NABC Chapter 78 The Dungeon
Chapter 78 The Dungeon
In the central part of the Daotian Continent, on the Pei family's flying boat.
They were still some distance from Pei Yao Base, and Zhang Yunling and Ren Jixing had been cultivating for the past few days.
Having just entered the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and despite having already refined the perfect Golden Core Realm Xuan Dao Zi Dan, Zhang Yunling still planned to consolidate his cultivation. He learned a lot of cultivation experience from Ren Jixing, who was already in the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
"Senior brother, uh, no, senior sister. Didn't you always rely on absorbing yin energy to improve your cultivation? How come you still have so much knowledge about cultivation?"
Ren Jixing and Zhang Yunling were cultivating together, their palms pressed together. Hearing his junior brother's question, Ren Jixing slightly opened his beautiful eyes and slowly said, "This is actually related to one's own comprehension. For example, when you and I are cultivating together now, even though all the spiritual power in my body has been transformed into yin attribute, why can we still cultivate together so harmoniously?"
"It's precisely because you lack this Yin energy. The spiritual power within you is extremely strong and Yang, but this makes it difficult to unleash your full potential. You understand the principle that things will turn into their opposites when they reach their extremes. If you were to mix in my Yin-attribute spiritual power, the Yin and Yang would be balanced, which would lay a very good foundation for your future refinement of the power of the Great Dao."
Listening to her senior sister's teachings, Zhang Yunling listened attentively and nodded in agreement.
The two spent the next ten days or so in cultivation.
The airship landed slowly on the ground, and the destination was finally reached. Pei Yongjie's voice came from outside the guest room door: "Brother Yunling, Brother Jixing, we've arrived!"
Zhang Yunling quickly snapped out of her meditative state, responded with a sound, and slowly opened her eyes. She and Ren Jixing got up, walked out of the guest room, and came to the deck of the flying boat.
Pei Jiang, the eldest elder of the Pei family, was already standing at the bow of the ship, gazing at the grand hall built against the mountain not far away.
"Has Pei Yao been investigating demonic beasts here for the past few years?" Pei Jiang asked in confusion, instructing Pei Yongjie and the Pei family army cultivators to prepare for departure.
Zhang Yunling and Ren Jixing also came over, and followed the Pei family members as they jumped off the flying boat and headed towards the main hall.
As they approached, a group of Pei Yao's subordinates, who had been waiting there, walked over respectfully and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Grand Elder!"
The leading cultivator also stepped forward obsequiously, his face full of smiles, and led Pei Jiang and everyone else into the main hall.
Just as Zhang Yunling and Ren Jixing arrived, a flicker of panic clearly crossed the cultivator leader's eyes. Once everyone had entered the main hall, he began to devise a plan:
"This person is the Quanzhen Dao cultivator who defeated Lord Pei Yao. Could the person beside him be the one who caused the curse that led to the research accident...? Although we have made full preparations, Lord Pei Yao is still missing, so we should still be cautious..."
Pei Jiang's purpose in coming here was to investigate Pei Yao's work in this area, so he did not have much interaction with the Pei family disciples here. He simply inspected the area and then continued to walk deeper into the region.
There are two long corridors on each side of the main hall, leading to two secret chambers. The secret chambers have several branching paths, forming a complex of buildings that resembles an underground palace.
Pei Jiang led one group to the left, while Pei Yongjie led his group towards the right corridor. Both groups advanced into the secret room together.
Along the way, everyone was quiet, carefully observing everything around them. Zhang Yunling cautiously followed Pei Jiang's steps forward, but the scenes before him were shocking.
Previously, he and Zhou Hanping had fought a considerable battle here to rescue Ren Jixing, who was being imprisoned and experimented on. However, only a dozen days later, all the corridors and secret rooms had been perfectly restored, leaving no trace whatsoever.
But after only a brief moment of shock, Zhang Yunling immediately guessed the reason. These Pei family disciples, who were focused on researching curses, would surely have taken measures to thoroughly cover up and hide everything that couldn't be brought to light here in order to prevent further unforeseen events after learning that their leader had been defeated and disappeared.
"He does have some brains, but secrets can't stay hidden forever; it's just self-deception," Zhang Yunling thought with a cold laugh.
Pei Jiang's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed as the investigation progressed. He asked the leader of the cultivators who had been following him, "This place was originally established to investigate seventh-order demonic beasts. Now, take me to see your results."
Hearing this, Zhang Yunling, who was mingling in the crowd, began to ponder. Pei Yao had only stayed here for a few years; presumably, she had spent most of her time researching those cursed people.
He had never heard of a seventh-tier demon beast before. Although this was partly due to his frequent travels between various sects and his lack of access to information, wouldn't such a powerful demon beast being exposed to the light of day attract the covetousness and competition of other forces?
But the leader of the cultivators was delighted and bowed to Pei Jiang, saying, "Yes, sir, I will take you there right away."
Pei Jiang nodded slightly, a barely perceptible glint flashing in his eyes, but it disappeared immediately, unnoticed by anyone.
Following the leader to the entrance of the deepest corridor, the group could already feel a strange aura permeating the air, along with a powerful pressure descending upon them.
Pei Jiang, being a Nascent Soul stage early-stage expert, possessed the highest cultivation level among everyone present and felt this most acutely. A smile appeared on his face as he nodded approvingly: "Not bad, it seems that the resources you've spent on your family over the years have been effective."
Upon hearing the sound of voices, a loud roar suddenly erupted from the secret chamber at the end of the corridor. This sound seemed to contain endless anger, mixed with hatred and resentment, and was a hundred times stronger than the oppressive force. It actually transformed from intangible to tangible, turning into a tangible sound wave that attacked Pei Jiang directly!
"?!?!" Pei Jiang was startled by the sudden attack, his face filled with horror. However, the attack came too suddenly, and with the influence of the invisible pressure, his movement speed was somewhat restricted. As a result, the attack was about to hit him, and Pei Jiang was unable to dodge it.
The attack felt terrifying to him; it was a feeling that came to a cultivator's body from the passive perception of an attack that could cause serious injury or even death.
Pei Jiang activated his defensive magic weapon as quickly as possible in an attempt to block the attack.
At this critical moment, everything went black, and Pei Jiang was blasted backward by a powerful impact, crashing into the crowd behind him, causing everyone to fall to the ground.
Pei Jiang's forehead was already covered in cold sweat, and the leading cultivator was so frightened that he stood there dumbfounded. Only after the incident had already occurred did he react and rush to Pei Jiang's side, asking anxiously, "Elder!! Are you alright? Where did that attack come from... how could it be so powerful!"
But when Pei Jiang climbed out of the crowd, he was surprised to find that he did not feel any pain. Looking down, he discovered that someone had appeared and blocked the attack for him!