Chapter 260 Spending the Nigh (2/2)
Over on the dark side, the likes of the Bloodied Mad Swordsman and Ye Wuxin were an even more terrifying prospect. If he couldn't strengthen himself swiftly, he might suffer the fate of cannon fodder before even finding his Master.
Just like that, it had been almost a year since he came to the Violet Manor. He was still smug about his progress back in the East Continent. Thanks to the Mystic Cyan Sect's cultivation method, his cultivation had been improving at a far higher speed than most people. But ever since he stepped foot on the Middle Continent, he met one powerful cultivator after another. Gradually, his thoughts began to shift.
Each era had its own powerful cultivators. No matter how strong he was in the past, he was doomed to be eliminated if he couldn't adapt and choose to dwell in the past.
He threw away the twig in his hand and said softly, ”Brother Yifeng, there's something I'd like to say, but I don't know if I should.”
Yu Yifeng looked at him. ”Junior Brother Xiao, please speak your mind.”
”I don't think there's a need to avoid other sects. If they attack us, all we have to do is retaliate.”
Xiao Chen knew that Yu Yifeng had the teachings of Taoism ingrained in him since young and that many rules had been set in stone for him. He was like that too in the past. It would have been nearly impossible to make him steal like those from the Surging Waves Sect.
Suddenly, Mu Shaoai rose to his feet and said, ”We should learn as much as we can, no matter big or small. The number of Hearts of Illusory Moon determines what rank and level of Illusory Moon that we can enter. I agree with Junior Brother Xiao.”
Yu Yifeng lowered his head and contemplated for a good moment. He finally said, ”You're right. Then let us adjust our original plan and head to the Grade 5 district three days later.”
No one disagreed this time. The team began taking turns on guard duty as a duo while the rest slept. Food and drink could be spared in three days in the Forest of Illusory Moon, but not sufficient rest. This was to ensure that they had enough mental and physical strength to deal with outsiders.
A full moon emitting a halo of the faintest purple color gradually climbed into the sky. Xiao Chen spotted flickering flames in the distance. Other sects must have come to this mountain to spend the night as well. However, unless one had the wildest of ambitions, one wouldn't wage a war in this forest in the middle of the night. Thus, they were able to sleep through the night in relative peace.
The next morning, Yu Yifeng left the cave to gather some dew. The team cleaned up and began setting forth on their journey. On their way, they found thirty to forty Hearts of Illusory Moon. It was almost at night when they finally approached the border of the Grade 4 district.
The border was a vast grassland, where the tallest grass could reach one's head and the shortest grass could reach one's knee. When the wind swept the grassland, wide expanses of grass would be flattened before springing forth again. From afar, it looked like the waves of the sea.
”This is the common boundary. Creatures known as Cangyuan Wolves lurk here. Their strength lies in between Rank 3 and 4. They tend to flock together and take the initiative to attack their targets. Everyone, please be careful.”
After warning the team, Yu Yifeng looked at the golden radiance in the west where heaven came into contact with earth. There seemed to be a hidden hurricane. ”Moreover, there are numerous spatial cracks in the common boundary of the districts. Keep your guard up. Even if we encounter monsters, remember not to run to strange places.”
Then, the team began making their way through the area slowly and cautiously. When they spotted Cangyuan Wolves running about in the distance, they used the grass as cover and kept their bodies as close to the ground as possible. They also restrained their bodily aura until the wolves passed them. Only then did they get back on their feet and continued walking.
They finally made it out of the grassland before nightfall. The Grade 4 district was starkly different from the Grade 3 district. Sometimes, aurora would light up the sky for as far as the eye could see. Sometimes, lightning would decorate the sky. It was all very strange and curious.
It was dangerous to travel through the Forest of Illusory Moon at night for countless nocturnal monsters lay in wait in dark places. Under Yu Yifeng's leadership, the team found a forest of stones to spend the night in.
The next two days passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. They spent the time gathering Hearts of Illusory Moon in the Grade 4 district. They encountered quite a few other sects coming to rob them, but Xiao Chen would always return the favor in the end. With this, his name once again became famous in the Forest of Illusory Moon. The wiser ones learned not to provoke him again.
By the fifth day, the qualifying round reached its climax. All of the large sects had suffered casualties, though the ”deaths” here were mere eliminations after their jade notes were crushed in the event of a fatal attack. Those who ”died” were all sent out of the forest.
There was also a casualty on the Jade Qing Sect side. An enemy caught a disciple off guard and stabbed him straight through the heart. With the fatal attack, the disciple's jade note broke into pieces and he was transported out.
While the war over the Hearts of Illusory Moon quietly fermented, an unknown danger was also pressing close. In a place no one knew about, layers of strange aura were seeping out of the ground and forming a dense fog of black Qi. The cultivators were still putting their lives on the line for the Hearts, unaware of this danger.