clatter of his thrown items had again intimidated the enemy inside, who did not rush out immediately. In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuning turned his palm downward and activated the Plant Growth Technique on the seeds in the sludge. Boosted by the Spirit Spring Water and the Superior Sludge Fertilizer, the vine seeds exploded with growth; in less than three breaths, the gaps in the rotating stone door were completely filled, and under his control the vines kept forcing their way inward.

The power of plant growth looks inconspicuous, but under specific conditions it can burst forth with astonishing energy; in less than ten breaths, the heavy stone door was crushed to pieces, and the debris filled the tight gaps of the vines. Wei Yuning doesn't know how deep the interior of the rotating stone door is, but according to his estimate, the sealed barrier formed by the vines has grown inward at least three zhang.

At that moment, he finally let out a breath of relief, but it was still not the time to relax.

Seeing that the spiritual spring water and the mud were about to be exhausted, he stopped his spell, rushed to the table, bent down, picked up Haiyan, and rushed out of the house.

"Ox Brother, catch!" Wei Yuning came to the edge of the platform and immediately saw the anxious ox below.

After throwing the female cultivator off the cliff, Wei Yuning followed with a scrape scrape scrape, rushing down.

The ox has great strength; carrying a female cultivator hardly affects its speed, but Wei Yuning cannot do that—although he is fast, once his load exceeds a certain limit, he becomes as slow as an ordinary person. Thus, the ox takes charge of carrying people, while Wei Yuning draws his weapon, picks up a shield, and moves around the ox's front, back, left, and right, responsible for clearing the path and also for dispelling some beasts' disturbances.

The return journey went surprisingly smoothly; after the time to burn an incense stick, the two returned to the beast garden unharmed, and the unseen enemy never caught up. They both let out a long sigh of relief.

The whole rescue process was dangerous yet without mishap, obtained without any effort.

Their return attracted no attention; all the disciples were crowded in the middle of the meadow, from within came the clang clang clang of fighting.

The ox is tall, and at a glance it saw the duel inside.

"It's the Cloud Goose Fairy and the Wild Wolf Daoist, plus a few outsiders!"

The situation was urgent, Haiyan the female cultivator was still unconscious, and Wei Yuning couldn't worry about anything else; he shouted into the crowd: "Martial Uncle Hongzhi, Senior Sister Haiyan has been rescued, she needs immediate treatment!"

"Wei Yuning? Great, first bring the person to the camp, I'll arrive shortly!" Hongzhi rose from the crowd, at a glance saw Wei Yuning and the three of them, and said with surprise and joy.

The ox took the lead, carrying Haiyan as it rushed toward the camp.

Wei Yuning followed, and he faintly heard a voice from the crowd: "Cloud Goose Fairy, now your people have also been found; I, Wild Wolf, have cleared my name of the grievance, you must give me an explanation, otherwise I will surely make you regret it—I am not afraid of the Azure Phoenix Sect, but don't be useless and rely on the Cloud Hidden Sect to back you."

"Heh heh, a petty loose cultivator, you dare to look down on my Azure Phoenix Sect. The Azure Phoenix Sect is based on Favoring Island, relying not on outsiders' protection; if you still have a bit of courage, then fight me one-on-one to the death, don't rely on your friends' might!" The Cloud Goose Fairy's words were sharp, showing no trace of being a mere woman.

"Haha, you really think I'm not your match..."

"Daoist Wild Wolf, for the sake of the Cloud Hidden Sect's face, let's set aside our grudges for now..."

He couldn't hear the rest of the words.

When he and the ox had placed Haiyan in a room inside the camp, Qiuhu and Fengming arrived together, being the first to return.

"I have a light-element spiritual root; dispelling evil and awakening the spirit is most suitable for me—let me take a look first!" Qiuhu spoke first.