Chapter 1171: Spirit Marrow Pond Exposed
That fat cultivator hailed from the 7-star sect Eternity Sea. While ranking among the top 7-star sects—almost equaling ordinary 8-star sects—they paled in comparison to Clear Dream Mosque. A single Truth Realization state cultivator could easily annihilate Eternity Sea.
“Formation…” a body condensation state peak stage cultivator exclaimed, gazing into the distance. Everyone turned to see a stealth formation slowly materializing. Once fully revealed, almost everyone approached.
“This is a stealth formation; why does it lack stealth effects?” a hollow spirit state tertiary stage cultivator questioned.
Someone immediately replied, “Grandmaster Yi already stated the spirit source was removed. Without it, the formation’s concealment naturally fails.” The original creator likely hadn't anticipated that his high-level stealth formation would become ineffective after the spirit source’s removal.
“Such an advanced formation!” Yi Jing gasped, awestruck by the formation's complexity. He’d never encountered anything like it.
“Grandmaster Yi, how do we proceed?” the body condensation state peak stage cultivator inquired.
“Yi Jing greets God Wind Valley’s Martial Brother Hu Jiming. This formation is incredibly advanced; I require further examination. It's primarily for stealth, but its defensive capabilities reach level eight. We cannot force entry,” Yi Jing explained, wary of offending God Wind Valley.
Hu Jiming nodded and stood aside. Only Hu Jiming and the fat cultivator were at the body condensation state peak stage; the rest were weaker. Observing Hu Jiming, the others followed suit.
Yi Jing began studying the formation. After a day, he made no progress. Growing impatient, Hu Jiming asked, “Shall we attack this formation jointly?”
His suggestion met with immediate approval. Hu Jiming unleashed his magic artifact, and upon contact, the formation shattered.
Everyone was stunned. Yi Jing, a formation grandmaster, had declared the formation unbreakable by force; yet, Hu Jiming effortlessly destroyed it with a casual attack. This revealed the formation's defense was at most level four.
Hu Jiming laughed and entered, followed by the others. Yi Jing’s face flushed; he realized that the loss of the spirit source affected both the stealth and defensive aspects of the formation. Fortunately, no one openly scorned him, easing his embarrassment. He followed silently, refraining from further pronouncements.
Soon, they witnessed the same sight Ye Mo had previously seen, causing several female cultivators to gasp in shock.
“This resembles the outer perimeter,” one cultivator observed. Speculation ran rampant, but the primary focus remained on searching for treasure.
“The entrance is here.” Someone quickly located the stealth formation Ye Mo had used, now fully exposed.
Entering the formation, they encountered a crescent moon-shaped door.
“Another defense formation, a level seven one this time,” Yi Jing announced. However, this formation possessed a spirit source. Following his previous blunder, everyone disregarded his assessment, his status significantly diminished.
An Eternity Sea nascent soul state cultivator launched a flying sword at the formation. The sword struck the formation, but unexpectedly, a dark ray pierced the cultivator's dantian. The cultivator vomited blood, and a minuscule nascent soul emerged from his head.
Though clearly mortally wounded, the nascent soul’s escape was remarkable. The fat Eternity Sea cultivator grunted and launched a fireball, instantly obliterating the fleeing nascent soul.
Shock rippled through the group; the fatty's cruelty was evident, killing his own sect's nascent soul state member. While everyone understood the fat man’s anger at the unauthorized attack, the punishment was excessively brutal. Nevertheless, no one expressed concern over the death of a nascent soul state cultivator.
“This defense formation is also offensive and still effective,” Hu Jiming stated, turning to Yi Jing and saluting. “Grandmaster Yi, could you break this formation as quickly as possible?”
Yi Jing, though uncomfortable, dared not be arrogant. He nodded. This formation was simpler than the outer ones, and despite its unfamiliarity, he believed he could breach it.
Lin Yiban, newly ascended to body condensation state level nine, detected the formation's assault and scanned with his spirit sense. While others couldn't penetrate the inner formation with their spirit sense, he could scan outwards. Seeing over ten cultivators outside, he was shocked. Among them were two body condensation state peak stage and two body condensation state level nine cultivators. In contrast, he was the only body condensation state level nine cultivator; his wife was only at level seven. The others were at the nascent soul state or golden core state.
With a rumble, the formation was attacked again. This time, even Ning Qingxue, Luo Ying, and the others heard the commotion. They halted their cultivation, rising to observe the defense formation.
“Brother said he went into divine damnation. I’ll contact him; he should return soon,” Tang Beiwei quickly stated.
Xu Tong was astonished. “Wasn’t the city lord only hollow spirit state level one? Even if he broke through here, divine damnation is far too rapid!”
Xu Tong’s doubt was understandable; regardless of talent, reaching hollow spirit state peak stage in four months was impossible. Even the most gifted would require at least four years. Luo Ying and Ning Qingxue shared his astonishment.
Rumble Before they could react, the defense formation was breached.
“Hmm, there are people inside!” The cultivators immediately spotted Lin Yiban and the others.
“Wait, there are numerous spirit marrow ponds here; the spirit chi is incredibly dense!” someone exclaimed.
“Seven are depleted, and two are about half full,” others quickly assessed.
Lin Yiban declared firmly, “We discovered them first!”
“So what? You’ve been cultivating here for a considerable time. Step aside and allow everyone to share the spoils,” Hu Jiming retorted.
Lin Yiban clenched his fists, powerless against them. He was no match for their combined strength.
“That’s Ning Qingxue, Ethereal Immortal Pond’s core disciple, Ye Mo’s wife. If Ning Qingxue is here, Ye Mo must be near…” a hollow spirit state cultivator recognized Ning Qingxue and recalled the bounty offered by Infinity Sect and Lightning Cloud Sect.
“Haha, so you’re Ning Qingxue. And that must be Luo Susu and Tang Beiwei beside you? Excellent! Infinity Sect hunts Ye Mo, and I, Pu Cheng, will seize your spirit marrow pond,” the fat cultivator declared.
“How dare you!” Luo Ying and Tang Beiwei immediately positioned themselves protectively beside Ning Qingxue.
“Previously, I wouldn’t dare, but you’re no longer Black Ice Sect members; Black Ice Sect expelled you,” Pu Cheng smiled cruelly.