Chapter 419: Chapter 350: Rune (3)
At this moment, he could sense that no matter how he used his Qi Blood Power to assail the location of that Essence Element Divine Treasure, there was no reaction whatsoever.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
Opening an Essence Element Divine Treasure required Qi and Blood as a catalyst, along with the Visualization Image from an Inheritance Secret Martial Arts; only then could it be opened.
But as a Secret Martial Artist who had reached Qi Blood Realm Perfection, he should have been able to sense the "gate" to the Essence Element Divine Treasure.
Yet now, within his perception of his Qi and Blood, the gate to the Essence Element Divine Treasure simply didn’t exist.
’If there’s not even a gate, how can I possibly open it?’
’Did I break through too quickly, and my body hasn’t adapted? Or is it because of the unique nature of this world’s bodies?’
Hu Qi considered this for a moment, but could only set the thought aside for now.
His strength at the level of Qi Blood Perfection at least gave him some ability to protect himself in this world.
He wouldn’t have to use that Damaged Black Banner for every little thing.
Besides, if his strength was too low, using the Black Banner could easily lead to a backlash and cause severe injuries.
Although he could use Modification Points to heal, he was the one who felt the pain, and Hu Qi certainly had no masochistic tendencies.
Of course, most importantly, he planned for this Clone to walk the path of this world’s Evolvers.
Whether he could successfully open the Essence Element Divine Treasure wasn’t a major issue for him.
Cultivating Qi and Blood was just a means to gain some initial strength to handle future events.
He glanced at the sky outside.
The daylight was dimming, and the once-clamorous rain had subsided into a light drizzle drifting outside the cave.
Seeing this,
Hu Qi slowly relaxed his Pile Posture.
He looked toward Lu Shan at his side.
And said,
"It’s getting late. Let’s go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he walked over, effortlessly lifted the wolf carcass, and slung it over his shoulder.
The wolf carcass, which weighed over three hundred pounds, felt like a mere trifle in his hands. His movements were fluid, showing no sign of strain.
The strength from his Qi Blood Perfection, combined with the power boost from the Spiritual Ape Posture and the inherent toughness of this world’s human bodies, gave him nearly twice the strength of a normal Secret Martial Artist at Qi Blood Realm Perfection.
In other words, a terrifying brute force of twenty thousand jin.
Lu Shan, standing to the side, was momentarily stunned.
But then she remembered he was an Evolver, and it no longer seemed so strange.
Evolvers possessed strength far beyond ordinary people. Each one was a monstrous being that defied common sense.
She had once personally seen that Evolver, the leader of the gathering place.
With a single slap, he had sent a survivor who offended him flying more than ten meters, killing him instantly.
The scene had been incredibly gruesome.
She shook her head, pulling her thoughts back.
"You can put that down. I’ll carry it..."
She offered to carry it, but Hu Qi refused with a wave of his hand.
"Let’s go. This will be faster," Hu Qi said.
After that,
at Hu Qi’s urging,
the two of them quickly set off toward the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
This time, without the wolf carcass as a burden, Lu Shan’s pace was clearly much faster.
Hu Qi, on the other hand, followed unhurriedly behind her, his expression relaxed.
They traveled in silence.
They encountered two groups of Wild Beasts along the way, but Hu Qi detected them early each time, allowing them to avoid any confrontation.
「Twenty minutes later.」
The pair arrived safely outside the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
Before them,
the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place was situated within a Gorge.
On either side of the Gorge, cliffs rose like the ruined ramparts of a Giant, their jagged and grotesque rock formations creating a natural barrier.
At the entrance,
were two large gates cobbled together from scrap steel plates and twisted steel beams, covered in mottled rust and dents of varying depths.
It looked as if they had been struck by some unknown, terrifying creatures.
To one side of the gate, a watchtower constructed from scrapped cars and thick metal poles stood tall.
Two armed guards stood watch on top.
The wall to one side was a mound of miscellaneous debris—broken bricks, shattered tiles, discarded pipes, and even half an airplane wing, with sharp metal rods shoved randomly into the gaps.
A gap had been left in the main gate, just wide enough for two people to pass through.
At this moment, a few figures were queuing up, entering through the gap in the gate.
Evidently, these were Scavengers like Lu Shan.
Each of them carried something in their hands, some more than others.
Some carried the carcasses of beasts, others wild plants or fruit.
But no matter what it was, half of it would be taken when they passed through the gate.
This was the rule of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
Any food they acquired had to be offered up to the leader of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
As for those who refused to comply, their bodies now hung from ropes to one side, dried out like mummified corpses.
"Wasting my fucking time! Scram!"
Just as the two of them drew near,
they heard a voice shout from up ahead.
Following the sound, they saw a scene at the main gate.
A burly man dressed in dark green camouflage, with a black mole at the corner of his mouth.
He held a gun in his hand and, with a face full of disgust, he viciously kicked a man with a sallow complexion in front of him.
It was a powerful kick.
The man was instantly knocked to the ground, where he rolled over twice.
Seeing this, the burly man spat viciously on the ground again.
Despite this, the sallow-faced middle-aged man showed no hint of anger. Instead, he scrambled up from the ground, his face plastered with a fawning smile as he bowed and scraped, saying,
"Yes... yes, I’ll leave right now. Please calm down, sir!"
The surrounding people witnessed this as if it were a common occurrence. Their expressions were numb; they merely shot a mechanical glance over before looking away.
Hu Qi’s gaze, however, lingered for a moment on the gun in the guard’s hand.
