Reigning Supreme in countless worlds With Beast taming

Chapter 431: Chapter 428: Netherworld Sect, Ten Thousand Crows Valley Chapter 431: Chapter 428: Netherworld Sect, Ten Thousand Crows Valley Hundred Desolate Mountain, Nanli Abyss!

This is a rather desolate area in the Biluo Southern Domain, once an Ancient Battlefield during the Ancient Great Tribulation.

However, this place is far from being as famous as the six major Ancient Battlefields known throughout the Five Domains.

For the six major Ancient Battlefields were not only the most important decisive battle zones of the Ancient Great Tribulation, where countless lives perished, leading to surging resentment in those lands, but also because many powerful Great Powers died there, causing spacetime chaos and creating numerous dangerous zones. The combination of scattered laws and the Death Qi of resentment gave birth to many strange occurrences, therefore ordinary cultivators dare not venture too deep.

Whereas the Hundred Desolate Mountain battlefield, although it also suffered landslides and ruptured Spirit Veins during the Ancient Times, due to its limited scale, was not as perilous as the final battlegrounds of the Great Tribulation.

Although this place is teeming with Demon Beasts and Poison Insects breeding, because the Spirit Veins were too scattered to form a system, it is difficult for overly powerful Demon Beasts and Poison Insects to emerge. Hence, it is not regarded highly by sects such as the Beast Taming Sect and the Five Poisons Sect.

However, while major sects like the Beast Taming Sect may look down on this place, ordinary Loose Cultivators consider Hundred Desolate Mountain a treasure land.

Those cultivators with average cultivation often come here to explore, mainly to hunt for Spiritual Medicine and Demon Beasts, occasionally if they find a bit of treasure left over from the ancient wars, they consider it a great stroke of fortune.

Because of its remoteness, it’s quite a distance from the various major sects, so it is unlikely for disciples of prominent sects to practice here. Instead, it has become a paradise for Loose Cultivators.

Where there are many Loose Cultivators, chaos is inevitable.

After all, these Loose Cultivators come from all over, and each of them, accustomed to their freedom and lax discipline, refuses to be controlled by others, doing as they wish, carefree and at ease, happy on ordinary days.

However, once they encounter benefits, conflicts easily arise with other Loose Cultivators.

The area is riddled with desolate mountains and rugged ranges, and killing someone doesn’t even require attention; the Demon Beasts of the mountain will devour the corpses until not even bones remain!

Hence, every year, quite a few Loose Cultivators mysteriously disappear without anyone caring.

Qin Feng walked out from a small Cultivator Market on the outer edges of Hundred Desolate Mountain, heading towards the mountains.

Dressed simply in a half-new, half-old Magic Robe that he had scrounged from somewhere, with no marks of the Beast Taming Sect, his aura was also very weak, appearing just like a young man shortly after Foundation Establishment.

Qin Feng came to Hundred Desolate Mountain to investigate the situation here.

By now, it had been over two years since he had followed his sect to encircle and suppress the Rebirth Sect.

In those two years, the biggest topic of conversation in the Cultivation World had been the joint efforts of the major sects in the Five Domains to encircle and suppress the Demon Sects.

This action, of course, received the approval of the vast majority of cultivators in the Cultivation World.

If it were possible to completely eradicate the Demon Sects, cultivators traveling outside would not have to worry about encountering so many Demon Cultivators, which relatively increased their safety.

But only relatively.

For cultivators traveling outside, there were dangers other than Demon Cultivators.

In fact, not only do they exist, but there are many.

Whether it’s Demon Beasts, Bandit Cultivators, targeting by hostile sect cultivators, or all sorts of dangers that come for some inexplicable reasons, if one were to list them all, there would still be many.

For example, right now, Qin Feng had been targeted.

The reason someone had his sights set on him could be that he carelessly displayed wealth in the Market, or perhaps someone saw that he was young and, furthermore, entering Hundred Desolate Mountain alone, so they decided to take advantage of him.

It’s not only Demon Cultivators who harbor malice; many cultivators, for various reasons, might also act against other cultivators.

Of course, such situations occur mostly with Loose Cultivators.

Disciples of famous sects aren’t absent from such conduct, but besides grudges and unless the benefits reached a certain degree, they generally act much more in accordance with sect rules due to restrictions, as opposed to Loose Cultivators.

However, Qin Feng felt that the reason trouble had come to him now might be more due to the chaos stirred up in the Cultivation World by the suppression of Demon Cultivators, leading to a rise in the number of cultivators looking to fish in troubled waters.

This was normal. In chaotic times, the lower levels would certainly become even messier. As long as the Demon Cultivators are not thoroughly eradicated, the turmoil in the Cultivation World will not stop.

However, rounding up Demon Cultivators was not such an easy task, and it definitely would not be over within three to five years.

Over the past two years, conflicts between Righteous and Demon Paths have been incessant, and as the Righteous Path Cultivators stepped up their encirclement, the Demon Path also began to strike back.

Although the headquarters of all three Demon Sects, nine Schools, and forty-eight Factions had already been breached, including the most powerful and mysterious Heavenly Demon Sect, and even the Heavenly Demon Treasure Mirror had been shattered by a joint effort of several Great Powers, the upper echelons of the Demon Sects suffered heavy casualties.

But they did not die out completely.

Great Powers are, after all, Great Powers; even in their weakest state, they are beings of the Immortal Realm.

Moreover, the Demon Path Cultivation Methods are tricky, and they possess many life-saving techniques. Even with the Righteous Path Sects being fully prepared ahead of time, there were inevitably some oversights.

Thus, three or two Demon Path Great Powers who were severely injured managed to escape and go into hiding, evading the pursuit and assassination attempts of the Righteous Path Great Powers.

If there were some oversights while mobilizing so many existences above the Immortal Realm, then it was only natural for the Supreme Elders, whose strength was far inferior, and the teams from various Sects dispatched to round up the Demon Cultivators, to also encounter problems and allow quite a few Demon Cultivators to get away.

Of course, the majority of Demon Cultivators who survived were those who had not been detected originally and thus had managed to evade the initial round of killing.

These Demon Cultivators were not few in number, and under the call of those fleeing Great Powers, under the orders of the fortunate surviving upper echelons of various Demon Path factions, many Demon Cultivators began retaliating against the Righteous Path Sects, launching their counterattacks.

Although their counterstrikes were relatively weak in comparison, and many were killed in retaliation by the well-prepared Righteous Path Sects, Demon Cultivators are the craftiest. Realizing something was amiss, they would immediately shift their target, starting to target the various properties scattered across the lands owned by the Sects, as well as numerous medium and small families, thereby causing quite a bit of chaos in the Cultivation World.

Thankfully, after more than a year, nearly all Cultivators in the Cultivation World had joined the crackdown on Demon Cultivators under the summons of various Sects. Even ordinary Cultivators who didn’t have the strength to join the battle could play a significant role just by providing information.

As a result, over ninety percent of the Demon Cultivators had been annihilated, leaving only a small number hiding out in various places, desperately clinging to life. As soon as they dared to show themselves, they would immediately attract a large number of Righteous Path Cultivators to besiege them.

Even now, the Cultivation World has given rise to a good number of Cultivators skilled in tracking traces.

This is because all Sects have posted bounties, promising rewards to anyone who reports sightings of Demon Cultivators.

And if one discovers a high-level Demon Cultivator or an outpost of Demon Cultivators, and the information turns out to be correct, they would immediately receive a large reward. There have already been many Loose Cultivators who chanced upon the tracks of Demon Cultivators and received numerous resource rewards. Some have even established families with the support of those Sects thanks to these resources, no longer wandering about as Loose Cultivators.

It is precisely because of those Loose Cultivators who have benefited that many Cultivators who make a living tracking Demon Cultivators have emerged in the Cultivation World.

Some clever folks have purchased from the Beast Taming Sect Spiritual Beasts sensitive to the perception of Qi to sell in various places, and others have straightforwardly copied numerous Jade Scrolls, selling all sorts of tracking secret techniques under the banner of some Ancient Sect.

Of course, the actual effectiveness of these measures was a matter of luck.

“Halt!”

A loud shout rang out, and several Loose Cultivators of varying appearances blocked Qin Feng’s path.

The leader was a man whose face was covered in horizontal scars, more resembling a butcher than a Cultivator.

The man was holding a Bone-Cutting Saber in his hand and casually displayed a flourish with it, sending a fierce burst of Sword Energy that sliced the ground before Qin Feng, creating a trench several feet deep.

Qin Feng stopped in his tracks, looked at the man with the scarred face, then turned to look at the other Cultivators, and asked, “Daoist fellows, for what reason do you block my path?”

“Hmm?”

The scar-faced man had assumed their sudden surrounding and the display of force from his saber just now would be enough to intimidate the youth, but unexpectedly, the young person remained unexpectedly calm, causing him to feel uncertain.

He turned his head to look at a middle-aged man with a mustache on his upper lip and a cunning expression on his face, and sent a telepathic message, asking, “Old Yao, are you sure there will be no problem with this one?”

“Boss, can’t you trust my judgment?”

The middle-aged man known as Old Yao replied, “Don’t be fooled by the youth’s simple attire and worn-out magic robe; he definitely has a few valuable items on him. Earlier, I personally saw him in the Market spending a substantial amount of Spirit Stones, directly purchasing those several dozen damaged Ancient Treasures stored in the Ancient Treasure Pavilion.

Therefore, he must be of significant worth. Don’t be deceived by his calm appearance right now. In my opinion, he is very likely just pretending to be composed.”

“Could there be any deception involved?”

The scar-faced, strong-bodied man, a genuine practitioner of Body Cultivation, was not one to act rashly without thinking, cautiously said, “If he possesses such worth, he might very well have powerful Spiritual Artifacts protecting his body; otherwise, he wouldn’t dare to enter the Baiman Mountain alone.

“Whenever someone comes alone, they’re either a naïve young man on his first foray into the world or a cultivator who believes he has some abilities. We’re not going to bump into a tough nut this time, are we?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

The middle-aged man bewitched, “Let Third Gu and the others go first, to test this youngster’s abilities. If this person is of average strength, then we take him down. If not, we can always retreat.

It’s just that Third Gu has been distracted with different ideas recently, hobnobbing with the Tiger Boss from the West District. It’s only because you, boss, are too soft-hearted to make a firm decision. If it were me, I would have kicked him out long ago. Now is a good time to test the youngster’s strength with him, and even if there’s an accident, it won’t be a loss!”

“Good!”

Upon hearing this, the brawny man finally made up his mind and said to Qin Feng, “I had previously set aside several Ancient Treasures from the Hundred Desolate Mountain at the Ancient Treasure Pavilion in the market. It was just that I didn’t have enough Spirit Stones earlier, so I didn’t buy them directly. Just now, when I had gathered enough Spirit Stones and went to make the purchase, the Ancient Treasure Pavilion said they were bought by you. I was quite fond of those Ancient Treasures; I wonder if Daoist Fellow could possibly part with them?”

“Oh?”

Qin Feng’s face revealed a playful smile, “You want the Ancient Treasures on me; what price will you offer?”

The big man threw out two Low Grade Spirit Stones, whose Spiritual Energy was almost exhausted, in front of Qin Feng. With a grand gesture, he said, “Just take these Spirit Stones; just give me the Ancient Treasures in return.”

Qin Feng looked down at the two lusterless Spirit Stones, then raised his head to glance at the big man, suddenly smiling, “Those broken Ancient Treasures are of no use to me. I didn’t buy them for my own use. You can have them if you want, but, well, you still need to ask its opinion.”

With that, the figure of the Ruyi Golden Snake appeared in Qin Feng’s hand.

He took out a broken Ancient Treasure and, while feeding it to the Ruyi Golden Snake, said, “As long as you can convince it to give this food to you, I have no objections!”

Looking at the Ruyi Golden Snake in Qin Feng’s hand, which ate the hard Ancient Relics as Spirit Food, the big man’s face, along with several Bandit Cultivators surrounding Qin Feng, turned pale, “A Spiritual Beast? Who are you?”

“What do you think?”

“Hmph, putting on airs!”

The middle-aged man snorted coldly, “Boss, don’t be fooled by this kid. Just looking at his dress, we know he’s definitely not a disciple of a Major Sect.

This Spiritual Beast is so extraordinary, it must be invaluable. If we kill this kid and capture the beast, we can sell it to the Beast Taming Sect for a good price.

With those resources, Boss, you could purchase the Spiritual Medicines needed to advance to the Golden Core. Once you succeed in advancing, our brothers can also benefit from it. It would save us from squatting in places like the Hundred Desolate Mountain!”

The words of the middle-aged man were imbued with a strange fluctuation, reaching the big man’s ears and, somehow, making his spirit somewhat bewildered. His greed was magnified tenfold, especially upon hearing the words ‘advance to Golden Core,’ which sparked a flash of uncontrollable greed in the big man’s eyes.

“Kill! Attack together, chop him down!”

The big man gestured to his subordinates and was the first to launch an attack. His Bone-Cutting Saber flashed with a sharp cold light as it chopped down towards Qin Feng’s head!

“Clang…”

A sound of metal clashing arose.

It was not Qin Feng who drew a weapon to parry, but the Ruyi Golden Snake that suddenly darted forward and collided with the Bone-Cutting Saber. Its scales remained unscathed, while sparks flew from the sabre, which even got a broad bean-sized notch from the collision.

“Ah…”

The big man exclaimed in shock, as the strike from the Ruyi Golden Snake immediately brought him back to his senses. He realized with horror that the snake’s aura was unfathomable and inscrutable. Knowing he had encountered a tough opponent, he thought of fleeing. But as he turned, he saw the Ruyi Golden Snake following his Bone-Cutting Saber up to his neck. With a swift coil, it decapitated him as easily as a knife would cut through flesh.

The other Bandit Cultivators, seeing this, were all drastically shocked and tried to flee. However, the Ruyi Golden Snake’s dark form twisted like a phantom in mid-air, catching up to the escaping Bandit Cultivators. Its slender body pierced directly through their hearts, with its fierce Golden Qi shattering their vitality.

In an instant, only the middle-aged Bandit Cultivator remained at the scene.

“Who in the world are you?”

Watching his companions die gruesomely, the middle-aged man had no fear on his face, but stared intently at Qin Feng. Sёarᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“What’s the use of knowing so much when you’re about to die!”

Qin Feng looked up and took a glance at his opponent; the Ruyi Golden Snake lunged toward the man again.

“Clang, clang, clang…”

A series of fine, metallic clashing sounds rang out, as three sabers appeared in front of the middle-aged man, circling around him and successfully blocking the Ruyi Golden Snake’s attack.

However, in the midst of the fight, the strength that he had hidden inevitably revealed itself.

At the same time, a dark and gloomy Demonic Qi began to emerge from him.

“Hehe, turns out you really are a Demon Cultivator!”

A smile crept onto Qin Feng’s face, “I had a hunch there was something off about you back at the market, so I purposely caught your attention, and you really dared to follow me.

Hehe, looks like this time I’m going to make a great contribution.

Tell me, which Demon Sect do you belong to?

Do you have any accomplices, and where is the lair of you heretics?”

“Are you one of those cultivators specifically looking for our tracks, or a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect?”

The middle-aged man’s face grew sullen, “Forget it, no matter who you are, you’re going to die!”

After speaking, his aura surged, reaching the Golden Core Middle Stage realm, and the three peculiarly shaped Demon Sabers transformed, chopping out three swirling saber cyclones, attacking Qin Feng.

Qin Feng’s own aura also rose, but he did not unleash his full power, instead maintaining a similar level to the middle-aged man’s Golden Core Middle Stage.

He didn’t want to directly kill the middle-aged man, nor did he intend to capture him alive.

Because with the temperament of these Demon Sect cultivators, even if he captured them, it was uncertain whether he could extract any information, and even if this man couldn’t endure torture and confessed something, it still might not be true.

Qin Feng didn’t know the Soul Search technique, and even if he did, it would be difficult to apply it to a Demon Cultivator of the same level.

So he merely revealed a cultivation level similar to his opponent, combined with a Spiritual Beast in the early stage of Demon Core, giving him a slight edge in combat power, just enough to surpass his opponent.

Therefore, after a fight, the Ruyi Golden Snake entangled the opponent’s Demon Path Treasure, and Qin Feng flicked his hand, sending out a God-Breaking Cone, which was something he had previously obtained from a young man of the Rebirth Sect.

The God-Breaking Cone pierced directly through the middle-aged man’s abdomen, instantly causing the man to have thoughts of retreat, no longer daring to contend with Qin Feng.

He waved his sleeve, releasing several Yin Thunders to block Qin Feng’s path, then his figure twisted, turning into several illusions flying off in all directions.

Qin Feng, appearing somewhat flustered, flew out from the Yin Thunder, looked around, and then followed the direction where the Demonic Qi was the thickest.

Once he left, the figure of the middle-aged man emerged from behind a nearby large tree.

The middle-aged man looked in the direction Qin Feng had departed, disdain flashing in his eyes, “Hmph, the Netherworld Sect’s Illusion Clone Technique is remarkably intricate; it’s not something a cultivator like you can see through.”

After that, he turned and left.

He didn’t fly through the sky to avoid drawing attention; instead, he transformed into an almost invisible shadow, zigzagging across the ground, changing directions several times, and circumventing dozens of mountain peaks. Only after he was certain no one was following him did he continue forward.

However, he didn’t realize that in his shadow, there was an indistinct presence that did not belong to him.

The middle-aged man continued to travel hundreds of miles into the mountains until he reached a strange and eerie valley deep within Baiman Mountain, near the outer rim of the Nanli Abyss.

The valley was littered with bizarre rocks and devoid of life, and while there were trees remaining, they lacked any sign of vitality, leaving only ancient trees that had withered away for countless years.

What was even more horrifying were the densely packed crows perched on the branches of these withered trees.

Each crow had blood-red eyes and emitted a thick Death Qi, giving off an ominous aura!

This place was Ten Thousand Crows Valley!