Thousand Ghost Cavern
Controlling his five ghost spirits, Tang Yuan began a desperate battle against the wandering souls and ghost spirits in the cave.
The reason was simple: Tang Yuan had discovered that this was an enormous mine, which produced a red ore that glowed with a fluorescent light.
Moreover, Tang Yuan's five ghost spirits could increase their cultivation and strength by devouring wandering souls and ghost spirits.
Most importantly, the mine contained the remains of several thousand orc warriors and orc elites. Most of the left and right canine teeth in their lower jaws were still intact.
Since he could pick them up for nothing, why risk killing orcs for their teeth?
Most of the five hundred-odd wandering souls and ghost spirits in the cave had originally been Holy Cardamom Sect disciples.
These ghost spirits must have been Holy Cardamom Sect disciples who had come to the Barbarian Di Secret Realm over the past few centuries to kill orcs.
They had failed the trial and died in another world. Unwilling to let their Dao end, they had become wandering souls and ghost spirits.
After several days of fighting, Tang Yuan discovered that only ghost spirits could kill ghost spirits.
His attacks could hardly kill them; he could only weaken and temporarily suppress them.
But the attacks of Zhao Xiaode and the other four ghost spirits were surprisingly effective.
Fortunately, the former Holy Cardamom Sect disciples who had become ghost spirits in the cave had cultivation no higher than the Qi Refinement Sixth Layer.
The ghost spirits themselves had not cultivated, and with the passage of time, their strength had long since fallen far short of what it once was.
With Tang Yuan and Tang Yi assisting them, Zhao Xiaode and the other four ghost spirits slaughtered in all directions, constantly devouring wandering souls and ghost spirits to increase their own cultivation.
After ten days and ten nights of fighting, Tang Yuan collected a hundred ghost spirits at the Middle Stage of Qi Refinement with the Profound Nether Cavern Radiance Myriad Ghost Banner.
By devouring wandering souls and ghost spirits, the ghost spirit Zhao Xiaode reached the Qi Refinement Tenth Layer, Wuma Lin reached the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer, and Du Qing reached the Qi Refinement Seventh Layer.
As for the ghost spirits Luo Biao and Zhang Yang, Tang Yuan had not understood the situation at the start, and the two of them had been swiftly torn apart and devoured by a group of ghost spirits that charged at them.
After another five days and nights of swinging a magic hoe to mine ore and collecting beast teeth, Tang Yuan obtained more than a hundred pieces of red ore, 3,560 left lower canines from orc elites, and 3,100 right lower canines from orc elites.
Tang Yuan simply did not have time to collect the orc warriors' teeth.
By his reckoning, he had already spent twenty days here.
Now he had to find the "purple jade huang" in the north within fifteen days, or he would not make it back to the teleportation array in time...
The large Four-Horned Rhinoceros had waited outside the cave for Tang Yuan for eleven days before leaving.
Only after leaving the cave did Tang Yuan get a clear look at the words above its entrance: "Thousand Ghost Cavern."
He fired a beam of mysterious light, blasting the entrance shut, then raced northeast...
After traveling northeast for a while, Tang Yuan turned due north.
As evening approached, Tang Yuan rested for a while, then immediately pressed on.
After traveling for about half an hour, he faintly heard the booming of Law Techniques and the wails of Holy Cardamom Sect disciples ahead.
For some reason, even his Seven-Colored Invisibility Robe seemed to have lost its ability to conceal him in the Barbarian Di Secret Realm.
Forming a hand seal and concealing his presence, Tang Yuan advanced in a crouch.
After several hundred zhang, Tang Yuan pushed aside the bushes ahead. The sight before him instantly made his stomach churn: the incomplete corpses of several Holy Cardamom Sect disciples lay scattered haphazardly ahead.
Red and white, in patches and chunks, they covered the grass in a chaotic mess.
A giant demonic spider as tall as a person was rapidly wrapping a Holy Cardamom Sect disciple in a white cloak, who held an iron folding fan in one hand, into a cocoon with white silk.
After wrapping up the white-robed cultivator, the demonic spider moved to one side and plunged its tubular mouthparts straight through the crown of a gray-robed cultivator's head.
The gray-robed cultivator did not even let out a wail before his body visibly shriveled.
In less than ten breaths, the demonic spider's abdomen had grown somewhat larger, while the gray-robed cultivator had become a dried corpse.
After devouring the gray-robed cultivator's flesh and blood, the demonic spider seemed to settle down to rest where it was.
Tang Yuan stared at the demonic spider, forming a hand seal with his left hand. He planned to fire a bolt of mysterious fire at it while getting up to flee north.
"Senior Brother Tang Yuan, save me!"
The familiar voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, making Tang Yuan start.
He turned to look. Not far away, Qian Xiaobao was wrapped in spider silk like a zongzi, with only his head sticking out.
Tang Yuan glanced at the giant demonic spider resting nearby and shook his head helplessly at Qian Xiaobao.
His meaning was clear: It's not that I, Tang Yuan, won't save you. This demonic spider is too powerful. Look at this bloody battlefield. More than ten cultivators couldn't beat it. What ability do I, Tang Yuan, have to face this demonic spider single-handedly?
Qian Xiaobao naturally knew that Tang Yuan could not possibly deal with the demonic spider alone, but his intense desire to live made him beg again and again, "Senior Brother Tang Yuan, save me!
"I'll be your ox and horse from now on...
"Boo-hoo..."
"Senior Brother Tang Yuan, save me..."
"Senior Brother Tang Yuan, save me..."
The pleading voices of several other "cocoons" came from nearby...
"Junior Brother Tang Yuan, my name is Qi Feiming. I am High Person Kui Xuan's final disciple on Kui Wood Peak.
"I swear a mysterious Incantation spirit oath: if you save me, I am willing to recommend you to High Person Kui Xuan and have you made an inner disciple of Kui Wood Peak...
"Even if the recommendation fails, I will definitely give you three thousand spirit coins.
"This demonic spider fears none of the five elements, but if you have a lightning-attribute array, you can give it a try," the cultivator with the iron folding fan also called to Tang Yuan for help.
A lightning-attribute array?!
What a coincidence.
I don't have many arrays of other attributes, but I brought more than twenty of these lightning-attribute Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Arrays.
High Person Kui Xuan is Ding Chunqiu's backer, so there's certainly no chance of me joining Kui Wood Peak.
As for those three thousand spirit coins, that's just a painted cake.
Still, the exotic beasts in the Barbarian Di Secret Realm really are formidable. When I go north to look for the "purple jade huang," I can't count on these fellow disciples to be of much help, but they can still serve as cannon fodder to draw fire.
Having made up his mind, Tang Yuan looked at the demonic spider.
To keep Qi Feiming from setting him up, Tang Yuan threw a Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Array at the demonic spider, then immediately got up and sprinted north.
After running several dozen zhang, Tang Yuan turned to look. Although the giant demonic spider was chasing him, it had clearly slowed down somewhat.
Tang Yuan threw out another array disc and watched. Several bolts of lightning struck the giant demonic spider, driving it into an even greater rage, but its movements had already become somewhat unsteady.
The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly. Tang Yuan continued to throw out array discs while slowly and cautiously retreating.
Finally, in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, after Tang Yuan had thrown six array discs, the giant demonic spider crashed to the ground, utterly lifeless.
Tang Yuan threw out another array disc and rushed up to it. In less than ten breaths, he chopped the demonic spider into mincemeat, then fired mysterious flames at it, grinding its bones to dust and scattering its ashes...
With four Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Arrays laid down by Tang Yuan around them, everyone finally felt at ease as they sat around the campfire to rest and eat.
After receiving everyone's thanks and praise once again, Tang Yuan cleared his throat and said solemnly:
"Fellow disciples, to tell you the truth,
"Although I've been in the Barbarian Di Secret Realm for a full twenty-one days, I haven't seen so much as a hair on an orc, much less obtained any beast teeth.
"My luck was poor. As soon as I entered this place, I ran into a Four-Horned Rhinoceros.
"That wretched Four-Horned Rhinoceros chased me for a full half month. Only yesterday did I manage to escape by jumping off a cliff.
"So, fellow disciples, if any of you have beast teeth to spare, could you give me a few?"
Seeing everyone's expressions relax, Tang Yuan thought to himself, I saved several of their lives. Surely they won't begrudge me a few beast teeth.
If they aren't even willing to give me a few beast teeth, I'll leave here tomorrow morning, or even tonight. I definitely won't travel with them...
Qi Feiming waved the iron folding fan in his hand and stroked his beard. He nodded. "I've heard of the Four-Horned Rhinoceros. It really is an extremely troublesome exotic beast.
"Since Tang Yuan saved the seven of us, it's only right that we give him a few orc canines to thank him.
"I'm the eldest, so I'll make the decision for everyone.
"Each of you take out four left canines and three right canines. I'll make up the rest."
Qian Xiaobao and the others exchanged looks for several breaths, then each took out orc canines and handed them to Qi Ming. They had only survived until today by following Qi Feiming.
Although they had fallen into the demonic spider's ambush today and nearly been wiped out, it did not affect Qian Xiaobao and the others' obedience to Qi Ming in the slightest.
The reason was simple: Qi Ming was already over ninety years old, and this was his second visit to the Barbarian Di Secret Realm.
To be able to enter the Barbarian Di Secret Realm, Qi Ming had kept his cultivation suppressed at the Qi Refinement Sixth Layer for more than forty years.
Moreover, he was High Person Kui Xuan's final disciple and had power and influence in the sect. If they disobeyed him, he had plenty of ways to make life difficult for them once they returned.
Facing the campfire, Tang Yuan held a long orc left lower canine in his hand. He curled his lip and muttered to himself, "There doesn't seem to be anything special about these orc teeth.
"Why does the sect make us fight for our lives to collect them?"
Qi Ming smiled and said with an air of seniority, "As a final disciple, I do know a little more than you.
"The sect makes us collect orc canines because these orcs' teeth are connected to the sect's Foundation Establishment High Persons breaking through to the Purple Mansion Realm.
"They're even connected to Purple Mansion True Persons attaining the Golden Core fruition and realizing the Golden Core Great Dao."...