Chapter 547: Demon Cave (I)
A dilapidated pocket world. This was the immortal market operated by Soaring Cloud Pavilion.
Inside the main hall, two old men sat facing each other, smiling as they sipped spirit tea. One had white hair and a beard, exuding an ethereal air like an immortal. The other wore a green robe, smiling warmly, appearing like an ordinary old man.
"This Illusory Sea Spirit Tea is quite good. Give me some later," the green-robed elder said with a smile.
Fan Hongwei rolled his eyes and replied irritably, "No."
This Illusory Sea Spirit Tea was something he had withheld from the unsold stock of Soaring Cloud Pavilion using his authority. It was a rare treasure, something one could only hope to encounter by chance.
"So stingy. At your age, and still so miserly," the green-robed elder said with a curl of his lips.
"Heh." Fan Hongwei chuckled lightly, not bothering to argue.
The green-robed elder was named Ling Feng. He and Fan Hongwei had been friends for over a hundred years, and Fan Hongwei knew exactly what kind of person he was.
"Hasn't your dharma treasure already been fully refined? Why haven't you set out yet?" Ling Feng asked with a chuckle, changing the topic.
Fan Hongwei said leisurely after taking a sip of tea, "I'm still short one person. About a year ago, I found a promising youngster with very strong perception, who likely awakened some kind of special spirit divine ability. With his help this time, the chances of success will increase greatly."
"A spirit divine ability? That place suppresses the soul severely. Ordinary spirit divine abilities won't be of much use, will they?" Ling Feng asked doubtfully.
The last time he had entered that secret realm together with Fan Hongwei and several others, so Ling Feng was very familiar with it.
"That depends on the type of spirit divine ability. That youngster is a martial artist, and most likely awakened a special divine ability after opening his spirit divine repository. I tested it. Even after blocking spiritual sense detection, he still noticed my presence. The spirit and soul-type warning dharma treasures on him were not triggered either. Clearly, the divine ability he awakened is a body-based one," Fan Hongwei said calmly.
Such individuals were rare among martial artists. If not for a chance encounter that led him to discover Lin Zheyu, Fan Hongwei would have already given up.
"Oh? If that's the case, then that stage shouldn't pose much of a problem," Ling Feng said with a slight pause before smiling.
Under Fan Hongwei's dissatisfied glare, he poured more Illusory Sea Spirit Tea and brewed a fresh pot with rootless water.
"What are you glaring at? That last pot had already lost its flavor. You stingy old man, you wouldn't even replace it," Ling Feng complained.
He poured himself a cup and continued, "Since you've found him, with your personality, you must have already marked him. Why not just go and capture him directly?"
"He holed up in Yanwu City and hasn't come out since," Fan Hongwei said speechlessly.
Over the past few days, he had repeatedly used secret techniques to locate Lin Zheyu, only to find that the youngster had remained inside Yanwu City. Although the Martial Alliance was not a top-tier force, Yanwu City, as its headquarters, was not a place where a mere Golden Core realm cultivator like him could act recklessly.
"If he's hiding in Yanwu City, that does make things troublesome. I still have some connections in the Martial Realm. I'll get someone to keep an eye on him for you," Ling Feng said with a smile.
With that, he took out a Spirit Resonance Sphere and sent a few messages to his acquaintances in the Martial Alliance.
"All set. I've got someone watching him. As soon as he leaves Yanwu City, you'll get the news. Then you can use your tracking mark to locate him immediately," Ling Feng said with a faint smile, extending his right hand. "I've helped you this much, so at least give me a half a kilogram of Illusory Sea Spirit Tea, hm?"
"Get lost. As if that secret realm has nothing to do with you. You old bastard, if you're willing to give up everything in that place, forget half a kilogram, I'll get you ten," Fan Hongwei snapped irritably.
"Haha... I'm just joking. Take out that dharma treasure you refined and let me have a look. I'll see if there are any flaws," Ling Feng said with a laugh.
"Hmph." Fan Hongwei snorted, still annoyed, and took out the dharma treasure he had recently finished refining. Ling Feng had profound attainments in restrictions, making him just the right person to offer some advice on it.
***
Upon arriving at the teleportation area, the martial artist on duty greeted him respectfully. "Greetings, Vice Hall Master."
Many of the martial artists patrolling here were members of the Martial Hall.
"Mm." Lin Zheyu gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
He crossed the plaza and moved inward. The demon cave was very far away, making a journey there on foot time-consuming. Firstly, Lin Zheyu was concerned that delays could cause complications and attract Fan Hongwei's attention. Secondly, he preferred not to spend too much time traveling. Therefore, he chose to use a long-distance teleportation formation to directly reach the city nearest to the demon cave. Unlike in ancient times, using such formations in this era required a significant amount of energy.
Lin Zheyu had already inquired about it. Teleporting directly to the nearest city to the demon cave was extremely expensive. A single use required five mid-grade spirit stones. At such a price, aside from those in emergencies or those with more spirit stones than they knew what to do with, very few cultivators would choose to use long-distance teleportation formations.
"Make the preparations. I'm heading to Demon-Suppressing City," Lin Zheyu said to the martial artist on duty.
"Yes, sir," the martial artist replied respectfully.
Demon-Suppressing City was the westernmost city of Great Wei, bordering the demon cave. It was named after the Demon-Suppressing Army, one of Great Wei's strongest legions stationed there. Activating a long-distance teleportation formation required about the time it took for an incense stick to burn. Lin Zheyu waited quietly until it was ready. As he stepped into the formation, light flowed around him, and he felt a dense aura of spatial laws. His vision blurred for a moment, then cleared again after a few breaths.
"Too bad, it's too brief," Lin Zheyu muttered softly as he stepped out of the formation.
The Dao resonance of spatial laws contained within the long-distance teleportation formation was extremely profound. If he could comprehend it, it would greatly benefit his Earth Shrinking Technique. Unfortunately, teleportation formations were not like rule fragments. If Lin Zheyu wanted to gain any insight, he would likely have to repeatedly use the formation, grasping fleeting traces of its Dao resonance. The cost in spirit stones would be astronomical.
"What dense demonic qi. As expected of the city closest to the demon cave," Lin Zheyu remarked after sensing the spiritual qi in the air.
Throughout the city, the demonic qi far surpassed the concentration of spiritual qi, being more than three times as dense.
"Please present your identity token," the cultivator guarding the formation said respectfully as he stepped forward.
The teleportation formations in the city were all guarded by the Directorate of Celestial Observation. Only registered members of recognized forces were allowed to use them. Lin Zheyu took out his token, registered his information, and left the teleportation plaza. As he walked through Demon-Suppressing City, he observed that the people living here had stronger physiques than those elsewhere, yet they showed signs of premature aging. Due to long-term exposure to demonic qi, their bodies had also undergone slight mutations. Those with weaker constitutions appeared pale and frail.
"This is fate..." Lin Zheyu sighed. He had no intention of meddling. His strength was still far from enough to concern himself with such matters.
Lin Zheyu suddenly recalled and murmured, "Right, Senior Sister Wenzi and the others mentioned joining the Demon-Suppressing Army back then. I wonder if they're here."
After joining the Martial Alliance, Lin Zheyu specifically looked into materials on the Demon-Suppressing Army and gained a deeper understanding of it. The Demon-Suppressing Army possessed unique cultivation techniques, combining the Immortal Dao, Shamanic Dao, Martial Dao, and Demon Dao into a system designed to rapidly increase strength.
'To suppress demons, one must first become a demon.' It was a saying that circulated within the Demon-Suppressing Army. It meant that after cultivating their techniques, a person would become neither human nor ghost, more like a rational yao.
Of course, this applied to ordinary people. For accomplished martial artists such as Guo Wenzi and Chen Ding, joining the Demon-Suppressing Army was simply another form of training. It was meant to temper their Grandmaster's will, with the aim of breaking through to that level and progressing toward the Martial Innate Realm.
Stepping out of the city, he saw that the garrison of Demon-Suppressing City was the Demon-Suppressing Army. As he passed by them, he could sense dense baleful qi and killing intent, an invisible yet terrifying aura like that of yaos lingering around them. The soldiers of the Demon-Suppressing Army were formidable. Individually, they were weak compared to someone like Lin Zheyu, but the collective essence, qi, and spirit they emitted was terrifying.
Lin Zheyu sensed a faint connection among the troops stationed there. The moment an enemy appeared, these soldiers would immediately form a battle formation and deliver a lethal strike.
Lin Zheyu glanced at the soldiers and said with a soft sigh, "It hasn't even been that long, yet everything already feels different. I hope Senior Sister and the others are safe."
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