Chapter 71: Seizing the Opportunity to Cultivate
Every trial taker from the Mystic Mist sect was silenced, and not a single voice could be heard.
None of them questioned the truthfulness of Nie Tian’s words.
If Nie Tian hadn’t captured Jian Xuan in such violent fashion, perhaps they would have thought that he was making it up to frighten them, in order to avoid being captured.
However, Zheng Bin had already made clear his intentions with Nie Tian, that they would temporarily ignore him and start the battle when the others from the Spiritual Treasure sect arrived.
That meant Nie Tian was momentarily safe.
In such a situation, it was absolutely unnecessary for Nie Tian to lie to them or attempt to frighten them.
Upon hearing the news that the Ghost sect and Blood sect were also in the Green Illusion dimension, those teenagers clearly grew distressed and helpless.
“The Ghost sect, the Blood sect…”
The Ghost sect and the Blood sect were like two immense mountains that were placed on their chests, making it almost impossible for them to breathe, especially when they learned that everyone from the Grayvale sect had been killed.
They knew that Yuan Feng from the Grayvale sect was extremely hard to deal with, and the Grayvale sect’s trial takers were by no means weaker than them.
Even they had been wiped out. If it weren’t for the fact that they were lucky enough to have not encountered any Ghost sect and Blood sect disciples in the volcano area, it would be hard to say how many of them could have survived to this day…
They didn’t even have the courage to think further.
A long moment passed, after which Zheng Bin was the first to snap back to reality. He took a deep breath and ordered, “Go get him some spirit beast meat.”
Li Xi was compliant this time. He walked back to their camp wordlessly and picked up a sizable piece of cooked spirit beast meat, before walking back to Nie Tian with a complicated expression and handing him the meat.
Nie Tian nodded, but didn’t say anything. He took it and started tearing it apart with his teeth and gulping down large chunks.
The trial takers from the Mystic Mist sect looked silently at him as he ate, and the atmosphere grew exceptionally grim.
They automatically gathered together by Nie Tian’s side, waiting quietly.
The pretty girl who had been the first to spot Nie Tian, looked at his unclothed upper body, and after a moment of hesitation, took a white garment from a bag beside the Ghostly Fire Wolf’s head and threw it gently to Nie Tian.
Moments later, Nie Tian had devoured the five kilograms worth of spirit beast meat. The only reason he didn’t ask for more was that he didn’t want to scare the trial takers from the Mystic Mist sect.
He picked the white garment up and put it on. Only then did he say, “What do you guys want to know?”
“Everything you’ve been through!” Zheng Bin said in a deep voice.
“Okay.” Nie Tian nodded, and without holding anything back, relayed the few, small-scale battles that he had fought against the disciples from the Ghost sect and Blood sect, not leaving a single detail.
As for Yuan Feng and Yun Song’s deaths, he naturally blamed them on the Blood sect’s Yu Tong.
He believed that even if Yu Tong showed up and pointed out that it was him who had killed Yuan Feng and Yun Song, given Yu Tong’s status as a Blood sect disciple, it would be impossible for the trial takers to believe her.
Actually, he even doubted that Yu Tong would bother to refute the assertation.
If the fact that he had killed Yuan Feng and Yun Song was exposed, Nie Tian would inevitably have to bear the wrath of the four sects.
However, to Yu Tong, it was her very mission to kill Yuan Feng and other trial takers. It was unforgivable for Nie Tian, but honorable for Yu Tong.
Actually, Yu Tong might even be willing to take the blame.
After he had told them everything, the girl with the oval-shaped face stared at him with disbelief. “You’ve killed a Ghost sect disciple, and escaped from Yu Tong? And Yu Tong… broke into the Lesser Heaven stage?”
“Liar…” Li Xi muttered.
The other trial takers from the Mystic Mist sect also seemed to be doubting the authenticity of his words, suspecting that he was merely bragging.
In their eyes, if Yu Tong had truly broken into the Lesser Heaven stage, she would have possessed unparalleled strength in the Green Illusion dimension.
Even Yuan Feng died by her hands. How could a nobody like Nie Tian be able to escape from her?
They would never have expected that not only was Nie Tian able to escape Yu Tong’s pursuit, but he also managed to inflict serious damage on her twice.
Nie Tian continued with a firm expression, “Oh, perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. After Yu Tong killed Yuan Feng and Yun Song, she sustained injuries, and consumed most of her power. Only because of that was I able to escape from her pursuit and flee here.”
He only wanted for the Mystic Mist sect’s trial takers to believe that it was Yu Tong who killed Yuan Feng and Yun Song.
However, from the look of it, they didn’t buy the first version of his explanation. Thus, he made a supplementary explanation which made his story more reasonable.
Sure enough, the trial takers from the Mystic Mist sect believed him after hearing the additional details.
They assumed that there had been something wrong with Yu Tong. Otherwise, with Yu Tong’s Lesser Heaven stage cultivation base, she wouldn’t possibly spare Nie Tian’s life.
Face grim, Zheng Bin turned to his team members and said, “Even if Yu Tong was injured, and wore out her strength, the fact that you’ve survived from her pursuit is enough evidence that you’re no ordinary individual. Many of you might not have heard of Yu Tong of the Blood sect, and you don’t know how frightening that woman is.
“Let me put it this way. Even if she was at the Qi Refining stage, I would still be no match for her.
“If she has indeed entered the Lesser Heaven stage, and I fought her, I wouldn’t have even the hope of escaping alive, let alone winning.”
With a solemn expression on his face, Zheng Bin didn’t exaggerate his strength in front of everyone, but rather stated what he believed was true.
“Then we’re screwed, aren’t we, Elder Brother Bin?” Li Xi said with a sour face.
Apparently, the girl with the oval-shaped face was quite rattled. “What should we do? The Blood sect and the Ghost sect are so powerful. Perhaps they have already targeted us, and they could appear at any moment!” She subconsciously glanced around as she spoke, as if the Ghost sect and the Blood sect’s disciples would rush out in the next second.
Zheng Bin also couldn’t come up with a solution. “I suppose now we can only cross that bridge when we get to it. I just hope that An Ying and Jiang Lingzhu survived, and can get here as soon as possible.”
While they were talking, Nie Tian felt those warm currents gradually rising up from within his stomach.
He realized that the spirit beast meat that he had just consumed was now releasing energy after a period of digestion.
“I’ve marched long and fast. I’m exhausted, and need to recover. I’ll leave you guys alone.” After notifying Zheng Bin, he closed his eyes, and started to use the Qi Refining Incantation to channel the energy to expand his spiritual sea, as well as restore his physical strength.
Zheng Bin nodded. “Alright, let me know if you need anything. We’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.”
Nie Tian immediately said, “If you don’t mind, can I have some more spirit beast meat? I’ve been starving for a very, very long time. I need more food to recover my strength.”
“No problem.” Zheng Bin was very straightforward as he prompted Li Xi to fetch more cooked spirit beast meat for Nie Tian.
After wolfing down the meat, Nie Tian expressed his gratitude to Zheng Bin in a low voice, and immediately after, he closed his eyes and started cultivating.
In the following few days, he practically didn’t move an inch away from his spot. Every time he finished cultivating, he would then request for more food from the Mystic Mist sect disciples.
After devouring large quantities of spirit beast meat, he would immediately close his eyes and start his cultivation, not conversing with any of the trial takers from the Mystic Mist sect.
At the beginning, Zheng Bin and the others thought he ate a lot because he was incomparably hungry.
However, as Nie Tian requested for more and more spirit beast meat, they gradually realized a fact: Nie Tian’s appetite was shockingly large all the time!
They had already started to call Nie Tian a “bottomless pit” behind his back.
However, since they had more than enough spirit beast meat lying around, no one bothered to say anything. Every time, they would satisfy Nie Tian’s request by offering enough meat for ten people to eat.
Nie Tian, on the other hand, knew that Yu Tong would never let him off so easily, and thus always had his guard up. Now that he had the Mystic Mist sect disciples to protect him while he was cultivating, as well as a sufficient spirit beast meat supply, he surely wouldn’t miss such an exceptionally good opportunity.
He kept consuming the spirit beast meat, and using the power within to expand his spiritual sea, so as to prepare himself for possible future battles.
One day, he woke up from his cultivation and examined his spiritual sea, discovering that after days of painstaking practice, his spiritual sea had only expanded by fifteen percent.
“It’s a shame that the energy first grade spirit beasts can provide is quite limited.”
The energy stored in second grade spirit beast meat was seven times more than that of first grade spirit beasts, which meant if he used first grade spirit beast meat to cultivate, the speed of his improvement would be seven times slower.
Unsatisfied with his speed of improvement, Nie Tian cast a glance at the Ghostly Fire Wolf’s head. “The Ghostly Fire Wolf is also a second grade spirit beast. I wonder if they brought its meat with them to this place.”
Just as he was about to inquire about the wolf meat, a sound rang out from the distance. Before long, Jiang Lingzhu and Nie Xian appeared from behind a pile of rubble.
“It’s been five days.” Li Xi said excitedly. “Finally, someone has come!”
“Jiang Lingzhu!” Zheng Bin suddenly became enlivened.
As Jiang Lingzhu approached, she spotted Zheng Bin at first glance, and looking extremely excited, she said, “Zheng Bin! I can’t believe that you are here! This is great!! We thought we were doomed!”
She sounded like a drowning person who had just caught sight of a rescue boat. With the newly found hope to survive, she instantly became full of spirit.