Cultivation Starting from Full Talent - Chapter 241

Chapter 241: Chapter 239 Long Zhuojun Chapter 241: Chapter 239 Long Zhuojun “Not good!”

The elder in grey fiercely contracted his pupils. In the instant his right arm hit the ground, his figure somersaulted backward, narrowly avoiding the second strike of the Spirit Cage Silk.

Simultaneously, without hesitation, he unleashed a bizarre blood-colored talisman. Instantly, the severed arm that had hit the ground swiftly shriveled as a stream of blood essence was refined on the spot and transformed into a blood-colored figure that lunged at Ning Daoran, who emerged from the ground.

“Go!”

Ning Daoran activated the Evergreen Technique. A vast spiritual pressure spread out, indiscriminate of friend or foe. The blood-colored afterimage was the first to be obliterated and turned into dust, followed closely by the suppression of both the elder in grey and Lin Man!

“You…”

The elder in grey was terrified, his complexion deathly pale. He quickly bit his tongue, sacrificing a mouthful of Lifebound Essence Blood to break through the spiritual pressure, while simultaneously tossing Lin Man, who was on his shoulder, away.

“Ah…”

Thrown with all the might of a Golden Core Cultivator, Lin Man’s face turned pale with fright.

Ning Daoran spun around, the Evergreen Technique instantly splitting in two. Half turned into soft vines, catching Lin Man’s body, while the other half transformed into dozens of vine-like green snakes that hissed across the ground, directly targeting the elder in grey.

“This is bad!”

The elder in grey’s pupils flickered continuously. After a hurried exchange, he realized that not only was Ning Daoran’s spiritual pressure superior, but his magic was also divine and could completely overpower him.

Without a second thought, he slapped his Storage Bag, and immediately a huge creature blocked his way–it was a mechanical snake, a third-tier, lower-grade puppet about ten meters long and fiery red in color.

The red mechanical snake dashed forward, its body moving swiftly in a serpentine fashion to dodge the Evergreen Technique’s assault, heading straight for Ning Daoran.

The mechanical snake moved extremely fast, darting back and forth. Suddenly it opened its huge maw, aiming to devour Ning Daoran’s left arm.

“In your dreams!”

Ning Daoran’s arm vibrated as dense power from the Evergreen Technique was crazily infused into the Wanxiang Cloud Thunder Armor, causing the armor’s light to surge and envelop his whole body, stoutly defending against the mechanical snake’s devouring attempt with his arm armor.

“Crack!”

The mechanical snake’s sharp teeth managed to slightly penetrate the power of the Evergreen Technique, clashing against the arm guard of the Wanxiang Cloud Thunder Armor, producing a grating sound.

Ning Daoran felt a chill in his heart at the formidable strength of this mechanical snake! Its sharp fangs must have been refined from the teeth of some third-tier serpentine demon beast. Luckily, the Wanxiang Cloud Thunder Armor was third-tier magical treasure-level inner armor, robust enough for protection. Otherwise, ordinary spiritual armor would have been breached by those venomous fangs by now!

Without a word, Ning Daoran raised his fist, large as a sandbag, embedded with twenty layers of Evergreen Technique strength. A series of punches, “pom pom pom,” landed on the mechanical snake’s head at close range.

In an instant, mana erosion continued to assault and damage the structure of the puppet snake. In the blink of an eye, its head was dented inward, devoid of any sign of mana fluctuation, and it went limp.

“Third-tier puppet, slightly damaged, what a great item!”

Ning Daoran raised his hand and collected the mechanical snake into the bag, then lightly patted the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven, releasing the White Deer.

“Old Lu, guard Talisman Master Lin!”

Saying this, Ning Daoran deployed a spell, then plunged into the ground, continuing to chase after the elder in grey!

…

Underground, the Array Devouring Worm that had been chewing through the array paths had been collected, and the damaged area of the cave mansion’s prohibitions was filled with the golden core aura of the elder in grey, who had already fled far away, leaving no trace.

Ning Daoran released his Divine Sense, leaped up from underground, and appeared on the streets of the Immortal White Dragon City, but had already lost track of the elder in grey’s aura. The opponent seemed to have cultivated some Concealing Breath Technique and, due to the delay caused by the mechanical snake, had escaped too far; even with Ning Daoran’s strong Divine Sense, he could no longer be sensed.

“Senior Ning!”

In the air, several City Patrol Cultivators descended, the leader being Chen Wen, the one who had initially guided Ning Daoran into the city.

Chen Wen looked baffled, “Senior Ning, what has happened?”

Ning Daoran frowned, “Have you seen a golden core cultivator in a gray long coat in a hurry just now?”

“We did not see him.”

Another cultivator in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment said, “Why is Array Master Ning after this person?”

“Talisman Master Lin’s cave mansion’s underground prohibitions were breached by someone using an Array Devouring Worm. Unfortunately, the person was too cunning, and I couldn’t catch up.”

“I see.”

A bearded cultivator said, “Senior Ning, please wait a moment. I will immediately report to the City Lord. Our Immortal White Dragon City cannot tolerate such acts within the city!”

“Alright.”

Ning Daoran nodded, then immediately returned to Lin Man’s cave mansion.

As for talks of the Immortal White Dragon City not tolerating disturbances within the city, he privately thought such statements were merely for show. It seemed too coincidental that these City Patrol Cultivators appeared just there as if it had been arranged beforehand.

Nothing was probably as simple as it appeared on the surface.

…

Inside the cave mansion.

Big Stupid Deer stood by Lin Man’s side, not leaving her even for a step.

Although Lin Man had had a fright, a woman of her caliber had already regained her composure by now. She softly furrowed her brows and said, “Fellow Daoist Ning, thank you for saving my life. I will definitely repay you!”

“Talisman Master Lin, no need for such formalities.”

Ning Daoran waved his hand, saying, “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch that person and didn’t figure out his identity.”

“Sigh…”

Lin Man’s beautiful brows furrowed lightly, “It seems that residing here for a long time and possessing third-tier Talisman Dao skills, I’ve ultimately offended someone.”

Ning Daoran remained silent, merely continuing to help Lin Man inspect the prohibitions of the Cave Mansion.

Soon thereafter, a spirited voice came from outside, “Talisman Master Lin, I am Long Zhuojun. It has come to my attention that someone has breached your Cave Mansion using Array Devouring Worms. Please open the prohibition of your Cave Mansion. I have already ordered Immortal City to be sealed off; they won’t escape.”

Lin Man lifted a hand, and the prohibition of the Cave Mansion immediately dispersed.

From the outside, a burly man adorned in a majestic deep red Treasure Armor walked in. The man’s Blood Qi was extremely vigorous, resembling a fierce fire burning intensely. Although he possessed no Mana, his mere presence commanded a natural authoritative pressure.

Long Zhuojun, the City Lord of Immortal White Dragon City, a Late-stage Baodan Martial Artist.

It was said that his strength was formidable, and once he was in close proximity, his strength came dangerously close to that of a Quasi-Nascent Soul Stage.

Following Long Zhuojun were two Golden Core cultivators and several Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Even someone like Chen Wen, a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, didn’t qualify to follow closely.

“Talisman Master Lin, I apologize for startling you. This is my oversight,” Long Zhuojun said penitently.

Long Zhuojun bowed slightly, his waist bending very low.

His demeanor towards Lin Man was very humble, which was unnecessary, as the gap between Late-stage Foundation Establishment and Late-stage Baodan was immense–so vast that at this moment, Lin Man couldn’t even see Long Zhuojun’s back.

Ning Daoran furrowed his brows.

It seemed the rumors spreading throughout the Immortal City were true; City Lord Long had an unrequited affection towards Lin Man, constantly attempting to woo her without success.

“City Lord, there’s no need for such politeness. Lin Man cannot accept this honor.”

Lin Man nodded with an exceedingly calm demeanor.

Long Zhuojun slowly looked up, his gaze landing on Ning Daoran, his Late-stage Baodan Martial Artist aura sweeping over him, instantly discerning Ning Daoran’s Cultivation level.

A Golden Core Early Stage, accompanied by a Golden Core Early Stage Spiritual Beast–exactly as the intelligence he had.

“Is this Fellow Daoist Ning, the Array Master?”

Long Zhuojun lightly bowed, “Although I have not met Fellow Daoist face to face, I have long heard of your renowned name. There aren’t many high-level Array Masters in Immortal White Dragon City. Your presence is like sending charcoal in snowy weather, and I must thank you on behalf of Immortal White Dragon City.”

“City Lord, you flatter me.”

Ning Daoran nodded, his expression neither servile nor overbearing.

Long Zhuojun immediately stepped forward, together with two Golden Core cultivators, to examine the parts of the array that were damaged.

“Indeed, this is the work of Array Devouring Worms.”

One of the Golden Core elders raised his hand and pulled a fragment of prohibition material from the ground, which had been half-eaten. He frowned and said, “Array Devouring Worms are incredibly rare. Who possesses such a creature and used it against Talisman Master Lin? What exactly are their intentions?”

“This must be investigated thoroughly!”

Long Zhuojun declared with power that demanded obedience, “Otherwise, how can I face Talisman Master Lin?”

“Yes, City Lord!”

Everyone bowed, and they began to collect materials. A few officials with the looks of arrest officers came to ask Ning Daoran about the specific situation at that time. Ning Daoran roughly explained the situation, omitting the matter of the Third-tier Puppet Mechanism Snake.

That Mechanical Snake was a valuable item and still had potential to be repaired, and he had no intention of handing it over.

As for the investigation within Immortal White Dragon City and whether they could find the grey-robed elder, Ning Daoran retained a reserved attitude.

“Talisman Master Lin.”

Long Zhuojun said, “Since the prohibition of this Cave Mansion has been breached, and this is Immortal White Dragon City’s negligence, the responsibility is entirely with the city. All repair costs will be covered by the city. However, while the prohibition is being repaired, Talisman Master Lin will not have a place to cultivate. In that case, I have a few Cave Mansions located on a Third-tier Spirit Vein; if Talisman Master Lin does not mind…”

“City Lord, you are too kind.”

Lin Man, with eyes gentle as water, glanced at Ning Daoran nearby, and said, “I plan to entrust the repair of the Cave Mansion’s prohibition to Array Master Ning. As a Second-Order High-Grade Array Master, he is fully capable of handling such prohibition. If the City Lord feels embarrassed, you could provide the Spirit Stones required for the repair to Array Master Ning.”

“Of course…”

City Lord Long’s mouth twitched slightly, and he instructed a Late-stage Foundation Establishment official of the city, “Make a record later; all expenses for the Array Master Ning’s repair of the prohibition will be covered by the city.”

“Yes, City Lord!”

“Talisman Master Lin…”

It appeared that Long Zhuojun noticed Lin Man’s impatience, “In that case, we will not disturb you further. Once we have news of the perpetrator, the city will notify Talisman Master Lin immediately. We will take our leave now.”

“With respect, City Lord.”

Lin Man nodded and paid her respects, watching as Long Zhuojun and his entourage departed.

In a blink of an eye, only two people and one deer remained inside the Cave Mansion.

Lin Man reactivated the prohibition, revealing a hint of helplessness.

Ning Daoran’s attention was wholly on the prohibition. He had already figured out how to repair and reinforce the prohibition of Lin Man’s Cave Mansion. On top of the original Ten Layers, another Twenty Layers would be added. Furthermore, several interconnected prohibitions were needed. If one of the prohibitions encountered an attack, the rest would alert, ensuring early warning. In this way, even if Array Devouring Worms attacked again, they would be detected early.

Of course, these ingenious methods were all Ning Daoran’s own creations after he advanced to a Third-tier Array Master. While he might have been conventional in other areas, in the Array Path, he was a true unparalleled genius.

…

On the city streets.

Long Zhuojun, clad in armor, walked with a Mid-stage Golden Core elder, whispering among themselves.

“This Ning Array Master and Lin Man are quite close; when did this start?”

“I am not aware…”

…

Long Zhuojun frowned, “Check on this Ning Array Master quietly. I will not allow anyone to take Lin Man away from me!”