Chapter 41

"Host triggered a random side quest: Black Cloud Catacombs."

Lin Feng was taken aback for a moment before he reacted, realizing that he hadn't even completed any of his current tasks, yet this damned system had issued a new one.

Could it be another time-limited task with a penalty for failure?

Lin Feng, trembling with fear, opened the task description.

Random Side Quest: Black Cloud Catacombs.

Task Background: The catacombs were originally the cave of Black Cloud True Man, a cultivator from a century ago. When Black Cloud True Man opened the cave, he accidentally connected it to the Netherworld Blood River at its deepest point, leading to his downfall and death.

Task Objective: The host must obtain the Black Cloud Banner, Black Cloud True Man's lost life-bound magical artifact, from deep within the cave.

Task Deadline: Seven days. If not completed within the time limit, the task will be invalidated.

"Invalidated?" Lin Feng blinked, then let out a long sigh of relief.

Although the system was often a pain, it always made its intentions clear and never acted in secret. Since it stated that there would be no penalty for not completing the task on time, there should be no danger.

Now it seemed that only the main quest had a death penalty, while side quests were much better. Completing them would likely yield rewards, and failing wouldn't matter.

Lin Feng's mind began to race: "Black Cloud True Man, True Man... that means he was a Golden Core cultivator, right?"

In the Tianyuan Great World, there were some established conventions: Golden Core cultivators could be called True Men, while Yuan婴 cultivators could be called True Lords or Ancestors.

These titles were universally recognized and should not be used lightly. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator dared to call himself a True Man, it would not only invite ridicule but also potential disaster.

However, the task background mentioned that the deepest part of the Black Cloud Catacombs was connected to the Netherworld Blood River, which made Lin Feng extremely uneasy.

Legend has it that in the Netherworld, there is a river of blood called the Netherworld Blood River, which is boundless and endless, filled with foul blood, known as the True Water of Blood.

The True Water of Blood is one of the six True Waters of heaven and earth, and it is the most evil and foul substance in the world. Any great power or magical artifact, once touched by it, would immediately be contaminated and lose its power.

The previous owner of the cave, Black Cloud True Man, met his end in this river, and such danger made Lin Feng very hesitant.

The group from the Fierce Wind Society probably only operated in the upper levels of the catacombs and might not know about the great danger lurking deeper down.

"Let's take it one step at a time. I have to go down to find Zhu Yi, but I don't have to go to the deepest part if it's too dangerous," Lin Feng thought for a moment, made up his mind, and then said to his two disciples, "This catacomb is no ordinary place. Follow me closely and don't wander off."

Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian could see the seriousness on their master's face. Knowing that even their "omnipotent" master was so serious, they quickly nodded.

Lin Feng waved his sleeve. "Let's go."

...

Deep in the catacombs, a group of Fierce Wind Society cultivators was hastily moving forward, holding Zhu Yi hostage.

They had left the tunnel and were now facing a huge pit. The group moved along the edge of the pit, a narrow path that only allowed one person to pass sideways, looking extremely dangerous.

The black-clad man said as he walked, "Watch your step. If you fall from here, you won't even find your bones."

Zhu Yi's eyes flickered, and he lowered his head.

The black-clad man, as if knowing what he was thinking, said coldly, "Don't have any funny ideas. Each of us can crush you like a mosquito."

Zhu Yi remained silent.

A Fierce Wind Society cultivator asked, "Boss, isn't this our secret base in the heart of the Great Zhou Empire?"

The black-clad man replied, "This is a cave left by a senior cultivator, long abandoned. It has both spiritual and foul energy, so no one has found it. Our society only discovered it by chance recently."

"After investigation, we found that it's not suitable for cultivation, but it can be used to set up a teleportation array. It's not far from the capital of the Great Zhou, so we use it as a retreat route for our operations."

At this point, the black-clad man's face turned grim, and he touched the scar on his face with a lingering fear. "But there are many things about this catacomb that we haven't figured out, especially the deepest part. No one who went in to investigate has ever returned, all missing!"

At this, all the Fierce Wind Society cultivators instinctively glanced at the dark, bottomless pit below, which seemed like a monster's mouth, ready to swallow anyone who dared to peek.

Zhu Yi's scalp tingled as he looked at the abyss, his expression dazed.

No one felt like speaking, and in the darkness, only the faint light from the glowstones in their hands flickered.

The group bypassed the pit, and another tunnel entrance appeared before them. Zhu Yi observed carefully and noticed that this tunnel was clearly newly excavated, different from the previous one.

Passing through this tunnel would lead to the teleportation array set up by the Fierce Wind Society, which could move between two fixed points but could only be used once. The black-clad man was very reluctant to use it unless absolutely necessary.

Especially after this exposure, the cave would inevitably be discovered by the Great Zhou, and it would be impossible to set up the array again.

The black-clad man shook his head. "Let's wait a bit longer. If Hui Ku and the others don't catch up, we'll have to move on first."

"Others not catching up is not a problem as long as we do."

The black-clad man's heart sank; they had been caught up with.

Powerful magical energy fluctuations emerged from all around, and the hearts of the Fierce Wind Society cultivators sank to the bottom.

Seven, a full seven Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded them.

Apart from the black-clad man, who was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the rest were Qi Condensation cultivators. The seven Foundation Establishment cultivators could easily take them all with just half their numbers.

A middle-aged man in purple robes smiled and said, "Leave everything to me." He raised both hands, and nine light rings flew from his palms, heading toward the heads of the Fierce Wind Society cultivators.

The light rings seemed to move slowly, but when they reached the top, they paused, and each ring emitted a beam of white light, shining on the opponents.

A Fierce Wind Society cultivator shouted and used a water-based spell to defend, creating a water curtain in front of him, but it had no effect. The light beam passed through unimpeded.

When the white light beam hit, nothing seemed to happen. The Fierce Wind Society cultivator was puzzled, not understanding why a Foundation Establishment cultivator would do something so meaningless.

But the next moment, the light beam turned red, and the Fierce Wind Society cultivator's eyes glazed over, his body completely stiff, as if paralyzed, unable to move even a finger.

At this point, the light rings in the air fell, encircling the opponent's neck and lifting him up, his body involuntarily moving toward the middle-aged man in purple robes.

The nine light rings all succeeded, capturing nine Fierce Wind Society cultivators in an instant.

These Fierce Wind Society cultivators couldn't even fight back or commit suicide.

After capturing the nine, the middle-aged man in purple robes released the light rings around their necks, but they still couldn't move. He repeated the process, and the nine light rings flew toward the remaining Fierce Wind Society cultivators.

The black-clad man roared, raising a small drum. The drum sounded, and the piercing noise made the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators frown.

The drum's sound created invisible waves, blocking the nine light rings in mid-air, preventing them from reaching.

The middle-aged man in purple robes frowned and said to the others, "Please help, friends of the Five Elements Sect."

Of the remaining six, five wore identical clothing, but in different colors: white, green, black, red, and yellow, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

The leading old man in yellow robes coughed and said, "No need to be polite, it's our duty."

Instantly, strong magical energy fluctuations surged from the five, filling the entire space.

The black-clad man's face changed, and he shouted, "We, the Fierce Wind Society, have operated here for years. How can you act so recklessly?" He then crushed a jade token, and the chaotic spiritual energy in the catacombs suddenly became orderly.

A dazzling array of spiritual light appeared in the air, and a strong wind began to blow from it.

In the next moment, massive tornadoes rushed out from the array, like angry dragons, roaring toward the seven cultivators from the Hou family.

Dozens of tornadoes intertwined, turning the cave into a world of storms.

Everything in the path of the tornadoes was torn to shreds, leaving deep grooves on the stone walls.

For a moment, the wind howled, the earth shook, and it felt like the end of the world.

This array was powerful enough to tear apart Foundation Establishment cultivators, and only Golden Core cultivators could protect themselves.

The five cultivators from the Five Elements Sect, however, were not worried. They exchanged glances, and the old man in yellow robes smiled. "Let me show you our power."

The five performed their techniques together, shouting, "Reverse Five Elements Demon Sealing Array!"

Colorless divine light shot up, instantly illuminating the entire cave, even the dark abyss below became bright.

The five, from the same sect, each cultivated a different element. Together, they formed the Reverse Five Elements Demon Sealing Array, which could suppress all opponents below the Golden Core level!

The violent wind was instantly contained by the five-colored divine light, unable to continue its chaos.

The black-clad man was now drenched in sweat, using the small drum to counter the light rings from the middle-aged man in purple robes and also activating the array to counter the Reverse Five Elements Demon Sealing Array.

Despite the advantage of the terrain, he was still at a disadvantage, being attacked from both sides.

Just as he was getting anxious, a voice sounded calmly, "Why so slow? Seven against one, and it's taking so long?"

In the next moment, a figure appeared in the air, standing still above the abyss, looking down at everyone.