Volume 4 Chapter 44

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Volume 4 Chapter 44: Hints

Thirty miles south of the cultivator market stood a mountain called "Jingxiu Mountain," known for its beautiful scenery and lush greenery, a perfect spot to cool off in summer. However, two hundred years ago, "Jingxiu Mountain" was suddenly shrouded in a blue mist, hiding the view inside. Every visitor who attempted to explore the mist found themselves mysteriously back at the starting point soon after entering, and over time, no one came to cool off there anymore. Additionally, since being covered by the blue mist, "Jingxiu Mountain" was often filled with rumbling sounds, and colorful glimmers occasionally appeared, leading people to believe that it had become a place where immortals lived. Gradually, "Jingxiu Mountain" became known as "Immortal Mountain."

Old Beggar’s dwelling was within this "Immortal Mountain." Xu Qingfan thought the blue mist was likely a protective spell cast by Old Beggar at the mountain’s entrance, and the frequent flashes of light and rumblings were probably due to Old Beggar testing the effects of the artifacts she crafted. It was nothing unusual for cultivators to be mistaken for immortals by ordinary people. Wasn’t Xu Qingfan also recently mistaken for a wind deity descended to earth? So, Xu Qingfan didn’t mind it much.

Xu Qingfan’s skill in cloud riding needs no mention, and while Old Beggar was only at the late stage of the Lingji Stage, the blue feather-like artifact under his feet was rather peculiar. It was not only exceptionally agile and effortless to control, but its speed was not much slower than the cloud beneath Xu Qingfan. So, although the thirty-mile distance seemed long, it actually only took them the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Upon reaching Old Beggar’s "Immortal Mountain," Xu Qingfan marveled at the blue mist surrounding the entrance to Old Beggar’s cave dwelling and said, "The ‘Infinite Sea Array’? You certainly are extravagant, Old Beggar, to set up such a formation. With this formation in place, even in these chaotic times, you don’t need to worry much about your safety. As far as I know, breaking this kind of formation would be quite an ordeal even for a Condensed Core Stage cultivator. Paired with a hidden tunnel, even a Condensed Core Stage cultivator wouldn’t be able to affect you in the slightest."

Startled by Xu Qingfan’s words, Old Beggar asked, "A tunnel? What do I need a tunnel for?"

Xu Qingfan explained, "With a tunnel, you could easily escape if someone attacked you."

Old Beggar scoffed, "I had this formation set up to ensure I wouldn’t be disturbed while refining artifacts, not to run away."

Xu Qingfan could only laugh helplessly.

While they were talking, Old Beggar performed a hand gesture and opened a path through the blue mist. He led Xu Qingfan, flying towards the mountains, saying as they went, "About two hundred years ago, a fellow good at setting up formations came to me with a heap of scrap materials, treating them as treasures and asking me to refine artifacts for him. Naturally, I couldn’t be bothered, but that guy promised to set up a mountain protection formation for me if I helped him with the refinement. At the time, I had taken a liking to this ‘Jingxiu Mountain’ and didn’t want to endure the noise of mortals, so I reluctantly agreed. Using his pile of junk materials, I crafted a slightly less junky artifact for him, and in return, he set up this formation for me."

Listening to Old Beggar, Xu Qingfan secretly smiled wryly. Old Beggar was truly unkind when commenting on others, but what would he say about him in the future? Probably something like "a clueless, nonsensical young rascal."

Through their conversation, Old Beggar had already taken Xu Qingfan through the blue mist and into "Jingxiu Mountain." Just as the legends said, the scenery inside was beautiful, with lush greenery everywhere and colorful butterflies fluttering among the flowers. Gentle streams babbled, making one feel delighted at the sight.

In the midst of the yam fields, there stood a stone house covering about ten acres. It appeared rough and did not match the beauty of the mountain landscape. Around the house, wood, stones, and flowers were damaged, creating a scene of disarray. Xu Qingfan, a scholar after reading much poetry, felt an urge to tear down the house. But he knew it must be where Old Beggar worked on his craft, and if he dared to dismantle it, Old Beggar would certainly be furious. Xu Qingfan had no choice but to restrain himself.

Old Beggar seemed uninterested in showing Xu Qingfan the mountain views and flew straight to the stone house, pushing the door open. Xu Qingfan followed inside to find the interior sparse, with only a large copper furnace surrounded by five-element spirit stones. It was evident this was the place for crafting. Other than the furnace, there wasn’t even a table or chair, and he wondered where Old Beggar usually sat for his meditations.

Old Beggar went to the furnace and activated it with a series of hand signs, causing symbols around the furnace to light up. After completing this, he remembered Xu Qingfan’s presence and tossed him a blue token. "I suppose you want to watch me work, but it won’t make sense to you, and I won’t have time to explain. This token lets you pass through the mountain’s protective formations freely. If you’re bored, feel free to leave and come back in three months for your item. Melting the ‘Starry Stone’ is quite tricky, requiring the Nanming Li Fire. Otherwise, it would only take a month or two."

As he spoke, Old Beggar seemed to forget about Xu Qingfan and began talking to himself.

"Perhaps it’s this level of dedication that allows Old Beggar to study the craft so deeply," Xu Qingfan thought, watching Old Beggar busily working, filled with admiration.

Just as Old Beggar had said, the process was beyond Xu Qingfan’s understanding. The techniques and details eluded him as he watched Old Beggar perform a series of movements around the furnace. Under Old Beggar’s guidance, the symbols flickered and changed, until he placed Xu Qingfan’s "Starry Stone" into the furnace and continued his work.

Xu Qingfan, focused on his own training, had some knowledge from books, but he couldn’t claim expertise in crafting. The methods Old Beggar used left him confused. Initially, he hoped to learn something, but soon realized, as Old Beggar predicted, he was feeling bored.

Finally, Xu Qingfan sighed in disappointment and left Old Beggar’s stone house. He walked along the mountain path instead of flying. Ignoring the stone house’s destruction, "Jingxiu Mountain" was indeed a place worth seeing.

Finding a quiet spot, Xu Qingfan sat cross-legged. When he raised his left arm, Little Black, waiting on his shoulder, flew onto his arm with perfect understanding.

Looking at Little Black’s crow-like appearance, Xu Qingfan smiled slightly, then raised his right hand, and the two bottles of "Demon Spirit Pill" he had previously obtained from the market appeared in his hand.

Pouring out a few, Xu Qingfan said to Little Black, "Eat."

Little Black obediently pecked them up one by one.

Then, Xu Qingfan used his Divine Sense to explore inside Little Black, to check for any changes in its body after taking the "Demon Spirit Pill." He discovered that once the pill entered Little Black’s body, it transformed into pure energy, circulating within and gradually dissolving into the deathly aura there. As the medicine integrated, the deathly aura within Little Black also increased.

Noticing this situation, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but feel pleased. He hadn’t expected the "Demon Spirit Pill" to genuinely enhance the deathly aura within Little Black. Although the effect wasn’t as potent as Xu Qingfan directly infusing "Withered qi" into Little Black, it was still another path for Little Black’s evolution. Besides, continuously infusing "Withered qi" would slow down Xu Qingfan’s own power growth.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan poured an entire bottle of "Demon Spirit Pill" onto the ground, letting Little Black eat at its own pace. If it reached its limit, Little Black would stop on its own.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan closed his eyes and continued cultivating the "Flourish Qi" within himself.

…

Time passed unknowingly, and suddenly Xu Qingfan’s body shivered slightly and he awoke sharply from his meditation. He looked outside the mountain protection formation, because he had just sensed that someone was trying to forcibly break through the "Infinite Sea Array" surrounding the mountain to intrude. He was startled, especially since he had previously heard Wan Yusheng’s explanation about the unpredictable situation in the cultivation world, where many rogue cultivators were mysteriously disappearing. Therefore, the identity and purpose of the intruder breaking the formation were intriguing.

"Could it be related to the large number of disappearances in the cultivation world? Or is it Old Beggar’s enemy?"

Xu Qingfan murmured to himself.

At this moment, Xu Qingfan clearly felt that there were about twenty cultivators outside the array, all of them at the Lingji Stage or above. If they were Old Beggar’s enemies, would they really need such a large setup?

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan’s body trembled slightly as he sensed another cultivator flying towards "Jingxiu Mountain." In the blink of an eye, they joined the previous group of cultivators, and their cultivation level was not inferior to Xu Qingfan’s at all.

Noticing this situation, Xu Qingfan’s expression became serious. He turned to look and found that Little Black had already finished eating all the "Demon Spirit Pills" and was now resting with eyes closed. Sensing Xu Qingfan’s gaze, Little Black immediately opened his cold, icy eyes, transforming into a bolt of lightning and flying swiftly to Xu Qingfan’s shoulder.

Xu Qingfan transformed into a gray wind and flew towards the "Infinite Sea Array" outside "Jingxiu Mountain."

Because Xu Qingfan held the blue token given by Old Beggar, he could easily pass through the blue mist of the "Infinite Sea Array," quickly heading toward the group of cultivators breaking the array. He stopped near them, hiding within the blue mist to carefully observe the situation of the formation.

At this moment, those cultivators had stopped breaking the array and were standing in a circle, respectfully on their magical devices, with bowed heads in front of a person in purple.

This person in purple was precisely the cultivator that Xu Qingfan had sensed earlier, whose strength was not inferior to his own. If Xu Qingfan had seen the attire of the core members of the "Ming" organization before, he would have noticed that this person in purple bore a seventy percent resemblance to them, except that their clothing had no golden patterns at the edges, no bells hanging from the shoulders, and no rings on their fingers.

The person in the purple robe didn’t glance at the cultivator beside him; instead, he quietly observed the blue mist in front of him and softly said, "’Infinite Sea Array’? Interesting, I didn’t expect a mere Lingji Stage cultivator to set up such a formation."

As he spoke, he suddenly turned to look at a cultivator not far in front of him and asked, "Are you the one responsible for gathering this cultivator’s information?"

That cultivator felt as if a wild beast had its eyes on him, shuddering as he quickly replied, "Yes."

The person in the purple robe, with a gentle voice, asked again, "Then why didn’t you tell me there was an ‘Infinite Sea Array’ set up outside his cave?"

That cultivator was trembling all over by now, and in a shaking voice said, "I… I’m not well-versed in formations and thought it was just an ordinary one. Please forgive me, Venerable One."

The person in purple seemed to be easy to talk to, nodding slightly after hearing the explanation and then said, "In the future, remember to learn more things; you who gather information must have enough knowledge."

Hearing this, the cultivator couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and quickly said, "I definitely will…"

But before he could finish, a purple flash appeared before him, and his body instantly shattered into pieces, dying unexpectedly.

"Senior Brother!" cried out the cultivator beside him in pain at this sudden turn of events.

At the same time, a few cultivators showed sympathy in their eyes, while most were filled with fear.

The man in purple calmly said, "I’m talking to the others. As for you, since you’ve made a mistake, you must be punished."

As he spoke, the man in purple took out a violet jade bottle and waved his hand at the deceased cultivator’s body. Everyone watched as the spirit and essence blood of the dead cultivator were absorbed into the bottle.

After completing this slowly and methodically, the man in purple waved his hand again, and the cultivator who had cried out for his brother and the three who had shown sympathy also met the same fate. Their bodies were torn apart and their essence blood and spirits were collected.

The remaining dozen cultivators trembled even more as they witnessed these events.

Having done all this, the man in purple examined the jade bottle in his hand and murmured, "The essence blood and spirits of ten cultivators. With this, my mission outside has been accomplished. But since I’m here, I shouldn’t leave empty-handed."

With that, he looked up and addressed the remaining cultivators, "I will be responsible for breaking the ‘Infinite Sea Array’ here, and you will capture the cultivators inside. Surely, I don’t need to do everything myself?"

Hearing this, the remaining cultivators quickly agreed.

Meanwhile, hidden in the blue mist, Xu Qingfan watched the man in purple outside the array treating human life like grass, and felt a chill in his heart. He didn’t expect there to be such figures in the cultivation world.

Observing their conversation, it was clear that the disappearances of many cultivators in the cultivation world over the years were related to the person in the purple outfit outside. But what was his true objective?

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan felt a slight stir in his heart as he recalled Liu Huaxiang’s description of the scene outside Huashan. According to Liu Huaxiang, while collecting blood essence and vengeful spirits on the battlefield, he noticed others in purple attire doing the same. Their appearance was remarkably similar to the person outside the array.

"Could these people in purple belong to the same organization? What is their purpose in doing this?"

Xu Qingfan stared intently at the chaotic, blood-red "Ming" character on the purple-clad person’s clothing, silently thinking to himself.

The mysterious and enigmatic "Ming" organization finally allowed Xu Qingfan to discover some clues by chance.

As Xu Qingfan pondered, the person in purple floated before the blue fog. Suddenly, purple mist and light surrounded him, releasing a powerful pressure that caused the blue mist to ripple with intensity.

Seeing the person in purple reveal his power, Xu Qingfan’s expression grew more serious. With a swift thought, he devised a plan.