Chapter 44: Mysterious Heavenly Mud

The final desperate attack by the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes still failed to harm any human cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage. Together, the eight of them completely withstood the energy attacks of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes.
All the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes were utterly destroyed!
The entire nest collapsed completely. Protected by their own vital energies, the eight Yuan Ying stage cultivators used magical artifacts to clear a path upward, creating a route out of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes’ nest.
“Gentlemen, this time, the four sects of Cui Mu Planet have joined forces to eradicate these mosquitoes, and we have finally succeeded,” said Yong Shan, the leader of the Fire Moon Sect, with a smile.
The others didn’t take it too seriously. There had been many complications during this joint effort by the four sects. First, the Fire Moon Sect wanted to seize control of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters. Then, three other sects pressured them, leading to an agreement that disciples at the Jin Dan stage and Zhu Ji stage would enter to kill the mosquitoes. But things changed again when cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage also entered, finally eliminating the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes.
What was more, during the battle, the Yuan Ying stage cultivators from all four sects held back, capturing some Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes for themselves, intending to breed more after returning to their sects. It could be said that the agreements and cooperation among these four sects were entirely situational and lacked any sense of credibility.
However, since Yong Shan had spoken, the others had to respond symbolically.
“I hope we’ll have another chance to unite and fight against enemies together,” said Huai Qing with a smile.
Subsequently, Cheng Chang, the leader of the Xuan Yang Temple, and Qiu Yu, the leader of the Yu Su Sect, also replied with smiles.
At that moment, the Zhu Ji and Jin Dan stage disciples from the four sects who had entered the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters earlier arrived one after another. Given the intensity of the battle, the noise must have reached the disciples exploring elsewhere, so they all flew over following the sound.
The leaders of the four sects immediately counted their losses, each showing concern on their faces.
In the Fire Moon Sect, not only was Yong Chuan, the leader of the expedition, dead, but all the Zhu Ji stage disciples were also killed. Among the Jin Dan stage disciples, one was killed by the monsters in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters.
In the Xuan Yang Temple, all the Zhu Ji stage disciples were dead, and three of the Jin Dan stage disciples died, leaving only two. Fortunately, Cheng Xing, the leader, survived.
In the Yu Su Sect, all the Zhu Ji stage disciples were dead, and two of the Jin Dan stage disciples died, resulting in heavy losses as well.
In the Xian Yun Sect, all the Zhu Ji stage disciples were dead, but not a single Jin Dan stage disciple perished. However, Liu Qing Feng’s cultivation skills were ruined, making it extremely difficult for him to regain his Jin Dan stage strength.

It turned out that Qu Yi had dismissed Liu Qingfeng without taking his life, merely leaving him in the valley to see if he could survive on his own. Unexpectedly, cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage from the four sects also entered the Abyss. Along with Huai Qing, Huai Jin came as well. Naturally, above the valley, Huai Jin spotted Liu Qingfeng and saved him.

Qu Yi was inside the Hidden Dust Formation, concealed at the edge of the muddy land. He had intended to appear immediately to reunite with his sect, but the Artifact God mentioned something, so Qu Yi decided to stay hidden first and leave the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons alone after everyone else had gone.

Seeing everyone reunite, Master Han Yue became furious again upon thinking of his disciple Yong Chuan’s innocent death. His spiritual awareness locked onto Huai You. “Han Yue, what more do you want? You’ve already humiliated Huai You once. Do you really want to go to extremes and do it again? Qu Yi from our Xianyun Sect was thrown into the nest of the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes by you, allowing him to be devoured alive. If you keep being unreasonable now, I won’t hesitate to kill the people from your Huoyue Sect as well,” Master Dong Zhen shouted angrily at the sight.

Huai Jin, who was nearby, especially Liu Qingfeng, heard this. Their previously worried expressions immediately turned into cold smiles.

The disciples of Xianyun Sect and Huoyue Sect immediately became hostile, each drawing out their magical treasures, ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

“Heh, Dong Zhen, don’t try to scare me. Huai You is lucky enough to still be alive—just because he has good fortune. I’m not going to lower myself to deal with him a second time,” Master Han Yue calmed down rather quickly.

Earlier, Yong Shan had sent a message through his spiritual awareness, outlining a plan. As long as they returned to Huoyue Sect and successfully bred the Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes, they would then eliminate Xianyun Sect. Thus, Master Han Yue, who found this plan perfect, stopped getting angry and even replied with a rare smile.

The people from Xuanyang Temple and Yusu Sect, who had been watching, slightly sighed in disappointment, seemingly upset that the two sects were no longer at odds.

“Alright, the three sect leaders. This time, our four sects joined forces to kill the Blood Mosquito King. So, the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons will still be a training ground shared by us four sects from now on,” Cheng Chang, the leader of Xuanyang Temple, spoke up at the right moment.

According to the original agreement, whoever killed the Blood Mosquito King first would own the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons. Now that the four sects had worked together, Cheng Chang’s words were indeed correct.

Huai Qing, Cheng Chang, and Qiu Yu immediately turned their attention to Yong Shan.

Yongshan smiled and said calmly, “Of course. Although the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons is closest to our Fire Moon Sect, we won’t monopolize this area. Everyone is welcome to share it.” The Fire Moon Sect had originally planned to take control of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons for the sake of the Blood-Sucking Mosquito. Now that they had achieved their goal, there was no need to cause conflict with the other three sects. After some more shouting from the members of the four sects, they flew away one after another.

……

“Alright, you can come out now!” The voice of the Artifact God rang out. After seeing that all the members of the four sects had left, Qu Yi wanted to immediately dissolve the Hidden Dust Formation, but was stopped by the Artifact God, who said it was to prevent those at the Nascent Soul stage from returning and discovering Qu Yi. Now, Qu Yi could finally dissolve the Hidden Dust Formation.

“Artifact God, you said the soil around the Blood-Sucking Mosquito’s nest is some kind of Xuan Tian Floating Mud that’s very beneficial to me. Is that true?” Qu Yi asked directly.

It turned out that Qu Yi had planned to use the Hidden Dust Formation to reunite with the Immortal Cloud Sect, but the Artifact God mentioned the presence of Xuan Tian Floating Mud nearby, so Qu Yi stayed inside the formation.

“Of course. Look at this muddy area—those sludge-like substances. If you blow on them, the floating mud ripples like water. Alas, it can only be said that your Cui Mu Planet’s art of refining artifacts is too weak. You don’t even know about such precious Xuan Tian Floating Mud, and no one has come to mine any of it,” the Artifact God remarked.

Qu Yi immediately took out the Green Python Sword and sent out a pulse of true energy. Sure enough, the sludge-like floating mud around him rippled into waves.

“Artifact God, it’s really true! What uses does this Xuan Tian Floating Mud have?” Qu Yi asked eagerly.

“What uses? It has great uses. Let me explain—it takes time to create an artifact core first, and the success rate for that isn’t very high. Well, I’ll tell you now—”

Upon hearing this, Qu Yi was so shocked that he jumped high in the air and swayed when he landed. He was truly stunned by this news.

Creating an artifact core, forming a formation, and tempering—the these are the general steps in artifact refinement. If the artifact core is created with 100% success, then all that’s left is to focus on forming the formation, greatly increasing the chances of success.

“What are we waiting for then? Artifact God, come out and collect all this Xuan Tian Floating Mud!” Qu Yi shouted excitedly.

As soon as he spoke, the Tiny Realm Ball flew out and landed on top of the Xuan Tian Floating Mud, collecting all of it inside.

Soon, the Tiny Realm Ball returned to Qu Yi’s soul.

“Qu Yi, what are your plans now? Do you want to stay in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons for a while and hunt some abyssal monsters?” the Artifact God suddenly asked.

“Needless to say, I must return to Xianyun Sect,” Qu Yi said firmly.
Qu Yi originally wanted to go back with the people from Xianyun Sect. If not for the Intermediary God’s interference, he would have left long ago.
“Qu Yi, don’t rush to return to Xianyun Sect. I advise you to gain some experience outside first. In a year, your Yuan Shen will be fully formed. By then, I can guarantee that your safety will be absolutely assured,” the Intermediary God suddenly revealed astonishing news.
Even if the Yuan Shen was formed, it would only represent an advanced stage of the Foundation Establishment phase, which is considered the weakest level in the cultivation world. How could there be absolute safety?
Qu Yi hadn’t considered this aspect and immediately replied, “No, I must return to Xianyun Sect. I made a promise to my senior sister—I must get back safely. If she can’t see me, she’ll be very sad. I can’t let her suffer, absolutely not!”
At this moment, Qu Yi fully revealed his true feelings!
After hearing this, the Intermediary God fell silent for a while before sighing and saying, “Qu Yi, have you thought about it? You’ve disabled Liu Qingfeng. If you go back now, you’ll have to be careful of Huai Jin’s revenge. Moreover, the news about the four array discs and the Hidden Dust Array on you must have leaked out. With so many treasures, aren’t you worried that the people of Xianyun Sect might covet them?”
The four array discs were equivalent to four experts at the advanced stage of the Golden Core phase, while the Hidden Dust Array allowed those below the Yuan Ying phase to remain undetected. Such treasures were enough to arouse the interest of various ambitious people on this Cuimu Planet.
“Intermediary God, I understand your concerns, but I absolutely can’t let Senior Sister Bai Man worry about me. I must keep my promise. Besides, if anyone dares to target me, let them come. Am I afraid?” Qu Yi remained calm, his eyes gleaming with determination.
In Xianyun Sect, only two people currently had the strength to deal with Qu Yi: his master Huai Qing and Master Dongzhen. After all, they were both at the Yuan Ying phase, and a few array discs wouldn’t be enough to stop them. As for the others, the strongest were only at the advanced stage of the Golden Core phase, and it wouldn’t be easy for them to seize the array discs. Qu Yi was well aware of this.
“Alright, I won’t persuade you anymore. Just return to Xianyun Sect,” the Intermediary God sighed.
Soon, Qu Yi took off and flew toward the western end of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters.
A few days later, he finally crossed the central area of the abyss and effortlessly passed through the Dark Fiendly Wind Zone, emerging from the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters.
Although Qu Yi was only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, the speed of his flight was far inferior to that of those at the Yuan Ying phase. Naturally, by the time Huai Qing and the others returned to Xianyun Sect, Qu Yi was still making his way back through the Abyss of Ten Thousand Monsters.

The difference in speed meant that Qu Yi would be delayed by over ten days before he could return to the Xianyun Sect. It was also because of these ten days that a stir was caused within the Xianyun Sect.