Shi Feng tightened his grip on the saber in his hand. If this woman of unknown origin really was a peerless demon king who had taken human form, then she must have already discovered him hiding in the shadows. Both he and Shi Lan would die here today, with no chance of survival.
If it was the second possibility...
Judging by the woman's movements, she was clearly neither afraid of the bonfire nor uncomfortable around it. A spirit capable of that had to have at least several centuries of cultivation. She would be difficult to deal with, but he could still protect Shi Lan and get her safely away.
As Shi Feng's thoughts raced, the eerie woman patted the empty spot beside her and smiled. "Young master, come sit here."
Shi Lan tried to calm herself. After thinking it over, her eyes lit up. She stopped backing away, closed her eyes, gathered her qi at her spiritual platform, and activated the Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique.
The Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique could reveal the strength and extent of a person's fortune.
Whether she was human or ghost would be clear at a glance.
As soon as the Heavenly Eye opened, the eerie woman by the bonfire vanished, leaving only a faint, translucent figure. Its features were indistinct, and black mist coiled around it.
No sign of fortune appeared behind the figure. There was only a black line stretching into the darkness deeper in the valley.
Clearly, the woman before her was no living person.
Seeing that Shi Lan remained where she was, a glimmer of dark light flashed in the eerie woman's eyes. She stood and stepped toward Shi Lan.
At the sight of her movement, Shi Feng tensed, ready to strike. He was like a fierce tiger poised to devour its prey, and a reddish glow flickered along the blade of his saber.
The eerie woman stopped in front of Shi Lan and raised a hand to caress her cheek.
Her fingertips were ice-cold, making Shi Lan shiver. Just then, the Heavens Reincarnation System, which she had nearly forgotten, suddenly reacted.
"Spiritual entity detected. Meets capture conditions."
As the voice rang out, the eerie woman before Shi Lan rippled like water ruffled by the wind.
In the blink of an eye, she shrank into a mass of energy invisible to the naked eye and slipped into Shi Lan's body through her mouth.
Shi Lan covered her throat. That instant had felt like swallowing a huge mouthful of ice, leaving her chilled to the bone. The cold even made her head begin to ache faintly.
Before Shi Lan could dwell on it, a several-zhang-long blade aura swept past her body. A wave of scorching air rushed toward her, curling the strands of hair over her forehead.
Shi Feng froze in midair, saber in hand, his expression full of undisguised astonishment.
He had been ready to fight to the death, but before he could strike a second time, the eerie woman disappeared, as if a gust of wind had swept her away.
"Shi Feng?"
Looking at Shi Feng in midair, Shi Lan understood everything.
Shi Feng landed and hurried over, looking anxious. "Young master, are you all right?"
Shi Lan shook her head and thanked him. If Shi Feng hadn't secretly helped her along the way, clearing out those demon beasts that looked so powerful, she probably wouldn't have made it this far.
"Why didn't you show yourself? Why were you following me in secret?" Shi Lan asked in confusion.
"The head of the household knew you'd left and ordered me to protect you in secret."
Shi Lan was surprised. "He didn't tell you to bring me back?"
Shi Feng shook his head. He found it strange too. In his reply, Shi Tianlu had only told him to keep Shi Lan from heading west and to protect her. He hadn't said anything else, and hadn't mentioned Tenglong City at all.
Shi Lan didn't ask further. She returned to the bonfire, added another piece of meat to the roasting rack, and summoned the Heavens Reincarnation System's panel.
The panel was unchanged from before. The lottery, shop, and other functions remained dimmed and couldn't be opened.
"System, what happened to the spiritual entity just now?"
"It has been reclaimed by the system."
"What can that kind of spiritual entity be used for?"
"The energy of a spiritual entity can restore some of the system's functions."
Warmth spread through Shi Lan's chest. If the Heavens Reincarnation System's functions returned to normal, it would surely be of great benefit to her.
At the thought, Shi Lan turned her gaze toward the pitch-black valley. A black line had connected the spiritual entity to somewhere inside. There had to be something wrong in there.
After finishing the roasted meat, Shi Lan began cultivating the Jade Forging Art. She was gradually growing accustomed to replacing sleep with cultivation.
At dawn the next day, Shi Lan opened her eyes, gathered her things, and took a moment to commit the valley's appearance to memory. Then she mounted her horse and rode away.
There was certainly something wrong with the valley, but Shi Lan had no desire to explore it just then. If she encountered another spiritual entity, who knew whether the Heavens Reincarnation System would work? She wasn't about to stake everything on a system that worked only now and then.
Her journey had begun as a solitary one. Now there were two of them.
After Shi Lan casually mentioned that demon beast meat helped her grow stronger, the quality of the meat she ate went up another level. Shi Feng began deliberately seeking out and hunting demon beasts in the Xiantian Realm.
Nourished by the meat of these demon beasts, along with the Jade Forging Art and her greatly improved Root Bone, Shi Lan's strength began to surge.
Moreover, after she ate the beasts' meat, many of their names appeared in the simulated roster in the system's virtual space.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Shi Lan devoured demon beast meat by day, using the Jade Forging Art to turn the strength within it to her advantage.
At night, she entered the virtual space and practiced fighting the beasts. Her understanding of some of them improved by leaps and bounds.
At that moment, Shi Lan sat cross-legged on a wasteland. The Jade Forging Art spun rapidly, carrying the energy formed from the beasts' blood and qi as it battered the barrier to the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm.
It had been barely over a month since Shi Lan's last breakthrough, yet she had already reached the peak of the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm and touched the barrier to the sixth. Even Shi Feng was dumbfounded by her pace.
Shi Lan's mind was clear of distractions as she circulated the Jade Forging Art with all her might. Under the surging energy's assault, the barrier to the sixth level began to totter after only a few strikes.
Though her Root Bone had improved by only a little, breaking through had become several times easier than before.
The barrier to the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm didn't hold for long. Soon, the surging energy smashed it to pieces.
Shi Lan opened her eyes and leaped to her feet. A series of crisp cracks sounded from her bones as her body grew stronger once more.
Unable to hold back the strength that had surged within her, Shi Lan launched into the Vajra Divine Fist. Each punch rang out with a fierce whoosh.
Only after performing the Vajra Divine Fist twice did Shi Lan slowly bring her movements to a stop, still feeling unsatisfied. She showed no sign of fatigue.
As her cultivation deepened, the Jade Forging Art's power was beginning to show.
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