The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 652 - 370 A Different Approach_2
Changtian: "..."
"If it weren’t for the time constraint, we could possibly send Qi Zai to pull off a beauty trap, significantly reducing the risk. Once we find the True Form of Ba Snake, Qi Zai might also win his beauty and return, killing two birds with one stone. Ah, it would be a perfect solution."
Qi Zai: "..." Not long ago, that sleazy Pill Furnace inside God Demon Prison told him that explanations are just cover-ups, so the best approach at this time is to keep silent.
He seemed to feel a bit cold, suddenly becoming quiet, squatting down and puffing up all his feathers, burying his head in his back feathers, making himself look like a round white ball. Tu Jin, who had been neglected for a while, watched him with ill-intention, a smile seemingly glowing in his eyes. The three men inside and outside the God Demon Prison were all aware that Qi Zai had already experienced the pleasures of women, and was momentarily tempted by Ning Xiaoxian’s proposal.
The only one here oblivious to all this was actually just her.
A good wine is best enjoyed in moderation. The Immortal Bandits gathered around the stove and chatted for a while, then rode the buzz back to their rest. As long as they didn’t wander off, Hidden Stream’s territory was the safest place in this forest.
Fu Yunzhang was the last to leave. Before turning away, he stared into Ning Xiaoxian’s eyes and said: "I don’t care what your purpose is for coming here, but don’t drag me and my brothers down with you."
He never believed she came to Ba Snake Mountain Range just for the Snake Flame Grass. Ning Xiaoxian squinted at him, replying with a smile: "I’m always harmless to both humans and animals."
Fu Yunzhang shrugged his shoulders and left.
The sky slowly darkened, and she did not move recklessly. This was the demon crowd’s stronghold; after nightfall, they would not sleep but become more active. Yet this didn’t hinder her from making another move.
She returned to her room, closed the door, and pulled on a vine next to it. Fine and dense vines stretched over, completely sealing the window. This treehouse was quite smart.
Afterward, she took out a strange scale from her bosom. The color of the scale was yellowish-white, but it had been polished to be as smooth as pearls and jades, reflecting rainbow light when held against the sunlight. The edge of the scale was extremely sharp, and it carelessly cut a large wound on her finger.
Her skin was fair and delicate, seemingly fragile to the touch but actually unable to be easily harmed even by Divine Weapons. Changtian’s voice held a faint doting tone: "Be careful."
She hummed softly and sucked the cut on her finger twice before putting away the scale. She then jumped down from the treehouse and began to stroll slowly around the valley. In the darkness, who knows how many pairs of eyes were watching the girl’s footsteps.
Unconcerned, she continued walking for a while before squatting down on the green grass below the treehouse and picked a cluster of violets.
Using the bushes as cover, she pressed the scale, which she held tight in her palm, against the ground and silently recited the spell that Changtian had passed on to her. It was an exceedingly long and complicated incantation which took her a long time to memorize without a single mistake, given her current memory.
After the incantation, she hesitantly explored the scale with a thread of Divine Power. The scale instantly came alive, as if it hadn’t fed in centuries, greedily absorbing her Divine Power. This thing was smaller than her palm but felt like a gluttonous giant beast, an endless abyss. In less than tens of seconds, her circulating Divine Power had been fully drained.
"Incredible!" she marveled inwardly. Fortunately, she was prepared for this, promptly swallowing two elixirs and urging the inner core in her Dantian to work like a water pump, continuously bringing up stored Divine Power to sustain her. A few days earlier, she had advanced to the Mid Wanxiang Stage, and the Demon Core’s capacity for Divine Power had increased by at least one third. Additionally, to prepare for today’s plan, she had been exceptionally diligent with her refinement recently, and now her Demon Core was brimming with Divine Power.
As she kept supplying Divine Power to the scale, she led the medicinal strength of the elixirs to disperse. These were Qi Nourishing Pills, carefully refined by Changtian, capable of replenishing a great amount of Spiritual Power. Although consuming too many elixirs could lead to the accumulation of Elixir Poison in the body, there was no time to worry about that now. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
The situation was almost as Changtian had calculated. The scale continued to devour the Divine Power from the inner core until it was almost depleted before finally stopping, as if it had eaten its fill. A peculiar wave, resembling a surging heartbeat, then emitted from the scale, quietly seeping into the ground below and disappearing into the unknown. These actions were very discreet; aside from her, no one in the entire valley noticed anything.
As a diversion, she picked another handful of azalea flowers before returning to the treehouse with a few leaps. Her work was done. Whatever happened next, no one would suspect her.
A full forty or fifty seconds passed, and the ground suddenly trembled once again. If the previous tremors were of a magnitude three, this time it was at least six; she could hear the groaning as if the ground would soon crack, along with the terrifying booms resembling the uplifting of Earth’s tectonic plates.
A glance at what the Immortal Bandits had said indicated that Ba Snake stretching out was rare; at least during their several visits, they had never witnessed it. The regular members of Hidden Stream weren’t aware that a giant snake slept deep within the Ba Snake Mountain Range, but two earthquakes in one day was unprecedented, creating a tense atmosphere spreading throughout the forest.
And this was just the beginning. The earthquake lasted only about two seconds before stopping, and an eerie silence prevailed, with everyone on edge.
Ba Snake indeed did not disappoint them. Ten seconds later, the next wave of tremors came, this time reaching the magnitude of the Tangshan earthquake. The Immortal Bandits were forced to evacuate from the treehouses as they were rocking as violently as ships in a stormy sea. The entire forest emitted a fearful moan, and the cries of birds and animals were everywhere—some unlucky trees were likely shaken down by the tremors. (To be continued. If you like this work, please consider giving it a recommendation ticket or Monthly Ticket at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
