bookbashuk Chapter 178 Trial at Dongshi Mountain
Chapter 178 Trial at Dongshi Mountain
"In that case, why did you let this boy enter Dongshi Mountain for the trial? It's extremely dangerous inside. Based on past experience, not to mention how many Nether Stones they get, the survival rate alone won't exceed 30%."
"It would be such a pity if this young man were to perish here without knowing why," the barefoot man said, frowning.
"Hmph! Do you think I want this? Every one of the people here is an old fox who has lived for hundreds of years. If they discover the truth, even if they are wary of the Netherworld Sect and cannot do anything to me in person, it is hard to guarantee that they will not spread the word afterward."
If word gets out that a cultivator who has mastered the Soul Devouring Technique to an extremely high level, do you think the two of us can protect this child?
Other sects might be alright, but would the Ghost Path sects let such an opportunity slip by? Even those Nascent Soul stage monsters who never show themselves would probably spring out after hearing the news.
Chihiro felt somewhat frustrated and helplessly transmitted her thoughts.
The barefoot man's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty upon hearing this, but he remained silent.
Before long, a group of Golden Core experts joined forces to activate a mountain-encircling array outside the barrier. Instantly, a brilliant black light shone, making the entire Dongshi Mountain appear as if it were enveloped by a thick black wall of light.
Once the magic array was fully activated, neither sight nor divine sense could detect the other side, whether inside or outside the light wall.
……
As soon as Du Fan stepped into Black Mountain, he felt several gazes sweeping over him. He frowned and turned to look.
Not far in front of him stood about two hundred people, who were divided into dozens of groups and distributed in different places. Among these groups, the smallest group had only three or five people, while the largest group had eight or nine people.
Du Fan's appearance immediately attracted the attention of these people.
"Fifth level of Qi Refining!"
A man in a yellow robe's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and smiled as he spoke:
"Fellow Daoist, my name is Zhen Yuanzi. The trials at Dongshi Mountain are extremely dangerous. Why don't you join my team? That way, we can look out for each other during the trials, and the Nether Stones we obtain can be distributed according to our respective cultivation levels."
"Fellow Daoist Zhen, your team already has seven members. Don't be too greedy!"
Before Du Fan could speak, another cold voice rang out, followed by a long-faced man who walked over and gave Zhen Yuanzi an unfriendly look.
"Fellow Daoist, why don't you join our team? Although there are only four of us, we are all cultivators at the fifth or sixth level of the Qi Refining stage. Our overall strength is not weak. Most importantly, there are no weaklings in our team, so we won't drag others down."
In an instant, the long-faced man put on a gentle smile and spoke politely to Du Fan.
"Wang Longyu, what do you mean by that!" Zhen Yuanzi was furious upon hearing this and shouted at the long-faced man.
The long-faced man remained unperturbed upon seeing this, rolled his eyes, and looked at Du Fan with anticipation.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I am used to traveling alone and have no intention of teaming up with anyone. I will take my leave now."
Du Fan scanned the two men with his divine sense and found that they were both cultivators at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage. With a thought, he decided not to be too rude, so he smiled slightly, said something to them politely, and left without looking back, heading towards the first black mountain.
Wang Longyu and Zhen Yuanzi were slightly taken aback upon seeing this, then both snorted coldly and returned to their respective groups, waiting for the next cultivator worth recruiting to appear.
The other teams were also interested after seeing Du Fan, but before they could speak, Du Fan strode away.
After exchanging glances, these people didn't pay much attention, since most people were like Du Fan, who ventured alone into Dongshi Mountain.
Du Fan ignored the people behind him and disappeared into the first black mountain in a few flashes.
The mountain peak is covered with dense forests and tall shrubs, most of which are dark green, blocking out the sunlight completely.
Although it was noon, the Black Mountain was as dark as night, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
Du Fan took a deep breath and immediately activated the Spirit Devouring Technique, extending his divine sense to cover hundreds of feet around him, taking in everything within that area. Only then did he feel reassured and continue walking forward.
It must be said that in such a special place, Du Fan's powerful divine sense will bring him tremendous benefits. If he is careful, he may even be able to remain invincible.
Next, taking advantage of his powerful divine sense, he deliberately avoided many other cultivators who came here for trials, turning left and right, and walked into the depths of Black Mountain with ease.
After a short while, Du Fan paused, a look of hesitation on his face. After a moment, his eyes flashed, and he walked step by step in one direction.
In a dozen or so breaths, Du Fan arrived at the edge of a cave about ten feet in size. He had already detected through his divine sense that there was a level one magical beast resembling a fox inside the cave, and next to this beast, there was a piece of jet-black Nether Stone.
The magical beast had its eyes closed and appeared to be asleep. Du Fan felt relieved upon seeing this. Even if it was only a level one magical beast, it was best not to attack if possible.
Du Fan took a deep breath and quietly activated his object manipulation technique, carefully applying it remotely to the Nether Stone, causing it to levitate and gradually move outwards.
A few breaths later, Du Fan's actions went surprisingly smoothly. He had already taken the Nether Stone into his hand without disturbing the magical beasts in the cave.
Du Fan was overjoyed. After putting the Nether Stone into his storage bag, he quietly left the place and began searching for his next target.
Just after Du Fan left, the seemingly asleep magical beast twitched its eyelids and slowly opened its eyes, revealing a very human-like look of lingering fear, clearly indicating that it was quite intelligent.
After a short while, Du Fan appeared in another cave, where a level-one magical beast resembling a goat was lying in wait.
Du Fan used the same trick again and successfully "stole" a piece of Nether Stone once more.
In the following hour, Du Fan searched four caves in succession, taking the Nether Stones without disturbing the magical beasts inside.
Just as he felt relaxed and was preparing to find the next cave, a glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he sighed.
Within the range of Du Fan's divine sense, he discovered two groups of cultivators ahead. If he continued forward, he would inevitably encounter one of them, which was the last thing he wanted to see.
If he stood still and waited for the two groups of cultivators in front to leave before walking over, it would be impossible, because there were also people coming towards him from more than 400 feet behind him.
In other words, no matter which way he goes, he will come into contact with other cultivators.
As Du Fan's mind raced, secretly comparing the strengths of the three parties, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He lightly slapped his forehead and muttered, "How could I have forgotten about it?"
After muttering to himself, Du Fan quickly took out an item from his storage. A pale blue light flashed, revealing it to be the invisibility ring.
He smiled slightly and put the invisibility ring on his left hand. Just as he was about to take a step, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked at his body in disbelief.
"The invisibility ring's effect has failed here in the Eastern Beginning Mountains..."
Du Fan's expression changed. He stared in disbelief at his body, which remained unchanged after he put on the invisibility ring.
But he didn't have time to think about it. After cursing under his breath, he put away the ring and strode off in a direction with a grim expression.
A moment later, Du Fan's gaze turned somewhat gloomy as he coldly stared at the two people opposite him.
About seven or eight zhang in front of him were a man and a woman, both around thirty years old, dressed similarly. The man was short and stocky with an ugly appearance, while the woman was tall and beautiful.
Du Fan scanned the area with his divine sense and discovered that the ugly man's cultivation level was at the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage, while the tall and beautiful woman possessed a powerful cultivation level at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage, which would place her among the top thirty cultivators in the trial at Dongshi Mountain.
"What do you two mean by this? I have never met you before, let alone had any grudges with you. Moreover, there are many cultivators here. I advise you two not to do something like the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman benefits."
Seeing the two people blocking his way, Du Fan's face darkened, and he said in a cold voice.
At this moment, Du Fan was quite anxious. If they were outside, he wouldn't care about fighting these two, but the surrounding environment was so complicated that he didn't want to fight here unless necessary. As he had said before, it wouldn't benefit either side.
"The snipe and the clam fight? Heh heh, fellow Daoist, you think too highly of yourself. The two of us can kill you in a matter of moments, so why talk about the fisherman reaping the benefits? Haha..."
The ugly man chuckled, his face suddenly contorting into a ferocious grin. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he stomped his foot hard on the ground, letting out a low growl as he charged straight at Du Fan.
The tall woman frowned slightly, seemingly unwilling to make a move. However, after the ugly man attacked, she sighed softly, raised her jade arm, and her ten slender fingers began to form some kind of hand seal.
"A combination of legal entities? Interesting..."
Du Fan's eyes twitched at first, then he snorted coldly, slapped his storage bag with one hand, quickly took out the silver sword weapon, took a deep breath, his internal magic power suddenly surged, and he swung his arm fiercely, instantly slashing three swords in the direction of the ugly man.
The next moment, three blinding blue lights suddenly flashed from the silver sword in Du Fan's hand, accompanied by a series of whistling sounds, and instantly slashed wildly at the ugly man.