Chapter 35: Underground Killing Formation and Trapped Demon Cultivator
The boundless black haze spread across the sky as far as the eye could see. This place was the Blackwood Forest, a forbidden land for mortals.
It was no exaggeration to say that when the Wu Kingdom sent its army to invade the Blackwood Forest, it was a matter of how many people would die, not how many would come back alive. Even for Immortal Cultivators, entering the forest in the early stage of Qi refining would be a life-or-death situation. In contrast, those in the middle and late stages could only operate on the outskirts. The dangers here were beyond the ferocious beasts. There were also various poisons that were impossible to treat. The monsters in this forest were more sinister than others.
Besides the sect leader, there were only Li Su and Su Yun on the flying boat. There was also a captured cultivator named Bai. The sect leader used an ordinary flying boat instead of a celestial flying boat. The three of them set off towards the Blackwood Forest with minimal provisions. According to the cultivator Bai, the Blackwood Forest was the place where the demon cultivators were trapped. The current state of the forest was likely related to that magic cultivator. The sect leader speculated that his original strength was probably above the Foundation Establishment stage. However, being trapped for so many years and injured, it was uncertain how much power he still possessed.
The flying boat boldly entered the Blackwood Forest, a place extremely dangerous for ordinary cultivators, but the sect leader could easily force her way through. As they ventured deeper into the forest, the monsters and poisons that occasionally attacked them grew stronger. The sect leader rarely intervened, leaving most of the fighting to Su Yun. With her sixth-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, she was more than a match for mid-stage second-level monsters or poisons. Even against late-stage second-level opponents, she could easily beat them. Li Su occasionally joined the fight, using his skills to eliminate mid to late-stage second-level monsters and poisons.
After flying for several minutes, the flying boat had covered a distance of hundreds of miles. More powerful monsters started to appear due to the boats brazen intrusion. Li Su found himself fighting more frequently. Finally, they encountered the cultivator surnamed Bai, who had been captured over a decade ago and had just started talking. The sect leader had been unable to extract information through traditional means, and it was unknown if soul-searching techniques were available in the Flying Immortal Sect. It seemed unlikely, as the method was quite sinister and inflicted significant damage to the targets soul, which not all cultivators could perform.
With a flick of the sect leaders finger, cultivator Bai lost consciousness.
Li Su, bring him with us. Were going in. Su Yun, youll be waiting in the cave for backup, said the head of the sect.
Yes, Master, replied Li Su.
This cave appeared ordinary, and cultivator Bai didnt attempt to conceal it. That was a clever move. This place seemed so ordinary that no one would suspect a trapped magic cultivator beneath it. By hiding it, if a stronger cultivator happened to pass by and noticed something amiss, it would not raise any suspicions.
The sect leader had a map in hand. Although it was dark below, it did not hinder her. As a cultivator in the later stage of Golden Core, her spiritual consciousness could effortlessly extend over a range of more than a hundred miles, even without practicing techniques to enhance it.
If she did cultivate techniques to improve her spiritual consciousness or took pills to boost it, her range would be even greater. Spiritual consciousness was vital for Golden Core stage cultivators, so they usually sought ways to strengthen it. Silently, the sect leader descended, with Li Su carrying the unconscious cultivator Bai following behind. His tall figure made cultivator Bai seemed like a helpless chicken in his grasp.
The path below was winding. After over an hour, the sect leader came to a stop. Ahead, a cave emerged. Next to it, there was an underground river. Inside the cave, there appeared to be nothing of note.
She propelled a stone into the cave with a flick of the sect leaders finger.
Whoosh!
A weathered longsword materialized, instantly shattering the stone.
The sect leader attempted to summon different objects, but they were all shattered by the ancient long sword.
Its a formation, Li Su thought.
Moreover, it was an incredibly powerful killing formation. Did that mean the magic cultivator was trapped within this formation?
To trap such a formidable magic cultivator, this killing formation was quite impressive.
Among the objects the sect leader had summoned earlier were some extremely durable refining materials, but they crumbled like tofu at the touch of the ancient longsword.
Li Su, wake him up, commanded the sect leader.
Li Su proceeded to awaken cultivator Bai.
Hes trapped inside. He can only communicate through the slate. This killing formation is formidable. He used the holy decree to block the sword, but it came at a great cost. Only then could he send a few things out to me, explained cultivator Bai.
He mentioned the holy decree, the black flag, and the Thunder Fire Orb he had used.
As for the slate, that guy sent it out before he was trapped, and its material was unique, allowing for communication.
The book written by cultivator Bai, which contained various evil alchemy techniques, was transmitted through the slate by the demon cultivator, and cultivator Bai transcribed it himself.
The headmaster threw the slate to cultivator Bai. After receiving it, cultivator Bai pricked his finger and let his blood drip onto the slate.
No wonder Li Su sensed a faint metallic smell on the slate. The blood continued to flow, quickly filling the inscriptions on the slate.
I need to use some spiritual power, cultivator Bai said.
The headmaster loosened his restraints slightly, allowing him to exert a bit of spiritual power.
Cultivator Bai activated his spiritual power and began manipulating the strokes of the characters. In reality, the strokes were not characters but lines that could bend and combine automatically. Soon, they formed new bloody words.
So thats how it is, Li Su realized.
He understood why he couldnt recognize the characters beforecultivator Bai deliberately scrambled them so they were not recognizable.
Tell him that you have reached the Golden Core stage and ask what to do next, the headmaster instructed.
Cultivator Bai assembled the words, and upon inspection, Li Su realized that Cultivator Bai was not deceiving them this time.
Once the assembly was complete, cultivator Bai withdrew his spiritual power, causing the words to fade.
After a short while, the lines of the words began moving again, reconfiguring into a sentence,
Ill give you a map. Go east to the Holy League and find Venerable Blood. Dont trust any disciples.
One minute later, the lines moved once more, forming a map.
It seems that the world of demonic cultivators is incredibly ruthless, Li Su mused.
Through these words, Li Su came to a realization.
No wonder this trapped demonic cultivator wanted Cultivator Bai to reach the Golden Core stage before going to the Holy League.
It was likely that if this guy went to the Holy League before reaching the Golden Core stage, he would have been killed by other demonic cultivators before finding anyone.
The demon cultivator sent out the holy order, which not only served to block the sword but also provided cultivator Bai with proof of identity.
The black flag and thunder fire orb allowed cultivator Bai to defend himself during the Foundation Establishment stage, specifically against the flying fairy talisman.
This demonstrated how cruel the world of demonic cultivators could be. Demon cultivators not only kill immortal cultivators but also each other.
It didnt take long for the map to be formed. Li Su recognized a few locations on the map. One good news was that, based on the map, the area of the Holy League was still very far away from their current location.
Li Su wondered how this demonic cultivator ended up here.
He must have been pursued, Li Su thought.
Perhaps this killing formation was set up by those who were chasing him. This formation was capable of trapping a demonic cultivator who might have been at the Nascent Soul stage in the past, which was quite impressive. Even with Li Sus current knowledge of formations, he couldnt interpret any clues.
Li Su estimated that he would need several hundred years or even longer of experience with formations to understand them.
If he could master this killing formation, it would be truly remarkable.
In the next few instances of gaining 100 years of experience, Ill prioritize formation knowledge, Li Su thought.
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