Chapter 388: Chapter 386: A Terrifying and Perilous Land
In the firelight, the old man wore a grey robe. His face was gaunt, his gaze was peaceful, and his body showed no fluctuations of a powerful aura.
And yet, it was precisely this that made him seem unfathomable and boundlessly powerful to Jiang Jichen.
Just a moment ago, the man had clearly been over ten miles away, yet in the next instant, he appeared right before them. And Jiang Jichen hadn’t sensed the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Power.
"Sir, if you wish to eat, please help yourself!"
Jiang Jichen took a chair from his Storage Bag and offered it to the old man.
He then filled a large bowl with the meat broth and handed it to the old man.
Without any ceremony, the old man drank it all in one go.
He didn’t stop there, downing over ten more bowls in quick succession.
Of course, this was a normal-sized bowl, not one of Suu Luo’s bowls that contained its own pocket dimension.
"Ah, how satisfying! It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a delicious broth!"
The old man laughed heartily.
Suu Luo piped up from the side, "Grandpa, you can really drink! Look, Suu Luo only had four bowls, but you’ve already had more than ten!"
Hearing Suu Luo’s words, Jiang Jichen’s expression soured.
’Suu Luo, could you be any more shameless?’
’One of your bowls is equal to over a hundred of these!’
Suu Luo’s words were, without a doubt, a roundabout way of telling the old man not to drink any more. She wanted him to leave some for her, implying that more than ten bowls was enough and that soon there’d be none left!
How could Jiang Jichen fail to recognize the foodie’s attempt to guard her food?
Even the old man was taken aback for a moment when he heard Suu Luo. Then he chuckled. "What an interesting little girl. But to be able to enter this place, you must have an Inter-Realm Token from the Asura Realm on you!"
Jiang Jichen’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing the old man’s words.
Suu Luo, however, simply took out her Inter-Realm Token and showed it off. "Yup, I have an Inter-Realm Token!"
The old man glanced at the Inter-Realm Token and finally let out a soft sigh. "A pity, it’s useless to me now. If this were long, long ago, I might have snatched it."
Then, his voice grew somber as he seemed to mutter to himself, "Now... it will likely be useless to me forever."
After he finished speaking, the old man abruptly stood up and swept his sleeve toward Suu Luo and Jiang Jichen.
WHOOSH!
The two of them lost all control, their bodies shooting away as if riding the wind. In an instant, they were far in the distance, completely unable to stop.
Just then, the old man’s voice rang out again, "Young man, I drank your broth, so I will save your lives in return!"
Far in the distance, Suu Luo and Jiang Jichen saw the large tree on the plain suddenly start to move. From beneath the ground, countless tendrils abruptly emerged.
Each tendril was like a sword, a spear, or a whip—able to be either soft or hard, and all of them unbelievably agile.
Furthermore, they were capable of destroying anything. Even the incomparably hard stones of the Primordial Chaos were instantly shattered into dust.
What was even more terrifying was that the massive tree actually sprouted two legs from its roots and began to walk around like a human!
"A Tree Demon?"
Jiang Jichen and Suu Luo were dumbfounded, a chill running down their spines.
Because just moments ago, they had been right under that tree!
That...
If the Tree Demon had suddenly attacked them with its countless tendrils, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
And they could sense how powerful the Tree Demon was.
"That is a Day-Sleeping Tree Demon. It slumbers during the day and only awakens at night. Now is precisely its time to wake up!"
The old man’s voice seemed to ring right beside their ears.
In the end, Jiang Jichen, Suu Luo, and the Ancient Medicine Cauldron were sent flying hundreds of miles away.
Such power was simply terrifying, defying the heavens themselves.
This was likely an existence beyond that of a Saint.
By now, both Jiang Jichen and Suu Luo’s faces were pale, their hearts trembling with fear.
Even someone as carefree as Suu Luo exclaimed, "That was terrifying, just terrifying... That was actually a Tree Demon! It scared the life out of Suu Luo!"
Jiang Jichen was also shaken, realizing now just how extremely dangerous the Academy’s back mountain truly was.
Thankfully, the old man had shown up when he did. Otherwise, they would have been in mortal danger once the Day-Sleeping Tree Demon had awakened.
’Who could that old man be? I couldn’t sense a single trace of Spiritual Power on him, yet he’s that powerful!’ Jiang Jichen thought to himself.
As if she knew what Jiang Jichen was thinking, Suu Luo said, "That grandpa must be the Secret Keeper for the Academy’s back mountain!"
"A Secret Keeper?"
"They’re the guardians of a secret place. Their existence is tied to it. If the secret place is destroyed, they die with it."
Jiang Jichen nodded but didn’t press Suu Luo for more details on the subject.
Because neither of them knew much about such things.
It was also a taboo topic. Only places that held world-shattering secrets would have a Secret Keeper.
This meant that the Academy’s back mountain must hide a world-shattering, unimaginable secret!
After putting away the Ancient Medicine Cauldron, they continued deeper into the western region of the Academy’s back mountain. This time, however, they were extremely cautious, not daring to let their guard down again.
After crossing a stretch of wilderness, a valley suddenly appeared ahead of them.
Jiang Jichen and Suu Luo came to a halt.
"There’s something strange about this valley. I can feel the aura of wandering souls everywhere. Be careful!"
Jiang Jichen warned Suu Luo.
Just then, a Secret Light flared in Suu Luo’s eyes as she gazed into the valley.
In an instant, the scene from deep within the valley materialized in her sight.
This was the Asura Celestial Eye!
Only those with a Supreme Bloodline among the Asura had a chance to possess it.
The fact that Suu Luo possessed it was a clear sign of her extraordinary status within the Asura Realm.
The Asura Celestial Eye could penetrate any mist or illusion.
"There’s a tattered banner planted in the deepest part of the valley!"
"It must be a Venerable Soul Refining Banner!"
Suu Luo announced.
Jiang Jichen was stunned to hear this.
It was a broken Venerable Level artifact, and a Soul Refining Banner no less.
This was a Supreme-grade Great Killing Artifact!
According to legend, the Strongest of Soul Refining Banners could refine an entire realm!
A Venerable’s Soul Refining Banner was an unimaginably powerful existence. Even as a broken artifact, its power would be terrifyingly immense.
"A treasure like that... we have to get our hands on it!"
Jiang Jichen said.
Suu Luo’s eyes lit up as well. "Yeah, we absolutely have to get it!"
And so, the two of them started into the valley.
They knew the valley was incredibly dangerous, and that perhaps even a Venerable expert had once fallen here.
But the Venerable’s Broken Soul Refining Banner was worth the risk.
In truth, Jiang Jichen was fairly confident, because he possessed a Seven-Colored Perfect Realm Divine Soul.
Suu Luo’s soul was also unique, unafraid of the soul-wave attacks emanating from the valley.
A soul-bewildering mist drifted through the valley; anyone caught in it would lose their soul.
It was a treacherous place, and the deeper they went, the more terrifying the Soul Power they could feel radiating from within the valley.
Before long, the two had made their way into the valley proper. The Venerable’s Broken Soul Refining Banner was just ten meters away.
"Careful, there’s an Evil Soul guarding it!"
Suu Luo said.
"It’s fine. My soul can fight it!"
Fearless, Jiang Jichen unleashed his Soul Power and battled the powerful Evil Soul guarding the Venerable Soul Refining Banner.
In the end, at a certain cost, Jiang Jichen managed to destroy the Evil Soul.
Just as Jiang Jichen was about to retrieve the Venerable’s Broken Soul Refining Banner, a cold, sneering voice echoed out, "The Ghost Trace Sect’s Tracking Secret Technique is truly unparalleled. As expected, Jiang Jichen is here. And it seems our timing is perfect."
Jiang Jichen and Suu Luo spun around to see three black-robed elders drifting silently toward them.
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