Chapter 11: Just a Boy

Facing Ning Zhanji's sudden test, the others looked at each other in dismay.

Ning Zhuo guessed aloud, "These spirit plants are all young and of little value, so harvesting them wouldn't be for the plants themselves. I think it must be to maintain this passage, a deliberate clearing. Spirit plants attract spirit beasts and demonic beasts. If our clan intends to use this passage long-term, it's clearly about preventing problems before they arise."

"Not bad," Ning Zhanji nodded. "The clan academy's training is proving effective."

"Pick one of these spirit plants as a reward for answering correctly."

"As for which one you choose, that depends on your discerning eye."

Without hesitation, Ning Zhuo reached out and took a Fire Crystal Grass, then thanked him, "Thank you, Lord Ning Zhanji! I have some knowledge of the herb market. Among these spirit plants, this Fire Crystal Grass is of the best quality, and its selling price will surely be the highest."

Ning Zhanji nodded, then shook his head. "Choosing the one with the highest market value isn't bad."

"But if I were you, I would have chosen the Vigorous Ginseng."

"Because as members of the Ning Clan, we cultivate ice-attribute techniques. The Fire Crystal Grass isn't suited to our physique. But the Vigorous Ginseng is beneficial, able to nourish our physical bodies."

"You're still young. Don't get caught up in the allure of money. Know that investing in yourself is the best path to success."

"Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you'll have a different world to explore."

Hearing this, Ning Zhuo showed a look of respectful instruction.

Ning Zhanji seized the opportunity to instill his wisdom, "Excellent cultivators are those who dare to strive. One must fully assess the risk-reward ratio. If you join the Battle Hall and are assigned to guard this place, you can harvest several spirit plants every day, with the protection of the temporary camp. This is a rare opportunity."

"Often, rejecting risk is rejecting opportunity."

Ning Zhuo revealed a look of interest.

This change in expression did not escape Ning Zhanji's notice, who chuckled inwardly, "He's still just a boy..."

"Lord, I want to be stationed here," Ning Yong exclaimed.

Ning Zhanji chuckled. "Newcomer, you need to pass the special training first."

The Ning Clan cultivator team entered an underground hall.

This was clearly a forward base built specifically by the Ning Clan.

Two Ning Clan cultivators remained stationed in the hall.

The stationed cultivators quickly responded.

Ning Zhanji ordered a temporary rest, while he himself stood in the center of the underground hall, channeling his magical power and forming hand seals.

Immediately, complex array patterns appeared on the cave walls above the hall.

At the center of the array patterns, an array disc the size of a millstone slowly descended, eventually landing in front of Ning Zhanji.

Ning Zhanji placed his hands on the array disc and used his divine sense to communicate with it, quickly accessing the recorded information within. In a few breaths, he understood everything that had happened at this forward camp.

Having done this, he took out spirit stones from his pouch and replaced all the spirit stones in the array disc that had been completely turned to gray stone or had become mostly dim.

After a brief rest, the Ning Clan cultivator team continued their journey.

In the subsequent journey, Ning Zhuo passed through a total of three forward camps.

Some were used for rest, while others were simply passed through.

As they delved deeper into the volcanic depths, the threats gradually increased.

The traces of demonic beasts became noticeably more frequent.

There were Fire Fleece Rats the size of palms, Stone Heads capable of flying in mid-air - Crimson Rock Fiends - and Flame Striders.

"Halt!" Ning Zhanji, who had been leading the way, suddenly raised his hand, stopping in place.

The cultivators quickly stopped, transitioning from motion to stillness, demonstrating excellent tactical discipline.

Ning Zhanji lowered his head, carefully examining a small ditch in front of him.

He reached out a finger and gently touched the concave surface of the ditch. The surface was smooth, emitting a faint, glazed luster.

"It's a Fire Serpent, likely over a hundred years old, a Foundation Establishment-level demonic beast," Ning Zhanji introduced, then ordered the entire force to be on alert.

Ning Yong, on the other hand, was carefree and excited. "It's finally here? With Lord Ning Zhanji here, what's there to fear from a mere demonic beast?"

Ning Chen analyzed, "Aside from us newcomers, there are six Foundation Establishment cultivators here, and the rest are high-level Qi Refining cultivators."

"A mere Foundation Establishment-level demonic beast."

Ning Zhuo, however, was secretly vigilant.

He knew that demonic beasts often possessed natural physical gifts far exceeding those of human cultivators. Moreover, this was the Crimson Flame Fiend Cavern. If a prolonged battle were to occur, it could attract other demonic beasts to come and besiege them.

The Ning Clan cultivator team continued to advance.

But this time, their speed noticeably slowed down, and the atmosphere within the team also changed.

Before long, they discovered the Fire Serpent.

The Fire Serpent had a slender body, its entire being radiating a dazzling firelight. The entire serpent resembled a long strip of intensely burning flame.

In fact, it was flame that had achieved sentience, lacking the flesh and blood of a conventional demonic beast.

The Fire Serpent was ferocious in nature and extremely fast, swimming through the rocks, often burning a serpent trail on the surface of the stones.

Just now, Ning Zhanji had discovered the serpent trail and judged the creature's power from the width of the trail and the extent of the burning on the concave surface.

Now, they had encountered the source, and they found that Ning Zhanji's judgment had been accurate.

This was indeed a Foundation Establishment-level demonic beast.

The Ning Clan cultivators began to battle.

First, some cultivators threw out array discs, temporarily setting up an array to conceal the aura of the group.

Then, a large number of cultivators began to brew spells.

Soon after, streams of water arrows shot towards the Fire Serpent.

The Fire Serpent first suffered a wave of concentrated fire, its flame light dimming by more than half before it reacted.

The Fire Serpent pounced on the Ning Clan cultivator team with fierce momentum.

Two burly men from the Ning Clan cultivators, covered in various spells, stepped forward to withstand the Fire Serpent head-on, holding it in place.

The remaining cultivators cast spells again, both empowering the close-combat cultivators and actively damaging the Fire Serpent.

The Fire Serpent was overwhelmed, and its body was reduced by a third by the successive water-based and ice-based spells.

Knowing it was no match, the Fire Serpent tried to flee.

Ning Zhanji moved like lightning, intercepting the Fire Serpent. He clapped his palms together, striking out two frost-condensed palm prints.

The palm prints flew through the air, exuding a bone-chilling aura. The Fire Serpent was enveloped, and its movements slowed down.

*Bang! Bang!*

Two sounds, almost overlapping, and the frost palm prints directly crushed the Fire Serpent.

A beautiful surprise attack!

Ning Yong's eyes shone with excitement. "This is Lord Ning Zhanji!"

His words revealed an extremely strong longing and admiration.

Ning Zhuo nodded repeatedly, also wearing a similar expression to Ning Yong's, but inwardly he wondered, "In this volcano, where fire spiritual energy is abnormally rich, using ice frost spells is hardly effective. Why are they all using them?"

After the next few battles of hunting demonic beasts, Ning Zhuo gradually understood.

It turned out that Ning Zhanji was consciously training his troops.

When encountering weaker demonic beasts and sprites, they used spells to train their coordination.

When encountering powerful demonic beasts, the Ning Clan cultivators used various magical artifacts, with Ning Zhanji leading the attack.

To avoid any complications, the Ning Clan cultivators were focused on quick battles, striving to end the battle in the shortest possible time.

"There's a Flame-Fused Demonic Ape ahead!" Suddenly, the cultivator responsible for scouting called out a warning.

The entire team was stunned.

Adult Flame-Fused Demonic Apes were extremely troublesome. One ape could be worth ten Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Clearly, the chances of finding a young ape that had reached this place were very small.

Even Ning Zhanji frowned.

"Wait, the Demonic Ape's condition seems off." The scouting cultivator closed his eyes tightly, the headband he wore emitting a faint glow.

"It seems to be dead?!" The scouting cultivator opened his eyes, somewhat incredulous.