Chapter 145: Ice Ape, Ice Crystal Flower
Since he had already obtained the Luminous Grass, the Ice Crystal Flower should be right in front. Xiao Chen carried Xiao Bai into his embrace. As he was about to approach the place where the Ice Crystal Flower grew, he could not let it run about anymore.
After a while, Xiao Chen walked out of the forest. He took out the map and looked at it. According to the markings on the map, the Ice Crystal Flower should be growing on the side of the mountain in front.
Because it was protected by the Rank 5 Spirit Beast — Ice Ape, a regular outer disciple would not come to pick this Rank 6 Spirit Herb despite knowing about it.
The instant Xiao Chen walked out of the forest, the sun shined on him again. Looking into the distance, he was able to see a tall cliffside. This was the boundary of Evil Wind Valley.
Xiao Chen patted Xiao Bai’s head and placed it into the Spirit Blood Jade despite its unwilling gaze.
Xiao Chen extended his Spiritual Sense to the front and did not see any trace of the Rank 5 Ice Ape. However, he saw some young Ice Apes resting in a clearing. Their strength were only about Rank 4.
“Seems like I made this trip for nothing. There are no Rank 5 Spirit Beasts around here.” Xiao Chen sighed as he prepared to leave.
However, he thought he might as well check on the Ice Crystal Flower before leaving since he was here. After all, it was a Rank 6 Herb. Even if he did not use it, he could sell it for a good price.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chen quickly headed for the cliffside. Right as he was about to arrive, there was a startling cry.
Xiao Chen stopped and looked in the direction of the cry. Below the cliffside, a stout young man was defending himself against three Ice Apes with a huge axe.
On the cliffside behind him, there was a petite figure with a basket on her back nimbly climbing up the cliffside.
Above her head in a crack on the cliffside, a flower petal flickering with cold light peeked out, as though it was made of ice.
Xiao Chen’s heart was filled with suspicions. He had scanned through this place with his Spiritual Sense earlier but had not discovered any traces of cultivators. Where did these two people appear from?
Starting at these two people, Xiao Chen was shocked to discover that they had not condensed their Martial Spirit yet. They were only in the Spirit Refinement realm and were stronger than ordinary people by a little.
No wonder he had not discovered them earlier. These two people could not be considered cultivators just yet. There were no fluctuations of Essence coming from them, which was what made him miss out on picking them up.
“Isn’t two ordinary people coming to Evil Wind Valley the same as seeking death?” Xiao Chen said in a slight tone of rebuke; these people were treating their lives too lightly.
The girl on the cliffside was a smidgen below the Ice Crystal Flower – just a little more and she could pick the Ice Crystal Flower.
“Pu!”
However, just at this moment, a young Ice Ape broke through the defenses of the stout youth below. Immediately, it leaped onto the cliffside, arriving behind the girl with a few leaps.
“No!” shouted the stout youth standing guard below. His eyes were bloodshot as he threw the huge axe at the Ice Ape.
The Ice Ape dodged nimbly, avoiding the huge axe. It stretched its arm out and reached out for the girl. When the girl turned her head back to look, she turned pale with fright. Losing her stable footing, she fell.
Because he was now lacking a weapon, the stout youth on the ground was smashed to the ground by two Ice Apes. He was instantly covered in bloody wounds. It was a cruel sight to behold.
“Lightning Evasion!”
There was a flash of lightning and Xiao Chen instantly arrived before the youth. A 66 centimeter saber light glew on the Lunar Shadow Saber. This was the first time Xiao Chen had truly condensed saber light, something only Martial Grand Masters could do.
“Pu Ci!” The saber light mercilessly chopped towards the Ice Ape that was beating up the stout youth, severing its arm.
However, hard ice immediately covered its body, stopping the saber blade from going any further.
Xiao Chen was mildly surprised that he was not able to slice its body apart. The Ice Ape who had its arm chopped off howled in grief painfully.
Together with the other Ice Ape, it gave up on attacking the youth laying on the ground. A cold Qi appeared on both apes’ palms. Their eyes turned fierce, and they hammered down at Xiao Chen with their freezing palms.
Xiao Chen stepped back slightly while a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, gathering on the saber blade. The Lunar Shadow Saber created a purple arclight with electricity flicking on it.
In an instant, Xiao Chen slashed horizontally at the chests of the two Ice Apes. The electrical light immediately blasted the two Ice Apes back.
Xiao Chen did not continue his offense. He looked at the girl falling in the air and manifested a silver warship from his eyes that caught her.
The Ice Ape on the cliffside roared and rushed at Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen slid the Lunar Shadow Saber into its scabbard.
“Dragon Seizing Hand!”
A huge black hand appeared from nowhere, carrying an unparalleled strength. It smashed the Ice Ape into the cliffside with a bang.
“Palm To Fist!”
The huge black hand curled up tightly, seemingly filled with power as he pounded on the Ice Ape at the cliffside violently. Loud noises boomed non-stop, and the cliffside kept trembling as pieces of stone fell down from its wall.
Having pounded the Ice Ape into it violently, a huge hole appeared in the cliffside. Blood trickled out from the corner of its lips. Surprisingly, its body had yet to turn into mush and it looked the same as it did earlier.
“How resilient!” Xiao Chen snarled with a frown.
He pulled out the Lunar Shadow Saber and stuck it onto the ground before taking out the Soul Slayer Bow and the Essence Light Arrow.
There was a whizz as its aura surged forward, like a meteor piercing through the sky, when he shot it out. The lightning-fast arrow headed for the Ice Ape climbing out of the hole with a boom.
The Essence Light Arrow pierced through the Ice Ape’s neck and pinned it to the cliffside. The Ice Ape was at this point as dead as it could possibly be. With their keen level of intelligence, when the other two Ice Apes saw what happened to their companion, they quickly turned around and fled.
Xiao Chen looked at them indifferently before nocking two Essence Light Arrows on the bow. The arrows moved very fast, piercing through the air, arriving instantly.
They pierced through the hearts of the Ice Apes, leaving behind a large hole in each one’s torso. With a loud thud, they fell to the ground.
“Thank you, benefactor, for saving my life!” the stout youth covered in wounds crawled over and gave thanks. Xiao Chen stood at his side, but despite being 1.8 meters tall, he was actually shorter than him by a head.
Xiao Chen looked at his face, noting that he appeared extremely pure and honest. His age was likely to be no older than Xiao Chen’s. However, Xiao Chen had many questions about what they were doing in Evil Wind Valley. They had not even condensed their Martial Spirit, so what were they doing here?
Xiao Chen waved his hand and a silver boat flew over and landed slowly. The girl on the boat quickly jumped off.
Seeing the youth covered in wounds, Xiao Chen took out two Blood Replenishing Pills and handed them to him. He said, “Apply one on the outside and eat the other. They will treat the wounds on your body.” Although his wounds were not fatal, if they were not dealt with it would definitely result in a very long recovery time.
The youth shook his head and declined, “There is no need, this Medicinal Pill should be very expensive. This injury is not a problem.”
However, the girl behind him received it. She said in a meek and graceful manner, “Benefactor, don’t listen to Shao Yang’s nonsense. If such serious injuries are not treated, it would take a long time for him to recover.”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, returning the silver boat into his eye. He did not say anything and took his leave. He had only passed by and happened to save them, so there was no need to linger too long.
The youth called Shao Yang wanted to chase after Xiao Chen, but he was stopped by the girl behind him, “Don’t chase after him. When Suifeng returns, it’ll be problematic if he cannot find us.”
The youth helplessly watched as Xiao Chen left. The girl crushed a Blood Replenishing Pill and slowly applied it on the stout youth’s wounds.
Not long after Xiao Chen left, a blue clothed youth arrived before them.
Seeing Shao Yang’s wound, he quickly asked what had happened. After he understood the situation, he quickly chased in Xiao Chen’s direction.
Xiao Chen could sense a person rapidly approaching him, his aura very intense and belonging to at least a Superior Grade Martial Grand Master.
Xiao Chen prepared himself as he stopped and turned around. When the blue clothed youth saw that Xiao Chen had stopped, he rushed over and said, “I am Liu Suifeng. Could you please tell me your name? You have saved my two friends, so I will repay this debt of gratitude to you in the future.”
This youth looked impressive, filled with a righteous look on his face. His sincere words had dispelled Xiao Chen’s misgivings. Xiao Chen replied indifferently, “Ye Chen, just lending a hand as I passed by. There is no need to view this matter so seriously.”
As Xiao Chen was sizing up Liu Suifeng, Liu Suifeng was doing the same to him.
After a while, Liu Suifeng was astonished. The one in front of him was only an Inferior Grade Martial Grand Master, yet he was able to chase away three young Ice Apes easily. This person was definitely not simple.
“Is Brother Ye from the Heavenly Saber Pavilion outer sect? I have never heard of your name before,” Liu Suifeng asked.
Xiao Chen looked at Liu Suifeng’s waist area, saw a silver token, and understood the situation. This person was a Heavenly Saber Pavilion inner sect disciple. No wonder he wanted to know if he was from the outer sect.
“No, I just arrived at Saber City not long ago,” Xiao Chen answered truthfully, as he felt there was no need to hide this.
The two of them chatted for a bit. Xiao Chen finally understood what those two ordinary people were doing in Evil Wind Valley. The Ice Crystal Flower was something that blossomed every three months. Each time, the three of them would come to pick the petals of the Ice Crystal Flower.
Usually Liu Suifeng would lure the mature Ice Ape away and leave the two of them behind to pick the petals. Previously, there were only two young Ice Apes, which meant that Shao Yang was able to hold them back until Liu Suifeng returned. However, for reasons unknown, there were three this time.
Xiao Chen received an important piece of news from this. There really was a Rank 5 Spirit beast here. Furthermore, Liu Suifeng did not injure it, only luring it away. He could not help but feel happy.
When they were departing, Liu Suifeng wanted to give Xiao Chen three Inferior Grade Spirit Stones. He originally thought Xiao Chen would gladly accept them, but he was unexpectedly turned down.
In Xiao Chen’s eyes, this was just a small matter. He truly was not able to accept such a large reward. Furthermore, he wanted to befriend this person. If he entered the inner sect, future interaction with this person was a possibility.
Seeing Xiao Chen was not willing to accept, Liu Suifeng did not press on. He took his leave and departed, but not without promising Xiao Chen a favor to the best of his ability should he need it one day.
Now that he had news of the Rank 5 Spirit Beast, Xiao Chen was not in a rush to leave. He waited for the three of them to pick the petals of the Ice Crystal Flower before revealing himself.
Seeing the Ice Ape pinned to the wall, Xiao Chen thought for a while. Then he dug out the Spirit Cores in the two Ice Apes on the ground before burning their bodies to ash.
After doing all this, Xiao Chen leaped up to the hole in the cliffside. He lifted the corpse of the young Ice Ape and placed ten-odd lightning attribute talismans on its back.
Then, he leaped down and hid in some bushes, withdrawing his aura completely.