A Strange Woman

After Yang Chengzhi killed the Azure-eyed Wolf King, he dragged his exhausted body to collect his spoils. Within Nine Heavens Mountain, blood and fighting could attract spirit beasts, so after killing one, one must quickly withdraw from the battlefield. Otherwise, it would be awkward if they were intercepted by arriving spirit beasts.

The Azure-eyed Wolf King still had many valuable things on it. Besides the spirit beast's inner core, its fur and teeth were also very popular in the market.

It was a shame that another wolf king was blown to smithereens, otherwise, he could have gotten double the loot.

Yang Chengzhi was very perceptive. After collecting these materials, he wanted to hand them over to Ma Feifei. He believed that his survival and killing of the Azure-eyed Wolf King today were basically all thanks to Ma Feifei.

Ma Feifei refused. He had no use for these things, nor was he lacking in Spirit Crystals. In the past two months, the bookstore had earned over a thousand Spirit Crystals, all stored in cabinets and almost molding.

There was no way around it; Ma Feifei didn't need to cultivate. He only needed to complete the system's tasks. Spirit Crystals were truly a bit of a chicken rib to him now.

Seeing this, Yang Chengzhi had no choice but to accept them himself. Compared to Ma Feifei, he truly needed Spirit Crystals.

After tidying everything up, Yang Chengzhi prepared to find a safe place to rest with Ma Feifei. They didn't plan on returning and intended to rest before continuing to hunt spirit beasts. A place like Nine Heavens Mountain usually required staying for three to five days; many cultivators would stay for over a month before returning fully loaded.

Ma Feifei wasn't in a hurry either. He still had a day left and only needed to return by tomorrow evening.

It was Ma Feifei's first time in Nine Heavens Mountain, and he was very curious, looking around everywhere. He saw many peculiar spirit beasts that he had never seen in his previous life. Some looked like those described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but their names were different.

Of course, besides spirit beasts, there were also many spirit grasses and Lingzhi here. As Ma Feifei passed by, he even saw a flower that looked like a human face, which was very peculiar. Unfortunately, by the time Ma Feifei saw it, the flower had already been picked. Yang Chengzhi told him that it was a Crystal Flower, containing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It bloomed once every five hundred years, and after blooming, it resembled the human face Ma Feifei saw. Picking it at this time and taking it to the trading market could fetch over a hundred Spirit Crystals.

Crystal Flowers had many uses; they could be used in medicine, for beauty, to maintain youth, and to delay the aging of a woman's appearance. Therefore, Crystal Flowers were very popular among female cultivators.

A flower growing in Nine Heavens Mountain, with no offensive capabilities, could be sold for over a hundred Spirit Crystals after picking. Ma Feifei couldn't help but sigh that sometimes, danger and fortune truly coexist.

The two continued to run. Ma Feifei still lagged behind Yang Chengzhi, but this time, Ma Feifei was deliberately controlling his speed, not trying to overtake Yang Chengzhi.

Yang Chengzhi was injured, and his spiritual energy was only at one-third capacity. Therefore, he didn't dare to take Ma Feifei deeper and instead headed right, staying on the outermost edge of the third mountain.

The deeper one went into the mountains, the higher the level of the spirit beasts. Yang Chengzhi's current state would struggle against a Level Five Spirit Beast, and if he encountered a Level Six Spirit Beast, he would likely lose his life here.

Soon, the two arrived at a dense forest and stopped by a large tree. Yang Chengzhi needed to heal his injuries here.

Seeing this, Ma Feifei knew he couldn't help much, so he didn't disturb Yang Chengzhi. He first took out paper and a pen, glanced at the story he had just written, and read it aloud. Finding nothing wrong with it, he put it away and stood up to survey his surroundings.

Nine Heavens Mountain was peculiar; it had plains, forests, deserts, and rivers, all sorts of strange landscapes. Ma Feifei had just fought the wolf king on a plain, and now he had come to a dense forest. Looking around, this forest was quite large, with no end in sight.

"These trees are really thick; it would take more than ten people to hug one!" Ma Feifei marveled, looking at the stout trees.

He had never seen such thick trees before. Each one was like this, and they were also very tall. Ma Feifei looked up; the highest point must have been at least thirty meters above.

Hmm... is that a person? Ma Feifei wondered in surprise.

Unfortunately, his position wasn't ideal, as the sunlight shone through the dense leaves onto him. Ma Feifei had to cover his eyes, squinting to get a better look.

On the tree above Ma Feifei's head, near the treetop, sat a woman in black, holding a long sword. Her face was pale, her eyes closed, and her long eyelashes occasionally trembled.

"Tsk, cultivation has its benefits; I can see so clearly from this distance," Ma Feifei stared at the woman's face for a while, marveling at his own sharp eyesight.

"But she seems to be injured." Ma Feifei was now at the Peak Spirit Master Stage Nine cultivation. As long as the person's cultivation wasn't too much higher than his, he could discern something.

Just then, Ma Feifei suddenly felt something descending rapidly above his head. He looked up and saw a drop of crimson blood. Ma Feifei took a step back and raised a finger. The blood was caught with pinpoint accuracy by his index finger.

Because he had used spiritual energy, the blood did not fall onto his finger but was suspended at the fingertip by the spiritual energy.

It seems to be an external wound, Ma Feifei remarked, looking at the drop of blood.

At this moment, Yang Chengzhi, who was not far away, opened his eyes and glanced at Ma Feifei. He had suddenly sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy and was startled, thinking it was an enemy. He quickly opened his eyes, only to find it was Ma Feifei, and then closed them again to continue healing.

The woman above Ma Feifei, who had also been closing her eyes, suddenly opened them and looked down, spotting Ma Feifei.

Only Ma Feifei was unaware of how much impact his sudden release of spiritual energy had on those around him. He was engrossed in studying the blood on his fingertip. As he looked, he actually began to notice something.

"Why does this blood feel a bit different from mine?" Ma Feifei asked, puzzled.

Normal people's blood is bright red or dark red, but the drop of blood on Ma Feifei's fingertip had a hint of gold within the red!

The gold was very faint, almost imperceptible. If Ma Feifei hadn't looked closely, he wouldn't have noticed it.

"Could it be that people in this world have golden blood?" Ma Feifei had never seen human blood in this world, so he couldn't judge for a moment.

Whoosh~

At this moment, a gust of wind suddenly came from above Ma Feifei's forehead. Ma Feifei instinctively took a few steps back.

Thwack~

A sword in its scabbard was plunged into the spot where Ma Feifei had just been standing.

Immediately after, a foot clad in a black boot lightly landed on the sword's hilt, followed by the other foot resting on it. She wore a tight-fitting black bodysuit, her expression was arrogant and cold, and her eyes held no trace of emotion as she stared directly at Ma Feifei.

"So cool!" Ma Feifei couldn't help but praise inwardly, looking at the stylish pose and stance. The blood on his fingertip, distracted by his thoughts, dripped onto his hand.

Hiss~~ The blood flowed down Ma Feifei's finger. His hand suddenly felt an extreme cold, and his index finger seemed to have gone numb from the frost. This made Ma Feifei cry out.

At this moment, Yang Chengzhi was also awakened by Ma Feifei's cry. He opened his eyes and saw Ma Feifei confronting the strange woman.

I can't sense this woman's cultivation at all, Yang Chengzhi thought in shock. He had always believed that although he wasn't a prodigy, he was at least one in ten thousand. To think that he had already encountered Ma Feifei, whose cultivation he couldn't fathom, and now this woman. The key point was that both of them looked much younger than him!

I only realize today that I am a frog in a well, Yang Chengzhi sighed inwardly. He sat there quietly, no longer intending to help, and prepared to observe their fight.

Yes, he intended to watch the show!

There was no other way. First, he couldn't fathom the stranger's cultivation. This only meant one thing: her cultivation was far beyond his. Generally, one could see five stages above their own cultivation, but beyond that, it was impossible. Yang Chengzhi was currently at Spirit Master Stage Seven. If the other party was at least Spirit Ancestor Stage Three, he would be crushed.

Second, Yang Chengzhi also wanted to see how deep their strength truly ran, especially Ma Feifei's. That light sphere just now had blown a Level Five Spirit Beast to smithereens; his abilities were unfathomable.

Ma Feifei also felt a chilling killing intent wash over him. He looked up at the woman before him, flashed what he thought was a cool smile, and said, "Hello~"

The cool woman seemed to have no intention of listening to Ma Feifei's explanation. As soon as she finished speaking, she lightly tapped the hilt of her sword with the tip of her foot, rising into the air. The sword then unsheathed with a 'swish,' and the woman in mid-air caught it perfectly. Immediately, she charged straight at Ma Feifei.

"Holy crap, she's going to kill me!" Ma Feifei's heart leaped. The opponent's aura was too powerful; he was a bit stunned and a little nervous.

"How do I activate spiritual energy? Does thought follow intent, or intent follow thought?" As the woman got closer and closer, Ma Feifei faltered at the crucial moment. He'd forgotten how to activate his spiritual energy!

From Yang Chengzhi's perspective, Ma Feifei looked like this.

Facing the sharp killing intent of the stranger, Ma Feifei stood his ground, calm and composed, his expression unhurried, even with a hint of a smile.

What a master! Yang Chengzhi praised inwardly.

At this moment, Ma Feifei moved. He extended his hands slowly and deliberately. Immediately after, Yang Chengzhi saw the stranger suddenly subdued by something and then fall into Ma Feifei's outstretched hands.

The fight ended just like that!

"This..." Yang Chengzhi was dumbfounded, his eyes wide with disbelief.