plumnovel Chapter 122 A Fish That Escaped the Net
Chapter 122 A Fish That Escaped the Net
After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a huge stone chamber appeared ahead.
In the center of the stone chamber, there was a small pool. The water was crystal clear and emitted a faint spiritual light.
Beside the pool, several Ganoderma lucidum plants grow.
The largest one was as big as a washbasin, with thick leaves, wavy edges, and a layer of fine golden veins on the surface, radiating a dazzling golden light.
A thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum!
Zhou Ning was overjoyed and quickly walked over.
Just as he reached out to pick it, a dark shadow darted out of the pool.
It was a black dragon with two horns on its head, as thick as a water bucket, covered in black and silver scales, and its eyes burned with dark purple ghostly flames.
It opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning was prepared and dodged the attack with a swift movement.
At the same time, he drew his Qingfeng sword and slashed it down on the dragon's head.
"Ding!"
This giant dragon's defensive capabilities are even stronger than those of the Golden-Scaled Python on Dragon Saliva Island.
Enraged, the giant dragon lashed out with its tail, sweeping towards Zhou Ning.
Its tail was as thick as a tree trunk, accompanied by a whistling sound in the wind.
Zhou Ning used his lightness technique to leap into the air and avoid the dragon's tail.
Its tail swept against the cave wall, sending pebbles flying and shaking the entire stone chamber.
Zhou Ning pulled out an "evil-dispelling talisman" from his waist and threw it at the giant dragon.
"disease!"
The talisman transformed into a golden ray of light and struck the giant dragon's abdomen.
The giant dragon let out a miserable cry as a charred wound appeared on its abdomen, from which wisps of black smoke rose.
It went even crazier, opening its mouth and spewing out a cloud of black poisonous mist.
As the poisonous fog spread, Zhou Ning quickly held his breath, but the fog still seeped into his skin, making him feel dizzy.
He bit his tongue, and the sharp pain brought him back to his senses.
He desperately circulated his "Innate Qi" to expel the poisonous mist from his body.
"No, we'll be poisoned if this continues."
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth, concentrated all his true energy at the tip of his sword, and unleashed the "Demon Slayer Technique".
A dazzling golden light shone from the Qingfeng Sword.
The light grew stronger and brighter, like a small sun, illuminating the entire stone chamber as if it were daytime.
"cut!"
A massive golden sword aura shot out from the tip of the sword, like a golden dragon, heading straight for the giant serpent's head.
The giant dragon seemed to sense the danger and tried to dodge, but the sword energy was too fast and there was no time to react.
"Pfft!"
The sword energy pierced through the giant dragon's head, and black blood gushed out.
The giant dragon let out a desperate roar, crashed to the ground, and fell silent.
Zhou Ning, panting heavily, sheathed his sword and then took the giant dragon's inner core. After consuming it, his entire body became burning hot.
It took Zhou Ning a full day and night to digest the giant dragon's inner core, and his cultivation level improved slightly.
Immediately afterwards, he walked to the edge of the pool, carefully dug up the ancient Ganoderma lucidum by the roots, wrapped it in cloth, and put it into his bag.
"I've got the ancient Ganoderma lucidum."
He turned and left the cave.
By the time we left Death Valley, it was already dark.
Zhou Ning found a sheltered spot, lit a campfire, and prepared to spend the night there.
He took the three main ingredients out of his bag and laid them out in front of him one by one.
Earth Spirit Milk, Ambergris Fruit, and Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Lingzhi Mushroom—these three treasures exude their unique auras, complementing each other beautifully.
Looking at them, Zhou Ning felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction welling up inside him.
"The materials for the Nascent Soul Pill are finally complete."
He carefully put away the elixir, sat cross-legged by the fire, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
The true essence within his body circulated slowly, and his late-stage Golden Core cultivation level gave him even greater control over it.
He took out the prescription given to him by Yan Chixia and studied it carefully.
The refining of the Nascent Soul Pill is much more complicated than that of the Foundation Establishment Pill.
It requires the three main ingredients and more than a dozen auxiliary ingredients to be blended in a specific order and proportion, and then simmered over a low flame for forty-nine days to form the elixir.
During this process, controlling the heat, harmonizing the medicinal properties, and infusing spiritual energy all require extremely precise operation at every step.
"After returning, please ask your master for guidance." Zhou Ning put away the pill formula and closed his eyes to rest.
The next morning, he left Cangmang Mountain and returned to Lanruo Temple.
The morning mist over the vast mountains had not yet dissipated when Zhou Ning had already embarked on his journey back to Lanruo Temple.
Three main herbs.
The Earth Spirit Milk, Dragon Saliva Fruit, and Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Lingzhi were neatly packed in the bag, wrapped in layers of talismans, ensuring that the spiritual energy was not leaked out at all.
Zhou Ning felt exceptionally relaxed; the days of running around and fighting had transformed into a gentle joy at this moment.
The materials for the Nascent Soul Pill are finally complete. As long as he returns to Lanruo Temple and refines the pill under his master's guidance, he will be able to take a crucial step towards the Nascent Soul stage.
The Cangmang Mountains are thousands of miles away from the Qingyun Mountains. Zhou Ning followed the road he had come from and headed south.
His late-stage Golden Core cultivation made him as fast as the wind, the trees on both sides rushing past him, and the mountain wind whistling in his ears.
He planned to return to Lanruo Temple in five days and then immediately begin refining elixirs.
After walking for two days, he arrived at a small town called "Fallen Leaves Town".
The town is small, with only a few dozen households, nestled between two hills, with a stream running through it.
Zhou Ning intended to go around it, but suddenly heard a series of cries and screams coming from the town.
He stopped, his brow furrowed.
Thick smoke billowed from the direction of the town entrance, flames shot into the sky, and the air was filled with the stench of blood.
"Something's happened." Zhou Ning gripped his Qingfeng sword tightly, and with a flash, he rushed towards the town.
The town was in complete disarray.
The streets were littered with rubble and broken tiles, most of the houses had collapsed, and several bodies of civilians lay scattered in pools of blood.
A dozen or so men in black robes were searching house to house, dragging people out of their homes and tying them up together.
Several men in black robes, carrying torches, set fire to the houses along the roadside. The flames engulfed everything, crackling and popping.
"The remnants of Black Mountain's forces." A cold glint flashed in Zhou Ning's eyes.
This wasn't the first time he'd seen these men in black robes.
Although the Black Mountain Demon is dead, his henchmen continue to wreak havoc everywhere, burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of evil deeds.
Zhou Ning thought that the cleanup operation in the north had completely wiped them out, but he didn't expect that there were still some who had escaped.
"Stop!" Zhou Ning shouted, his figure shooting like an arrow into the town.
A man in black robes turned his head, saw Zhou Ning, was startled at first, then sneered:
"Another one coming to die, brothers, kill him."
A dozen or so men in black robes rushed toward Zhou Ning at the same time, with black beams of light, mist, and chains attacking from all directions.
Zhou Ning was prepared. He dodged several attacks with a flash, and at the same time drew his Qingfeng sword and slashed out.
Golden sword energy shot out, like a golden dragon, cleaving the three black-robed men at the forefront in two.
Black blood gushed out, and the three corpses collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"A Golden Core cultivator!" The remaining men in black robes paled and retreated.
Zhou Ning gave them no chance to catch their breath and unleashed another sword strike.
The golden sword energy split in two in the air, then into four, transforming into four sword energies that attacked the black-robed man simultaneously from four directions.