Bamboo Mound

Meanwhile, over the long years, this place has also suffered countless insect infestations.

Some tiny insects parasitize bamboo, sucking its nutrients and weakening its vitality.

It includes various beetles, caterpillars, flying insects, and so on, most of which are species he has never seen before.

Beetles are alright; the Green Spirit Bamboo can knock most of them down with a quick shake, leaving them stunned on the ground for a while. Most of them will be killed directly or cut by the rapidly moving bamboo leaves.

The same goes for caterpillars. Although they cannot be effectively killed, whether the bamboo turns to powder and then grows new bamboo in the same spot, or the bamboo is shaken violently, they can be thrown to the ground. It's just a bit troublesome, but perhaps the green bamboo won't even feel troubled.

The most difficult ones are those small, soft-bodied flying insects that resemble woodlice.

The green bamboo has no way to fight these insects. Neither the sharp bamboo leaves nor the clusters of new bamboo can effectively kill them. They can only be driven away briefly before they return to the bamboo and continue to gnaw on it.

However, Ning Chang was concerned that he could not find out where these insects came from or why they all disappeared at a certain point in his countless attempts to open and close his eyes and accelerate time.

They seem to suddenly appear in clusters in the bamboo forest, and then suddenly disappear after living there for a period of time!

After a certain period of time, no more insects visited, and Ning Chang did not notice any change in the Green Spirit Bamboo, assuming that the insects had simply gotten lost.

After a long while, Ning was awakened by a noisy sound, and what came into view was a group of cultivators passing by outside the bamboo forest.

To his surprise, these cultivators were not human, but apes with intricate facial features covering their bodies. They wore Taoist robes made of coarse cloth, and their bodies were entwined with various vine-like plants.

Aside from that, they are no different from humans; they also talk, complain, and slack off...

Ning Chang couldn't understand a word of their language, and he could tell they were cultivators because of the plants.

They are not simply decorations or objects to be carried; they grow from the bodies of apes and are controlled by them! They are alive!

The strange sight reminded him of the sect ruins he had seen in the Cloud and Mist Secret Realm.

"Could this be... the Cloud and Mist Secret Realm?" Ning Chang raised an eyebrow, considering a possibility.

“But there’s no fog here… Let’s take another look.” He shook his head, suppressing his doubts, and continued to observe the inherited memories of the Azure Spirit Bamboo.

After all, he found the spatial tearing array at that sect ruins, so it's possible that these apes arrived here through the array.

As they passed through the bamboo forest, the apes naturally discovered the existence of the Green Spirit Bamboo. One of the apes, who seemed to be the leader, mumbled something to another ape beside him. Then, the ape walked to the front of the bamboo forest, and several vines emerged from its body, reaching out towards a bamboo stalk.

The green bamboo seemed to sense something and swayed slightly, as if it were wary of unknown dangers.

Its movement was so slight that the ape did not notice anything unusual and continued to try to make contact.

Ning Chang clearly underestimated their wildness; covered in fur, they were ultimately not human!

Upon touching the Green Spirit Bamboo and finding no movement, the vines quickly wrapped around several stalks of Green Spirit Bamboo, attempting to uproot them!

At this moment, Qingling Bamboo naturally sensed the danger. In the blink of an eye, a bamboo shoot grew out from under the ape, piercing through its body and lifting it into the air. The bamboo branches that grew out tore the ape's corpse into several pieces, and with a shake, they all fell to the ground!

Upon seeing this, the apes roared angrily and tried to rush forward, but were stopped by the leader ape who had previously given command.

His gaze towards the bamboo forest held a hint of apprehension, as if he understood that his sect was no match for the Azure Spirit Bamboo. He seemed to have lost something on the spot. Ignoring the anger of his disciples, he gave orders and led the apes to continue moving in the original direction.

After the apes left, the Green Bamboo Forest returned to its tranquility.

However, this tranquility did not last long either.

When Ning Chang awoke to the sound of something tearing through the air, he saw a majestic mountain slowly flying towards him from who-knows-where. Its speed seemed slow, but it carried an irresistible sense of oppression!

His gaze was fixed on the towering mountain that had appeared out of nowhere, his heart filled with doubt and shock.

Its surface is covered with strange rocks, barren grass, and withered slopes, and its overall color is golden and iron, which makes people not want to fight against it.

With the arrival of this high mountain, it seemed as if some kind of balance had been broken, and the surrounding spiritual energy began to become disordered.

However, none of this mattered to Ning Chang; his only remaining abilities were hearing and sight.

As the mountain drew closer, Ning Chang could vaguely see a stone hall on the summit, with a group of figures moving about inside, but their features were indistinct, as if shrouded by a mysterious force!

The movements of these figures seemed methodical, yet they also revealed a strange eeriness.

They moved around the main hall, seemingly setting something up, but Ning Chang couldn't make out their specific actions.

Moreover, as the distance increased and the reference distance became more and more accurate, Ning Chang also began to feel a strange sense of déjà vu about the mountains and the main hall.

With a deafening roar and violent tremors, the iron-stone mountain crashed onto the edge of the bamboo forest!

Seeing this, Ning Chang also raised his altitude, preparing to go to the top of the mountain for a closer look.

But for some reason, the figures in the main hall on the mountaintop seemed to have a conflict, and in an instant a great battle broke out, with swords flashing, staffs clashing, and fists thrashing throughout the entire hall!

He could barely see anything when a dazzling light shone from the mountain, followed by a loud bang.

The light transformed into a crescent moon nearly a hundred meters long, slashing towards him!

Ning Chang's pupils dilated instantly, and he tried to lean back to avoid it.

He was well aware that nothing in this memory space could affect him, but seeing such a powerful attack flying towards him for the first time, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

As he expected, the light passed by in an instant, even before he could make a move, and disappeared into the distance.

When he regained his senses, the mountain in front of him had already been shaved off by the light, and now it was suspended in mid-air along with the main hall on it.

Even so, the figures in the hall had not stopped fighting, but soon, only a handful of them remained.

At this moment, one of the figures suddenly flew out of the main hall, and a huge palm print condensed, immediately pushing the floating main hall off the mountain peak and crashing it into the bamboo forest next to it!

Looking at the exposed, smooth mountaintop and the distance to the fallen palace, Ning Chang opened his mouth slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He was absolutely certain that this was the empty palace and mountain he had seen in the Cloud and Mist Secret Realm!