Open A Clinic To Cultivate Myself Chapter 242 Fear At The Formation

Ning Tao took Qing Zhui, Bai Jing and Yin Molan to this palace to start exploring the ruins. Since he had been here before, he acted as their “guide.” But this tour guide knew nothing at all about this ancient underground city, its history or its culture. In fact, although it was the second time he was visiting this place, he still felt a strong surprise and bewilderment over the city.

“Brother Ning, what's up there?” As they strolled, Yin Molan flashed the flashlight above at the overhead sky. They could just about make out the sky and nothing else.

Ning Tao answered, “It's a valley up there, the territory of the Shennongjia primitives.”

“The Shennongjia primitives? Let's go up and take a look.” Bai Jing showed her strong curiosity.

Ning Tao said, “They are very hostile. We will remain here for the time being. Don't go up.”

Qing Zhui said, “Brother Ning and I had fought with the Shennongjia primitives once. They were a large community and exceptionally strong. If it weren't for our swift legs, the consequences would be unimaginable. If we enter their territory, they will surely attack us. We will be running a great risk.”

Even Qing Zhui had said that, so Bai Jing gave up her idea to go up. Qing Zhui was just a bit lower than her in cultivation. If even Qing Zhui had to run, she would not find it easy-going too.

Actually, if all they had wanted was to plunder, Ning Tao could have attacked with Yin Molan, Qing Zhui and Bai Jing. The power of the Mauser pistol would be enough to destroy the primitive tribe above. But if he did that, what difference would he be from other wicked men?

It was for this reason that Ning Tao did not reveal the secret of the Flowers of the Night and the mysterious mosses. He had no problem with Qing Zhui—he could restrain her. But he could not restrain Yin Molan and Bai Jing. The moment Yin Molan and Bai Jing learned about the spiritual materials up there, they would most probably visit this site again alone. They might ma.s.sacre the whole community of Shennongjia primitives.

Although he would not have really killed them, he would have caused their deaths indirectly. He would not do such a deed. It was against the ways of heaven. The path he would tread would be a cultivation path enforcing the laws of heaven. He could not become wicked, nor did he wish anyone with him to perform any wicked acts.

If he was selfish, it was just this bit of selfishness in him.

Yin Molan left the street and pushed open a house door.

There was nothing inside the house.

It was not the only one. Along the way, Yin Molan pushed open several doors. But it was all the same—nothing in every house. They all seemed to uninhabited all along.

Yin Molan came back and said unhappily, “Nothing at all. Brother Ning, why bring us here? To see the stones?”

“Follow me. I will take you to a place.” Ning Tao thought that they had roamed enough. There were only stone buildings in this city and nothing inside the houses, so there was no point continuing their roaming. He instantly changed the route and walked toward the city gate.

The building which seemed to have been sundered by that streak of lightning soon appeared before them. Before Ning Tao could say anything, Yin Molan, Qing Zhui and Bai Jing had halted their footsteps.

An astonished expression showed on Yin Molan's face. “It's… sword Qi!”

“Sword Qi?” Ning Tao had thought the same at first. But this deduction, coming out of the centuries-old fighting demon Yin Molan, certainly had more weight.

Yin Molan said, “Legend has it that sword deities once roamed the magic ancient age. They could soar for thousands of miles on flying swords and could sunder a mountain in one cleave of their swords. If those legends were true, the sword deity cleaving this building apart might not be that powerful.”

Ning Tao's heart was stunned. Using merely sword Qi, someone had sundered this solid building made out of stone… if this weren't considered strong, those more powerful sword deities would have been invincible! If such deities existed, it wouldn't be hard for them to destroy a whole country!

“What sword deities?” Bai Jing was not convinced. “Brother Ning, don't listen to his bulls.h.i.t. The sword deities in legend were as old as the heaven and the earth. The heaven and earth remain, but where are those invincible sword deities?”

Yin Molan gave a light snort, “You aren't a snake spirit. You're a retorting spirit.”

Spirits were spirits. They had no parents and were born out of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, helped by the essence of their birthplace. So they were also called demons. But there were no retorting spirits in this world. Yin Molan was only mocking her.

Ning Tao gave a wry smile. “You two should stop bickering. Follow me. We'll be there soon.”

Once out of the city gate, the landscape before their eyes opened up. Several large stone eggs were lying in a row on the level ground. The darkness enveloped the place and all was silent. They seemed to have arrived at a large graveyard. The stone eggs resembled abnormally-shaped tombstones.

Yin Molan, Qing Zhui, and Bai Jing were all stunned by the bizarre scene before their eyes.

Ning Tao pointed at a stone egg in front. “Senior Yin, you're knowledgeable. Can you read the inscriptions on this stone?”

Yin Molan scrutinized it and shook his head. “I have never seen such writings. But I think they may be runes.”

Ning Tao said, “There is a character on each of these stones. Maybe they are runes. None of them is the same. Do you think this arrangement of stones is a formation?”

Yin Molan thought for a while and said, “It seems so. But then again, it might not be.”

“Why don't we break it and see what's inside?” The moment she said this, Bai Jing unleashed a palm at a stone egg.

Ning Tao did not stop her. He, too, wanted to know if there was anything inside these stones.

Boom!

A m.u.f.fled boom. Although a.s.saulted by demon power, the stone eggs did not show even a crack. There was only a cloud of dust raised by Bai Jing's palm.

“Oh?” Bai Jing furrowed her brows. She stretched out her snake claws and hacked down at it.

Her snake claws and Qing Zhui's were much more powerful than Wolverine's in the movie. With their demon power, they could even split iron boards. But her snake claws only left an indiscernible mark on the stone egg. Even more bizarrely, the mark faded rapidly after her attack!

“Well…” Bai Jing was flabbergasted. She looked at her snake claws and then at the “totally unhurt” stone egg. She could not believe her eyes.

“It is indeed a formation!” Yin Molan p.r.o.nounced his verdict, his face full of astonishment. “This is the first time I have come across such a large formation. I haven't even heard of this before, but I'm sure this formation hides an astonishing secret!”

For some strange reason, Ning Tao thought of that mysterious woman in red again. He hesitated and drew out the refined Mauser pistol from his waist holster. “All of you retreat. Let me see if I can blast this stone apart.”

Breaking the formation with a Mauser pistol was a last resort. But he was eager to unravel the mysteries of the Feminine-moon people. Or perhaps it could also help him unravel the mystery of that mysterious woman in red.

Yin Molan, Qing Zhui, and Bai Jing retreated to a distance away.

Ning Tao held up the flashlight in one hand and the Mauser pistol in the other. He aimed at a stone in the distance and pulled the trigger.

A gunshot and a bullet whizzed out. Almost instantaneously, the stone egg a few dozen meters away was. .h.i.t. A few sparks appeared on the stone's surface, followed by some energy fluctuations. It was the impact of the bullet, together with the spiritual power injected by Ning Tao into the bullet. But they were all absorbed by the stone. No traces remained on the stone egg! It was the same situation—the mark left behind by the bullet swiftly disappeared.

Ning Tao did not continue to shoot. He knew very well that more shots would simply be a waste of his ammunition.

Bai Jing suddenly remembered something. “I know that there's a formation at the First Building of Bai Sheng. There's that tower with the 12 animal zodiacs. A person would be unable to distinguish his true surroundings there. It is a defense system and it can fly as well. It's very tedious to break down such formations. If anyone tries attacking it, he may end up feeling the rebound.”

Ning Tao asked, “So how can it be broken?”

The person answering was not Bai Jing but Yin Molan. “First, we must locate the formation's 'eye.' Then, we unlock the eye. Each formation has a different eye and also requires different items to unlock it. Or you may need some incantation to break the formation down. Of course, if you are powerful enough, you can break it down using sheer strength. Like those sword deities from the magic ancient age. It might be possible to cleave the formation apart with one sword move.”

Ning Tao had to give another wry smile. He was struggling between life and death every month. At the rate the rent of his clinic was inflating, he did not know how long he could survive. Would he have the chance to reach the realm of sword deities?

But he fully believed in Bai Jing and Yin Molan's explanations. This must be a ma.s.sive formation, unbreakable by sheer force. There was also a powerful formation at Sky Clinic. It had self-defense capabilities and could also fly. It could also camouflage itself. Although this formation before him seemed large, it was no match for the formation at Sky Clinic.

“Brother Ning, let's take photos of the runes on these stones. We can go back and study them. We might find a way to break down this formation.” Qing Zhui gave her suggestions.

Ning Tao holstered his Mauser pistol. “Alright, let's all take photos.”

The four of them entered the stone egg formation and took pictures of every stone egg.

Buzz, buzz…

Some noise resembling the humming of a bee resounded from the depths of the formation.

Ning Tao stopped taking photos. He flashed his flashlight over and his spine immediately tingled. Under the illumination of the flashlight, a large swarm of insects were flying toward them. These insects were not big and each were no bigger than a grown man's thumb. They were translucent and blood-red, looking like spiders with dragonfly's wings. There were too many to count. A ma.s.sive swarm was heading here. The scene resembled a red tsunami tide surging toward them.

Before the insects arrived, they had smelt a strong, rotting stench. Even Ning Tao who could neutralize poisons had smelt this stench, ten times more fetid than that of a rotting corpse. Instantly, he felt an awful impulse to retch. Yin Molan, Qing Zhui and Bai Jing were feeling worse than him. They immediately threw up!

“Leave at once!” Ning Tao had no time to dash back into the underground chamber of Feminine-moon City. Opening his medicine chest, he pulled out an ordinary prescription with the picture of a blood lock. He signed it and immediately unlocked the convenient door with his fastest speed.

The man and the three demons dashed into the convenient door and disappeared.

The ordinary prescription drifted down. The angry tide of blood red swept and pa.s.sed. The prescription soon vanished, but the stone eggs formation remained the same. Nothing had changed.