Chapter 13: Medicine King Valley
Ye Qingxuan's decision was met with unanimous agreement.
Given the current situation, even if they were split into groups to search for Fortuitous Encounters, no one would be willing to go.
What good was a Fortuitous Encounter if they ran into the black-robed figures and lost their lives?
After regrouping and resting, the party set off once more in full force.
At the same time, they left behind secret signals unique to the Shenxiao Sword Sect to rally more members to their position.
The black-robed figures continued their frenzied slaughter throughout the Nine Nethers Secret Realm.
However, as time passed, they too began to suffer losses.
These individuals were powerful, but their numbers were ultimately too few.
After all, the combined forces of all factions and independent cultivators from Li Continent who had entered the Nine Nethers Secret Realm numbered in the tens of thousands.
The black-robed figures numbered fewer than a thousand. To maximize their kills, they had no choice but to spread out and act in smaller groups.
When they first entered, this approach had yielded good results — at that point, no one had yet banded together. But once people recognized the danger, they began to gather in groups, making them far harder to kill.
Of course, the black-robed figures had their countermeasure: increase the size of their own squads.
As squad sizes grew on both sides, any battle that broke out would inevitably be extraordinarily brutal.
But none of this concerned Lin Feng.
He was focused solely on tracking down the Bianhua Flower.
When he encountered members of other factions, he avoided them. When he encountered black-robed figures, he showed no mercy.
Along the way, the number of black-robed figures who had fallen at his hands had already reached double digits.
After two more days of travel, Lin Feng arrived at the edge of a sheer cliff waterfall.
Standing at the top and looking down, the drop was several dozen meters.
At the bottom lay a vast, deep pool.
Beside the pool, two groups of people had gathered.
One side was the familiar black-robed figures. The other side, after Lin Feng looked carefully, wore robes bearing the character for "Medicine" — they were people from Medicine King Valley.
Medicine King Valley was the most unique faction in Li Continent.
Their strength was considerable — second only to the four great top-tier sects, placing them among the major powers — yet they never took sides.
Whether it was the Wuji Demon Sect, the Seven Slaughter Sect, the Shenxiao Sword Sect, or the Qingyun Sect, all maintained friendly relations with Medicine King Valley.
After all, everyone got injured sooner or later, and Medicine King Valley was the most specialized in that regard.
However, when someone came seeking medicine, Medicine King Valley would assess the requester's talent and background before deciding whether to help — a form of investment, so to speak.
Su Mubai had once gone to Medicine King Valley seeking medicine. Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe — his foundation had been completely destroyed. Even if healed, his future achievements would be limited, and the medicines needed to restore a shattered foundation were extraordinarily precious. In the end, Medicine King Valley declined to act.
They left him with one condition: if he wished to seek medicine, he must come in the name of the Shenxiao Sword Sect.
Although Su Mubai had been injured while carrying out a sect mission, the core leadership of the Shenxiao Sword Sect had to consider the sect as a whole. They would not pay too great a price for the sake of one ruined genius.
Perhaps it was for this very reason — combined with Luo Yuntian later becoming Sect Master of the Shenxiao Sword Sect — that Su Mubai's position as one of the Seven Swords of Shenxiao and Peak Master of Lone Existence Peak had been preserved all this time.
Otherwise, the Haoran Sword and Lone Existence Peak would have long since changed hands.
Denied medicine, Su Mubai had no recourse. He understood the cruelty of this world all too well and harbored no resentment toward the sect. He began searching on his own for the spirit herbs that could restore his foundation — and it was through that search that he had the chance to encounter the infant Lin Feng.
Beyond the black-robed figures and Medicine King Valley, something else in the middle of the deep pool had completely captured Lin Feng's attention.
It was a colossal serpent — an exotic beast!!!
Its enormous head reared high above the water's surface, reaching five to six meters in height. Its eyes radiated a bone-chilling cold light that made one's entire body shiver — and this was only a small portion of its body, with the greater part still submerged in the pool.
Lin Feng estimated that the serpent was at least thirty meters long.
What did the presence of such a massive serpent in this deep pool signify?
It meant there was certainly a treasure within.
He just didn't know whether it was the Bianhua Flower.
Faced with the serpent, neither faction had retreated.
The black-robed figures naturally wanted to hunt the exotic beast and claim its inner core along with whatever it was guarding.
Medicine King Valley's confidence came from their long-established reputation. No matter which faction the black-robed figures belonged to, they had almost certainly benefited from Medicine King Valley's services at some point.
Throughout all of Li Continent, the people of Medicine King Valley had the lowest mortality rate when venturing out.
Including the four great top-tier factions, no one was willing to offend Medicine King Valley.
You never knew when you might need to come knocking at their door.
Hiss… hiss… hiss…
The serpent continued to emit warning sounds.
"Move in!!!" the lead black-robed figure barked in a low voice.
Nine figures surged forward in an instant.
The serpent sensed the danger and opened its maw, exhaling a blast of frigid air.
The cold air spread rapidly, forming countless ice crystals in the atmosphere. The moment the black-robed figures made contact with the chill, their bodies began to slow.
The serpent let out a roar and launched its body out of the water, revealing a massive frame thirty to forty meters long. Then, with a sweep of its tail, it lashed out at the black-robed figures.
The black-robed figures' movements were hampered by the cold, and they had lost much of their initial agility. Most managed to barely dodge the serpent's attack, but two were caught by the sweeping tail.
Boom! Boom!
Two black-robed figures who failed to evade in time were sent flying by the serpent's tail, crashing into the ground beside the pool and leaving two massive craters.
The tremendous force instantly shattered and displaced their internal organs, blood pouring ceaselessly from their mouths — they were immediately rendered combat-ineffective.
A single strike of such terrifying power.
"Save them!!!"
The young valley master of Medicine King Valley, Zhuge Qingyun, immediately gave the order.
They paid no heed to whether the injured were righteous or wicked, good or evil. As long as there was value in treating them, they would act.
The black-robed figures were powerful, having slaughtered their way through the Nine Nethers Secret Realm and struck terror into countless factions — clearly, they were worth investing in.
The Medicine King Valley disciples swiftly moved to the craters where the two black-robed figures had fallen and began their treatment.
The lead black-robed figure was furious.
In just a single exchange, he had already lost two combatants. How could this continue?
"Vile beast! You court death!"
"Form the formation! End this quickly!"
Hearing the command, the remaining six black-robed figures stopped advancing on the serpent. Instead, they withdrew to the edge of the pool, beyond the range of the cold air. The seven of them took up positions surrounding the serpent, then each raised their right hand to their mouth and bit it open. With fingers dripping blood, they began to trace characters in the air.
One by one, blood-red characters for "Kill" appeared in the air.
Once all seven "Kill" characters had fully formed, a crimson barrier sealed the serpent within.
Perhaps sensing the approaching danger, the serpent went into a frenzy inside the barrier, ramming against the crimson walls without cease.
Bang… bang… bang…
A series of collision sounds rang out.
The barrier held, but it was visibly wavering — it likely could not last much longer.
After all, the serpent's strength was no joke. The fact that a single tail sweep had rendered two black-robed figures combat-ineffective made that abundantly clear.
The black-robed leader maintained the Array Formation with one hand while preparing to deliver a killing blow to the serpent.
As the barrier was on the verge of being broken through, the remaining black-robed figures held nothing back. Each bit the tip of their tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto their respective "Kill" characters.
The barrier, which had been dimming and on the brink of shattering, stabilized once more.
Hiss… hiss… hiss…
The serpent continued to roar and thrash.
Yin-cold energy poured ceaselessly from its maw, and the temperature in the air plummeted rapidly — before long, even the barrier itself had been frozen solid.
Boom!!!
With a thunderous crash, the frozen barrier shattered under the serpent's impact.
Yet at that very moment, a streak of red light flashed past.
Immediately after, the serpent let out a wretched shriek.
When the smoke cleared, the serpent's corpse was seen floating on the surface of the pool. A massive blood-filled hole gaped in its head, blood flowing ceaselessly and dyeing the pool water crimson. The black-robed figures, meanwhile, stood utterly drained and haggard.