Chapter 172: Chapter 169: Face the Consequences
"To easily slay a Demon Beast also at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer in a single battle... Brother Nangong, your strength is truly astonishing!"
When the battle was over,
Shen Changchuan’s figure drifted down from a tree like a falling leaf.
He landed beside Nangong City and exclaimed in admiration.
According to what he had learned previously,
Nangong City had likely been tormented for years by the residual Blood Evil Power from the Blood Evil Gourd. After the problem was resolved, he had a fortuitous encounter, rising from the ashes to break through and advance to the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm.
In other words, he hadn’t been at the Ninth Layer for very long at all.
But now,
he was already capable of slaying a Demon Beast of the same Ninth Layer without sustaining any injuries.
Such strength definitely placed him among the elite of Cultivators at the same Ninth Layer Realm.
"This beast had no intelligence. It was just a few tricks, nothing worth mentioning."
Nangong City said humbly, though he was breathing a little heavily.
He spoke lightly, but dealing with a Demon Beast of the same level was no simple task.
Judging by his expression, there was also a hint of pride and satisfaction.
However, Nangong City also glanced at Shen Changchuan, a profound look in his eyes.
Nangong City was no fool.
For the past ten-plus days, Shen Changchuan, who outwardly appeared to be merely at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Peak, had actually managed to keep pace with him, venturing deep into the vast Demon Beast Forest without falling behind.
He was clearly not as simple as he appeared.
With the speed and agility he had displayed during their journey, as long as he didn’t face an enemy head-on and focused solely on escaping,
it was likely that even an existence at the Qi Introduction Seventh and Eighth Stages would find it difficult to do anything to him!
Moreover, Nangong City discovered that Shen Changchuan’s strengths weren’t limited to his speed and agility.
His perception of danger was also extremely sharp.
Along the way, it wasn’t that they hadn’t encountered danger,
but each time, he was almost always able to sense it in advance and retreat to a safe area behind them.
This saved him a lot of trouble, allowing him to fight without having to worry about the other’s safety.
Just like this unexpected encounter with the giant python,
not long after the battle broke out, Shen Changchuan had already withdrawn from the battlefield.
He wasn’t swept up in the aftershocks of the fight.
’As expected of the man who could lure the cunning, fox-like Blood Slaughter Three Demons into a trap and completely eliminate all three of them.’
’His Cultivation Realm might not look like much, but his skills are not the least bit lacking...’
’Anyone who underestimates him would probably suffer a great fall...’
Nangong City sighed with emotion in his heart.
However, regarding what Shen Changchuan had shown,
he had no intention of prying into his secrets.
The other man came from the Tian Nan Shen Clan,
so who’s to say he didn’t possess some kind of Magical Artifact that enhanced his speed and perception?
For a Cultivator from a great, time-honored clan with a long heritage,
it wasn’t strange to have a few special tricks up his sleeve.
Everyone has secrets.
There’s no need to get to the bottom of everything.
Originally, he had been very worried about rashly bringing Shen Changchuan into the Demon Beast Mountain Range.
But now that Shen Changchuan had demonstrated sufficient ability to protect himself,
he could naturally breathe a sigh of relief.
"The fluctuations from this battle were too great. This isn’t the place to talk; we need to leave as soon as possible..."
"You’re right..."
Nangong City recovered for a moment.
He then took out a sharp blade and carved up the giant python’s corpse, stripping away the flesh and blood. He cut off the snakeskin, which was covered in dense, steel-like scales, and extracted the skeleton, gallbladder, and other high-value parts. After sealing them in a Jade Box, he placed it into his Storage Bag.
The giant python was too large.
The entire corpse piled up was almost like a small mountain.
It was impossible to take the whole thing; his Storage Bag didn’t have that much space. He could only select the most valuable materials to take with him.
After finishing, Nangong City looked at Shen Changchuan, his gaze seeming to ask if he wanted to take the remaining flesh and blood of the giant python.
After all, it was a Demon Beast at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer. Its flesh was rich in Qi and Blood, which was somewhat useful to Cultivators and could be sold for about a hundred Spirit Stones.
Shen Changchuan was clearly not someone who was short on Spirit Stones.
It wasn’t worth filling his Storage Space with a pile of flesh, especially since its value wasn’t very high, so he declined.
And so,
the two of them quickly departed,
disappearing from the spot.
...
「Two days later.」
Deep within the surrounding mountains,
two figures moved silently through a forest of massive, ancient trees.
These two people,
were, of course, Nangong City and Shen Changchuan, who were deep in the Demon Beast Forest.
"Be careful..."
Nangong City scouted ahead cautiously, reminding Shen Changchuan who was behind him.
Ever since the giant python attack that day, the two of them had been extremely cautious with every step, hoping to avoid encountering another powerful Demon Beast like the python and being dragged into a dangerous battle.
Their approach was indeed effective.
In the last two days,
they had indeed detected several powerful Demon Beasts blocking their path in advance.
Among them was even a Demon Beast at the Ninth Layer Peak!
If they hadn’t scouted carefully, they would have inevitably been drawn into a fight.
And deep within the Demon Beast Forest, if a major battle were to break out, it could attract nearby Demon Beasts looking to scavenge, which was definitely not a good thing!
Fortunately, they were cautious enough.
Therefore, after spotting them, they always gave the Demon Beasts’ territories a wide berth.
However, as a result,
their pace was drastically slowed.
Relying on their own two feet, they had only traveled a hundred miles in two days.
But fortunately,
their destination was almost in sight.
"We just have to cross that mountain up ahead!"
Nangong City stood atop a tall, ancient tree, gazing at the somewhat familiar, towering mountain range ahead. A look of joy appeared on his weary face.
"Beyond that mountain is a ravine. The entrance to the cavern system below is at the bottom of that ravine!"
"The environment in the underground caverns is a bit complex, but the good thing is there aren’t as many Demon Beasts as there are outside. We can find a place to rest for a while..."
Shen Changchuan also breathed a small sigh of relief.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that he had just been following behind Nangong City the whole way, which might have seemed less dangerous.
But in reality,
he had been on edge this entire time.
This was a rather deep part of the Demon Beast Forest,
far from human settlements,
not only was it undeveloped, but it was also very likely that no human had ever set foot here.
It might not be a Demon Beast every five steps and a Great Demon every ten,
but powerful Great Demons were by no means a rare sight.
After all, in the past few days, they had encountered more than one Demon Beast at the Ninth Layer!
In such a perilous place,
even with Xiaofeng in his Demon Beast Bag, Shen Changchuan couldn’t say for sure that he would be able to escape unscathed if something happened!
If they could rest for a bit and relax his taut Heart Spirit,
nothing would be better.
The rest of the journey was smooth, and they encountered no more Demon Beasts.
Soon,
the two of them had crossed the mountain range
and arrived at the gorge and ravine that Nangong City had mentioned.
However,
what happened next
caused both Shen Changchuan and Nangong City to frown.
"Halt! This place was discovered by our Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance! Retreat at once, or you will face the consequences!"
