A Mortal's Supporting Character's Different Kind of Cultivation

On the afternoon of the fifth day after the forbidden area was sealed off, the cultivators from various sects who had been waiting outside the forbidden area for a long time finally made a move.

Seven Core Formation cultivators stepped forward together, raising their hands to summon their natal magic treasures. Together, they once again broke the forbidden area's restrictions, calmly opening the entrance passage. This time, breaking the restrictions and casting the spell was far easier than five days ago, requiring no extra spiritual energy. After the passage was formed, the seven used their magic treasures. The passage remained firmly suspended in place, showing no sign of disappearing.

Seven Core Formation cultivators stood still, their gazes fixed on the depths of the passage, waiting for the disciples undergoing trials within the forbidden area to step out first.

Behind them, a dozen or so Foundation Establishment stage managers from various sects were all tense, their emotions churning. The final outcome of this forbidden area trial was directly tied to the subsequent allocation of Foundation Establishment pills to their sects, concerning their own cultivation resources, so naturally they dared not slack off in the slightest.

Among the crowd, the most anxious and focused were the three Core Formation cultivators from Qingxu Sect, Huangfeng Valley, and Yanyue Sect. The three had made a resource bet beforehand, with the outcome entirely dependent on the harvest of their disciples' trials. They all held their breath, silently watching the entrance to the forbidden area, unwilling to miss the slightest movement.

About half an hour after the passage was firmly opened, the first figure finally staggered out, followed by a series of trial disciples who emerged from the forbidden area in a disheveled state. All of them had injuries of various sizes on their bodies, their faces were full of exhaustion, and they staggered to the side of their respective sect elders, where they sat down cross-legged without saying a word to meditate.

After another meal's time, a large group of disciples emerged, walking in twos and threes, quite unlike the lone cultivators who had previously left seclusion alone. Their expressions varied: some couldn't hide their wild joy and excitement; some returned empty-handed, nearly dying, and looked dejected; while others had narrowly escaped death, their expressions filled with lingering fear.

Seeing that there were no more disciples around, the Core Formation cultivator leading the Spirit Beast Mountain team stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, all the trial disciples have already completed their seclusion. Those who failed to escape in time and remained in the forbidden area..."

Before the words were even finished, a disheveled figure suddenly rushed out of the passage that was about to slowly close. Lu Yunfeng barely made it out of the passage, stumbling and scrambling just before the deadline, and narrowly made it back in time for the exit.

The moment he emerged from the forbidden area's restrictions, the entire entrance to the forbidden area suddenly trembled violently, and a beam of azure light shot into the sky. The next moment, the entrance closed, leaving no trace.

Such has always been the rule of the forbidden area: once the passage to the forbidden area is closed, those who are trapped inside and unable to escape have no chance of survival. Since the opening of the forbidden area in previous years, no one who has been trapped inside has ever reappeared; they have all mysteriously disappeared within the forbidden area. This is the fundamental reason why all disciples do their utmost to rush out of seclusion.

Looking at Lu Yunfeng now, his condition was extremely miserable. His clothes were torn to shreds by the demonic beast's claws and haphazardly draped over his body. He was covered in wounds, and a hideous claw mark ran diagonally from his left chest to his right rib, with flesh turned outwards, almost exposing the white bone. He had already taken healing pills, but he still couldn't stop the bleeding from his wounds. His qi and blood were weak, and his spiritual power was declining.

Lu Yunfeng struggled to his feet, his body covered in injuries, and staggered toward the camp of the Yellow Maple Valley cultivators.

The next moment, a fiery red pill, imbued with warm spiritual energy, was handed directly to him. Just a light sniff made him feel his stagnant blood and qi flow more smoothly, and his spirit was invigorated.

"But that boy from the Lu family, he should take this Bone-Melting Pill immediately to heal his injuries." Li Huayuan spoke calmly and quietly, his expression unchanging.

Lu Yunfeng quickly accepted the pill and bowed, saying, "Thank you for bestowing this pill upon my master."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately swallowed the pill, sat cross-legged on the spot, closed his eyes and concentrated on refining the medicinal power to repair his serious injuries.

On his return journey, Lu Yunfeng was truly unlucky, encountering several waves of high-level demonic beasts blocking his path. At his most perilous moment, a striped, spirit-devouring tiger suddenly attacked him. The tiger's claws were incredibly sharp, and the five-elemental spiritual energy shield he had erected around his body was utterly vulnerable, instantly torn apart by brute force. Had he not, at the critical moment, immediately activated his secret technique, Demonic Blood Transformation, to twist his body and shift his vital points, that tiger's claw would have already ripped his chest and abdomen apart on the spot, killing him instantly.

Even though he narrowly avoided a fatal blow, the deep, bone-revealing claw mark remained on his body. Lu Yunfeng was filled with fear and immediately retreated, unleashing the Wind and Fire Banner with all his might to activate his magic. Fire dragons and wind dragons coiled out to conceal their figures, taking the opportunity to hide in the surrounding shadows and wait for a chance to escape.

The striped tiger was quite intelligent and knew the power of the Wind and Fire Banner magic weapon. Unwilling to confront it head-on, it immediately turned around and leaped into the depths of the surrounding dense forest, holding its breath and lying in wait. It did not engage in a battle with the magic, but secretly followed from a distance, waiting for an opportunity to launch another surprise attack.

Lu Yunfeng watched coldly, his face instantly turning ashen, inwardly realizing the troublesome situation. If it were a direct, all-out battle, he was seventy percent certain he could quickly kill the tiger and escape safely; however, this demonic beast was cunning and ferocious, avoiding direct confrontation and instead using the dense forest terrain to conceal its movements and secretly follow him, waiting for his spiritual energy to weaken before launching another sneak attack, making it impossible to defend against.

He had no intention of getting entangled in the dense forest, so he immediately put away the Wind and Fire Banner and dared not linger for a moment. At the same time, he fully activated the Demonic Energy Locking Technique, wearing a bamboo hat to conceal his aura, and headed at full speed toward the gathering point of the various sects' cultivators without looking back.

Lu Yunfeng knew that the tiger was hesitant to attack because it feared he hadn't yet revealed his trump cards and still had the strength to fight, and didn't want to suffer unnecessary injuries. The tiger was relentlessly pursuing him, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash its power and kill him instantly.

This covert pursuit and standoff was exactly what Lu Yunfeng wanted. Once he broke out of this dense forest, the tiger's natural advantage of using the terrain to launch a sneak attack would be gone, and he could then escape completely without any worries.

Both man and tiger harbored their own thoughts, both fully aware of the other's intentions. Lu Yunfeng remained on high alert throughout, his physical body and spiritual energy stretched to their limits, fully prepared to withstand the tiger's final, deadly attack. If he could withstand this final, fatal sneak attack, he could escape safely; if he couldn't, he would perish here today.

Just as they were only a few feet away from the edge of the dense forest and could escape in an instant, a tiger's roar that shook the mountains and forests suddenly rang out!

Lu Yunfeng felt a tremendous shock to his soul, as if he had been struck by a thousand-pound hammer. His body jerked to a halt, his mind went blank, and his spiritual power nearly went out of control. A claw strike carrying a foul stench aimed straight for his back.

If that claw were to actually strike, the victim would instantly have their intestines ripped out and their stomach to rot, leaving no chance of survival.

At the critical moment, Lu Yunfeng gritted his teeth and endured the pain, suddenly turning around and raising his hand to hold the Wind and Fire Banner horizontally in front of him. The next instant, a tremendous force slammed into the Wind and Fire Banner, carrying him straight out of the dense forest.

Lu Yunfeng staggered a few steps to steady himself, still shaken, and turned to look back. Deep in the dense forest, a pair of merciless tiger eyes were fixed on him, lying dormant for a moment before slowly disappearing into the shadows, never to be heard again.

Lu Yunfeng let out a long sigh of relief. His back was already soaked with cold sweat, and he was filled with lingering fear. He had deliberately exposed his back to lure the tiger into attacking from behind, intending to use the tiger's full force as a shield to propel himself out of the dense forest.

Although the Wind and Fire Banner was not a defensive magical artifact, the spiritual materials used to forge its surface were extremely tough, barely withstanding a fatal blow. However, even with the tiger's full strength, it still tore several rips in the banner's surface, causing the artifact's spiritual light to dim considerably.

Lu Yunfeng looked down at the damage on the Wind and Fire Banner, knowing that the power of this personal magical artifact must have been greatly reduced. He sighed softly, raised his hand to press his still slightly aching chest, and without further delay, set his sights on the meeting point ahead and sped off.

After meditating cross-legged for a while, the medicinal effects were fully absorbed, and his injuries healed rapidly. Lu Yunfeng slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and the fatigue in his eyes lessened considerably.

He thought to himself: As expected of a pill used for Core Formation, its healing effect is indeed well-deserved.

Just then, they overheard the conversation between the Core Formation cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain not far away. His words carried a hint of disdain as he discussed Xiang Zhili, who had just emerged with a Qi Refining level of ten.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yunfeng felt a faint malice in his heart and thought to himself: If this Core Formation cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain knew that Xiang Zhili, whom he looked down upon, was actually a Nascent Soul cultivator in disguise, he would have a different expression on his face.

Before he could think further, Danqiong, the old monster of the Hidden Moon Sect, couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to urge the three sects to come forward immediately to prepare to take inventory of all the spiritual herbs confiscated during this forbidden area trial.