Chapter 181

"An extra person is always an extra hope for success and survival. Besides, I came here not only for Ji Ji Wenyue, but also for myself," Xia Daoming said.

A look of astonishment flashed across Shang Rui's face.

"You also said that my cultivation aptitude is very mediocre, and there is almost no hope for me to reach Foundation Establishment in this life. But I don't believe it; I firmly believe that my fate is determined by me, not by the heavens! Therefore, I must strive for my own cultivation opportunity," Xia Daoming continued.

Upon hearing this, Shang Rui was finally greatly moved, and the way she looked at Xia Daoming suddenly changed.

Hmph, you little thing, Master Xia doesn't believe that I can't shock you by bringing out such a hot-blooded line as "my fate is determined by me, not by the heavens"!

Seeing Shang Rui greatly moved, Xia Daoming couldn't help but feel quite proud, but he continued: "The cost of hiring people to go to Black Black Mingshan must be high. I hope you can also give me a reward equivalent to that of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Hearing this, Shang Rui finally understood what Xia Daoming meant when he said it was also for himself.

Suddenly, she felt very ashamed, having previously always thought that the man in front of her would drag Ji Ji Wenyue down.

A man of such stature, how could he deign to drag his own woman down? How could he deign to live off a woman?

Poor Shang Rui didn't know that Xia Daoming had indeed lived off Ji Ji Wenyue for a period of time.

He had also thought many times about living off a woman and lying flat.

"Good! You have great ambition. The path of cultivation is inherently an act of defying the heavens; even with high talent, if you don't advance despite the difficulties, it is all in vain.

Although your aptitude is mediocre, you have this great perseverance, and perhaps you can carve out a bloody path in the future. Very well, I will give you a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward for this trip," Shang Rui said in a deep voice after a moment.

"Deal. I'll come back tomorrow morning." Xia Daoming stood up and walked out very decisively.

Shang Rui hesitated for a moment, then actually saw him out personally.

The next day.

Everyone met at Bai Ze Residence.

Gongyang Du was a handsome, leisurely man who looked like jade, making people feel a sense of intimacy upon meeting him; he appeared to be only in his thirties.

When Gongyang Du and Xia Daoming met at Bai Ze Residence, both were astonished.

The former was astonished that there was suddenly an extra Qi Refining sixth-layer cultivator on this trip.

And the latter was astonished that he had damn well bumped into someone wearing the same outfit.

Both were wearing white Flowing Cloud Immortal Robes.

But the same white Flowing Cloud Immortal Robe worn on the two of them looked different: Gongyang Du looked like an immortal descended to the world, untainted by worldly dust, while Xia Daoming looked very ordinary, a mere mortal.

"I am Gongyang Du. May I ask how to address this brother?" After his astonishment, Gongyang Du quickly smiled and bowed to Xia Daoming, without the slightest airs of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"So it is Fellow Daoist Gongyang. I am Xia Daoming," Xia Daoming returned the bow.

"Eh, Daoming, why are you here too?" Just then, Hu Hu Qiuyi also walked in and was very surprised to see Xia Daoming.

"Daoming is a dual cultivator of Dao and martial arts. Besides his Qi Refining sixth-layer cultivation, he is also a Martial Arts Grandmaster. I specifically invited him to help this time," Shang Rui explained.

Xia Daoming smiled slightly and unreservedly revealed his blood energy and strength aura of twelve regular meridians.

"I didn't expect you to be a Martial Arts Grandmaster, Daoming!" Hu Hu Qiuyi said in surprise.

Previously, with Hu Hu Qiuyi's cultivation, she had noticed that Xia Daoming should be a dual cultivator, but because Xia Daoming had restrained his blood energy and strength aura, she couldn't be bothered to deliberately pry.

As a result, she didn't expect the other party to be a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

This was truly beyond her expectations.

"The environment of Black Black Mingshan is special and has a certain influence on us, but it has no influence on a Martial Arts Grandmaster. He can play a significant role," Shang Rui explained specifically.

"That is true. With this, we have gained another layer of certainty!" Gongyang Du smiled.

——

Black Black Mingshan is located at the border between the Great Ming Kingdom and the Wu Yue Kingdom.

Mountains stand tall, layer upon layer, one after another, piercing the clouds; it is a natural barrier between the two countries.

Black Black Mingshan is different from other places; most of the mountains are black.

Many places in the mountains are shrouded in black mist all year round. In those places, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is often very unstable. When cultivators enter, not only is their magic power affected, but their spiritual sense perception is also greatly interfered with and restricted.

And such places often hide ferocious and powerful demonic beasts.

The deeper one goes into Black Black Mingshan, the more places shrouded in this black mist there are, and the more powerful the demonic beasts become.

However, Black Black Mingshan is different from Cangmang Mountain.

This mountain is scattered with many spiritual veins, and many precious spiritual herbs grow in the mountains, and many precious ores are hidden there.

Furthermore, the demonic beasts in this mountain are nourished by spiritual energy, or by chance have consumed spiritual herbs, causing their flesh and blood to change; a considerable portion can be used as medicine, and their claws, teeth, and leather armor can also be used to refine magic tools or even magic treasures.

Therefore, although Black Black Mingshan is very dangerous, under the temptation of huge profits, there is no lack of cultivators entering to explore and seek opportunities every year, and there are even some cultivators who specialize in this high-risk profession of hunting.

However, it is rumored that great demons are entrenched deep in Black Black Mingshan, or that some part of the deep mountains leads to the Demon World.

If a Jin Dan level cultivator enters the mountain to hunt, it will alarm the great demons.

In history, there have been several instances where Jin Dan cultivators entered the mountain to hunt, drawing out great demons, which triggered fierce battles, and later even Immortal Infant ancestors were drawn into it.

Since then, very few Jin Dan cultivators or even Immortal Infant ancestors have entered Black Black Mingshan.

Two days later.

Xia Daoming and the other three arrived in the sky near Black Black Mingshan by flying boat.

Black Black Mingshan is towering and undulating, shrouded in black mist; looking from afar, it is like ancient ferocious beasts crouching on the earth, waiting for prey to throw themselves into the net.

From afar, Xia Daoming faintly felt an ancient, wild aura rushing towards him, making him feel a inexplicable palpitation.

It is really possible that great danger is hidden deep in this mountain!

No wonder it is rumored that great battles have occurred here, and now Jin Dan and above cultivators will not visit this mountain personally.

Qi Refining cultivators and Foundation Establishment cultivators absolutely dare not go deep into this mountain.

Xia Daoming's expression was grave.

Gongyang Du and Hu Hu Qiuyi put away the smiles on their faces.

"Let's go down and enter Black Black Mingshan from the ground," Shang Rui said, a hint of anticipation in her grave eyes.

"Many demonic birds live in Black Black Mingshan, and they often move in groups. There is no cover in the air. If we rashly drive the flying boat into the sky of Black Black Mingshan like this, we will inevitably attract the siege of a large number of demonic birds," Gongyang Du specifically explained to Xia Daoming.

Along the way, Gongyang Du had always been very gentle and elegant, taking meticulous care of Xia Daoming.

At first, Xia Daoming had a great favorable impression of him, feeling that he was truly a rare clear stream in the cultivation world, the demeanor of an immortal in people's fantasies.

But after two days of getting along.

Xia Daoming had already felt a bit creeped out.

He suspected that this person had some issues with his orientation.

Starting yesterday, he had consciously kept his distance and tried to appear as cold as possible.

As a result, Gongyang Du didn't seem to notice at all, always maintaining a smile, still caring for and taking care of him, without the slightest impatience.

This made Xia Daoming think of Wu Yue Buqun, and he became secretly vigilant.

The flying boat landed quickly.

Shang Rui put away the flying boat, and the four of them followed the map's markings and entered the outer perimeter of the Black Black Mingshan range along the ground.

When Shang Rui's flying boat landed, a cloud of mist dispersed in the high sky dozens of miles away, revealing a flying boat.

Standing on the flying boat were a withered old man and a beautiful young woman.

On the withered old man's shoulder stood a mouse with wings, which was the Heavenly Fragrance Mouse.

"The hunting ground has arrived!" The withered old man curled his lips into a cold smile.

"Father, are you really not planning to wait until after finding the Dark You Shui Jiao and the Dark Yuan Grass before making a move?" the beautiful young woman asked.

"Where is a Dark You Shui Jiao that grew a fork fifty years ago easy to deal with? It's better to safely rob the old woman Shang Rui first, and wait until our cultivation has advanced further before plotting the other matter," the withered old man said.

Black Black Mingshan is vast and boundless. Although there is no lack of people entering the mountain to seek opportunities and hunt every year, once they enter the mountain range, they are like stones thrown into the sea, disappearing in the blink of an eye, and the probability of meeting in Black Black Mingshan is extremely low.

Xia Daoming's group seemed to be no exception.

After entering the mountain range for more than ten miles, they didn't encounter any cultivators seeking opportunities or hunting, but they did encounter several batches of low-tier demonic beasts.

None of the four made a move.

Demonic beasts of this level basically had no value to them.

Following the instructions on the map, the four of them advanced another four or five miles in a formation with Shang Rui and Xia Daoming in front, and Hu Hu Qiuyi and Gongyang Du in the back.

At this moment, there was sudden movement ahead, and a man and a woman appeared.

As soon as these two appeared, they didn't waste words and flicked their hands towards Shang Rui and Xia Daoming.

A ring burning with green flames whistled towards Shang Rui.

This ring was not only extremely fast, but it also grew in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it could encircle an area of an acre.

At the same time, nine flying needles flashing with blood-red light shot towards Shang Rui like lightning, even faster.

If Shang Rui made a move to block the flying needles, the Green Fire Ring could take advantage of the situation to trap her.

Fortunately, Shang Rui had been highly vigilant since entering Black Black Mingshan, so she didn't panic when she saw this and immediately flicked her hand as well.

Two magic tools were released simultaneously.

A turtle-shell-shaped magic tool broke through the air, blocking the blood-red flying needles.

A delicate pagoda burning with fierce flames whistled out, becoming as large as a high tower in the blink of an eye, and crashed towards the Green Fire Ring.

"Sister Rui, be careful!"

"Daoming, be careful!"

Almost simultaneously, Hu Hu Qiuyi and Gongyang Du shouted a reminder, their magic power surging throughout their bodies, their murderous intent fully exposed.

One released a flying sword, and the other released a bead radiating colorful light.

Once the flying sword and the bead were released, they didn't help block the man and woman, but one killed Shang Rui, who was close at hand, with lightning speed, and the other killed Xia Daoming.

Once cultivators reach the Foundation Establishment realm, their sensitivity to murderous intent and fluctuations in magic power is extremely keen.

Therefore, even at close range, it is extremely difficult to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But this moment was different.

Shang Rui had to block the man and woman who suddenly attacked, and at this moment, she naturally assumed that the murderous intent and suddenly erupting magic power of Hu Hu Qiuyi and Gongyang Du were aimed at the man and woman.

Therefore, Shang Rui didn't guard her back at all.

But when the flying sword attacked with lightning speed, Shang Rui immediately sensed the sword energy and murderous intent penetrating her body, and her hair stood on end, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Even her mind went blank for a moment, unable to process what was happening.

She didn't know why things had turned out this way.

Just at this moment, a mirror appeared in the sky.

The surface of the mirror emitted a hazy light, shining towards the flying sword.

The flying sword paused slightly in the air, as if someone had been mentally dazed for a moment, then broke free from the shackles of the light and continued to kill Shang Rui.

Shang Rui was, after all, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In just the blink of an eye.

She had already regained her composure.

Her body flew and shifted rapidly to the left, increasing the distance from the flying sword.

At the same time, taking advantage of this opportunity, a green light lit up on Shang Rui's body, turning into a piece of green tree bark full of patterns and wrinkles.

"Boom!"

The flying sword stabbed into the green tree bark, emitting a muffled impact sound.

At the same time.

On the other side.

The gentle smile on Gongyang Du's face had long since vanished, replaced by a ferocious and bloodthirsty cold smile.

He seemed to have already seen the gorgeous scene of his bead smashing into Xia Daoming's head, the head cracking, and brains and blood splattering everywhere.

But in the blink of an eye, the ferocious cold smile on his face turned into horror and disbelief.

The man in front of him seemed to have already anticipated all of this.

Turning around suddenly, a mirror emitting hazy light soared into the sky, shining towards the flying sword, and at the same time, he had a saber and a spear in his left and right hands.

One saber strike was like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, slashing fiercely at his light-radiating bead.

The spear thrust out like a dragon, stabbing straight at him.

The two were close at hand.

The speed at which the man in front of him struck far exceeded Gongyang Du's imagination.

By the time he reacted and should have released a defensive magic treasure, he already felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

Looking down, he saw a hole the size of a bowl in his stomach, with blood gushing out.

Behind him, a long spear turned into a black dragon, its remaining force undiminished, breaking through the air to kill Hu Hu Qiuyi, who was three feet away.

"You!" Gongyang Du pointed at Xia Daoming with trembling hands, unable to believe even in death how a kill that was supposed to be a sure thing had turned into him being killed instead.

Almost simultaneously.

On the other side.

Hu Hu Qiuyi, whose sword had been blocked by the green tree bark magic tool, suddenly changed her expression. Just as she secretly muttered "bad," she felt a cold murderous intent rushing at her from the side.

Hu Hu Qiuyi's face changed drastically.

Without thinking, she turned the flying sword to block the rushing black dragon.

"Clang!"

The flying sword and the black dragon collided fiercely in the air, emitting the sound of metal clashing.

Hu Hu Qiuyi's face changed drastically again, her eyes revealing incomparable horror.

A surge of blood rushed to her throat, almost spilling out.

At the same time, the true qi and magic power within her meridians were in turmoil.

The power of the black dragon transformed from Xia Daoming's strength far exceeded her imagination.

"No..."

Subconsciously, Hu Hu Qiuyi screamed.

But before the "good" could be shouted, a black saber light cut across her waist.

The transformation of the roles of hunter and prey was too fast.

Even though Hu Hu Qiuyi was an old hunter, she was too late to react this time.

She felt a pain below her waist.

Then she saw herself sliding down from her waist and hips involuntarily.

"Ah!" The withered old man on the opposite side saw this scene and let out a shrill, mournful howl like a lone wolf.

"Mother! Husband!" The beautiful young woman followed with a shrill scream.

"How could your strength be so powerful, and how did you know we were going to attack you and Shang Rui?" At this moment, Hu Hu Qiuyi didn't seem to hear the shrill screams of the old man and the young woman, her eyes fixed on Xia Daoming, filled with shock and unwillingness.

Gongyang Du hadn't even taken his last breath at this time, his eyes also fixed on Xia Daoming.

The seamless coordination and strike not only failed, but they were also counter-killed by this Martial Arts Grandmaster whom they had secretly looked down upon all along the way.

This was a humiliation they couldn't let go of even in death!

"You shouldn't have gotten so close to me; you underestimated the close-quarters combat ability of a Martial Arts Grandmaster! As for how I knew in advance, it was actually the Heavenly Fragrance Mouse on that old man's shoulder that reminded me!" Xia Daoming said lightly.

"Gotten too close! Heavenly Fragrance Mouse!" Gongyang Du and Hu Hu Qiuyi's eyes widened upon hearing Xia Daoming's explanation, and Hu Hu Qiuyi spat out a mouthful of blood.

She was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and one who was about to touch the threshold of late-stage Foundation Establishment!

As a result, she was killed because of these two reasons!

How could she be reconciled?

"Ah!" The withered old man roared to the sky again, and at some point, his hand had grabbed the Heavenly Fragrance Mouse on his shoulder, completely ignoring its shrill "squeaking" screams, and grabbed it into a mass of flesh and blood alive.

"I must kill you! I must kill you!" The withered old man's gaze towards Xia Daoming was filled with bone-deep hatred.

"Ping'er, you hold Shang Rui down; Father is going to kill this brat to avenge your mother and Gongyang Du!" Soon, the bone-deep hatred in the withered old man's eyes turned into calmness.

Hearing her husband's words, Hu Hu Qiuyi suddenly realized something was wrong. Xia Daoming's ability to kill her just now wasn't just because she had gotten too close, nor was it because he was a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

A Martial Arts Grandmaster could never possess such terrifying power, to the point where a single strike caused the true qi and magic power in her meridians to riot, making her unable to release her defensive magic tool for a time.

Hu Hu Qiuyi wanted to open her mouth to warn her husband and daughter, but she couldn't catch her breath anymore, her eyes bulging with unwillingness, and she stopped breathing completely.

"Daoming, you go first; they can't keep me here!" Shang Rui gritted her teeth and fully activated the Crimson Flame Exquisite Pagoda, constantly crashing it into the old man's Green Fire Ring.

At the same time, a green flying sword killed its way out, transforming into sword shadows that filled the sky to block the woman's blood-red flying needles.

The Mysterious Turtle Shield was retracted by her and protected her in front.

The green tree bark had already been put away.

Alchemists are wealthy, and naturally have many magic tools, and each one is a top-tier magic tool with immense power.

However, with Shang Rui's spiritual sense, controlling three at the same time was already her limit.

"Good, take care!" Seeing Shang Rui block the two's attack magic tools, Xia Daoming leaped and ran back the way he came.

Uh!

Shang Rui's expression was astonished.

This was too decisive!

"Where are you running!" The withered old man wouldn't let Xia Daoming go, retracted the Green Fire Ring, and with wind under his feet, chased after Xia Daoming like lightning.

Shang Rui naturally wouldn't let the withered old man go; the Crimson Flame Exquisite Pagoda whistled away, its underside opening to cover an area of an acre, with flames raging inside, intending to trap the old man.

But the old man was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he ran out of the attack range of the Crimson Flame Exquisite Pagoda.

Shang Rui wanted to chase after him, but the woman's blood-light flying needles were nine in number, fast as lightning, and when controlled, they were dense and filled the sky with blood light; as long as one was slightly careless and the blood needles found an opening, it would be absolutely dangerous.

Therefore, even though Shang Rui was anxious, she didn't dare to rashly put down the woman to chase and intercept the old man, and could only fight while retreating in the direction Xia Daoming had fled.

It was just that Xia Daoming and the old man were both very fast, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

In the mountain ridge, Xia Daoming moved with agility, his speed very fast.

But the withered old man was even faster.

The distance between the two was getting closer and closer.

In the blink of an eye, it had been narrowed to a distance of ten feet.

"Go to hell, brat!"

The withered old man stared at Xia Daoming's back, his eyes revealing a bloodthirsty and ferocious light; he slowed his pace, mobilized his magic power, and released the Green Fire Ring.

The Green Fire Ring burned with raging flames, constantly expanding, and whistled to trap Xia Daoming's head.

Seeing the Green Fire Ring had expanded to an acre in size and flown over the area where Xia Daoming was, the withered old man showed a ferocious smile, a hint of relief in his eyes, as if he had already seen Xia Daoming trapped by the Green Fire Ring and then burned to ashes alive.

But just at this moment, a mirror appeared above Xia Daoming's head, shining at the Green Fire Ring above his head.

This mirror was different from ordinary magic tools; its power had a great deal to do with the controller's spiritual sense.

Xia Daoming's spiritual sense was powerful, and when this magic tool was used by him, its power was not small.

The Green Fire Ring, which was falling rapidly, paused slightly when shone upon by the mirror light.

In between, a figure flashed like a ghost, having already escaped the area covered by the Green Fire Ring.

Looking at that figure moving like a ghost, not flying away from him, but flying towards him, the withered old man was slightly taken aback, and then a strong sense of unease rose in his heart. Subconsciously, he wanted to retreat, and at the same time, he flipped his palm and had an extra green bead.

The withered old man poured his magic power into the bead as if it were worthless.

The bead suddenly radiated light, actually turning into a green light shield that enveloped his whole body.

"Boom!"

The green light shield had just formed when a saber had already slashed fiercely at it.

The green light shield dented violently, its light scattering, but it didn't collapse. However, the huge impact force sent the withered old man and the shield flying, crashing fiercely into several large trees behind him.

"Impossible!"

The withered old man's eyes were full of disbelief and horror, and blood uncontrollably flowed slowly from the corner of his mouth.

He was only one step away from touching the threshold of late-stage Foundation Establishment, and now he had fully released the top-tier defensive magic tool, the Green Light Bead, which he had obtained at a great cost. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it difficult to break through in a short time, yet this young man in front of him had almost slashed open this green light shield with one saber strike.

Not only that, but protected by the green light shield, he had been impacted by a huge force, causing his blood energy and magic power to riot.

While the withered old man was in horror, Xia Daoming had already approached within two or three feet. He was wearing black dragon-scale armor transformed from his strength, protecting his whole body tightly. Holding the saber with both hands, his whole body exuding violent power, he slashed at the green light shield one saber strike after another.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The withered old man desperately poured magic power into the Green Light Bead, and even spat essence blood onto the Green Light Bead as if it were worthless, trying to block Xia Daoming's violent attack.

But at such a close distance, Xia Daoming's physical attack power was truly too terrifying.

"Boom!"

The green light shield suddenly exploded like a balloon.

"No!"

The withered old man let out a shrill and unwilling cry.

By this moment, he had completely understood that it wasn't him chasing and killing the other party, but the other party fearing that he would be scared off by his strength, so he turned and ran, deliberately showing weakness first to lure him into chasing.

But until his head flew into the sky, looking at the headless corpse below and the young man holding the saber, the old man still couldn't understand how a Martial Arts Grandmaster could possess such terrifying strength.

Slashing the withered old man to death with one saber strike, Xia Daoming couldn't bother to loot the corpse, directly putting the old man's body, as well as the Green Flame Ring and Green Light Bead that had fallen on the ground, into his storage ring, and then continued to gallop towards the place where they had been fighting just now.

(End of this chapter)