Cultivation Starting from Full Talent

Chapter 69: Chapter 67: The Scam

After retrieving the Storage Bag, he launched a Fireball Technique that turned Lady Linglong’s corpse into a pile of ashes, which kept rising and dispersing.

Ning Daoran glanced at the Paperfolk lying on the ground, already burned to a crisp by the mana injected by the Poison Needle, deemed a worthy sacrifice for having blocked a disaster for him.

As for the puppet resembling Lady Linglong, with its ferocious features, he also hurled a Samadhi True Fire to incinerate it.

Puppetry Technique also belongs to one of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.

Lady Linglong could only be considered a First-tier Puppet Master, nothing extraordinary, but if one could refine a Second Order Puppet, which could rival a Foundation Establishment practitioner in combat, it should absolutely not be underestimated.

“Shua!”

A Paperfolk from Ning Daoran’s sleeve fluttered out and rapidly expanded into another version of himself, continuing the exploration forward.

Meanwhile, his true body released a spell, transforming into a strand of green light and merging into the vines on the edge of the Secret Realm, creating two lines of exploration, one overt and one covert, with the Paperfolk.

As for Big Stupid Deer, it had already been hidden inside the Spirit Beast Bag.

…

Not long after, the Ghost Fog ahead dispersed, replaced by a vast square paved with grey tiles.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang, you’ve come as well.”

Shangguan Xing expressed his surprise, “It’s good you’re all right. Did you see Fellow Daoist Linglong?”

“Not yet.”

Ning Daoran shook his head and said, “This place is full of perils; those Yin Beasts and Ghost spirits are quite formidable. I almost got caught and couldn’t escape.”

Senior Huang from the Huang Family sent a glance filled with barely concealed scorn.

In his eyes, a great Foundation Establishment Expert, it was suicidal for a Qi Refinement practitioner to come to the Ghost Flame Secret Realm, and frankly, if one died, they deserved it; he wouldn’t lift a finger to save anyone.

A streak of azure light flew over, and Transcendent Qingluan had also arrived.

Everyone waited for nearly half an hour.

“It seems that Lady Linglong has indeed perished.”

Impatience flickered across the Senior Huang’s expression as he said, “Using my Divine Sense to scan through the Ghost Fog, I found no sign of Lady Linglong’s presence. She has most likely become Blood Food for those Yin Beasts.”@@novelbin@@

“Ah…”

A look of shock crossed Shangguan Xing’s face; he had a bit of a relationship with Lady Linglong and had not expected that this First-tier top-grade Puppet Master, who had held sway in the area around Yellow Dragon Square, to have died silently in the Ghost Flame Secret Realm.

“In that case…”

Transcendent Qingluan spoke indifferently, “Shall we continue to move forward and seek out opportunities?”

“Yes.”

Senior Huang nodded.

The others had no objections, so Senior Huang raised his hand and summoned a Bronze beast puppet, leading the way with it while everyone else slowly followed behind.

Within the Secret Realm, the great hall was in ruins, with countless vines twisted and winding around. After passing through a stretch of wilderness, the wailing of the Cold Wind could be heard ahead.

“Crack—”

There was a light sound, and the Bronze beast puppet scanning ahead suddenly fell apart, its body cut into more than a dozen pieces.

“Be careful, it’s the Flowing Wind Corridor!”

Shangguan Xing’s eyes flashed with alarm, “It seems the rumors were true. The Ghost Flame Secret Realm indeed has a Flowing Wind Corridor, where wind flows formed without pattern can shred anything.”

“Cheng’er, Yao’er.”

Senior Huang looked at the two younger cultivators following him and said, “I will use a Secret Technique to take you through the Flowing Wind Corridor, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Ancestor!”

The young male and female cultivators showed relief.

“Fellow Daoists.”

Senior Huang looked at the others, his eyes holding a touch of jest, and smiled, “I will wait for you at the end of the Flowing Wind Corridor. Let’s see who can make it through with their abilities. If you can’t, it just means that you have no destiny with the treasures deeper within the Secret Realm.”

The others nodded in agreement.

The next moment, Senior Huang spread his arms grabbing the pair of younger cultivators, his body surging with yellow Spirit Mastery as they transformed into a beam of tunneling light and burst through the Flowing Wind Corridor!

The air reverberated with the sound of gold and stone colliding, and in the blink of an eye, the three figures had vanished.

Shangguan Xing and Transcendent Qingluan looked on eagerly; the terrifying prowess of a Foundation Establishment Expert was truly desirable!

“Fellow Daoists, let’s also make our way across this Flowing Wind Corridor.”

Transcendent Qingluan slapped his Storage Bag, and instantly a silver bell floated out. As it jingled, strands of spiritual sounds solidified, enveloping him, and thus, protectively crossing the corridor.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang.”

Shangguan Xing looked at Ning Daoran and smiled, “Let’s go too.”

Saying that, Shangguan Xing’s body grew heavier, and he summoned a small azure shield. Mana burst forth instantly, and he charged across forcefully!

In an instant, all their figures had disappeared into the darkness.

Ning Daoran took a deep breath; he could also use the Jade Bamboo Spirit Scroll given to him by his Junior Sister to forcibly charge through, but it wasn’t necessary. The Jade Bamboo Spirit Scroll was a gift from his Junior Sister, and it would be a pity to damage it.

He stepped to the edge of the corridor and looked toward the interconnected Thorns and vines.

If the streaming air of the Flowing Wind Corridor had not damaged these vines in hundreds of years, it meant that the air currents did not attack plants, so why couldn’t these vines be a direct path?

He cast two spells and directly Wood Escaped through them, and after several breaths, emerged from the dark clouds and fog.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang has also come, very good.”

Shangguan Xing nodded with a smile.

Ning Daoran nodded back, then saw a pitch-black gate leading downward in front of them.

“Beyond this gate is the resting place of Ghost Flame True Monarch.”

Senior Huang frowned and said, “We will join forces to break the Prohibition, and then share the treasures left by the Ghost Flame True Monarch in his tomb.”

“Very good!”

Transcendent Qingluan nodded with a smile.

Ning Daoran said, “I have no problems, except that if there is Seven Killings Wood behind the prohibition, then the Seven Killings Wood shall belong solely to me. I won’t touch any other treasures.”

“Agreed.”

Thus, everyone began to channel their mana and attack the prohibition forcefully.

Ning Daoran, as usual, put forth a strand of mana slightly stronger than that of the Second Level of the Evergreen Technique, collaborating with the others to break the prohibition.

…

Several hours later.

The prohibition enveloping the area in front grew increasingly thin, and everyone began to show signs of fatigue.

“Crack—”

Amidst a series of cracking sounds, the final prohibition shattered like glass, and the dark gates slowly opened, revealing a pitch-dark scene beyond.

“Ancestor, the treasury has opened!” exclaimed the young female cultivator surnamed Huang, excitedly.

“Dear Fellow Daoists, do not act rashly.”

The Huang Family Ancestor flared his sleeves, and a spirit pressure from Foundation Establishment swooped down from the sky, making the Qi Refinement Stage Practitioners quite uncomfortable: “The treasure is right before our eyes, but we must be cautious of danger at the final moment.”

“Senior Huang, we understand!”

Shangguan Xing’s face was ashen as he said, “We are willing to heed Senior’s commands…”

Transcendent Qingluan also nodded slowly: “We’ll listen to Senior…”

Clearly, at this point, the Huang Family Ancestor was ready to kill; if Ning Daoran and the other two did not comply, they might be attacked immediately, and the Ancestor would monopolize the Ghost Flame True Monarch’s treasure.

At that moment, the Huang Family Ancestor’s intimidating gaze swept across Ning Daoran.

Ning Daoran immediately said, “Likewise for me.”

“That is best.”

The Huang Family Ancestor spoke in a deep voice: “Come with me, let us see together what treasures the Ghost Flame True Monarch has cherished.”

Walking down the stairs, their ears filled with a chilling sound of dripping water, they descended deeper and deeper, and the oppressive Yin Qi in the space grew stronger, causing a suffocating sensation.

Very soon, a shocking sight unfolded before everyone.

Finally, they encountered the Cave Mansion where the Ghost Flame True Monarch met his end—a gigantic white jade coffin laid in the depths of the Cave Mansion, while all sorts of dazzling treasures were arranged around it.

There were Spirit Scrolls glowing with brilliant green light, Magic Swords rich with Spiritual Energy, and jade pots filled with Jade Liquid. Almost every kind of treasure filled the space.

…

Ning Daoran frowned, feeling that something was off with the scene before his eyes.

Though the Ghost Flame Secret Realm was mysterious, surely his group was not the only one to have visited. If others had been here before, the treasures would not have been so intact.

“What a rich medicinal scent…”

Transcendent Qingluan sniffed the air, his gaze turning towards the distance.

There, next to a water pool more than ten zhang away from the white jade coffin, lay a whitened skeleton. Beside it grew at least a ten-thousand-year-old treasure medicine, which seemed to have drawn nourishment from the flesh of the skeleton’s owner.

“It’s a Ten-thousand-year-old Rainbow Flower…”

Transcendent Qingluan’s eyes became greedy and fervent: “It’s the primary ingredient for the Dust-falling Pill, the Jiedan Elixir, the Rainbow Flower…”

Having said this, Transcendent Qingluan suddenly summoned three Magic Artifacts to protect himself and dashed forward.

“You!”

The Huang Family Ancestor was furious.

“Fellow Daoist Qingluan!”

Ning Daoran shouted loudly, “Be careful! It might be a trap!”

Transcendent Qingluan was beyond listening, and in a flash reached the treasure medicine, uprooting the Ten-thousand-year-old Rainbow Flower with wide-eyed intoxication: “I can achieve Core Formation, I can achieve Core Formation now…”

Ning Daoran almost spat out blood in frustration. How could someone who had not even succeeded in Foundation Establishment be dreaming of Core Formation? With such lofty yet unrealistic ambitions, how could one possibly travel further on the road to immortality?

Just then, Ning Daoran’s heart began to thump urgently, a premonition of great danger enveloping his entire being!

“This is not good!”

Even the Huang Family Ancestor, who was deploying his Divine Sense, felt a chill in his heart. Suddenly, a surge of Yin Qi comparable to the Golden Core Middle Stage emerged, and when he looked closely, he realized that the skeleton that had been lying on the ground had somehow risen.

Moreover, the skeleton embraced Transcendent Qingluan from behind.

“Spurts!”

A spray of blood exploded as a white bony claw, dripping with fresh blood, protruded from Transcendent Qingluan’s chest, holding a still-beating heart. A torrent of blood gushed out with each beat of the heart!

“Aaaaah~~~~”

Transcendent Qingluan woke from the excruciating pain, looked down, and realized what he held was not a Rainbow Flower but a hissing poisonous snake. The next second, the snake bit Transcendent Qingluan’s neck.

“Be careful, this Yin Object is very likely to be the Ghost Flame True Monarch!”

The Huang Family Ancestor was horrified: “Cheng’er, Yao’er, you two go first, hurry! Fellow Daoist Shangguan, Fellow Daoist Zhang, let’s fend off the enemy together—we must join forces, or none of us will survive!”

Shangguan Xing’s face was pale, and he hastily summoned several Magic Artifacts: “Alright…”

Ning Daoran also drew the Qiushui Sword, holding it before him.

“Hiss—”

The White Bone Ghost let go of Transcendent Qingluan’s corpse and instantly turned into a streak of blood-colored brilliance, charging towards the strongest presence, the Huang Family Ancestor!

“This is terrible!”

The Huang Family Ancestor felt a surge of heart-stopping terror: “Fellow Daoist Zhang, I’m sorry!”

He swiftly raised his left hand, and suddenly a green cord Magic Artifact flew out, instantly pulling Ning Daoran across the waist towards him. At the same time, the Huang Family Ancestor quickly retreated, trying to use Ning Daoran as a shield to halt the White Bone Ghost’s attack.

“Whoosh!”

The White Bone Ghost swept past with a flick of its claw, and Ning Daoran’s body was halved at the waist, turning into two fluttering pieces of paperfolk.

“What?!”

The Huang Family Ancestor was shocked, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

Today’s series of eerie events had proved too much, even for someone with many years in Foundation Establishment like him to bear!