Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"Hm?"

But at this moment, Zhang Chi suddenly looked surprised. He had used his Divine Thought to scan the area and discovered a Cultivator flying straight toward him.

Furthermore, this Cultivator was at Foundation Establishment Peak. If he wasn’t mistaken, this must be Senior Brother Ning of the Cyan Cloud Sect.

—

’Damn it! Someone stole my spot and even claims to be a Cultivator from our Cyan Cloud Sect. Just don’t let me find you. Otherwise, I don’t care if you’re a fellow disciple or not—I will kill you!’

’Besides, I heard you wear a mask, so no one knows who you are!’

Senior Brother Ning was a tall, handsome young Cultivator in a white robe, with sharp, striking features. He was one of the top prodigies of the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Within the Sect, although he wasn’t as famous as Yu Wan, he had joined earlier. Thus, his Cultivation was higher, and he was stronger.

He was full of confidence for this exploration, certain that he would obtain more than one Core Formation Opportunity.

But as it turned out, he never expected his luck to be so terrible.

First, the Demon Companion Flower—a Core Formation Spiritual Object that several of his junior brothers were going to present to him—was stolen midway.

Then, because he was investigating this matter, he missed the chance to enter the deepest part of the Secret Realm.

As a result, he could only communicate with the Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators in the depths of the Secret Realm via a Secret Technique. Only then did he learn that there was an Oasis inside, along with many more precious Spirit Medicines.

He also found out about the mysterious man named Zhang Chi, who claimed to be a Cultivator from the Cyan Cloud Sect, and he immediately came to hate him.

Fortunately, his luck wasn’t all bad. Just a moment ago, he had come back to check, unwilling to give up, and found that the passage had opened on its own.

So, he flew into one of the passages without hesitation. He was so worked up that he couldn’t help but mutter through gritted teeth.

’This guy wants to kill me? Then don’t blame me for being ruthless! It just so happens I’ve been wanting to get back at the Cyan Cloud Sect anyway. If a Foundation Establishment Peak prodigy dies, I bet the higher-ups will be furious!’

But Senior Brother Ning had no idea that his words had been directly "heard" by Zhang Chi.

Zhang Chi was surprised, but his heart immediately filled with killing intent. He stopped moving forward and began to set up an ambush in advance.

He first laid down an Array, then released his Corpse Puppet and had it spew out a large amount of Corpse Evil, completely shrouding a long stretch of the area ahead.

’What’s going on?’

Senior Brother Ning flew forward for a bit and was startled to see a vast expanse of black mist spreading out before him.

’So there really are trials in these passages. Does everyone face something different?’

’But that’s a good thing. A trial implies a reward, and as a Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator, I’m sure I can pass it easily. After all, I’m no worse than those people who already went inside!’

But soon, a smile appeared on Senior Brother Ning’s face. He fully activated his defenses and charged into the black fog.

A bright lamp floated before him, its light dispersing even the Corpse Evil wherever it shone.

’Such powerful Corpse Evil!’

However, the Corpse Evil remained thick nearby, refusing to disperse, which caused his Spiritual Power consumption to increase dramatically. This couldn’t help but surprise him.

ROAR!

The next moment, a roar echoed as Corpse Puppet No.1 lunged out from the darkness.

BANG!

Senior Brother Ning remained calm, immediately activating a Golden Fan. With a powerful wave, a fierce gale erupted.

Flames surged within the wind, not only knocking back the Corpse Puppet but also burning away and scattering much of the Corpse Evil.

SWOOSH!

Seeing this, a confident smile appeared on Senior Brother Ning’s face. But in the next instant, the scenery before him suddenly changed. A disorienting fog appeared once more, and he lost all sense of direction.

’An Array? A pity its Level is too low!’

Senior Brother Ning was startled but quickly calmed down. He immediately used a Breaking Charm, and the fog instantly dissipated, allowing him to see the passage again.

WHOOSH!

But just then, an immense pressure suddenly appeared ahead of him, and a black shadow lunged at him as fast as lightning.

CRACK!

In the next moment, the light from his fan and lamp dimmed and they fell to the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his chest—his body had been pierced through.

Before this black shadow, all the powerful defenses he had fully activated were utterly useless.

He even had some trump cards left, but he had no time to use them.

Only then did he get a clear look at the black shadow: a Tier Three Low Grade Demon Beast, a leopard cat.

This leopard cat looked harmless, but in truth, it was terrifyingly dangerous.

"How can there be a Level Three Demon Beast..."

Senior Brother Ning’s face was filled with horror, despair, and unwillingness, but before he could think any further, his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

As for the Tier Three Demon Beast, it was undoubtedly released by Zhang Chi when he crushed a Wood Carving.

He actually had many other methods at his disposal, but he clearly couldn’t be bothered to use them one by one, as any delay could lead to unforeseen complications.

Using the Wood Carving was extravagant, but it was a surefire way to succeed.

Even Zhang Chi himself had no confidence he could have successfully blocked that strike from the Tier Three Demon Beast.

Not only had his opponent’s body been pierced, but tyrannical Demonic Power had also surged through the wound, destroying all his life force. Death was the only possible outcome.

CRACK!

However, just to be safe, Zhang Chi sent a sword flying out to decapitate the body before collecting the spoils. He then dismantled the Array, quickly cleaned up the scene, and continued on his way.

He took the lamp and the fan. Both were actually Celestial Grade magical artifacts; no wonder even the Corpse Puppet and Corpse Evil couldn’t get near their owner.

Zhang Chi extracted a Blood Spirit Pill from Senior Brother Ning’s corpse. His Divine Soul was also directly extracted and fed to the Spirit Snake and Beast Soul to nourish them.

’So many Spirit Medicines and other supplies... as expected of a Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator. He even had two Talisman Treasures and three Tier Three Low Grade Spiritual Talismans. Good thing I didn’t get into a drawn-out fight with him!’

Inside Senior Brother Ning’s Storage Bag, Zhang Chi found a considerable amount of Spirit Medicines, Spirit Stones, and other items.

The two Talisman Treasures and three Spirit Talismans, in particular, made Zhang Chi’s eyes light up.

Sealed within the two Talisman Treasures was the Mighty Power of a pair of silver flying forks and a gray rope Magical Treasure. The three Spirit Talismans were a Vajra Talisman, a Wind Blade Talisman, and a Small Shifting Talisman.

This combination, added to the two Celestial Grade magical artifacts, provided a balance of offense and defense, with no shortage of escape methods either.

It was a pity that he had been too careless just now, thinking it was just an ordinary trial. He hadn’t been willing to use a Tier Three Spirit Talisman, which was why Zhang Chi had succeeded in his ambush.

He died with his eyes wide open, having never even seen who his opponent was.

Finally, inside Senior Brother Ning’s Storage Bag, Zhang Chi also found two Core Formation Spiritual Objects: Profound Light Grass and an Element Condensing Fruit.

And this was considering he hadn’t even managed to enter the Oasis or receive the passage’s rewards.

Otherwise, he would have certainly obtained even more.

And if those four Cyan Cloud Sect disciples hadn’t died, they would have surely provided him with one or two more Core Formation Spiritual Objects.

’I can’t believe I’ve gotten several portions of things like Profound Light Grass, which is so hard to buy in the outside world. Coming on this exploration was definitely the right choice, and using the Wood Carving was worth it!’

After the Wood Carving was used, the leopard cat quickly dissipated on its own once it had completed the kill.

After all, Senior Brother Ning was no ordinary Cultivator. So, although the leopard cat’s strike was ferocious, it consumed a massive amount of energy.

Zhang Chi had felt the pinch of using it at the time, but now he felt much better.

After all, the Wood Carving had only cost 180,000 Spirit Stones. The Profound Light Grass alone from this haul was worth hundreds of thousands, to say nothing of everything else.