The toxic clouds suddenly swirled like a vortex, encircling Meng Qi in the center. In response, her Five Spirits Cauldron spun even faster, and amidst the dense clanging sounds, Meng Qi, who shared a spiritual connection with the cauldron, felt as if something was heavily hammering against the walls of her spiritual sea, causing it to vibrate wildly. In a blink, cold sweat dripped down her forehead, and her back was soaked through completely.
“Little girl, since This Lord is asking you a question, you should answer obediently. Otherwise, you won’t even get past the first part of this ten thousand li journey, and there are two more parts waiting for you. Do you want to be thrown out of the Ten Absolutes Mountain?” The voice chuckled weirdly, speaking in an old-fashioned tone.
Meng Qi had no intention of responding. Who knew who this voice was! Moreover, she was warned to keep the matter of the Five Spirits Cauldron secret not only by Ji Wujiong but also by Yun Qingyan.
Thinking of Yun Qingyan, an idea suddenly popped into her mind. Meng Qi put the sixth-realm artifact back into her storage space and took out another handful of spiritual herbs.
“Eh?” The voice sounded surprised, “You can still make a move.”
With a flick of her hand, Meng Qi tossed the spiritual herbs into the Five Spirits Cauldron. At the same time, her right hand quickly began to move, drawing an array with extreme speed and precision. The belly of her Five Spirits Cauldron was already engraved with the Lihuo Great Fire Array, albeit in a modified form. Miasma and toxic gas, including the poisonous insects of the swamp, all feared fire the most. Moreover, the blaze summoned by the Lihuo array was one of the most domineering and powerful in the world.
“Little girl, what are you doing…” The voice was initially leisurely, as if knowing whatever Meng Qi did would end in futile. As such, the tone of his voice seemed like a spectator watching a show, unhurried and a bit bored. Even as Meng Qi bent over, with her silver medicinal knife swiftly drawing something, the entity didn’t seem to take her seriously.
Meng Qi’s movements were sharp and efficient. It’s worth noting that although her talent in cultivation was not exceptional, her aptitude in arrays was so impressive that Ji Wujiong was astonished at first sight and insisted on taking her as a disciple. In the blink of an eye, the Lihuo array was set up on the narrow wooden plank bridge. The bridge barely accommodated a complete array, though it was a modified version and not the original.
But it was enough! The miasma and toxic gas that had been previously blocked by her medicinal aura could now also be…
With a loud boom, red flames shot up into the sky. The Five Spirits Cauldron abruptly inverted, pouring its content into a freefall. The last batch of herbs Meng Qi had thrown in was the kind that could intensify the flames. Aided by the medicinal aura, the fire instantly doubled in size. The already formidable Lihuo fire burned even more fiercely, illuminating the gloomy sky above the swamp.
The toxic miasma clouds surrounding Meng Qi were dispersed by the Lihuo fire. At the same time, her slender figure flashed through the flames, rushing straight ahead.
“Little girl, not bad!” The voice chuckled weirdly again, “But now, even if you don’t say it, I can guess.”
Meng Qi pursed her lips and ran even faster. She had obtained the Five Spirits Cauldron, which was a legacy of Senior Lin Yan, in the Apricot Forest. She didn’t believe that this unknown entity within the Ten Absolutes Mountain could guess that.
“Medical and array dual cultivation, eh? Little girl…” the voice continued, “Why are you running so fast? No matter how fast you run in this swamp, you can’t outpace me.”
Oh…
Meng Qi realized that she would be able to escape this strange voice once she left this area. Immediately, she quickened her pace!
The entity had made several moves but had not directly attacked her. Later, when its pressure nearly harmed her, his voice seemed quite anxious. All of these told her that the entity was restricted in some way here and couldn’t directly harm her.
“You come from… Eh?” The voice suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “You little girl is actually…”
Meng Qi ignored whatever he was saying. Regardless of the other party’s words, she treated them as mere background noise and kept running swiftly. The Lihuo fire made by the array couldn’t last for a long duration, and the imposing flames behind her had already begun to dim. However, Meng Qi had timed it perfectly; by the time the flames dissipated, she was confident she could escape the area covered by the toxic clouds.
“Eh? Little girl, why are you running? This Lord hasn’t finished speaking yet,” the voice called out again.
Meng Qi ignored him. As she was sprinting forward, her steps suddenly halted, stopping abruptly. In front of her, a mass of glowing green vines had shot up, growing crazily in an instant and forming a wall-like structure right in the middle of the wooden plank bridge. Had Meng Qi not stopped in time, she would likely have been entangled by the vines, possibly ending up hanging on that wall.
She exhaled deeply, realizing that the strange entity was definitely stronger than her. The magnitude of their power difference was unknown, but a direct confrontation might mean she couldn’t even withstand a single hit from him.
Meng Qi raised her head and looked up at the wall of green vines. Their color gave the impression of eeriness, and the leaves, though lush, appeared unusually strange. The stormy waves in the swamp were getting fiercer, and the sound of bubbling water continuously blended, forming a bizarre melody.
Under the overcast sky, the vast swamp looked even more menacing, and Meng Qi’s lone, slender figure seemed so small, as if a gust of wind could knock her down. Here, there was no one to help her, but she had to ascend the Ten Absolutes Mountain. She needed to become stronger!
Taking a deep breath, Meng Qi threw another handful of spiritual herbs into the Five Spirits Cauldron. With a flick of her fingers, seven or eight ninth-grade spirit stones flew up and embedded into the cauldron’s belly. As the cauldron churned the herbs, she brandished the medicinal knife in her right hand and quickly began drawing another array on the ground.
“Good!” the voice chuckled, “I want to see what else a little girl like you is capable of.”
The vines in front of Meng Qi grew taller and taller, reaching skyward within a few moments. Their green leaves rustled, and countless tiny, cotton-like substances fell from them. Wherever these cotton-like substances landed, they immediately sprouted from the soil.
By the time Meng Qi finished drawing her array, her surroundings seemed to be completely overtaken by the vines. Everything was covered in greenery. If not for their eerily unnatural color, the vibrant verdant would have given the deadly swamp some signs of life.
Meng Qi inhaled deeply, and with a flick of her left hand, she embedded several ninth-grade spirit stones into the array she had just drawn. She then raised her hand, silently commanding the Five Spirits Cauldron, which immediately turned over and poured its content. The herbs she had thrown in earlier turned into a medicinal aura and flowed toward the array.
“Eh?” The strange voice spoke again, this time with a tone of genuine interest, “Not bad, little girl, not bad at all.”
Meng Qi kept ignoring him. The array she was using now, also taught by Yun Qingyan, was something she had learned early on and was designed to enhance the medicinal properties of herbs. Meng Qi had used it before, but back then, she lacked resources, and the spirit stones she used were of average quality, limiting the power of the array. Now, things were completely different. Once the array was activated, its light, carrying the enhanced medicinal properties, rushed towards the vines.
A medical cultivator must also know how to use poisons. At this moment, Meng Qi was employing a mixture of several spiritual herbs she had concocted, capable of causing most plants to wither rapidly. With the added effect of the array, if it worked as intended…
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next >
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.
