Chapter 11 The Shameless Map: Navigating for You If Xiao Huaiyuan were here...
This agitated and emaciated bird died within half an hour.
Xu Yan took out a white porcelain bottle to collect the particles of demonic energy, stored the corpse of the Chongming Bird in his mustard seed pouch, and then extracted the source of the demonic energy, the Chongtong (double pupil), separately. His expression was solemn, and his movements were practiced, showing none of the casualness he had displayed earlier when he had left Fu Ming to die. To be honest, although he had fought countless demonic cultivators, he had never seen demonic energy so deep inland before, and Xiao Huaiyuan's concerns were indeed justified.
"If we trace the direction in which the Chongming bird appeared, we should find some clues."
For the next three hours, the group advanced at full speed, encountering a series of common spirit beasts such as the Black Bear Monster, the Crimson Serpent, and the White-browed Tiger. Their cultivation levels ranged from the mid-Golden Core stage to the early Nascent Soul stage. Fighting them required considerable effort but wouldn't result in significant casualties—making it the perfect route for disciples' training. While examining the spirit beast carcasses again, even the least experienced disciple in the group murmured that the journey might have been too smooth.
Even more strangely, the further they went, the thinner the demonic energy released from the spirit beast's corpse became, until they came to a wide-open riverbank with the wind blowing through the grass and no shelter at all. There were no more traces of birds or beasts, let alone the Demon Realm Rift.
Did we take the wrong turn?
"No, this is it."
The words of absolute certainty came from the back of the group. Xu Yan turned around abruptly and saw that the exquisite silk map, made of fine materials and with a delicate touch, had been moved down, revealing a pair of cunning, fox-like eyes.
The confluence of the rivers on the map was circled in striking red ink, marking the source of eight out of the previous eighteen beast tides. Fu Ming tapped his fingertips lightly twice on the bright yellow cloth, then pointed to the river in front of him. The turbid water, carrying sand, rolled eastward, and messy animal footprints could be faintly seen in the mud. The background color of both was the same gray-black as the demonic energy.
There's nothing on the surface, but what about underground?
"The underground river in the cave is connected to this river, and the mine's wastewater will also flow in. If the fissure is located in the Wujin mine, I'm afraid the Tianyan Sect can't just sit idly by, can it?"
Fu Ming's appearance is gentle and somewhat youthful, but when he gazes intently at the crowd, he always gives the viewers a strange sense of security.
He smiled, putting his index finger to his lips, and continued to bewitch them. "At that time, we will need everyone's full support, and we may even have to fight against the mine guards."
Upon hearing that there was a fight to be had, the martial arts fanatics of Wan Jianfeng flocked to respond. They always only cared about fighting and never paid attention to the scheming and infighting behind the scenes.
"Junior Brother Ming, why don't you just tell us what to do?"
Searching the mining areas under the jurisdiction of the Refining Peak is not the same as secretly taking a look at the outside of the mining areas. Xiao Huaiyuan did not say this before. Xu Yan was still thinking, stroking his stubble, when his disciples immediately drew their swords and threw them at Fu Ming's side. These traitorous brats!
"Hey you guys, have you forgotten I'm still here?"
Seeing Xu Yan, the big, dumb guy who had previously tormented him, fly into a rage, Fu Ming felt much better. He quickly devised another trap and waited for Xu Yan to fall into it.
"Uncle-Master, don't be in such a hurry. How about we make a bet?"
If there is no rift in the demonic realm, Fu Ming will reluctantly give away the ten thousand spirit stones as an apology. If there is indeed a rift in the demonic realm, Xu Yan will give them to him as a prize, but Xu Yan will also gain merit in eliminating demonic energy, so it's a win-win situation.
Fortunately, there were no inspectors here, otherwise Fu Ming's long list of crimes would have been expanded to include another item.
Even with insufficient evidence, Fu Ming still believed that the Demon Realm Rift did indeed exist. As a materialist, he firmly believed that everything had its reason. If there were truly no anomalies, why didn't the demonic energy appear at the nearby Tianyan Sect? That didn't make sense.
Of course, he also used some technology; for example, he had just checked the newly unlocked 3D topographic map of Tai Xuan Mountain on the system interface.
"Your Majesty, you're finally showing some signs of having a cheat code. I'm so pleased."
"I'm very unhappy to provide this service for free. Would you like to consider a monthly service package that costs 3 points of goodwill per month, dear 030?"
"Unsubscribe".
Fu Ming held the map and pretended to gesture for a while, turning left, right and then left again, walking several hundred steps, and sure enough, he found a babbling underground river leading to the cave hidden among the reeds.
The cave entrance was narrow, and Fu Ming and the others had to stoop to squeeze in, one after another like candied hawthorns on a skewer. Looking up, their vision suddenly darkened, and a surge of hot air rushed towards them, as if countless frenzied spirit beasts were pushing and surging forward.
Thump, thump, it felt as if a giant hand was squeezing his heart. The familiar pain made Fu Ming lean back half a step against the rock wall.
In the churning heat, nothing could be seen clearly. A dark shadow seemed to swell into a tall, human-shaped figure, growling as it pressed down on them. Dust filled the air, leaving them nowhere to escape.
A spirit beast? Or demonic energy?
Six swords were drawn simultaneously, their cold light flashing as they were about to pierce the shadowy figure. But in the blink of an eye, a hoarse shout shattered the heavy silence within the cave.
"Stop it, everyone. This is just an illusion," Fu Ming said in a high-pitched voice.
"Hiss, this is terrifying! Weren't their swords pointed at the monster? How did they almost pierce their fellow disciples' backs?" The disciples of Wanjian Peak closed their eyes and focused their minds, attaching their divine sense to their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, the scene before them had changed completely. The Chongming Bird, with blood streaming from its eyes, had been resurrected to seek revenge. Its movements were lifelike, and its expression was venomous and terrifying—their divine sense had also been disturbed!
Who was speaking just now?
Xu Yan clearly had extensive experience dealing with such situations. He immediately shut down his senses, relying solely on his hazy spiritual awareness to perceive things. The concentration of demonic energy here far exceeded that of the border regions; usually, one would have to venture hundreds of miles into the demon realm to find such dense demonic energy. He had expected the youngsters to be in complete chaos, but to his surprise, one of them had already stepped forward to calm them down. The young men and women stood back to back, swords drawn, on guard, not daring to make a move.
He glanced around and saw Fu Ming huddled in a corner like a quail, reflecting on his mistakes. He was quite clever, too.
Unfortunately, the quick-witted Fu Ming was in very poor condition at the moment. His legs were so weak that he was trembling and he was about to vomit. He could only hold tightly to the black gold crystal that had suddenly stabbed out to stabilize himself. This clone of his had not been cleansed by demonic energy, but his soul had been fused with demonic energy for decades. The two attracted and repelled each other, causing his stomach to churn.
The most insidious aspect of the Demon Realm isn't the ruthless demonic cultivators or the bizarre, monstrous creatures, but rather the ever-present demonic energy that stirs up evil thoughts in people's hearts. Countless demonic cultivators, once succumbing to demonic possession, are driven by a surge of lust to forcefully elevate their cultivation, only to explode and die. When he jumped into the sea of blood, he too nearly succumbed to his own desires, almost…
Amidst the tinnitus and dizziness, Fu Ming faintly heard Xu Yan calling him back. To ensure his mental clarity, he made a mark on the back of his hand.
"...My legs are a little weak, could you please help me up?"
The once fearless disciple of the sect leader was finally behaving like a complete novice. Xu Yan, holding the white porcelain bottle and absorbing demonic energy, suddenly remembered an incongruous person. His gossipy nature stirred; could it be that Xiao Huaiyuan actually liked this arrogant and domineering type?
I'll have to ask him about it another day.
The thick, viscous demonic energy seemed endless. Xu Yan let out a soft "Eh," while the others fell silent, like turtles in the Tianyan Sect's release pond, not daring to utter a sound.
Those who came were all the new generation of elites from Wanjian Peak, and naturally they had been to the front lines of the Demon Realm. In the Demon Realm, who dies the fastest? Answer: Those who disobey orders and run around recklessly.
With a thud, a piece of gravel fell from the upper level of the mine, creating ripples in the deep pool of water. Fu Ming looked up in response.
The sound echoed back and forth through the winding mine tunnels, and the footsteps of the newcomers kicked down several more stones. They were probably not skilled martial arts practitioners, as they were panting heavily as they spoke.
"Hurry up and move these things away, quick!"
"If we find out, none of you will escape!"
Xu Yan made a hand gesture, then used his lightness skill to leap up the rock face, stepping on the rock points. The four disciples followed closely behind, their movements completely silent, demonstrating strict discipline.
Fu Ming lazily followed at the back of the group, barely managing to stay in line. But if someone were to observe closely, they would find that his movements seemed even more agile, always narrowly treading the edge without expending a single bit of spiritual energy.
"Host, why aren't you showing off today? This isn't like you ovo—Please note that there is a risk of road collapse 200 meters ahead. Please slow down."
The system map continued to guide Fu Ming, and the mechanical voice pack occasionally interspersed the system's complaints.
"Isn't Xu Yan, a Nascent Soul cultivator, taking the lead? Why should I, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, bother with all that effort?"
While the two were talking in their minds, the fight had already started. Xu Yan, who carried eight swords with him, was indeed a formidable fighter. Sword light and howls flew together, and dust and curses were mixed together.
When Fu Ming arrived, he happened to arrive during an interrogation to catch the thief. Two or three burly men with scars on their eyebrows were tied up and thrown on the ground. They couldn't get anything out of him by casting a silencing spell, but if they didn't cast a silencing spell, they would definitely get some extremely vulgar and offensive language. Then the group of sword cultivators slapped him in the face with their sword sheaths.
He remembered that Xiao Huaiyuan's magic seal also had the effect of forcing people to utter true words, and if he were here, he could use it.
...Wait, why does he keep thinking about Xiao Huaiyuan lately?
Fu Ming was too lazy to participate in the pig-slaughtering interrogation scene. He just squatted down and searched around. After about ten curses, he picked up a piece of black stone that looked like a piece of tile from the sticky mud.
This thing was mixed with the broken black gold slag, making it extremely difficult to spot without careful observation. However, when he rotated the stone piece under the dim light of the cave, he could see wisps of demonic energy emanating from it, and it felt slightly hot to the touch.
"Alright, no need to smoke anymore. What they were hastily covering up just now was probably this."
Fu Ming tossed the stone shard up and caught it, then spread his palm to show it to the others, even spinning it around a couple more times in front of the miners, successfully evoking that amusing expression of utter despair.
"Used to stimulate demonic energy, right? Where did you get it? Tell me now, and you might save your life."
Fu Ming continued to smile, his peach blossom eyes filled with affection and clarity, yet his eyes held a chilling intent honed by years of killing.
The two burly men shuddered and were about to kowtow and confess in hopes of getting leniency when they suddenly felt a warm breeze behind them.
An arrow pierced their throats almost simultaneously, pinning them to the rock face.
"Who goes there?!"
A note from the author:
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Congratulations on this article reaching its first (and possibly only) ranking! I'll try my best to update this week!
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