【Cultivator killed Level 1 red-named monster “hungry ghost,” obtained Upgrade EXP ×0.1】
【Cultivator killed Level 1 red-named monster “hungry ghost,” obtained Upgrade EXP ×0.1】
【Cultivator killed Level 3 red-named monster “hungry ghost,” obtained Upgrade EXP ×1】
...
【Cultivator killed Level 10 red-named monster low-level Sky Demon “Zhemu,” obtained Upgrade EXP ×50, Rejuvenation Pill ×1, Qi-Augmenting Pill ×1】
The kill notifications popped up at the right moment, and a series of tugs came from the other end of the Vermilion Bird Lock at her waist.
Nan Zhi thought for a moment, then tossed aside the Sky Demon's corpse, watching the humanoid mass plunge straight into the black mist.
This thing was truly bizarre. Even though it was only a low-level Sky Demon, it could completely evade a cultivator's divine sense, and its blood could even corrode dharma treasures and weapons.
If she brought the Sky Demon's corpse up, how would she explain the peculiar fragrance she had smelled?
Since she had already obtained the EXP from killing the monster anyway, it would be better to observe for a few more days first.
The pulling force at her waist suddenly increased, and her ascent sped up.
Hanging from the black iron chain, Nan Zhi was in no hurry to board the ship. Instead, she took this opportunity to carefully observe the formation carved into the hull—
The Wuwei Sect disciple was right; a complex formation was indeed carved into the hull.
The patterns were profoundly mysterious, the formation lines carved three cun deep into the wood. Looking closely, she could even discern faint glimmers of spiritual energy flowing through them.
It appeared to be a concealment formation. For a giant ship of this scale, the runic materials consumed must have been immense.
Having only recently begun studying formations, Nan Zhi could only discern that this formation likely used the hull as the formation foundation, the massive mountain on the ship as the formation eye, and was supplemented by an extremely unique ink to draw this concealment formation on the underside of the vessel.
Drawing a formation required a Formation Master to complete it in a single breath, with no interruption between the start and the end of the lines. Such a massive and exquisite formation could only have been created by a master of the craft.
“She's coming up! She's coming up!”
“Whoa! She's not dead?!”
“This human cultivator is truly formidable. She stayed down there for a full shichen and actually came back completely in one piece?!”
“Look! She really isn't dead! The Yaksha who went down earlier was just pulled up, and he barely survived after losing half an arm!”
“What incredible luck!”
Nan Zhi's figure appeared by the bronze sparrow lock, only to find seven or eight curious cultivators crowding around her.
The Sea Dragon Kingdom woman who had previously given Nan Zhi a cold shoulder was currently standing behind the iron wheel of the Vermilion Bird Lock, pulling on the black iron chain with her hands.
—The sudden acceleration of the chain Nan Zhi had felt earlier was likely her doing.
“Did no one tell you the rules? Once the light on the jade token fades, you must come back up! Otherwise, if you stay in the black mist, you won't even know how you died!”
Seeing her return safely, the Sea Dragon Kingdom woman secretly let out a sigh of relief, though she quickly put back on her harsh, aggressive expression:
“If I weren't afraid of you dying down there and getting blood on the black iron chain, which would bring bad luck, I wouldn't have bothered with you—”
She had gone down and come up twice already. When she heard others discussing how a newly arrived human female cultivator had been down there for a shichen without returning, she guessed it was Nan Zhi.
In the past, there had been cultivators who, out of greed for spirit stones, refused to come up for a long time. However, staying in the black mist for more than half a shichen would drain all the spiritual energy from their bodies as if it were being boiled away.
Not only would they fall gravely ill upon returning, but their cultivation would even drop by one or two minor realms.
Experienced hands who went below the ship to hunt demons were highly adept at managing their time. The moment the light on their jade tokens faded, regardless of their harvest, they would return to the ship to sit in meditation and regulate their breathing, waiting until their spiritual energy was restored before continuing.
Thus, seeing that Nan Zhi was taking so long, the Sea Dragon Kingdom woman had grown extremely anxious. Feeling that the iron wheel was turning too slowly, she had simply taken matters into her own hands to haul the chain, dragging Nan Zhi back up.
But...
How was this human female cultivator before her completely clean, without a speck of dishevelment, her complexion rosy, and her sea of qi seemingly still abundant with spiritual energy?
A look of bewilderment appeared on her blue face. After sizing Nan Zhi up for a moment, she spoke again:
“Did you... did you really go down to kill hungry ghosts?”
“Of course. Could that even be faked?”
Nan Zhi patted her clothes. Knowing that this Sea Dragon Kingdom woman was not malicious, she turned to look for the Wuwei Sect disciples, slapping the jade token down in front of them:
“The formation on this jade token seems to be broken. Could you two please take a look at it for me?”
“Fellow Daoist, there are two simple formations on this jade token. The front is for counting, and the back is for timing, meant to remind everyone not to stay in the black mist for too long.
The black mist rises from the Wuwang Sea, and that mist devours spiritual energy. If cultivators like us stay inside for too long, our cultivation realms can easily become unstable.”
Seeing Nan Zhi return alive, the Wuwei Sect disciple's smile grew a bit warmer:
“Once this formation leaves the black mist, its light will return after a short moment. If you wish to check the number of hungry ghosts you have slain, Fellow Daoist, you only need to place the jade token into the corresponding formation—”
Only then did Nan Zhi notice that text occasionally appeared on the massive white jade board behind the two:
【Qingjing Sect's Hua Zhen, Foundation Establishment Level 2, killed 44,651 Qi Refinement hungry ghosts, 41 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, 1 Zhemu Sky Demon】
【Wuwei Sect's Tu Jiuxiao, Foundation Establishment Level 1, killed 53,723 hungry ghosts, 70 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, 7 Zhemu Sky Demons】
【Sea Dragon Kingdom's Hai Ying, second-revolution demon core, killed 48,619 hungry ghosts, 62 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, 11 Zhemu Sky Demons】
【Yaksha Nation's Ye Mingyue, second-revolution demon core, killed 32,860 hungry ghosts, 31 Foundation Establishment demon beasts】
【Alligator Dragon Kingdom's Pi Su, first-revolution demon core, killed 3,619 hungry ghosts】
...
“These fellow Daoists are truly formidable. The cultivation world is indeed a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I wonder when I'll be able to make it onto this Demon Slaying Board.”
Nan Zhi sighed with admiration. The Wuwei Sect disciple smiled as he took her jade token, placed it onto the formation, and explained:
“Seeing as you only boarded the ship today, how could you possibly compare to them? The Splendid Platform has traveled all the way from the East Province Continent, crossing the Wuwang Sea to reach the borders of the North Province, taking more than three full months.
Since this is your first time trying your hand, you don't know the ropes. Out of a single shichen, you'd usually spend nearly half a shichen sitting in meditation to regulate your breathing. Combined with how difficult it is to move in the black mist, for a first descent, being able to fight desperately and slay a hundred or so Qi Refinement hungry ghosts is already exceptionally good...”
Before he could even finish his sentence, a string of numbers suddenly shot up on the white jade board:
“Rogue cultivator Ma Jiu, Foundation Establishment Level 3, killed 2,151 Qi Refinement hungry ghosts, 2 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, 1 low-level Zhemu Sky Demon”
Nan Zhi: “...”
The Wuwei Sect cultivator: “...”
It was as if she was playing a joke on them.
She looked so gentle and polite, yet in a single shichen, she had accomplished what took others half a month.
Was this really the strength of a Foundation Establishment Level 3 cultivator?
Could this possibly be the strength of a Foundation Establishment Level 3 cultivator?!
Gasps erupted from the onlookers nearby, and the Sea Dragon Kingdom woman from before stood utterly dumbfounded.
That was 2,151 hungry ghosts, plus two Foundation Establishment demon beasts!
They weren't wild grass by the fields or trash fish in the water!
Even if one were to slaughter 2,151 pigs, it would take some time, wouldn't it?!
And after fighting for a whole shichen, did this person not need to sit and regulate her breathing at all?!
Even if she was extremely skilled in spells, she couldn't possibly unleash incantations without a single moment of pause, could she?!
Was this cultivator named Ma Jiu before them truly some rogue cultivator, and not a great demon in human form?!
Yet beneath the white jade board, any cultivation level below Golden Core had nowhere to hide. This Ma Jiu before them was indeed, without a doubt, a Foundation Establishment cultivator just like them!
She was simply more of a beast than their Demon race!
“Fellow Daoist... what incredible skill. To think you actually managed to slay a Zhemu Sky Demon. This demon is neither demon nor beast, and is extremely adept at concealing its tracks. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it difficult to detect its approach.”
The disciple in charge of counting checked the numbers again and again, almost suspecting that there was a problem with the formation. The look in his eyes as he stared at Nan Zhi grew increasingly filled with awe:
“With 2,151 hungry ghosts, would you like me to exchange them for spirit stones, Fellow Daoist? If you are interested in selling the demon cores, the price is also highly negotiable.”
“No need. I'll save them up for now and exchange them once I reach a round number.”
Nan Zhi took back her jade token and asked as if in passing:
“Didn't you say that Sky Demons wouldn't appear around the spirit ship? Why is it that I found the tracks of this Zhemu Sky Demon right around the treasure ship?”
Rate on N.U.
