The 880 experience points left Zhuge Xiang astounded, and the Hundred Refinements Bow that dropped filled him with even greater anticipation. Running a hand across his waist, he made the Hundred Refinements Bow appear in his grasp, lowering his head to examine it as its information naturally surfaced.
Hundred Refinement Bow (Two-Star Magic Tool): Requires Level 3 Qi Nourishment Stage, Attack 28-36, Attack Range 100 meters, Unique Passive: Ignores 30 Defense, Durability 20/33, Weight 10.
Along with the Hundred Refinements Bow, there were also 100 ordinary iron arrows stacked inside his bundle space, though they were merely +3 attack arrows. Even so, this satisfied Zhuge Xiang; although they were only ordinary arrows, surely something was better than nothing? Furthermore, a Two-Star Magic Artifact was indeed different. Its attack power was more than double that of the Blood Refinement Saber, and ignoring 30 points of defense could make the Hundred Refinements Bow's strike force even more ferocious. In short, this was a lethal weapon, and it remedied the shortage in Zhuge Xiang's long-range attack capabilities.
"This longbow looks quite nice," Lu Yuling said, casting a glance over as Zhuge Xiang lowered his head to inspect the Hundred Refinements Bow, which the people nearby had naturally noticed as well.
"Mn, but my archery isn't very good; I need to practice properly," Zhuge Xiang said with a nod, putting the Hundred Refinements Bow away as he spoke. He wasn't skilled in archery, nor did he possess any skill books for this aspect. For now, it seemed the Hundred Refinements Bow could only be set aside, waiting at least until he had time to properly cultivate his archery before speaking of it.
The sky grew increasingly dark. Zhuge Xiang and the others quickly found a small cave within the forest, inside of which was merely an ordinary One-Star Mid-Grade Monster Beast. After Zhuge Xiang and his companions slaughtered the beast, they naturally took over the cave. At the same time, Niu Geng scattered some of the excrement collected from the Two-Star Monster Bear around the vicinity of the cave, believing it would be able to deter many monster beasts below the One-Star rank.
The Aurora Asura Tower has bloomed! Within five days, all Asura Sect disciples must gather!
Just as Zhuge Xiang and the others entered the cave to rest, a deep, resonant voice suddenly rang out like rolling thunder, allowing everyone to hear it with absolute clarity. This voice was immensely profound, seeming to pierce through hundreds of miles of space. As it echoed, Zhuge Xiang and the others felt the air itself seemingly begin to tremble along with it.
The voice appeared abruptly without the slightest sign. After a brief moment of daze, Zhuge Xiang and his companions exchanged glances, their faces all bearing expressions of great joy. Clearly, the sect's rescue had finally arrived. Overjoyed, Zhuge Xiang and the others hurriedly rushed out of the cave, only for shock to instantly color their faces.
A pillar of light, resembling a giant tower, stood erect between heaven and earth, radiating intense brilliance as if connecting the firmament and the earth. That deep voice from just a moment ago had evidently originated from the direction of that luminous tower. This pillar of light soared into the clouds and could be clearly seen from anywhere. Estimating the distance with his eyes, it was roughly a hundred miles away from here, yet that voice from just now had been able to transmit over clearly.
"The Aurora Asura Tower is the gathering mark for Asura Sect disciples. It seems that rescuing disciples one by one within this Endless Mountain Range is impossible; we need to walk to beneath that light tower ourselves to gather," Lu Yuling said, looking at the giant light tower standing between heaven and earth.
"Five days' time? A mere hundred miles or so of distance is plenty," Zhuge Xiang said, gazing at the giant light tower.
The sect's rescue had finally come. Although they needed to travel to the Aurora Asura Tower to gather, this was only reasonable. After all, the sect couldn't possibly launch a carpet-search rescue for more than five thousand disciples in the Endless Mountain Range. With a mere hundred-mile distance and such a target, it was far better than running around like headless flies in the Endless Mountain Range.
Five thousand disciples were fleeing for their lives, and only a single day had passed so far; even if they were scattered, they wouldn't be too far away. Presumably, with the Aurora Asura Tower standing here, everyone would be able to see it. If they were still alive, five days of time was enough to walk there. Anyone who still hadn't arrived after five days would likely have buried their bones in this Endless Mountain Range, and waiting any longer would be useless.
Although they saw hope, the Endless Mountain Range at night was far too dangerous; nighttime was unsuited for travel. Zhuge Xiang and the others returned to the cave and continued resting. As long as they didn't run into any powerful monster beasts, a journey of around one hundred miles should be coverable in a single day, and even with rugged terrain requiring detours, two days should be more than enough.
Although the dark had fallen and they had the Two-Star Demon Bear's excrement serving as a warning to deter other monster beasts, they still couldn't lower their guard. After all, while the demon bear's presence could deter monster beasts below the One-Star rank, those at the Two-Star rank and above were not included in this category. It could be said that monster beasts either didn't appear, or once they did, they were at least existences whose strength surpassed that of that demon bear.
Fortunately, there were a total of six people in the team, divided into groups of two to take turns keeping watch. Each group guarded for an hour and a half. Calculated this way, everyone could possess three hours of peaceful sleep time, which was a very luxurious matter for those fleeing for their lives in the Endless Mountain Range.
The night passed without incident. With the Two-Star Demon Bear's excrement serving as a deterrent, indeed no monster beasts came to disturb them. Everyone obtained three hours of ample sleep. After simply eating some roasted meat, they set off on their journey toward the direction of the Aurora Asura Tower.
The roasted meat they ate was from the Two-Star Demon Bear. Cultivators in the Refining Essence to Qi Stage were precisely those who converted the vital essence within their bodies into Qi Energy, so the flesh and blood of monster beasts were supreme nourishing treasures to cultivators. Naturally, human flesh and blood were likewise supreme nourishing treasures for monster beasts in reverse.
Walking along the path with extreme caution, they bypassed high-star monster beasts and had Zhuge Xiang step forward to slaughter low-star ones. As long as their strength didn't reach the Two-Star rank, Zhuge Xiang let none of them go—especially upon seeing One-Star Mid-Grade and One-Star High-Grade monster beasts, which Zhuge Xiang bypassed not a single one of. It was rare during their flight for their lives to form a team with such a good lineup; not seizing the opportunity to farm some experience points would truly do a disservice to himself. Watching his experience points rapidly skyrocket, Zhuge Xiang even entertained the thought of staying here for a few more days.
The experience required to elevate his strength to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fourth Layer was 4,600 points. Up to now, between the Five-Colored Poisonous Python, the battle against Lu Yuling on the Duel Platform, the Two-Star Demon Bear, and various other miscellaneous monster beasts, Zhuge Xiang's experience value had already reached 2,000 points. With only the final 2,600-odd points remaining, he would be able to break through.
2,600 experience points seemed like a lot, but teaming up with Lu Yuling and the others—though the number of people had increased and the experience was subjected to another wave of dilution—amounted to nothing more than slaughtering a dozen or so One-Star High-Grade monster beasts.
Splendid though Zhuge Xiang's thoughts were, he didn't voice them. The depths of this Endless Mountain Range were far too dangerous. Along the way, they had already encountered five or six Two-Star monster beasts, and even run into a Three-Star monster beast once. If not for the good vigilance of everyone, they would already have been completely wiped out.
For everyone, the most urgent matter right now was to reach beneath the Aurora Asura Tower and obtain the sect's protection. While Zhuge Xiang could kill monster beasts to earn experience, they couldn't. If he brought it up, he believed that aside from Niu Geng, no one would agree to inexplicably accompany Zhuge Xiang and stay behind in this inner reaches of the Endless Mountain Range, joking away their own little lives.
Rustle, rustle...
As Zhuge Xiang and the others cautiously advanced through the forest, they suddenly heard a series of sounds coming from the underbrush not far ahead, as if something were approaching. Zhuge Xiang and the companions immediately tightened their focus in readiness. However, when the other party stepped out, Zhuge Xiang and the others were slightly stunned instead—the person who appeared wasn't a stranger at all, but remarkably Lei Potian.
Seeing the lineup of Zhuge Xiang and the others, Lei Potian was evidently slightly stunned as well, before his face beamed with great joy. "It's truly wonderful to run into you all! I accidentally discovered a mysterious cave that seems to be the place where a powerful expert perished. However, there is a One-Star High-Grade monster beast guarding it inside. Since you all are together, we won't have to fear that One-Star High-Grade beast."
A One-Star High-Grade monster beast? The place where a powerful expert perished? Upon hearing Lei Potian's words, the eyes of quite a few people lit up. For people like Ling Wufeng and the rest, whether it was the magic artifacts they possessed or their martial arts, all of them had been accidentally acquired in places where other disciples had perished during their experiential training.
There were countless Asura Sect disciples, all of whom underwent experiential training in the Endless Mountain Range. Finding a place where another disciple had perished meant being able to acquire their martial arts or magic artifacts. Lei Potian's words naturally moved people's hearts. Moreover, with so many people, a single One-Star High-Grade monster beast was hardly any obstruction.
Exchanging glances, several people felt somewhat tempted. However, what surprised Lu Yuling and the others was Zhuge Xiang. Originally, upon hearing there was a One-Star High-Grade monster beast, Zhuge Xiang should have been the first to eagerly agree. Whenever a monster beast appeared, Zhuge Xiang was invariably the first person to charge forward; his fanaticism for combat was something Lu Yuling and the others knew very well after walking all this way together.
Yet at this moment, Zhuge Xiang instead lowered his head in deep thought. But very quickly, before anyone could ask for his opinion, Zhuge Xiang took the initiative to nod. "Alright, since that's the case, we might as well go take a look."
Before you continue