Chapter 94: Bullied

The several men's faces were full of misery and pleading, but their mouths and nostrils were packed with rattan vines, making even breathing extremely difficult, let alone any other movement. Fortunately, all of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators and would not suffocate to death.

"Mmm mmm mmm..." The middle-aged cultivator suddenly let out a series of muffled grunts. One arm actually forced its way out of the vines, but the price paid was enormous — nearly every inch of skin on the entire arm was gone, red and white flesh all turned inside out.

Wei Yuning's throat moved, swallowing a mouthful of saliva, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit.

Wei Yuning had great confidence in the strength of the Blood Demon Vine. He watched the middle-aged man thrashing about and did not step forward to stop him. One arm could not accomplish anything; his entire body was still wrapped in vines.

After pulling out his arm, the middle-aged man indeed did not attack Wei Yuning. Instead, he reached his hand into his mouth and yanked hard, pulling out the vine that had gone deep into his throat.

Cough, cough, cough. The middle-aged man spat out a mass of shredded flesh and blood, lifted his arm, and said in a hoarse voice, "I have something to say. I, Wen Jiugong, can swear a Dao oath never to trouble you again. Henceforth, whatever you command, I will go through fire and water without hesitation. He is a member of the Shadow Pavilion. If Young Master Yuning does not wish to court trouble, it would be best to release him as well. He can also swear a Dao oath to pledge loyalty to you, sir!" He pointed at the masked man.

The masked man's face covering had already been forced mostly aside by the vines, revealing a sinister face. He nodded frantically, indicating his agreement with the middle-aged man's words.

Qing Wu beside him also nodded wildly!

"Done?" Wei Yuning asked.

Before the several men could answer, a short sword with a wooden handle and green blade had already appeared in his hand. A blur of afterimages flashed past, and the carotid arteries on all three men's necks were severed, spraying blood half a meter high.

Thud, thud, thud. Then, Wei Yuning kicked out three times in succession, sending them tumbling into the depths of the cliff.

"I'd believe your ghost of a story. You actually took me for a fool and tried to play these mind games with me!" Wei Yuning spat toward the cliff.

The experience just now could truly be called a narrow escape from death. If not for comprehending the area displacement spell last time at Wind Lotus Court, today he would have lost his life at the very least, or at minimum lost a layer of skin.

He had never imagined that the other party would dare to make a move inside Cloud Concealment Sect. If not for his noticing the anomaly of that menial disciple, and then detecting the several men's presence through the Star Power Orb, the consequences would have been simply unthinkable.

The Green Wood Invisibility Ring that Fairy Cloud Goose had given him, and the Blood Demon Vine that had been laid out in advance — these two items helped him catch the opponents off guard today.

The Blood Demon Vine was an exotic variant of vine-type plants, a plant collected by Steward Hongle of the herb garden. Upon learning that Wei Yuning excelled at using bizarre binding arts against enemies, he had specially gifted it to Wei Yuning for self-defense.

The Blood Demon Vine came with sharp thorns capable of breaking through spell defenses. Combined with Wei Yuning's special binding art, it was simply a nightmare for divine sense cultivators. Even if they wore armor-type items, they could not block the vines' attacks that penetrated every opening.

Given these trump cards alone, he could not let these three men leave alive.

Lying on the ground was a crossbow, only half an arm's length in size. Its dark crossbow body gleamed with a metallic luster — this should be the so-called "Dragon Sinew Divine Crossbow."

Wei Yuning picked up the crossbow, tilting his body slightly. What a heavy thing.

He was about to examine it closely when he suddenly caught a faint, elusive scent of sulfur. He hastily flashed aside, shifting three zhang away, and simultaneously stored the crossbow into his storage ring.

Nothing unusual happened. The faint, elusive scent of sulfur also disappeared.

"No wonder there were no menial disciples working in the herb garden this morning. So it was your doing!" Wei Yuning muttered to himself.

He had originally wanted to return immediately to the safe cave in the valley of Elixir Peak, but after some thought, he decided to stay and continue the work he had been doing.

If he had to hide even inside Cloud Concealment Sect, what would be the point?

Having caught ten Moon Centipede Bugs, Wei Yuning unhurriedly left Elixir Peak and headed for Wind Lotus Court.

He was in a bad mood today, so he did not intend to leave the Moon Centipede Bugs for the herb garden, nor did he plan to in the future. In any case, according to the herb garden's rules, this kind of income belonged to the disciple himself.

Having prepared the Moon Centipede Bug sauce, Wei Yuning considered his main work for the day done. The remaining time, aside from cultivation, would be spent handling some miscellaneous matters.

Battles between life and death were the most effective at stimulating a cultivator's potential.

At the dawn of germination, the heart moves in response — this is called Heart Stirring. The Heart Stirring stage is extremely important, determining a cultivator's future direction of cultivation. The type of Heart Spring formed is closely related to the cultivator's spiritual root, temperament, experiences, interests, and so on.

The heart moving in response is in fact the thought that points directly to one's true heart.

Today's battle gave Wei Yuning his own thoughts on a cultivation direction that had previously been hazy and unclear.

Sitting in the pavilion, Wei Yuning once again entered the ethereal state of merging with the earth.

By noon, Man Niu had returned to Cloud Concealment Sect, arriving right at mealtime. He had wanted to find Wei Yuning to scrounge some good food, but was unable to contact him, so he had no choice but to go alone to the grand dining hall of Elixir Peak to eat.

Fellow disciples from the ellixir room who knew him greeted Man Niu one after another. Compared to being an invisible man in the past, he was now immeasurably better off. At first, Man Niu found this situation exciting and novel, but after a period of time, he began to take it for granted, while also gaining some new insights.

The cultivation world ultimately respected strength above all. Perhaps he was highly regarded by everyone today, but if he still remained at the Foundation Establishment stage after the age of fifty, he would likely once again suffer the disdain of his fellow disciples.

Having figured out this crucial point, he had become increasingly steady and composed these days, and his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage realm showed faint signs of loosening. If he could enter Foundation Establishment Late Stage in the near future, he would surpass the cultivation progress of most fellow disciples, leaving only half a step between him and the standard for inner sect disciples. That way, he could also hold his head high in front of Qing Fei.

"Big Dumb Ox, over here!" a crisp voice rang out.

Sure enough, his wish had come true — the moment he returned to the sect, he saw Qing Fei, his childhood sweetheart.

Approaching her, Man Niu noticed that Qing Fei's eyes were red and could not help asking in confusion, "... Senior Sister Qing Fei, what's wrong?"

"Boohoo, Brother Da Niu, someone bullied me!" Qing Fei cried.

This was a green ocean.

The pale green seawater composed of spiritual liquid, unique to wood-element spiritual roots, and vine-like, deep green, slender seaweed swayed quietly in the tranquil seawater. Above the sea was a sky with rings of wood-grained texture, peaceful and serene.

In the center of the vast sea, there was a deep pool. At the very center of the pool stood a giant ancient golden pine. Its roots were anchored deep in the unfathomable depths of the pool, while its crown rose above the sea surface. Upon the crown rested an enormous butterfly.

Pure white giant wings, a gray body, and vortex-like deep eyes.

"Realm Butterfly?"

Wei Yuning started in fright, snapping awake from the wondrous state.

The seawater, the ancient pine, and the Realm Butterfly all vanished without a trace. All around was still a green ocean.

A rich plant fragrance drifted into his nostrils. Wei Yuning came to his senses — everything around him was real. After a moment of stunned blankness, he fell into wild elation. He had advanced — his divine sense and physical body had advanced simultaneously.