After Yang Chengzhi killed the Azure-eyed Wolf King, he dragged his exhausted body over to collect his spoils. In Nine Heavens Mountain, blood and fighting could attract Spirit Beasts, so after killing one, they had to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it would be awkward if the Spirit Beasts that came running over blocked their way.
The Azure-eyed Wolf King had plenty of valuable parts. Aside from its core, its fur and teeth were also hot sellers on the market.
Unfortunately, the other Wolf King had been blown to pieces. Otherwise, they could have gotten twice as much.
Yang Chengzhi knew what was appropriate. After gathering the materials, he tried to hand them over to Ma Feifei. He thought that Ma Feifei deserved most of the credit for surviving the day and killing the Azure-eyed Wolf King.
Ma Feifei refused. He had no use for the stuff, and he wasn't short on Spirit Crystals, either. The Bookstore had earned over a thousand Spirit Crystals in the past two months, and they'd all been sitting in a cabinet, nearly getting moldy.
There was no helping it. Ma Feifei didn't need to cultivate at all; he only had to complete the system's missions. Spirit Crystals were pretty useless to him now.
Seeing this, Yang Chengzhi had no choice but to keep them himself. Compared to Ma Feifei, he really needed the Spirit Crystals.
After packing everything up, Yang Chengzhi took Ma Feifei to find a safe place to rest. They had no intention of going back yet and planned to rest before continuing to hunt Spirit Beasts. Spending three to five days in a place like Nine Heavens Mountain was considered a short stay. Many cultivators spent over a month there and only returned once they'd filled their packs.
Ma Feifei wasn't in a hurry, either. He still had a day left, and just needed to make it back by tomorrow evening.
It was Ma Feifei's first time in Nine Heavens Mountain, and he was curious, looking around everywhere. He saw all sorts of strange Spirit Beasts that he'd never have encountered in his previous life. Some looked like the creatures described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, though their names were different.
Of course, there were plenty of spirit herbs in the mountain, too, including Lingzhi. On the way, Ma Feifei even spotted a flower that looked like a human face. It was quite strange, but someone had already picked it by the time he saw it. Yang Chengzhi told him that it was a Crystal Flower, imbued with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. It bloomed once every five hundred years, and when it opened, it took on the human-face shape Ma Feifei had seen. If picked then and sold at the market, it could fetch more than a hundred Spirit Crystals.
Crystal Flowers had many uses. They could be used in medicine, for beauty treatments, and to preserve one's looks, slowing the aging of a woman's face. So Crystal Flowers were very popular with female cultivators.
A flower growing in Nine Heavens Mountain, with no means of attack, could be picked and sold for over a hundred Spirit Crystals. Ma Feifei couldn't help thinking that danger and wealth really did go hand in hand sometimes.
The two continued running. Ma Feifei still lagged behind Yang Chengzhi, but this time he was deliberately controlling his speed and not trying to overtake him.
Yang Chengzhi was injured, and only had a third of his spiritual energy left, so he didn't dare take Ma Feifei farther into the mountain. Instead, he headed right, staying near the outer edge of the Third Mountain.
The deeper one went into the Third Mountain, the higher the level of its Spirit Beasts. In Yang Chengzhi's current condition, he would be in trouble even against a Level Five Spirit Beast. If they ran into a Level Six Spirit Beast, he would probably lose his life.
Before long, the two reached a dense forest and stopped beside a large tree. Yang Chengzhi needed to treat his wounds there.
Seeing this, Ma Feifei knew there was nothing he could do to help, so he didn't disturb Yang Chengzhi. He took out his paper and pen, looked over the story he'd written earlier, and read it through. When he found nothing wrong with it, he put it away and got up to look around.
Nine Heavens Mountain was a peculiar place. It had plains, forests, deserts, and rivers—every kind of terrain imaginable. Ma Feifei had just been fighting the Wolf King on a plain, and now he was in a dense forest. Looking around, he saw that it was so vast he couldn't make out the end.
"These trees are seriously thick. You'd need a dozen people to wrap their arms around one!" Ma Feifei remarked, clicking his tongue as he looked at the massive trees.
He'd never seen trees this thick before. Every single one was enormous, and they were tall, too. Looking up, Ma Feifei guessed the tallest must be over thirty meters.
Huh... Is that a person? Ma Feifei exclaimed in surprise.
Unfortunately, he was standing at a bad angle. Sunlight streamed through the dense canopy right into his eyes, so he had to shade them with his hand and squint to get a better look.
Near the top of the tree above Ma Feifei, a woman dressed in black sat on a branch. She held a long sword in her arms. Her face was pale, her eyes closed, and her long eyelashes trembled from time to time.
"Cultivation does have its perks. I can see her so clearly from this far away." Ma Feifei stared at the woman's face for a while, unable to help marveling at his own eyesight.
"But she looks injured." Ma Feifei was now at the Peak Spirit Master Stage Nine. As long as someone's cultivation wasn't much higher than his, he could usually get a rough idea of their level.
Just then, Ma Feifei suddenly felt something drop rapidly above his head. He looked up and saw a drop of crimson blood. He took a small step back and raised a finger, catching it perfectly on his fingertip.
Since he'd used spiritual energy, the blood didn't land on his finger. Instead, his spiritual energy held it suspended above the tip.
Looks like it's an external injury, Ma Feifei thought as he studied the drop of blood.
At that moment, Yang Chengzhi, who was some distance away, opened his eyes and looked toward Ma Feifei. He'd sensed a sudden disturbance in the spiritual energy and, startled, had thought an enemy was nearby. But when he saw Ma Feifei, he looked away and went back to treating his wounds.
The woman above Ma Feifei, who had also kept her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked down. She saw Ma Feifei.
Ma Feifei had no idea that his sudden use of spiritual energy had startled the people around him. He was too busy examining the blood on his fingertip. But as he kept looking, he really did notice something unusual.
"Why does this blood seem a little different from mine?" Ma Feifei wondered.
Ordinary people's blood was bright red or dark red, but the drop on Ma Feifei's fingertip had the faintest trace of gold in it!
There was so little gold that it was almost impossible to see. If Ma Feifei hadn't looked closely, he wouldn't have noticed it.
Could people's blood in this world have a golden tint? Ma Feifei had never seen human blood in this world before, so he couldn't tell.
Whoosh~
Just then, a gust of wind suddenly came from above Ma Feifei's head. He instinctively took several steps back.
Thud~
A sword still in its scabbard struck the spot where Ma Feifei had been standing.
A black boot then lightly touched the sword's hilt, and the other boot followed, resting on top of it. The woman wore a tight black outfit. Her face was cold and proud, her gaze devoid of emotion as she stared straight at Ma Feifei.
"So cool!" Ma Feifei couldn't help praising her stylish pose in his mind. Distracted, he lost control of the blood on his fingertip, and it dripped onto his hand.
Hiss— The blood ran down Ma Feifei's finger, and a piercing cold suddenly swept through his hand. His index finger seemed to have gone numb from the cold, and he couldn't help crying out.
Yang Chengzhi was startled awake by Ma Feifei's shout. He opened his eyes and saw Ma Feifei facing off against a strange woman.
I can't see her cultivation at all. Yang Chengzhi was secretly shocked. He'd never considered himself a prodigy, but he had at least thought he was one in ten thousand. Yet first he'd met Ma Feifei, whose cultivation he couldn't see through, and now there was another. The two of them looked much younger than him, too!
Today I've learned that I'm just a frog in a well. Yang Chengzhi couldn't help sighing to himself. He sat quietly where he was, with no intention of getting up to help. He planned to watch the two fight.
That's right—he planned to watch!
For one thing, he couldn't see through the strange woman's cultivation. There was only one explanation: she was far more powerful than Yang Chengzhi. Generally, one could only gauge someone's cultivation if it was within five stages above one's own; beyond that, it was impossible. Yang Chengzhi was currently at Spirit Master Stage Seven, so if she was five stages above him, she was at least at Spirit Sect Stage Three. If he went over, he'd only get crushed.
For another, Yang Chengzhi wanted to see just how strong the two of them were, especially Ma Feifei. That ball of light he'd used earlier had blown a Level Five Spirit Beast to pieces. His abilities were unfathomable.
Ma Feifei felt a bone-chilling killing intent bearing down on him. He looked up at the woman in front of him and put on what he thought was a handsome smile. "Hello~"
The cool-looking woman had no interest in listening to Ma Feifei explain. As soon as his words fell, she lightly tapped the sword's hilt with her toe and rose into the air. The sword shot out of its scabbard with a shing, and the woman caught it in midair. Then she charged straight at Ma Feifei.
Holy crap, she's trying to kill me! Ma Feifei's mind went blank. The force of her presence was overwhelming, and he was a little flustered.
How do I activate spiritual energy again? Do I will it with my mind, or with my heart? The woman was closing in, and at this crucial moment, Ma Feifei completely blanked. He'd forgotten how to activate his spiritual energy!
From Yang Chengzhi's perspective, this was what Ma Feifei looked like.
Faced with the strange woman's fierce killing intent, Ma Feifei stood in place, calm and composed. His face showed no sign of panic; there was even the faintest hint of a smile.
What a master! Yang Chengzhi praised.
Then Ma Feifei moved, reaching out with both hands, unhurriedly. The next thing Yang Chengzhi saw was the strange woman being restrained by something and falling into Ma Feifei's outstretched arms.
The fight was over!
"This..." Yang Chengzhi was dumbstruck, his eyes nearly popping out.
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