Chapter 287: Chapter 4 Langgan Cave, Drinking Stone Milk
The next morning dawned.
As the miasma of the Hundred Thousand Mountains dispersed, Lixi Town’s sky was instantly filled with tens of thousands of swords, rushing into the mountains.
Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu were on equal footing, and they saw Senior Sister An’s robes fluttering, whistling in the wind.
Lin Duanshan, Duan Fenhai, and Guan Shanyue were not far ahead, their feet standing on sword light as they sped forward.
“We shall head to Langgan Cave first,” Lin Duanshan told the others. “Langgan Cave is the closest to us, and it’s almost always been under Shushan’s control, so many disciples from Shushan go there to consume the Millennial Stone Milk.”
“We are both in the top five of the Immortal Sword Ranking; who would dare compete with us for the Stone Milk?” Duan Fenhai said coldly.
“There’s no need to fight over it,” Guan Shanyue blinked. “If they arrive early and swarm over it, drinking all of the Stone Milk that seeps out, whom can we hold accountable when we get there later?”
“Indeed,” Lin Duanshan said seriously. “We should avoid complications and get there early; it’s safe once it’s in the stomach.”
Safe once it’s in the stomach, my ass! Ling Yunpo almost burst out laughing.
However, the logic was sound, so everyone summoned even more True Yuan, propelled the sword light, and hastened on their way, leaving a trail of dust behind.
Langgan Cave was located in the northern part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, within a peak known as Mount Bao Ding.
This place was about the same distance from the Eastern Emperor Divine Palace and Lixi Town, and had always been a contested area between Shushan and the Eastern Emperor Path.
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However, the disparity in combat power between the two sides was so great that Shushan would quickly beat the Eastern Emperor Path into the ground, leaving them scrambling to pick up their teeth, and Mount Bao Ding would come entirely under Shushan’s control.
As they continued to advance, they encountered the same problem Wei Dongliu and his group had faced before.
The miasma was too dense at higher altitudes.
The so-called dispersion of miasma was actually the clearance of miasma close to the ground level, and a few dozen feet upward it started to thicken again.
Consequently, everyone had to abandon Sword Control and trek through the jungle on foot.
Lin Duanshan and the others participated in the Southern Expedition every year and were extremely familiar with the route. Ling Yunpo, while impersonating Wei Dongliu, had also traversed the Southern Border jungle, so he was very familiar with the surrounding environment. With a flick of his sword, he nailed a triangular-headed venomous snake that had quietly descended from the treetops, attempting to ambush him, to the tree.
An Zhisu, Senior Sister An, was genuinely here for the first time, looking around excitedly while sticking closely to Ling Yunpo’s side.
When they approached Mount Bao Ding, emerging from the forest, they encountered a group of Demon Path Cultivators.
Ling Yunpo, all too familiar with the Demon Cult, recognized these were Nether Ghost Path Cultivators at a glance. He immediately drew out the Green Duckweed Sword and used the Grudge Curse Binding Kill technique, swiftly piercing through the chest of the leading cultivator.
The opposing Demon Path Cultivators scattered immediately, casting various incantations, with dark and ghostly shadows covering the sky, completely obstructing their view.
Ling Yunpo took a careful look and couldn’t help but laugh.
The most common among them was the Nether Ghost Path Foundation Establishment Realm’s signature technique, “Grudge Curse Binding Kill”, which turned the resentful souls of those who died with grudges into fierce ghosts. These ghosts were exceptionally ferocious during battles and did not even require the Nether Ghost Path Cultivators to control them, simply launching them was sufficient.
Wei Dongliu had chatted privately with Wen Yang, who said that when this technique was initially researched, it was intended to target Shushan’s secret Sword Control Technique.
It turned out to be effective against regular Shushan disciples, but when facing those at the top of the Immortal Sword Ranking, it was basically no match.
Although their vision was blocked by the incantations, the group relied on their initial fleeting impressions and blindly shot their Flying Swords out, breaking through and piercing the vast array of incantations, accurately slaying all of the opposing Demon Path Cultivators—Senior Sister An’s Flying Smoke Sword even managed a double kill, which left Ling Yunpo click his tongue in amazement.
Ever since returning from the White Jade Capital Secret Realm, Senior Sister An’s talent for the Innate Sword Heart had awakened, and her swordsmanship had become increasingly sharp.
After killing these Demon Path Cultivators, they looked at each other, and no one moved to collect the spoils of the dead.
After all, with the top five of the Immortal Sword Ranking gathered together, it would be unladylike to lose face by scavenging like a Loose Cultivator, especially over the bodies of ordinary Demon Cult Cultivators which likely contained nothing of value.
“Ahem,” Ling Yunpo coughed and said with grave seriousness, “Let’s not waste any more time and move on quickly!”
“Of course, of course,” everyone hurriedly agreed.
The group hastened past this spot, making their way up to the treasures atop Mount Ding.
These parts, shrouded in miasma for a hundred thousand years, were seldom touched by human presence; the mountain paths were rugged and nearly impassable in many places.
However, all present were cultivators, notably from Shushan, famed for their vigorous root bone; they advanced with ease and before long arrived at Langgan Cave.
Langgan Cave was a natural rock cave, its contours irregular and without any traces of artificial carving. The rocks composing the cave walls shone with a luster akin to ivory, resembling jade without being jade, hence the name “Langgan.”
Once inside the cave, Duan Fenhai led the way, with the others trailing behind. Flying Swords floated in midair, following the footsteps of the Sword Immortals, poised and ready.
Eventually, they reached a larger cavern filled with countless stalactites and stalagmites, dense and forest-like.
From time to time, the sound of water droplets falling into a pool added to the dark and quiet serenity of the surroundings.
At the end of the forest of stone pillars was a naturally formed “pool.”
The pool wasn’t large, with a diameter of about ten feet and four fingers higher than the flat bottom. The liquid within was neither clear nor transparent; it was a thick, milky substance, exuding a peculiar, incense-burning fragrance.
Gradually, a drop of stone milk fell from the stalactites, dropping into the pool with a clear, tinkling sound.
“This stone milk can only be scooped with wooden utensils, otherwise, once removed from the pool, it will turn into plain water,” Lin Duanshan reminded everyone.
Thus, everyone took out the wooden cups and bowls they had prepared, stepping forward to scoop up the stone milk.
Although the stone milk could perfect the Purple Mansion, with each sip equating to a year’s worth of Refining Mansion cultivation, it also carried a great toxicity.
If consumed all at once, one could only withstand up to ten sips before reaching their limit. Once the toxicity was fully neutralized, further consumption would provide no benefit.
But if only one sip was taken and one slowly refined the toxicity afterward, next year one could return… in this manner, one could eventually take up to forty sips, equivalent to forty years of Refining Mansion cultivation.
Lin Duanshan sipped from his cup slowly; Duan Fenhai downed it in one gulp; Guan Shanyue carefully stowed hers, seemingly not intending to use it immediately.
These three had all decided to take just one sip, preferring the steady approach and planning on returning next year.
Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu, lacking sufficient backing, were unlikely to return next year, so they had brought large bowls—Ling Yunpo had even intended to fill a wooden jug with the stone milk to take it all, but was stopped by Senior Sister An.
Once kept in a vessel, the spiritual essence could only last for seven days at most, not nearly long enough to wait for the body to digest the medicinal power; why engage in such futile actions that benefit none?
Ling Yunpo even considered having the Kunlun Mirror record the spatial coordinates of this place to teleport back in a year and drink again.
Although this was feasible, a great risk resided in the intent: “Why just drink one cup this time?”
Logically, given the improbability of returning next year, one should extract as much benefit as possible in one go.
If only one sip is taken, it will inevitably lead others to think “this fellow definitely has some other method to return to the Hundred Thousand Mountains next year.”
If it were anyone else thinking this, it might not matter, but if Senior Sister An were to think it, given her nature, she wouldn’t inquire further, and might even be happy for Ling Yunpo… but Ling Yunpo did not want his senior sister to misunderstand him!
The most crucial point was that with the Second Grade Golden Core a certainty, and the First Grade Golden Core out of reach, what difference would losing these thirty years make?
Better to share the hardship with his senior sister and drink just this once!
Ling Yunpo raised his wooden bowl, gulped it down in one go, and then smacked his lips.
Hmm, somewhat sweet, like fermented herbal-flavored yogurt…
It didn’t seem poisonous, did it?
Where was the poison?