Chapter 609 - 609: Deceived by a Golden Core Cultivator (2)
“That won’t be necessary.”
The female cultivator was a little disappointed and could only leave.
“What an intelligent junior.” Ying Yue smiled and said, “If she can form an affinity with you, her cultivation path will be much smoother.”
Shen Ping nodded noncommittally. Then, he narrowed his eyes and spread out his divine sense. When it enveloped the entire Quarry Beach Market, he immediately felt waves of baleful aura mixed with vengeful spirits continuously tainting his divine sense. However, this baleful aura was too weak for him.
Ying Yue also quickly sensed it. She clicked her tongue in wonder and said, “This place is indeed special. The impact of this baleful aura is not strong. If one survives in this environment for a long time, their will and divine sense will be honed. Moreover, the baleful aura in the environment should be the source of the Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood.”
Shen Ping looked at the middle of the market. “Let’s go and find a cultivator with the strongest baleful aura to ask about the situation.”
With their cultivation levels, they could easily sense the one among the cultivators in the market who was filled with baleful aura. When they arrived at his residence, the other party still did not sense anything.
“Late-stage Golden Core Realm. There are no Nascent Soul cultivators in this market. The late-stage Golden Core cultivators should be the strongest.” Ying Yue sized up this white-haired old man.
Shen Ping said indifferently, “Although there is Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood here, the cultivation environment is extremely harsh and there’s also the impact of the baleful aura. It’s very difficult for Foundation Establishment Cultivators to cultivate here, so Nascent Soul Cultivators naturally won’t come. Alright, ask away.”
Ying Yue nodded, her eyes rippling. The white-haired old man, who was sitting cross-legged in seclusion, immediately fell into the illusion cast by Ying Yue. “Where is the source of the baleful aura in Quarry Beach?”
“In the Chaotic Void Forest, there is a large amount of spatial turbulence and gravel. The impact of the baleful aura is very strong. Even Nascent Soul cultivators find it difficult to approach it. I was lucky enough to enter once, but I could only stay at the edge and could not approach the depths.” The white-haired old man told her everything he knew without any resistance.
Ying Yue smiled and said, “Husband, it seems that the will of the cultivators here is not strong.”
Shen Ping rolled his eyes. How could a Golden Core resist an illusion cast by a Void Refinement Realm expert? “Ask him if he can enter again.”
Ying Yue quickly asked. The white-haired elder said, “I’m only 60% confident. It’s very dangerous inside. Once the location is wrong, I’ll be attacked by spatial turbulence.”
“Sixty percent… Let’s give it a try and let him lead the way.”
A moment later, Shen Ping and Ying Yue followed the white-haired old man out of the quarry beach and walked along a floating stone path towards the Chaotic Void Forest.
The Black Mist Direlands was a void space. There were also various islands formed by rocks inside. The deeper one went, the narrower the stone path became. It was originally a path formed by the cultivators of the quarry beach who went out to search for Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood. However, no one dared to go deeper.
They came to the end. The white-haired elder said, “The void of the Black Mist Direlands is ahead. We have to prepare enough pills to recover our magic powers before we can enter.”
“Let’s keep going.”
They flew on his magic treasure. The two of them could clearly feel the baleful aura around them becoming stronger and stronger. Furthermore, the space had become unstable. After flying for two minutes, the white-haired old man’s magic powers were exhausted. This was only because Shen Ping had brought him along. If the white-haired old man relied on himself, he would probably not be able to hold on for even five minutes.
After recovering his magic power, the three of them continued forward. After resting for five days, a large number of rocks appeared in front of him. Every rock was a few kilometers wide.
“This is the rubble belt, where the Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood grows the most. However, not many cultivators dare to enter.”
Shen Ping and Ying Yue knew the reason. In the past five days, they had encountered no less than a hundred spatial turbulences. They were extremely fast, and it was difficult for ordinary Golden Core cultivators to dodge.
They stepped on the huge rock. The two of them quickly saw trees that were like towering trees. Every surface was filled with a dense baleful aura. Even if one’s divine sense came into contact with them, they would feel dizzy. Those with weaker willpower would be directly invaded by the baleful aura and become walking corpses.
Once they became baleful puppets, they would be controlled by the baleful spirit. After walking for half a day, they saw a few unlucky baleful puppets. However, these puppets were very ordinary in strength. Without Shen Ping’s help, Ying Yue could easily deal with them.
“In front of the rocky belt is the Chaotic Void Forest. There is more spatial turbulence in this area, like a forest. There are also spatial vortexes. Only by entering a specific spatial vortex can we reach the source of the baleful aura.” The white-haired old man said as he searched.
Meanwhile, layers of red patterns appeared in Shen Ping’s pupils. Through the Pupil of Sea Beast, he quickly locked onto a spatial vortex from a large amount of spatial turbulence. The baleful aura around it was the highest. From a certain extent, it could even affect the Void Refinement Realm.
At this moment, the white-haired old man looked at another spatial vortex. Although the killing intent near this vortex was also very dense, there was a very dark aura.
If not for the Pupil of Sea Beast, Shen Ping could not sense this dark aura at all. “Are you sure it’s this vortex?”
They avoided many spatial turbulences along the way. The three of them stood in front of the spatial vortex and Shen Ping looked at the white-haired old man. The old man nodded repeatedly.
Pfft! Shen Ping waved his hand and a wisp of magic power surged out, cutting off one of the old man’s arms. “Are you still sure?”
Ying Yue, who was beside him, was stunned. Then, she realized something and stared at the white-haired old man. “You can actually resist my illusion?!”
The white-haired old man screamed and shook his head, “Senior, please spare me! Senior, please spare me!” He did not have the expression of being controlled like before.
This caused Ying Yue’s expression to be slightly unsightly. “A cultivator at the advanced-stage of the Golden Core Realm actually relied on his will to resist the illusion technique. This place is really strange and special. Husband, if not for you, I’m afraid we would have been deceived by him.”
Shen Ping nodded. “Tell me, what’s in this vortex?”
“It’s the Baleful Spirits! As long as you enter, you will be attacked by a large number of baleful spirits. Even Divine Transformation cultivators won’t be able to escape.” The white-haired old man did not dare to hide it anymore.
Shen Ping asked in surprise, “Why aren’t you afraid of the baleful souls?”
“I—I was lucky enough to obtain a ten-thousand-year-old Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood in the rubble belt. It can help me resist the baleful spirits’ attacks.”
Ying Yue sneered and said, “This old fellow should have tricked other cultivators before.”
However, Shen Ping was interested. “To be able to withstand your illusion, it means that the baleful aura here can indeed sharpen one’s will very well. Continue leading the way.”
This time, the white-haired old man did not play any tricks. Instead, he brought Shen Ping and Ying Yue into the vortex with the richest baleful aura. He stepped into the vortex. It was as if space had changed. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he was no longer in the dark void. Waves of intense baleful aura swept over from afar.
Ying Yue frowned. “The baleful aura here can already affect me.”
The white-haired old man hurriedly said, “Ordinary Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators will die if they enter. I relied on the ten-thousand-year-old Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood to resist it. After that, I trained here for a hundred years and my will transformed. The deeper I went, the stronger the impact of the baleful aura. Even with the ten-thousand-year-old Silver Patterned Malevolent Wood, I could only walk dozens of feet.”
Ying Yue walked 100 feet forward and her body swayed. Her expression revealed some pain. Shen Ping raised his hand and pulled her back, letting her sit cross-legged and rest first. He continued to walk forward. Just as the white-haired old man had said, the intensity of the baleful aura’s impact would increase with every ten feet, but it would not affect him.
Ten feet.
Fifty feet.
A hundred feet.
At this distance, the baleful aura kept attacking his spiritual sea like a sharp knife, causing his entire sea of consciousness to tremble. He gritted his teeth and continued walking. After walking another ten feet, the impact had already infected his sea of consciousness, but it was not to the limit. However, Shen Ping stopped and sat cross-legged on the ground. He closed his eyes and used his mind to resist the impact of the baleful aura.
When Ying Yue, who had rested, saw this scene, she knew that her husband was going to sharpen his will here. She simply retreated to the edge of the vortex with the white-haired old man and waited.
Time passed bit by bit. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed. Shen Ping walked another fifty feet forward. He could clearly feel his willpower constantly increasing, which made him happy. This time, he walked to the limit of what he could withstand. The intense impact made his sea of consciousness on the verge of collapse, as if he was facing the consciousness pressure of the strange beast..