Chapter 204: Dark Currents Surge

Back in White Dragon Valley, Wang Changping was delighted to learn that the Fire Flame Spiders had been eliminated.

"Uncle Twenty-first, Ninth Brother, you two stay here in White Dragon Valley for now. My Fourteenth Brother and I will return to the sect to take on as many missions as possible. The journey is quite long; the round trip will likely take three or four months."

Sect missions were categorized in many ways. Missions to collect spirit herbs were always available for any disciple to undertake, while more dangerous tasks were only open to qualified disciples.

Wang Changsheng frowned. "Three or four months? That long? Second Sister, Uncle Twenty-first and I will escort you back! If anything happens, we can discuss it. You don't have a flying artifact, so the round trip would take too much time."

"That's right! It takes too long to go back and forth. Let us escort you. It'll also be easier to discuss things if necessary."

Wang Changxue didn't decline. Wang Changsheng summoned his Blue Lotus Boat, and they flew towards the main gate of the Hundred Spirits Gate.

The Yin Corpse Mountain Range, located in the northeastern part of the Eastern Barrens, was entirely black and stretched continuously for millions of miles. From time to time, an eerie wind would sweep through the range, kicking up swirling dust, and the area was perpetually shrouded in a vast expanse of black mist.

This was precisely where the Yin Corpse Sect, one of the seven great sects of the Eastern Barrens, was located.

At the summit of a ten-thousand-zhang-high black mountain peak stood a completely black palace. Its plaque bore three enormous skull heads, each seeming alive with two clusters of green flames flickering in their hollow eye sockets. Each skull was inscribed with a single character, forming the name "Yin Fiend Hall."

Inside the hall, a tall, imposing man in black robes sat on the main seat. His aura clearly indicated he was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Below him stood a young man in black, carrying a coffin on his back. It was Fang Mu.

"Fang Mu, you handled the matter of that traitor well; you successfully recovered the treasure. If there's nothing else, you may leave. Cultivate diligently and strive to reach the Core Formation Stage before you turn a hundred. Liu Ziyang of the Corpse Refinement lineage has already succeeded in Core Formation. As the senior disciple of the Yin Fiend lineage, although you cultivate both spiritual and physical aspects, which is slower, you must also reach the Core Formation Stage before turning a hundred. This is crucial for the resource allocation of our Yin Fiend lineage, do you understand?"

The black-robed man's tone was calm but carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Yes, Master, this disciple understands. Master, I have a very important matter to report. While I was pursuing the traitor, I passed through a small country called Song. There, I unexpectedly learned about the appearance of a Yellow-grade secret realm. The realm contains many ghostly entities, seemingly a place used by an ancient ghost cultivation sect to train its disciples. A Core Formation Stage ghost king has even appeared there. After recovering the treasure, I repeatedly verified this and confirmed the presence of many ghosts, though the entrance has been sealed by a Core Formation Stage cultivator."

"A secret realm used by an ancient ghost cultivation sect to train disciples? Are you sure?"

The black-robed man's tone grew heavy. A Yellow-grade secret realm containing a ghost king was no less valuable than a medium-sized spirit stone mine.

"This disciple did not enter and does not know the internal situation. However, upon arriving at one of the entrances, I managed to faintly sense a very dense Yin energy there using the Seven Ghosts Soul Chasing Technique. This matter isn't difficult; you could simply send a few Core Formation Stage elders to investigate."

As Fang Mu spoke, he took out a black jade slip. With a gentle flick, the jade slip slowly floated towards the black-robed man.

The black-robed man caught the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

"You don't need to worry about this matter. I will send someone to handle it. You should focus solely on your cultivation and strive to enter the Core Formation Stage within a hundred years. If the secret realm you mentioned truly exists, the sect will certainly reward you generously."

"Yes, this disciple takes his leave."

Fang Mu agreed without hesitation, bowed, and withdrew.

The black-robed man took out a palm-sized black jade plate, struck it with a spell, and countless black runes lit up. "Elder Liu, find Elder Li and Elder Song. Come to Yin Fiend Hall; I have something very important to entrust to you."

"Yes, Hall Master."

A blue light streaked swiftly across the sky above the Hundred Spirits Mountain Range. Before long, it descended at the foot of a lush, verdant peak, where a stone staircase made of bluestone extended from the base to the summit.

The four individuals, including Wang Changsheng, disembarked from the Blue Lotus Boat. Wang Changsheng then put away his boat.

On both sides of the bluestone staircase stretched vast cultivated spirit fields, where large quantities of spirit grain were grown. The air was filled with a rich aroma of rice.

The four walked up the bluestone stairs towards the mountain peak.

Along the way, Wang Changsheng observed several Hundred Spirits Gate disciples diligently performing rain-making spells and pest removal in the spirit fields.

On the way, Wang Changxue had already explained to Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang that the Hundred Spirits Gate cultivated through eating. Not only were their disciples skilled in cooking, but there were also many talented individuals in farming and raising spirit beasts. It was said that Guang Dongren, without consuming any Foundation Establishment spiritual items, had successfully entered the Foundation Establishment Stage by eating two rooms full of second-tier spiritual materials.

Disciples of the Hundred Spirits Gate preferred to use spirit herbs to cook spirit food rather than refining them into dry, unpalatable pills for consumption.

"There are three thousand Great Daos and eight hundred Side Doors; all can lead to immortality." This was the teaching left by Patriarch Bailinzi, the founder of the Hundred Spirits Gate.

Upon reaching the summit, they found a very spacious bluestone plaza. A nine-story blue pavilion, prominently displaying the characters "Welcoming Pavilion," stood tall in the plaza. Beside it were two other five-story blue pavilions.

To Wang Changsheng's surprise, several banquet tables were set up in the bluestone plaza, with dozens of Hundred Spirits Gate disciples eating and drinking. From time to time, wafts of fragrant aroma drifted from the two blue pavilions.

Wang Changsheng even had the illusion that he had stumbled into an ordinary inn in the mortal world.

Wang Mingjiang looked utterly bewildered. If Wang Changxue hadn't been leading the way, he would have thought they had come to the wrong place.

"Uncle Twenty-first, Ninth Brother, these people follow the path of cultivation through eating. Their cultivation method is quite unique; they just need to eat, drink, and sleep. This cultivation method, however, is very costly and tends to make cultivators gain weight, so most practitioners are male disciples. One advantage of this method is that they don't need to consume Foundation Establishment Pills. However, the success rate for Foundation Establishment is not high, and there's a certain danger: if they can't timely refine the vast spiritual energy within the spirit food, they will self-detonate and die. Nevertheless, Uncle Guang has cultivated to the Core Formation Stage using this method, so this cultivation approach is currently highly regarded within the sect."

Wang Changxue explained unhurriedly.

A sincere-looking middle-aged man quickly approached. He bowed respectfully to Wang Changxue and the other two, then said courteously, "Honored Martial Uncle, would you like to join us for a few drinks? We acquired some second-tier spiritual materials and prepared a few second-tier spirit dishes. They taste quite good."

Second-tier spirit food was equivalent to second-tier pills, containing immense spiritual energy. Similarly, the ingredients were quite expensive, so only cultivators from affluent backgrounds could consume them in large quantities.

"No need, you all just enjoy yourselves. By the way, these are my relatives, and they will be staying at the Welcoming Pavilion for a while. Please treat them well, and put all their expenses on my account."

Wang Changxue took out her identity token, handed it to the middle-aged man, and instructed.

The middle-aged man checked the token, returned it to Wang Changxue with both hands, and respectfully replied, "Yes, Martial Uncle Wang, this disciple will certainly take good care of the two seniors."

"Uncle Twenty-first, Ninth Brother, my Fourteenth Brother and I will head back now. You two can settle in comfortably. If you want to eat anything, just ask them to prepare it; their cooking skills are quite good."

After giving a few instructions, Wang Changxue left with Wang Changping.

The middle-aged man looked at Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang and asked enthusiastically, "Seniors, would you like to try some? Spirit food is much more delicious than pills."

"No, thank you. Please just arrange accommodation for us. We've already entered the abstention stage and don't need to eat."

Wang Mingjiang politely declined. Wang Changsheng also had no interest in eating.

The middle-aged man arranged a guest room for Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang respectively, bowed, and withdrew.