Chapter 3702: Wind Gorge
Chapter 3702: Wind Gorge
It seemed that this soul-nourishing fruit was incredibly precious. Ning Shu asked again, “Besides strengthening the soul, does eating this soul-nourishing fruit have any other effects?”
The man glanced at Ning Shu. He probably couldn’t stand Ning Shu’s ignorant, newbie-like appearance. He said, “It has the effect of strengthening the soul. As long as your soul is tough enough, you can enter the second floor. Only a strong soul can withstand the devastation of the spatial wind blades and enter the second-floor world of Mount Jiugong.”
Ning Shu let out an ‘oh.’ So that was how it was. The purpose of the soul-nourishing fruit was to make the soul more resilient. Looking at it this way, the second-floor world was relatively difficult to enter.
Moreover, Mount Jiugong apparently had nine floors.
“Why would you go to the second floor?” She had finally managed to catch someone, so she might as well get a clear understanding of the situation.
The man’s expression grew even more speechless as he said, “The world on the second floor is larger, and there are far more natural treasures there.”
Nonsense. Mount Jiugong got smaller and smaller from the bottom to the top. Mountains were always large at the base and small at the peak.
Alright, the size seen by the naked eye wasn’t the true size. Even a grain of sand could contain a world, let alone a massive mountain. The size depended on the evolution of the world.
Going to the second floor was for the sake of more resources. It was just like clearing a game. Would passing the ninth floor mean one could leave?
“Are you a newly arrived trial disciple?” the man asked Ning Shu, but then he added, “How can a disciple who just entered be in a soul state? What sect are you from?”
Ning Shu: …
Big brother, the sects you are talking about have all been annihilated in the long river of history. Once you guys go out, you will find that the outside world is completely dark and empty.
These people still thought they were undergoing a trial. It seemed they couldn’t leave without clearing the floors. Could it be that the flow of time inside Mount Jiugong was different from the outside world?
Even if they were in a soul state, they were still trapped inside here.
Ning Shu: …
Mount Jiugong really was… profound.
Ning Shu: I want to go home…
She had no idea when she would be able to break through the ninth floor. What if she couldn’t get out?
Ning Shu said to the man, “Is it true that we can only leave after breaking through the ninth floor?”
“That is correct.”
Ning Shu: …
The disciples who had the courage to enter Mount Jiugong for a trial back then were all warriors. This kind of trial was burning one’s bridges. Once they came in, they might not be able to get out for the rest of their lives. However, if they could get out, they would basically be invincible in the world.
By the time they got out, they would find that ‘the seas had changed into mulberry fields.’ In that cultivation world, these people could all be considered ancient cultivators.
If they went out now, they would find that the world had changed once again, turning into a desolate world devoid of human life.
She pitied these poor babies.
“Are you going to the Wind Gorge or not?” Seeing Ning Shu constantly asking questions, and questions as simple as whether one eats with their left or right hand at that, the man grew a little impatient.
“I’ll go,” Ning Shu said. It would be fantastic if she could obtain that soul-nourishing fruit.
Ning Shu noticed that almost everything in the system exchange marketplace was flashy but impractical. The items that looked cool and trendy left people quite speechless, yet there were no items like the soul-nourishing fruit.
Ning Shu felt that they might exist, but they simply weren’t brought out for trade.
The man looked Ning Shu up and down. He noticed the water droplet between Ning Shu’s brows, briefly scanned it, and then withdrew his gaze. He clearly didn’t recognize it as an ordinance imprint.
“Follow me,” the man said to Ning Shu. Ning Shu followed behind him to a small group. “This is a new member.”
“By the way, what is your name?”
“Shu Ning,” Ning Shu said. Since she was too lazy to think of a name, she simply reversed her own.
There were eight people in the team. With Ning Shu, there were nine. Each of them scanned Ning Shu with gazes like x-rays. Seeing that Ning Shu’s soul was fairly tough, they didn’t say anything.
The wind blades in the Wind Gorge were incredibly powerful. The soul-nourishing fruit wasn’t that easy to obtain.
These people wore the attire of different sects. It seemed that quite a few sect disciples had truly entered this place.
Having gathered enough people, the group headed toward the Wind Gorge. These people all summoned their magical artifacts and flew toward the Wind Gorge while standing on them.
Ning Shu: …
“You don’t have a mount artifact?” Seeing Ning Shu looking so dazed, the man felt some regret about letting her join the team. She might very well become a burden.
“It’s fine. I can fly,” Ning Shu said with a wide grin.
The man grunted in acknowledgement. Ning Shu leaped into the air and flew toward the group. Fortunately, she could control her soul power.
Ning Shu observed these people. They must have failed their trials and died inside Mount Jiugong, yet they couldn’t leave. Since their souls had no way of exiting Mount Jiugong, they just continued cultivating in their soul state.
However, a soul wasn’t as easy to cultivate as a physical body, which was why they needed things like the soul-nourishing fruit.
That meant Mount Jiugong was actually a collection of individual worlds. But because it wasn’t connected to the reincarnation world, the souls of those who died in Mount Jiugong couldn’t get out, leading to these humans and souls coexisting.
Various thoughts spun in Ning Shu’s mind as she followed the group to the Wind Gorge.
The scenery in the Wind Gorge was incredibly beautiful. A thin mist shrouded the canyon. However, the gorge was exceptionally quiet. There were no chirping bugs or singing birds. It was terrifyingly quiet. There was only the howling of the wind, alternating between strong and weak, producing a bizarre sound.
Ning Shu followed at the back of the team and released her spiritual consciousness to check their surroundings. To her surprise, her spiritual consciousness seemed to be swallowed up by something and was completely useless.
“Do not use your spiritual consciousness here. Are you trying to get us all killed?” The man frowned and growled at Ning Shu in a low voice. “It will trigger the wind blades in the gorge. Do you really not even know this?”
Damn it, what a nasty temper. If she had known, she wouldn’t have come over, at least not before figuring out the situation first.
Ning Shu walked at the very back of the team, using her eyes to observe her surroundings. The wind howled in the gorge. Ning Shu didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless. She had heard people say earlier that the wind blades could chop a soul in half.
Along the way, everyone was extremely cautious. They couldn’t help but lighten their footsteps as they walked, as if there was something slumbering in the gorge and they were terrified of waking it up.
It seemed very peaceful without any danger, but as they ventured deeper into the gorge, the group grew increasingly careful and alert. They even suppressed the sound of their breathing.
It felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on them. This oppressive atmosphere made Ning Shu even more vigilant.
She didn’t know where the soul-nourishing fruit grew anyway, so she could only stay close and follow the team tightly. If she didn’t get a soul-nourishing fruit, she would just consider this a learning experience.
The mist in the gorge became increasingly dense. Seeing that the others weren’t making a fuss about it, Ning Shu suppressed her astonishment.
“Pfft…”
A sound like tearing fabric rang out. An endless barrage of wind blades erupted all around them. These wind blades were incredibly sharp, flying densely toward their direction.
Ning Shu hurriedly dodged the wind blades. At a time like this, she definitely had to use her spiritual consciousness to avoid them.