Chapter 97: Golden Light Cliff and Ning Le Mountain

“Friend Chen, this is your spirit stone share for today.” Wang Yuanwu handed him a small cloth bag. Chen Mobai took it, feeling a bit puzzled, and realized there were more than five pieces inside.

“Uncle Zheng’s latest order: an additional four spirit stones will be rewarded for killing a first-order peak demon beast.” Hearing this, Chen Mobai couldn’t help but show a pleasant surprise.

He opened the small cloth bag and saw eleven spirit stones. Besides the five pieces for responding to today’s summons, he had also killed a Black Plague Bird alone yesterday and another one with Qi Rui, which accounted for the extra six spirit stones.

“The feathers of these Black Plague Birds are also excellent refining materials. After you receive these spirit stones, our Divine Wood Sect will be responsible for handling the demon beast corpses,” Wang Yuanwu further explained. Chen Mobai’s expression cleared; he realized these spirit stones were essentially the payment for acquiring the demon beast materials. He wouldn’t have known what to do with these materials anyway; at most, he would have roasted some wings if they were left to him. Giving them to the Divine Wood Sect and still receiving spirit stones was a win-win situation.

In comparison, the Divine Wood Sect’s willingness to give them spirit stones had already increased Chen Mobai’s admiration for Zheng Deming, who was in charge. At the very least, he saw that the worried expressions on the faces of the cultivators guarding the Spirit Tree Formation Flags, previously clouded by fallen and injured teammates from yesterday, smoothed out after they received more spirit stones today. The rogue cultivators who had been hesitant about withdrawing to save their lives now found it difficult to speak up. At least at this moment, all the rogue cultivators were highly motivated and united in purpose.

“Someone’s coming!” After distributing the spirit stones, Wang Yuanwu was about to discuss their upcoming coordinated tactics when a bright sword light landed on the cliff.

“I am Ning Leshan from Golden Light Cliff. Who is your leader here?” The sword light faded, revealing a middle-aged man with a square face and a long, three-stranded beard.

“Wang Yuanwu of the Divine Wood Sect greets Senior Uncle Ning.” Chen Mobai recognized the sword light as one of the three that had burst from the teleportation array yesterday to kill the second-order demon beast. This was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“Hmm, Senior Brother Zheng has assigned me to oversee the defense line on the west bank. I’ve come to get acquainted with you all.” After saying this, Ning Leshan nodded, flew off on his sword, and departed, heading towards the next Spirit Tree Formation Flag location.

Although this Foundation Establishment cultivator merely arrived and then left, it significantly boosted the team’s confidence. It implied that even if the “Heavenly Wood Divine Light” was exhausted and a second-order demon beast charged onto the island, there would be at least one Foundation Establishment cultivator in reserve, instantly changing their sense of security.

“Golden Light Cliff cultivators are all sword cultivators; among those of the same rank, their combat power is generally top-tier.” Qi Rui knew that Chen Mobai was a rogue cultivator from a small place who had come to Cloud Dream Lake, and thus wasn’t very familiar with common knowledge about the major sects in the Eastern Barrens, so he began to explain. “Among the five branches of the Five Elements Sect, the Metal branch has always been the most dominant. Back then, after Grand Ancestor Hunyuan passed away, if it weren’t for the alliance with Golden Light Cliff, the Golden Core Grand Ancestor of the Divine Wood Sect wouldn’t have had the confidence to split off.”

“What is Senior Uncle Ning’s cultivation realm?” Chen Mobai asked.

“I’ve heard he just broke through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage five years ago. I don’t know if he cultivates the Twin Phase Art. If a Metal and Water dual-cultivator achieved such progress, they might have a chance to attempt Golden Core formation before their lifespan limit.”

The Divine Wood Sect periodically organized a group of disciples who practiced sword arts to go to Golden Light Cliff for exchange and study. Qi Rui, who cultivated the Scarlet Flame Sword Art, had the fortune of staying at Golden Light Cliff for a period and remembered the name Ning Leshan very clearly.

“Since the Twin Phase Art increases the chance of forming a Golden Core, why wouldn’t one cultivate it?” Chen Mobai found this very strange. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Ning Leshan would certainly want to form a Golden Core. Given how much the Twin Phase Art boosts the chances of forming a Golden Core, he would definitely cultivate it if it were him.

“Most qualified disciples in our Divine Wood Sect cultivate the Twin Phase Art, but it’s different for the sword cultivators of Golden Light Cliff,” Qi Rui explained. “Many of them believe that the path of a sword cultivator requires a pure sword heart, and cultivating the Twin Phase Art would make their hearts impure. They prefer to focus on a single sword art that aligns with their spiritual root and disposition, believing this allows them to advance fearlessly and make courageous progress. In truth, among the five branches of the Five Elements Sect, only our Divine Wood Sect values the Twin Phase Art so highly. This is because the ‘Everlasting Life Scripture’ can increase one’s lifespan, providing an additional sixty years after reaching Foundation Establishment to break through bottlenecks. For the other four branches, cultivating the Twin Phase Art often results in dying of old age in ninety percent of cases.”

After listening to Qi Rui’s explanation, Chen Mobai couldn’t help but marvel at the unique advantages of the Divine Wood Sect branch. No wonder they dared to lead the split after Grand Ancestor Hunyuan’s passing.

At this point, Wang Yuanwu reassembled everyone and began to have them redeploy their defenses according to the teams assigned yesterday. Chen Mobai led Senior Brother Shi Pengyi and his sister to their old fighting spot from yesterday, while Qi Rui stood at the outermost edge, forming the first line of defense with the other Divine Wood Sect disciples.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the two second-order bird kings led over a thousand Black Plague Birds, flying in. Seemingly to avoid being wiped out by the Heavenly Wood Divine Light, they scattered, landing sparsely on the lake surface and in the sky. There was no further probing; they immediately entered the most dangerous phase of combat.

The Spirit Tree Formation Flag where Chen Mobai and his group were located remained the primary target of the Black Plague Bird swarm. It seemed that after probing their team’s strength limits yesterday, the two bird kings today sent thirty first-order peak large birds aggressively to besiege and kill them. If Chen Mobai and his group had to face such a large number of demon beasts alone, they would certainly suffer a bitter defeat. If they fought to the death, perhaps not a single one would survive. However, everyone was full of confidence today.

Wang Yuanwu nodded to his Junior Brother Liu beside him. Without any hesitation, Liu directly unleashed the Heavenly Wood Divine Light, which had fully recharged overnight. Amidst a thunderous roar, although the thirty first-order peak Black Plague Birds leading the charge had tried to spread out, over half of them were still vaporized into a sky full of bloody mist by the sudden eruption of the Heavenly Wood Divine Light.

“Attack! Leave none of these demon beasts behind!” With Wang Yuanwu’s command, Qi Rui and the other Divine Wood Sect disciples immediately followed him, charging out from the cliff.

At this moment, the bird king, overseeing the battle from the distant clouds, let out a sharp cry. Seeing that their side had actually used the Heavenly Wood Divine Light, the uninjured second-order bird king, currently at its peak, immediately flapped its wings and directly charged towards them.

“Audacious beast!” Ning Leshan, who had been hidden nearby, flew over on his sword and directly intercepted the bird king in mid-air.

Boom! Simultaneously, along the other shores of Qingguang Island, bursts of Heavenly Wood Divine Light erupted, sweeping across the lake surface. Following that, more sword lights flared up, engaging in close combat with the demon beast army that was attacking the island once more.