Chapter 116 - 111: A Sense of Unease
Chapter 116: Chapter 111: A Sense of Unease
A Tier Two Spirit Pet was indeed terrifying, but Yu Changsheng wasn’t too worried. If he went all out, his chances of winning were still high.
However, this was just the first round of the competition. There was no need to clash with Miao Wenlun prematurely, especially since there were no conflicts of interest between them.
As he ventured deeper into the forest, Yu Changsheng noticed something was amiss.
’This place... is a little too quiet.’
Yu Changsheng furrowed his brow, meticulously scanning the surroundings with his Divine Sense, but he found nothing out of the ordinary.
’Generally, in this kind of forest terrain with such a dense Spiritual Qi environment, the deeper you go, the more Spirit Beasts there should be. But the further I’ve walked, the scarcer they’ve become. I can barely see any birds or beasts...’
After a moment of contemplation, a guess formed in Yu Changsheng’s mind.
’Unless... there’s an extremely powerful presence in this area, one whose might deters all other Spirit Beasts from daring to set foot here...’
With this thought, Yu Changsheng paused his steps. He pondered for a moment, then changed direction and began heading toward the outer edge of the forest.
Although it was only the first round and there shouldn’t be any uncontrollable dangers, it was never wrong to be cautious. He should avoid unnecessary risks whenever possible.
More importantly, for some unknown reason, a faint sense of unease had taken root in his heart. The longer he stayed here, the stronger this feeling grew.
As he walked toward the outskirts, the feeling of unease lessened slightly but didn’t disappear completely. This made Yu Changsheng’s expression turn a little more solemn.
His recent exploration of the forest had already been quite fruitful. The area was rarely tread upon by people, so Spirit Grass and the like grew in abundance. At the very least, he wouldn’t be lacking raw materials for Alchemy for a while. There was no need to take any more risks.
Backed by his powerful Divine Sense, he could avoid many dangers in advance, but that didn’t mean this place was completely safe. Along the way, Yu Changsheng had already seen the corpses of several disciples.
They had fallen to either sudden ambushes from Fierce Beasts or to the poisonous gas that crept in from the surrounding clouds, killing silently and without a trace.
About two hours later, Yu Changsheng made a discovery and immediately sped off eastward.
Within his Divine Sense, he detected fluctuations of Technique to the east—and not just from one source. It seemed several people were fighting.
As he drew closer, the image in his Divine Sense grew clearer and more detailed.
It was a massive, perfectly square Cloud Platform, pure white in color. It was about thirty zhang long and wide, and three zhang high. Mist swirled around it, and mysterious patterns were carved into its surface, shimmering with a strange halo of light.
Additionally, a thin blue barrier of light enveloped the platform, preventing the surrounding mist, poisonous gas, and other things from intruding, creating a relatively safe space.
’A Cloud Platform!’
And at this moment, atop the Cloud Platform, just as Yu Changsheng had sensed, three people were locked in combat. They were two men and a woman, all appearing middle-aged, exchanging ruthless Techniques without holding back. From the looks of it, they had been there for some time.
Besides the three of them, there was also the body of an anonymous disciple on the platform. Judging by the state of the corpse—its face purplish-blue and its body stiff—it had clearly died from a potent poison. A truly miserable end.
’Two at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, one at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.’
The two at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer were the male disciples. One wore a blood-red robe and reeked of Evil Qi. His Spirit Pet was a Tier One Ninth Layer Wind and Cloud Goose!
The other male disciple looked slightly younger. He wore a green robe and also had a Qi Refining Ninth Layer Cultivation. His Spirit Pet was a Tier One Ninth Layer Earth-Split Rat.
In contrast, the sole female disciple was decent-looking with fair, well-maintained skin. Her Cultivation was a bit lower, only at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
However, it was unclear how she had raised it, but a large, green snake coiled protectively beside her. Its eerie green eyes glowed with a cold light as it flicked its tongue. Judging by its aura, it had already reached Tier One Peak!
Because of this, the three were at a stalemate, unable to gain an advantage over one another. They probed with attacks while remaining wary of each other, none daring to use their full strength, creating a delicate balance.
’A Tier One Peak Biluo Snake... Mastery in Wood Attribute Magic, highly venomous, and a physically powerful body... Wait, it seems to be a mutated variant? Quite rare...’
Observing silently from the shadows, Yu Changsheng was lost in thought.
’If I could have it Devoured... it could help my Red Refining Snake ascend to the next level!’
Just then, the situation on the Cloud Platform shifted slightly. Perhaps realizing this stalemate was getting them nowhere, the disciple in the green robe was the first to speak, addressing the one in the blood-red robe.
"Senior Brother Chen, how about this? Let’s team up and eliminate this bitch first. We can decide the ownership of the Cloud Platform afterward. Otherwise, with that venomous snake lurking nearby, it might land a fatal blow at any moment, and that would be bad for us."
After hearing this, the disciple in the blood-red robe thought for a moment. He squinted, sizing up the Biluo Snake with a flicker of fear in his eyes. After a long pause, he nodded slightly and said in a somewhat hoarse voice:
"Alright, we’ll do as you say. Let’s get rid of this woman first. I never expected you, Wang Xin Yu, to be hiding your strength so well. I underestimated you."
Wang Xin Yu’s expression changed slightly. She took half a step back without a sound, a cold glint flashing in her eyes as she sneered.
"How pathetic. Two Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators ganging up on a little Qi Refining Eighth Layer girl like me. People would laugh if they heard about this. What, are you afraid of me?"
"Think whatever you want. Weren’t you shameless enough when you ambushed Wang Ran? You could strike down your own companion without a second thought. When it comes to shamelessness, who can compare to you?"
The man in the blood-red robe remained unmoved. He pointed to the corpse lying not far away on the Cloud Platform as his Evil Qi began to coalesce.
Wang Xin Yu was momentarily speechless. The two men exchanged a look. In an instant, their figures erupted into motion, shooting toward Wang Xin Yu. At the same time, their Spirit Pets, the Wind and Cloud Goose and the Earth-Split Rat, attacked the Biluo Snake in perfect concert.
"Wind and Cloud Goose! Earth-Split Rat! Stall the Biluo Snake!"
With two sharp commands, the Wind and Cloud Goose and the Earth-Split Rat immediately engaged the Biluo Snake. They only interfered with it sporadically, however, avoiding any real, substantive conflict.
Their thinking was simple. The Biluo Snake was at Tier One Peak, and a mutated one at that. Neither of them could handle it alone. But Wang Xin Yu herself was only at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. That being the case, their best bet was to tie up the Biluo Snake and focus on eliminating its master first.
Most Beast Masters weren’t particularly outstanding in personal combat. With their advantage in Realm, the two men were confident they could take down Wang Xin Yu in short order by working together. Once she was dealt with, the Biluo Snake would naturally no longer be a threat.