Cultivating With Mutated Heavenly Spirit Roots-Chapter 74: Grey Fog

Fang Hong sat cross-legged inside the tree hollow, carefully examining the description of the Shadow Divine Art.

After reading it, he looked surprised. This was actually an advanced spell. Once successfully Cultivated, he could transform into a shadow, making it suitable for stealth, assassination, and sneak attacks.

Fang Hong recalled the scene of the scar-faced man assassinating the Black-clothed person. That eerie black shadow was able to move freely and silently through the shadows, taking lives without a sound, precisely by using the Shadow Divine Art.

For a Cultivator skilled in stealth and sneak attacks, this spell was like adding wings to a tiger.

Fang Hong felt that the Shadow Divine Art was quite good and worth studying thoroughly; it would definitely enhance his combat abilities.

His gaze shifted, landing on the crescent dagger beside him.

The dagger gleamed with a cold light; it was a top-tier Spiritual Artifact, extremely sharp.

If this dagger were combined with the Shadow Divine Art, launching a surprise attack while hidden in the shadows would surely achieve an unexpected effect.

Fang Hong calmed the joy in his heart and took out four small bottles from his storage bag.

The bottles contained the demon blood he had collected over the past few days by hunting peak Level 4 Demonic Beasts in the middle area of Evergreen Blessed Herb Garden. He now intended to upgrade his Four Symbols Formation.

Fang Hong took out the four Formation Flags of the Four Symbols Formation, suspended them to the side, and then took out the Cold Moon Cauldron.

He unleashed his Innate True Fire, poured the four types of demon blood into the cauldron, and carefully controlled the heat, beginning the refining process...

Two days later, it was now the eighth day since entering Evergreen Blessed Herb Garden. Fang Hong remained seated cross-legged in the tree hollow, recovering his magical power.

After two days of refining, the Four Symbols Formation Flags within the Cold Moon Cauldron had been completely renewed.

The runes of the four Divine Beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—were clearly visible on the flag surfaces, each line emitting Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

Fang Hong opened his eyes, his magical power fully restored. He lifted the Four Symbols Formation Flags from the cauldron, his face filled with joy.

Fang Hong estimated that the Four Symbols Formation, refined with peak Level 4 demon blood, would surely increase its power several times over and should have no problem dealing with Level 5 Demonic Beasts.

Fang Hong stood up, put away the Formation Flags and the Cold Moon Cauldron, and walked out of the tree hollow, simultaneously retracting the small concealment formation around him.

Fang Hong did not delay, heading directly towards the small valley Li Lu had mentioned. He wanted to see what kind of demon could even snatch away Spiritual Artifacts...

After nearly an hour, Fang Hong arrived at the location Li Lu had indicated and indeed found that small valley.

At this moment, he stood at the entrance of the valley, quietly extending his Divine Sense inside to check for any danger.

Fang Hong investigated for a while, a look of confusion on his face. He did not detect any powerful aura, nor did he sense the grey fog Li Lu had mentioned.

Fang Hong took out a Thunder Thorn Talisman, held it between his fingers, and cautiously walked into the valley.

He hadn’t gone far when a mass of grey fog suddenly drifted from within the valley, hovering in front of Fang Hong and blocking his path.

The mist swirled and churned but did not actively attack. It simply hung there silently, as if observing Fang Hong.

Fang Hong remembered Li Lu’s warning and immediately became vigilant.

He did not dare to rashly use a Spiritual Artifact, fearing it would be snatched away by this strange mist, so he tentatively cast a Fireball spell.

The fireball, carrying a scorching aura, flew towards the grey fog. However, the grey fog suddenly swirled, a hole opening in its center, easily evading the fireball’s attack.

Even more surprisingly, after evading the fireball, the grey fog began to twist and deform, clearly taking on Fang Hong’s appearance, even mimicking his action of casting the Fireball spell.

Seeing this, Fang Hong’s expression instantly turned to astonishment.

He suddenly recalled a record in an ancient text from the Scripture Pavilion, and a rare treasure called "Cloud Essence" came to mind.

"Cloud Essence..." Fang Hong muttered softly, his gaze fixed on the grey fog before him.

Legend has it that Cloud Essence is a special demon formed by the condensation of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. It possesses sentience, and each Cloud Essence controls a unique Divine Power, making it an excellent Material for refining Spiritual Treasures.

This mass of grey fog in front of him could imitate his movements, clearly indicating high intelligence. It was probably a Cloud Essence over a thousand years old.

The grey fog seemed to notice Fang Hong’s gaze and began to twist its body in a peculiar manner, as if "teasing" him.

Fang Hong looked at its lively appearance and couldn’t help but find it amusing. It seemed his judgment was correct; this was definitely a Cloud Essence.

"I must subdue it..." Fang Hong felt a little excited, pondering how to capture it.

Given its confident demeanor, using forceful methods would likely not work. He had to find a way to trap it and deplete its Spiritual Qi.

With such high intelligence, a Cloud Essence would likely resist fiercely if directly attacked.

Fang Hong’s eyes darted around. He suddenly remembered being bullied by children in his village when he was young. After bullying him, they would always pat their bottoms to provoke him, making him furious.

This playful Cloud Essence now bore some resemblance to those children. Perhaps he could use this method to lure it and make it expose a weakness...

With this thought, Fang Hong began to imitate the Cloud Essence’s movements.

The Cloud Essence raised its "arm," and he also raised his arm; the Cloud Essence spun in a circle, and he followed, spinning in a circle.

After a series of imitations, Fang Hong deliberately mimicked the village children, patted his bottom, and then ran towards the distance.

Sure enough, the Cloud Essence seemed provoked by this. It let out "whooshing" cries and chased after him, continuously spitting out grey fog to attack Fang Hong.

Fang Hong skillfully dodged the attacks while secretly rejoicing in his heart: "This little thing took the bait!"

"It actually knows this is a provocation. With such high intelligence, could it be a Cloud Essence over ten thousand years old?" Fang Hong ran, secretly guessing, his excitement growing stronger.

His hand quietly moved towards his storage bag, ready to unleash the Four Symbols Formation Flags at any moment.

The Cloud Essence chased for a while, seeming to grow stronger with each attack, and its attack frequency became faster and faster.

Fang Hong seized the opportunity, suddenly stopped short, turned, and threw the Four Symbols Formation Flags into the air. At the same time, he took out the Formation Disk and fully activated the formation.

"Boom!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A dazzling light flashed, and a giant formation light barrier rose from the ground, instantly trapping the Cloud Essence within it.

The Cloud Essence realized it had been tricked and began to dart wildly within the formation, frantically crashing into the formation light barrier, attempting to escape.

However, Fang Hong would not let it succeed. He immediately took out several Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, fully boosted the formation, and summoned the Four Symbols Formation Spirit to fiercely attack it.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The Cloud Essence was knocked to the ground again and again, but its vitality was extremely tenacious, and it managed to float up quickly each time.

Fang Hong was not in a hurry. He kept it firmly trapped, intending to deplete its Spiritual Qi. Once it was exhausted, it would be time to capture it...