Chapter 114: Chapter 115: True or False Cave Mansion
Taihang Mountain Range, Five Poison Peak, this location lies on the shaded side of the Taihang Mountain Range.
Many low hills are dotted with poisonous pools of water, and layers of miasma linger heavily.
Several Black Wood Ants emerged from the forest, one landed on a shrub, another on a tree root.
Then they rose into the air, emitting faint, almost inaudible insect chirps.
Soon, a few more Black Wood Ants flew out, heading forward.
At this moment, faint footsteps were heard, and five figures in Spirit-Blocking Robes appeared.
The leading Spirit-Blocking Robe Cultivator was Ye Xingyu, followed by Ye Xingqun, then Ye Jingcheng, and Ye Jingli.
Finally, Ye Jingteng.
The five formed a standard exploration and hunting formation, with the two of highest cultivation clearing the front and back, while those with slightly weaker cultivation stayed in the middle.
"Nothing unusual nearby, most poisonous insects and snakes tend to hide during the day and become active at night!" Ye Xingqun said.
After speaking, the five looked ahead and saw a small peak covered with poisonous miasma in the distance.
This small peak appeared much smaller compared to Lingyun Peak and other peaks, but here, it was the tallest.
Moreover, the poisonous miasma on this peak was mixed with red, green, and black colors, looking rather peculiar.
This is the characteristic of Five Poison Peak, also known as Three-Color Peak. However, the insects on the mountain are more renowned and memorable than the three-colored miasma.
"Let’s rest for a while before entering Five Poison Peak. Once inside, activate the bracelets you have; they can create an antitoxic spiritual shield. Although not very strong in defense, it will protect us from the poisonous miasma’s effects!" Ye Xingyu instructed.
Ye Xingqun also nodded. Continuously using Spirit Insects to survey is extremely taxing on the mind, especially in this miasma, where even ordinary miasma greatly affects Divine Sense.
"Uncle Xingyu, Uncle Xingqun, big brother, here are Antitoxic Pills and Ice Purity Pills; together, they should keep us safe for three to four hours!" Ye Jingcheng stepped forward, taking out eight pill bottles, each containing two pills.
After distributing two bottles to each person, he stepped aside, releasing his Jade Ring Rat. Its exceptional hearing would be more reliable upon entering Five Poison Peak than relying solely on Black Wood Ants.
"Jingcheng, this Jade Ring Rat of yours is quite peculiar!" Ye Xingqun exclaimed in awe upon seeing the Jade Ring Rat.
He couldn’t help but glance at Ye Jingcheng more than once.
Of course, besides Ye Xingqun, Ye Xingyu and Ye Jingli also took a couple of glances, eyes filled with curiosity.
After all, Ye Jingcheng raised two Spirit Beasts with great potential, and this third Jade Ring Rat was also remarkably well-raised.
"Jingteng, what is it that Taiyi Sect wants you to find?" Ye Xingyu asked Ye Jingteng.
This time, the purpose of the Ye family was twofold: to find the Spirit Eggs of Five Poison Bees and to complete Ye Jingteng’s sect task.
This was also the family’s intention; since Ye Jingteng had become a disciple of Supreme Taihao from the Taiyi Illusion Peak, establishing a Foundation there would at least ensure a prominent informant within the sect.
"Replying to Uncle Xingyu, my sect task this time is to find Tier One Top-Grade Purple Poison Thorns!"
"Preferably around a hundred years old!" Ye Jingteng stated.
Upon hearing this, both Ye Xingqun and Ye Xingyu frowned.
Though Purple Poison Thorns are considered Tier One Top-Grade Spirit Plants, they are no different from Tier One Top-Grade Demon Beasts, capable of attacking cultivators. Being pricked results in hallucinations.
If one’s cultivation is too low to break free, they might even be strangled to death.
"Very well, at least no one will be fighting you for this task!" Ye Xingyu added.
After resting for a while longer, the group of five headed towards Five Poison Peak again!
Along the way, Ye Xingqun shared some hunting experiences and precautions on the Poison Peak.
After all, he had been here before and acquired the Black Wood Ants here.
The others engaged in question and answer conversations.
However, no one mentioned the cave of Wu Du Ascendant.
Previously, Ye Jingteng mentioned it as a gamble on a guess, and the others helped because they wanted to support Ye Jingteng in gaining a foothold in the sect. Additionally, the spiritual objects Ye Jingteng exchanged were greatly beneficial.
Otherwise, Ye Jingcheng would not have come.
Even when seeing the distant appearance of Five Poison Peak, upon arriving there, everyone frowned due to the thick miasma. It allowed them to see no more than three feet away, while Divine Sense extended slightly farther but only reached five feet; beyond that, the dense miasma caused frustration.
Ye Jingteng and Ye Jingli then activated their Magical Artifacts.
As they were about to proceed forward, Ye Xingyu and Ye Jingcheng both took out an Array Disc.
The two exchanged knowing smiles.
"I have a Slaughter Array, to set it up ahead!" Ye Xingyu stated as he began setting it up.
"Alright, I have a Trapping Array!" Ye Jingcheng nodded and also began setting it up.
Ye Xingqun, standing nearby, once again shot Ye Jingcheng a satisfied look.
Compared to Ye Jingcheng, Ye Jingteng and Ye Jingli seemed to just be there for sightseeing.
Once the two Arrays were set up, only the final activation Array Banner was left.
Ye Jingcheng even asked Ye Xingyu to check it over, acknowledging that Ye Xingyu and Ye Xingqun had much more experience than he did; he sometimes recorded valuable insights onto a Jade Talisman.
After all, cultivation can be acquired step by step, but sometimes experience is only gained through life-risking encounters.
Finally, with the Arrays fully set, the five maintained their previous formation as they ascended the peak.
The five Magical Artifacts were activated, transforming into five Spirit Shields, encircling the five of them and a few Spirit Beasts.
The Spirit Shields emitted hissing corrosion sounds.
Apparently, this poisonous miasma can even corrode the spirit shield.
Fortunately, this Jade Ring Artifact can be activated at any time with spiritual energy to reinforce the spirit shield.
In this way, it ensures the stability of the spirit shield, though it does consume some spiritual power.
Among the spirit beasts, Ye Xingyu released a cyan-striped leopard, which also has a cultivation at the late stage of the first tier.
Ye Xingqun, however, brought out a golden armor mountain-piercing beast.
As for Ye Jingli, he attempted to release the cyan-scaled python, but its size was too long and large, consuming too much spiritual power, forcing him to reluctantly pull it back into the Spirit Beast Bag.
Ye Jingcheng’s spirit shield was the largest and consumed even more spiritual power; this time, he summoned both the Red Flame Fox and the Jade Ring Rat.
The group slowed down their pace again, and each took out their magical artifacts. In terms of artifacts, Ye Jingteng was currently the wealthiest.
Three flying swords and a Tier One small umbrella spiritual artifact.
On the Five Poison Peak, the spirit plants were relatively sparse and had bizarre colors, either black poison grasses or vividly colored plants.
While not abundant in spiritual energy, they were highly toxic, and strange spirit insects could emerge from these plants.
As such, most cultivators had a dislike for these spirit plants.
"There is a poison pool ahead; avoid it!" Ye Xingqun whispered, then released several Black Wood Ants to begin a new exploration.
The Jade Ring Rat’s ears were twitching, listening intently, not daring to be careless.
The danger here was evidently not minor.
"Something is strange; it seems many cultivators have been here recently!" Ye Xingqun said.
This statement heightened everyone’s alertness.
In such a place, the danger from poison insects was one thing, but encountering cultivators posed an even greater threat.
Killing for treasures here meant that your background or identity was useless.
This place was too suitable for an ambush.
"You can look at the traces we left while walking. Due to the corrosive nature of the spirit shield, a slightly different spiritual mist will appear. Even though it’s hard to see with the naked eye, it truly exists, and my Black Wood Ants have sensed it!" Ye Xingqun explained as if noticing the others’ questions.
"These traces will completely disappear in three to four days, then even the Black Wood Ants won’t detect them!" Ye Xingqun said.
"Could it be true that the Wu Du Ascendant’s cave mansion is real?" Ye Jingli was suddenly both surprised and excited.
"Hard to say. In any case, remain vigilant. If possible, avoid looking for Five Poison Bees and prioritize searching for the Purple Poison Thorn!" Ye Xingyu suggested.
With more cultivators, more variables arise.
Helping Ye Jingteng find the Purple Poison Thorn would complete the sect’s mission, earn enough contribution points, and breaking through to Foundation Establishment would be the major goal.
"The Purple Poison Thorn prefers dry conditions and dislikes dampness. Head towards the sunny side of Five Poison Peak!" Ye Xingyu instructed.
Though the Five Poison Peak rarely saw sunlight, it wasn’t entirely absent. The shaded areas had poison pools, while the marshes were more abundant.
With a direction and a sense of caution, the group’s path was set, but their pace slowed.
Several times, the Black Wood Ants showed signs of alertness, and the Jade Ring Rat also seemed vigilant.
The group even saw a swarm of Purple Cloud Scorpions towing a cyan ox toward the peak.
At that moment, the group was startled, hurriedly concealing their spirit shields and opting to resist the poisonous miasma with antitoxic pills and Ice Purity Pills.
After all, the weakest of these Purple Cloud Scorpions were Tier One Upper-Grade scorpions. When airborne, they resembled a purple cloud, extremely terrifying.
More fearsome than the Five Poison Bees.
Luckily, the Purple Cloud Scorpions seemed to have found prey and, due to the absence of spirit shields, didn’t notice them.
And Ye Jingcheng’s Treasure Book also had a page open, noting that this group of Purple Cloud Scorpions could advance to Purple Crystal Flying Scorpions.
The highest level Purple Crystal Flying Scorpions could reach was Tier Three.
Ye Jingcheng was tempted, but he was clear-headed, knowing that with his current strength, even with the Red Flame Fox and Golden Scale Beast, he couldn’t feed this group of Purple Cloud Scorpions.
After walking for half an hour, they felt the soil turning sandy and rugged.
This was exactly the environment that Purple Poison Thorn favored, and sure enough.
Not far away, thorn woods began to appear.
Most of these thorn woods were twisted around small heaps and dead trees, some lying flat on the ground.
This scene somewhat relieved the group’s mood. Without tall trees nearby, the Purple Poison Thorn couldn’t twist around trees for a high-altitude ambush, reducing their danger significantly.
"Find a solitary one around the periphery that’s at least a hundred years old!" Ye Jingteng spoke up.
The purple poison thorns ahead were numerous, and rushing in could pose considerable danger.
Instead, finding an isolated one outside seemed more promising.
Despite the many hillocks here, they might have formed from the remains bled dry by the Purple Poison Thorn, turning into barren grounds.
It was at this moment that a transmission suddenly echoed in Ye Jingcheng’s mind.
"Be careful, there are cultivators here!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng noticed the Jade Ring Rat behaving unusually, looking at him strangely.
It seemed the poisonous miasma had also affected the Jade Ring Rat’s judgment, leaving it uncertain and hesitant, perhaps due to the fearsome thorn crowd of Purple Poison Thorn!