Cultivation Starting from Full Talent

Chapter 62: Chapter 61 Irreparable

The entrance to the secret realm slowly closed.

At this point, any disciple who hadn’t come out would never come out, without any suspense.

“Senior Brother Lin Sheng…”

Xu Ning leaned on Big Stupid Deer’s neck, limping through the crowd in search of him.

The Chaotic Sect had suffered heavy losses, and the remaining disciples actually weren’t many, only about eighty, with losses exceeding sixty percent!

Among the crowd, a disheveled figure sat on a piece of moss-covered green rock, it was Lin Sheng.

Only, at this moment, Lin Sheng’s entire demeanor was off, like an eggplant hit by frost, completely wilted.

Additionally, Lin Sheng had sustained severe injuries.

From below his neck to his chest and abdomen, large areas were burn-scarred, the flesh curling, blackened and stuck together, and even his cultivation had fallen from Perfect Qi Refining to Qi Refining Ninth Level.

“Senior brother, what happened?”

Xu Ning took a quick step forward, looking at Lin Sheng about to collapse, unable to reconcile him with the vigorous Inner Sect Disciple of the past.

“Junior Brother, it’s okay…”

Lin Sheng gave a bitter smile, his eyes seemingly having lost their light.

“Lin Sheng encountered a Second Order Demon Beast and was severely injured, his heart meridian has already been damaged.”

A Foundation Establishment Elder shook his head, “After returning, he should rest well, there may still be a chance for Foundation Establishment in the future.”

His gaze was indifferent, seemingly accustomed to such events, and indeed it was so, for the disciples who entered the Cangnan Secret Realm, how many could end up well?

It was indeed a risky venture, and Lin Sheng being alive upon returning was already more fortunate than many others.

Xu Ning quietly inspected Lin Sheng’s injuries with his Divine Sense, indeed, the injuries were severe, he gently placed his palm on Lin Sheng’s shoulder, channeling a thread of Evergreen Technique power.

This was merely to temporarily protect the heart meridian, he quickly moved his hand away to avoid exposing his Evergreen Technique cultivation.

“Junior Brother?”

Lin Sheng looked grateful.

Xu Ning nodded, signaling to talk later.

…

His gaze scanned the crowd and finally settled on a shabbily dressed Inner Sect Disciple, it was Lin Zhuojun.

Inside the secret realm, Lin Zhuojun’s cry for “Junior Brother, save me,” could have very likely killed Xu Ning, who was at Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

Lin Zhuojun’s actions were for self-preservation, though understandable, they should not be easily forgiven.

…

Lin Zhuojun, upon meeting Xu Ning’s gaze, immediately lowered his head, his face red with shame.

Quickly, Xu Ning saw Liu Ruyan amidst a group of female disciples of the Chaotic Sect.

Liu Ruyan looked as beautiful as when they first met, but her expression was not good, especially when meeting Xu Ning’s gaze, she immediately turned away, daring not to look at Xu Ning.

“Junior Brother Ning, you might not know yet?”

An Inner Sect Disciple under the tutelage of Great Elder Gongyang Yan frowned, lowering his voice, “Junior Brother Lin Sheng had some disagreements with Junior Sister Liu Ruyan inside the secret realm.”

“Oh?”

Xu Ning immediately leaned in, asking, “Senior Brother, can you elaborate?”

“Yes.”

The senior brother said, “I also heard from others, it’s said that inside the secret realm, Junior Brother Lin Sheng and Junior Sister Liu teamed up to explore, but encountered a Late-stage Second Order Green Flame Flood Dragon.

Junior Brother Lin drew his sword to contend with it, originally planning to restrain the Green Flame Flood Dragon together to find an escape opportunity, but didn’t expect Senior Sister Liu to be scared excessively, and she abandoned Junior Brother Lin to escape alone.

Afterward, Junior Brother Lin faced the Green Flame Flood Dragon alone, fortunately, he had earlier set up a First-tier Middle-grade Array from somewhere, which allowed him to escape the disaster!”

The senior brother shook his head lightly, “But the Green Flame Flood Dragon, comparable to a False Core in combat power, a monstrous Late-stage Second Order Demon Beast; Junior Brother Lin still sustained severe injuries.

Moreover, apart from the physical injuries, the heartache is the most troublesome, his cultivation has already fallen significantly, if he can’t get over this mental block, I’m afraid there’s no hope for Foundation Establishment.”

“So this happened…”

Xu Ning’s brows furrowed in concern, “Thank you, senior brother, for informing me, thank you…”

“Yes.”

The senior brother nodded, then turned and left.

Xu Ning’s thoughts were complex.

Initially, he, Lin Sheng, Liu Ruyan, and Lin Zhuojun had all entered the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range together to hunt a Fire Qilin. They had shared life and death together, yet he hadn’t expected that in just a short time, the relationship between the four of them could reach this irreparable state.

“Aow~~~”

Beside him, Big Stupid Deer saw Xu Ning lost in thought and gently nudged his arm.

“I’m fine.”

Xu Ning rubbed Big Stupid Deer’s head and hugged it tightly again.

…

Not long after, the various major Sects began to gather Spiritual Medicines.

On the Chaotic Sect’s side, all disciples took out Purple Blood Ginseng, Earth Ganoderma, Heart-focusing Grass one by one from their Storage Bags, then had a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder scan the Storage Bags with a spiritual artifact, confirming there were no more of the three main herbs.

“Senior Brother Wang actually obtained a total of nine main herbs…”

Someone in the crowd secretly marveled, “It seems his Foundation Establishment Pill should be quite secure now.”

“Yes, indeed, Senior Brother Wang’s fortune is truly enviable.”

The other disciples all showed envious looks, the great path lay before them, and seeing such an opportunity would make anyone jealous.

Each disciple took out their spiritual medicine, some had only one or two plants, while others had a worse fate, not having even a single plant.

In fact, a female disciple not only failed to produce any spiritual medicine, but also sat on the ground with red eyes.

“Sigh…”

Her master, an Outer Elder, couldn’t help shaking his head and said, “It’s okay, it’s fine if you didn’t get any spiritual medicine, as long as you can come back alive, that’s already good enough.”

However, “it’s okay” was just a saying.

Such disciples, upon returning to the Sect, would inevitably be marked as “useless disciples,” and the Sect resources they could receive afterward would naturally be reduced, subjecting them to “extra” care.

A distance away, Jiang Yu’s beautiful eyes fell on the spirit grass the disciples handed in, and she couldn’t help sighing.

The amount was really too little, relying on this little main medication, not to mention competing with the Sea Burning Sect or the Soul Devouring Sect, even ranking with the Star Moon Pavilion or Purple Cloud Sect was quite uncertain.

Finally, the Elder who was responsible for collecting the spiritual medicines came to the last person, Ning Daoran, and asked, “Master Ning, do you have any Purple Blood Ginseng, Heart-focusing Grass, or Earth Ganoderma among your collection of these three types of spiritual medicine?”

Everyone did not hold much hope, a Qi Refining Seventh Layer could not possibly compete with other Sects’ Qi Refining Ninth Layers or Perfect Qi Refining for spiritual medicine.

“I have some.”

Ning Daoran did not dare to hide anything, with a slap on his Storage Bag, instantly, strands of spiritual medicines appeared, all three main medications, and since they were harvested inside the Prohibition, the years weren’t too low.

In the end, a total of 44 doses of spiritual medicine lay before them.

“A total of forty-four plants…”

The Foundation Establishment Elder’s face was both shocked and delighted, “Master Ning, how did you manage to get so much spiritual medicine?”

Jiang Yu’s gaze also looked over, not just her, many Elders and disciples were also very surprised.

“There’s something uncle doesn’t know.”

Ning Daoran had his explanation ready, “In my spare time, I cultivated a Wood Escape Technique, which has already reached a Small Accomplishment.

During the big conflict between the Sea Burning Sect and the Soul Devouring Sect, I used the opportunity to use Wood Escape to circle into the Prohibition, so I harvested so many spiritual medicines.

It’s a pity that the damaged area of the Prohibition was very small, otherwise I might have harvested even more.”

“You’ve done remarkably well!”

The Foundation Establishment Elder’s eyes sparkled, clearly finding Ning Daoran’s explanation quite reasonable, and he was thoroughly convinced.

“In this case, Master Ning is indeed this year’s first person from our Chaotic Sect in the Cangnan Secret Realm, and it is by chance that he has this kind of fortune.” A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder said, smiling appreciatively.

“Mm.”

Jiang Yu nodded and immediately stated, “Don’t worry, Junior Brother Ning, a Foundation Establishment Pill will definitely be sent to you later!”@@novelbin@@

“Good, thank you, Senior Sister!”

Jiang Yu’s words made many disciples extremely envious.

A distance away, Outer Elder Xu Ning frowned.

He had never expected Ning Daoran to be the top-ranking disciple, he could only secretly lament that this youngster was so tough, with unbelievably good luck!

In a year when the mortality rate in the Cangnan Secret Realm was so high, for a Qi Refining Seventh Layer to survive, it was simply incredible!

…

Soon after, the various Sects began comparing their spoils.

As expected, the Sea Burning Sect ranked first, the total number of spiritual medicines even exceeded the second-ranked Soul Devouring Sect by more than half!

Unexpectedly, the Chaotic Sect ranked third, making Jiang Yu almost unable to stop smiling.

Following were Star Moon Pavilion, Steel Gate Sect, Purple Cloud Sect among others, none of the Sect Masters’ faces showed much joy.

“Old Ghost Tian Hai.”

The Soul-devouring Demon flicked his finger, sending three 8,000-year-old Jade Flower Grasses toward the other party, “I willingly admit defeat, this time it’s your Sea Burning Sect’s win, but don’t be complacent, let’s see the real deal in fifty years!”

“Humph!”

Old Monster Tian Hai cast a Prohibition to wrap around the spiritual medicines before placing them into his Storage Bag.

Both being old foxes, Old Monster Tian Hai was quite cautious, not ruling out the possibility that the Soul-devouring Demon might tamper with the spiritual medicines.

However, even though he won the bet, there wasn’t much joy on Old Monster Tian Hai’s face.

In this trip to the Cangnan Secret Realm, although the Sea Burning Sect came out on top, they lost True Disciples like Qin Buhui and Qin Wuyou, casting doubt on the next generation’s successors, which greatly annoyed Old Monster Tian Hai’s heart.

“Soul-devouring Demon!”

He frowned and said sternly, “According to the rules, three high-grade Spirit stone mines are involved. My Sea Burning Sect may choose two of them, and I will not bully you with my power, just hand over that southwestern Spirit stone mine.”

“Humph!”

The Soul-devouring Demon said, waving his sleeve, “In half a month, your Sect disciples can take over.”

Saying this, the Soul-devouring Demon shook a small flag, summoning a fleet of Demon-headed Flying Boats, leading the remaining disciples of the Soul Devouring Sect back to the Sect.

The major Sects dispersed one after another.

“Let’s also return to the Chaotic Sect.”

Jiang Yu looked back at a group of disciples who had just survived a catastrophe, each looking like frostbitten eggplants, and felt somewhat pained, “When we return, the Sect will not shortchange you.”

“Thank you, Sect Master!”

The disciples were finally energized.

…

Lei Peng rode the winds and waves, returning to the Chaotic Sect.

Ning Daoran, sitting with Big Stupid Deer in a corner, looked at the clouds rolling and unrolling in the distance, his mind filled with only a sense of serenity and detachment.