Chapter 171: The Return Path

"Please, Daoist, speak your mind!"

Zhang Nuo stared unblinkingly at the old Daoist, calculating in his heart what questions the other might ask.

"Actually, it is nothing much, it is just that this medicinal prescription of yours is far too strange. This poor Daoist considers himself to have practiced alchemy for many years and to have some slight understanding of the attainments of pills, yet I have been unable to guess what marvelous use this pill has!"

Seeing that Zhang Nuo was not deliberately concealing anything, the old Daoist spoke slowly.

"Oh, this! Hehe! I will not hide it from you, Daoist. This pill is named 'Nine-Turn Heaven-Returning Pill'. When one is at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage and charging toward the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, it increases the probability of opening the second Divine Sea!"

With a light laugh, Zhang Nuo said slowly. Now that the pills were in his hands, telling the other party a bit about this pill would do no harm, and it would also be beneficial for drawing the two closer! From this alchemy session, it was not hard to see that the old Daoist had already reached a certain realm in the refining of pills; who knows, he might even need to ask for his help in the future.

Even if he did not say it, with the old Daoist's experience of growing up in piles of pills, he would eventually guess a few things later on. After all, the other party had already memorized the prescription; it was just a matter of spending time to ponder it.

The old Daoist took a slight breath. He had completely not expected that this white pill named 'Nine-Turn Heaven-Returning Pill' would actually have such miraculous effects!

"You are truly a master, Daoist! To be able to obtain such a prescription!"

Smiling in astonishment at Zhang Nuo, the old Daoist re-examined the young cultivator before him. No matter how one looked at it, the other did not seem like a cultivator who possessed strange items.

Zhang Nuo did not say more, instead taking out five thousand Spirit Stones and handing them to the old Daoist. After exchanging a few more polite words, he drove his Flying Magic Tool and flew off in the direction of the Tianjiang Plain.

Now that the pills were in hand, the next step was to go into seclusion and practice, striving to advance to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage as soon as possible.

Watching the speck of light gradually disappear on the horizon, the old Daoist shook his head and smiled bitterly! He had been at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage for decades and had never been able to charge into the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Recalling the prescription for the 'Nine-Turn Heaven-Returning Pill', his heart felt a bit itchy. The second Divine Sea—this was a beautiful fantasy with extreme temptation!

But the old Daoist also understood in his heart that he had no way to gather the materials needed to refine the pill. Even if he had the prescription in his hand, it could only be treated as a piece of waste paper!

Zhang Nuo flew all the way, his mood happy to the extreme. Now that he had two 'Nine-Turn Heaven-Returning Pills' in his hand, the probability of opening the third Divine Sea had increased a bit more.

By the third day of flying, Zhang Nuo was about to enter the Tianjiang Plain. Only then did his long-taut heart finally relax. Ever since he had fought with that Demon Sect cultivator, he had been deeply afraid of encountering Demon Sect cultivators again on the way back.

But fortunately! After flying for three consecutive days, he had not even seen the shadow of a Demon Sect cultivator! Wrapped in a layer of faint spiritual light, Zhang Nuo was now eager to return home; he truly wanted to return to the Nanxuan Sect in one breath and then begin seclusion! At the thought of the Nanxuan Sect, he naturally thought of Zhuge Qing. For some reason, every frown and smile of the young girl was something he simply could not forget!

Just at this moment, he saw two streaks of light flying rapidly from the direction of the Tianjiang Plain. It looked like cultivators driving magic tools in flight.

Zhang Nuo looked up and saw that there was black energy surging within the two streaks of light; those black energies were clearly Demonic Qi! He had not expected that just as he was about to enter the Tianjiang Plain, he would actually encounter two Demon Sect cultivators.

His heart sank slightly. Zhang Nuo took the Nine Dragon Sword Case out of his Storage Bag, slung it over his back, turned the direction of the magic tool under his feet, and charged toward the two Demon Sect cultivators.

Now that he knew the cultivators of the Five Great Demon Mountains were capturing Foundation Establishment stage cultivators everywhere, Zhang Nuo was afraid that these two might have captured a cultivator on the Tianjiang Plain, so he immediately closed in.

In truth, Zhang Nuo was not a person who liked to meddle in other people's business, but he was now very close to the Tianjiang Plain. Even if something really happened, he had the confidence that he could escape back to the Nanxuan Sect.

Another reason was the cultivation level of the two Demon Sect cultivators opposite him. Judging from the light flashing during their flight, these two were at most at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage. Zhang Nuo felt very confident about dealing with two existences of the same rank.

Of the two Demon Sect cultivators in flight, one was an old man, over seventy years old, with a large black mark on his forehead shaped like some kind of monster. The cultivator flying beside him was a middle-aged man in his early forties. This person was bald, and his shiny head bloomed with a pale white light under the reflection of the sun.

Behind the bald Demon Sect cultivator, he also carried a large black bag, which was bulging with something unknown. The two were very pleased and were flying toward the direction of the Five Great Demon Mountains when they suddenly discovered a streak of light charging toward them, and their expressions changed immediately.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Nuo and the two Demon Sect cultivators met, stopping at a distance of more than ten zhang apart. After seeing Zhang Nuo's cultivation level clearly, the old Demon Sect cultivator with the black mark on his head burst into loud laughter. At the same time, he took out something that looked like an Array Disk from his bosom.

Just glancing down at it, he said to the bald Demon Sect cultivator beside him:

"Junior Brother! We have made a huge profit this time! This brat in front of us is actually still a virgin boy! And his cultivation has reached the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage! Another one of our tasks is checked off!"

Upon hearing this, the bald Demon Sect cultivator was also greatly delighted. He reached out and stroked his bald head, and bursts of eerie, cold laughter almost resounded through the sky.

Zhang Nuo stood on his Flying Magic Tool, and with a sweep of his gaze, he saw the thing that looked like an Array Disk in the old man's hand. The Demon Sect cultivator who had been called Young Master previously had also held this thing in his hand. It seemed they were of the same group!

Thinking of this, Zhang Nuo flew forward a bit more. At this time, the distance between the two sides was less than a few zhang! He saw that there seemed to be something squirming inside the black bag on the bald Demon Sect cultivator's back!

"Release the cultivator in your bag, and I may spare your lives!"

Zhang Nuo stood with his hands behind his back, looking righteous and stern.

"Haha! I say, brat! You are too arrogant! You even want us to release the person! Whether you can leave yourself is another matter!"

A ray of light flashed across the bald Demon Sect cultivator's shiny head, and the flesh on his face trembled from his loud laughter. He looked as if he had heard a huge joke! He turned his head back and said to the old man beside him:

"Senior Brother, this person is left to you!"

The old man with the black mark on his forehead just smiled slightly and, unhurriedly, took out a whip about a zhang long from his Storage Bag! This whip was very special; it was snow-white all over, as if it were made of human bones. With a light movement, it would emit a 'crack-crack' sound like bones.

"Leave it to this senior brother!"

As the old man spoke, he looked at Zhang Nuo opposite him. At the same time, a large amount of pure black Demonic Qi surged out from his body, wrapping around the bone whip in his hand.

With a soft 'crack' sound, the bone whip in the old man's hand became as if alive, its form slightly upright, like a large snake with black energy rising from its body!

Because he had fought a two-headed snake in the Trial Ground before, Zhang Nuo had always had some resistance, or one could even say fear, toward snake-type demonic beasts!

Seeing the bone whip in the old man's hand turn into a snake shape, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. At this moment, the old man's Flying Magic Tool moved, and he charged toward Zhang Nuo. At the same time, he shook the bone whip wrapped in black energy in his hand. With a few consecutive 'crack' sounds, the bone whip suddenly became straight, like a long, giant spear, attacking Zhang Nuo's heart.

Seeing the bone whip strike, Zhang Nuo did not dodge. His Divine Sense swept rapidly over the bone whip, and he gained an understanding of the power of this Magic Treasure.

His hand seals changed repeatedly, and a soft roar suddenly came from his mouth. Nine white lines shot out rapidly from the Nine Dragon Sword Case on Zhang Nuo's back! These white lines looked ordinary, but they were extremely fast, and in almost an instant, they collided with the attacking bone whip.

Only hearing a few 'pop-pop' explosive sounds, the bone whip, which seemed to have a powerful attack, was actually destroyed by the nine white lines by more than half! The old man with the black mark on his forehead was greatly shocked. Although this bone whip was not a heavy treasure, its degree of toughness was not something easily severed.

When the white light dissipated, the old man finally saw clearly that what had destroyed the bone whip just now were actually nine Flying Swords. These swords were completely wrapped in Spirit Power, and their appearance was extremely ordinary! He had not expected them to have such great power!

Just as the old man was about to give up on the bone whip and sacrifice another Magic Treasure, Zhang Nuo had already taken action. How could he allow the old man to attack him again?

His hand seals changed one after another, and at the same time, three Dharma techniques were quickly cast, sinking directly into the interior of three of the Flying Swords! In the blink of an eye, the three Flying Swords transformed within the spiritual light into three silver dragons a zhang long.

As soon as the dragon roar rose, the three silver dragons charged toward the old man in unison! Because the distance between Zhang Nuo and the old man was very close, and the speed of the Flying Swords after being spiritualized was fast!

So, before the old man could make any reaction, the three silver dragons passed through his body. 'Swish!' There was no earth-shattering explosion, but the old man's body disappeared into the void the moment the silver dragons passed through, as if he had evaporated from the human world. Even the Storage Bag and other items on his body disappeared without a trace, leaving only the Flying Magic Tool he had originally been stepping on.

However, the moment the old man fell, the Flying Magic Tool lost its spiritual light and fell straight from mid-air to the ground.

The bald Demon Sect cultivator who had been watching the battle from behind could simply not believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes rapidly, and when he discovered that everything before him was real, a haze of fear shrouded his entire body!

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, the bald Demon Sect cultivator's figure slowly retreated. He had now witnessed Zhang Nuo's divine abilities and could no longer think of fighting him.

The young cultivator opposite him left no room for maneuver in his strikes; every move was a killing blow. Now, besides running away, there was nothing better than that!

Turning around, the bald Demon Sect cultivator wanted to flee immediately. Zhang Nuo stood on his Flying Sword, his eyebrows lifting slightly!

"Want to leave! Leave your dog life behind first!"

Previously, he had been somewhat suppressed by the Demon Sect cultivator who used the Black Blood Mist, and Zhang Nuo vented all his anger onto the bald Demon Sect cultivator.

Seeing him wanting to flee, he sneered, a cold murderous intent flashing in his eyes!