Chapter 254- The Black-Bellied Demon Cultivator’s Senior Brother VS The Righteous Young Junior Brother (19)
Although Hu Qi knew that Mu Jin carried a blood vine with him, everyone was aware that the vine was only in its juvenile stage. Even with the aid of spiritual energy, it would take hundreds of years to mature. Therefore, the blood vine on Mu Jin’s wrist had always been green.
However, the vine now hanging Hu Qi was as thick as a human arm and was blood-red, indicating that it was fully mature. So where did this mature blood vine come from?
Hu Qi was terrified, but before he could even scream, the vine tightened around his neck. His blood was rapidly drained by the blood-sucking vine, leading to his untimely and unwilling death.
His body, unable to maintain its human form, reverted to its original fox shape. The remaining shriveled bones were dragged underground by the vine, becoming nourishment for the secret realm’s plants.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, so Hu Qi never got to see that the young disciple he had underestimated, always so serious and delicately handsome, could also have such a cold gaze.
From the place where the bones were deeply buried, a tender green blood vine emerged, writhing as it crawled back to Mu Jin. It extended its body, reattaching itself to Mu Jin’s wrist, and then obediently returned to its favored master, resuming its form as a green “bracelet.”
Mu Jin had never been bothered by killing, especially those who wished harm upon him or his loved ones. He had long been aware of Hu Qi’s attempts to harm him. What angered him even more was that Hu Qi had dared to cast a resentful gaze at Ning Yizhou.
After a few brief encounters, Mu Jin had enough insight into Hu Qi’s character. Considering that 003 had previously investigated the disappearance of cultivators from Qing Lei Peak who had befriended Hu Qi in the secret realm, Mu Jin decided not to keep this troublemaker around any longer.
With the coldness in his expression melting away, Mu Jin cleared the mist before him and swiftly dismantled the formation. He then headed toward the direction where Ning Yizhou was calling out his name.
At this moment, Ning Yizhou was trapped by a formation. Although there were many intricate formations in the secret realm, most of them could not control Nascent Soul cultivators. However, due to Hu Qi’s interference, Ning Yizhou had been temporarily trapped in this place.
Ning Yizhou was extremely frustrated and worried about Mu Jin’s safety. He regretted not killing that detestable seductress fox earlier. Even if it meant being discovered, it wouldn’t have mattered; after all, he was the senior brother of the Chuanyun Peak. Hu Qi was always restless, and Ning Yizhou could have found an excuse to smooth things over.
For now, he could only try hard to break out of the formation while calling out Mu Jin’s name, hoping for a response. Fortunately, after a short while, the mist cleared, and his little disciple stood before him, unharmed.
Ning Yizhou rushed to Mu Jin’s side, grabbing his shoulders and carefully checking him up and down. Only when he confirmed that Mu Jin was indeed unharmed did he let out a sigh of relief.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ning Yizhou frowned and asked, “What did you encounter just now? Did you see Hu Qi?”
Mu Jin hesitated for a moment, lowering his eyes and shaking his head at Ning Yizhou. Ning Yizhou noticed that Mu Jin’s expression was clearly off, but seeing that Mu Jin seemed unwilling to speak about it, he did not press further. Nonetheless, his heart remained anxious.
Fortunately, although Mu Jin was initially a bit awkward around him, he soon returned to normal. His gaze toward Ning Yizhou even showed a hint of added determination compared to before.
Ning Yizhou did not know exactly what had happened while he was separated from Mu Jin. He was certain it had something to do with Hu Qi and himself, but he didn’t expect Mu Jin to keep it from him. Although he suspected Mu Jin might have learned some truth, he could only temporarily dismiss this idea given Mu Jin’s demeanor towards him.
At this moment, however, Ning Yizhou was unaware that Mu Jin was on high alert, more so than at any other time.
Initially, Mu Jin did not think killing Hu Qi would be an issue. After Hu Qi’s death, Mu Jin asked 003 if there was anything on Hu Qi related to the demonic cultivators. Although killing a spy was of no consequence, causing undue alertness from the other side would be counterproductive.
However, 003 could not answer his question and, after a brief silence, the little black cat in his sea of consciousness reported that the system had been suppressed and could not probe further information.
The system could only store energy now, to be used as a defensive weapon for Mu Jin when necessary—a situation that had never occurred in any of the worlds before.
Although small worlds are fraught with danger, there are occasionally attackers.present. The system had been in existence for many years, and was used as an auxiliary cultivation tool to help cultivators experience life in different planes and overcome inner demons.
Though rarely used, it was not nonexistent. Moreover, his system was a spiritual artifact created by the deity Ju Mang and carefully selected by the Daoist partner Teng Gen and Bai Rui.
Typically, the Heavenly Dao chooses to turn a blind eye to outsiders who do not disrupt its plane, but now 003 is experiencing such strong suppression. Mu Jin absolutely does not believe that the Heavenly Dao is not involved. But why is the Heavenly Dao suppressing 003?
Mu Jin can sense that in his daily life within this small world, there is no apparent hostility; it seems that only his system has been suppressed.
He recalls that his master once told him that the malevolent thoughts split from Qiong Qi’s soul have been causing trouble, even devouring some nascent world rules. Could it be that in this world, their power has grown even stronger?
Devouring world rules carries certain dangers, and moreover, it’s unlikely that such devouring would occur right when entering a small world.
Usually, after he and his partner siphon off a large amount of fortune and compensate for the damage to Qiong Qi’s soul, it causes a brief weakening of the plane. This allows the malevolent thoughts to take advantage when they leave the plane. But why is there such a change in this world?
Mu Jin certainly does not believe that the malevolent force has replaced the Heavenly Dao in this world; otherwise, his and his partner’s journey would not have been so smooth. Could it be that the malevolent force has grown strong enough to directly influence the consciousness of the Heavenly Dao from the start?
Unable to discern the reason, the mastermind remains hidden from him. Thus, Mu Jin can only stay on high alert, remaining close to Ning Yizhou and vigilantly preparing for any unexpected situations.
Despite the turmoil in his mind, Mu Jin maintains his persona well on the surface. During this time, he and his beloved have been exploring the secret realm, searching for inheritances, and have obtained many spiritual herbs and rare materials.
Mu Jin had been searching for the spiritual herb that could rapidly increase his cultivation, but it still hadn’t come into his possession. He was almost constantly on the move within the secret realm.
Mu Jin’s goal was clear, and his drive was strong. Ning Yizhou naturally had no objections and even thought that Mu Jin’s proactive efforts to enhance his power were a good thing. After all, the stronger one is, the safer one becomes.
Though he had lost the assistance of 003, Mu Jin possessed a powerful spiritual sense that others lacked. This allowed him to cover a large area of the secret realm with his spiritual sense.
After more than two months, he finally sensed something unusual coming from a rather inconspicuous cave not far away. He and Ning Yizhou hurried over and, as expected, found a seemingly insignificant spiritual herb.
The herb looked much like an ordinary small plant, blending in so well that it was indistinguishable. Those unfamiliar with it might even mistake it for a weed. However, both Mu Jin and Ning Yizhou sensed its exceptional quality.
It turned out that only cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage could detect its special properties, and most of the cultivators in this secret realm were below the Golden Core stage. This was why the herb had not been discovered by anyone else.
Mu Jin looked at the unremarkable little plant in front of him, showing no hesitation despite Ning Yizhou’s presence. He directly picked the herb and then turned to the man beside him with bright eyes, saying, “Senior Brother, take a look at this. I think this herb seems to be quite extraordinary.”
At first, Ning Yizhou only sensed a rich aura in the area. However, when he saw the spiritual herb in Mu Jin’s hand, he realized it was an extremely rare “Ying Grass.”
Ning Yizhou had heard of Ying Grass before. The energy contained in this herb was so potent that ingesting it directly could potentially cause one’s body to explode. However, if one did not seek immediate results, it could be slowly refined to enhance one’s cultivation.
He was surprised that Mu Jin had such good fortune to come across this opportunity. The man couldn’t help but feel happy for Mu Jin. He thought that if Mu Jin could refine the entire herb, his cultivation might even leap directly to the Golden Core stage.
Therefore, Ning Yizhou did not hide the information and directly explained the situation of the herb to Mu Jin. However, he didn’t expect that after he finished speaking, the little guy in front of him would eagerly present the herb as if it were a treasure and say, “Senior Brother, since this herb is so precious, you should refine it quickly.”
Seeing Mu Jin’s clear, earnest gaze, Ning Yizhou’s heart softened. The Ying Grass would indeed be greatly beneficial to demon beasts and demon cultivators, but it was not as advantageous as it was for human cultivators.
Demon cultivators already had robust constitutions, so refining the Ying Grass would not yield as significant an increase in cultivation for them. It would be better to let this herb benefit the little guy in front of him. Although this sentiment was rare, Ning Yizhou was deeply touched.
I think you forgot to upload chapter 255