Chapter 133: Palace-Attired Woman
Fang Hao plunged into the Hundred Flowers Mountain Range and spent seven or eight days wandering the outskirts.
This place was truly vast; the forest was as dense as a wall, with no paths, forcing him to carve his own way.
Relying on his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes and Ethereal Art, he managed to find a few decent-aged common Spirit Medicines and casually slaughtered a few ignorant first and second-rank Demon Beasts as a warm-up.
However, he hadn’t even seen a hair of the main ingredients needed for forming golden core.
"The outskirts are still too ’clean’; the good stuff is probably inside," Fang Hao said, feeling a bit discouraged as he looked at the fifty-year-old "Blood-Coagulating Grass" he had just dug up.
He had a whole patch of this stuff growing in his Chaos Grotto-Heaven, enough to use as firewood.
He pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and decided to venture deep into the inner reaches!
Wealth is sought in danger; if he kept scraping the surface on the outside, when would he ever gather all the medicinal herbs?
He adjusted his direction and crept toward the core area of the mountain range, where the Spiritual Qi was denser and more dangerous.
The further in he went, the taller the trees became and the more traces of Demon Beasts he found.
Occasionally, he could even sense the aura of a Third-Ranked Demonic Beast, forcing him to be doubly cautious.
Just as Fang Hao was delving deep into the mountain range, True Person Chiyang, who had been following behind his tail, encountered trouble.
The inner reaches of the Hundred Flowers Mountain Range were incomparable to the outskirts.
Miasma was pervasive, the terrain was complex, and Divine Sense was severely suppressed here.
Although True Person Chiyang was a Golden Core Cultivator, he was, after all, an Alchemist; his combat prowess was average, and he was not skilled in tracking.
Relying on his high cultivation, he had originally trailed from a distance, thinking that a Foundation Establishment brat like Fang Hao could never escape his grasp.
But not long after entering the inner reaches, with one lapse in attention, Fang Hao’s figure vanished within a thick, impenetrable toxic miasma and dense primeval jungle!
True Person Chiyang unleashed his Divine Sense to search desperately, but the surroundings were full of interference; where was Fang Hao’s shadow now?
"Damn it! Where did that little bastard run off to?!" True Person Chiyang stopped by a swamp, stomping his feet in anger, his face livid.
He felt like a monkey that had been played, having followed for so long only to lose the trail!
"He must have burrowed into some rat hole!" He gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up just like that.
After hesitating for a long time, he decided to look around the nearby area, but he dared not go too deep, as even he risked falling in the depths of the inner reaches.
He did not know that Fang Hao hadn’t burrowed into any rat hole, but rather, with surprisingly "good" luck, had stumbled into a forbidden zone that even a Golden Core Cultivator would not dare to easily step foot in!
Fang Hao himself was slow to realize it.
To avoid a Third-tier Peak "Iron-Backed Demonic Bear," he had panicked and ducked into a hidden mountain stream.
Following the twists and turns of the stream, he unknowingly walked into a valley where the Spiritual Qi was abnormally dense, yet it was deathly silent.
The valley was surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one narrow entrance.
Inside, birds were singing and flowers were fragrant, with Spirit Medicines everywhere, including many rare varieties unseen in the outside world!
But strangely, apart from the plants, not a single living creature could be seen, not even an insect!
It was so quiet that it made one’s scalp tingle.
"Something’s not right! It’s too quiet!" Fang Hao immediately grew alert, pushing his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to the limit to observe carefully.
Soon, in the depths of the valley, he sensed two terrifying auras that made his heart tremble, clashing intensely!
One aura was cold and violent, carrying a heavy Demonic Qi!
The other aura was noble and sharp, containing vast human Spiritual Qi!
Both of these auras were far beyond the scope of the Nascent Soul Level!
"Nascent... Nascent Soul Level?!" Fang Hao was so scared that his hair stood on end, and he almost turned around and ran!
In this godforsaken place, why would a Nascent Soul Old Monster be fighting? This was suicidal!
But just as he retreated to the valley entrance, he discovered that the entrance had been sealed by an invisible Restriction!
He couldn’t get out at all!
"It’s over! I’m trapped!" Fang Hao’s heart went cold.
He had truly walked right into a trap this time!
With no other choice, he could only bite the bullet, restrain all his aura, and like a frightened rabbit, hide behind a huge rock to secretly peek toward the center of the valley.
One look, and he was scared out of his wits!
On an open space in the center of the valley, a giant Python Dragon, over ten zhang long, covered in dark purple scales with a single horn on its head, was crazily attacking a woman wearing a goose-yellow palace dress!
The Python Dragon’s aura was monstrous; it was definitely a Late Stage fourth-rank great demon, equivalent to a Late Nascent Soul Stage human!
It spat foul-smelling toxic mist from its mouth, and as its thick tail swept past, rocks crumbled!
Its opponent, that palace-attired woman, was stunningly beautiful, appearing to be in her early twenties, with an elegant and noble temperament, yet her attacks were incomparably sharp!
She held a jade ruler shimmering with flowing light, her movements graceful; every time she waved the ruler, it brought forth rays of light, blocking all the Python Dragon’s attacks, and she could even counterattack, leaving streaks of wounds on the dragon’s body!
"What a formidable woman! She is also a Nascent Soul Cultivator!" Fang Hao watched, terrified.
This woman’s cultivation felt a level higher than even Cloud Crane!
And looking at her attire and demeanor, she was definitely not an ordinary Loose Cultivator; she was likely an important figure from a major power!
The two sides fought until the sky went dark and the earth went dim, the entire valley shaking.
Fang Hao hid behind the rock, not daring to even breathe loudly, fearing he would be caught in the crossfire.
A fight at the Nascent Soul Level, even a stray shockwave, could wipe him out of existence!
As they fought, the Python Dragon seemed to fall into a disadvantage, with more and more wounds on its body, and its movements slowed down.
It let out a roar of unwillingness, suddenly opened its blood-red mouth, and sprayed a pink mist that carried a strange, sweet fragrance!
The mist spread extremely fast, instantly enveloping the entire center of the valley!
The palace-attired woman seemed not to have expected this move; having inhaled a trace of the pink mist, her delicate body shuddered violently, two abnormal flushes instantly appeared on her beautiful face, and her eyes became somewhat unfocused!
"Not good! It’s the Lustful Dragon’s Bewitching Miasma!" The woman exclaimed, her voice tinged with panic, as she hurriedly circulated her Cultivation Technique to force out the poison.
But the Python Dragon seized the opportunity to lunge forward, its offensive becoming even crazier!
Fang Hao was far away, but he had still inhaled a little of the drifting pink mist.
At first, he didn’t feel anything, but soon, he felt a surge of evil fire rising from his lower abdomen, his whole body burning with heat, all sorts of chaotic thoughts began to surface in his mind, and the way he looked at the palace-attired woman began to carry an uncontrollable desire!
"Damn it! There’s something wrong with this mist!" Fang Hao hurriedly bit the tip of his tongue; the sharp pain cleared his head for a moment, and he desperately circulated the Chaos Derivation Art, attempting to neutralize this strange poison.
The battle in the center of the valley had reached a white-hot stage.
Influenced by the Bewitching Miasma, the palace-attired woman’s movements were significantly sluggish, and she was in danger several times.
But after all, her cultivation was deep, and she relied on her powerful willpower and exquisite Spells to maneuver with the Python Dragon.
Finally, after taking a heavy tail sweep from the Python Dragon and coughing up a mouthful of blood, she found an opportunity.
The jade ruler erupted with brilliant light, transforming into a rainbow that pierced through the Python Dragon’s vital spot at the throat!
"Awooo—!" The Python Dragon let out an incomparably miserable shriek, its massive body convulsed violently for a while before crashing to the ground, its aura rapidly dissipating.
A Late Stage fourth-rank Python Dragon, dead!
The palace-attired woman had also exhausted her strength, leaning on the jade ruler, kneeling on one knee, gasping for breath, her face flushed, drenched in fragrant sweat; clearly, the toxicity of the Bewitching Miasma had begun to take effect.
Fang Hao, hiding behind the rock, had just let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the Python Dragon killed, when he discovered that the palace-attired woman’s gaze had actually swept toward where he was hiding!
Her unfocused eyes carried a trace of sharpness!
"Oh no! I’ve been discovered!" Fang Hao’s heart tightened.
Indeed, the woman struggled to stand up, walking unsteadily toward the rock, her voice carrying an unusual huskiness and seduction: "Come out! This palace knows you are there!"
Fang Hao’s scalp went numb; knowing he couldn’t hide anymore, he had to bite the bullet, walk out from behind the rock, and bow, trying to keep his voice calm: "This Junior intruded unintentionally; please forgive me, Senior!"
The woman walked up to Fang Hao, her beautiful eyes watery, staring straight at him, her breathing rapid, her chest heaving.
She seemed to be trying to restrain herself with her last bit of reason, but the toxicity of the Bewitching Miasma was too potent.
"Are you... a Guest Elder of the Seventh Prince’s Mansion?" Seeing the Guest Elder token at Fang Hao’s waist, the woman’s eyes flickered slightly, but then were immediately drowned by desire.
She suddenly reached out and grabbed Fang Hao’s wrist!
Her hand was scorching hot!
"Senior! You..." Fang Hao was startled and wanted to break free, but found that the other party’s hand was like an iron pincer, impossible to break away from!
The strength of a Nascent Soul Cultivator was not something he could contend with!
"Help... help this palace..." The woman’s voice already carried a sobbing tone and uncontrollable desire, her whole body almost pressing against Fang Hao, her alluring body scent mixed with the sweet fragrance of the Bewitching Miasma, drilling straight into Fang Hao’s nose.
Fang Hao himself had inhaled the miasma, and stimulated by this woman, his last bit of reason completely collapsed.
With the evil fire burning his body, he could no longer care about anything else!
The next moment, the world spun.
When he became slightly clearer, he found that he had been brought by the palace-attired woman to a clean cave in the depths of the valley.
The palace dress on the woman’s body had long since faded away, revealing a flawless jade body, her eyes unfocused, wrapping around him like an octopus.
Dry wood and raging fire—one spark, and it ignited.
Fang Hao’s last thought was: What the hell is this all about!
Then, he completely sank into the endless wave of desire...
