Chapter 1177: A Touch of Green (I)
Chapter 1177: A Touch of Green (I)
Deep within an unnamed mountain, Fu Qinglan sat cross-legged with her eyes closed. Although her eyes remained shut, her divine consciousness was fully spread across the surrounding area. She had hidden herself here to wait for Luo Chen, and any living creature that wandered too close was killed before it could discover her presence.
Before her, a circular formation disc lay embedded in the rock. It had remained completely still for a long time, but then it suddenly began to vibrate.
The top-grade spirit stones powering the formation crumbled into powder one after another, and even the supreme-grade spirit stone began to lose its luster. The formation disc was draining their spirit energy at a shocking rate and was even pulling in the ambient spirit energy to sustain the transfer.
Fu Qinglan's eyes snapped open.
Buzz...
The surrounding space warped, and a figure stepped out of the distortion.
"Senio—"
PFFFFTTT!
Before Fu Qinglan could finish, Luo Chen staggered forward and spat out a mouthful of blood. His skin was covered with cracks from head to toe and an alarming amount of fresh blood poured out from the wounds.
"How did this happen?" Fu Qinglan cried out in alarm and hurried forward to support Luo Chen.
Once he regained his balance, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and gently pushed her hand away. He pressed a finger against his chest, and the cracks covering his body immediately began to close; even the blood that spilled out flowed back into his body. Then, despite his depleted mana, he cast Cleanse and erased every drop of blood that had fallen to the ground. In moments, all traces of what had happened were gone.
Fu Qinglan swallowed. "Senior Brother Luo, are you sure you're okay?"
Luo Chen gave her a faint smile. "I'm fine. I'm just a little low on mana."
"But just now, you..."
He waved a hand, clearly unwilling to explain, and turned his attention to the formation discs instead. After checking them out closely, he put them away. He had thought the Sages pursuing him would be his greatest threat, but in the end, his own fallback plan had done more damage to him than any of them. Something had gone wrong during the teleportation earlier. Several of the formation's restrictions had collapsed midway, and the pressure had torn through even his powerful body. That was completely outside his expectations.
Luo Chen had used teleportation formations many times before, so he was hardly unfamiliar with the process. Cultivators with weaker physiques might be scared of the pressure that came with teleportation, but his body had always been strong enough to withstand it without trouble. This time, however...
In the end, I still don't understand this formation well enough, and I rushed the formation disc too much.
The problem stemmed from the formation disc itself. Fortunately, he had limited the teleportation to roughly five thousand li, so despite how gruesome his injuries had looked, they hadn't been particularly serious. With his powerful recovery ability, all he needed to do was channel some of his origin energy and his body would heal completely in an instant. If he had attempted an ultra-long-distance teleportation spanning millions of li, there was no telling what might have happened.
"We already have the illusory cores. Let's go!"
Fu Qinglan was still curious about what had happened, but she did not press him. She immediately took out a talisman and infused it with mana, and a yellow light spread around them. A moment later, the two disappeared from where they stood.
Not long after they left, an enraged shout thundered outside the mountain.
"GET THE HELL OUT HERE!"
A bamboo staff expanded to a hundred zhang in length and smashed right onto the mountainside.
BOOOOOOOOMMM!!
Rock and debris exploded outward as a huge section of the mountain collapsed. The Wang family's elder charged straight through the dust without slowing down, while another figure arrived behind him and opened a folding fan. A fierce gale swept across the ruins and cleared all the dust away.
Shi Ju stared grimly at the shattered mountain. "He got away? After an attack like that, he should've barely had any mana left. How did he still manage to escape?"
Gu Yuan flew over gracefully with Gu Chen and gave a faint smile. "He came here alone and dared to challenge all of us with nothing but a sword. You really think he wouldn't have prepared a way out? Fu Qinglan never showed herself from start to finish. She was probably waiting somewhere nearby to get him out. You shouldn't underestimate these rogue cultivators."
Shi Ju turned and glared fiercely at him. Then his expression abruptly changed as he sneered, "Right, sounds like you thought everything through. Weren't you the one who got driven back by that very sword?"
Gu Yuan's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly shrugged it off. "Driven back? We still walked away with two illusory cores, so I wouldn't call this trip a loss. Unlike some people who lost plenty and got nothing in return, I must say. Now that is truly pitiful."
"You—"
Shi Ju's face flushed with anger as he snapped shut his folding fan and pointed it directly at Gu Yuan. Gu Chen immediately stepped forward and placed himself between them.
Seeing that he had provoked Shi Ju enough, Gu Yuan chuckled and called to Gu Chen and left with him.
Shi Ju watched them leave with clenched teeth, and his grip on the fan handle was so tight that it seemed like it might snap the fan in half. Before he could vent his anger, another furious roar echoed from the shattered mountain. He looked down and saw the Wang family's elder flinging boulders, frantically searching through the rubble for any sign of Luo Chen.
"Wang Yifu, he's long gone. What are you still looking for?"
The man looked up with grief and anger burning in his eyes. "He got my young master eliminated. I don't care where he runs. I'll find him even if I have to chase him to the ends of the earth!"
Shi Ju scoffed and turned to leave. After flying a short distance, however, he suddenly glanced back and tossed down a jade scroll. "If you find him, let me know."
The Wang family's elder was taken aback but quickly nodded. "Of course. And if you happen to find him first, I hope you'll tell me as well."
Shi Ju gave a curt grunt and flew back toward Three-Rainbow Falls.
Qi Xiongcheng was waiting for him there, utterly exhausted and still clutching to the shattered remains of the Purple Yang Gourd. When Shi Ju came closer, he gritted his teeth. "Young Master, I only managed to recover five illusory cores. As for the gourd..."
"Useless!"
Shi Ju lashed out with his folding fan.
A trace of conflict passed through Qi Xiongcheng's eyes, but he did not dare dodge.
SMACK!
The blow tore open a ghastly wound across his body. Even with his physique cultivation at the third realm of Physique Refinement, the wound was so deep that blood immediately poured out from it.
Shi Ju could not even be bothered to look at him again. Qi Xiongcheng was nothing more than a household servant, and a useless one at that. Had Shi Ju known he would accomplish so little, he would never have brought him into the pocket world only to have him become a burden.
He swept a dark gaze across the surrounding landscape and remained silent for a long moment before finally giving his orders. "Leave the gourd here! You and Wang Yifu split up and look for Luo Chen and Fu Qinglan. If you find them, don't make a move. Come back and tell me first. And if you run into any of the fellow disciples along the way, let me know where they are."
Qi Xiongcheng hesitated. "Young Master, are you thinking of gathering the other True Inheritors to deal with Wilderness Hermit together?"
"Together?" Shi Ju sneered. "He only got the better of us because he caught us off guard. You really think I need others' help to kill him? What I need now are illusory cores. The others should have gathered quite a few by now, especially Gu Daosu."
At the mention of Gu Daosu, a cruel glint flashed through his eyes. Without his Dao Protector beside him, he was the most vulnerable of all!
***
More than two months had passed since the Saint Alchemist's Ascension and the opening of the pocket world. Most of the guests who had come to witness the ceremony had already left, and the Dao Sect's upper echelon meeting had long since ended. Those who remained in the hall on Heaven-Earth Peak were mostly representatives of the families with a stake in the grand competition.
With nothing to do but await the results, they passed the time chatting idly, discussing cultivation insights, and speculating about which juniors would stand out. Every so often, someone would even bring out a valuable item and wager it on the final outcome.
At first, most attention had been focused on the three scions of the Great Houses and the young prodigy of the Xiang family. Then, two months ago, the Wrathful Vajra was eliminated from the pocket world, and another name once again became the subject of discussion: Luo Chen, Wilderness Hermit.
In truth, Luo Chen was hardly unknown among the major families. The first time they had heard of him was when, despite the factors weighing against him, he had been admitted to Heaven-Earth Peak as an unprecedented "external affairs guest elder." The second was during the Saint Alchemist's Ascension, when she had personally given him one of the five Heaven Mystery Pills!
The other four recipients were at least justifiable. After all, three of the four pills had gone to experts of the Woodrot Mountains, and the last to the visitor from the Saint Alchemist's homeland. But Luo Chen? What claim did he have to such a treasure? Was it supposed to be a gift for the Star Gate of Heaven-Earth Peak? What a joke! If that had been the case, why had none of the four late-stage Sages received one?
If the pocket world had not opened immediately afterward, forcing Luo Chen in as Fu Qinglan's Dao Protector, more than a few people present would have approached him about the pill. There would have been no need for either open conflict or underhanded schemes. In their eyes, Luo Chen was merely a rogue cultivator without the resources and backers. Given enough compensation, how could he possibly refuse?
Unfortunately, he entered the pocket world before anyone had the chance, and all they could do was hope he would not use the pill too soon.