Record of a Demon's Cultivation-Chapter 582: Black Stone Mountain

Translator: Cinder Translations

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After a brief moment of disorientation, Song Wen found himself in a vast desert.

Above him was the scorching sun, and beneath his feet were the gravel stones, searing hot from the sun's intense heat.

He looked around and saw endless sand dunes stretching before him.

On top of the dunes, occasionally, there were withered and low shrubs.

Song Wen flew into the air and hovered, gazing at the distant scenery.

To the west, he could see nothing but endless yellow sand, the edge of the secret realm.

To the east, however, there was a hint of green appearing.

According to Zi Yun, the place where the Purple Spirit Ginseng grew was in a Black Stone Mountain at the core of the secret realm.

Song Wen focused on the eastern direction, his hand gently rubbing a jade slip.

The jade slip had been given to him by Zi Yun, and Zhu Yin also had one.

Once activated, it would release a pillar of blue light soaring into the sky.

Upon seeing the blue light, they would head toward it, and the three would meet up.

According to their agreement, they would cooperate during this expedition into the secret realm, sharing the Purple Spirit Ginseng they obtained.

Song Wen pondered for a moment, then put the jade slip away.

He worried that if he didn't bring Zhu Yin and Zi Yun here quickly, he might accidentally attract other Liangyi Sect cultivators instead.

Song Wen flew close to the ground, heading east.

At the same time, he kept an eye on the sky, waiting for the appearance of the blue light pillar.

About fifteen minutes later, a blue light pillar shot up into the sky from behind him.

Song Wen halted his flight, thought for a moment, then changed direction and flew toward the light pillar.

The light pillar was not very far, only about two thousand miles away.

When he was around a hundred miles from it, Song Wen descended and continued on foot.

A quarter of an hour later, in a vast stretch of desert, he spotted Zi Yun waiting there.

Zi Yun was alone. When she saw Song Wen, she asked,

"Zhu Yin hasn't arrived yet. Let's wait here for a moment. I hope she's not too far."

Song Wen nodded and stood a hundred feet away from Zi Yun, remaining silent.

"Ji Yin, I'm curious, what is your true cultivation level?" Zi Yun asked.

"As you see, I'm only at the early Golden Core stage," Song Wen replied.

Zi Yun clearly didn't believe him.

"Ji Yin, we're companions on this journey, don't you think you can be honest with me?"

"I've spoken the truth; there's no lie in my words," Song Wen responded.

Zi Yun said, "You're the most dishonest person I've ever met. That day, when you threatened me in the private room at the restaurant, the aura you showed wasn't something a mere early Golden Core cultivator could have. However, your ability to conceal your cultivation is truly remarkable. I once asked my master, and even she couldn't detect the hidden cultivation level."

"That's because I've never hidden my cultivation," Song Wen said.

His ability to conceal his cultivation came from controlling his own aura with his physical body, not through any secret technique.

Up until now, he hadn't met anyone who could see through the secrets of his body.

Upon hearing this, Zi Yun felt a bit uncertain. She couldn't tell whether Song Wen was truly hiding his cultivation or not.

Suddenly, Zi Yun looked up toward the east.

"Zhu Yin has arrived."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Yin's figure appeared on a sand dune ten miles away.

When Zhu Yin got closer, Zi Yun said,

"The group is complete. Let's set off."

As she spoke, Zi Yun summoned a small flying ship.

The three of them boarded the flying ship one after another.

On the flying ship, there was an array set up to block spiritual sense detection.

Unless necessary, Zi Yun didn't want others to know of Song Wen and Zhu Yin's presence.

As the flying ship just left the landing point, a figure suddenly appeared in front of it.

"Which senior is this ship from? Could you give me a ride?"

Zi Yun didn't stop the ship but instead moved to the bow, looking down at Wen Lin.

"Wen Lin, I have urgent matters, so I won't travel with you," Zi Yun said.

Wen Lin looked up as the flying ship sped past her, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes.

The Illusory Spirit Valley not only had monsters but also zombies and ghosts.

All those entering the Illusory Spirit Valley were from the Liangyi Sect, and unless there was animosity between them, it was common for them to travel together if they happened to meet.

After all, having more people meant more safety.

"Zi Yun seems to be in a hurry. Is she looking for a spirit herb?" Wen Lin thought curiously, though she also felt a little dissatisfied.

She had been drawn here by the blue light pillar, hoping to find a companion from the sect to travel with, but she didn't expect Zi Yun to reject her so bluntly.

Wen Lin took out a jade slip, which contained a map of Illusory Spirit Valley. After confirming her location, she vanished without a trace.

...

The core area of Illusory Spirit Valley was a vast stretch of black stone mountains that extended for thousands of miles.

The mountains were jagged, with sharp, knife-like stone peaks, and the cracks between the rocks were deep and crisscrossed, making the terrain extremely treacherous.

The three of them descended from the flying ship and stood at the edge of the stone mountain.

"The Purple Spirit Ginseng prefers the shade and grows deep within the cracks of the mountain stones. I must remind you all, the Purple Spirit Ginseng cannot be touched by magical tools or spiritual energy. It can only be picked by hand. Otherwise, it will wither immediately!" Zi Yun said.

As Zi Yun spoke, Song Wen extended his spiritual sense to probe a crack not far ahead.

The crack was not vertical but irregularly undulating, deep within.

It started wide, but as it went deeper, it became narrower until it was impossible to pass through.

In the depths of the crack, a dense, cold, and ominous aura lingered, blocking Song Wen's spiritual sense.

Noticing Song Wen's actions, Zi Yun continued,

"Don't waste your effort. The areas where the Purple Spirit Ginseng grows are always covered with cold and ominous energy, severely suppressing spiritual sense. To find the herb, you must enter the deeper parts of the crack. Otherwise, if it were that easy, the Liangyi Sect wouldn't be so scarce in obtaining Purple Spirit Ginseng each time the secret realm opens."

Hearing this, Song Wen and Zhu Yin both furrowed their brows.

Zi Yun had previously mentioned that there was a fourth-grade golden corpse hidden in the cracks. Only by entering the depths could they find the Purple Spirit Ginseng, which greatly increased the risk of this mission.

"Is the only fourth-grade golden corpse in these mountains the one you mentioned, the one with a bull's head and a human body?" Zhu Yin asked.

Zi Yun slightly shook her head and answered in a low voice, "No one knows how many fourth-grade golden corpses are hidden at the bottom of these cracks, but so far, every expedition to the Black Stone Mountains by the Liangyi Sect has only encountered the bull-headed golden corpse."

"What should we do next? Should we search each crack together, or split up?" Zhu Yin asked.

Zi Yun pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's split up. But remember, do not go too deep into the cracks. We'll first use our spiritual sense to search the shallow areas of all the cracks."

Zhu Yin and Song Wen nodded, understanding Zi Yun's plan.

"Ji Yin, how far can your spiritual sense reach?" Zi Yun asked.

She was testing Song Wen's true strength.

After all, both her and Zhu Yin's spiritual senses were at the peak of the Golden Core stage. If Song Wen were only at the early Golden Core stage, his spiritual sense would be far weaker than theirs.

"Don't worry, I have my ways. My spiritual sense can match yours," Song Wen replied.

"Good."

Zi Yun smiled slightly upon hearing this.

(End of the Chapter)

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