Chapter 230: The Physical Body Is Corrupted
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Chen Fei turned his head to look at Ling Hanjun, noticing that Ling Hanjun showed no reaction to the fluctuations.
Chen Fei remained composed, guiding his horse to the foot of Guanzhou Mountain. He lifted his gaze to the halfway point of the mountain. The mist there remained unchanged compared to before as if the earlier disturbance was merely an illusion.
Ling Hanjun glanced at Chen Fei, awaiting his orders.
Let’s go up the mountain!”
Releasing their horses, Chen Fei’s figure flickered as he dashed towards the mountainside. Ling Hanjun didn’t dare to lag behind and quickly followed.
In just a moment, Ling Hanjun couldn’t see Chen Fei’s figure anymore. Ling Hanjun hesitated briefly, his face filled with conflict.
This should be the best opportunity to escape. However, thinking about Chen Fei’s displayed formidable strength earlier and the majority of his power currently sealed, Ling Hanjun let out a sigh.
Letting someone disappear from his sight like this meant that the other person had a method to deal with him.
When Ling llanjun was a bandit leader himself, he had various methods to control his subordinates, making them obedient and not daring to be disloyal.
Ling Hanjun knew that Chen Fei must also possess similar methods. Once he fell into Chen Fei’s hands, there was no escaping.
After a quarter of an hour, Ling Hanjun spotted Chen Fei on the mountainside. He saw Chen Fei standing before the mist, eyes closed as if sensing the mist ahead.
Cautiously, Ling Hanjun approached Chen Fei, making sure not to make a sound.
“Come, follow me inside.”
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chen Fei’s eyes opened. Before Ling Hanjun could react, Chen Fei grabbed his shoulder and pulled him along, entering the mist together.
All that met their eyes was an expanse of white, as if the whole world had boiled down to just themselves. It wasn’t just their sight that was obscured; all their other senses were suppressed too.
If it weren’t for Chen Fei’s grip on his shoulder, Ling Hanjun might have felt abandoned by the world.
Ling Hanjun had never imagined that being captured one day could bring such a sense of security, it was almost crazy.
With closed eyes, Chen Fei’s vision didn’t offer much assistance in this mist. Not only his eyes, but his ears and sense of touch were all greatly hindered.
Only his core soul energy, a force transcending the Body Tempering realm, could remain unaffected by this mist.
At this moment, the jade pendant in Chen Fei’s embrace emitted a faint light, enhancing his mental perception. Meanwhile, the Thousand Origin Heart Locking Technique swiftly operated, allowing Chen Fei’s core soul energy to agilely sense in all directions.
After careful consideration, Chen Fei ultimately decided to enter the cave, to acquire the possible follow-up techniques of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant. Apart from his modest confidence in his current strength, he was certain that the peripheral mist couldn’t obstruct him.
Ling Hanjun now couldn’t discern directions, not even the sense of time, as both were becoming muddled amidst the mist. He had lost track of how long he had been in the mist.
However, Chen Fei knew that from stepping into the mist until now, approaching the entrance of the cave, not even a quarter of an hour had passed.
As Chen Fei took a step forward, the white mist that had pervaded the surroundings suddenly blocked behind them, and the whole world became dynamic again.
Ling Hanjun felt like he had just awakened from a dream, looking at the cave entrance before him, then back at the mist behind him, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
This feeling was too uncomfortable. Although there was no physical pain, the mental pressure was so intense that Ling Hanjun wasn’t feeling well.
This time hadn’t been long, and Ling Hanjun knew that Chen Fei was right beside him. If he had been alone and entered this mist, after a while, he might not end up lost and starving, but rather, he might end up taking his own life.
“Is this the cave?” Chen Fei looked at the cave before him, not much different from other caves. At most, the entrance was smaller, preventing slightly larger wild beasts from entering.
As a temporary shelter in the forest, this cave would be safer for spending the night.
Perhaps for this reason, Ling Hanjun had mistakenly entered this cave back then and had discovered the beast skin containing the records of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant.
“Yes, this is it.”
Ling Hanjun examined it closely and nodded. The impression of this place was deeply ingrained in his memory due to the beast skin.
Let’s go!”
Chen Fei nodded, releasing his grip on Ling Hanjun’s shoulder and giving him a glance. Ling Hanjun immediately understood and ignited the torch he carried. He took the lead, exploring the path for Chen Fei.
Bowing as they entered the cave, a slightly peculiar smell wafted into Chen Fei’s nose. Due to the Dragon Suppressing Elephant’s influence, his senses were far more acute than an ordinary body Tempering practitioner’s.
The cave was narrow and elongated, and after walking for dozens of meters, they reached its end. However, this wasn’t the final destination. Beside it, a newly created opening was evident, showing signs of being forcibly made.
“The first time I came here, we could only crawl through here,” Ling Hanjun whispered.
Chen Fei nodded. Clearly, this place had been expanded by Xu Wangliang and his group. Crawling in and out was somewhat undignified, and if they encountered any danger, it would be troublesome during an escape.
Ling Hanjun continued to lead the way, and upon entering the new passage, the space inside was noticeably larger than outside. The peculiar scent Chen Fei had detected earlier became stronger here.
After advancing just a dozen meters, Ling Hanjun’s footsteps came to a sudden halt. Ahead lay the remains of a demon beast illuminated by the torchlight the spider demon Ling Hanjun had mentioned earlier.
Chen Fei approached and saw that the fatal wound on the spider demon’s body was on its head, crushed by tremendous force. Even though a demon beast’s vitality was tenacious, without its head, it was undoubtedly impossible to survive.
“How far is it from here to where you discovered the beast skin?” Chen Fei inquired.
“Just a few dozen meters ahead.”
Ling Hanjun pointed forward and spoke softly, “I initially wanted to explore here and see if there was anything else valuable, but 1 was scared off by those spider demons and didn’t dare to come back.”
Chen Fei nodded without speaking, and Ling Hanjun wisely closed his mouth, continuing to move forward.
The distance of a few dozen meters passed quickly, and this time they didn’t encounter any spider demon remains. Ling Hanjun stopped his steps and pointed to a stone sphere on the upper right.
“In the middle of that stone sphere, there’s a crack. The beast skin was stuck in there, revealing a bit of it. I sensed something unusual and went up to check, discovering the beast skin,” Ling Hanjun explained.
Chen Fei looked up, his figure flickering, and he arrived in front of the stone sphere. From this elevated position, he indeed saw a crevice in the middle of the stone sphere.
Chen Fei stepped forward and carefully observed the stone sphere. Its appearance was undoubtedly man-made, and the insertion of the beast skin was probably intentional.
The stone sphere was rather conspicuous, contrasting with its surroundings. As long as one paid a little attention, they would notice something amiss.
Ling llanjun had discovered the beast skin just like that.
Chen Fei examined the stone sphere but didn’t find any other useful clues. Sensing with his core soul energy, he found that the interior of the stone sphere was still made of soil and rocks, without any extra contents. There were no other restrictions nor any connection with the cave.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Fei placed his hand on the stone sphere. A tremendous force surged, causing a massive crack to instantly appear on the surface of the stone sphere, which then shattered into countless small pieces.
Still, there was nothing inside. This finally dispelled Chen Fei’s doubts.
“Continue walking,” Chen Fei said in a deep voice, returning to Ling Hanjun’s side.
“Yes!”
Ling Hanjun nodded and proceeded ahead. However, he became even more cautious than before, because he was entirely unfamiliar with the upcoming path.
Moreover, the spider demons inside the cave were likely piled up ahead. One careless move could lead him straight into their mouths.
Yet, the unexpected happened. The path ahead was not dangerous at all. Aside from the frequent appearance of spider demon remains on the ground, there was nothing else of note.
Ling llanjun thought of Xu Wangliang and his group. It seemed that any danger had been dealt with by them.
Looking at the spider demon remains, Chen Fei sensed that these spider demons were of relatively average strength from the residual aura. At least compared to the peak-level demon beasts encountered in the secret realm, these spider demons were much less formidable.
They might be quite challenging for body refining practitioners, but for dirty refining practitioners, especially multiple ones, dealing with these spider demons shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Bang bang bang…”
After walking for several dozen meters, collision sounds suddenly came faintly from a distance.
Several dozen meters away.
Xu Wangliang and his group were currently circling in a formation, continuously attacking a barrier. In the middle of this barrier, a figure was sitting cross-legged.
Upon closer inspection, the figure was already devoid of any aura, their clothes tattered, yet their physical body remained relatively intact.
In front of this corpse was a black box. Apart from the box, there was nothing else.
Xu Wangliang’s group kept attacking the barrier, attempting to break it and acquire the black box.
The person inside the barrier had clearly died many years ago. Being able to preserve the physical body without decay for so many years required an extremely profound cultivation level to achieve.
Regardless of whether the black box contained techniques or manuals, it was undoubtedly a treasure to be valued by someone of such strength.
Possessing such a treasure might offer them a chance to break through their current boundaries.
Xu Wangliang and the others were all at the peak of the Visceral Tempering realm. However, they were getting older and had no chance of breaking through to the Aperture Tempering realm. But perhaps the treasure within the black box could change that?
On the path of martial arts, as long as there’s hope, no one would willingly remain stagnant. Especially when it involves a treasure that could potentially lead to breaking through to the Aperture Tempering realm.
The difference between the Aperture Tempering realm and the Visceral Tempering realm might seem to be just a realm apart, but in terms of combat prowess and status, they are worlds apart. Xu Wangliang and his group would undoubtedly seize such an opportunity without hesitation..