Chapter 591: Heavenly Black Lotus |
"Where did that old servant go?"
Lei Shan asked curiously.
"A few years ago, he encountered people from the Immortal Race and was killed too."
Ning Qi sighed helplessly, revealing a look of grief and indignation.
Mentioning this matter made one feel deeply saddened.
"My condolences."
Lei Shan was fooled by his expression and comforted him, saying, "However, now that you've come here, you have a chance for revenge."
"I hope so."
Ning Qi nodded, his eyes showing curiosity. "Brother Lei, who are the people stationed here? You must introduce them to me so I don't lose etiquette when meeting them later."
"His strength is at the Peak Celestial Immortal level, just one step away from catching up to his father."
Lei Shan thought for a moment, then continued, "He also has a daughter, Zhao Zhirou."
"Her strength is also at the Celestial Immortal level, but she's a bit weaker than her father Zhao Yunze."
"So the granddaughter and son are both stationed here, no wonder this place is so powerful."
After hearing his words, Ning Qi understood the situation here.
With a Golden Immortal expert stationed, how could it be anything less than formidable?
"She also has two brothers, the eldest Zhao Tianlei and the second Zhao Tiancang."
"Zhao Tianlei has the strength of a Ninth-Grade Celestial Immortal, Zhao Tiancang is at the Fifth-Grade."
Lei Shan continued one after another, "Besides this, there are other families and elders stationed here. This place is as solid as a rock."
"Even if an army from the Immortal Race attacks, we can withstand it."
"We don't even need Zhao Lingtian and Xu Shichang to come; we don't care."
"Indeed, just this one family alone is already formidable enough."
Ning Qi nodded, speaking with deep agreement.
"Master, then we have no hope. Their strength is too great."
"And he hasn't even introduced the elders and other families yet."
The Pill Spirit shrank his neck and said, "What do we do? Once inside, there's simply no opportunity."
"Don't worry, it's enough that we can send a message."
"They are so strong, do we really have to confront them head-on?"
Ning Qi's thoughts turned as he communicated with the Pill Spirit, "Don't always boost others' morale and diminish our own."
"Master is right."
The Pill Spirit hurriedly agreed.
"As for the others, if we encounter them, I'll introduce them to you."
Lei Shan then continued, "We'll be there soon."
"Good!"
Ning Qi nodded and then followed him.
They soon left this passage and arrived at a world completely different from the outside.
Looking around, black demonic energy was everywhere.
The mountains, rivers, and streams all had a gray, hazy feeling, as if covered in a layer of dust.
Even the air gave a sense of oppression, making Ning Qi feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"There are quite a few strongholds here, all belonging to small tribes."
"Moving forward, we'll encounter the stronghold of the Zhao family clan leader. That one is truly impressive."
Lei Shan led the way while introducing things to Ning Qi.
"Oh? There are so many distinct strongholds."
Hearing his introduction, Ning Qi let out a light sound of acknowledgment.
Then he followed.
"Yes, this way, we can avoid our fellow Demonic Race members from intermarrying and prevent our Bloodline Power from being destroyed because of it."
Lei Shan smiled, "You know, our Demonic Race doesn't care about so many rules. As long as two people fancy each other, they can be together."
"One can even directly take someone by force. Only by placing people in the same stronghold can we avoid targeting people from our own stronghold."
"So that's how it is. I really didn't know."
Ning Qi shook his head and said with a smile.
"Of course you didn't know. After all, you didn't grow up among our Demonic Race from childhood."
Lei Shan followed up, but soon thought of something and hurriedly said, "Brother Ning, I don't mean it that way, I'm..."
"Brother Lei doesn't need to explain, I understand!"
Ning Qi said, completely unconcerned.
"Haha, good!"
"Brother Ning is also a straightforward person!"
Lei Shan laughed heartily, then continued leading the way forward. "Let's go, we'll be there soon."
Next, Ning Qi and Lei Shan traveled together.
They passed through one stronghold after another, with people greeting Lei Shan from time to time.
Ning Qi judged that this Lei Shan's family and stronghold had considerable influence here.
And that Tie Yuan likely also possessed a certain level of strength.
Otherwise, they couldn't possibly be guarding the entrance here.
"We're here."
It was at this moment that Lei Shan suddenly turned and said to Ning Qi.
"Here?"
Only then did Ning Qi snap back to reality and look up at the stronghold before him.
To be precise, this was no longer a stronghold but something resembling a city.
After arriving, Lei Shan greeted the guards here and directly led Ning Qi inside.
"To become one of us, you must first pass a test."
"Many Demonic Race members come here every day to take the test."
"However, I can let you skip the line."
Lei Shan smiled and said to Ning Qi.
"Oh? There's even a queue."
Ning Qi let out a light sound of surprise and couldn't help but ask.
"Right, there are many Demonic Race members like you."
"They are all homeless and will queue here to undergo our inspection."
"As long as they pass, they can become one of us."
Lei Shan nodded, then continued to explain, "However, for the next year, they must become our Death Servants."
"If they pass, after one year, they can draw lots here to be assigned to a mountain stronghold."
"At that time, they will truly become a member of our clan here, but they must also join our army."
"If there is a war here, they must also participate with all their strength."
"So that's how it is. I understand."
After hearing his explanation, Ning Qi more or less understood the situation.
The possibility of becoming a true clansman here was very low.
Like those people he killed earlier, they were probably also those outsider Demonic Race members.
After passing the one-year Death Servant test, they still had to join the army as cannon fodder.
The chance of surviving this process was almost impossible.
So in the end, what they protected were still the original inhabitants here.
This was truly a good method, and the reason was simply because they were strong enough here.
Thus, lone Demonic Race members would come to seek refuge.
"Brother Ning, this also depends on strength. Your strength is at least at the Celestial Immortal level."
"When you come, you'll naturally receive special treatment!"
"Compared to them, you'll naturally be much stronger."
Seeing Ning Qi lost in thought, Lei Shan explained with a smile.
"Oh? There's special treatment too."
Hearing him say this, Ning Qi immediately became interested.
However, he didn't hold too much hope, as he was also an outsider.
Naturally, it was impossible for them to accept him immediately.
"Yes, let's go."
"Even with treatment, trial tests are unavoidable."
Lei Shan nodded, then continued leading the way for him.
Soon, they arrived at a square within the city.
Here, there were still some people waiting to do something, all whispering to each other.
"These are the people waiting in line here for the trials."
Lei Shan pointed at these people, then continued, "Many of their backgrounds are the same as yours, coming here for revenge."
"Some are here to find backing."
"Mmm, then I also need to queue here."
Ning Qi nodded, shifting his gaze forward.
The people here were indeed queuing and waiting. In front of them were several Demonic Race members, having them undergo tests here.
Beside them was a stone platform, and on the platform was a stone pillar with demonic energy coiling around it.
Each person coming forward in the queue would activate their demonic energy.
Then condense a wisp of Soul Blood and merge it into this stone pillar.
With the support of demonic energy and Soul Blood, the stone pillar would begin to activate.
After a tremor, the stone pillar would return to rest.
"Lower grade, go over there."
The person standing beside the stone pillar just glanced and pointed the person toward a distant area.
There were also people there receiving Demonic Race members, but they were all people like this one.
Clearly, their strength only allowed them to go there.
Presumably, they would be assigned some troublesome tasks to act as cannon fodder.
They didn't even have a chance to integrate here before being taken away.
"Once ten such people are gathered, they'll be sent out."
"They'll carry out some tasks. Only if they can return alive after three missions will they receive our resources."
"Then they can rest here for a while before continuing to undertake missions."
Lei Shan explained to Ning Qi.
"Oh, then it depends on one's own ability."
Ning Qi nodded and said with a smile.
"Right!"
Lei Shan also smiled.
Ning Qi just shifted his gaze forward again.
At this moment, a Demonic Race member activated the stone pillar, erupting with a fierce aura.
This made the people watching nearby shine with a gleam in their eyes.
"You, go over there."
Thus, that person directed this Demonic Race member to another place.
Only two people were there, both with an unruly and arrogant demeanor.
"These are the ones with some talent. They'll receive some resource cultivation from us here."
"When carrying out missions in the future, they'll be the team leaders!"
Lei Shan explained to Ning Qi again.
"Mmm, I can see that."
Ning Qi just nodded and said in a deep voice, "So, these people are also distinguished by rank."
"Yes, exactly!"
After responding, Lei Shan directly led him past these people and arrived at the stone pillar.
"Elder Lei."
Seeing Lei Shan, this person greeted him respectfully.
"Come, test this brother."
Lei Shan made way, pointing at Ning Qi. "Use the golden stone to try."
"Golden stone?"
Hearing his words, that person couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Only then did Ning Qi notice that beside the black stone pillar, there were two other pillars.
One was silver, the other was golden.
Clearly, there was a distinction.
"Yes."
Lei Shan nodded and said in a deep voice, "Activate it, let him try."
"This... according to the rules, he should try them one by one."
That person looked somewhat troubled and couldn't help but say.
"His strength and talent are both very strong. If he uses these, the people behind you might have to wait much longer."
"His strength might very well destroy this ordinary stone pillar."
Lei Shan shook his head, then continued.
"Alright, understood."
That person nodded, then waved a hand.
He directly removed the restrictions from the golden stone pillar and said to Ning Qi, "Activate your demonic energy, condense Soul Blood, merge it inside, and give it a try."
"Good!"
Ning Qi didn't waste words. After agreeing, he stepped forward.
"Begin."
That person looked at him, then reminded him indifferently.
Ning Qi didn't say anything.
Then he raised a hand and condensed a wisp of Soul Blood.
Simultaneously, he activated his demonic energy.
After the demonic energy condensed, he immediately merged a strand of Chaos Flame into it.
Directly striking it into this golden stone pillar.
"Whoosh."
As his demonic energy and Soul Blood entered, the golden stone pillar erupted with a dazzling golden light.
Then it returned to calm, showing no further reaction.
"Oh? This... impossible."
Seeing this, Lei Shan couldn't help but frown.
He thought he had misjudged.
He never expected that Ning Qi, with such great strength and so young, would have no special talent.
His face immediately showed a look of disappointment.
"Elder Lei, this..."
That person hesitated to speak, his face carrying a hint of mockery.
"Master, this shouldn't be. Is it because you have the Bloodline Power of an Immortal Race ancestor that the stone pillar recognized it?"
The Pill Spirit within his dantian was also somewhat unwilling to accept this.
"I don't know. I didn't use the Immortal Race's Bloodline Power just now."
"I used my cultivation techniques and supernatural powers, plus the Bloodline Power I obtained from the inheritance place."
Ning Qi also felt strange in his heart.
"Even Elder Lei can misjudge people sometimes."
"Yeah, he definitely misjudged this person."
"..."
People around had already begun to discuss.
Making Lei Shan's face somewhat unable to bear it.
"Hum."
However, just as he was about to take Ning Qi away, the golden stone pillar began to tremble.
At first, it was just a slight quiver, but it gradually became more intense.
"What's going on?"
"It's moving on its own."
"Impossible."
Immediately, people began to exclaim in surprise.
The expression of the person from earlier also became interesting.
They all understood very well what it meant when the golden stone pillar showed movement.
Legend had it that only their family head, Zhao Yunze, could make the stone pillar tremble.
Even Zhao Tianlei could only make the golden stone pillar emit light. Slightly stronger than him was Zhao Zhirou, who could make Inscriptions appear on the golden stone pillar.
And now, Ning Qi actually made the golden stone pillar tremble too.
This meant he possessed talent equal to Zhao Yunze's.
"Whoosh."
The next moment, streams of powerful winds surged here, coiling around the golden stone pillar.
"Boom!"
In an instant, a golden light shot into the sky.
"Rumble!"
The golden radiance soared into the sky, the light waves it erupted attracting the thunderclouds from the surroundings.
Rolling, muffled thunder began to surge and coil here.
"What's happening?"
Immediately, people began to discuss.
As they discussed, black lotuses began to appear one after another within the thunderclouds.
These lotuses floated in the void, and the next moment, they began to gradually bloom.
"Heavenly Surge of Black Lotuses!"
"This is..."
Everyone widened their eyes, showing an expression of disbelief.
"Master, what's going on? Could we be exposed?"
The Pill Spirit immediately became worried and hurriedly said, "We should take the chance to leave now. If we wait, we won't be able to escape."