Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 106: The Peak Master Issues a Warning, the Soul Lamp Pursues Life
Time flies, and two days have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the golden autumn mountains, the autumn sun shines obliquely, and fallen leaves rustle in the Mingxia stronghold.

Zhao Wuji strolled along the bluestone path in this safe and sound stronghold, the secrets of the dragon vein that Li Shiyu had revealed two days ago still lingering in his mind.

The Xuan Kingdom's dragon vein was actually formed by the fusion of the dynasty's fortune and the essence of the earth's veins, and it was also intertwined with the spiritual veins of the Linglang Grotto Heaven.

It has the function of regulating and slowing down the decline of the spiritual veins in the grotto-heaven.

No wonder the cave lord supported the Zhang family.

He suddenly stopped, looking at a maple leaf fluttering in the wind, his eyes thoughtful. "The dragon vein sustains the spiritual veins of the grotto-heaven, so their prosperity is intertwined. But what if the dragon vein is damaged?"
"Could it be that if one suffers, all will perish?"

A glint of light flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes, sending maple leaves flying.

He wasn't quite sure how much dragon energy was contained within the dragon vein.

How much commotion would it cause if the dragon energy needed to fully absorb the Yang Pearl were to be absorbed? And what if it alerted the unfathomable cave master?
However, if you're planning to build a dragon vein, you can't avoid mentioning the Lord of Linlang Cave.

Perhaps the internal and external troubles that Li Shiyu mentioned, combined with some of Zhaoming's schemes, do indeed present some opportunities.

However, all plans are predicated on having sufficient strength to seize the opportunity when it arises and achieve success in one fell swoop.

Similarly, sufficient strength is also the foundation for him to control Li Shiyu, the most important piece in the game.

This imperial concubine is meticulous and harbors hidden ambitions.

Those superficial flirtatious glances and sweet voices are nothing more than a gesture of surrender, attracted by his potential value. At most, they have some goodwill and are willing to be his pawns.

To truly believe that this imperial concubine had fallen deeply in love with him and was rushing to his aid for love would be a huge joke.

However, in order to seize the opportunity to obtain the dragon vein and improve his spiritual aptitude, he was willing to cooperate. He would treat the other party's flirtatious and pretentious tricks as mere entertainment, and in any case, it wouldn't be a loss.

"Looking at it this way, I seem to be the one who..."

Zhao Wuji suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Song Qingshu, who was used by Zhou Zhiruo in the stories of my past life? Used to deal with Zhang Wuji in the same way he would against Zhang Zhaoming?"

He then shook his head and chuckled, "But while Song Qingshu can't handle Zhou Zhiruo, I can certainly tame this Consort Li."

"No seats!" Xiong Ba's noisy voice suddenly came from his shoulder. Although this silly bird couldn't understand, he knew how to play the straight man.

Zhao Wuji rolled his eyes at the silly bird, straightened his robes, and strode towards the spirit material processing room ahead.

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

The two fellow disciples guarding the gate saw him and immediately bowed respectfully.

Zhao Wuji nodded slightly and stepped into the processing room.

Two days ago, after annihilating the enemy cultivators at Guanyun Mountain and breaking the ambush, he parted ways with Yu Zishan and led his men to the Mingxia stronghold.

It turned out that the defensive array activated by Mingxia Stronghold was intact, and the two disciples guarding the stronghold were also safe and sound.

It turned out that the enemy attack warning was just a feint by Yunfeng Cave Heaven, putting on a good show.

After some thought, it becomes easy to understand.

In this degenerate age, which celestial realm could afford to send out so many disciples to set up ambushes everywhere? A full-scale war.

It's just a bluff, an attempt to throw the Linlang Cave Heaven into disarray.

At that moment, the sound of sawing wood could be heard from inside the processing room.

Zhao Wuji strolled by and saw dozens of servants and disciples engrossed in processing the Mingxia wood.

Those century-old wood cores, shimmering with a pale purple glow, burst forth with rays of light under the spirit blade, truly making them excellent materials for crafting array plates.

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

A disciple dressed in the robes of a true master hurriedly stepped forward and bowed deeply to the ground.

"Senior brother, has come in person because you have important instructions?"

Zhao Wuji, the Lord of Mingxia, has already made a name for himself among the disciples of Linlang Cave Heaven.

Breaking through the formation and killing many enemy cultivators, the counterattack in the Linglang Cave Heaven temporarily ranks first in merit, and everyone respects him.

"Junior Brother Cheng, there's no need for formalities!" Zhao Wuji casually picked up a piece of spirit wood that shimmered with purple light and gently rubbed it in his palm. "Senior Brother has been studying array formations lately and needs some Bright Cloud Wood to refine array plates. I wonder how much these spirit woods cost?"

Upon hearing this, Junior Brother Cheng's face flashed with a hint of difficulty: "The spirit wood at this stronghold has always been harvested in limited quantities and sent to the cave heavens and various markets."

He suddenly changed the subject, forcing a smile, "But since Senior Brother Zhao has asked, I'll take the liberty of sharing some with you! However, regarding the quantity... I'm afraid..."

He patted his chest and assured them, "But the price will absolutely be based on the mining cost!"

"That's fine then."

Zhao Wuji laughed heartily, "Then I thank you very much for your help, Junior Brother Cheng!"

"Senior brother, you flatter me!" Junior Brother Cheng bowed repeatedly and said with a smile, "It is my honor to be able to serve you."

"These conveniences all come from strength."

Zhao Wuji's lips curled up slightly.

The timeless truths of the cultivation world became especially poignant at this moment.

A strong person's word can prevail over a thousand rules.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he was gone with a bag full of top-quality wood cores. The price of seven source crystals was a huge profit, especially considering that Mingxia wood was often worth tens of source crystals in the market.

The materials for array plates are quite rare, often requiring the heartwood of spirit wood that is over a hundred years old to make.

In today's spiritually barren environment, only places like Jinqiu Mountain, imbued with spiritual energy, can cultivate spiritual wood. Due to its limited production, the price of its heartwood is very high.

Soon, Zhao Wuji brought the supplies back to his room in the stronghold, storing them together with the harvested array flags and other items. Looking at the pile of supplies, he couldn't help but sigh, "Storage bags are so much more convenient, even a small one. At least the magical artifacts stored inside won't lose their spiritual energy in a spiritless environment; I only need to maintain the spiritual energy of the storage bag itself."

"No seats, no seats, storage bag."

Xiong Ba flapped its wings and rampaged through the room, its feathers stirring up gusts of wind.

"Stop making a fuss."

Zhao Wuji flicked his finger, sending the stupid bird tumbling over, and then took out the sword token.

In the shimmering blue light, his record of merits emerged: seven hundred major merits and five hundred minor merits.

Among his many merits, the hundred merits for defending the Mingxia stronghold are particularly noteworthy, and he still ranks first on the list of merits for the counterattack.

If no other general surpasses him in merit, then the storage bag awarded for the first merit will be his upon returning.

Zhao Wuji stroked the sword token, his eyes flashing with a sharp light: "It's a pity that Mingxia Stronghold is unharmed."

Otherwise, if a few more enemy cultivators are killed, this position of first merit will be even more secure.

As the sword's blue light shimmered, the list of merits was revealed:

Second place: Mei Jin, the commander of Huhe, with 350 merits (guarding Huangyun stronghold and killing two enemy cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Refining).
Third place: Yu Zishan, two hundred merits
"I have indirectly helped Yu Zishan this time. If Feiyuan stronghold can be held, Yu Zishan may be able to surpass Mei Jin."

Zhao Wuji looked at the others; the rest had only around 150 merits, and some had not even made a single contribution.

Among them was Ji Mobai, the most powerful purple-robed secret disciple of Lone Cloud Peak.
“Commander of Qingluo, Ji Mobai.” Zhao Wuji’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Qingluo Market is the primary target of Yunfeng Cave Heaven's attack, and its value far exceeds that of ordinary strongholds.

This formidable figure, at the sixth level of Qi Refining, has yet to reach the battlefield and still has zero merits. However, if he were to make a move, it could potentially threaten his own achievement.
Just as he was pondering, the sword token suddenly trembled and burst out with a dazzling blue light!

Zhao Wuji was not surprised.

Someone actually sent him a message using the sword token?

It should be noted that the sword token only has one more opportunity to send a message, and each message is extremely precious, as it can transmit intelligence over long distances.

He immediately focused his mind and chose to receive the message.

The next moment, Hua Qingshuang's cold voice came from the sword token and was captured by his mind: "Return to the cave immediately! The Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator you killed was the only son of Yun Feng Kang, the old ghost. Now that you have entered Yun Feng's kill list, that old ghost is very likely to use the soul lamp as a guide to personally intercept and kill you."

"Return immediately! Dongtian has already dispatched an elder to Mingxia to ambush and kill Kang the old devil!"

"The Cloud Phoenix Kill List?"

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes. No wonder the middle-aged cultivator's magical artifacts were so luxurious.

The fact that Master Hua used the word "return immediately" twice clearly indicated the urgency of the situation, which could not be delayed.

"Using the Soul Lamp as a guide, acting alone is the best strategy."

Zhao Wuji's mind raced, and he immediately prepared to separate from his troops and return to the cave.

He led his many fellow disciples back, but their journey was slow and they might also be implicated.

It would be better to separate temporarily. He left alone, and he didn't know what kind of tracking method the other party was using as a so-called soul lamp.

However, as long as he escapes quickly enough, he will likely be able to shake off his opponent by using invisibility and other spells.

Zhao Wuji immediately found Yan Boyuan, Li Shiyu and others, explained the perilous situation in a few words, and then entrusted them with a lot of supplies to take back.

Everyone looked solemn and serious after hearing this, and a chill ran down their spines.

An elder from Yunfeng Cave Heaven was coming to intercept and kill Zhao Wuji; this was a terrifying situation with almost certain death.

At this critical moment, Zhao Wuji was willing to separate from the main force and leave alone so as not to implicate them, which can be described as noble and virtuous.

"Brother Zhao!" Yan Boyuan said solemnly, bowing with his hands clasped. "Please be extremely careful!"

“Senior Brother Zhao!” Li Shiyu gazed at Zhao Wuji, “I will help you take these things back to the Xuan Kingdom’s capital.”

She lightly bit her red lips, "Don't keep me waiting too long." Her words were laced with sarcasm, sounding both concerned and a reminder.

This clearly implies that Zhao Wuji died before accomplishing his great task.

"Senior Brother Zhao, be careful!" Li Nianwei, Mao Zizhen, and the others bowed and clasped their hands, their eyes filled with admiration and worry.

The sudden change came too quickly. Everyone was still immersed in the joy of their meritorious service when danger suddenly arrived.

"Don't worry, everyone! We'll celebrate and catch up when we get back!"

Zhao Wuji laughed heartily and flicked his finger at the noisy Xiong Ba on his shoulder: "You stupid bird, you've done a good job this time. Go back with them first."

"Daddy, quack!" Xiong Ba flapped its wings and landed on Li Shiyu's fragrant shoulder, its beady eyes darting around. Suddenly, it shouted at the top of its lungs, "Danger! Danger! No seat back!"

Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow and said to Li Shiyu jokingly, "If I don't come back, stew this stupid bird and bury it with me. No need for a celebration."

The heavy atmosphere was immediately broken, and everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Xiong Ba was so angry that his feathers bristled, and he jumped on Li Shiyu's shoulder, shouting, "Ba, Ba! Ga, Ba!"

After bidding farewell to the crowd, Zhao Wuji moved like lightning, disappearing into the depths of the mountains and forests in a few leaps.

He stopped at a secluded mountain hollow and immediately began to chant an obscure incantation:
"Open the Netherworld!"

His eyes glowed with a faint blue light. His soul was not divided into two, but rather remained fixed within his body like a green lamp, instantly shrouding his eyes in a dark and sinister light.

He wanted to see what kind of tracking method Kang Laogui was referring to as "using the soul lamp as a guide".

If it involves the imprinting of the soul, this Netherworld Technique is the best mirror to reveal demons!
Suddenly, the mountain wind howled, and withered leaves fluttered down.

A layer of pale blue, dark aura gradually emerged around Zhao Wuji, as if separating him from this world by a dark boundary.
(End of this chapter)