Mythical Cultivation

Wu Ming and his companions arrived at the foot of a barren mountain, home to the Silver Rat's range. They split up and searched for any traces of the rat. Their droppings were silvery-white, easily distinguishable. After an hour, they locked onto the area. They scattered spiritual grains and materials in the grass and waited for the rat to take the bait. As darkness gradually fell, they braced themselves, as the silver rats foraged towards nightfall. Nearly another half hour passed, and by the time darkness had fallen, they still hadn't seen any sign of the rat.

"Maybe the Silver Mouse has moved its position and is no longer in this area. We've been waiting for so long, but there's still no sign of it." Zhao Xiaohai complained.

"Since we are just waiting for something to happen, we have to be patient and wait and see," said Wu Ming.

"Wait, don't make any noise. I think I hear a mouse squeaking." Mei Lingshuang said softly.

The four of them perked up instantly, holding their breath and waiting. After a while, they saw the grass move slightly, and a silver mouse the size of a house cat sneaked out of the grass and crawled towards the Spirit Valley. When it reached the edge of the valley, it sniffed around, finding no sign of a living being, and began to eat. After taking a few bites, it sniffed around again, finding nothing, and then began to eat again. They didn't dare to breathe, for fear of scaring off the silver mouse. Seeing that the silver mouse had lowered its guard, they were ready to attack at any time.

Finally, just as they were about to finish their spiritual grain, a net suddenly rose from the ground, pulling the silver rat, which was enjoying its meal, straight into the air. The four men raised their flying swords and slashed at the silver rat. Just as the swords flew out, the silver rat in the field suddenly squeaked non-stop, apparently in a state of panic. A flash of silver light appeared, and before the net could close, the silver rat shot straight up and out of the net mouth, leaving the flying swords slicing through the air. This was not unexpected, as the silver rat was not that easy to catch. They channeled their true energy to chase the silver rat, but it was getting farther and farther away, almost losing it.

The few of them had no choice but to chase after it, occasionally using talismans to hit the Silver Mouse to disrupt its escape. This chase lasted for dozens of miles, and the few of them had almost used up half of their true energy. The Silver Mouse was also slowing down. Just when they were about to catch up, the Silver Mouse suddenly disappeared in front of a mountain. The few of them landed at the place where the Silver Mouse disappeared, only to find that it was actually a maze, used to confuse people. Seeing the duck that was about to be caught flew away, the few of them were furious and prepared to chase in, but they still kept a watchful eye and asked Zhao Xiaohai to guard outside. If the few of them did not come out after an hour, they were to go to Taohua Mountain Market to find Liu Wuge, or find the nearest Qingyun Sect disciple, because this place was not too far from the Qingyun Sect, and Qingyun Sect disciples would appear from time to time.

Because Zhao Xiaohai's injuries hadn't healed yet, they didn't want him to take the risk. After the group agreed, Wu Ming and the other two rushed in. As soon as they entered, they found two people guarding a door inside. It looked like a cultivator's cave. These two people were on guard duty outside while their companions went in. They were the subordinates of the handsome young man who had appeared in the Taohua Mountain Market, and they were on guard duty outside.

"Who are you and how did you get in?" one of the young men in black asked, summoning a harpoon-like magical weapon and stabbing it at Wu Ming and the other two. His companion also summoned a flag and waved it, revealing a black aura mingled with demonic sounds.

Seeing this, Wu Ming and the other two knew that it was pointless to say anything now. They were just exploring a cultivator's cave, and you just barged in. Nothing else mattered; they had to fight first. So the three of them summoned flying swords and engaged the enemy. Huang Hao and Mei Lingshuang each picked a target, and Wu Ming followed Mei Lingshuang to fight the flag-waving figure.

When the two saw Wu Ming and the other two raising their Qingyun Swords, they immediately knew they were disciples of the Qingyun Sect. "So you're disciples of the Qingyun Sect? We didn't come looking for you, but you showed up on your own accord. You're like, if you don't take the road to heaven, you'll be able to enter hell without a door. Hahahaha."

Hearing the two say this, they knew they had encountered disciples from a rival sect. The young man battling Huang Hao, while not yet in the late Qi training stage, appeared to be at the peak of the sixth level. He wielded a harpoon with masterful skill, leaving Huang Hao helpless and unable to defend himself, forcing him to retreat. The young man fighting Wu Ming and the others also appeared to be at the sixth level of Qi training. After summoning a ghost, he also waved a flag and engaged Mei Lingshuang. Ghostly energy occasionally emanated from the flag, interfering with Mei Lingshuang's vision and mingling with a corrosive aura. This disrupted Mei Lingshuang's Qingyun Sword's connection with her, preventing her from unleashing its full power. Fortunately, Mei Lingshuang had reached the fifth level of Qi training, and with her exceptional sword control, she was able to manage a defensive effort.

Wu Ming's side was much worse off. The ghost was at the sixth level of Qi training, while Wu Ming was only at the fourth level. The difference in strength was too great. In addition, the Qingyun Sword did not seem to have a very strong killing power against ghosts, which resulted in Wu Ming being the worst off among the three. He could only fight and retreat, and throw out talismans from time to time to interfere with the ghost. However, the fireball talisman was really useful. Every time it exploded on the ghost, the ghost's ghost energy would be thinner. After more than ten fireball talismans were thrown, the ghost's figure became more and more transparent, and its strength became weaker and weaker. Seeing the considerable power of the fireball talisman, Wu Ming simply put away the Qingyun Sword and began to use the fireball spell himself. The effect was amazing. After an incense stick of time, the ghost screamed and finally disappeared.

Seeing the ghost destroyed, the two men there also became anxious. Now it was two against three. Although they were relatively strong, they were outnumbered, and two fists could not defeat four hands. After destroying the ghost, Wu Ming joined the fight with Mei Lingshuang. After all, the person Mei Lingshuang was fighting seemed weaker, making it easier to find weaknesses. The person was not much stronger than Mei Lingshuang to begin with, and Wu Ming had destroyed the ghost. Now the ghost energy in the flag was dwindling. When Wu Ming's magic weapon attacked, he was immediately unable to resist. After a few rounds, he was stabbed several times.

The man suddenly became anxious and started cursing, "You people from Qingyun Sect, just wait for me. When our Senior Brother Nangong comes out, I will make things difficult for you. I will then put your three souls and seven spirits into the Soul Summoning Banner and torture you day and night." The Soul Summoning Banner was the flag in the man's hand. Seeing that this man was no match for him, the man who was fighting Huang Hao knew that if this man was defeated, he would be the next to be besieged. So he made up his mind and used the harpoon magic weapon to hit Huang Hao hard, causing a trace of blood to seep from the corner of Huang Hao's mouth. Then the man took advantage of the men's unpreparedness and flew straight into the cave.

The other man, seeing his companions abandon him, immediately launched into a barrage of curses, turning his insults on his companions, but it was no use, as the three who had reacted beheaded him in a few quick strokes. After sorting through the man's storage bag, they discovered he was an outer disciple of the Netherworld Sect, a demonic sect within the Northern Wilderness, slightly weaker than the Qingyun Sect. Located at the border of Qingjiang and Huangsha counties, the sect was a rival to the Qingyun Sect, and encounters between the two sects were often a life-or-death struggle.

There was nothing good in this person's storage bag. He took out more than a hundred spirit stones, which were various kinds of elixirs. Except for one or two kinds, he didn't recognize the others. There was also a jade slip and a low-grade magic weapon, the soul-summoning flag. The few of them discussed and decided to divide the spoils together after this matter was over.

The most urgent thing now was to get out, but they were trapped in the illusion array and couldn't get out for a while. In addition, the person who had just entered the cave had passed the news from outside. When their senior brother came out, the three of them would be in trouble. So the three of them decided to break into the cave as well, using the restrictions inside to restrain them. Before entering the cave, they passed the news inside to Zhao Xiaohai who was waiting outside, asking him to call for help.