Encountering the Strange

Yun Yun seemed to have given up on restraint entirely, teasing Zhang Tian every chance she got along the way.

Zhang Tian did not pay her much attention, however. Instead, he felt that something was strange. They had already been traveling for over a day, and by rights, at their speed, they should have been able to see the bustling Imperial Capital by now.

Yet the Gama Empire, usually incomparably lively, had become eerily quiet tonight. Zhang Tian felt uneasy. He glanced at Yun Yun and saw that she had also sensed something was off. The two stood back-to-back, protecting Qing Lin in the middle.

"Two little Dou Emperor brats, heheh..." An aged voice, grating like the cry of a cat, rang out. His words seemed to carry some sort of magic, and Yun Yun's eyes actually took on a trace of confusion and haze.

"Wake up." Sensing that Yun Yun's state was wrong, Zhang Tian quickly warned her. Qing Lin, on the other hand, possessed the Azure Serpent Three Blossom Eyes and had resistance against this kind of strange soul-drawing Dou Technique.

Yun Yun came back to herself and realized that, among the three of them, only she, the oldest, had been caught. Her face flushed red, and she glared angrily into the pitch-black night sky.

"Azure Lotus Core Flame." Zhang Tian held up a huge fire lotus in his palm. Only then, by the light of the Azure Lotus Core Flame, did they see clearly that a vast stretch of black fog surrounded them, though they could vaguely tell they were inside a valley.

The black fog did not merely confuse one's sight; it also blocked the perception of Spiritual Strength. The three of them were now practically blind, only able to make out a little of their surroundings under the illumination of the Azure Lotus Core Flame.

"A Heavenly Flame. It's actually a Heavenly Flame. I never thought such a remote region would possess such a wondrous treasure of heaven and earth." Sensing the aura of the Azure Lotus Core Flame, which was completely different from a Beast Flame, that strange voice rang out again, filled with desire and greed.

A thing like a Heavenly Flame was something even he dreamed of obtaining.

"With this Heavenly Flame, not only will this old man have a chance to be reborn, I may even reach the seventh tier, perhaps even glimpse a sliver of the realm of a Rank 8 Alchemist." The strange voice was incomparably excited. Zhang Tian and Yun Yun felt the surrounding environment suddenly change. It was no longer as empty as before; in an instant, who knew how many jagged strange rocks had risen up.

"To think that two mere Dou Emperor brats would bring me such a great harvest. I'm almost reluctant to kill you. Still, dying by my hand is an honor."

"Hmph, keep dreaming." The fire lotus in Zhang Tian's hand suddenly erupted outward in every direction. An Azure Lotus Core Flame bloomed, its tiny azure petals spreading open and spewing flames across the sky. He could just barely sense that the surrounding valley had already been burned into utter ruin by the Azure Lotus Core Flame.

"As expected of the Azure Lotus Core Flame. With power like this, even I would only have dared to take it head-on in my prime." The strange voice rang out again, and the frenzy and intoxication he felt toward the Azure Lotus Core Flame could be heard from his tone alone.

"Playing tricks like a ghost. Then I'll let you die upon the Heavenly Flame you long for so desperately."

The strange voice, however, let out a cackling laugh.

"It's useless. Once you enter my Bewitching Soul Valley, which is a spatial passage I made back then, you cannot leave without the strength of a Dou Zun."

Zhang Tian fell silent. His various attacks and powers had now reached the Dou Zong level, enough to distort and influence space, but they were still far from the Dou Zun level that could tear space apart.

"Heh, give up..."

The strange voice spoke again, only for Zhang Tian to lock onto its target. For the sake of concealment, he had not even covered it with the Azure Lotus Core Flame. The Phoenix Cry Sword directly turned into a streak of light and pierced through the place where the strange voice had come from like a mountain peak.

"How is that possible..." The strange voice rang out again, but it seemed to have suffered tremendous injury and shock. Too fast. How could there be such a fast attack? Could his own strength really have fallen that much!?

"Giving up is the same as failing."

"Perhaps escaping requires the strength of a Dou Zun, but is killing you the same?"

Zhang Tian's cold words filled the black shadow with terror. Only now did a sense of deadly threat rise within him.

"Stop boasting, brat! This old man is not some mere Dou Zong!" As though angered into embarrassment and trying to bolster himself, the black fog around his body became even denser.

"Heh. Once you've been locked onto by me, hiding again is useless." Zhang Tian recalled the Phoenix Cry Sword. The faint soul fragments left on the blade were captured by him, and he instantly found the hiding place of that same-source sensation.

"Control Sword with Qi!" The Phoenix Cry Sword flashed through the black fog again and again, wreaking havoc like lightning, cutting the black fog into countless pieces over and over.

"Ah!" The old ghost's screams continuously came from within the black fog, and his cries grew weaker and weaker.

"Vast Sea Seal, Ripple Calming Seal!" Zhang Tian shouted furiously. His hands formed seals, and a huge fire seal smashed toward the place where the old ghost was hiding.

"Ah!" The old ghost screamed miserably, his entire body turning into a man of fire, green flames coiling around him like an evil ghost from hell.

"Wuwuwu." Along with a mournful wail transmitted from the soul, the old ghost's soul gradually dispersed, and the black fog also grew thinner and thinner.

After about half a quarter of an hour, all the black fog turned into a wisp of smoke and scattered, revealing the scene around them. It was a narrow valley, filled everywhere with pits and hollows, destroyed into complete disorder.

"Let's try walking down. We probably can't get out from here." Zhang Tian tried attacking the space, but he was still far from tearing it apart. Besides, even if he succeeded in tearing it, he did not have the ability to construct a spatial passage. Thus, he could only continue downward with Yun Yun and try their luck.

This mysterious valley was extremely damp. Puddles of unknown, multicolored liquid lay on the ground, and there were not many trees on the cliffs surrounding the valley.

Without exception, these trees were incomparably emerald green—so green it was almost exaggerated, as though they were poisonous. Some black shadows were hidden among the dense leaves, difficult to observe.

"There seem to be many Magical Beasts here." Zhang Tian's expression turned slightly solemn. Just now, he had sensed dozens of Magical Beast auras.

"Yes." Yun Yun held Qing Lin's small hand and followed closely behind Zhang Tian, step by step.

With one slash, he cut a brightly colored snake that had leapt out into two sections. Even the Phoenix Cry Sword could not help being stained with blood.

The small path leading out of the valley was only a few dozen meters long, yet after Zhang Tian had advanced just over ten meters, the Phoenix Cry Sword had already been dyed red with blood.

"They've discovered us. Qing Lin, try using the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils." Among the Magical Beasts here, there was no lack of third-rank and fifth-rank beasts. Although they were powerful, they did not possess much intelligence. Only upon reaching the sixth rank could a Magical Beast communicate with ordinary people, so Zhang Tian had no interest in conversing with a bunch of fools.

Qing Lin nodded her little head and tried opening the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. A fatal attraction toward snakekind immediately spread out.

Although there were many Magical Beasts in the valley, most of them were snakes. There were Black Spotted Snakes, Two-Winged Black Serpents, Patterned Snakes, and Red Striped Pythons, but without exception, they all lost their minds under Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and attacked the Magical Beasts surging toward them.

While Qing Lin controlled these snake-type Magical Beasts and made them slaughter one another, Zhang Tian raised his head and looked at a blood-red fruit on the cliff.

"This is... the main ingredient for refining the tier-six pill, the Spirit Replenishing Creation Pill—the Blood Dragon Fruit?" Zhang Tian's eyes lit up slightly. The Spirit Replenishing Creation Pill was a weakened version of the legendary Rank 9 Pill, the Heaven Mending Creation Pill. The Heaven Mending Creation Pill could complete all flaws and defects in a person's body, allowing one to obtain a flawless, leakless physique.

It could be said that one tier-six Spirit Replenishing Creation Pill was roughly equal to a low-level Di Class Dou Technique.

Although it could not truly compare, in reality, it was not far off either. Of course, among things of the same level, Qi Methods were still much more precious than Dou Techniques.

"Could this Blood Dragon Fruit have been left behind by that old ghost? Otherwise, how could such a heavenly treasure be guarded by only some mere fifth-rank Magical Beasts?" Zhang Tian murmured inwardly, and a thought of certain acquisition rose in his heart.

He flew into the air, only to discover a kind of pressure there. It was as though an immense terror rose from the depths of his soul. Fortunately, Zhang Tian had his physical body protecting his soul; otherwise, he feared his soul would have scattered and dispersed.