【The cultivator killed a level 1 red-named monster "hungry ghost," obtaining 0.1 upgrade experience.】
【The cultivator killed a level 1 red-named monster "hungry ghost," obtaining 0.1 upgrade experience.】
【The cultivator killed a level 3 red-named monster "hungry ghost," obtaining 1 upgrade experience.】
...
【The cultivator killed a level 10 red-named monster, a low level Sky Demon "Zhemu," obtaining 50 upgrade experience, 1 Rejuvenation Pill, and 1 Qi-Augmenting Pill.】
The kill notifications popped up at the right moment, and a series of tugs came from the other end of the Vermilion Bird Lock at her waist.
Nan Zhi thought for a moment and then tossed away the Sky Demon corpse in her hand, watching as the humanoid creature plummeted straight into the black mist.
This thing was truly strange. Even though it was only a low level Sky Demon, it could evade a cultivator's divine sense, and its blood could corrode dharma treasures and artifacts.
If she brought the Sky Demon's corpse up, how would she explain the peculiar fragrance she had smelled?
Since she had already obtained the experience for the kill, it was better to observe for a few more days.
The pull at her waist suddenly increased, and her ascent speed quickened.
Nan Zhi hung from the black iron chain, not in a hurry to get back on the ship. Instead, she took the opportunity to carefully observe the formations on the hull.
The Wuwei Sect disciple had been right; there was indeed a complex formation carved into the ship.
The patterns were incredibly profound, with the lines etched three inches deep into the wood. Looking closely, one could see the faint glow of spiritual energy flowing through them.
It appeared to be an invisibility formation. For a massive ship like this, the amount of talisman materials consumed must be immense.
Nan Zhi, who had only recently begun studying formations, could only tell that the hull served as the base, the massive mountain on the ship as the eye, and a very special ink was used to draw this invisibility formation on the bottom of the ship.
Drawing such a formation required a formation master to complete it in one go, without any interruption from start to finish. Such a vast and exquisite formation could only have come from the hand of a true master.
“She's coming up! She's coming up!”
“Whoa! She's not dead?!”
“This human cultivator is truly something. She stayed down there for a full hour and actually came back in one piece?!”
“Look! Is she really okay? The yaksha who just went down was pulled up missing half an arm, and he barely escaped with his life!”
“What incredible luck!”
Nan Zhi's figure appeared on the Vermilion Bird Lock, only to find herself surrounded by seven or eight curious cultivators.
The Sea Dragon woman who had previously been cold toward Nan Zhi was standing behind the iron wheel of the Vermilion Bird Lock, gripping the black iron chain.
The sudden acceleration Nan Zhi had felt earlier was clearly her doing.
“Did no one tell you the rules? You're supposed to come up as soon as the light on the jade token fades! Otherwise, you won't even know how you died in that black mist!”
Seeing that she was safe, the Sea Dragon woman let out a hidden sigh of relief before putting on a harsh expression again.
“If I wasn't afraid you'd die down there and get blood on the iron chain—which is bad luck—I wouldn't have bothered with you.”
She had gone down and come up twice already. Hearing others talk about a new human cultivator who hadn't come up after an hour, she guessed it was Nan Zhi.
In the past, there had been cultivators who refused to come up out of greed for spirit stones, but staying in the black mist for more than half an hour would drain one's spiritual energy dry.
Even if they survived, they would suffer a severe illness and drop one or two minor cultivation realms.
Experienced demon hunters managed their time strictly. Once the light on the jade token faded, they would return to the ship to meditate and recover, regardless of their harvest.
So, seeing that Nan Zhi hadn't returned, the Sea Dragon woman had grown anxious. Feeling that the iron wheel was too slow, she had simply pulled the chain by hand to drag Nan Zhi up.
But...
Why was this human cultivator so clean? Not only was she not in a disheveled state, but her face was flushed with health, and it looked like she still had plenty of spiritual energy left in her sea of qi.
A look of confusion crossed her blue face as she sized Nan Zhi up for a moment before speaking again.
“You... did you really go down to kill hungry ghosts?”
“Of course. Could that be faked?”
Nan Zhi patted her clothes. Knowing that this Sea Dragon woman wasn't malicious, she turned to find the Wuwei Sect disciples and placed the jade token in front of them.
“The formation on this jade token seems to be broken. Could you two take a look at it for me?”
“Fellow daoist, there are two simple formations on this token. The front is for counting, and the back is for timing, to remind everyone not to stay in the black mist for too long.
“The black mist on the Wuwang Sea devours spiritual energy. If people like us stay in it for too long, our cultivation realms can become unstable.”
Seeing Nan Zhi return alive, the smile on the Wuwei Sect disciple's face became more genuine.
“Once this formation leaves the black mist, it will light up again after a moment. If you want to see the number of hungry ghosts you've killed, you just need to place the jade token into the corresponding formation.”
Only then did Nan Zhi notice a large piece of white jade behind them, where text appeared from time to time:
【Hua Zhen of the Qingjing Sect, Foundation Establishment Level 2, killed 44,651 Qi Refinement hungry ghosts, 41 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, and 1 Zhemu Sky Demon】
【Tu Jiuxiao of the Wuwei Sect, Foundation Establishment Level 1, killed 53,723 hungry ghosts, 70 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, and 7 Zhemu Sky Demon】
【Hai Ying of the Sea Dragon Kingdom, second-revolution demon core, killed 48,619 hungry ghosts, 62 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, and 11 Zhemu Sky Demon】
【Ye Mingyue of the Yaksha Nation, second-revolution demon core, killed 32,860 hungry ghosts, and 31 Foundation Establishment demon beasts】
【Pi Su of the Alligator Dragon Nation, first-revolution demon core, killed 3,619 hungry ghosts】
...
“These fellow daoists are truly impressive. The cultivation world is indeed full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I wonder when I'll be able to make it onto this Demon Slaying Board.”
Nan Zhi sighed with admiration. The Wuwei Sect disciple chuckled as he took her jade token and placed it on the formation, explaining as he did so:
“You only boarded today, so how could you compare to them? The Splendid Platform has traveled all the way from the East Province Continent, across the Wuwang Sea, to the North Province, which has taken over three months.
“This is your first try, and you don't know the ropes. In an hour, you'd usually spend nearly half of that time meditating to recover. Combined with the difficulty of moving through the black mist, it would be considered excellent if you managed to kill a hundred Qi Refinement hungry ghosts on your first trip...”
Before he could finish his sentence, a string of numbers suddenly shot up on the jade stone:
“Rogue cultivator Ma Jiu, Foundation Establishment Level 3, killed 2,151 Qi Refinement hungry ghosts, 2 Foundation Establishment demon beasts, and 1 low-level Zhemu Sky Demon.”
Nan Zhi: “...”
Wuwei Sect disciple: “...”
You've got to be kidding me.
She looked so polite and gentle, yet in one hour, she had done half a month's worth of work for others.
This was the strength of someone at Foundation Establishment Level 3?
Could this possibly be the strength of Foundation Establishment Level 3?!
Low gasps of shock came from those nearby, and even the Sea Dragon woman was left dumbfounded.
That was 2,151 hungry ghosts, plus two Foundation Establishment demon beasts!
Those weren't weeds in a field or small fish in the water!
Even if you were killing 2,151 pigs, it would take some time, wouldn't it?!
She had been killing for a full hour; didn't this person need to meditate and recover?!
Even if she was extremely skilled in techniques, she couldn't possibly release spells without a single moment of rest, could she?!
Was this cultivator named Ma Jiu really a rogue cultivator, and not some great demon in human form?!
But beneath the white jade, no one below the Golden Core stage could hide their cultivation. This Ma Jiu was indeed a Foundation Establishment cultivator just like them!
She was simply more of a beast than their demon race!
“Fellow daoist... you have great skill to be able to slay a Zhemu Sky Demon. This demon is neither demon nor beast, and it is exceptionally good at hiding its tracks. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it difficult to detect its approach.”
The disciple responsible for the count looked at the numbers again and again, almost suspecting that the formation was malfunctioning. His gaze toward Nan Zhi became increasingly respectful.
“2,151 hungry ghosts. Would you like to exchange them for spirit stones? If you're interested in selling the demon cores, we can negotiate a good price.”
“No need. I'll save them up and come back for the exchange once I have a round number.”
Nan Zhi took back her jade token and asked as if casually:
“Didn't you say Sky Demons wouldn't appear near the spirit ship? Then why did I find traces of this Zhemu Sky Demon around the ship?”
Rate on N.U.
