Chương 24: Entering the Forbidden Zone! Cloud Mist Valley!

Cloud Mist Valley!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Entering the Forbidden Zone! Cloud Mist Valley!

Just as the three sects of Huangfeng Valley, Qingxu Sect, and Yanyue Sect were secretly churning over the bet, the teams from the other four major sects also arrived at this desolate mountain peak one after another.

The cultivators from Spirit Beast Mountain were the most conspicuous. They did not ride flying magical artifacts, but instead each rode rare and powerful spirit beasts of various kinds. Their demonic aura was mixed with their menacing presence, drawing the attention of disciples from other sects.

The disciples of the Giant Sword Sect each carried a broad, thick sword almost as tall as themselves, walking with steady steps and sharp, sword-like eyes.

Although they did not fly on swords, a sharp sword intent that was condensed and did not dissipate naturally rose from the group, faintly rivaling the wild and demonic aura of Spirit Beast Mountain.

The cultivators of Huadaowu are all dressed in dark blue tight-fitting clothes, with swords at their waists or on their backs. The scabbards vary in shape, but each of them exudes a sharp and powerful aura, with eyes as sharp as knives.

Unlike the Giant Sword Sect, they did not exude an outward aura, but possessed a restrained sharpness, like a blade that would draw blood once unsheathed, inspiring awe in those who beheld them.

The Tianque Fortress's troops were the most disciplined. The disciples were all dressed in uniform, bright silver light armor. The sound of the armor plates clashing together was synchronized as they moved. They had cold expressions and were taciturn, just like a well-trained army, exuding an aura of iron-blooded killing intent.

Thus, the seven major immortal cultivation sects of the Yue Kingdom gathered here.

The desolate mountaintop suddenly became bustling with activity, as various spiritual lights, demonic energy, sword intent, and blade auras intertwined and collided, creating a tense yet subtle atmosphere.

The disciples from different factions sized each other up from a distance, their eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny, but even more so with undisguised vigilance and hostility.

Even before the forbidden area was opened, an invisible contest had already begun.

Zhou Ding sat cross-legged in the Yellow Maple Valley group, seemingly oblivious to the gazes around him, whether visible or hidden. He simply closed his eyes to meditate and adjust his condition to its peak.

The Core Formation cultivators from the seven sects gathered together, discussing in hushed tones the specifics of opening the forbidden area, occasionally gazing at a certain point in the sky as if calculating the time.

About an hour later, Li Huayuan suddenly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the disciples of Huangfeng Valley, and his voice booming like a bell: "The time is approaching, let's depart!"

The silver-armored horned python reappeared, carrying the people of Yellow Maple Valley into the air.

The other six sects' Core Formation ancestors also issued commands, and in an instant, streams of light of various colors soared into the sky. Some rode flying boats, some stepped on magical treasures, and some rode spirit beasts, flying in a grand procession towards a desolate place on the border of Yue Kingdom.

……

After flying for about two hours, the group landed on a vast, desolate plain.

The scene here was even more desolate than the mountains that had gathered before. As far as the eye could see, there were only scattered piles of gray-brown rocks, endless yellow sand and cracked earth, without a trace of greenery. The air was filled with a suffocating dryness and heat.

"This is the place." The Core Formation cultivator from the Giant Sword Sect, with a stern face and carrying a heavy, bladeless sword on his back, spoke in a deep voice.

His gaze was sharp as he scanned the seemingly empty void ahead.

He pointed his fingers like a sword and pointed at the ground in front of him.

The yellow earth and gravel on the ground seemed to be drawn together by an invisible force, rapidly converging and compressing, instantly condensing into a giant, earth-yellow sword that was several meters long and incredibly heavy.

With a flick of his sword, the earthen-yellow giant sword emitted a muffled whooshing sound as it shot towards the void a hundred feet away!

"Buzz—!"

The earthen sword flew to a certain spot, and a sudden change occurred!

The seemingly calm void suddenly rippled violently like water, and large swaths of azure light appeared out of thin air, instantly covering an area of dozens of feet in front of them, turning everyone's faces into azure.

Immediately afterwards, countless translucent, extremely sharp-edged, high-speed rotating cyan wind blades shot out densely from the cyan light, like an enraged swarm of bees!

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss—!"

The ear-piercing cutting sounds blended together.

The giant, earth-yellow sword, formed from the magical power of a Core Formation cultivator, could only withstand the terrifying wind and blade storm for less than a breath before being shredded into a cloud of yellow sand and dust, completely dissipating.

"The power of the restriction still remains; it hasn't reached its weakest point yet." The Giant Sword Sect cultivator frowned slightly, withdrew his fingers, and said nothing more, simply closing his eyes to wait quietly.

After that, he repeated the same action every hour to test the strength of the restriction.

When the earthen-yellow giant sword was fired for the fourth time, the blue light of the wind wall dimmed slightly, and the number of wind blades that emerged also decreased considerably. Although it still shredded the earthen sword, it was no longer as devastating as before.

"Now is the time!" The giant sword sect cultivator's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he shouted.

Almost at the same moment he spoke, the seven Core Formation cultivators moved simultaneously, each taking up a position on one side!

Without needing to say more, seven vast and powerful magical energy surged into the sky!

Li Huayuan slapped the back of his head, and a stream of crimson light shot out from his mouth. It grew in the wind and transformed into a giant sword three zhang long, burning with raging flames. With the force of burning the sky and boiling the sea, it slashed fiercely at the wind wall!

With a flick of his whisk, Fu Yunzi unleashed a torrent of silver threads, like the Milky Way hanging upside down from the heavens, or like countless incredibly tough steel needles, densely piercing the azure light!

With a gentle wave of her delicate hand, the fairy in the rainbow robe unleashed a seven-colored ribbon that resembled a serpent emerging from its cave or a rainbow stretching across the sky. Seemingly gentle, it carried a tremendous force capable of crushing everything, coiling around the wind wall.

The fourth-level demonic beast "Rending Wind Eagle" under the seat of the Core Formation cultivator of Spirit Beast Mountain let out a sharp cry that could shatter gold and split rocks. It flapped its wings fiercely and unleashed two thick and solid cyan wind pillars!

The sword without a blade on the back of the Giant Sword Sect cultivator was drawn with a clang. It did not grow larger, but instead slashed through the air, tearing through the sky with a simple yet heavy earth-yellow sword aura!

The Core Formation Elder of Huadaowu drew his sword, its blade gleaming brightly. With a single slash, it seemed to split the heavens and earth, its aura fierce and domineering!

The silver-armored elder of Tianque Fortress clenched his fists and suddenly punched forward. The air exploded under the strain of his fists, condensing into two huge silver fist imprints that slammed down!

Seven magical treasures simultaneously struck the same point!

"Boom—!!!"

The deafening roar was like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart! The entire wasteland trembled!

The cyan wind wall twisted, expanded, and contracted violently, bursting out with blinding cyan light. Countless wind blades counterattacked wildly, colliding fiercely with, cutting, and annihilating the seven magical treasures!

The chaotic flow of spiritual energy swept outwards like a storm, causing sand and stones to fly and the world to lose its color!

The seven Core Formation cultivators wore solemn expressions as they exerted all their magical power to maintain the bombardment of their magical treasures.

Even at its weakest, this ancient restriction is still extraordinary.

Time passed slowly, and three hours later, all seven of them had sweat on their foreheads and their breathing was slightly uneven. In particular, Fu Yunzi, who was skilled in the precise control of the whisk magic weapon, had a pale face, obviously due to a huge consumption of energy.

Finally, under the relentless onslaught, a circular passage about ten feet in diameter was worn into the center of the incredibly tough cyan wind wall, with fine wind blades still flashing along its edges.

The passage was dark and deep, with no visible scenery, except for a gentle, ancient, and wild breeze carrying the scent of medicinal herbs.

"Hurry up! The passage can only last for thirty breaths!" Fu Yunzi shouted hoarsely, his voice filled with obvious fatigue and urgency.

The disciples from the seven factions had already lined up in the order agreed upon beforehand.

Yellow Maple Valley is neither the first nor the last.

When it was their turn, Li Huayuan gave a low shout: "Go!"

Zhou Ding took a deep breath of the hot, dry air, his eyes instantly becoming sharp as an eagle's.

He followed behind his fellow disciples, his figure flashed, and without hesitation stepped into the entrance of the passage that flickered with unstable light.

The moment you step into the passage, the world spins! It's as if you've been thrown into a high-speed vortex, and the surrounding scenery changes rapidly in a bizarre and distorted manner. Various colors are twisted and stretched, and you feel weightlessness and a pulling sensation at the same time. In your ears, you hear the howling of strange wind and the buzzing of the friction between space.

If I hadn't been mentally prepared and physically strong, I probably would have fainted instantly.

Fortunately, the teleportation process was extremely short.

The next moment, he felt a solid touch on his feet, and the slight dizziness quickly subsided. Zhou Ding was now in a completely unfamiliar environment.

All around was a vast expanse of white, with visibility less than ten feet.

A damp, cold mist mixed with a faint smell of decaying vegetation wafted towards us. The air was filled with a rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, yet it also carried a subtle, unsettling chill compared to the outside world.

Beneath your feet lies soft, damp soil covered with fallen leaves, with the occasional glimpse of gnarled tree roots.

"Misty Valley?"

Zhou Ding immediately looked around warily, and at the same time took out the jade map containing information about part of the Crimson Forbidden Land from his storage bag, and immersed his divine sense into it.

A moment later, he confirmed his location—the outer area of the Crimson Forbidden Land, Cloud Mist Valley.

Due to the influence of special geological veins and restrictions, this place is shrouded in dense fog all year round, and is rich in a spiritual fruit called "Mist Spirit Fruit" which is beneficial to the cultivation of water and wood attribute techniques.

However, at the same time, a level-one demonic beast called "Mist-Hidden Serpent" also lurks there.

This snake is entirely grayish-white, blending perfectly with the mist. Its scales are hard, and it moves swiftly and silently. It spews poisonous mist and ice spikes from its mouth and is extremely adept at stealth and ambush. Many cultivators who enter the forbidden area for the first time have suffered great losses here.

Zhou Ding dared not be careless. With a thought, the dark scale armor he wore close to his body emitted a faint dark light, ready to be activated at any time.

At the same time, he spread out his powerful divine sense, but the dense fog also had a significant obstructive effect on his divine sense. The area that could originally cover 550 meters was suppressed to less than 200 meters here.

"Come out, Little Gold." He patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

With a flash of gray, Little Gold, whose body was as robust as an adult tiger, appeared at his feet.

With a thought, Xiao Jin's body flashed with a yellowish-brown light, and it instantly sank into the damp soil and disappeared.

The next moment, the sensory images of the Earth Listening Technique clearly appeared in Zhou Ding's mind!

Centered on him, the earth's veins, soil structure, rock distribution, underground water flow, and the outlines and spiritual energy fluctuations of all objects attached to the ground or shallow underground within a radius of three kilometers are presented in a detailed three-dimensional map, showing everything without any detail!

The dense fog was no obstacle at this moment!

"Great!" Zhou Ding's spirits lifted.

With Xiao Jin around, the troublesome foggy environment actually became a home-field advantage for him.

He kept his main body alert and moved forward slowly, while using Xiao Jin's senses to explore his surroundings.

They hadn't walked more than a hundred feet when the Earth Listening Technique made a discovery.

About three hundred meters to the left, in a relatively open clearing in the forest, grows a strange tree about two people tall, with twisted branches like a dragon and silvery-gray leaves.

A faint blue light flickered in the mist within the tree canopy.

That was a ripe Mist Spirit Fruit!

Judging from the concentration of spiritual light and the size of the fruit, it is at least two hundred years old!

Zhou Ding was overjoyed, but quickly calmed down.

According to the Earth Listening Technique, in the shadow of the tangled roots of the Mist Spirit Fruit Tree, a long, slender creature silhouette, almost completely integrated with the spiritual energy of the surrounding environment, was quietly lurking.

Its aura was extremely well concealed, and its heartbeat was slow; if it weren't for the Earth Listening Technique's extraordinary ability to distinguish fluctuations in life and spiritual energy, it would be almost impossible to detect.

Nongfu Spring 123 proudly presents "In the Yellow Maple Valley, I Have a Demonic Beast Doppelganger!", exclusively premiered on Cola Novels!