Bamboo Mound

The expansion only stopped when the center of the blood-red light appeared to be the size of a basketball in Ning Chang's view.

A few breaths later, the blood-red light exploded, transforming into a towering pillar of blood that was several times thicker than the "basketball" from before!

The column of blood remained in a spiral shape, swirling up the clouds and mist, which were then tinged with crimson.

In an instant, the world changed color, and all things fell silent.

As if the heavens and earth were enraged by this pillar of blood, clouds continuously gathered across the vast sky, darkening the sky and blocking out the slightest bit of sunlight.

But it was immediately engulfed, stained, and torn apart by the column of blood!

Judging from the looks of it, the struggle between the unknown mastermind and the will of heaven and earth will not be short.

Another tremor brought Ning Chang back to his senses. At the same time, almost all the birds in the forest were startled and flew away in the opposite direction of the blood pillar.

The animals in the forest also abandoned their predator-prey relationship at this time; forest mice climbed onto foxes, and hares followed the path of the wolf pack...

The clamor of footsteps constantly alerted Ning Chang's senses.

It's time for him to go.

After swallowing two spirit stones, Ning Chang also used the Azure Cloud Step to its fullest extent and joined the fleeing group.

Now, his absorption speed of spirit stones has doubled compared to before, and even with high consumption, he can consume them all in less than four hours.

At this speed, two spirit stones are enough to perfectly supply the full speed consumption of his Azure Cloud Step.

However, he only stopped after swallowing the second Bigu Pill and consuming all his spirit stones for the fifth time.

The pillar of blood behind them was no longer visible; it was unclear whether it was too far away or the battle had already ended.

It was late at night, and the continuous journey had nearly exhausted Ning Chang's mind. Fortunately, by the moonlight, Ning Chang found himself in a deep valley among mountains.

Having finally found a shallow cave, I didn't care about the rough, unpolished rocky ground. I simply laid out a layer of leaves, lay down on it, and fell asleep immediately.

The next day, Ning Chang was awakened by the mournful cries of wild geese outside.

Opening his eyes, Ning Chang gazed at the lone wild goose circling before the crimson sunset, and his consciousness gradually returned.

"Um...did I sleep all day?"

He shook his head, used his spiritual power to stand up, stretched, and felt refreshed.

Of course, it would be even better if your neck didn't ache.

After my thoughts returned to normal, I felt a sense of confusion for no apparent reason.

The existence of sects in the north is merely a rumor circulating in small border towns, and its authenticity cannot be guaranteed.

But because of this few words, he suddenly headed north, and after two days he saw no villages or cities, only desolate mountains and forests.

If they cannot find a sect or any trace of people before their spirit stones and dry rations run out, although there are animals and wild fruits in the wild so they won't starve to death, time will be wasted.

"Let's take it one step at a time, anyway, there's nothing urgent right now."

"Since there are no traces of people here, it means that it has never been explored. There might be some novel things here. Moreover, the spiritual energy content here is even comparable to that of the Spirit Gathering Array of the Qingyun Sect!"

With just a general sense, Ning Chang was certain that there were some spiritual beings here.

After all, it's a well-known fact among modern people that places with abundant spiritual energy in the cultivation world are bound to have treasures.

"Then, mainly the mountaintops and valleys, and the rest, are places that are obviously different from the surrounding areas."

"Sigh, my cultivation is still not up to par. Otherwise, I would have just followed the density of spiritual energy to find it."

At least for now, unless there is a significant change in concentration, he cannot sense it.

"Let's start with the mountaintop."

Having made up his mind, he lightly stepped into the air, and with each step he floated on the mountaintop, gazing at the endless mountains in the distance.

"Hmm... the mountaintop is out of the question."

If it's a single peak or three or fewer peaks, there might be some unexpected gains, such as natural spiritual treasures or spiritual plants. However, the peaks of endless mountain ranges are unlikely to yield any spiritual objects.

"The view from this spot is nice, but unfortunately, you get tired of it after a while."

The continuous mountain ranges outline a winding pattern on the land, and a hazy mist rises from the unknown valleys; or perhaps the clouds above the mountain peaks descend and dissipate among the towering mountains.

Just as I was looking, the last rays of the setting sun were obscured by the mountains, leaving only a few streaks of light that would soon be completely absorbed.

As the lone goose ceased its cry and folded its wings to return to its nest, Ning Chang also withdrew his gaze from the distance. After a sigh, he activated his spiritual eyes and focused his attention on the valley.

He had just woken up, and although it was still night, he couldn't fall back asleep.

After leaving two points of spiritual energy to mark the direction, they began to travel along the winding valley.

With the help of the Spirit Eye, the hazy fog had no effect whatsoever, and coupled with the already bright moonlight, the vision was as clear as daytime!

Not only that, he also kept the Azure Cloud Step at the limit that his spiritual eyes could see clearly; any faster and it would become blurry.

Although it is the bottom of a valley, there are some things to consider; it is not simply a matter of carefully searching the entire valley floor and valley passages.

There was nothing in those narrow, winding, or cramped valleys either.

What you're looking for is that sudden flatness, an open space, or a prominent lush area.

This is a tedious process. After all, although there are indeed several suitable locations within this mountainous area, not all suitable locations will necessarily generate spiritual creatures.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, he still hadn't found anything, but he had expected this and was neither discouraged nor disheartened.

After all, a spiritual creature gathers spiritual energy from a radius of several miles just to give birth to that one unique creature; it's not so easy to find one.

As he was walking, a strange fragrance he had never smelled before wafted over from somewhere.

The fragrance is like the lingering droplets on flower petals after rain, imbued with the delicate scent of the petals, yet unlike the flower's own alluring fragrance.

The aroma wafts into the nose, yet it doesn't become cloying.

It has a refreshing, clean scent, but it's not sharp or pungent.

After hearing it for a while, he felt even calmer.

"It really is a wonderful product. Just smelling its fragrance can calm the mind and refresh the spirit. It has also dispelled the few traces of depression that I hadn't noticed before."

"But...where is it...?"

Ning Chang paused in mid-air, stroking his chin and scanning the area below.

There is indeed a small clearing at the bottom of the valley, but it only has some short grass and no small trees, so it is obviously not this place.

The mountains on both sides were no different from other places, and even the ridge was a section of bare rock.

"Isn't it in this area...?"

"Let's move forward first. Once we can no longer smell the odor, we'll have a clearer picture of the area."

Having made up his mind, he left a trace of spiritual energy in place and continued forward along the valley path.

After walking only a few steps and turning a corner, the valley suddenly ended.

At the end of the valley, the mountains on both sides bend and connect!

The slightly stronger aroma made him abandon the idea of ​​going back to change direction, and he took a few more steps to reach the connection point.