Chapter 530 - 320: Chance Encounter with a Rakshasa, Tribulation of the Flower Throne (Part 2)

Chapter 530: Chapter 320: Chance Encounter with a Rakshasa, Tribulation of the Flower Throne (Part 2)

This was one of the major frustrations for Martial Artists fighting in the border regions. They had to establish camps or strongholds; otherwise, there was no way to handle combat resupplies or collect spoils of war. You couldn’t very well fight while lugging around a bunch of bags, could you? How was that even supposed to work?

An incredible ability like Yu Fei’s—being able to go wherever he pleased with his supplies always on hand—was enough to make anyone green with envy.

"Let’s go."

After packing up, the three set off together. Their journey would take them past thirteen Yuanmo biological pod clusters. To be safe, they chose a longer route to stay as far away from the pods as possible.

They had to be especially careful in the region named Blackwater Bay, which was home to the largest cluster of biological pods in this border region. A Rank-9 Yuanmo was stationed there.

A creature of that level either had to be suppressed by a Martial Saint or confronted by dozens of Grandmasters working in formation. Given their limited strength, if the three of them were discovered, only Yu Fei would likely be able to escape.

Yu Fei established a mental network, linking himself and Su Yue. This allowed their perceptive abilities to stack to a small degree. Su Yue’s strongest senses were geared toward changes in the world’s ambient energy and the detection of life force. With her power as a Grandmaster, Su Yue could detect the movement of a single mouse in its burrow within a fifty-li radius.

These were two aspects Yu Fei’s own perception lacked. After their mental networks were linked, Yu Fei received a great deal of supplementary information. But it was Su Yue who was truly surprised.

This synergy didn’t mean one directly acquired the other’s abilities; rather, it worked by sharing information.

It was like two people standing back-to-back, one facing north and the other south. You see a mountain, and I see a river. You tell me how high and distant the mountain is, and I tell you how wide and deep the river is. But you can’t see the river, and I can’t see the mountain.

Yet, through each other’s descriptions, we both know that the area has both a mountain and a river.

"Yu Fei, you actually have X-ray vision? And existence perception?"

She was incredibly envious of these two abilities, especially existence perception, which was far more effective than her own life-force detection.

A Martial Artist practicing a special Cultivation Technique could suppress or conceal their life force to some degree, but existence perception was on another level. Unless something was inanimate, it was nearly impossible for any living being to hide its own existence. It was more like a form of perception tied to fate or causality.

"X-ray vision?"

Yan Sea exclaimed in shock. "Such a shameless ability exists?"

He knew that the perceptive abilities of prodigious Martial Artists were astonishing, but he wasn’t clear on the details. Even the strange and wondrous abilities Su Yue occasionally demonstrated were enough to leave him in awe.

"What are you thinking, Yan Sea?"

Yu Fei was speechless. Ever since Yan Sea had overcome his inner demons, he had become much more animated and no longer wore the perpetually worried expression he used to.

Su Yue’s interest was piqued. She asked curiously, "So, Yu Fei, do you ever secretly use your X-ray vision to check out other Martial Artists’ figures?"

Yu Fei rolled his eyes. "Theoretically, yes. But to precisely see through clothing, you’d have to carefully control the penetration depth at every single point, perfectly filtering out the interference from clothes and armor. It’s practically impossible."

"It would only be possible if the person stood perfectly still and cooperated, allowing me to spend a significant amount of time controlling it little by little. Just think about it—a fraction of a millimeter too deep and you’d see subcutaneous tissue; a fraction too shallow and it wouldn’t work at all. You’d just see a bloody, blurry mess. Besides, Martial Artists are almost always moving at high speeds. How could I possibly use it then? It’s not some kind of conceptual-level power!"

"And besides, peeping on someone at close range would be noticed. I’m not that much of a pervert!"

"The best uses for this ability are detecting ambushes, finding hidden rooms, and hunting for treasure, that’s it!"

Su Yue covered her mouth with a giggle. "Why are you explaining so much? We were just curious. Unless... have you actually tried it before?"

Yan Sea chimed in, "Yeah, that’s right! Yu Fei, you’d better not be up to no good!"

Yu Fei decided he’d had enough of these two lunatics.

"Enough nonsense. Let’s get moving. You two should be thinking about how you’re going to explain yourselves to Honglian and prepare for your punishment!"

...

After a two-day trek covering thousands of miles, they arrived at the Blackwater Bay region.

Yu Fei gazed into the distance. This was clearly the main battlefield of the Demon Mountain Realm.

Biological pods stretched for dozens of li, some of them a shade of green so dark it was almost purple.

The three of them became even more cautious. They only glanced at it from a distance before moving on. Three Class-A legions were stationed in the Blackwater Bay region, making it the most critical core area in this realm. Three Martial Saints were permanently stationed here, responsible for coordinating the entire battlefield.

Truth be told, if humanity ever got serious, the seemingly vast Blackwater Bay region would be easy to overrun. The problem was dealing with the inevitable Yuanmo counterattack that would follow.

The concept known as the Cangyun Constant made it impossible for human forces to press their advantage.

The war in the Demon Mountain Realm had escalated to the point where multiple Martial Saints were required on standby precisely because humanity had once, carelessly, struck too hard, and now there was no going back.

"Stop! Fall back, now...!"

The three of them were moving stealthily when Yu Fei suddenly called a halt, ordering Su Yue to retreat with Yan Sea.

A precognitive warning flared in his mind; he had detected a powerful threat!

’We’ve been exposed!’

Yu Fei quickly instructed them over the mental network.

’Su Yue, take Yan Sea and fall back at least a thousand li. I’ll find you once it’s safe!’

After sending the message, Yu Fei suddenly broke cover and shot forward.

’Then what about you!’

Yan Sea yelled anxiously over the mental link.

’Go, now! I have Spatial Teleportation!’

Su Yue, however, didn’t hesitate for a second. She grabbed Yan Sea and ran.

One had to trust the judgment of a top-tier combat squad leader. Even though Yu Fei hadn’t graduated yet, he was one in a million, a prodigy who cultivated all sorts of profound Secret Techniques. His strength and abilities were far beyond what an ordinary Grandmaster like Yan Sea could possibly imagine.

Every combat squad leader Su Yue had ever encountered had made her feel that the gap between them was as wide as a chasm—and Yu Fei was even more of a prodigy than any of them.

Yu Fei charged directly toward the source of the danger. He had to buy time for Su Yue and Yan Sea.

Within a hundred-li radius, he finally discovered the reason they had been exposed.

He had run into a formal contingent of over a hundred Rank-8 Yuanmo, followed by more than a thousand Rank-7 Yuanmo.

And at the center of these Rank-8 Yuanmo was a special type of Yuanmo he had only ever seen in intelligence files.

The Flower Rakshasa.

The Flower Rakshasa was vastly different from other types of Yuanmo. They were exclusively female, with crimson eyes, moon-white skin, and sultry figures.

Moreover, they were a rare unit among the Yuanmo nobility that wore no armor and wielded no weapons.

A Flower Rakshasa wore only a simple gauze wrap, its private areas covered by mere scraps of cloth. Combined with its ridiculously exaggerated physique, it looked like one of those eye-catching CG models from a low-budget adult browser game.

The Flower Rakshasa’s offensive and defensive capabilities were poor, but it was one of the few units that could command other Yuanmo in battle and possessed an incredibly strong perception-type ability.

Human Martial Artists also referred to the Flower Rakshasa as the Flower Throne.

Yu Fei recalled that a Flower Rakshasa’s perception could reach up to a thousand kilometers, with a precise detection range of two hundred kilometers. It was almost impossible for any human Martial Artist to move stealthily in its presence.

’I have to kill this Flower Rakshasa!’

Yu Fei made an instant decision. To escape, the three of them had to cross the Blackwater Bay area; it was unavoidable. Ahead lay the human legions’ encampment, where Yan Sea and Su Yue’s awkward status meant they couldn’t risk being discovered. Behind them was a barren dead zone.

Although he could use his spatial abilities for stealth, he would still leave behind faint spatial fluctuations.

And so, he immediately charged against the odds, straight into the Yuanmo army.

The Flower Rakshasa, seated on a blood-red throne, watched the distant human Martial Artist charge toward her like a moth to a flame, and the corners of her lips curled up involuntarily.

Her delicate face was not as rigid as that of a typical Yuanmo; her every expression was perfectly natural.

"Capture that human for me. I’m rather curious... what gives a puny, D-class Warrior the audacity to charge us? Has he lost his mind?"

With a flick of a long, pale finger, a Rank-8 Yuanmo led ten Rank-7 Yuanmo to intercept Yu Fei, moving even faster than him. Their formation was spread out, with some even looping around to cut off his retreat, clearly worried he might try to escape.

The Flower Rakshasa paid him no further attention. The realm Yu Fei was displaying was far too low, and he hadn’t used Spatial Teleportation. From any angle, his actions were nothing short of suicidal.

’This is so boring. When will this mission ever be over!’

Lan Qing’s eyes were vacant. The long, unending mission—an unbreakable directive—had left her feeling completely numb.