At the peak of the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain, a small hill shrouded in blood mist.
"Here it comes again..."
Mu Xi sighed softly.
The intermittent murmurs carried a eerie and terrifying power, like invisible blades that ruthlessly cut into their souls, causing a tearing, intense pain.
Mu Xi, experienced in dealing with such situations, immediately suppressed his senses and protected his soul with secret techniques.
But even so, he still felt a sense of discomfort.
Without hesitation, he took out a sparkling and translucent fiery red jade pendant and held it in his palm.
Instantly, a warm stream surged through his body, dispelling the discomfort.
"If it weren't for this 'Phoenix Blood Jade Pendant,' it would be quite difficult to endure this sound."
Mu Xi murmured to himself.
Dressed in white, he had a handsome and elegant appearance. When his eyes opened and closed, there were radiant starry lights swirling within them. His slender and graceful figure stood tall like bamboo.
"What's wrong with you?"
Mu Xi turned his head and looked at a middle-aged man beside him.
"I can still bear it."
The middle-aged man said in a deep voice.
With a beard under his Yan dynasty chin, he wore a black robe and had an extremely tall figure. The rugged contours of his face showed a tinge of pain.
"Haha, if the disciples of the Star Cliff Academy were to see this, they would be shocked. They hold such admiration and awe for Lord Puyi, but now he's showing a constipated look. I'm afraid they would be heartbroken."
Mu Xi laughed carelessly.
The tall man in the black robe was indeed Puyi, the Vice Palace Master of the Star Cliff Academy, one of the top ten academies in the world. He was a pinnacle existence at the Grandmaster Fourth Stage!
Although he couldn't help but be annoyed by Mu Xi's teasing, Puyi couldn't get angry and could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
Mu Xi appeared to be around twenty years old, but Puyi dared not show any disrespect.
Because this young man, dressed in elegant attire, was none other than Mu Xi, one of the Nine Kings from outside the Great Zhou Dynasty!
He entered the Grandmaster realm at the age of twenty and achieved the status of a Heavenly Martial Sage at the age of twenty-three. The current Emperor of Great Zhou bestowed him the title of King, making him famous across the land. He was undoubtedly a peerless genius.
In the past, among the Nine Kings from outside the Great Zhou Dynasty, King Yu Liu was the youngest.
She achieved the Grandmaster realm at the age of fifteen, entered the Heavenly Martial Sage realm at the age of seventeen, and was crowned as a King at the age of nineteen. She was hailed as the unrivaled genius of the Great Zhou in a thousand years.
However, now, Mu Xi, the youngest among the Nine Kings from outside the Great Zhou Dynasty, was five years younger than King Yu Liu.
Although he seemed to be inferior to King Yu Liu in terms of achievements, talent, and cultivation, no one dared to underestimate this young man.
After all, a foreign King at the age of twenty-three was enough to put most of the older generation Grandmasters in this world to shame!
"Young Master, now that we've come to this point, you should tell us what our purpose is for coming to this Bloodthorn Demon Mountain," Puyi said, enduring the pain.
Mu Xi pondered for a moment and replied, "According to the information I've obtained, deep within this Bloodthorn Demon Mountain lies a mysterious ancient relic, which likely contains valuable treasures."
"A mysterious relic?" Puyi couldn't help but be astonished. "No wonder disciples from the Kongtong Academy and the Luyang Academy have also come. So, it's all for this."
"It's not just them who have come," Mu Xi's eyes flickered with a hint of anticipation. "I have a feeling that this Bloodthorn Demon Mountain will be quite lively this time."
There was a subtle sense of excitement in his voice.
...
Soon, the intermittent murmurs disappeared.
Ning Yihua and Shen Jiulong both breathed a sigh of relief.
When they saw Su Yi standing there as if nothing had happened, they couldn't help but be surprised. Wasn't this guy affected at all?
"Did you perceive something?" Ning Yihua asked, her voice filled with contemplation.
Su Yi calmly replied, "If my speculation is correct, the eerie murmurs just now were likely fluctuations caused by the power of a forbidden array."
"Fluctuations from a forbidden array?" Ning Yihua narrowed her beautiful eyes. "If that's the case, in your opinion, what level of array is it, and who could have set it up?"
Su Yi shook his head. "It's hard to say, but one thing is certain: this forbidden array is likely located deep within the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain, and the person who set it up must have a cultivation level not weaker than the Spirit Dao realm."
Spirit Dao cultivator?
Ning Yihua was shocked.
The path of cultivation was divided into four stages: Martial Dao, Yuan Dao, Spirit Dao, and Profound Dao.
The Martial Dao had four realms and was referred to as the mundane realm.
Only those who embarked on the Yuan Dao path could be called cultivators. They could sustain themselves on the essence of the heavens and earth, and they no longer needed to eat normal food.
The Yuan Dao path was divided into three realms: "Fasting," "Elementary Palace," and "Gathering Stars."
On the vast land of Cangqing, those who entered the Yuan Dao path were already regarded as terrestrial immortals, resembling divine beings in the eyes of ordinary people.
Throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were only a handful of terrestrial immortals.
Most of them were concentrated in the Ten Academies, the Imperial Palace, the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, and the Jade Capital City.
The Spirit Dao realm was above the Yuan Dao!
Those who embarked on the path of the Spirit Dao were known as "Great Cultivators" and were divided into three realms: "Spiritualization," "Spirit Form," and "Spirit Wheel."
Not to mention within the Great Zhou Dynasty, even on the vast Cangqing continent, those who embarked on the Spirit Dao path were extremely rare.
As far as Ning Yihua knew, there were only vague rumors related to Spirit Dao cultivators within the true cultivation nation of "Da Xia" on the Cangqing continent. Now, the existence of a mysterious forbidden array arranged by a Spirit Dao cultivator deep within the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain was enough to astonish Ning Yihua.
Shen Jiulong was a bit bewildered and asked, "May I ask, Su Gongzi, what is Spirit Dao cultivation?"
Su Yi casually replied, "It's a path of cultivation above the Yuan Dao."
Shen Jiulong was momentarily stunned, and then he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. His scalp tingled.
As a feudal lord, he naturally understood that terrestrial immortals were cultivators who had stepped onto the Yuan Dao path.
However, it was the first time he had heard that there was a higher path beyond the Yuan Dao!
He subconsciously looked at Ning Yihua and saw that she remained composed, evidently aware of this secret as well.
For a moment, his heart churned, realizing that both Ning Yihua by his side and this seventeen-year-old Su Gongzi carried secrets that he couldn't comprehend!
"Let's go," Su Yi said, unwilling to waste any more time, and he walked forward directly.
The group immediately set off.
Along the way, they still encountered occasional attacks from demonic beasts. Although it was troublesome to deal with them, they posed no threat to the group.
Moreover, having seen the map of beast hides drawn by the Martial Spirit Marquis Chen Zheng, they managed to avoid many areas covered in miasma and engulfed by poisonous fog on their journey.
Until three more hours had passed.
Shen Jiulong began to show signs of exhaustion, with his strength greatly depleted.
Throughout the journey, he was almost the sole person hunting and killing the demonic beasts, with occasional assistance from Ning Yihua.
As for Su Yi, he walked with his hands behind his back and had never killed a single demonic beast.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to help or lazy. He was accumulating strength, waiting for demonic beasts of the eighth rank or above to appear.
However, up to this point, they had only encountered a dozen or so seventh-rank demonic beasts and hadn't seen the shadow of an eighth-rank demonic beast at all.
This left Su Yi somewhat speechless.
"We'll take a rest for now. I'll handle the enemies on the road ahead," Ning Yihua said in a clear voice.
Shen Jiulong felt relieved and didn't refuse. He took out a bottle of elixir and began replenishing his depleted strength.
Su Yi stood still on a rock, surveying the surroundings. He saw a dense crimson mist covering the sky, and as far as the eye could see, there were strands of crimson fog floating in the air between the nearby mountains and rivers, making the world dim and oppressive.
"It's a pity that the spiritual herbs we've encountered along the way have all been contaminated by the Bloodthorn Miasma and are unusable," Su Yi lamented with some regret.
Not only the herbs but also the demonic beasts they encountered along the way had been corroded by the Bloodthorn energy, rendering the spiritual materials on their bodies contaminated and worthless.
Retracting his gaze, Su Yi took out a rattan chair from the ink jade pendant and lazily lay down in it, closing his eyes to rest.
Seeing this scene, Ning Yihua couldn't help but chuckle. This guy knew how to enjoy himself; he even carried a rattan chair with him...
Time passed bit by bit. After an hour, Shen Jiulong had regained his strength, and the group was preparing to set off.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar reverberated through the heavens and the earth. In that instant, the entire Bloodthorn Demon Mountain seemed to tremble, the mountains and rivers swayed, and rocks, grass, and trees quivered.
Following that, the restless and frantic roars of demonic beasts echoed continuously, carrying a sense of panic and madness.
Rumbling!
It was like an earthquake, the deafening rumbling shaking the earth, causing countless boulders to roll down from the mountain, smashing trees and shrouding the air in dust.
Su Yi immediately stood up from the rattan chair, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. After a slight sense of perception, he said, "This tremor seems to originate from deep underground in the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain. Could it be that five days ago, Marquis Chen Zheng sensed such a disturbance and decided to enter the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain alone to investigate?"
Ning Yihua nodded and said, "It's very possible."
"It's getting more and more interesting. There should be a terrifying power sealed beneath the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain, and the eerie whispers we heard before come from the fluctuations of a forbidden array," Su Yi speculated with profound insight. "In other words, the abnormality occurring in the Bloodthorn Demon Mountain is most likely the result of the imprisoned power underground trying to break free from the suppression of that forbidden array."
Ning Yihua and Shen Jiulong were both amazed. They hadn't expected Su Yi to possess such keen insight and knowledge. From the eerie whispers, he deduced that they originated from the fluctuations of a forbidden array.
Now, from the thunderous rumbling, he deduced that beneath the Bloodthorn Mountain, a terrifying power was sealed.
Moreover, he further inferred that the array was prepared to suppress that dreadful power!
All of this was beyond the expectations of Ning Siyu and Shen Jiusong, let alone making such deductions.
How could the two of them not be astonished by this?
For a moment, both of them couldn't help but feel fortunate that they had invited Su Yi to join them!
Otherwise, they might not have even noticed the enigmatic secrets hidden within these abnormal and mysterious phenomena.
"Do you happen to know what exactly that sealed power is?" Ning Siyu couldn't help but ask.