The Scent of the Netherworld Bow

That Dark Gold arrow had not been obliterated by the formation, nor had it missed its mark;

Instead, in that instant, its speed had risen to a level he could scarcely perceive. While he was still on guard against his surroundings, the arrow had already pierced through King Yama's Chain beside him.

The tremendous blast behind him had come precisely from the arrow striking a massive boulder on the distant mountainside after passing through a body.

And that explosion had occurred over a hundred meters away from where he stood...

Purple Gold Hook felt a chill creep into his heart.

Even having witnessed it firsthand, he found it far too surreal.

He could not fathom what kind of arrow could retain enough force to fly another hundred meters after piercing through a person's body!

And still create such terrifying commotion when it finally struck the mountainside?

Feeling the remnant soul of his companion at his side gradually dissipate...

Purple Gold Hook no longer had the slightest will to fight. Lu Feng in the distance seemed like a devil incarnate, and the fear of death in his heart left him unwilling to remain here another moment.

As King Yama's Chain's consciousness faded away, he felt an indescribable sense of grievance.

Compared to wondering how Lu Feng's arrow had achieved such terrifying might, he was even more unable to understand why the arrow had chosen him as its target.

Purple Gold Hook had clearly been the one shouting and jeering the whole time...

No matter how one looked at it, the arrow should have been aimed at Purple Gold Hook!

So why had this terrifying arrow ultimately pierced his heart instead?

Was Lu Feng blind?

Or had he simply missed and accidentally wounded him?

He did not even know how to vent such suffocating misery...

This was fucking bullying!

From afar, Bian Tianya watched Purple Gold Hook throw out several black bottles and jars, shattering them with Palm Strength to form a patch of pitch-black Mist Shroud that concealed his figure as he fled. He could not help but spit in irritation. "What a pity. He got away. It would have been perfect if we could have given him another arrow."

Lu Feng showed little reaction at the sight. If Purple Gold Hook had let rage cloud his mind and charged forward for revenge, he might have had a chance to fire a second arrow;

But the man had chosen to flee without another word, and under the cover of black Mist Shroud at that. It was clearly difficult to keep him here.

In the end, his Small Emperor Arrow was still somewhat lacking;

Had he not enveloped it in a layer of his own spiritual energy before building up its momentum, it likely would have struggled even to pierce through the formation rings of Startling Sting Shadowing;

The difficulty was not that the arrow itself would be annihilated by the formation, but that the formation condensed upon it would inevitably be damaged the instant it passed through the formation rings;

With his current strength, he was still unable to ensure that the formation he condensed would remain one hundred percent stable under the sudden burst of speed bestowed by the Ancient Startling Goose Pattern;

And once the formation was damaged, when the poison poured forth, it would inevitably become impossible to maintain the accuracy it had possessed when fired.

That was why he could only watch Purple Gold Hook escape.

Still, these arrows had not been fired without gain. At the very least, they had given him a clearer understanding of the might and shortcomings of his Small Emperor Arrow.

At the same time, he had come up with corresponding methods for refining and improving it.

Of course, the simplest and most direct method was to improve his own strength. Once he reached the Heaven Soul Realm Late Stage, with soulfire protecting the arrow shaft, even more ordinary arrows should be able to easily pierce through the Awakening of Insects Shadowing Array and be endowed with terrifying speed.

Only then could this path of archery be considered truly at Great Accomplishment.

"What are you looking at?" Bian Tianya suddenly eyed Qu Qiqi suspiciously;

She was half-bent over at the moment, pacing around Lu Feng like some old scholar, her round eyes unblinking as she carefully examined the Netherworld Bow in his hand.

"Don't tell me you want to learn Brother Lu's extraordinary archery?"

Bian Tianya teased her playfully.

"Of course not." Qu Qiqi came back to herself and rolled her eyes at Bian Tianya. "Although that arrow of his was incredibly, incredibly stunning, I won't so easily waver from the path I wish to follow. Ninth Master said that if you aim too high and keep trying to learn every skill you see, you'll inevitably end up accomplishing nothing."

Hearing this, Lu Feng could not help but smile. A scene from years ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He remembered that Old Book had once said the very same thing to Old Wood.

Back then, they had stumbled upon the Limitless Nine Layered Hammer during their travels. After studying it, Old Book felt it suited Old Wood's cultivation and gave him the technique.

At first, Old Wood had not truly liked such hammer-wielding skills. He felt hammers were too heavy and cumbersome, always making him half a beat slower when facing enemies. They possessed neither the nimble grace of sword techniques nor the fierce sharpness of spear techniques. After cultivating it for a time, he had repeatedly considered giving up and switching to another path.

Only through Old Book's painstaking persuasion and guidance had he persevered.

And Old Wood's remarkable achievements today truly proved that Old Book's judgment had not been mistaken.

As Qu Qiqi studied it, she raised a hand and lightly touched the Netherworld Bow. Treating it like an exquisite piece of porcelain, she stroked it twice, then held her fingers beneath her nose and sniffed them. Catching that familiar scent on her fingertips, she looked at Lu Feng suspiciously. "What kind of bow is this? Why does it smell so much like the scent Ling Jie gives off? It has a faint herbal fragrance, with a trace of orchid scent mixed in."

Lu Feng froze at her words and gave the Netherworld Bow in his hand a meaningful glance;

Although he had long noticed along the way that this bow was extraordinary and far beyond what he understood it to be, having never seen through its true nature, he still instinctively repeated the words Uncle Huo Gen had once told him in Worryfree Village:

"It is just an ordinary bow, made from an ordinary Netherworld Wolf. The scent you noticed should be what remained after the bowstring was soaked in Qilang Grass. As for the faint scent it gives off, it may be from some preservative and insect-repellent medicinal liquid used to soak and coat the bow."

"Who are you trying to fool?" Qu Qiqi rolled her eyes at Lu Feng speechlessly. "Even if a mere Netherworld Wolf absorbed heaven and earth spiritual energy and grew stronger, how strong could it possibly become? It simply could not be used to forge such a supreme bow."

"And Qilang Grass is even more absurd. There is plenty of that wild grass outside our camp. It definitely does not smell like this, and its juice has no preservative or insect-repellent properties. On the contrary, it is slightly corrosive. Only an idiot would use it to soak a bowstring."

Lu Feng was startled, and the doubt already lingering in his heart deepened further.

Thinking of all his later experiences upon returning to Worryfree Village, a strange thought surfaced in his mind.

Since everything he encountered at the beginning had been false, since Uncle Huo Gen and Huo Yu had both been illusions created by the formation...

Then were all the things Huo Niu later told him necessarily true?

For someone capable of setting up such an illusion formation using his own memories, creating a scene within an illusion would have been as easy as turning his hand.

Perhaps...

Everything he had experienced in Worryfree Village had merely been what that great expert wanted him to know and see. There were still many things that person did not want him to know or see.

The Netherworld Bow was one such thing, and the Ancient Desolation Altar was another.

As Lu Feng pondered this, a glint suddenly flashed through his eyes. He said to Qu Qiqi, "When you get the chance, mention this bow of mine to Ling Jie."

He thought that if everything was false, then Qu Qiqi's mention of that scent pointing toward Ling Jie might allow him to uncover some answers through her.

Qu Qiqi gave a soft snort and lifted her dainty little nose. "Even if you didn't say so, I would tell Ling Jie."

What she was thinking was that perhaps this formidable longbow had been stolen from Ling Jie.

Naturally, she had to report something so important.

By then, Tang Yuan had finished gathering up the storage artifacts of Huo Shuang's group and King Yama's Chain. He casually tossed one of them to Lu Feng.

Just as he was about to speak, Qu Qiqi's dissatisfied voice reached him. "You're an interesting one. You clearly didn't contribute much, yet you kept three storage artifacts for yourself. How can you have the nerve to divide them like that?"

Tang Yuan looked at Qu Qiqi as though she were an idiot and held out his hand toward Lu Feng.

Lu Feng went along with him and tossed back the storage artifact he had just received.

Tang Yuan smiled smugly. "See that? With the relationship between Old Lu and me, forget keeping three. Even if I took them all, he wouldn't have the slightest objection."

"Conversely, if he wanted them, forget these few storage artifacts—even the one on my hand could be given to him."

"How could these mere worldly possessions compare to the brotherhood between Old Lu and me?"

Qu Qiqi stood there blankly, seemingly stunned.

After all, these were Storage Rings belonging to Soul Masters at the Heaven Soul Realm level. No matter how poor the resources inside were, they could not possibly be that poor;

To her, Tang Yuan and Lu Feng's casual manner of dividing them was simply far too careless.

In the Dragon Abyss Group, whenever they acquired such items, Halberd Emperor, Judge, and the others would inspect them layer by layer, select the most suitable treasures, and distribute them according to need and merit.

Tang Yuan then handed King Yama's Chain's Storage Ring to Lu Feng.

Qu Qiqi gave a light cough to conceal her embarrassment. Seeing that Tang Yuan had handed over the same storage artifact both times rather than giving one at random, she asked curiously, "Why did you specifically give him King Yama's Chain's storage artifact while keeping the other three?"

Tang Yuan smiled.

Lu Feng smiled as well and answered first, "You have your eye on their Arrogant Heart Sutra?"

"I want to study it a little," Tang Yuan said without concealing anything, weighing the Storage Ring in his hand. "Their berserk state earlier had some similarities to Beast Valley Beast Cultivators' Half-Beast Ferocity Transformation. You know that I still can't fully get a steady grasp on that state."

Hearing the two speak as casually as if they were making everyday conversation, Qu Qiqi could not help but feel startled.

She had thought Tang Yuan's strength was only what he had displayed just now, but she had never expected him to have dabbled in the path of Beast Cultivators as well;

Had he actually held back in that battle?

As Qu Qiqi calmed her shock, she asked Lu Feng again, "Then you took King Yama's Chain's Storage Ring—don't tell me you want to study the Iron Chain Skill he cultivated as well?"

Lu Feng smiled.

Tang Yuan smiled too, once again answering first. "That man's Iron Chain Skill is, to a certain degree, much the same as the path of the long whip. A chain technique that Soul Masters nearing the Heaven Soul Realm Late Stage are so fond of cultivating must have something worth learning from."

Given the strained relationship between Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun, Tang Yuan did not finish what he wanted to say. He kept to himself that he had taken this Storage Ring for Jiang Ruoyun.

Based on his understanding of Lu Feng, Tang Yuan had understood the moment the arrow was fired.

For Lu Feng to endure the disgust of letting Purple Gold Hook, who had been jeering all along, go free, only to kill King Yama's Chain at his side, he must have done so with a purpose.

Hearing them each state the other's thoughts, Qu Qiqi was once more deeply astonished.

What degree of understanding and trust was needed to forge such tacit coordination?

Lu Feng sensed through King Yama's Chain's storage artifact and transferred its contents one after another into his Kirin Ring. Compared with the storage artifacts he had seized before—from Xiao Shu, Cang Song, and the Limitless Sect alike—the resources hidden by King Yama's Chain were vastly poorer;

The things he had amassed could practically be described with the word impoverished;

Aside from several dozen High-Grade Source Stones and a few cultivation manuals, there was not even another valuable item to be found.

After rummaging through it for a while.

Lu Feng's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he took out a small pouch of shriveled crimson fruits.

"This is..." Qu Qiqi was startled. She stepped forward, took it, examined and sniffed it briefly, then said with certainty, "These are Blazing Heart Vermilion Fruits that have already been absorbed and refined!?"

"Why would King Yama's Chain's Storage Ring contain so many Blazing Heart Vermilion Fruits?"

Bian Tianya spoke suspiciously. "Could these be the ones Old Flower Fox stole back then? That old fellow absorbed and refined them all, then casually discarded them where he went into seclusion. Now they've conveniently been gathered up and handed to King Yama's Chain to deceive the Fierce Flame Centipede colony into returning?"

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan both froze upon hearing this conjecture.

Qu Qiqi nodded gravely. "You were smart for once. It is very possible that things happened just as you said."

Bian Tianya was speechless. "This young master has always been smart!"

Qu Qiqi had no mind to continue bickering with Bian Tianya. Thinking of the effects of the Blazing Heart Vermilion Fruit and combining them with the cultivation technique of the previous Ghost Mask Flower Fox...

Her expression suddenly became even graver.

She did not dare imagine it. The Ghost Mask Flower Fox of that year had already been capable of contending with her own leader Qingtian to some extent. After lurking in seclusion for so long, with Blazing Heart Vermilion Fruits that aided its cultivation technique, just how far had its strength advanced by now?

Bian Tianya likewise lost all desire to quarrel. Thinking of Lu Feng's swordsmanship lofty enough to make him look up in awe, his exquisitely peerless archery, and even the brotherhood between Lu Feng and Tang Yuan...

Every bit of it made him feel heartfelt admiration and envy.

The group traveled on in silence.

After passing through Phosphorus Fire Mountain Hollow and traveling several more li, they arrived at the forest where Xia Feihong had been buried years ago.

Just as Lu Feng was about to step into the woods, Bian Tianya suddenly bowed deeply.

The sight startled both Lu Feng and Tang Yuan.

"What are you doing this for out of nowhere?"

Qu Qiqi was also startled out of her solemn thoughts by Bian Tianya's strange action.

"I'm sorry!"

"I lied!"

Bian Tianya bent at the waist and spoke sincerely. "I actually know the person you're looking for."

"Not only do I know her, I'm very familiar with her... She, she is my master!"

"I fled to this region and became a Soul Hunter precisely to escape her supervision."

By the end, a faint blush had actually appeared on his face, as though he had needed to muster tremendous courage and undergo a long internal struggle before speaking those words.

"Nie Mingfei is your master?"

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan spoke in unison, both wearing stunned expressions.