Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 594: Chapter 373 Sect Leader Banquet_2

The next instant, he appeared ten yards away.

Yet, she continued to flicker without hesitation, as if instantaneously moving, and in the blink of an eye, she had shifted miles away, seemingly intent on fleeing without a fight.

Dong Qingyang, seeing this, had a face full of mockery and was about to speak with sarcasm when his body suddenly stiffened, his eyes revealing panic.

For some reason, the surrounding fog had taken on a hint of darkness, black as the abyss and malicious as the sea.

At that moment, Saintess Ling Luo was also forced back to her original position by the surrounding darkness.

“Our Sect Leader cordially invites the two guests…” At that moment, a cold and indifferent voice suddenly emanated from the darkness.

…

Bang!

Deep within the mountain body of Artifact Refining Peak, the wall of a storage room—three yards thick made of fine steel—turned red at extreme speed, and then a burst of golden True Fire spewed forth, visibly melting a big hole in the entire wall.

Zhao Sheng emerged from the hole, his expression slightly puzzled.

This loot was not satisfying; such a large storage room had hardly a few items he deemed worthy. He’d not seen even one Magical Treasure, and high-order refining materials for refining Magical Treasures were also sparse.

Back in the day, the Qiu Ling Sect was one of the logistics bases for the expeditionary army; surely they shouldn’t lack Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

However, after searching several storage rooms consecutively, not once had he made a satisfying haul.

It seemed… Huh?!

Zhao Sheng suddenly looked up, his eyes shooting out electric light, and with a flick of his hand, his Sword Pill hummed. Radiant Sword Light burst forth, cutting through the fog like torn silk, its sharp edge penetrating into the Void.

The Void suddenly surged with waves of black light,

The Sword Light clashed with the black light and was instantly obliterated, dissolving into nothingness.

This strike, so casually neutralized.

Zhao Sheng’s eyes slightly narrowed, and the one who countered the sword… was a ghostly creature. This ghost stood over ten yards tall, with a distinct face and spirited eyes, its eyes glowing like burning coal with a dusky red light, yet clearly flickering with the light of agility and wisdom.

This powerful ghostly creature intercepted the sword without launching an attack, but instead shouted lowly, shaking the four walls:

“Your ability to discover me proves you are worthy. I have been ordered by the Sect Leader, inviting our guest to attend a banquet!”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng’s heart relaxed, facing this Nascent Soul level ghost practitioner in front of his eyes.

He… was no match for him!

In any Cultivation World, once ghostly creatures regain their spiritual wisdom, cultivators regard them as Ghost Practitioners, distinguished from those who act solely on instinct and confusion.

Ghost Practitioners with spiritual wisdom could potentially communicate, also laying the groundwork for peaceful coexistence, while unreasoning ghostly creatures had no rationality whatsoever.

Zhao Sheng’s expression was solemn. This self-proclaimed Dingnan Venerable had the strength of the Nascent Soul level; undoubtedly, that mysterious Sect Leader was even stronger than he.

Then… how many “Nascent Soul Ghost Practitioners” like him could there be inside the Qiu Ling Sect? Had he truly stumbled into a nest of ghosts?

These doubts flashed through his mind, but Zhao Sheng quickly composed himself.

He would go; was he truly afraid of falling into a nest of ghosts?

As long as he had the Phase Shifting Divine Skill, Zhao Sheng feared no peril.

With this thought, Zhao Sheng bowed slightly in return and said, “Grateful for the Venerable’s gracious invitation, I am willing to attend the banquet.”

No sooner had his words fallen than the old ghost praised, “Excellent courage! If our guest is indeed blessed with formidable Qi Fortune, perhaps an opportunity for enlightenment will fall upon you.”

“A chance for attaining Dao?” Zhao Sheng pondered.

“Guest, did you not come to our sect’s gate seeking a chance for attainment of Dao?” the old ghost asked in reply, but it surprised Zhao Sheng somewhat.

Curious from what the old ghost had said, he inquired, “May I ask the Venerable, what exactly is this chance for attaining Dao?”

“That will depend on what the guest is seeking,” came the answer.

Old ghost’s demeanor was surprisingly approachable, lacking the fierce and cruel temperament typical of ghostly practitioners.

Zhao Sheng thought to himself for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Would the senior please lead the way ahead… Oh, by the way, how should I address the senior?”

The old ghost answered, “The Sect Leader once bestowed upon me a playful title, calling me Dingnan Venerable!”

Dingnan Venerable was not a particularly talkative “ghost”; on the way, there had been limited conversation with Zhao Sheng, and it was Zhao who asked questions that the Venerable rarely answered.

Of course, Zhao Sheng was not discouraged and seeing that the other party was not angry, he repeatedly tried to probe with questions.

Before long, the man and ghost arrived at the edge of a pitch-black and immense pit. Here, an intense concentration of gloomy and deadly qi formed into clouds.

Zhao Sheng remotely sensed the darkness below but discovered nothing, only faintly feeling an aura of destruction below, as though it were a place where death was certain, with no chance of life.

“We’re here. Go down.”

“Oh,”

In the blink of an eye, two streaks of black and white tunneling light had already plunged into the bottomless pit.

A short while later, dozens of miles deep underground, darkness enveloped everything, one couldn’t see their own fingers.

Zhao Sheng stood on the messy earthen and stony ground, looking around. He was now standing at the very center of a cavern that was extremely spacious and magnificent. Around the rocky walls, there were wide passages carved out leading in all directions, winding and far-reaching…

“Could the banquet be held here?”

Zhao Sheng felt this was unlikely, and upon closer examination, his gaze swept over the surrounding rock walls and suddenly faltered. The walls were densely and intricately inscribed with array patterns, with lines that went deep and surfaced in indistinguishable beginnings or ends. They spread to every corner of the cave, including the ceiling and the ground beneath his feet.

Most of the patterns were strange and bizarre, resembling characters but not quite, resembling paintings but not quite so, occasionally adorned with the shapes of birds and beasts or star maps. Zhao Sheng stared for a long time and then suddenly realized:

“This is an ancient magic array?!”

He turned his head in a circle while looking up and when his gaze reached the upper sky, his pupils constricted. The previously vacant void had disappeared at some point, replaced by layers of soil and rocks which were also covered with True Texts.

The entire cavern space was seamlessly unified, without a single crack.

Zhao Sheng slowly turned his head, staring at Dingnan Venerable with a penetrating gaze, full of challenge: “What does this mean?”

“The guest will know soon.

This old ghost… Zhao Sheng was at once amused and helpless; it seemed the fellow had put on an accommodating stance. Apart from not informing him in advance and leading him here, the person was indeed courteous, and his techniques, both soft and hard, could be considered refined.

If I become annoyed, a single divine thunder could collapse this ghostly place.

Zhao Sheng ultimately did not say these words. It wasn’t that he feared anything, but rather that he didn’t want to lose face by speaking them rashly. He had realized that within the fractal structures of array runes spreading throughout the cavern, many were defensive by nature. If this talisman array was still in operation, combining all these items together, even if it couldn’t be said to be as sturdy as vajra, it certainly wouldn’t be weak. Moreover, with the rock and soil layers conducting electricity swiftly, the sensing divine thunder of the upper sky’s true celestial light, however powerful, might not be effective.

Zhao Sheng was not the type to foolishly cling to face and not let go. Up to now, Dingnan Venerable’s “Sect Leader” had not used particularly malicious means, but considering his ability to manage Prisoner Dragon Cave within the Qiu Ling Sect and control a DAOist ghostly creature like Dingnan Venerable, he must be an extraordinary person. It would be unwise to fall out with him now. Plus, Zhao wanted to see what this “Sect Leader” was up to.

Actually, Dingnan Venerable was not completely unresponsive; it had been observing the young cultivator’s every move. Like other ghostly creatures, it had formed from the resentment and malevolence within Qiu Ling Sect’s gate, merging with innate Geng Metal Qi. The only difference was that after wandering aimlessly through Qiu Ling Sect’s gate for tens of thousands of years, by a fortuitous chance for attaining Dao, it obtained a treasure, suppressed its innate malevolence, and after centuries of gestation, it developed spiritual wisdom. As a result, it caught the eye of Prisoner Dragon Cave’s Sect Leader, who took it as a servant and taught it the ways of ghost cultivation.

When it achieved spiritual wisdom, it had only been a few hundred years. Usually dedicated to cultivation, its knowledge was limited. It could only get glimpses of the outside world through the cultivators who entered the sect’s garden during the annual opening period. Direct interactions with people were extremely rare and usually ended with a sword being drawn to kill. Like now, engaging purely in verbal encounters, the truth is, it was a bit nervous, but more than that, it was curious.

Zhao Sheng’s sharp gaze swept over the ghostly creature and then once again, he observed the placement of the rune formations. This time, he merely gave them a cursory glance, but it further confirmed what he had suspected.