boyutpedia Chapter 42 Completed
Chapter 42 Completed
The Cliff of Broken Souls is located deep in the Western Mountains, shrouded in mist all year round. The cliff face is as steep as a knife in the mist, and the wind whistles through the crevices of the cliff, making a sound like the wailing of ghosts.
"The Blood-Red Lingzhi grows in the crevices of the rocks in the middle of the cliff," Old Huang pointed to the misty cliff face, "and is guarded by Ghost-Faced Bats. Those things come in swarms. Each one is only at the first level, but when hundreds of them swarm down, even a late-stage Transformation Realm cultivator would have a hard time."
Wang Li looked up at the steep cliff face: "Then how do we get down?"
Old Huang took out a specially made rope from his medicine basket: "This rope is mixed with golden silkworm silk, making it extremely tough. I'll lower you down, and once you've picked the Ganoderma lucidum, you can give me a signal, and I'll pull you back up."
He paused, then said, "Remember three things: First, be gentle and avoid disturbing the bats; second, the Blood-Red Ganoderma must be removed intact, roots and all, as even a tiny bit will halve its medicinal effect; third—"
He swept his gaze over the three men and said, word by word, "Whoever dares to tamper with things down there and prevents us from gathering the spiritual herbs, I'll make them taste the Bone-Corroding Pill."
Wang Li's expression changed, and he quickly bowed his head and agreed. Three ropes were tied around the waists of the three men, and Old Huang personally inspected the knots.
Wang Li was the first to descend the cliff.
With his hands like claws, he gripped the rock crevice and slowly descended. His body was steady, and his late-stage Transformation Realm cultivation made him feel as if he were walking on flat ground on this steep cliff.
Sun Yan followed closely behind, his movements nimble, occasionally lightly tapping the cliff face with the short blade at his waist for leverage.
When it was Liang Cheng's turn, he didn't hesitate at all and immediately flipped off the cliff.
After descending about thirty feet, the fog thickened, reducing visibility to less than three feet. Liang Cheng looked down and saw a faint, dark red light emanating from a crevice in the rocks below.
It was the Jade Blood Ganoderma, shaped like a solidified blood clot, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance in the mist. Just as he was about to descend, he suddenly heard a soft rustling sound above his head.
Looking up, he couldn't see clearly because of the fog, but he felt an abnormal tremor coming from the rope around his waist. Liang Cheng immediately grabbed the crevice in the rock with one hand to steady himself, and quickly checked the knot in the rope around his waist with his right hand.
The knot is intact, so someone above must have cut the rope!
His eyes turned cold, and he instantly activated his Stone Armor Technique, a gray-white aura flowing beneath his skin. At the same time, he took out a dagger hidden in his leg wrappings with his left hand and plunged it fiercely into the rock wall.
"Boom!"
Then the rope suddenly snapped, and Liang Cheng plummeted downwards!
However, his left hand gripped the crevice tightly with a dagger, abruptly stopping his descent. Rock fragments fell down, leaving only a broken rope less than three feet long around his waist.
A low voice came from above: "Senior Brother Wang, the rope seems to have snapped?"
Wang Li's voice faintly came: "It's probably been neglected for years. Focus on gathering herbs and don't meddle in other people's business."
The two of them were actually above Liang Cheng!
Liang Cheng's body was suspended in the middle of the cliff, nearly ten feet away from the nearest foothold below. He took a deep breath, and his Hunyuan stance was perfected, giving him exquisite control over his body.
He tentatively stepped on a protrusion on the side with his right foot.
"Click."
The rocks shifted, and fragments tumbled into the abyss, the echoes lasting for a long time.
We can't force it.
Liang Cheng scanned the area and saw a withered pine tree growing obliquely from a crevice in the rock about two zhang to the right. The trunk was as thick as a bowl. Although it was dead, its roots were still gripping the soil.
He suddenly exerted force from his waist and abdomen, pushed off the wall with both legs, and leaped horizontally like an arrow released from a bow. He twisted and turned in the air, stretching his right hand to its maximum extent.
"Snapped!"
His five fingers gripped the withered pine branch tightly!
"Creak—!"
A sickening cracking sound came from the roots of the withered pine, but the downward momentum finally slowed down. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Liang Cheng stepped on the cliff face and leaped up and down three times, managing to climb back to a protruding rock three zhang above the broken rope.
He caught his breath for a moment, then looked down at the broken rope around his waist. The cut was smooth, clearly indicating that someone had used a sharp tool to sever it.
Wang Li, Sun Yan!
A cold glint flashed in Liang Cheng's eyes, but he quickly suppressed his emotions, re-secured the rope around his waist, and knew that now was not the time to settle scores; survival was the priority.
He looked up at a spot about twenty feet above, where three jade-red lingzhi mushrooms grew side by side, their dark red glow standing out conspicuously in the mist.
But what made Liang Cheng even more wary was the cave above the Ganoderma lucidum. The cave entrance was dark, and he could vaguely hear the sound of wings flapping.
The nest of the ghost-faced bat.
At this time, Wang Li and Sun Yan had approached another Ganoderma lucidum growing site.
Sun Yan lowered his voice: "Senior Brother Wang, that kid hasn't moved for so long since he fell down, he should be dead, right?"
Wang Li sneered: "Falling off a hundred-foot cliff, even if you don't die, you'll be crippled. Focus on gathering herbs. These three Ganoderma lucidum are of excellent quality, enough for us to share."
The two drew their jade knives, about to make their move, when suddenly a dense squeaking sound came from above. Sun Yan's face paled: "The bat swarm has awakened!"
From the cave above, hundreds of palm-sized black bats flew out in dense swarms. Each bat had pale lines on its face, making it look like a ghostly face. They became agitated as soon as they smelled the presence of living people.
"Quickly gather the herbs!" Wang Li shouted urgently.
The two wielded their jade knives, cutting off the Ganoderma lucidum and placing it into a jade box. However, their actions still alarmed the swarm of bats, and the lead few ghost-faced bats swooped down with sharp cries.
Sun Yan swung his short blade repeatedly, slaying three bats, but the bat blood splattered on his arm, immediately emitting blue smoke. He cried out in pain as his arm quickly turned black.
"Bat blood is poisonous!" Wang Li swatted several bats away with one palm, grabbed Sun Yan, and shouted, "Let's go!"
The two climbed rapidly, but the swarm of bats was already pressing down like a dark cloud!
Below, Liang Cheng also encountered trouble.
Although his movements were subtle, they were still noticed by several patrolling ghost-faced bats. Now, a swarm of more than twenty bats circled around him, their squeaking piercingly.
Before they could summon their kind, Liang Cheng flipped his right hand, revealing three pebbles between his fingers—pieces of rock he had pried off the cliff face.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The pebble pierced the air, precisely striking the heads of three ghost-faced bats. The swarm of bats was thrown into chaos, and Liang Cheng seized the opportunity to leap forward, rushing straight for the three jade-red lingzhi mushrooms.
More ghost-faced bats poured out of the nest. A fierce glint flashed in Liang Cheng's eyes. The spiritual energy brought by the completion of the Hunyuan Stance was fully unleashed. He walked on the steep cliff as if on flat ground, and in a few breaths he rushed to the side of the Ganoderma lucidum.
With a few swift strokes of the jade knife, the three Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms were removed intact and placed into the jade box. By this time, the swarm of bats had gathered to nearly a hundred, and a dark mass of them rushed over!
Instead of retreating, Liang Cheng advanced, pushing his Stone Armor Technique to its limit. He became like a gray-white rock, crashing directly into the swarm of bats.
"Bang bang bang!"
The ghost-faced bat crashed into him as if hitting an iron plate, breaking his bones and tendons, and splattering his robes with poisonous blood. However, the Stone Armor Technique's defense made it difficult for the poison to penetrate his skin.
He gripped the rope with one hand and punched repeatedly with the other, each punch carrying the force of a wild bull, causing the swarm of bats to fall like raindrops.
Ten breaths later, nearly a hundred ghost-faced bats were all dead. Liang Cheng, panting heavily, looked up. If this continued, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
He remained expressionless and immediately detonated the signal flare at his waist.
"call out!"
Red fireworks shot up to the top of the cliff.
Cliff top.
Upon seeing the signal, Huang Lao immediately began to pull in the rope. A moment later, Wang Li and Sun Yan were the first to be pulled up. Both of them were dressed in tattered clothes, and Sun Yan's left arm was black and swollen, clearly indicating that he had been seriously poisoned.
Wang Li's face was ashen. In the jade box in his hand were only two Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms, and they were of ordinary quality. Immediately afterward, Liang Cheng pulled him up to the top of the cliff. His gray-white robe was stained with bat blood, but he was steady on his feet. He handed the jade box to Elder Huang.
When Master Huang opened it, three dark red, jade-like Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms lay quietly inside, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance.
"Top quality." Old Huang nodded, then glanced at Sun Yan's dark arm and tossed him a small bottle. "Antidote pills, fifty points, put it on your tab."
Sun Yan quickly swallowed it, and the blackness in his arm gradually faded, but it was still swollen and painful.
Wang Li stared intently at Liang Cheng, who was also looking at him. The atmosphere between them was tense, but Old Huang interrupted them directly: "The medicinal herbs are ready. Let's head back."