Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 147-157: Manipulating Enemy Cultivators, Blood Puppets Clear the Way (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets 1925)

The moment the water curtain steps formed on the lake surface, the lake water suddenly boiled.

Intense fluctuations of spiritual energy emerged, weaving together to form a massive array covering the entire body of water.

"Om-"

With a deep rumble, the lake water seemed to be cut by an invisible force, forming a deep passage.

The water curtains on both sides of the passage are like mirrors, reflecting distorted ripples, and the faint shadows of mountains and rivers within the secret realm can be seen.

The secret tokens on the waists of the disciples from each grotto-heaven lit up simultaneously, seemingly guiding everyone toward the passage.

Zhao Wuji glanced down at the secret order, then observed the disciples of various grotto-heavens. He saw that the Yanling Ancestor of the Yanling Grotto-heavens gave an order.

Immediately, four disciples took flight and headed straight for the deep passage.

The other grotto-heavens, however, remained inactive.

The moment the four disciples flew into the deep passage, a sudden change occurred!

"boom!"

A strange array pattern suddenly lit up.

The red-robed disciple from Yanling Cave was the first to be hit, his figure suddenly froze, as if he had crashed into an invisible wall.

His body trembled violently, and the immense spiritual power of the seventh level of Qi Induction erupted, condensing into a three-zhang-long phantom of a fire phoenix behind him.

But the array patterns, like a leech, clung to the phoenix's wings and spun upwards, forcefully pushing it back dozens of feet.

"A master at the late stage of Qi Refining!?"

"The elder said that the secret realm formation would restrict cultivators above the sixth level of Qi Refining from entering the secret realm, and it turns out that it was true."

Exclamations of surprise came from the disciples in the surrounding grottoes.

"Tsk tsk tsk"

The Supreme Cave Master, Bai Chengshang, clapped his hands and chuckled, his black robe shimmering with spiritual light as he moved. "As expected, Yanling Cave Heaven is full of talented people. Any disciple here is a prodigy at the late stage of Qi Refining."

The Lord of the White Bone Cave chuckled sinisterly, his skull staff striking the ground with a chilling sound: "Old ghost Yanling, still trying to play tricks at a time like this? Trying to fish in troubled waters?"

Ancestor Yanling's face was ashen, but he suddenly chuckled and said, "What harm is there in giving it a try?"

He snorted coldly, and with a flick of his sleeve, he summoned the "disciple" who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining back to his side.

The man's face was gloomy, and the veins on his forehead bulged. He reluctantly took off the secret token from his waist and threw it to his fellow disciple.

The jade token traced an arc in the air and was caught steadily by a disciple at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

At this moment, the disciples of Xuanxiao and Qingming Cave Heavens had entered the passage one after another.

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingers secretly forming a spell to set up an array, golden light flowing in his pupils.

At the entrance to the deep passage, countless fine, thread-like patterns intertwined to form a net.

Each line of the pattern changes its brightness and intensity depending on the level of cultivation of the person entering.

Those who are in the fourth level of Qi cultivation experience it as easily as a fish entering water, with almost no obstruction.

The fifth-level cultivators seemed to be going against the current, their spiritual energy surging around them.

As for six levels and above
Fortunately, I'm still at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

After being reminded by Hua Qingshuang six months ago, he stopped deliberately taking pills or drinking alcohol to speed up his cultivation. Instead, he focused on accumulating resources and cultivating step by step.

Now, his old guess has been confirmed, and he is pondering it.

"Junior Brother Zhao."

Lu Yongnian from the Ziyun Palace behind them suddenly leaned closer and transmitted his voice: "After entering this secret realm passage, the formation will randomly teleport us to different areas."

My Purple Cloud Palace records several hidden medicinal gardens in secret realms.”

As he spoke, he suddenly handed over a jade slip, saying, "If it happens to be sent to an adjacent location, Junior Brother Zhao can go to that herb garden. I hope we can look after each other."

"Oh?" Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow, took the jade slip, and nodded, "Good!"

"Roar!"

At this moment, the ten blood corpse puppets suddenly charged forward, their putrid blood causing the water curtain passage to tremble violently. They all rushed into the passage, clearly having been selected.

"Blood Corpse Puppet!" The master of the White Bone Cave licked his lips with his bloody tongue, glanced at the disciple beside him, and slightly raised his chin.

The disciples understood immediately and swooped down on the secret passage like a flock of vultures that had smelled blood.

"Go!" Zhong Kui suddenly said to Zhao Wuji and the others in a deep voice.

"Wuji, be careful. I'll be waiting for you outside. Your Uncle Yan will also be here in a few days."

Hua Qingshuang suddenly sent a telepathic message.

"I know, don't worry, Peak Master!"

Zhao Wuji looked at Hua Qingshuang, meeting her cold gaze, smiled and transmitted his voice, then made a hand seal and flew into the air towards the passage ahead.

After the Tiannan Secret Realm opens, the entrance and exit can only be maintained for a maximum of one month.

Therefore, he needs to find an exit and leave again within a month, otherwise he will have to wait until the secret realm opens again to come out.

"Whoosh-"

With his purple robes fluttering, Zhao Wuji glided into the water curtain passage like a fish.

Countless distorted figures were reflected in the water walls on both sides, and array patterns coiled around them like venomous snakes.

Just as the repulsive force was about to erupt, golden light flowed in his pupils, and his figure twisted at a subtle angle, passing right through the weakest point of the array.

"Ok?"

The masters of the surrounding caves, all with sharp eyes, instantly saw through his trickery and couldn't help but secretly admire him.

"Master Zhong, the disciples you've chosen for your grotto-heavens are quite remarkable," Ancestor Yanling said with a faint smile, his eyes narrowed.

"This is a prodigy nurtured by our sect's Peak Master Hua! He is truly extraordinary!"

Zhong Kui said calmly, without any expression.

The gazes of the several cave masters involuntarily swept over Hua Qingshuang, who stood to the side with a cold expression. Their eyes flashed as they passed between Zhong Kui and Hua Qingshuang, and they remained silent with a half-smile.

"After all, this is a hidden agent supported by our cave, so it's naturally not bad."

Master Bai of the Supreme Grotto-Heaven gently closed his folding fan, chuckled inwardly, and looked at the Daoist disciple and the Holy Maiden Nan Zhixia and others behind him.

"You guys can go too!"

As he spoke, he secretly transmitted his voice to Hong Yanjia, "If Zhao Wuji is in any danger after we go in, you must help him."

This hidden stake is very important to me, and to our Supreme Grotto-Heaven.

Daozi Hongyanjia's eyes flashed, and he immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Zhong Kui coldly watched the disciples enter the various grotto-heavens, taking in the intriguing expressions of the grotto masters around him who were laughing at him.

His expression was calm, but he sneered inwardly. His gaze seemingly casually swept over the Master of Qingming Cave, and their eyes met briefly in the air.

In just a moment, they went their separate ways.

To plunder the resources of this secret realm and reap all the rewards, the force behind Linlang Cave and Qingming Cave had already laid out its plans during the last exploration.

Hua Lengyun is one of the most important pieces in the game.

And this time, it's time to close the net.

Besides plundering the resources within the secret realm, these cultivators who enter the secret realm are also targets for elimination by the force behind them.

"Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots."

Zhong Kui sneered inwardly.

These young cultivators are the backbone of their respective grotto-heavens for the next hundred years.

If we can kill or capture them in one fell swoop, it would be tantamount to cutting off their foundation.

At that time, these so-called formidable enemies will inevitably face a generational gap and fall into decline!
at the same time.

Within the Tiannan Secret Realm, at the node of a level-four spiritual vein passage, dense spiritual energy wafted, making one feel as if they were not in the Dharma-ending Age, but had returned to the prosperous Han and Tang dynasties of yesteryear. Suddenly, the secret realm passage trembled violently.

Thirteen figures clad in gleaming black armor suddenly passed through the array barrier of the passage and filed in.

"Crack!!"

The leading cultivator possessed formidable spiritual power, his face covered by a bizarre beast mask, and the dragon-eye stones embedded in his shoulder armor emitted a chilling light. He raised his foot and crushed a moonstone nurtured by a spiritual vein.

The twelve people behind him spread out in formation, each wearing spirit armor and different magical artifact masks, appearing mysterious and powerful.

"The secret passage that Senior Hua discovered eleven years ago is still usable."

The leading beast-faced cultivator slowly opened his arms, his breathing beneath the mask heavy and intense.

He spread his fingers, feeling the almost solidified spiritual energy in the secret realm flowing between his fingers. His voice came through the ferocious beast face, with a metallic hum: "The concentration of spiritual energy here is three times richer than that of the Dynasty."

Several cultivators behind them, also wearing beast masks, took a deep breath in unison, their pores opening up involuntarily.

The spiritual energy entered their bodies, causing fine spiritual dew to condense on their black robes.

The leading monk lowered his arm, and a crimson light flashed from the two holes in the eye sockets of his iron mask.

He flipped his hand and took out a scroll of map gleaming with blood, his claw-like fingertips striking heavily at a certain spot:
"According to the route provided by Zhong Kui, the master of Linlang Cave, the place where the Yin-Yang Twin Lotus grows is fifty miles away."

His voice suddenly lowered, and his Adam's apple bobbed beneath the mask, "Eleven years of gestation. That spirit must be mature by now."

At this point, he suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

On the rock wall ahead, a stream of crystal-clear spiritual essence was slowly dripping down the stalactites, emitting a soft blue light in the dim secret realm.

"Later, you can collect the spirit marrow first."

"Senior Brother Gong, please allow me to set up the formation first!"

On the right, a tall female cultivator suddenly made a hand seal, and twelve blood-red jade nails flew out from her sleeve, nailing into the ground to form a strange rune array.

As she bit her tongue, a spray of blood mist spurted out.

The jade nail actually drew away the spiritual energy within a radius of a hundred feet, turning it into a vacuum, and even the fluorescent moss on the rock wall withered instantly.

"The first node of the Profound Spirit-Suppressing Array has been completed."

The female cultivator licked the blood from her lips and looked out of the passage. "If we continue to set up other array points in the outer area, the area within a radius of fifty miles will become a spirit-restricted zone."

Any cultivator who steps into this place will face slaughter by us.

The leading male cultivator chuckled, "Alright, then the resources here will be your responsibility to mine, Junior Sister Tang."

Rather than waiting here for prey to come to me, I prefer to go out and hunt actively, killing many.

He paused, then pointed out six people to leave with him, adding, "Remember, kill Zhao Wuji from Linlang Cave Heaven, just like any other cave heaven cultivator! Consider it giving Cave Master Zhong some face."

"It would be best to capture the other disciples of Linglang Cave Heaven and Qingming Cave Heaven alive and take them back directly."

A low laugh came from beneath the mask:

"After all, they're all considered our people now."

"Yes!" All the cultivators followed this Senior Brother Gong's lead without question.

Soon, the group split into two groups.

After leaving the fourth-level spiritual vein, seven of them took out jade slips and quickly searched for and plundered the various resource points recorded in the jade slips.

More than 400 miles away.

Holding the jade slip, Zhao Wuji browsed through the information recorded in it about the various resource points and areas of the secret realm, determining his current location.

"Broken Sword Valley, Medicine King's Garden, Ancient Cultivation Cave Ruins, Sunken Sand River, Mystic Forest."

"I'm currently near the Medicine King's Garden, which is quite lucky."

Zhao Wuji confirmed his location and breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked around and felt the spiritual energy in the secret realm surging into his limbs and bones like a tide, which was several times more concentrated than that outside.

Looking down, I saw a few first-grade spiritual herbs called "Green Spirit Grass" growing sparsely at my feet.

Although not considered rare, it is a spiritual plant that requires careful cultivation in the outside world, but at this moment it is taking root in the moist spiritual soil like weeds.

"I'm actually getting a good deal..."

With a thought, he rolled up his sleeves and used his martial cultivation blood demon spiritual power to transform into a giant blood claw, which lifted up the spiritual soil and spiritual herbs within a radius of several feet and threw them directly into the pot-shaped space inside his sleeve.

A large amount of spiritual soil was thrown into the Pot Heaven space, which immediately startled the birds and beasts within, causing them to scatter and flee.

"Crash-"

The spiritual soil poured down like rain, burying half of the little jade fox's body before it could react. It was so angry that it scurried out with a "chirp" and shook the soil off its fur.

Seeing this, Zhao Wuji smiled and was about to release his many beast friends when his powerful spiritual senses suddenly detected several auras appearing a thousand feet away.

"Ok?"

A thought struck him, and he felt a faint connection emerge between his mind and body. He immediately recognized a familiar aura from these several streams of energy.

"One of my drug-addicted blood zombie puppets is being hunted down?"

Zhao Wuji was somewhat surprised.

The blood corpse puppets, which charged into the secret realm like wolves and tigers, were instead hunted down as soon as they entered.

Whose disciple is so brave?
With a swift movement, his phantom cloak transformed into afterimages, sweeping away his figure as he vanished from the spot.

A few breaths later, Zhao Wuji saw three cultivators from the White Bone Cave Heaven forming a triangular formation to besiege the Blood Corpse Puppet by a riverbank.

The leader wielded a chilling white bone flying sword, its blade spewing corrosive gray mist, each strike leaving a bowl-sized festering wound on the blood corpse puppet's body.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Wei, it's like finding a needle in a haystack! We've stumbled upon a Blood Corpse Puppet so quickly."

One of the disciples chuckled and said, "After killing it, we'll take the body back. The cave master will definitely reward us; it's excellent research material."

The besieged blood corpse puppet let out a beast-like roar, its blood energy surging as it tried to break free, but the chain magic weapon thrown by the cultivator on the right entangled its neck and body.

"The cultivators of the White Bone Cave seem quite interested in these half-human, half-corpse creatures."

Zhao Wuji, who was secretly observing, pondered and judged the strength of the three opponents. Without hesitation, he mobilized the Frost Soul Flying Sword to attack.

"Zheng!"

The Frost Soul Flying Sword pierced the sky like a thunderbolt, its thunderous sound deafening.

The sound of the sword's cry had barely arrived when the flying sword was already upon him, precisely piercing the throat of the cultivator on the right.

The cultivator didn't even have time to activate his magical artifact for defense before his head was thrown high into the air along with the spray of blood mist.

"who!?"

When the remaining two turned around in horror, they met a pair of eyes that seemed like bottomless vortexes, and their consciousness immediately became somewhat hazy.

The Art of Marrying Dreams!
Their eyes glazed over instantly, and the magical artifacts in their hands clattered to the ground.

Just then, the blood corpse puppet that was bound by chains suddenly sprang up, breaking free of its restraints as rotting flesh flew everywhere, and lunged at them with its fangs dripping with venomous saliva!

"stop!"

Zhao Wuji suddenly issued a command.

The blood-corpse puppet that lunged out stiffened, its rotting face contorted in struggle, and a strange "clucking" sound came from its throat before finally letting its sharp claws fall in resentment.

"One is at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and the other is at the fourth level of Qi Refining. They are barely enough to follow me around as henchmen and followers who collect spiritual materials, but it is somewhat mentally taxing."

Zhao Wuji's eyes were deep as he looked at the two disciples of the White Bone Cave who were under the influence of the Dream Marriage Technique.

With a tap of his storage bag, two Netherworld-Connecting Talisman Pills flew out.

The red markings writhed like live worms, emitting a nauseatingly sweet and fishy odor.

"Open your mouth."

The word "plain" sounds like a seductive, bewitching chant.

The two disciples immediately opened their mouths as if they were puppets on strings.

After a while, two cultivators from the White Bone Cave and a Blood Corpse Puppet led the way, with Zhao Wuji following behind, forming a strange team to explore the surroundings of the secret realm.
(End of this chapter)