Cultivation Starting from Full Talent-Chapter 149 - 147 Fire Mole Cricket

Chapter 149: Chapter 147 Fire Mole Cricket

Yuanlong City.

A small city located on the northern frontier of Qingzhou, to the north of the city lay an endless sea of trees.

It is said that beyond the sea of trees to the north, reside the Demon Clan.

Hence, approximately every few decades, there would be an invasion of a beast tide, with Yuanlong City bearing the brunt, which is why battlements are covered in mottled marks of battle.

In addition, a large number of cultivators gathered here.

Some headed north to cultivate, while others ventured deep into the forest to hunt demon beasts and seek opportunities.

...

This made Yuanlong City, despite its small size, quite rich in cultivation resources.

Eating is Heaven, a famous restaurant within Yuanlong City known far and wide.

This restaurant didn’t cater to ordinary people but only cultivators, selling delicacies such as spiritual wine and demon beast meat, and only accepted spirit stones for payment.

At noon, a young cultivator clad in blue Daoist robes entered the restaurant.

Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, emanating an aura of scholarly elegance.

“Waiter, bring the wine and meat!”

“Right away, sir. Please wait a moment!”

This person was none other than Ning Daoran, who adopted the guise of Independent Practitioner Jianjia; once the table was filled with wine and meat, he began to feast heartily.

Soon after, an aura of Golden Core energy flashed into the restaurant.

It was an old man in a gray robe, Old Monster Jinxia, the once Supreme Elder of the Sea Burning Sect.

Previously, with the Sea Burning Sect becoming a subordinate to the Jiuyun Sect, the Old Monster Jinxia, who had thrown his lot in with the Demon Path, had not shown himself for many years.

“Is this fellow Daoist Jianjia?”

Old Monster Jinxia unceremoniously took the seat opposite him.

“And you are?” Ning Daoran feigned ignorance.

“I am known as Master Jinxia.”

Old Monster Jinxia cracked a smile and, through a sound transmission, said, “But friends within the Cultivation World generally call me Old Monster Jinxia.”

Speaking, Old Monster Jinxia voice-transmitted, “Fellow Daoist Jianjia, are you truly a Second Order Array Master, as Old Man Bai Ming said?”

“I am indeed.” Ning Daoran responded via sound transmission as well.

“That’s excellent.”

Old Monster Jinxia said, “This journey is quite perilous, not to mention the great evils within the Feixing Secret Realm, that unpredictable and capricious Soul-devouring Old Monster—keep away from him. Inside the secret realm… try to stick close behind me as much as possible, I will naturally provide some protection for you.”

“In that case, thank you, Senior Jinxia!”

A look of excitement and uplift appeared in Ning Daoran’s eyes.

Not long after, the skies churned, and another Golden Core Mid-stage energy broke through the air.

With a flash, he transformed into an elderly man in white robes, exuding benevolence.

Master Du Ye, the Supreme Elder of the Jiuyun Sect.

“Old Monster Jinxia, you’ve arrived quite early.”

“Hmph, Old Ghost Du Ye, you’re not exactly late yourself.”

Old Monster Jinxia said, “This is fellow Daoist Jianjia, a Second Order Array Master, who will travel with us.”

“Oh?”

Master Du Ye’s eyes brightened.

In the eyes of a great cultivator like him, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment was nothing extraordinary, and a Second Order Array Master was also unremarkable, but being both at the same time was relatively outstanding.

The Feixing Secret Realm was fraught with danger; a Second Order Array Master was certainly important, but one with the ability to protect himself was even more useful.

After all, not everyone had the spare energy to protect others when facing grave perils.

This Independent Practitioner Jianjia might die in the secret realm, but he mustn’t die too soon—only after those vital prohibitions had been broken could he be allowed to perish.

“Fellow Daoist Jianjia.”

Master Du Ye lips moved silently as he voice-transmitted, “Although you are an independent practitioner, you are still a cultivator of the righteous path. Remember to stick close to Jinxia Daoist friend and me once we enter the Feixing Secret Realm. He is one of our own.”

“Yes!”

Ning Daoran looked gratefully at the Golden Core senior.

In reality, he knew to take the senior’s words with a grain of salt.

One would only know who was friend or foe once inside the secret realm.

Nevertheless, based on Ning Daoran’s experience, for the best chance of survival, he’d better treat everyone as potential foes from the outset.

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Not much later, two figures descended into the restaurant.

A man and a woman—the man, clad in a white shirt and holding a sword, was extraordinarily handsome, named Tan Shangyu, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The woman, dressed in a light-green Flowing Cloud Dress, was exceedingly beautiful, known as Immortal Ning Yu, also a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Both were True Disciples of the Jiuyun Sect.

“Greetings, Master Du Ye!”

“No need for formalities. Ning Yu, are you and Shangyu all prepared?”

“We are ready, you may rest assured, Master!”

“That’s good. This is Daoist Jinxia and this is Daoist Jianjia, as I’ve already mentioned to you through the sound transmission talismans.”

“Yes.”

Immortal Ning Yu approached, gave a respectful bow, and after greeting Old Monster Jinxia, her bright eyes swept over Ning Daoran and she said with a smile,

“I didn’t expect Daoist Jianjia to be so refined. You don’t exactly look like an independent practitioner.”

“You flatter me.”

Ning Daoran said, “Being a hermit from the mountains, accustomed to solitary cultivation and not skilled in conversation, I have become this way, causing Immortal to laugh.”

Immortal Ning Yu covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

Meanwhile, Tan Shangyu frowned slightly, showing little interest in even greeting Ning Daoran.

Before long, Lay Practitioner Bai Ming arrived, exchanging pleasantries with the group.

In the afternoon, three weary travelers arrived at Yuanlong City.

Within the thick aura of the Demon Path, a familiar figure appeared in the restaurant.

The Soul-devouring Old Monster, draped in a black robe with sharp gleams in his eyes, presented an image of cunning and deceit.

Decades ago, outside the Cangnan Secret Realm, Ning Daoran had once encountered the Soul-devouring Old Monster, and naturally, he had ingrained the Devil’s visage firmly in his mind.

Now, the Soul-devouring Old Monster’s cultivation had advanced significantly; he had broken through to the late stage of the Golden Core, just a step away from becoming a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.

Of course, forming a Nascent Soul was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Although it seemed within reach, it was, in reality, incredibly distant.

Two others followed closely behind the Soul-devouring Old Monster.

One was an elder in a deep grey short shirt named Zhang Nan, a late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator.

The other appeared extremely fierce, a man with a broken eyebrow known as Old Demon Qin; his specific name unknown, he was also a late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator.

These two were stalwarts of the Soul Devouring Sect, rightly called the left and right arms of the Soul-devouring Old Monster. Full of demon energy, without any concealment, they looked disdainfully at everyone they saw.

“Fellow Daoist Du Ye, Fellow Daoist Jinxia, and Daoist Bai Ming, it’s been a long time.”

Several Golden Core Cultivators exchanged courtesies.

Everyone was very polite, discussing the major events that had happened in the Cultivation World in recent years, but implicitly referring to the battle between righteousness and evil with understanding silence.

“Is this the esteemed Fellow Daoist Jianjia?”

The Soul-devouring Old Monster’s gaze shifted to Ning Daoran, brazenly inspecting him with Divine Sense from head to toe.

“Yes.”

At the moment, Ning Daoran was operating the Returning to Nature Level Concealing Breath Technique, but still felt somewhat uneasy. This late-stage Golden Core monstrosity, if he could see through him, might cause some trouble.

“A Second Order Array Master, mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator—Fellow Daoist Jianjia indeed shows great promise!”

The Soul-devouring Old Monster narrowed his eyes and smiled, “Once we enter the Feixing Secret Realm, we must rely on our young friend to break through several vital prohibitions.”

“Senior, rest assured.”

Ning Daoran saluted with a fist and said, “Since the elders have already agreed that if we obtain the Flying Star Centipede within the secret realm, it will be handed over to me, then it’s my duty to break through the prohibitions for the seniors.”

“That would be excellent.”

The Soul-devouring Old Monster said, “Now that all of us are here, shall we set off immediately? The distance to the secret realm is neither too far nor too close.”

“Good!”

…

Immediately, everyone transformed into beams of tunneling light and left Yuanlong City.

The several Golden Core Cultivators, being the fastest of the group, led the way.

Following them were Immortal Ning Yu, Tan Shangyu, the Broken Eyebrow Man, and Zhang Nan.

With the lowest cultivation, as the only mid-stage Foundation Establishment amongst them, Ning Daoran kept his tunneling speed the slowest.

He was even sweating profusely from his forehead, clearly straining due to the rapid depletion of mana.

“Fellow Daoist Jianjia.”

The Broken Eyebrow Man, Old Demon Qin, sneered coldly, “Shall we slow down and wait for you?”

“No need to trouble yourselves.”

The energy of the Evergreen Technique surged within Ning Daoran as he responded, “I will do my best to catch up with fellow Daoists!”

“Fellow Daoist Jianjia, we appreciate it.”

Immortal Ning Yu smiled sweetly.

This woman possessed a natural allure to men, something Ning Daoran couldn’t quite understand but preferred to call a ‘feeling.’

Perhaps it was this very ‘feeling’ that made the cultivator named Tan Shangyu constantly attend to Immortal Ning Yu’s side, protecting her from even the slightest harm, referring to her intimately as Junior Sister Ning in an exceptionally affectionate manner.

“Hmph!”

However, Zhang Nan and Old Demon Qin scornfully sneered in secret.

All these titles of senior brother and junior sister, as per the Demon Path, were nothing but a façade hiding despicable scoundrels.

Tan Shangyu might seem diligent in his care for Immortal Ning Yu, but what was he really after if not her pristine body?

Pah! Despicable!!

…

About half a day later.

The Golden Core Cultivators slowed their flight and descended into an expansive forest that seemed boundless.

It seemed that every secret realm in the Cultivation World was hidden deep within forests, making them harder to discover.

Ning Daoran was the last to land, gasping for air, his face somewhat pale—a clear sign of extreme mana depletion.

“Young Friend Jianjia, you should rest.”

Lay Practitioner Bai Ming spoke up, “It’s about half a day until the secret realm opens. That should be plenty of time for you to recover your mana.”

“Okay.”

Ning Daoran settled down to meditate in an open space.

Not far away, under a tangle of vines, the massive head of a Buddha stone carving lay on the ground, covered in moss and exuding an ancient aura.

This place must have once been an ancient temple, but it was unclear for how many years it had been abandoned.

…

Several hours later.

Suddenly, a trembling emanated from the depths of the earth.

Ning Daoran immediately opened his eyes.

“What’s going on, is the secret realm opening?” Zhang Nan asked, furrowing his brow.

“It’s not yet time.”

The Soul-devouring Old Monster narrowed his eyes, “No, that aura is coming from beneath us. Everyone, be cautious and ascend immediately!”

In an instant, everyone soared into the sky.

Ning Daoran floated up, his Divine Sense sweeping the depth of the ground, where he detected an incredibly fierce Monster Beast aura.

Further below, the earth blazed with redness, and flames could be seen spewing from the cracks.

“Boom—”

The forest floor suddenly bulged and cracked open, and a giant beast ensnared in fierce flames appeared before them all, resembling a mole cricket but on a gigantic scale!

“Be careful, it’s a Fire Mole Cricket, a third-tier early-stage Monster!”

Master Du Ye squinted his eyes and smiled, “It seems to be the Monster guarding the entrance to the secret realm. Fellow Daoists, shall we join forces to slay it?”

“A mere early-stage third-tier Monster is hardly worth mentioning.”

The Soul-devouring Old Monster spread his fingers and instantly, a blood-colored giant bell Magical Treasure whirled up from the palm of his hand!