Volume 2 Chapter 12

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Volume 2 Chapter 12: Taking Action

Southern Wasteland, a desolate and sorrowful place.

"What exactly is happening in the Southern Wasteland?" Xu Qingfan stood silently on the back of a small hill, lightly gripping a strange black flower in his right hand, and muttered to himself.

This time, Xu Qingfan had come to the Southern Wasteland not only to avenge the destruction of Xu Family Village by killing the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, and to search for the clan members who were lost in the past, but also to collect the peculiar flowers and herbs of the Southern Wasteland.

The Southern Wasteland is said to have hundreds of thousands of desolate mountains that stretch endlessly, and to this day, no one knows what lies at its farthest reach. With such vast expanses and a desolate, dangerous environment, countless unique flowers and herbs naturally thrive here.

Xu Qingfan grew up near the Southern Wasteland and had closely read Yunyouzi’s "Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas—Essays on Plants and Trees." He knew a great deal about the rare flowers and plants there, realizing they were much stronger than what he currently used. For instance, the fearsome Chomper is so terrifying that even the dominant Blood Wolf packs avoid it. Once it blooms, no animal within miles survives, making it one of the most terrifying presences on the edge of the wilds. There’s also the Spiritual Herb, which can absorb Spirit Qi from cultivators and has a wondrous ability. If Xu Qingfan could obtain the seeds of these rare plants and refine them into his body, it would greatly enhance his strength.

The Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast that destroyed Xu Qingfan’s home possessed at least the power of the early Lingji Stage, and might even have reached the terrifying late stage. Although Xu Qingfan had entered the Lingji Stage and was considered a master in the entire cultivation realm, he didn’t dare claim he could certainly defeat such a beast, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.

"To do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools." With this in mind, Xu Qingfan spent the last three days wandering the edge of the Southern Wasteland, hoping to collect enough seeds of rare flowers and plants to greatly enhance his battle power and increase his chances of revenge.

But the results shocked Xu Qingfan!

For instance, the strange purple-blue flower in Xu Qingfan’s hand was originally named "Liuling Flower," and was one of the rare plants from the Southern Wasteland. This flower combined the explosive power of the Explosive Flame Flower and the enchanting mist of the Love Flower, even surpassing them. Upon impact, it caused an explosion more powerful than the Explosive Flame Flower and emitted a mesmerizing mist that couldn’t be blown away. It was one of Xu Qingfan’s priorities during his quest for rare plants in the Southern Wasteland.

However, the flower’s original color should have been pink, but it had turned black, with faint patterns of purple-blue flames on its petals, just like the mutated beasts Xu Qingfan had encountered earlier. Upon probing with Spirit Qi, Xu Qingfan discovered a trace of demonic energy within the flower, as if transformed by the "Nine Transformations of Demonization." Moreover, the seeds from these demonized plants couldn’t be assimilated into his body!

This was the seventeenth occurrence Xu Qingfan had encountered in three days at the edge of the Southern Wasteland. Due to consecutive finds of these mutated plants, his harvest was scarce.

If Xu Qingfan hadn’t found a Liuling Flower seed elsewhere a day before, he would have been very disappointed. However, he’s now more concerned about what causes these rare and even ordinary plants to mutate?

"Nine Transformations of Demonization" is a famous demonic art in the cultivation world. One must know that during the war between immortals and demons nearly ten thousand years ago, the number of demon cultivators under the "Demon Ancestor" was far fewer than that of the cultivators. Yet, they were able to fight on equal terms, largely due to the influence of the "Nine Transformations of Demonization."

The "Nine Transformations of Demonization" is a unique magic created by the "Demon Ancestor" because there were far fewer demon cultivators compared to regular cultivators. This art allows demon cultivators to transform beasts, ordinary people, and even lower-level cultivators into "demon soldiers" under their command, enhancing their strength. The reason the "Demon Ancestor" could move so freely was not only due to his own power but also because he commanded countless demon soldiers.

But what puzzled Xu Qingfan was that the "Nine Transformations of Demonization" is typically used on ordinary people or beasts. However, in the past three days, he noticed that not only had many beasts in the Southern Wasteland transformed, but even many ordinary plants had undergone changes. If the beasts were transformed by a demon cultivator to develop their demon soldiers, why did so many plants also change? Transformed plants are of no use at all.

"What exactly happened in the Southern Wasteland?" Through his observations, Xu Qingfan had determined that the Southern Wasteland had changed dramatically since he left, and he began to worry about his journey.

As Xu Qingfan worried about his kin whose fates were unknown, a strong wave of Spirit Qi suddenly came from afar. From the strength of this Spirit Qi, it seemed that it must have been caused by several experts at the Lingji Stage working together.

"Are there cultivators in the Southern Wasteland? And quite a few of them, all of whom are experts," Xu Qingfan thought as he looked in the direction of the Spirit Qi wave, puzzled. He knew the Southern Wasteland had thin Spirit Qi, so cultivators rarely came there.

Xu Qingfan hesitated for a moment but could not resist his curiosity. He quickly flew in the direction of the Spirit Qi wave using the "Three Meters Green Silk."

When Xu Qingfan arrived where the Spirit Qi wave had originated, he was shocked by what he saw.

Four differently styled cultivators were fighting against numerous black mutant beasts. The scene was spectacular, with beasts charging, powerful spells being constantly cast, and the roars of beasts, shouts of cultivators, and explosions of magic filling the air.

Among the four cultivators, two caught Xu Qingfan’s special attention. One was an old man dressed in a hemp robe with a troubled look on his face, at the middle stage of the Lingji Stage. He was using earth magic to fight, controlling four Rock Golems while casting powerful spells. When the mutant beasts approached, their speed noticeably decreased, indicating he had used a binding spell. He also occasionally cast other attack spells. In front of him, the ground either suddenly collapsed or was covered with countless stone spears, and although mutant beasts attacked endlessly, they could not get within a yard of him.

The other person was a charming young gentleman, with handsome and determined features. He wore a magnificent yet elegant robe, moving with a touch of grace. Though young, he had remarkably reached the early stage of the Lingji Stage and practiced the rare wind-path Dao techniques. In his hand was a fan brimming with Spirit Qi, clearly a high-grade magical weapon. With his wind-path Spirit Qi, he could summon flying sand and stone, wind blades filling the sky. Most of the mutant beasts on the ground were his doing.

Considering their skills, dealing with these mutant beasts should not have been such a hassle, but their opponents were surprisingly strong. The mutant beasts besieging them were several times the number of those that attacked Xu Qingfan last time. Among them were a few massive beasts, constantly charging at the four and spewing flame and venom, particularly noticeable as they were low-level demon beasts transformed through magic, making them difficult to handle.

The more pressing issue was that the delicate-looking girl and the burly man were only at the late stage and middle stage of the Inedia Stage, respectively. Both were injured and struggled against the mutant beasts. To protect these two, the old man and the gentleman were hesitant to use their full strength, creating the current stalemate.

Noticing that the Dao techniques used by the four against the mutant beasts were genuine and from a reputable school, Xu Qingfan decided to help them after seeing the deadlock. Although Xu Qingfan disliked trouble and usually preferred to avoid unnecessary involvement, it didn’t mean he could ignore those in need.

After making up his mind, Xu Qingfan used the "Three Meters Green Silk" to swiftly fly into the sky. Upon using Liuling Flower to quickly deal with a dozen or so mutant eagle griffons trying to attack him, Xu Qingfan stood motionless in the air, his fingers weaving a series of movements. Hundreds of dark red vines sprouted from his fingers, weaving into huge nets that descended from the sky, ensnaring the demonized beasts. Although unable to completely bind them, it temporarily trapped them, reducing the intensity of their ground assault.

These dark red vines were one of Xu Qingfan’s few gains in the Southern Wasteland, known as the "Bloodsucking Vine." Not only were they more resilient than the Iron Vine Xu Qingfan previously used, but the long vines were also covered with countless sharp thorns that could paralyze with their toxins and drain the blood of trapped creatures, making them incredibly powerful.

Without pausing, Xu Qingfan continued, and countless vibrant red flowers drifted from his fingers, transforming into flames upon touching the ground. Though the demonized beasts had grown stronger, their instinctive fear of fire remained. The cascading flames from above threw the mutant beasts into chaos.

This was another extraordinary plant Xu Qingfan discovered in the Southern Wasteland, called "Blowing Flame Flower."

Xu Qingfan could have used the more powerful "Liuling Flower," but its explosion produced a dense fog, and the four unknown cultivators were still battling below. To avoid any misunderstandings, Xu Qingfan opted for the Blowing Flame Flower, which turned into flames. Fortunately, it proved effective too.

After finishing all this, Xu Qingfan quickly flew towards the direction of the four people on the ground with the "Three Meters Green Silk" before the dense flock of enchanted flying creatures could attack him.

Thanks to Xu Qingfan’s earlier assistance, the pressure on the four cultivators on the ground greatly reduced; realizing Xu Qingfan was a friend and not a foe, they quickly opened a gap in their protective circle to let Xu Qingfan in when they saw him heading their way.

Once Xu Qingfan was in the middle of the four people, he didn’t even bother to greet them. His fingers moved in intricate patterns like blooming orchids, forming hundreds of different hand seals in an incredibly short time. Then he placed his hand on the ground and shouted, "Rise!"

Instantly, four towering trees rose from the ground around them. These trees looked like willows, as their branches were covered with countless twigs. However, upon closer inspection, they didn’t seem like ordinary willows because their trunks were much thicker and the hanging branches were wider and longer.

As the four companions marveled at the strange Taoist spell Xu Qingfan suddenly cast, something happened that left them stunned. The willow-like branches of the four trees began to sway violently as if transformed into countless iron whips, lashing at the charging mutated beasts and sending them flying back. Every beast struck was severely wounded, some even had their skulls cracked.

These four willow-like trees were the rare plants Xu Qingfan had long been unable to use— the "Whomping Willow."