Chapter 127: Demon Slaying Conference
‘Oof…’
Inside the aura fountain, Xu Ning let out a long sigh before opening his eyes.
Just now, Xu Ning once again absorbed 1 unit of energy.
It had been sixteen days since Xu Ning entered the aura fountain.
With the help of the aura fountain, Xu Ning had accumulated a total of 160 units of energy.
The Thousand Source Bug that he carried with him also gave 80 units of energy.
Xu Ning held some expectations for the Thousand Source Bug. At first, he wondered whether the Thousand Source Bug would be able to increase its rate of expelling Aura Crystal or the quality of the Aura Crystals once it entered the aura fountain..
However, Xu Ning was rather disappointed in the result. There had been no changes in the Aura Crystals at all.
“It’s been half a month now, but the Knife Moon Crowd still hasn’t taken action yet.”
Xu Ning was a little confused.
He had told Xing Er that if the Seven Boxers encountered any trouble during his training period, to come find him.
But even after waiting a long time, no one had come and caused trouble for them yet.
‘I’ll go outside and take a look.’
Xu Ning had stayed in the aura fountain for more than ten days. Whether it was to relax or to absorb aura, he stayed in the aura fountain, not moving a single inch. At the end of it, he felt a little bored.
Xu Ning jumped out of the aura fountain.
Xu Ning rushed to the Spring Moon Courtyard.
When Xu Ning arrived there, Le Caiwei was there as well.
“Sister Le.”
Xu Ning greeted her.
“Xu Ning, why did you come out of the aura fountain?”
Le Caiwei was a little surprised.
She thought Xu Ning would stay there for a while.
“I told Xing Er before that if the Seven Boxers encountered any trouble, to come find me, but for half a month, there was no movement at all. I thought it was strange, so I decided to come and take a look.”
Xu Ning asked, “Is the Knife Moon Crowd sorted?”
As Xu Ning was talking, Ning Xun suddenly walked in from outside the house.
He instantly smiled at Xu Ning.
“Xu Ning!”
Ning Xun was the first to step forward with an enthusiastic attitude.
“Brother Ning?”
Xu Ning also didn’t expect Ning Xun to come back so soon.
He had a good impression of Ning Xun.
Ning Xun had helped him when he first joined the Seven Boxers.
“Xu Ning, Caiwei has already told me about your contributions to the Seven Boxers,” Ning Xun said.
“Brother Ning, you’re too kind.”
Xu Ning asked, “Brother Ning, is there any news about Brother Xiao?”
Ning Xun sighed and shook his head.
After hearing that there was no news from Xiao Qiyun, Xu Ning felt a little unfortunate.
“Xu Ning.”
Le Caiwei said, “You don’t actually need to worry too much about the Seven Boxers. Just practice in the aura fountain with peace of mind. If there is any trouble, Brother Ning and the other two void realm martial artists will take care of it.”
“After the recent events, the situation at the Seven Boxers has temporarily stabilized. Although our foundation is still severely damaged, we will not face dissolution.”
Ning Xun also said, “That’s right, including you, there are already four void realm martial artists in the Seven Boxers. We are no longer missing a backbone.”
Xu Ning nodded silently after hearing those words.
After Ning Xun and the other two void realm martial artists returned to the inner sect, they greatly increased the fighting strength of the Seven Boxers.
“The Knife Moon Crowd hasn’t caused any trouble during this period?”
Xu Ning asked again.
“Not just the Knife Moon Crowd, the various groups in the inner sect have been relatively quiet recently.”
Ning Xun explained to Xu Ning, “There is still a month and a half before the demon slaying conference, and all the big faction names will appear there. The elites of the inner sect are all practicing hard and preparing to kill beasts in the most spectacular fashion. They want to perform well at the conference and be noticed by the big names. Hence, they haven’t caused any trouble yet.”
“I see…”
Xu Ning learned that the demon slaying conference was a rare occasion in the Yuelan Faction.
When he was in the spirit realm, he even captured live demon beasts for it.
“So, before the demon slaying conference ends, the situation in the inner sect will be relatively stable.”
Ning Xun said, “When it comes to the demon slaying conference, Xu Ning, you also have to pay attention.”
“Prior to this, Senior Brother Xiao was going to show off his strength and raise the power of the Seven Boxers at the demon slaying conference, but he now ran into a complicated situation. So you’re currently the only one who can display the power of the Seven Boxers at the demon slaying conference.”
Xu Ning didn’t expect Ning Xun to have such high expectations of him.
He said, “Senior Brother Ning, you are a true qi realm martial artist. You are stronger than me.”
Ning Xun smiled, “I know how strong I am, but you’re the mold body realm warrior that can go against a true qi realm warrior. You are truly powerful. For people like you that have accumulated a lot of experience in the mortal realm and have advanced to the void realm, the advancement of the first three stages will be very fast. Thus, I hope that you can advance to the true qi realm in the remaining month or so!”
“As a newcomer, you are likely to be favored by the elders and be accepted as an in-name disciple! Not only will your future be brighter, but it will also provide a layer of protection to our Seven Boxers. At that point, the Knife Moon Crowd won’t dare to insult us anymore.”
Xu Ning could feel that Ning Xun had a lot of expectations of him.
“I will try my best.”
Xu Ning didn’t give a guarantee.
But in fact, in one and a half month’s time, Xu Ning would definitely be able to accumulate 800 units of energy and advance to the true qi realm.
“Working hard to advance to the true qi realm is also for the sake of my Seven Boxers. I have discussed this with Caiwei before—I want to direct all of the resources of the Seven Boxers to help you.”
Ning Xun said, “Xu Ning, any dan medicine or spirit medicine you need, if you tell us, we will definitely be able to provide them to you.”
Xu Ning could feel sincerity from Ning Xun.
But Xu Ning still asked, “Are the resources still sufficient in the Seven Boxers?”
Xu Ning knew that the people who had jumped ship and went to other internal groups had eaten away a lot of their resources.
The most serious problem was that the Seven Boxers was in a state of dissolution.
The original Seven Boxers had many members and many mission channels. With these, they could easily bring a lot of resources to the Seven Boxers every month.
But with the departure of most of the members, the Seven Boxers now had almost no stable income.
For an organization that needed a stable income of material resources, it would not survive long without cash flow.
“Hmm…”
Ning Xun paused for a moment. “The current situation is indeed not as good as before, but as long as you can advance to the true qi realm, we will do our best to support you.”
Xu Ning slowly nodded.
Although he wanted to improve his strength, he was not willing to take advantage of this opportunity to ask for too many resources. After all, the Seven Boxers still needed enough resources to operate.
However, Xu Ning also knew that only once he became stronger, could the Seven Boxers return to their former state.
“If this is the case, then I will be direct. Brother Ning, I want 30 Pure Source Dans.”
For the former Seven Boxers, 30 Pure Source Dans was half a month’s worth of the members’ salary.
But now, it was close to one-third of their inventory of Pure Source Dans.
“30 Pure Source Dans?”
Ning Xun was a little surprised by Xu Ning’s request.
Pure Source Dans were a universal dan that could be used to increase one’s speed of practice.
However, Xu Ning already had an aura fountain, so Pure Source Dans seemed a bit redundant in Ning Xun’s opinion.
“That’s right.”
Xu Ning nodded.
For other people, the effect of Pure Source Dans was far inferior when compared to aura fountains.
But for Xu Ning, this was different.
30 Pure Source Dans were worth 3000 units of energy!
Coupled with his accumulation of energy over the next one and a half months, this was enough for Xu Ning to cross two stages, and even to simultaneously raise the Flame Breath Bone Sutra and Tidal Fist to the fourth level at the same time!
This would allow Xu Ning to achieve a great leap in strength.
“Well, if you want it, I will give it to you.”
Ning Xun agreed with Xu Ning’s request.
“Thank you, Brother Ning and Sister Le.”
Xu Ning thanked them.
Afterwards, Xu Ning took thirty Pure Source Dans and returned to the aura fountain again.
‘Void realm second stage, void realm third stage, here I come!’
…
Time flew by quickly.
One and a half months went by.
Starting from a few days ago, the atmosphere of the entire Yuelan Faction had gotten quite lively.
That was because the demon slaying conference that was held every few years, was about to begin.
At the demon slaying conference, whether it was outer disciples, inner disciples, or core disciples, everyone had a chance to show off.
If one performed well, it would greatly benefit their future martial arts path.
At the aura fountain.
Xu Ning’s gaze was like a torch. He had a fierce momentum.
Over the past month and a half, Xu Ning was reborn.
‘The demon slaying conference should begin soon!’
With abundant resources, Xu Ning had crossed the void realm second stage to become a martial artist in the void realm third stage: genus realm!
Moreover, Xu Ning had already promoted his Tidal Fist and Flame Breath Bone Sutra to the fourth level.
After his secret techniques advanced to the fourth level, their characteristics had changed.
Xu Ning could now use these two secret techniques to not only grasp and use force, but also cause attribute damage.
The water of Tidal Fist and the fire of the Flame Breath Bone Sutra could both be used in actual combat.
Xu Ning felt that his current strength had even surpassed Xiao Qiyun.
‘Although I have become a lot stronger, if I want to advance again, I need a lot more energy to reach the fourth realm.’
Advancing to the true qi realm consumed 800 energy units, and reaching the genus realm consumed 1,200 energy units.
Advancing the two secret techniques to the fourth level consumed 1000 units of energy.
For the next step, advancing to the void realm fourth stage required 2400 energy units.
‘Although it requires a lot of energy, it would be a lot easier to obtain energy units after my strength improves.’
Xu Ning didn’t hesitate to leave the aura fountain anymore.
“Xu Ning, your seclusion is finally over!”
Xu Ning jumped out and saw Xing Er waiting for him outside.
“Xing Er, why are you here?”
Xu Ning stepped forward.
“The demon slaying conference will begin today. All of us from the Seven Boxers have already gone to Yuelan Square. Seeing that you haven’t finished your seclusion, Sister Le told me to come and get you.”
Xing Er said, “If you didn’t come out in half an hour, I would have jumped in and pulled you out.”
“It starts today…”
This was quite a coincidence. After all, Xu Ning didn’t know the exact date the demon slaying conference would begin.
In fact, he had just advanced two days ago. He was just staying in the aura fountain to absorb more energy.
“Okay, enough small talk, come with me.”
Xing Er urged.
Xing Er took Xu Ning to Yuelan Square.
“So many people!”
After Xu Ning was brought here by Xing Er, he saw a sea of people.
There was a large empty platform on the stage of Yuelan Square.
A circle of stairs surrounded the platform, and the stairs were full of people sitting down.
“Inner disciples are seated at the front.”
After saying that, Xing Er took Xu Ning to the place where the members of the Seven Boxers were seated.
Xu Ning saw Ning Xun, Le Caiwei, Gu Qinghe and the others.
There were only 30 members left in the Seven Boxers, so they didn’t occupy much space.
“Xu Ning’s retreat is over?”
After seeing Xing Er bring Xu Ning, Ning Xun quickly stood up and asked, “How is it?”
Xu Ning gave Ning Xun an affirmative look. “Not bad.”
“Okay!”
Ning Xun immediately felt relieved.
Le Caiwei smiled when Xu Ning said that.
“Xu Ning, sit here with me.”
Le Caiwei asked Xu Ning to sit next to her.
After Xu Ning sat down, he looked around.
He suddenly heard a sound.
“What?”
Xu Ning looked to the right and made eye contact with someone.
She was a young woman in a dress, coupled with a beautiful face and a slender figure.
“She is Gu Yishang from the Knife Moon Crowd.”
Le Caiwei noticed his gaze and said to Xu Ning.
“She is Gu Yishang…”
Xu Ning looked away from Gu Yishang.
He was very confident that Gu Yishang was definitely not his opponent.
“Everyone around us are from inner sect groups.”
Le Caiwei took this opportunity to look at all of the leaders and elites from the various inner sect groups.
Xu Ning also remembered them carefully.
Afterwards, Xu Ning saw Duan Xuefeng seated in front of him.
He was sitting in the forefront where the core disciples were seated.
Suddenly, he heard several shrieks from above Yuelan Square.
A shadow suddenly appeared above everyone’s head.
Xu Ning looked up and saw a dozen colorful birds and demon beasts hovering above his head.
On the top of the flying birds and demon beasts, there was a figure standing tall.
“It’s the Faction Master and elders!”
Le Caiwei said into Xu Ning’s ear.
As the birds and demon beasts approached the large platform in the middle of the square, there were people jumping off the backs of them.
A hundred meter jump was nothing to them.
The Faction Master and elders landed on the platform.
The birds let out a shriek before flying away.
Xu Ning then saw a figure on the platform taking a step forward.
That person was the current Faction Master of the Yuelan Faction: Mi Xingye.
“The Yuelan Faction Demon Slaying Conference begins!”
Mi Xingye and the elders took their seats.
On both sides of Yuelan Square, there were iron cages covered by huge cloths, which were pushed up one by one by the sect disciples.
Beast roars could be heard underneath those huge cloths.
‘There are demon beasts in those cages!’