Volume 5 Chapter 108

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Volume 5 Chapter 108: The Change of the Soul Bead, the Blood Mountain Journey

"What mission?" Xu Qingfan asked.

"About ten days ago, a small team made up of several small sects chased some Beast Madness cultivators into a hidden valley. They didn’t expect that there were many Beast Madness cultivators in that valley, including some at the Condensed Core Stage. In the end, only one cultivator from that team managed to escape. Based on our assessment, that valley should be one of the sources of the ‘Beast Madness’ spread that you killed ‘Ying’ many years ago, but we don’t know why it was abandoned."

Here, Zhang Hualing frowned and continued, "A day ago, Qinglingzi sent me news, saying that the mixed team you lead and the Mercy Cloud Temple team will work together to eliminate those ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ in that valley. I didn’t expect you to encounter such a situation again, so I agreed."

Xu Qingfan pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "It’s just one mission. Delaying my meditation time for a while won’t be a big deal. However, if that valley is a source of the ‘Beast Madness’ spread from ‘Ying,’ it could be very troublesome."

Saying this, Xu Qingfan frowned and recalled the battle with ‘Ying’ years ago. At that time, Xu Qingfan’s Jiuhua Team, along with two other teams, inadvertently designed the ‘Xingyin Sect’ as bait and suffered heavy losses. Because of that, hearing about going with two teams to eliminate a source of ‘Beast Madness’ made Xu Qingfan a bit uneasy.

"I wonder how many ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ are in that valley? And how many of them have reached the Condensed Core Stage?" Xu Qingfan asked.

Zhang Hualing shook his head and said, "That escaping cultivator only noticed a large number of ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ in that valley, but he did not know how many there were in total or how many had reached the Condensed Core Stage; he was only focused on escaping and did not take a closer look."

Seeing Xu Qingfan frown, Zhang Hualing reassured him, "You don’t need to worry. This time, you are being sent to that valley not to fight the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ with two teams, but to set up a barrier with the ‘Mercy Cloud Temple’ team around the edge of the valley to prevent the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ from escaping everywhere, and to spread the ‘Mourning Powder’ into the valley."

"Mourning Powder" is one of the more poisonous substances in the cultivation world. Any ordinary person or someone with low skills who comes into contact with it will lose their sanity and attack all living things around them wildly. This substance is particularly effective against ‘Beast Madness cultivators,’ and even Condensed Core Stage ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ cannot avoid its effects.

During the time of the Beast Madness chaos in the cultivation world, cultivators managed to trap and influence the ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ with barriers and ‘Mourning Powder,’ causing them to fight each other. In the end, they survived that great disaster. However, this time, due to the sudden appearance and scattered distribution of the ‘Beast Madness cultivators,’ ‘Mourning Powder’ will be used very little.

After hearing Zhang Hualing say this, Xu Qingfan felt a little more at ease and nodded in agreement.

However, although the task of setting up a barrier and releasing the ‘Mourning Powder’ was not difficult, Xu Qingfan still felt uneasy deep down. After all, he knew nothing about the valley’s details. How many ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ were there? What was their strength? Also, since that valley was the source where "Ying" created the ‘Beast Madness cultivators,’ why had it suddenly been abandoned? Moreover, since ‘Beast Madness cultivators’ are known for their aggression, why were they gathering in that valley and not coming out?

Just like many questions in the world, it was simply a question, and thinking about it could not bring him any answers.

"But, if I just spread the ‘Mourning Powder’ into that valley and set up a barrier outside the valley, it should not be a problem, right?"

Xu Qingfan thought quietly to himself, and after considering it, he felt that his previous doubts were just him being overly worried.

"After this mission is complete, I will speak to each sect leader and suggest that the team you lead takes a break for a year or two, and exchange tasks with the cultivators who are staying at ‘Ronghua Mountain.’ After all, over the past seven years, your team has achieved many accomplishments, and the sect leaders won’t have any reason to disagree if you haven’t had a long rest."

Seeing Xu Qingfan nod in agreement, Zhang Hualing slowly continued to speak.

After only a short conversation with Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan noticed that the weariness in Zhang Hualing’s expression deepened. Xu Qingfan understood that this was because Zhang Hualing was constantly battling against the invading dark energy, so he chose not to disturb him further. Once all the problems had been discussed and solutions found, Xu Qingfan said little more and bowed to take his leave.

Zhang Hualing did not try to keep him or say more; he simply watched Xu Qingfan bow. As Xu Qingfan stepped away and the courtyard gate closed, Zhang Hualing suddenly sighed softly, unsure whether it was due to Xu Qingfan’s growth or his own exhaustion.

Outside the courtyard, Xu Qingfan took another look at Zhang Hualing’s Soul Bead, only to find that compared to last time, it was still mainly blue. However, among that deep blue, there were more red threads than he had seen last time. Although the progress was slow, the red threads had been gradually increasing and starting to connect. Remembering Zhang Hualing’s soul-deep weariness, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but sigh, echoing the soft sigh that had come from the courtyard.

Little did they know if these two sighs counted as a kind of connection.

Shaking his head, Xu Qingfan rose on a cloud and flew towards the house arranged for him by the Righteous Alliance, while in the courtyard, Zhang Hualing closed his eyes and continued to fight against the encroaching dark energy.

※※※※

Many decisions made unintentionally can often affect many things, from the mood of the next moment to the survival of countless lives in distant places.

At the moment Xu Qingfan put the jade pendant that Zhang Hualing gave him around Little Gold’s neck, in the distant Southern Wasteland, not far from the bustling Middle-earth, countless demon beasts rushing towards "Ronghua Mountain" saw the leading demon beasts stop. They all halted their charge, creating a somewhat chaotic yet disciplined scene, almost like a human army!

Looking at the leading demon beasts, they appeared in many shapes; some were towering with green faces and sharp teeth, others were small and unexpectedly cute, and some had vast wings and golden feathers with iron claws. Each one radiated an astonishing power, as strong as the Mahayana cultivators in the cultivation world, and the other beasts trembled in fear.

Clearly, these uniquely shaped demon beasts were the legendary heavenly level demon beasts from the cultivation world. After retreating south of the Southern Wasteland for tens of thousands of years, they finally reappeared in the world!

Moments later, a few strong demon beasts from the back came forward, and the combined presence of the eleven heavenly level demon beasts was so powerful that it made countless demon beasts behind them unable to stand tall. The flying demon beasts in the sky felt the weight of the earth increase, unable to flap their wings any longer, and fell heavily to the ground, not daring to show any dissatisfaction, but instead lowering their proud heads in awe like the ground-dwelling demon beasts.

Although the scene of all the beasts bowing in submission was astonishing, the heavenly level demon beasts did not even glance at them, as if it were a very normal occurrence to them.

However, looking at these heavenly level demon beasts, strong as they were, there was a hint of surprise and unease in their expressions. In their eyes was disbelief as they gazed at a small demon beast resembling a squirrel, which had been running ahead of the swarm. It was the most adept at tracking and had the most sensitive Spiritual Sense among the eleven heavenly level demon beasts.

According to legend, when demon beasts reach the heavenly level, they gain intelligence comparable to humans. It seemed this rumor might indeed be true.

Once gathered together, the heavenly level demon beasts produced sounds like eagle cries, tiger roars, and wolf howls. The eleven types of demon beasts continuously made their own calls, and with their anxious and doubtful expressions, it seemed as if some humans were arguing over a decision.

From time to time, these heavenly level demon beasts would call upon demon beasts skilled in sensing the environment to investigate. If those demon beasts found nothing, they would be struck down with a single blow.

However, these demon beasts, although they have developed intelligence similar to that of humans, live in a world where the strong are respected. There is no reasoning; the one with the strongest power is always right. This time, however, these demon beasts clearly had two different points of view. Since their strengths were equal, no one could convince the other.

In the midst of their argument, a heavenly level demon beast that looked like a giant bull, much larger than any bull, seemed to get angry. With a loud roar, it suddenly turned around and unleashed a torrent of blue flames upon the beast herd behind it. In that sea of fire, the demon beasts cried out in pain but dared not fight back.

With just one attack, hundreds of demon beasts perished in the flames, leaving not even a bone behind, including many Earth level and even high-level Earth level demon beasts.

After shooting out that flame, the bull-like demon beast seemed to calm down significantly. It howled again and led about half of the demon beasts as they rushed towards Shenzhou Continent. Accompanying it were four other heavenly level demon beasts.

However, these demon beasts did not want to rush towards "Ronghua Mountain" as the herd had before. Instead, they scattered, each heavenly level demon beast leading a group of many demon beasts in different directions.

The remaining six heavenly level demon beasts, however, continued to head towards "Ronghua Mountain," led by a nine-tailed fox.