Seven or eight cultivators flew in from the southwest after the Flame Hoof Beast summoned the lightning tribulation. They stopped sixty to seventy miles away, expressions of astonishment on their faces as they looked ahead.
Dark clouds filled the sky, lightning danced wildly, accompanied by terrifying wind and fire power.
Waves of violent heaven and earth spiritual energy transformed into wind pressure buffeted them, causing the spiritual energy shields around them to flicker and become unstable.
Leading these people was an old man with white hair, his strength having reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm. The rest were also Golden Core cultivators. They all wore blue and white Taoist robes, seemingly cultivators from the same sect, appearing to be on a hurried journey, as if to carry out some task.
"Senior Brother Yang, what's happening ahead? The spiritual energy of heaven and earth has suddenly become so chaotic," a young woman who looked to be in her twenties asked, a strange expression on her face.
"Hehe, Junior Sister Fang, you're new to the Golden Core realm and haven't seen much. In Xue's opinion, these signs look like some kind of monster is causing trouble, or some secret treasure is about to be born. Why don't we, brothers and sisters, go and investigate? Senior Brother Yang, what do you think?" The one who spoke was a pale-faced young man.
This man looked young, but his cultivation was not low. He was another cultivator who had reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
As he spoke, the other brothers and sisters echoed him a few times, their eyes revealing curiosity and excitement.
However, the white-haired old man cleared his throat and shook his head. "Don't be impatient, fellow disciples. Looking at the situation ahead, it doesn't seem like a treasure is about to be born. It's more like... a lightning tribulation."
Upon hearing the words 'lightning tribulation,' the expressions on their faces changed.
The pale-faced young man muttered in disbelief, "That's unlikely. Although the West Ridge Mountain Range is a million miles wide, and it is said that there are hidden transforming demons, this area within ten thousand miles is a major thoroughfare, and many cultivators pass through here every day. It's rare to even see a high-level demon beast, how could there be a demon beast undergoing tribulation here?"
"Junior Brother Xue, you're still too impatient. Besides demon beasts undergoing tribulation, there's also the possibility of a master cultivating secret techniques or refining evil artifacts, which can also attract a lightning tribulation. If there is such a highly cultivated existence ahead, we will be inviting disaster if we barge in," the white-haired old man glanced at the young man and snorted, then turned his gaze to the others.
"It's best for us not to wade into this muddy water. Follow me and take a detour. The task the ancestor gave us is not easy to handle. Time is also running out. The West Mountain Conference is in a few days. If we miss it, we will inevitably be punished."
The old man waved his hand, a blue light lit up on his body, and he directly used his escape technique to fly away from this place.
Just then, a loud laugh came from the other side. "Haha, Fellow Daoist Qi, it's a pleasure to meet fellow Daoists from the West Mo Kingdom here."
Along with the laughter, three streaks of light flew in from the distant rear.
The white-haired old man turned his head to look. The three streaks of light dispersed, revealing three black-faced burly men. Upon closer inspection, the three burly men looked extremely similar; they were triplets. They all wore black and red short shirts. The middle burly man was barefoot, with several black copper rings hanging on his wrist, looking the most ferocious.
The middle burly man's cultivation had even reached the peak of the Golden Core realm, and the other two also had late-stage Golden Core strength.
The white-haired old man frowned slightly, and instantly put on a smile. "So it's the arrival of the three Martial Dao friends. Qi is being polite here. It's a pleasure to bump into the Martial Family's Three Heroes here."
These three were the famous Three Heroes of the Martial Family, one of the two Nascent Soul families in the West Wind Kingdom, neighboring the West Mo Kingdom. They were proficient in joint attack secret techniques. It was said that when they joined forces, they could withstand a Nascent Soul early-stage cultivator for a period of time.
"Fellow Daoist Qi arrived here first, do you know what's strange about the sudden change in the celestial phenomena ahead?" The man standing on the far right of the Martial Family brothers asked with a smile on his face.
The white-haired old man shook his head, "We were also attracted by the movement here and haven't investigated yet."
The Martial Family brothers stared at the area ahead where the lightning was raging, exchanged glances secretly, and then said, "I wonder if you are interested in joining forces with us three to investigate. If there are any treasures, how about we divide them equally?"
Before the white-haired old man could answer, the celestial phenomena in front changed again. Suddenly, the dark clouds and lightning became even more intense, and streaks of lightning fell, and the violent thunder and fire power spread out.
The white-haired old man glanced at the increasingly violent environment and waved his hand at the Martial Family Three Heroes, "Brother Wu's kindness is appreciated, but we brothers and sisters have a sect mission and cannot delay any longer. Let's say goodbye here."
Saying that, without waiting for the other party to respond, the old man took his junior brothers and sisters behind him and flew towards the south, disappearing into the sky in a few flashes.
"Hmph, so timid. It's a waste that their Yellow West Temple is a bit stronger than my Martial Family. If these people joined, even if there really was a demon beast undergoing tribulation ahead, they could reap some benefits by joining forces."
Seeing the white-haired old man and others leave, the Martial Family cultivator who spoke coldly snorted.
"Big brother, how about we three brothers go in and check it out?"
The big man standing in the middle remained silent for a moment, then spit out a few words coldly, "Let's be careful, first use secret techniques to hide our aura, and then go in."
A cloud of black light immediately rose from the Martial Family's three bodies, releasing a cloud of gray mist that covered them. It turned into a faint gray shadow and carefully entered the thundercloud area in front.
But not long after they entered, they heard a cold snort. "Get out!" The three were blasted out by a blue light. The three brothers spat out blood, looking embarrassed, and their faces revealed horrified expressions.
They did not dare to stay for a moment, ignoring their injuries, turned into gray light and quickly fled away.
Zhang Ling stood on a cliff, watching them leave expressionlessly. If he wasn't in a good mood and didn't have the intention to kill, he wouldn't have let these three leave.
And the one who made the move was not him, but the Nascent Soul puppet. This Nascent Soul puppet was turning into a blue light and returning to his side, holding two storage bags and a storage bracelet in his hand.
Zhang Ling unceremoniously collected these spoils.
In the next hour, the commotion caused by the Flame Hoof Beast attracted several more waves of cultivators, including two Nascent Soul old monsters.
Fortunately, Zhang Ling released his own powerful aura and the aura of the Nascent Soul puppet. The two Nascent Soul cultivators sensed their aura, just wandered around nearby for a while and left.
One of them even wanted to invite him to participate in the West Mountain Conference together. Of course, Zhang Ling politely refused.
Two hours later, the place returned to calm, and Zhang Ling left with the Flame Hoof Beast. This tribulation was considered smooth. The Flame Hoof Beast successfully re-condensed its demon core and returned to the eighth-order cultivation.
Half a month later, Zhang Ling left the West Ridge Mountain Range and entered the Dragon Marsh Kingdom. The east side of the West Ridge Mountain Range is the West Ridge State, one of the thirty-six states of the Dragon Marsh Kingdom.
Speaking of which, the West Ridge State's territorial area is also one of the top five largest states among the thirty-six states. The area is vast, and the Imperial Pole Academy established here is also called the West Mountain Academy.
The West Mountain Academy has more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators stationed there all year round. The head of the academy is named Old Man West Mountain, with profound cultivation, having already reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. This person is one of the six great cultivators in these imperial-level academies.
In recent months, the entire West Ridge State has been quite lively. A large number of cultivators have come here to participate in the West Mountain Conference.
The West Mountain Conference is held once every twenty years. It is actually a large-scale trade fair. The only difference from ordinary trade fairs is that this conference is hosted by the West Mountain Academy.
Each time, the West Mountain Academy will take out many rare materials for exchange, and also collect some special products from the hundred countries of West Ridge.
The venue is in a fairy city near the West Ridge Mountain Range, Jade Dragon City.
This city is built on a snowy mountain peak, and is entirely cast from white rock spirit ore. As the setting sun shines down, the clouds above Jade Dragon City are tinged with specks of silver light, which is very gorgeous.
Outside the city gate, the wide streets are crowded with people, with both mortals and cultivators coming and going. Of course, immortals and mortals are different, and mortals can only enter from the side gate.
Although the Dragon Marsh Kingdom is ruled by the Dragon family, a family of immortal cultivators, there is actually not much difference for mortals. The management of mortals also relies on civil servants, military generals, county magistrates, and state officials.
A yellow light landed on the street outside the city, and Zhang Ling followed a team of cultivators into Jade Dragon City.
He came here to participate in the West Mountain Conference. Since it is a trade fair, he might be able to inquire about news about the supreme-grade wood spirit stone. Another reason is that there are teleportation arrays in Jade Dragon City that lead directly to other states.
