Chapter 75

Turning his head, a man stood behind Zhuge Xiang. He was about twenty years old, with a kind face and a very approachable demeanor. A gentle smile always hung on his face, and he held a jade bone fan, which he gently waved. He looked like a fine young gentleman, and the thick and stable aura around him indicated that he was at the Body Tempering stage, and his strength was at least at the fourth level of Body Tempering.

"Ah, it's you, Senior Brother. Are you going to travel with us? That's no problem, but I don't know your name yet," Zhuge Xiang said upon seeing the man.

Zhuge Xiang indeed recognized this man. Yesterday, when selecting martial arts in the Martial Arts Pavilion, this kind-hearted senior brother had explained the difficulty of cultivating the Ghostly Flash Step to him.

"I didn't expect we would meet again. My name is Dugu Ming," he said with a calm smile, putting away his jade bone fan.

"Ah, it's Senior Brother Dugu. I'm Zhuge Xiang," Zhuge Xiang replied, then introduced Niu Geng, Lu Yuling, Hua Nongying, and Zhang Kuang to Dugu Ming.

"Zhuge Xiang? I heard that half a year ago, a new disciple named Zhuge Xiang caused a commotion on Green Willow Peak, challenging and defeating over a hundred disciples at the fifth level of Qi Cultivation. Could it be you, Junior Brother?" Dugu Ming asked, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"At that time, it was just a misunderstanding with the Green Willow Peak disciples," Zhuge Xiang said, being unusually tactful due to Zhang Kuang's presence.

"Dugu Ming? That surname is rare. I remember there's a genius in the Inner Sect named Dugu Jue. Are you two...?" Zhang Kuang suddenly interjected.

"Yes, he is my elder brother," Dugu Ming replied, his gentle smile unchanged as he nodded.

"Inner Sect?" This made Zhuge Xiang pay attention. The Asura Sect boasted 200,000 disciples, and although Zhuge Xiang and the others were official disciples, there was a distinction between the core disciples of the Inner Sect and the official disciples of the Outer Sect.

If the Outer Sect disciples merely cultivated in the Endless Mountains, the core disciples of the Inner Sect were the sharp edge of the sect. They handled conflicts with other sects and intimidated the riffraff of other sects. The tasks of the Inner Sect disciples were not limited to the Endless Mountains; they had the qualification to leave the sect.

Of course, the tasks of the Inner Sect core disciples were more severe, and to leave the sect, they could not bring shame to the sect. Therefore, their strength was naturally very formidable. To become an Inner Sect disciple, one needed to reach at least the fourth minor realm of Qi Cultivation, the Air Splitting stage, where one could project qi externally.

"Hey, Zhuge Xiang, Lu Yuling, are you also forming a team to complete a sect task?" At that moment, a surprised voice sounded.

Zhuge Xiang turned around to see Zixiang, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, standing gracefully. Her face still had a gentle and weak appearance, but she was adorned with many magical tools, and from the aura she emitted, she had also broken through to the Body Tempering stage.

"Great, if you're also going to complete a sect task, take me with you," Zixiang said, a look of joy on her face, her gentle and weak appearance making her look very appealing, hard to refuse.

Seeing Zixiang, Lu Yuling frowned slightly but said nothing. Zhuge Xiang also frowned slightly. Her life-bound insect was on him, and although he wasn't afraid of her causing trouble, having such a venomous woman around made him uncomfortable.

"Zixiang, why don't you look for another team," Dugu Ming said, stepping in front of Zixiang and Zhuge Xiang, his calm voice leaving no room for refusal.

"Dugu Ming? Are you the leader of this team?" Zixiang, who had not noticed Dugu Ming earlier, looked at him as he stepped forward, her expression changing slightly, but she did not back down.

This left Dugu Ming speechless, and he looked at Zhuge Xiang, letting him answer.

Looking at Dugu Ming and then at Zixiang, Zhuge Xiang had some thoughts. However, before he could speak, the honest Niu Geng interjected, "Zhuge Xiang, I think Senior Sister Zixiang is also quite capable. More people mean more strength. Why not let her join us?"

"You?" Zhuge Xiang looked at Niu Geng in surprise, not expecting him to speak up. It seemed the honest Niu Geng didn't like seeing Dugu Ming bully such a seemingly weak woman.

Zhuge Xiang had some calculations in mind and was about to agree. Since Niu Geng had spoken, he naturally went along with it, nodding in agreement.

"Thank you, Junior Brother Zhuge, and thank you, this Junior Brother, for speaking up for me," Zixiang smiled, her gentle appearance indeed very beautiful.

Since Zhuge Xiang had agreed to keep Zixiang, although Dugu Ming was reluctant, he said nothing. Thus, Zhuge Xiang, Niu Geng, Zixiang, Dugu Ming, Zhang Kuang, Lu Yuling, and Hua Nongying, a total of seven people, formed a small team and went down the mountain.

"Zhuge Xiang, be careful. Zixiang is not a good person," Dugu Ming whispered in Zhuge Xiang's ear as they descended the mountain.

"Understood," Zhuge Xiang nodded silently, keeping it in mind. Indeed, Zixiang was not trustworthy, but Zhuge Xiang was also wary of Dugu Ming. Although he seemed very approachable, his willingness to join their team was suspicious, and one must always be cautious.

Due to the sect task, there were many people at the foot of the mountain, not just Body Tempering disciples, but also many Meridian Unblocking disciples. Within ten miles of the sect headquarters, there were virtually no demonic beasts, not just demonic wolves, but other demonic beasts were also hard to see.

As they went deeper, they could see many people with satisfied smiles, clearly having gained a lot. However, there were also many severely injured disciples, either supported by friends or struggling to return. The greater the gain, the greater the risk. Thousands of disciples went down the mountain to kill demonic wolves, and the land was tinged with a faint red, the air filled with a bloody smell, making people feel very uncomfortable.

The number of people decreased as they went deeper. Zhuge Xiang and the others could see the traces of demonic wolves, which usually moved in groups of three to five, rarely alone, and most were around one-star medium level.

Going deeper into the wolf territory, the number of people decreased, but the dark side of the disciples of the evil sect began to emerge. Along the way, they saw many disciples' bodies lying on the ground. Although most were torn by the wolves' claws and fangs, some had fatal wounds caused by sharp weapons, clearly dying in conflicts with their fellow disciples.

"Be careful. The demonic wolves are scary, but you can't let your guard down against your fellow disciples," Dugu Ming said, his smile still gentle, but his eyes were much more serious. Zhuge Xiang and the others nodded silently, proceeding cautiously.

After killing several waves of demonic wolves, they had a general impression of each other's combat abilities. They carefully avoided large wolf packs and attacked when the numbers were manageable. The demonic wolves they killed were divided into six parts, with each of the Body Tempering disciples getting one part, and Niu Geng and Hua Nongying, who had not reached the Body Tempering stage, sharing one part.

After killing the demonic wolves, they collected their hearts as proof, earning 1 contribution point per heart. After three days of continuous fighting, Zhuge Xiang and the others had killed over a thousand demonic wolves, earning Zhuge Xiang 200 sect points. Of course, the thousand wolves also gave Zhuge Xiang over 30,000 experience points, but since most were one-star and there were seven people in the team, the experience points were significantly reduced.

One day, in a forest in the wolf territory, Zhuge Xiang and the others encountered a pack of about forty wolves. They rushed forward to fight, and the two one-star low-level demonic wolves posed no threat to Zhuge Xiang and the others.

However, just as they were about to collect the hearts of the wolves, a group of twelve disciples appeared, all about twenty years old, surrounding Zhuge Xiang and the others.

"These wolves were chased here by us. We were exhausted, and you picked up the easy kill. I believe you, my fellow disciples, are all reasonable people. You won't fight us over these wolves, right?"

The twelve disciples were all about twenty years old, clearly veterans who had been in the Asura Sect for five or six years, with at least the first level of Body Tempering. A tall and strong man stepped forward, his eyes dangerous, looking at Dugu Ming, who had the highest cultivation, and naturally, was considered the leader of the team.