Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Entering the Endless Forest
"When Immortals clash, mortals suffer. In the end, it’s always us disciples at the bottom of the ladder who have to bear the risks of a war between the Sects.
Ignorant mortals only see cultivators as high and mighty beings, like Immortals.
But how could they possibly know that the price of becoming one of these ’Immortals’ is so steep?"
Jiang Xu sighed, concealed his presence, and took out a small strip of cloth to cast the Seeking Technique.
After the Seeking Technique was cast, the strip of cloth flew up and shot straight in a certain direction.
...
"Haha! Brothers, here’s another lone disciple from the Profound Origin Sect!"
"He doesn’t even look like his Cultivation is that high. Looks like more Contribution Points for us!"
"This guy is even hugging a sword. Hilarious. Does he really think just anyone holding a sword is a Sword Cultivator?"
Three Qi Cultivation Middle Stage cultivators cackled as they surrounded a disciple from the Profound Origin Sect.
It seemed all three Qi Cultivation Middle Stage Cultivators were disciples from the Flame Dragon Stronghold.
The Profound Origin Sect disciple cradled a black Magic Sword. His aura was weak and his expression was cold. Even as the three men surrounded him, he showed no signs of panic, treating them as if they were nothing but air.
"You bastard! The three of us are talking to you! Are you pretending you can’t hear us?!"
"Boss, if he’s going to be so arrogant, let’s just skip the talk and take him down!"
Without hesitation, one of the three Flame Dragon Stronghold disciples pulled out a War Axe, began chanting a Spell, and then hurled it directly at his target!
Like a bolt of lightning, the War Axe tore through the air, hurtling toward the Profound Origin Sect disciple with a frigid killing intent.
CLANG—!
But just in the nick of time, a flash of white light streaked past.
The Tier One Lower Grade War Axe, a Magical Artifact, was instantly sliced in two! The head and handle flew off in opposite directions as the harsh sound of tearing metal filled the air.
"Wh-what! This is impossible!"
The Cultivator who had thrown the War Axe stared in disbelief. Screaming in terror, he frantically fumbled for his Storage Bag, intending to attack again.
But it was already too late.
Another flash of white light streaked past.
The Cultivator felt a sudden chill on his neck. His perspective shifted, as if he were flying through the air. The last thing he saw was a headless body slowly crumbling to the ground.
"Second Brother!"
"Second Bro!"
The remaining two cried out in grief, glaring at their enemy with eyes burning with rage!
"You dared to kill my second brother!"
"I’ll make you face our wrath!"
The remaining two exchanged a glance and nodded. They pulled their Magical Artifacts from their Storage Bags, let out a furious roar, and then... turned around, mounted their artifacts, and fled in opposite directions.
They even shouted threats as they fled:
"I’m telling you, the main force of our Flame Dragon Stronghold is nearby! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave now! Otherwise, when our reinforcements get here, you’re finished!"
The Profound Origin Sect disciple paid them no mind. Instead, he slowly gripped the sword he held, aimed it remotely at the two fleeing figures, and nudged the hilt slightly upward with his thumb.
SHING—!
Two or three seconds later, the sound of two bodies hitting the ground reached his ears.
He walked over slowly and collected the Storage Bags from the three corpses.
’That makes ten. The battles between the Sects are getting more and more intense lately. Even I’ve run into this many enemy cultivators out here, to say nothing of everyone else.’
’This is a little awkward, though. Just the other day, I was telling Brother Jiang about the situation between the Profound Origin Sect and the Celestial Blade Sect, and now the two Sects have suddenly joined forces to attack. Doesn’t that make me look like I was just spouting nonsense?’
’But could the information I heard before have been false? Logically, they shouldn’t have teamed up.’
Just then, his ears twitched. His gaze hardened in an instant as he looked in a certain direction. He brought the Profound Dragon Sword up before him with his left hand, his right hand already gripping the hilt!
TAP TAP TAP!
Footsteps approached, and a familiar face appeared before him.
"Brother Jiang?"
...
"Brother Jiang?"
"Brother Zong!"
Jiang Xu was overjoyed.
He had finally managed to find Zong Ziqi in the Endless Forest, all thanks to the Seeking Technique.
The Endless Forest certainly lived up to its name.
Countless giant trees stood tall, their canopies blotting out the sky. Streams tinkled through the woods, spring water gurgled over stones, and rapids rushed into pools with a sound like splashing laughter.
Wild vines hung down, and pale yellow light filtered through gaps in the canopy, illuminating large swathes of mist in the primeval forest.
Countless Demon Beasts and precious Spirit Medicines could be found within its depths. It was even possible to encounter Tier Two Demon Beasts and Spirit Medicines in the outer areas.
Along the way, Jiang Xu had pushed his Concealing Breath Spell to its absolute limit.
He not only had to avoid detection by Demon Beasts but also by enemy Sect Disciples. He even had to avoid being spotted by teams from his own Sect, lest he be conscripted.
All this hiding had left Jiang Xu mentally exhausted to the extreme.
Now that he finally saw Zong Ziqi, Jiang Xu could at last breathe a sigh of relief.
"Brother Jiang, we haven’t been in contact for over a month. I was starting to think something had happened to you."
"Ahem, no, not at all. It’s just that I got really busy after I reached the Marketplace. As soon as I finished my business, I rushed over to find you."
"It seems your strength has grown recently, Brother Jiang. I’ll be honest, I pride myself on my sharp senses, yet I couldn’t track you at all. I only discovered you when you were already this close. Your skills are truly remarkable, Brother Jiang."
"You flatter me. How could my meager skills possibly compare to yours, Brother Zong?"
Sensing they were about to fall into a cycle of mutual flattery, Jiang Xu quickly changed the subject:
"Brother Zong, have you broken through to the Body Refining Late Stage yet?"
Hearing this, Zong Ziqi shook his head:
"I never even made it to the Qi Cultivation Late Stage before my Cultivation was lost, so how could I reach this new milestone so easily after starting over? To be perfectly honest, my initial rapid progress was simply due to my past experience. Now that I’ve used up that advantage, my pace has slowed considerably."
"But isn’t your master here in the Endless Forest? Can’t you ask him to help speed up your Cultivation?"
Jiang Xu steered the conversation to the main point.
"My master? Hah, don’t even mention it! Ever since we broke through the outer Restrictions of the Secret Realm and reached the Inner Area, the Sect’s Array Masters have been completely stumped.
The Restrictions in the Inner Area are on a completely different level compared to the outer ones. Our Sect’s Tier Three Array Masters are tearing their hair out over it, and progress is slow.
They can’t even get past the visible Restrictions in the Inner Area, so they certainly can’t send disciples in to die. My master saw that reaching the core was a long way off.
So, instead of just waiting around, he joined the Sect’s battles and went off to fight that Elder from the Flame Dragon Stronghold, Jin Chong."
’Hearing that progress was slow, Jiang Xu breathed a sigh of relief. In that case, it seemed he could earn a few more months’ worth of Spirit Stones in the Marketplace.’
’Jiang Xu was now fully appreciating the benefits of having ample Spirit Stones. Not only was his Cultivation rising rapidly, but he could also freely purchase all sorts of talisman paper, ink, and Talisman Skin to increase his Skill Level in the Talisman Dao.’
’Plus, with the chaos and turmoil these Sects were causing in the outside world, it really wasn’t safe out there.’
