Chapter 166: Chapter 166: A Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, Breaking the Cocoon into a Butterfly
“This kid’s talent for combat is truly remarkable. In just a few days, under the guidance of Little Squirrel, he has managed to harness Fist Intent.”
Ye Feng praised him sincerely from the heart.
At this stage, Qiao Jiaxi already equaled a cultivator utilizing a First Grade Spell at the Minor Achievement stage. In a fight against a peer Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, he was no longer at a disadvantage.
Below the waterfall.
Boom!
One punch, and the waterfall burst.
Two punches, and the waterfall was cut off.
Three punches, and the waterfall flowed backward!
Qiao Jiaxi’s momentum kept building. It soon reached 1.4 times and then 1.5 times…
By dusk, Qiao Jiaxi was able to throw two hundred and thirty consecutive punches while building up his momentum, increasing it to 1.99 times. He was on the verge of breaking through to twice the power and advancing to the fifth level of Body Refinement.
Crack!
Qiao Jiaxi suddenly felt that his body couldn’t handle the momentum of twice the power, his arms cracked, and he was swept away by the surging water to the shore.
“Cough cough cough… I didn’t expect that I would fail,” he said.
Qiao Jiaxi spat out a mouthful of blood, his arms in severe pain, bones all over his body out of place, and he couldn’t muster any strength anymore.
“Squeak squeak!”
Little Squirrel immediately took Qiao Jiaxi on his back and dashed away.
At the summit of Misty Peak.
Ye Feng happened to witness this scene. After pondering for a moment, he bent his knees to gather strength and then “bang,” leaped over an expanse of more than ten miles, landing below the waterfall, and stealthily followed after them.
Atop a Thousand-Year Ancient Pine.
Little Squirrel placed Qiao Jiaxi in a nest made of branches, chattering with hundreds of squirrels nearby – it was unclear what they were talking about.
Then, Qiao Jiaxi saw that these squirrels were picking the green pinecones and some pine flowers, chewing them in their mouths, then mixing them with some strange, thin mud, creating a sticky black ointment.
“Squeak squeak!”
With a wave of Little Squirrel’s hand, the horde of squirrels immediately went to work, coating Qiao Jiaxi’s entire body with the ointment, leaving only his nostrils open for breathing – even his eyes were covered.
“So it turns out there is a Thousand-Year Ancient Pine here, of a Lower Rank Demon General Level that is hard to destroy but can’t move.”
Ye Feng hovered in the mist, watching everything happening below.
Nobody expected that within this small mountain range, a mere dozen or so miles from Misty Peak, there would be a Thousand-Year Ancient Pine. Moreover, the pine had enlightened that squirrel with the tuft of golden fur on its head, helping it to awaken its intelligence.
Ye Feng hovered silently.
“We must set out by noon tomorrow at the latest, or we won’t reach the Divine Wind Sword Sect within half a day. I wonder if Jia Xi can wake up in advance.”
Ye Feng glanced at the sky, but he did not leave or show himself; instead, he hovered in the mist, acting as protector for Qiao Jiaxi.
“Ah, I’ve become a nanny again… ”
Ye Feng felt quite helpless.
However, the situation was different now.
Qiao Jiaxi was injured and immobile, the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine had a high grade and could take a beating but had almost no combat ability to protect them. Little Squirrel was at most equivalent to the level of a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator at level five. In case of any danger, Qiao Jiaxi would be like a fish on a chopping board, helpless against any threat.
In such a situation, Ye Feng had no choice but to act.
Under the cover of night.
Ye Feng left and then returned, hovering in the fog while eating a large, fragrant roasted lamb leg, its aroma drifting far and wide.
Atop the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine.
The hundreds of squirrels caught the scent from above and began chattering excitedly as if they were saying:
“Where is this delicious smell coming from?”
“I really want to eat it!”
“Ah! I don’t want to eat pinecones anymore!”
But despite much thought, the squirrels couldn’t figure out the source of the aroma and had no choice but to bitterly nibble on their pinecones.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.
“He hasn’t woken up yet?”
Ye Feng looked down below and frowned slightly.
They needed to set off for the Divine Wind Sword Sect today. If Qiao Jiaxi didn’t wake up soon, he would have to ask Brother Flathead to stay and guard him.
At that moment, the sound of two people talking drifted from not too far away.
“Senior Brother, I’ve checked thoroughly. There is a group of squirrels nearby, their leader has awakened its intelligence and is at the Middle Grade Demon Soldier Level. We can capture it and sell it; it should be worth at least eighty Lower Grade Spirit Stones.”
“Really?” the other person asked.
“Of course, it’s true. But remember to share some of the benefits with your Junior Brother after selling that squirrel!” said the Junior Brother.
“Junior brother, apart from you and me, who else knows?” the senior brother asked in a hushed voice.
“No one else,” the junior brother shook his head.
“Good, then you can die!” the senior brother let out a sinister laugh.
With a “pu-chi” sound, a person fell to the ground, and then a wicked-looking young man with a long sword in his hand emerged from the mist, appearing under the thousand-year ancient pine.
“What a huge thousand-year ancient pine, actually at the lower rank of Demon General Level, but with no fighting ability. As long as I take over this place, just by eating pinecones for cultivation, it will be enough to break through to the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement.”
The wicked young man wiped the fresh blood from his sword with his sleeve and let out a chilling laugh.
The aura of the sixth level of Qi Refinement burst forth at that moment, like a gust of wind blowing away the mist around him.
The wicked young man’s gaze sharpened when he saw Qiao Jiaxi, who was covered in mud, in the tree, and he grinned and said:
“It turns out there is another person hidden here, but no matter, first I’ll catch that squirrel that has awakened its spiritual intelligence.”
“Squeak, squeak!”
The Little Squirrel bared its teeth in a rage, picking up a pinecone and smashing it down.
Clang!
The wicked young man sliced the pinecone in two with his sword and was about to climb up the trunk to capture the Little Squirrel.
Enraged, the Little Squirrel led hundreds of squirrels in pelting down the stones and pinecones they had collected before.
“Insignificant tricks!”
The young man’s presence shook, and all the pinecones and pebbles were blown away; many of the squirrels were also knocked away, screaming as they fell to the ground.
“Squeak, squeak!”
The Little Squirrel, furious, waved its fists furiously at the wicked young man, so fast he barely had time to react. In a rush, he threw out a lower-grade talisman paper, turning it into a shining net that trapped it.
Then, the wicked young man reached out and grasped the Little Squirrel’s neck, his pupils constricting at the sight of the tuft of golden fur on its head.
“My junior brother is truly foolish; this is a rare Golden Spirit Squirrel, worth far more than eighty Spirit Stones. To someone who knows its value, it could sell for eight hundred!”
“Let it go!”
An extremely angry voice rang out.
The wicked young man turned towards the voice, only to see the clay-covered figure in the tree suddenly burst forth with powerful momentum.
Crack!
Soft golden light exploded, pushing apart all the mud, revealing Qiao Jiaxi’s figure.
He, blessed in disguise, had once again completed his bloodline’s consolidation, stepping into the fifth level of Body Refinement, and furthermore, his aura had gathered to 2.3 times stronger, giving the wicked young man the impression he was facing a fellow sixth-level Qi Refining Realm cultivator.
“I want you to let go of the Little Squirrel!”
Qiao Jiaxi shouted coldly, his legs forcefully kicking off the trunk, plunging down like a sharp sword.
“Dream on!” the wicked young man thrust his sword forward.
Qiao Jiaxi shouted loudly, his aura soaring once again to 2.5 times stronger; one punch sent the Spirit Sword flying, and his other fist crashed into the wicked young man’s face.
Crack!
The wicked young man spun several circles in mid-air before heavily hitting the ground, already breathless.
“Dead… dead?”
Qiao Jiaxi was greatly shaken inside.
He had actually killed a sixth-level Qi Refinement!
“This person was a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, and though his body had been tempered by spiritual energy, once a cultivator of the same grade at Body Refinement got close, he was bound to be defeated,” Ye Feng said as he descended from the sky.
“Squeak, squeak!”
The Little Squirrel, upon seeing Ye Feng and realizing it couldn’t sense his presence, was shocked and hurriedly called for Qiao Jiaxi to run away.
However, to the Little Squirrel’s surprise, Qiao Jiaxi instead bowed with fists closed and said, “I’ve seen the Sect Leader!”
“Jia Xi, you’ve done well,” Ye Feng commended.
Looking at the Little Squirrel still trapped by the lower-grade light net talisman, Ye Feng waved his hand, unleashing the power of the Heroic Spirits, crushing the light net.
Realizing the high status of this handsome young man after hearing Qiao Jiaxi’s address to Ye Feng, the Little Squirrel hurriedly made a gesture of thanks.
“Little fellow, want to eat?”
Ye Feng took out a bag of lower-notch Spirit Beast Feed, emitting a fragrance that attracted the attention of all the squirrels; those lying on the ground playing dead climbed up the trees, surrounding them, eager to eat but not daring to.
“It’s Spirit Beast Feed, go on and eat!” Qiao Jiaxi said.
Only then did the Little Squirrel grab a handful and ate with gusto, immediately feeling that the pinecones atop the ancient pine tree paled in comparison.
Ye Feng looked up at the towering thousand-year ancient pine tree, eager to transplant it to the summit of Misty Peak.
If successful, he wouldn’t have to worry about this group of squirrels not shifting over.
Thinking this, Ye Feng reached out his hand and placed it on the trunk of the ancient pine, attempting to communicate with the spirit of the tree.