ebookland Chapter 224 Spirit Turtle
Chapter 224 Spirit Turtle
Within the green flames, black vines struggled in agony.
After the flames were burned out, a black crystal fell to the ground with a crisp sound!
"Finally, it's over! I'm exhausted!"
Liu Shaoyuan sat on the ground, panting heavily and looking rather unseemly, while the other two also looked rather pale.
Only Cheng Jiu's expression remained normal, though his breathing was somewhat rapid.
The vitality of this ghost-face vine is simply too strong.
With the sun already setting, despite having the upper hand, they've been playing since morning until now.
If it weren't for the help of the little green fire, once night fell, the Ghost Vine would be fully revived, which would be even more troublesome.
"Don't let me find out who issued this mission!"
Wen Sishu gritted her teeth, "What a rip-off! It's such a rip-off!"
Is the difficulty of harvesting silver butterflies comparable to that of the ghost-faced vine?
Moreover, this Ghost-Faced Vine is a Nascent Soul Realm demon beast. Not only is its cultivation stronger than theirs, but its attack power is also not weak, and its defense is abnormally high. More importantly, its vitality is astonishingly tenacious. If you are not careful in battle, it will even transform and evolve.
For someone of their cultivation level, they are truly beyond the norm.
Isn't this a scam? It's listed among the quests that Nascent Soul Realm cultivators can accept, no wonder no one has accepted it. I guess the people who accepted the quest before just gave up!
Of course, it's also possible that the senior students found collecting silver butterflies troublesome.
After all, silver butterflies are a niche category in alchemy. They are not only difficult to collect, but also have few uses. Unless there is a specific need, no one would bother to collect them.
"Stop complaining, we won after all. Let's rest for a bit and then head out!"
Yingyue was too tired to agree with Wen Sishu's words and just wanted to find a place to wash up and rest as soon as possible.
As for this place, due to the fierce battle with the Ghost Face Vine, not only are the valley walls full of pits and craters caused by various spells, but also...
The ground was covered with small pits formed by the black liquid left behind by the Ghost Face Vine, making it impossible to find a place to stand and rest.
Cheng Jiu stepped forward and picked up the black crystals that had fallen from the Ghost Face Vine.
"Junior Sister Jiu, what's this?"
Liu Shaoyuan was curious; he didn't believe Cheng Jiu would specifically pick up useless things.
"If the person who issued the task wasn't unintentional, I think this is probably what he wanted!"
Cheng Jiu tossed the black crystal in his hand and addressed the three of them.
Is there anything special about this?
Yingyue leaned closer, frantically recalling the books she had read.
However, little is known about the Ghost Face Vine, as it is not common and there are few records about it.
"It is quite rare for the Ghost Face Vine to parasitize the Silver Hanging Flower, especially since the Ghost Face Vine here has almost never consumed blood; all its cultivation comes from the Silver Hanging Flower."
In other words, its curse power comes entirely from its own pure essence, and that is its core!
Cheng Jiu aimed the black core at the moon. The ink-like crystal churned with an ominous aura under the moonlight, but it was not repulsive.
In the cultivation world, most curses are imbued with bloodthirsty energy; the two complement each other and are rarely separated.
Those with a bloodthirsty aura are highly unwelcome and are usually purified whenever they appear.
But pure curse power is different; it is not only rare but also quite popular. It is a form of hard currency not only in the cultivation world but also in the ghost world.
"Is this a crystallization of pure curse power?" Liu Shaoyuan curiously examined the small black object in Cheng Jiu's hand.
"I remember there was an auction before where a cursed crystal the size of a thumb was auctioned off. I think it sold for ten thousand top-grade spirit stones. This thing is much bigger than that one!"
"Then we'll be rich!"
Upon hearing this, Wen Sishu looked at the black crystals with bright eyes.
"Cursed crystals are incredibly effective for concocting poisons!"
Cheng Jiu tossed the cursed crystal to Yingyue.
She's the only one here who's good at making poisons.
The other two had no objections, since the cursed crystal wasn't of much use to them. If they got it, they could at most exchange it for spirit stones. Did they think they were short of spirit stones?
We don't lack them; it's better to give them to those who need them than to waste those spirit stones!
Yingyue happily put the crystal away.
Such a large piece, perhaps even more than her master's entire collection.
The physical fatigue seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving only a heart full of joy; this trip was definitely worthwhile.
After collecting the crystals, Yingyue suddenly remembered something: "The mission, right, do we need to turn in the mission?"
"Of course we need to!" Cheng Jiu nodded. "How can we fail on our first mission!"
"Then, then!"
Yingyue looked at the cursed crystal in the ring with a hint of reluctance in her eyes. Indeed, this was the first time they had ever thought they would fail like this, and it was really hard to accept.
Forget it, she can just hand it over then! That way, there will be an explanation, showing that the problem lies with the task itself, not that they lack the ability to complete it.
Things have progressed this far, and we haven't obtained the Silver Butterfly Wings yet. When it's time to hand in the quest, we'll definitely need to use this Cursed Crystal.
"That guy got off easy!" Wen Sishu thought bitterly of the person who posted the task and profited from it.
How can the wings of a silver butterfly compare to a cursed crystal!
This was, after all, their first mission, and besides Cheng Jiu, the disciple of the Great Ascension Immortal Lord, the two disciples of the Medicine Elder were also on the mission, so there were bound to be a lot of people paying attention.
If they say the mission failed, wouldn't that become gossip fodder, with people saying things like, "So what if they're disciples of the peak master or immortal lord? They can't even complete a mere mission; their reputation is undeserved."
Thinking about those comments, I feel no regret at all.
"He wants silver butterfly wings, right? We'll give him thirty pairs of silver butterfly wings. That makes sense, doesn't it?" Cheng Jiu said slowly.
"Yes!"
Yingyue and Wensishu's eyes lit up. What a great idea! Didn't the other party want thirty pairs of silver butterfly wings?
They'll give it to us. As for the cursed crystal, what cursed crystal? What we want are the silver butterfly wings!
Liu Shaoyuan instantly understood, and looking at Cheng Jiu, he praised her, "You're really something, Junior Sister Jiu!"
"good idea!"
"Micro-management, micro-management!"
Cheng Jiu waved his hand at the three of them, looking embarrassed.
"But since there are silver vines growing here, there might be another place in this forest where a large patch of silver vines grows. Otherwise, how did the seeds of the silver vines get here? Let's go and look for them."
Having made up her mind, Yingyue analyzed the situation with great interest to the three of them.
"it is good!"
The four separated to find another way out. Surely the seeds of the silver hanging flower couldn't have come from the waterfall.
There must be other passages, most likely the atrium at the top.
The more they explored, the more they realized something was wrong.
The person who issued this task is definitely not an ordinary disciple!
After searching the entire valley, the four men found nothing.
Once you enter this valley, there's really no other way in besides the waterfall outside.
The courtyard above is less a courtyard and more a natural formation.
Cheng Jiu went up to test it out, but the higher he flew, the farther he got from the cave entrance. He flew for quite a while but still couldn't get out of the valley.
It was as if the courtyard where the moonlight could be seen did not exist.
More importantly, Cheng Jiu was completely unaware that this was actually an array.
It seems as if they are one with nature, born this way.
This formation must be of a very high grade. Not only is it high, but more importantly, the way it is set up is simple and natural, blending into nature and making it difficult to detect.
This formation is either a natural formation or the person who set it up has a high level of formation cultivation.
Cheng Jiu had never seen such a formation before. After landing on the ground, Cheng Jiu told the three of them about his discovery.
The group felt a chill run down their spines. Could it be that some old monster from the sect deliberately set up this task to torment them, the junior disciples?
The more the four thought about it, the more likely this guess seemed.
First, there's the rare parasitic silver vine of the ghost-face vine, which is extremely rare.
But its appearance in this valley seems perfectly natural. After all, apart from the silver lily, no other living things grow here.
There are also monsters outside, and the waterfall blocks their way. For so many years, no other creatures have entered except for them.
It is the perfect place to naturally cultivate cursed crystals.
But if the skylight above is fake, then coincidence can no longer explain everything.
One coincidence may be accidental, but with so many factors combined, coincidence can no longer explain everything.
Yingyue suddenly felt that the cursed crystal she had just received was burning hot: "Are we still turning in the quest?!"
"Pay it!"
"Use Silver Butterfly?"
"Use the Silver Butterfly!" Cheng Jiu said matter-of-factly. "They've tricked us so much, let's see how this mastermind reacts after receiving the Silver Butterfly."
Yingyue glanced at Cheng Jiu, thinking, "Junior Sister is really bold."
Yingyue realized that the person behind the scenes had done so much, and what they really wanted wasn't the silver butterfly wings. Instead, the disciples who had accepted the mission had simply taken what was theirs...
For some reason, Yingyue wasn't afraid; in fact, she seemed somewhat excited.
“I’m curious too!” Wen Sishu agreed with Cheng Jiu’s idea.
"It's a pity I'm not a disciple of your sect!"
Liu Shaoyuan's heart pounded with excitement at Cheng Jiu's idea.
To retaliate and toy with a powerful being whose cultivation level is unknown—that's incredibly bold! And absolutely brilliant!
"Then, junior sister, silver butterfly wings."
If this area was planted by the person who posted the quest, it's uncertain whether there are still any Silver Hanging Flowers left.
Where do these wings for completing the mission come from?
"If all else fails, just buy them from those merchant guilds. Anyway, the quest said it was for thirty pairs of silver butterfly wings, but it didn't say whether they were fresh or not!"
You've gotten even bolder, junior sister!
The three were shocked by Cheng Jiu's suggestion; it wasn't even a perfunctory response anymore!
As it burst through the water curtain, the massive water flow created huge whirlpools, within which a giant, turtle-shaped black shadow could be seen or hidden.
A tremendous sense of oppression arises spontaneously; this is the innate sense of crisis that humans have when faced with enormous objects.
Not daring to linger, it quickly flew across the water and landed on the riverbank.
The turtles in the river were swimming leisurely, but the sense of crisis kept exploding in the minds of the group, constantly warning them to escape quickly, but their hands and feet seemed to be frozen in place.
The old turtle in this river is carnivorous!
They clearly didn't see it when they came over, or maybe the other party was hiding at the very bottom and they couldn't see it.
Fortunately, the opponent was merely patrolling and did not attack the four of them. However, the high-level pressure made it difficult for them to breathe. It was as if their throats were being choked by an inexplicable aura, rendering them unable to move.
"The Mahayana Realm! It's definitely the Mahayana Realm!"
Cheng Jiu fell to the ground, panting heavily and hoarsely, a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal welling up from within.
While the old tortoise was still there, the group didn't dare to move and could only stand stiffly on the shore, trembling with fear.
Only after the other party submerged underwater and disappeared from sight did the group resume some movement.
Cheng Jiu was quite certain that she had a master at the Mahayana realm and had even fought against someone at the Mahayana realm before, although that person was just a puppet and was not unfamiliar with the Mahayana realm.
But never before had he faced a powerful Mahayana Realm expert so directly, the opponent merely revealing a massive figure.
Yet it seemed as if a single thought could determine their life or death.
It was terrifying, like facing an abyss, making it difficult to even muster the thought of resistance.
"Could it be that the spirit turtle from earlier was the true guardian beast of that Ghost Face Vine?"
Yingyue recovered from her shock and said with lingering fear.
"Who would be so extravagant as to possess a Mahayana Realm spirit beast?"
Cheng Jiu felt this was illogical.
She felt that the previous demon beast was more than capable of protecting the Ghost-Faced Vine. Although it was only at the Nascent Soul stage, it was indeed a tyrant in this river, not to mention the natural protection of the waterfall.
But if a Mahayana practitioner were to guard it.
Cheng Jiu couldn't help but feel that it was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, far too extravagant.
As for why the tortoise beast is not considered a spirit beast rather than a demon beast, it can only be said that the two are quite easy to distinguish, with the demon beast's aura being more violent.
More importantly, they did not believe that they would be easily let go by a Mahayana Realm demon beast; the human race still has a strong attraction for demon beasts.
"Does anyone in our sect's Medicine Peak have a tortoise-like spirit beast?"
Cheng Jiu looked at the only two disciples of Medicine Peak and asked.
Cheng Jiu didn't believe that there was no connection between the sudden appearance of a Mahayana Realm spirit beast at the mission location.
It might be related to the elder who issued the task.
"A tortoise-like mythical beast!" The two covered their heads and tried to recall.
“I only remember that Master had one!” Yingyue said, looking up.
"Senior sister, you don't suspect it's Master, do you? Wait, he's strong and likes to tease and test his junior disciples, no way!"
The more Wen Sishu analyzed it, the more reasonable it seemed. If you put it this way, it wouldn't be surprising at all that this tricky task was given by his own master. What's going on?
Moreover, his master is a Transcending Tribulation Realm cultivator and an alchemist, so it's normal for him to have a Mahayana Realm spirit beast!
"master!"
Yingyue followed Wen Sishu's train of thought and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Just moments ago she was wondering who the elder was who issued such a treacherous task, but now…
What a scam! This is just a test from the master to his junior disciple. Besides, the other party even sent a Mahayana-level spirit beast to guard this place.
If the mission takers discover any unexpected events, the Mahayana Realm spirit beasts outside will come to their rescue. If there is no danger, isn't that a different kind of test?
"Uncle Turtle! Uncle Turtle, are you there?"
Having made a guess, Yingyue lay down by the river and shouted loudly.
The water was calm and still, and the figure they had imagined was nowhere to be seen. They called out for a while, but received no response.
My suspicions were not confirmed.
Yingyue and Wensishu hesitated. Was the person who issued the task really their master?