A Step Full of Terrors

"My luck can't be this bad, can it?" As soon as Xiao Hua had this thought, he saw over a hundred Azure Bee-like Immortal Creatures, each several feet in size, with green light flashing in their eyes, turn around a giant tree and fly towards him.

Without a second thought, Xiao Hua quickly turned his body and, with a "whoosh," changed direction, charging diagonally towards a giant tree. He then crawled among the bushes, changing direction a few times before stealthily peeking out from behind another giant tree.

Who would have thought that as soon as Xiao Hua peeked his head out, the Azure Bee Immortal Creatures had already discovered him and were flying directly over.

"How did they find me? Are they using... using Mind Reading? Could it be that even such low-level immortal creatures have Mind Reading?" Xiao Hua was surprised. However, he looked down at his body and saw a faint, dark green, ribbon-like glow flashing at the stinging, light gray areas. Xiao Hua understood something!

The Azure Bee Immortal Creatures flew faster than Xiao Hua's escape. Xiao Hua's cleverness in turning a few times had actually closed the distance between the Azure Bee Immortal Creatures and him. Seeing their prey, the Azure Bee Immortal Creatures flapped their wings frantically, their eyes flashing green light as they charged over.

Hearing the whistling sound of the Azure Bee Immortal Creatures and the sound of their sharp frontal spikes piercing the air, Xiao Hua's heart sank further. He thought to himself, "These tiny Azure Bee Immortal Creatures actually possess the attack power of a Body Integration Stage Cultivator from the mortal realm. No wonder the Mayflies from the God Realm can destroy worlds when they reach the mortal realm!"

If it were any other time, how could Xiao Hua fear these Azure Bee Immortal Creatures? Let alone a hundred, what about a thousand? Unfortunately, Xiao Hua was like a tiger fallen in the plains at this moment. He had no Immortal Arts, no Immortal Artifacts, and he couldn't even escape as fast as them. What could he use to fight over a hundred Azure Bee Immortal Creatures?

"Since that's the case..." Xiao Hua laughed as he stood up from behind the giant tree, taking out the Five Elements Ruyi Sky-reaching Staff in his hand, and shouted with great heroism, "I will fight you all! To die by your mouths is better than being captured alive!"

"Whoosh..." The Azure Bee Immortal Creatures at the front charged forward like lightning. If this were the Four Great Continents, Xiao Hua would not doubt that this fellow could tear through space!

Xiao Hua's Mana was insufficient, but his arm strength was still there. Although the Azure Bee Immortal Creatures were incredibly swift, under Xiao Hua's Sky-reaching Staff technique, they were still hit on the head with a "bang."

Using the ancient fierce weapon, the Five Elements Ruyi Sky-reaching Staff, to kill Azure Bee Immortal Creatures was something that perhaps only Xiao Hua had done from ancient times to the present. If Thunder True Person knew about this, he would definitely wave his hand and say he didn't recognize Xiao Hua.

With a "bang," the Azure Bee Immortal Creature's shell was smashed into a pulp of meat, dead as could be! Wielding the Five Elements Ruyi Sky-reaching Staff, such an ancient fierce weapon, Xiao Hua killed dozens of Azure Bee Immortal Creatures in a few moments. Seeing how fierce Xiao Hua was, the swarm of Azure Bee Immortal Creatures actually hesitated. Several Azure Bee Immortal Creatures circled above Xiao Hua's head, not descending. Xiao Hua was overjoyed. He was currently in his Nascent Soul body, and wielding the Five Elements Ruyi Sky-reaching Staff made him feel a sense of weakness in his bones and muscles. Therefore, he quickly put away the Five Elements Ruyi Sky-reaching Staff, his figure flickered, and he continued to use the Flowing Cloud Movement Technique to escape. As he left, he did not forget to release his spiritual sense, and the corpses of dozens of Azure Bee Immortal Creatures were collected into his spatial artifact. Wasting nothing and missing nothing, Xiao Hua executed this principle to the fullest!

The creatures of the Immortal Realm truly had sentience. Seeing Xiao Hua leave, those Azure Bee Immortal Creatures did not pursue him but circled around for a while before going elsewhere.

Compared to the Guiding Emissaries, the Azure Bee Immortal Creatures were truly nothing. Therefore, Xiao Hua changed direction and continued to flee desperately. After several turns, Xiao Hua no longer knew which direction he was fleeing in.

After traveling for over a hundred miles, Xiao Hua suddenly stopped. He slapped his forehead and whispered with extreme regret, "What's wrong with me? I already used Light Escape during the lightning tribulation. This means the Light Escape technique can be used in the Immortal Realm too..."

It wasn't Xiao Hua's fault. The Light Escape technique required the Five Elements Escape techniques as a precursor. Xiao Hua had just attempted the Wind Escape technique unsuccessfully and then abandoned the escape techniques. Thinking of it again now, he was half-believing and half-doubting. Looking around, Xiao Hua formed hand seals and began to cast the Wood Release technique. Seeing that the Wood Release technique was ineffective, just as Xiao Hua was about to give up, the dark green light around him suddenly spread out like ink. Xiao Hua was overjoyed.

However, when Xiao Hua entered the light, he felt bitter. This was because he felt his Mana flowing out like water, consuming far more than before. Xiao Hua dared not stay in the light for long. He didn't know how to replenish his Mana, nor did he know if the Thunderous Might Cultivation Method could be used in the Immortal Realm. He also didn't know if he would become a lamb to the slaughter if his Mana was completely depleted.

Emerging from the light, the scenery before him had changed. The dense forest of giant trees was gone, replaced by a babbling brook. The stream water was equally strange, floating in mid-air like a giant water ribbon. Although it was called a stream, in the eyes of a country bumpkin like Xiao Hua, who had just entered the Immortal Realm, it looked like a river. The surging water flowed before Xiao Hua, almost making him spit blood.

"Damn it, if I had come out a moment later, wouldn't I have already crossed this water?" Xiao Hua thought this and, helplessly, hurried upstream. He wanted to see if the Guiding Emissary had caught up, but alas, he didn't know which direction the Guiding Emissary was coming from.

After rushing for dozens of miles, Xiao Hua saw lush vegetation in the river ahead and was overjoyed, knowing it was likely reeds, which could be used to cross the river. He couldn't help but quicken his pace. Just then, with a "splash," there was a sound of water in the river to his right. A fierce gust of wind whistled towards him. Xiao Hua turned his head and saw a large fish, over ten feet long, leaping out of the river, spewing greenish-blue light towards him! Before the light even approached, Xiao Hua felt his entire body space being frozen, and the already stinging surface felt like it was being whipped!

Xiao Hua stopped abruptly, his body inverted in mid-air, and used the Misty Steps technique to draw a beautiful arc, flying backward dozens of feet!

The fish was naturally not as agile as Xiao Hua. The green light from its mouth pierced the air and hit the rocks near Xiao Hua with a "plop." Seeing the deep hole created in the rock, Xiao Hua's heart tightened again. Before Xiao Hua could take out his Ruyi Staff, a pair of fins, several feet long, suddenly unfurled from the fish's abdomen. These fins were like wings, and as they flapped, they emitted shimmering light. Thus, the fish also inverted in mid-air, opening its white, bared mouth and pouncing towards Xiao Hua...

Xiao Hua truly couldn't take it anymore. He immediately took out the Five Elements Ruyi Sky-reaching Staff, and then... there was no then!

Looking at the fish's head, which had been smashed by the ancient fierce weapon, Xiao Hua curled his lips and continued to urge his body forward, muttering resentfully, "What a waste of a good fish head..."

However, Xiao Hua had only floated a few steps when his body suddenly trembled and stopped. He turned to look at the fish lying on the ground, still struggling though dead, and then at the crystal-clear, crystal-like fish meat. He said in a low voice, "That's right. Perhaps I don't know how to absorb Immortal Spiritual Energy now, but... but I have a mouth! I can eat things with spiritual energy. Back then..."

Thinking of this, Xiao Hua hurried back, raised his hand, and grabbed a large piece of fish meat from the fish. The fish meat did not have the fishy smell Xiao Hua expected; instead, it had a faint fragrance. "If I took this to the Hidden Immortal Continent to sell, it would probably fetch a lot of spirit stones, right?" This thought inexplicably arose in Xiao Hua's mind.

"Let's see what it tastes like first!" Xiao Hua thought and was about to put it in his mouth, but when it reached his mouth, Xiao Hua froze again. "That's not right. I... I am a Nascent Soul, not a physical body. I don't have internal organs in my stomach, so how can I eat fish meat??"

Poor Xiao Hua's mind took a while to catch up. His identity as a Nascent Soul made him feel truly unfamiliar.

"Can a Nascent Soul not eat?"

"Can a Nascent Soul not take elixirs?"

Numerous questions flooded his mind, and it was only a matter of time before he pondered how a Nascent Soul would reproduce!

"What's the use of thinking so much???" Xiao Hua swallowed the fish meat in one gulp and began to eat heartily, muttering to himself, "How did I become like Wen Qu?"

The fish meat had the fragrance he smelled, and there was a faint salty taste in his mouth. If it were in the Hidden Immortal Continent, it would definitely sell for many spirit stones. Of course, for Xiao Hua, the taste was secondary. As he chewed lightly, a faint trace of Immortal Spiritual Energy seeped out from within and flowed into Xiao Hua's body. Although the amount of this Immortal Spiritual Energy was small, it was present, which made Xiao Hua very excited.

"Pfft," spitting out the remnants, Xiao Hua then wolfed down several large pieces of fish meat.

Just as Xiao Hua was still unsatisfied, a "croak..." a frog's croak sounded in the river. This croak was normally unremarkable. Even if someone had the strength of a Mahayana cultivator in the mortal realm, Xiao Hua might not have paid attention, but today was different. This croak sounded like thunder in Xiao Hua's ears. His vision went black, his body swayed twice, and he almost fell.

Xiao Hua's soul was scattered. Almost without thinking, he didn't even dare to look back and fled desperately into the distance! After fleeing for over a hundred miles, Xiao Hua dared to look back. Seeing that no immortal beast was chasing him and there was no danger, he stopped and hid behind a large rock, patting his nonexistent heart and thinking to himself, "My heavens, what... what is going on? A single frog's croak almost killed me? Is this Immortal Frog perhaps more powerful than a Guiding Emissary?"

After carefully sensing the danger he had just experienced, Xiao Hua had some realization: "That's not right. It's not that the Immortal Frog's strength is great, but this frog's croak! This frog's croak is an attack on the soul. If it were an ordinary person, this frog's croak would be enough to scatter their soul! But... but that's not right either! I had a Soul Cultivator clone before, and my soul contained Heavenly Patterns and Earthly Deeds. How could I be so disheveled by the attack of a mere Immortal Frog?"

Thinking back to the tribulation he had just experienced, Xiao Hua suddenly realized: "Oh dear!! I understand! During the tribulation, my fellow Daoists separated from me, and I gave up my physical body, bones, etc., to make them complete. This was just the appearance! They also split my soul! In other words, my current soul is extremely thin, only one-tenth of what it was before. No wonder, no wonder!"

"So, creating a clone into a human is far from just about essence and energy; it also requires a soul!"

"Then... then why am I in this Nascent Soul? Am I still Xiao Hua? Or rather, am I a part of Xiao Hua?"

"Damn it, this is too profound."

"Besides the soul, what else haven't I considered?"

Xiao Hua was grateful that his strength had not diminished, and he concealed his figure and quietly returned. He wanted to see what immortal beast was so powerful.

Ps: Tan Hua's new book has finally been uploaded. Fellow Daoists who like this book, please go to Qidian to subscribe and support it. Cast a monthly ticket, a recommendation ticket, collect it, and give rewards. Thank you for all forms of support!!