Chapter 302: Trembling With Fear
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Up there?” Chen Fei raised his head, looking at the half-bottle mountain hidden in the clouds, his brows slightly furrowing.
After letting the rat demon smell the green stone block, the rat demon led Chen Fei to the foot of the half-bottle mountain after circling around for a bit.
“Squeak, squeak!”
The rat demon nodded, its dark pupils staring at Chen Fei, as if asking for his next instructions. The rat demon itself didn’t want to go up. The half-bottle mountain was not only forbidden for outsiders, but it was also the same for creatures native to the secret realm.
Unless absolutely necessary, ordinary beasts wouldn’t dare to take a single step beyond the half-bottle mountain.
Chen Fei contemplated for a moment, then shook his head. There was undoubtedly treasure on the half-bottle mountain, but it would be too dangerous for him to go up alone.
He would definitely explore the half-bottle mountain, but he could do it with others. This way, even if there were risks, they could share the burden. It might result in a smaller share of the rewards, but it was worth it.
“Let’s go find some spirit plants, especially those that can help enhance spiritual growth.”
Chen Fei looked down at the rat demon. Since he wouldn’t be heading up the half-bottle mountain for now, finding more spiritual materials became his current task.
“Squeak!”
The rat demon nodded, its form turning into a streak of shadows as it dashed ahead.
After Chen Fei supplemented it with some elixirs, the rat demon displayed its astonishing recovery ability. Although its injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, its speed had already reached about sixty to seventy percent of its peak.
This speed exceeded many early-stage Aperture Tempering realm cultivators since not all of them were proficient in cultivation techniques.
Chen Fei lightly followed behind the rat demon, and together they swiftly covered a distance of dozens of miles, finally stopping in front of a swamp.
A faintly sweet and fishy smell lingered in the air. Chen Fei’s expression changed slightly as he extended his right hand, creating a vortex in the palm of his hand.
Wind Gathering Technique, at the grand mastery level, allowed Chen Fei to control the airflow within this range with ease.
Initially colorless, the vortex gradually turned black as the surrounding air was continuously drawn in. The sweet and fishy smell became more pronounced.
The swamp was toxic, and it was an extremely potent poison. Ordinary people would likely perish within a few breaths if they came here.
Even those in the Visceral Tempering Realm, despite having refined their internal organs, couldn’t stay here for long.
The speed at which toxins were transported throughout their organs might not be faster than the onset of poison, and they might eventually die from poisoning.
There were traces of people having stepped on the swamp’s edge, indicating that someone had been here before but left immediately upon realizing something was amiss.
“Squeak!”
The rat demon screeched at the swamp, and what was initially a calm swamp began to ripple slightly, as if some creatures were awakening in response to the rat demon’s cry.
“What’s inside? Are they demonic beasts or demonic plants?” Chen Fei sensed the fluctuations in the swamp.
This swamp was somewhat unique, blocking Chen Fei’s core soul energy from probing, making it extremely difficult to sense what lay beneath.
The rat demon danced and gestured for a moment, but before Chen Fei could fully understand its meaning, a tentacle suddenly shot out from the swamp, lightning-fast, aiming for both the rat demon and Chen Fei.
“Bang!”
A black barrier blocked the tentacle’s attack. Sword energy circulated on the barrier, directly rebounding the front half of the tentacle into two pieces, which fell to the ground.
Chen Fei looked down at the nearly-mashed tentacle on the ground. Even now, it was wriggling within the mud and eventually wriggled into the swamp, disappearing without a trace.
Chen Fei’s eyes widened slightly. What kind of vitality was this? Could it, after burrowing into the swamp, possibly return to its original form and regenerate?
“Squeak!”
The rat demon jumped onto Chen Fei’s shoulder and stared with its dark eyes at the enraged tentacle.
There was something good below the swamp, but unfortunately, it was occupied by a demonic beast. The rat demon had been here several times but had never defeated the demonic beast lurking beneath the swamp.
The rat demon was fast, had formidable attacking power, and excellent recovery abilities. Among demonic beasts, its talent was undoubtedly excellent. However, when it came to the demonic beast beneath the swamp, the Rat demon was powerless.
There was even one time when the rat demon was almost dragged into the swamp and killed. Since then, it had never dared to come back to this place.
“Now recognizing Chen Fei as its master, and with Chen Fei’s request to find spiritual plants, the rat demon brought Chen Fei here without hesitation. The rat demon had been coveting the spiritual plant beneath the swamp for a long time.
“Plop, plop, plop!”
The swamp emitted a muffled sound, and three tentacles emerged consecutively from beneath the swamp. The tentacles were coated with mucus and, upon closer inspection, were covered in fine mouthparts. Just staring at them sent shivers down one’s spine.
H
Hum!
H
One of the original tentacles entangled with another, and the four tentacles swung in mid-air with tremendous force, heading straight for Chen Fei. Even before they drew near, the foul and sweet odor filled the air.
Trees closer to this area were engulfed in this foul odor. Their lush green leaves turned yellow, and eventually, several black holes were burned into them.
The trees surrounding the swamp should have been highly resistant to this kind of toxin. However, faced with this sudden and concentrated poison, they couldn’t resist it.
“Bang!”
The four tentacles pounded the barrier in front of Chen Fei indiscriminately. The barrier trembled slightly, and a counterforce was unleashed against the tentacles.
This was the principle of the Starry Night Sword Shield and Thorn Sword. Even though Chen Fei wasn’t intentionally using it now, this perfect sword technique had already become ingrained in his bones.
At the right moment, it would naturally and instinctively be executed without the need for conscious thought.
These four tentacles struck heavily, and the counterforce was equally powerful. Just like the result of the first tentacle attack a moment ago, the four tentacles directly snapped, spraying mucus as they fell to the ground.
The foul and sweet odor in the air became even more pungent, and the ground began to emit faint sounds, indicating that it was being corroded.
The four broken tentacles swung in mid-air and were then retracted back into the swamp. The entire swamp began to violently tremble, with an area of several hundred meters shaking. Birds in the distance flapped their wings desperately to fly away from this place.
“Squeak, squeak!”
The rat demon gently scratched Chen Fei’s shoulder to remind him. Chen Fei nodded slightly, realizing that the situation with this beast below was about to get serious.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, the entire swamp exploded, and countless black mud flew in all directions as if the sky had unleashed a black rain.
A massive figure rose from beneath the swamp, and as Chen Fei looked up, he saw an unbelievably large mouthpiece roaring into the sky.
Around this gigantic mouthpiece were numerous tentacles, not only surrounding the mouth but covering its entire body. It looked like the creature was covered in fur made of these tentacles.
At a glance, this creature resembled a giant earthworm but in an enlarged and mutated form.
“Roar!
ii
With a roar, the gigantic mouthpiece lunged at Chen Fei. Even before getting close, a nauseating smell overwhelmed him. At this moment, this odor, compared to the earlier foul and sweet scent, made the foul and sweet smell seem somewhat refreshing.
“Boom!”
Like an earthworm tumbling, an earthquake-like impact occurred at the spot where the earthworm-like creature struck. The ground directly disappeared in that area. Some of it was crushed, while another portion ended up inside the creature’s mouthpiece.
The sound of grinding emerged as countless gear-like teeth interlocked, and even steel would probably be instantly crushed in this mouth, leaving no possibility for survival.
Chen Fei’s figure appeared in mid-air, looking down at the earthworm-like creature from a higher vantage point. By now, the creature’s exposed body outside the swamp was already tens of meters long, and there was still a part of its body submerged below the swamp’s surface.
“Get the spirit plant, 1’11 hold it off!”
Chen Fei tossed the rat demon into the swamp without hesitation. The rat demon adjusted its posture in mid-air and turned into a black streak, disappearing.
The earthworm-like creature seemed to sense something amiss. It was about to capture the rat demon when suddenly a black sword formation enveloped it, and a powerful force pressed down on it.
However, compared to the enormous body of the creature, this sudden force field only made it pause for a moment, after which it had no further effect.
“Boom!”
Sixty sword pearls collided with the creature’s tentacles. The tentacles seemed somewhat fragile, directly shattered by the sword pearls. However, the broken tentacles, as they fell and touched the creature’s body, were absorbed into it.
In a matter of moments, those shattered tentacles regenerated, repairing the broken parts and leaving no trace of injury behind.
However, the attacks from the sword pearls had clearly infuriated the earthworm-like creature. Its massive body suddenly stood upright, and its outer shell began to contract, losing its luster and increasing in hardness instantly.
The tentacles, instead of floating around aimlessly, transformed into intricate patterns tightly adhered to the creature’s body surface. A thick, oppressive aura filled the surroundings, making one’s heart tremble uncontrollably.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
The sword pearls struck the creature’s body surface, emitting muffled sounds but failing to break through its outer shell. Those tentacles turned into patterns, softened upon impact, and absorbed the force.
“Hiss!
ii
The gigantic mouthpiece of the earthworm-like creature was aimed at Chen Fei, and an immense suction force instantly generated, causing flying debris and stones. The soil and trees around Chen Fei were all pulled toward the creature’s mouthpiece and shredded by the countless sharp teeth within it.
“Condense!”
Chen Fei watched the creature’s mouthpiece and pointed forward with the Qianyuan Sword. The sixty sword pearls dissipated all at once, transforming into a massive black beam of light, slamming into the creature’s mouthpiece.
“Boom!”
The earthworm-like creature’s formidable suction force was directly interrupted, but Chen Fei’s attack didn’t inflict significant damage to the creature. It was evident that the mouthpiece was the strongest part of the creature’s entire body, and ordinary attacks couldn’t do much against it.
“Squeak!”
The rat demon’s voice suddenly rang out, and a black shadow flashed. The rat demon landed on Chen Fei’s shoulder, holding a lotus flower in its hand..