Chapter 285: Internal Strife (1/2)

A Hunter was a special term those who lived in the Realm of Split Void used to refer to a notorious group of people.

They usually lurked outside Shatter City, Ash City and the Land of the Abandoned year-round. Sometimes they also roamed about in the Void Illusion Mountain Range, ambushing Qi warriors on exploration trips.

Only members of the Blood Skull, Wild Fire, Dark Moon, and their guest elders had the privilege to use their teleportation portals to travel to the Void Illusion Mountain Range. All others would have to travel long distances on foot to get here and face the threat of Hunters.

Hunters were also divided into different groups and had their own territories. They would never show mercy to those who dared to explore the Void Illusion Mountain Range.

The only meaning of their existence was to rob adventurers of their gains in the Void Illusion Mountain Range and kill them.

Every Qi warrior who wasn’t with the three major forces would have to go through them if they wished to return to their cities.

Many Qi warriors were very lucky and gained good fortunes in the Void Illusion Mountain Range.

However, they weren’t as lucky on their way back to their cities. A good proportion of them had all their gains reaped by Hunters, along with their precious lives.

After learning from Song Li that they could also encounter Hunters in deeper parts of the forest, Nie Tian was somewhat shocked.

Since he had only hunted at the outer edge of the dense forest, he had never realized that there might be Hunters in the heart of the forest.

At that time, he remembered that, before he had come to this location, Pei Qiqi had warned him that he shouldn’t go on a suicide mission by exploring deep into the forest.

Perhaps Pei Qiqi had known that there might be Hunters here.

“Are the Hunters also after high grade spirit beasts in the depths of the forest?” Nie Tian asked.

“Not entirely,” Song Li said with a grim expression on her face. “They do hunt spirit beasts, but it’s not their primary goal. Their primary targets are adventurers like you and me, who have come to hunt spirit beasts and trade the valuable parts for spirit stones.

“In fact, the Hunters know this dense forest much better than us. They know which parts of the forest the powerful spirit beasts live and forage in. Once they make a move on them, they usually have very good chance of succeeding.

“On the other hand, since we don’t get to spend as much time here as they do, we’re very disadvantaged in this aspect.

“There have been many occasions where exploration teams encountered two or even three fourth grade spirit beasts at the same time. Once this kind of situation happens, the whole exploration team will usually be annihilated.

“Even if there are any survivors, they will fall prey to Hunters.

“However, most Hunters will take advantage of their familiarity with the forest and steer clear of powerful spirit beasts. They preserve their strength and find opportunities to swamp teams like ours.

“Our way ahead won’t continue to be peaceful. Not only will we have to be on guard against powerful spirit beasts, but we will also need to look out for Hunters at all times.”

“Thank you for telling me this,” Nie Tian said.

Song Li put on a charming smile and said, “You’re welcome. Now that we’re on the same team, it’s only right that we share information. I’m only telling you about the Hunters so that you can be prepared and stay on guard against them.”

At that moment, the other three cultivators on their team rose to their feet.

“We’re ready to go,” A man named Yin Tuo said loudly.

“Let’s head out!” Shen Wei called out.

He strode to Nie Tian and Song Li’s side, glanced at Nie Tian out of the corner of his eyes, and said to Nie Tian with an unpleasant tone, “All our previous battles are nothing compared to what awaits. I want you to prepare yourself for the real battles ahead.”

Ever since Song Li had started flirting with him, Shen Wei’s heart had been itching towards her. He was already bent on taking her flower after their trip to this dense forest was over. In his eyes, she was like a piece of meat for his exclusive consumption.

Therefore, the fact that she was so warm towards Nie Tian made him very unhappy, and the way he treated Nie Tian began to change.

However, since Nie Tian didn’t do anything technically and he was a guest elder of the Blood Skull, he could only endure and remain calm before things between Nie Tian and Song Li exceeded what was proper.

After a brief adjustment, the six of them once again headed out towards the heart of the dense forest.

More vigilant than before, Nie Tian formed all seven Heaven Eyes and spread them all around his group, keeping a close watch on everything in their vicinity.

Before his conversation with Song Li, he had only used four Heaven Eyes.

After all, it required a wisp of soul power from the seven fragmentary stars in his soul to form a Heaven Eye, and his soul power was very precious and hard to recover.

That was why he had intentionally reserved his soul power before facing real danger.

However, now that they were marching closer towards the heart of the forest and they might encounter powerful spirit beasts at any moment, he couldn’t afford to reserve his strength any longer, and released the seven Heaven Eyes together.

A hour passed…

One of Nie Tian’s Heaven Eyes caught sight of three Qi warriors, who he had seen before at the outer edge of the forest.

It was from the three of them that Nie Tian had learned about the newest situation regarding the Blood Skull, the Wild Fire, and the Dark Moon, and the fact that Li Langfeng had been looking for him everywhere.

He had never expected to see the three of them here.

It seemed that they had just killed a fourth grade Blood Eye Crocodile. Immersed in excitement, they were cutting its blood-colored eyeballs and sharp teeth out of its head and peeling off its tough skin.

They were all covered in blood and looked rather bedraggled. Apparently, they had just gone through a fierce battle.