Chapter 401: Chapter 62: The Visitor
Zhang Deming looked at the jungle of vines before him and whispered, "In your next life, try not to walk the wrong path. And even if you do, you’d better max out your perception and luck."
As he finished speaking, the jade-green vines began to turn blood-red. Amidst the tangle of vines, the black shadow breathed its last.
In that instant, the blood-red vines, now resembling rubies, began to grow rapidly.
In just a few moments, they grew into a massive cluster, shimmering with an eerie, ruby-like light, their beauty suffused with an unusual vitality.
In his Dantian, a chess piece shaped like a Yin Yang Fish had been painstakingly nourished by Zhang Deming for a whole year since its creation.
It had only managed to store a tenth of its capacity. Now, as the ruby-like vines grew and swayed rapidly...
When the opponent’s last breath was extinguished, the Vitality within the chess piece began to increase rapidly.
The process only stopped when the Vitality in the Yin Yang Fish chess piece reached seventy percent.
The ruby vines in front of him also stopped growing. Zhang Deming looked at the corpse, now completely dead and devoid of vitality. With a thought, all the vines dissolved into a sky full of spiritual light.
The black shadow’s corpse vanished as well, leaving not a single trace behind.
Sensing the chess piece in his body, now holding seventy percent of its Vitality, he thought, ’This should be enough for one full recovery.’
’After all, its total capacity is one and a half times my own entire vitality.’
’It’s a shame the Three-Star Dark Pawn Skill can only absorb vitality of an equivalent level. It won’t accept any from animals or lower-level beings, so there’s no way to sublimate and convert it from lesser sources.’
’Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken a whole year without me managing to fill it.’
’I’ll just have to wait and see if there’s a breakthrough when it reaches the Tier Four Magic Level.’
After methodically cleaning everything up, Zhang Deming stood silently in place for a long time. He then spoke to the surrounding forest:
"You’ve been following me all this way. Aren’t you going to come out? I thought you’d make your move at a critical moment in my fight."
The surroundings were silent, without the slightest sound.
Zhang Deming shook his head and said, "If I was only guessing before, this confirms it. The fact that this fellow’s storage pouch was completely empty shows he came prepared. That alone is enough to clear up my doubts."
"A critical moment? Hehe... Fellow Daoist Zhang, you’re quite humorous. You didn’t even use your Rune Core. How could one call that a ’critical moment’?"
Just then, an ethereal voice drifted from all directions. It was a beautiful sound, so much so that just hearing it caused a faint flutter in Zhang Deming’s heart.
Zhang Deming’s heart skipped a beat, and his expression turned serious.
As his thoughts raced, Zhang Deming suddenly turned and looked up. In the direction of the setting sun, at the very tip of a treetop, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman was lounging lazily against a wisp of pink mist.
The mist hung like a crescent moon, and the girl leaned against it, her bare, jade-like feet dangling and swaying gently.
The forest, the setting sun, the blood-red evening glow, a faint floral scent, the swirling pink mist, and the gentle breeze that stirred her hair and pink dress—it all came together to form a picture of absolute beauty.
Zhang Deming was instantly dazed. A tremor rose from the bottom of his heart, a madness he had never felt before, a singular desire to possess the person before him.
"You’re so beautiful. Can I be with you—"
Before Zhang Deming could finish his sentence or make a move, the Cultivation Technique in his Dantian vibrated slightly. His chaotic Spiritual Power returned to order, and the dazed Zhang Deming regained his clarity.
’This is... the Extreme Charm Path?’
’And this familiar aura...’
"It’s you!!!" Zhang Deming’s expression changed drastically as he exclaimed.
"So you really do have some way to directly immunize yourself against my charm," Guann Zhenzhen said, dropping her coy expression as she looked at Zhang Deming.
The newcomer was none other than Guann Zhenzhen, whom Zhang Deming had seen once from a distance at the city gate.
But the reason for his drastic change in expression wasn’t that she was Guann Zhenzhen, but because of the familiar aura he felt the moment he was charmed.
In all his years of cultivation, Zhang Deming had only ever dealt with one Cultivator of the Extreme Charm Path, and he had even suffered a small, unexpected loss at their hands.
That person was the stunningly beautiful woman, Guann Zhenxiang, who had briefly appeared and then vanished, disguised as a male Apprentice Stage Cultivator.
And connected to all of this was that Strange Ability Soulless from back then—Qu Hua.
Light Wings emerged from Zhang Deming’s back, and a Spirit Wind stirred beneath his feet, lifting him into the air.
His expression unsightly, he stared at Guann Zhenzhen and said, "It’s you again. I haven’t even settled the score with you for what happened last time, and now you’ve come looking for me...
"Wait, how did you track me? I consider myself quite masterful with Disguise Techniques. No one should be able to lock onto me so easily!"
"Isn’t that right? After you took such liberties with me back then, you just up and left. You made me search for so long," Guann Zhenzhen said with a coquettish pout.
Zhang Deming’s eyes glazed over for a second, but he instantly recovered.
Both Zhang Deming’s and Guann Zhenzhen’s expressions changed almost simultaneously, turning extremely sour.
"No Magical Artifact fluctuations, no Technique fluctuations... Are you cultivating some special Bloodline Technique?" Guann Zhenzhen’s voice was no longer bewitching, but cold and indifferent.
Zhang Deming’s face was dark, but he didn’t attack rashly. Instead, he said, "We don’t have any grudge against each other, do we? If anyone should hold a grudge, it should be me against you.
"So what exactly do you want, coming after me now?
"You knew I was a disciple of the Celestial Spirit Sect back then. If you really wanted to offer yourself to me, would you even need to... search... for... me..."
Zhang Deming’s words slowed until he finally stopped. His expression turned incredibly ugly as he said, "You were the one who put the Infant Spirit Hollow Jade up for auction?"
Having failed to charm him twice, Guann Zhenzhen didn’t try again and simply watched Zhang Deming with a faint expression.
Zhang Deming didn’t wait for her answer. He nodded to himself and muttered, "That’s right. You were the one who released that peculiar fragrance too, weren’t you?"
At this, Guann Zhenzhen’s expression flickered. "How did you discover my mark? The Smoke Luo Seeking Fragrance itself should have been flawless. It’s a top-grade incense.
"I only use it as a marker because of its unique synergy with my Dao.
"But you dispelled its effects the moment you touched it. I can’t figure out where I went wrong."
