98: Chapter 98 The Demonic Wind Rises, Testing Spiritual Roots

Everyone watched this scene in disbelief.

Time seemed to freeze at this very instant.

"Thud."

Jin Chuan slammed heavily onto the White Jade Platform, even creating a half-foot deep crater from the impact.

Purple Fairy had hosted auctions for many years, but this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

Her face was also deathly pale as she covered her red lips and retreated to the edge of the arena.

"Cough, cough."

After coughing up two mouthfuls of fresh blood,

Jin Chuan stood up, supporting himself against the White Jade Platform.

Everyone looked up at the sky.

They saw that the roof of the Yellow Heaven Pavilion had been breached, leaving a massive opening where a large mass of dark clouds seethed above the pavilion.

It was impossible to see which Immortal Master was attacking.

An effeminate male voice, carrying a hint of surprise, drifted down from the dark clouds.

"Oh? To take a direct hit from this seat and survive—among Early Stage Golden Core Cultivators, you are considered decent."

Jin Chuan looked down at the injuries on his chest, his expression exceptionally grim.

"Who exactly is Fellow Daoist? Why have you come to disrupt the auction of Yellow Ox Immortal City?"

His fingers tapped rapidly on his Tanzhong and Jiuwei Acupoints,

calming his turbulent spiritual energy.

"In Jin's memory, the Immortal City has never held a grudge against a Golden Core Perfection great Cultivator like yourself."

Only after he had summoned his Natal Golden Sword did he sense this person's terrifying cultivation level.

The two Golden Core Cultivators who had been bidding from the third-floor private booths were already nowhere to be found.

"Those two old foxes are truly cunning, running off like that and leaving me to face this person alone."

He recalled the previous voice transmission mentioning things like his Sect's secret techniques.

His face turned exceptionally grim: "Could it be that Senior is a remnant of that Mara Sect?"

He immediately realized he had misspoken.

"Pah, I mean, a Senior from the Mara Sect?"

Rumor had it that because this Sect committed countless evils and atrocities, it provoked an unknown Heavenly Sect from the Central Region. The entire Sect was slaughtered, and numerous Demonic Path secret techniques were leaked as a result.

This Demon Hand Seal was one of them.

He hadn't expected there to be a survivor who slipped through the net.

However, while words can be taken back, a Move cannot.

Hearing the word 'remnant,' the Cultivator above was clearly angered.

The dark clouds churned violently.

The next moment,

a bolt of black light descended from the sky like divine punishment,

lunging straight toward Jin Chuan like a biting beast.

The latter's expression changed drastically.

His hands formed seals as fast as a spinning wheel,

summoning a Glazed White-Gold Shield.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle."

It seemed to strongly counter the black light, scattering it in all directions.

He remained unharmed,

but it was the surrounding low-level Loose Cultivators who suffered.

The aftershocks of a battle between Golden Core Cultivators were no less than a full-strength strike from a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Crack!"

Anything that came into contact with the stray black lines, whether it was a Cultivator or a wall, was pierced through.

Cries of agony filled the air.

"Aaaagh!"

Xiong Meng had grabbed two Qi Refining Cultivators to use as shields, but it had no effect at all; instead, it only blocked his vision.

A bolt of black light shot through the Cultivator in his left hand,

hitting Xiong Meng's left arm directly.

It was instantly severed.

He hurriedly picked up the severed limb and slapped a Grade 2 Rejuvenation Talisman onto the wound, attempting to reattach it.

However, a current of black electricity lingered on the severed surface, continuously causing further trauma.

He had no choice but to throw it into his Storage Pouch, hoping to have his Revered Master deal with it later.

It was an indiscriminate attack.

Half of the Cultivators in the venue were either dead or injured; even the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Family VIPs on the second floor were not spared.

Zhou Yu was pale with fright, trembling as she hid in a corner of her booth; the servants in front of her had already collapsed in a heap.

"Eh, this Magical Artifact is not bad; it quite counters my Profound Water Yin Lightning."

The offensive from the dark clouds ceased.

Taking advantage of this gap,

Jin Chuan hurriedly presented the glazed Magic Treasure.

Holding it up with both hands,

he said, "If Senior wants it, there is no need for words; just take it."

He then picked up the Demon Hand Seal that had fallen to the ground and placed it on top.

"And this Demon Hand Seal—I do not know how my Master obtained it, but since it belongs to your noble Sect, it should naturally be returned to its rightful owner."

With that,

he used the Object Manipulation Technique to send the two items up into the dark clouds.

They vanished into the clouds,

disappearing without a trace.

"You certainly know how to adapt to the circumstances. Your appearance quite resembles one of my former Dao Companions. If there is a chance in the future, why don't the two of us form a romantic bond?"

The effeminate male voice carried a peculiar allure.

A chill ran down Jin Chuan's spine.

This person wanted to open his 'back door'!

He managed to force a smile: "This Junior does not dare to aim so high."

The dark clouds began to drift away, but the voice acknowledged the rejection in Jin Chuan's words: "Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. There will be an opportunity. One day, you will be kneeling before my bed."

Jin Chuan's face flushed red, unsure of the exact implication.

He retrieved his golden sword.

He instructed Purple Fairy: "Fairy, please send people to clean up the mess immediately. For those who unfortunately met their end here, issue five hundred Spirit Stones as compensation."

Seeing the dark clouds depart, she gingerly stepped out.

She performed a salute: "Immortal Master, I have already notified them."

"That's good."

He recalled the golden sword that was stuck in the jade platform.

Standing on the sword, he flew out of the Yellow Heaven Pavilion within a few breaths.

In the back, Xiong Meng did not dare to make a sound in front of this Senior Brother.

Ordinarily, he was the one the Senior Brother disliked the most.

...

At this time,

Xu Changsheng walked out of a bookstore several miles away.

He received a message of gratitude from Chu Linger: "The Yellow Heaven Pavilion was attacked by enemies; half of the Cultivators were caught in the crossfire and perished."

"Master's insight is truly keen, taking this Servant Girl away in advance."

Her words were filled with reverence.

He put away the communication talisman.

He naturally noticed the disturbance at the Yellow Heaven Pavilion.

Countless Loose Cultivators were flocking there,

hoping to catch a glimpse of what had happened.

He also caught sight of the dark clouds flying across the horizon, ignoring the flight Restrictions.

He shook his head.

He had narrowly escaped this disaster; why would he go back and court danger?

He muttered to himself: "The Ghost Shadow Sect is located in the Yuan State to the northwest of the Chu Country's cultivation world. It is a true Nascent Soul great Sect, and it's said they have more than one Nascent Soul."

The cultivation worlds of Chu, Yue, and Wu combined were not as large as the cultivation world of the Yuan State.

What made him wary was that

the Sects within the Yuan State's cultivation world were primarily Demonic Path Sects. Compared to the difference in size, the gap in their cultivation strength was even greater.

"Inciting Xiong Meng to defect, Mo Linyuan entering the Ancient Wood Mountain Range... it seems the Ghost Shadow Sect is brewing some kind of movement."

He soon shook his head.

When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; it wasn't for a Qi Refining Loose Cultivator like him to worry about such matters.

While pondering,

he had already arrived at the Immortal City's Spirit Testing Platform.

An attendant from the platform rubbed his hands and stepped forward.

"Fellow Daoist, would you like to test your Spiritual Root?"

Xu Changsheng nodded.

He was not someone from a Sect recruiting 'immortal sprouts,' so he hadn't prepared a Magical Artifact like a Spirit Testing Plate.

He stepped onto the Spirit Testing Platform.

After bathing in the light for several breaths,

he learned his current Spiritual Root Aptitude.

"It really is a Medium Grade Spiritual Root."

His confidence surged.

According to his plan, as long as he advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage,

with the ability of the Great Sun Fusang Scripture to refine the Spiritual Root, his Spiritual Root could be further enhanced to become the best among Medium Grade Spiritual Roots.

He smiled knowingly.

"This way, there is hope for longevity."

Laughing heartily, he returned to his Immortal Cave under the glow of the setting sun.

...

Late at night,

at Huangniu Mountain,

inside the Grade 2 Immortal Cave,

Xu Changsheng, who was sitting cross-legged in cultivation, opened his eyes.

The reason was that

he had received a message from Ink Shadow.

Knowing that Liu Bai's identity was suspicious, he had been letting Ink Shadow Cultivate on its own on the Grade 2 Spiritual Vein outside the Immortal Cave.

At the same time, it monitored Liu Bai's every Move from a distance.

"You're saying he changed into black clothes and went out?"

"Squeak."

A positive response from Ink Shadow came through his Divine Sense.

"This person definitely has problems. Keep watching him; if he returns, tell me immediately!"