Chapter 300: Bait
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The distance between them was quite far, and Chen Fei couldn’t discern who the people outside were. Likewise, those outside couldn’t determine Chen Fei’s identity based on his aura.
That’s the nature of core soul energy. It’s the second pair of eyes for cultivators, but just like physical eyes, it has its limitations.
However, as core soul energy continued to grow, its capabilities would gradually become stronger.
With core soul energy at the early Aperture Tempering realm, the things sensed beyond a hundred meters would appear much more vague. If the other party intentionally concealed their aura, the information that could be perceived would be even more limited.
Chen Fei stood in place, staring at the entrance of the cave. In the next moment, his figure suddenly disappeared from where he stood, and the top of the cave was directly shattered.
The cave, already riddled with holes from the previous battle, began to collapse. Massive boulders fell to the ground, producing intense sounds.
Within a radius of several hundred meters, the cave’s collapse caused vibrations.
Chen Fei appeared on a hilltop, lightly tapping his right foot, causing a phantom to separate from his body. The main body and the phantom went in opposite directions, disappearing from the hilltop in the blink of an eye.
Just as they vanished, several figures suddenly appeared on the hilltop, observing Chen Fei’s split into two directions. The furrows on their brows deepened.
“Such a keen core soul energy. Even this kind of situation didn’t go unnoticed.”
“His figure split into two. It should be the Soaring Heaven Technique of the Primordial Sword Sect. Judging by the speed of this movement technique, he must have cultivated it to a profound level. Delaying here, it will be difficult for us to catch up.”
“Will he discover our identities?” Dong Xiuzhi suddenly spoke up.
The Divine Flame Sect had seven members in this expedition, and they were fortunate enough to gather four members quickly. Originally, they had intended to encircle and hunt down a single person, regardless of their sect, just to gather information about the hidden realm.
However, three of them had revealed themselves, while the other had been setting up a formation in secret. Unfortunately, their formation hadn’t been completed when it was discovered, and they had to flee. It could be said that this member of the Primordial Sword Sect was excessively cautious.
“Don’t panic.
Wu Yongzhao shook his head. Neither side had actually encountered each other. If it weren’t for the special characteristics of the Soaring Heaven Technique, they wouldn’t even know which sect the other party belonged to.
With the howling wind, in the blink of an eye, the four of them vanished from the hilltop. Little did they know that Chang Shiwan had already met his end in that cave.
If it weren’t for Chang Shiwan’s actions, Chen Fei wouldn’t have been so cautious. He had sensed something amiss and decisively left, even using a shadow clone to confuse his pursuers.
Ten miles away, Chen Fei appeared on top of a tree. There was no one pursuing him from behind, clearly his display of movement technique had discouraged those who had intended to chase after him.
With the gentle breeze brushing against him, Chen Fei’s body swayed slightly with the movement of the tree.
After some contemplation, Chen Fei glanced around, oriented himself, and then transformed into a shadow, running forward.
In less than fifteen minutes, Chen Fei arrived in a dense forest. He looked at the dried-up tree trunks in the distance and the enormous ravine left on the ground after the battle.
The Zhuhong Fruit Tree was the first spiritual material Chen Fei had obtained when he entered the hidden realm. The Zhuhong Fruit had propelled Chen Fei’s cultivation to new heights at that time.
This time around, Chen Fei naturally wanted to take a look at the Zhuhong Fruit Tree. After all, the Zhuhong Fruit tree from back then had been extremely beneficial to Chen Fei.
While the Zhuhong Fruit didn’t enhance his core soul energy, it could significantly speed up the cultivation of his acupoints when used to refine spiritual pills. Chen Fei had benefits from the Alchemist Alliance, but he wouldn’t miss out on such high-quality spiritual materials.
If the Zhuhong Fruit tree had also advanced to the second-tier demonic plant, the medicinal properties of the fruits it bore would undoubtedly be stronger, perhaps even holding some unexpected surprises.
Unfortunately, Chen Fei arrived a bit late. The Zhuhong Fruit Tree had already been felled, and even the essence of the tree trunk had been completely drained, leaving behind only a pile of withered wood.
He didn’t see the snake demon, so he wasn’t sure if it had been killed or if it had left the vicinity of the Zhuhong Fruit Tree.
The person who had killed the Zhuhong Fruit Tree was likely still nearby, but Chen Fei had no intention of making contact. After orienting himself, Chen Fei headed towards the water pool where Dreamlike Lotus had once been.
The water pool no longer contained the Dreamlike Lotus, and Chen Fei wasn’t there to see if any new demonic plants had sprung up. He was searching for the rat demon he had encountered before.
That rat demon had been as fast as lightning, and Chen Fei still remembered how oppressive it had been to everyone. Its speed didn’t match that of a first-tier demonic beast; it was on a completely different level.
At that time, except for Xiao Liling from the Sunken Water Pavilion, who could withstand the rat demon thanks to her Exquisite Pearl, most others would have been defeated when facing it alone.
Chen Fei’s strength at the time would have had uncertain consequences against the rat demon, with the most likely outcome being a hasty retreat. Now, Chen Fei was searching for the rat demon, not to revisit that scene, but to try to tame it for his own use.
Due to the advancement of the mystic realm, its area had expanded significantly, but it was undoubtedly filled with many participants this time. Chen Fei wanted to rely on his own abilities to find valuable spiritual materials, but time was somewhat limited.
Just like that Zhuhong Fruit tree, it had been slaughtered by others before he could reach it.
Moreover, the mystic realm had undergone significant changes, rendering much of Chen Fei’s previous experience less useful. In such a situation, seeking out a native inhabitant was the best choice.
Initially, Chen Fei’s first thought was to find Baka. However, Baka had disappeared, leaving behind only suspicious dark green traces.
As a result, the rat demon became an alternative plan for Chen Fei. If he could subdue the rat demon, perhaps he could rely on its keen sense of smell to discover the reason behind Baka’s disappearance.
After a brief moment, Chen Fei arrived at the water pool and found it in chaos. Disciples from four different sects were besieging a demonic plant.
The demonic plant wasn’t particularly strong, only at the peak of the first stage, but with the geographical advantage of the water pool, it proved to be quite challenging.
More than a dozen disciples in the Visceral Tempering realm had been unable to defeat this demonic plant. Many of them were injured and had to retreat to the rear lines.
If this trend continued, it was estimated that all of these disciples would be injured and unable to deal with the demonic plant.
Chen Fei observed for a moment and then leaped over the water pool, starting to search for the rat demon’s tracks. That rat demon had a habit of nibbling on Dreamlike Lotus, and it had even formed a peculiar balance with the Dreamlike Lotus.
If Chen Fei had some Dreamlike Lotus with him now, it would have made luring out the rat demon much simpler.
Unfortunately, when Chen Fei obtained the Dreamlike Lotus, he had directly consumed it alongside Baka to enhance his own strength, without considering keeping it for other purposes.
After searching for a few moments, Chen Fei stopped in his tracks. The difficulty of searching for the rat demon within such a large area was quite substantial.
Back in the mystic realm, he had been on constant guard against the rat demon while trying to obtain the Dreamlike Lotus. Now, trying to find the rat demon was proving to be quite challenging.
Chen Fei contemplated for a moment and then suddenly showed a subtle change in expression. A jade bottle appeared in his hand. He uncorked the bottle, releasing a faintly cold aura accompanied by a hint of the fragrance of plants.
It was the tree sap that Chen Fei had extracted after killing the Strange Locust Tree. Chen Fei had divided it into several bottles for ease of use.
The rat demon had an affinity for the Dreamlike Lotus, which was known to enhance one’s core soul energy. It seemed that most demonic plants with the potential to boost core soul energy were favored by it. While the primary function of the Strange Locust Tree’s sap was not to enhance core soul energy, it was somewhat related.
As a second-tier demonic plant, the sap extracted from the Strange Locust Tree had a natural allure to any demon beast because consuming it would enhance their strength.
Cultivators sought continuous improvement in their cultivation, and demon beasts instinctively sought to enhance their own power to deal with various situations.
Chen Fei took out two spirit herbs. Along the way, he had noticed a decrease in the number of spirit herbs. It wasn’t that the frequency of their appearance had decreased; rather, most of them had been picked by other cultivators.
Sitting cross-legged, Chen Fei formed a dense black light in front of him, slowly shaping it into something resembling a furnace. He had come up with this technique himself, using the power of the Zhongyuan Sword Formation to create a makeshift furnace and refine some pills when necessary.
With Chen Fei’s level of comprehension regarding the Zhongyuan Sword, manipulating elemental energy in this way wasn’t particularly difficult. While the effect might not be as potent as a genuine pill furnace, it was still a feasible option for occasional use.
Chen Fei tossed the two spirit herbs into the black pill furnace. Instead of lighting a fire, he used the gravitational changes from the Zhongyuan Sword to directly extract the medicinal properties from the spirit herbs.
After a moment, the black pill furnace dissipated, leaving a small blob of liquid floating in front of Chen Fei. He gently took a bit of the liquid and felt its medicinal properties, a faint smile appearing on his face.
He poured this blob of liquid directly into the jade bottle he had used earlier, mixing it with the sap from the Strange Locust Tree.
This initial blend caused the fragrance of the Strange Locust Tree’s sap to intensify. When a gentle breeze blew, the scent wafted in all directions.
Enhancing the fragrance would make the Strange Locust Tree’s sap more appealing, which was precisely what Chen Fei had achieved with this concoction. Only by strengthening the aroma of the sap could he hope to attract the rat demon. Of course, if there were other demon beasts nearby, they might also be drawn to the scent.
The jade bottle was placed in front of Chen Fei, and the rich aroma continued to diffuse into the air, mixing with the wind. In less than a quarter of an hour, Chen Fei suddenly opened his eyes and looked to his right.
There, a feline-type demon beast was slowly approaching. Its gray-blue eyes were fixed on Chen Fei, and a low growl reverberated in its throat. It seemed as though the beast might pounce at any moment.
Chen Fei glanced at it and then closed his eyes again. For a first-tier peak demon beast, it would likely require several Visceral Tempering Realm cultivators to work together to have any chance of killing it. However, to Chen Fei, it posed no threat whatsoever.
The feline demon stopped several tens of meters away from Chen Fei and didn’t dare to get any closer. Although it was extremely tempted by the scent, its instincts warned it that getting closer might mean death.
But as it turned to leave, the feline demon couldn’t help but show a sense of reluctance..