Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725
Page 374
“Pow…”
It took almost an instant for the python’s massive body to be ripped into pieces.
The python was in terrible luck. It could have choked Big Yellow to its death if they met before the big yellow dog devoured the insect king’s inner core. However, Big Yellow had undergone an unusual change, where it could release powers several times greater especially when its body enlarged.
When the python exerted all its force to strangle Big Yellow and suddenly faced the frightening tension, before it could even think about relaxing its body, it was already killed by the queer force.
Snakes had long life forces, so the python was still alive and kicking after being ripped into sections. Its head even did its best to bite Big Yellow’s body as it wanted to perish together with it.
Unfortunately, Big Yellow’s armor was made whole-heartedly by Ou Yangming, and it could not be broken by the python.
Big Yellow scoffed. Without warning, a stone awl emerged from the ground and penetrated the python’s head, causing it to be hung in mid-air.
Ou Yangming shook his head slightly. He simply went around the battlefield and withdrew his saber to uproot the tree, then he sent it into the Long Feather Band.
Inside the vast space, the lazy turtle happened to be stretching its head. It was delighted to see the Parasitic Spiritual Flower being planted on its back.
While the flower leeched off others for nourishments, it was a priceless treasure to the Turtles.
The Turtles had exceptionally long lives, so they would not mind releasing some powers for Parasitic Spiritual Flowers. After all, they would also gain more benefits through a unique cycle when they cultivated the flowers.
In other words, the more spiritual herbs and flowers they grew, the higher their equivalent ranks. With that, they could constantly grow and advance even if they slept every day.
How wonderful it would be for the Turtles?
Just as the lazy turtle was daydreaming about its beautiful life in the future, something fell from mid-air and hit its head hard.
It was a tough, straight, and bulky object. As it appeared out of the blue, the lazy turtle felt dizzy after being hit.
The lazy turtle looked fierce and was about to rage when it noticed the fallen log through the corners of its eyes.
It no longer had a savage look in its eyes.
The lazy turtle reached out its long mouth and carefully picked up the log from the sea. It could not help but lose its temper after it verified the log’s species.
‘What exactly is that young human fella doing? How could it simply throw such a precious item? This is unforgivable.’
Having said that… It would be willing to be hit by such a treasure every day even if it would hurt.
The lazy turtle planted the log on its shell. After thinking seriously, it opened its mouth and released a magic power to apply a defensive magic art on its shell.
With the layer of defense, the rare treasures on its back would not be damaged even if something else fell from the sky.
Just as it was feeling proud and became sleepy, the sky opened up again, and another object fell like a shooting star.
The lazy turtle tensed up a little. According to its past experiences, it made a subconscious choice.
It extended its neck and used the softest part of its body to catch the falling object.
“Pow…”
When the object hit its neck, it was enveloped by a gentle airflow and was not damaged at all.
The lazy turtle was surprised yet overjoyed after it saw what it was.
Sure enough, it was another spiritual herb. It was not as valuable as the last 2 objects, but it was also a rare one. That said, the spiritual herb was slightly damaged.
The lazy turtle swore by its ancestors’ blood that it was not the one that damaged the spiritual herb.
It figured that Ou Yangming must have accidentally hurt the herb when he collected it. Its heart broke when it sensed the energy that flowed out from the slit, and it almost felt like killing the young fellow.
‘How could he be so careless about handling such a precious treasure? This is unreasonable.
While the lazy turtle lamented and planted the spiritual herb even more carefully, another opening appeared in the sky.
The lazy turtle widened its eyes and shouted internally, ‘What’s going on?’
‘Spiritual herbs and spiritual flowers are usually rare, but why are they all here today?
‘What exactly did that young human do?’
At this point, the lazy turtle was highly-spirited, and its sleepiness from before disappeared.
Its blood boiled as it looked up at the sky, and it was exhilarated like never before.
Chapter 634 - Scheme
Far outside the forest, Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman walked side by side. They looked delighted.
This time, they experienced some dangers before arriving at this place in the secret realm. After a field investigation and excavations, they benefited greatly too. Although they did not collect new poisonous pills and spiritual herbs, their efforts were worth it because they managed to acquire that item.
Xia Zizhen turned to look at the first and sighed. “It’s such a pity. We would’ve found more items if we had enough time.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman chuckled. “Zizhen, stop complaining. Being able to obtain this item is our greatest gain this time.”
Xia Zizhen nodded and asked, “Aren’t you going to the Poison Forest to collect poisonous pills this time?”
A strange look was seen on Poisonous Saber Gentleman’s face. “It’s extremely strenuous to collect those poisonous pills. I could tell that Ou Yangming has set his heart on them, so I’ll leave that opportunity to him.”
“I’m only afraid that there’ll be a mishap when he gathers those poisonous pills. That won’t be good,” Xia Zizhen expressed after some thought. He added after a short pause, “We can’t expose the secret realm’s existence, but we need him to do that thing for us.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman raised his eyebrows and said, “Don’t worry, you saw how that young fella poisoned the insect king. Hehe, he might be a blacksmith, but he has a high level of attainment in the Poison Art, so I’m sure he can protect himself.”
“Oh, how’s his Poison Art as compared to yours?” Xia Zizhen asked in a deep voice.
“Zizhen, are you kidding me? Hmph, as potent as he is, a blacksmith like him can’t be compared to me,” Poisonous Saber Gentleman responded arrogantly. He spoke in such a proud tone as he was full of confidence.
Nonetheless, they would not have imagined that even though Ou Yangming did not know about the Poison Art, he possessed a queer poisonous pill. What more, the poisonous pill gave birth to its spirit and evolved into an unbelievable being.
If Poisonous Saber Gentleman entered the Poison Forest at this moment and went in the right direction, he would have noticed that there were very few poisonous pills left at the periphery.
In fact, the depths of the forest, which he dared not explore, had been terribly robbed of its poisonous pills. As such, it would be 100 times more difficult to find poisonous pills there.
Xia Zizhen shook his head and sighed. “Ah, I somehow had a bad feeling about this. That young fella’s not as simple as he seems.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman was not bothered. “Zizhen, you’re worrying too much. So what if he’s a little capable? Once he suffers a backlash from that power, he’ll surely be dead.”
After pondering seriously, Xia Zizhen nodded in agreement. It was true that Ou Yangming displayed a remarkable combat power before this, but he would only be an any in front of that being. At most, he would be a slightly bigger ant, but there would be no difference in his nature.
If Ou Yangming really died, Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman would not be worried about the 3 low-rank spirit beasts at all. This was because unless they and the spirit beasts reinforced or counteracted each other, they could e
asily kill the spirit beasts through a sneak attack.
“You’re right, but I’m worried because he entered the secret realm with us. If he doesn’t return, how should we explain it to Elder Bai?” Xia Zizhen smiled bitterly.
Poisonous Saber Gentleman tapped his shoulder hard. “Zizhen, stop overthinking. Since we’re here to acquire this, we mustn’t worry too much. If worst comes to worst, we’ll cultivate here. Once we become Venerable Ones in the future, nobody will bring this up anymore no matter where we go.”
“Okay, I hope that everything will turn out to be just as you said.” Xia Zizhen’s face changed for a brief moment, then he said, “Let’s go, it’s almost the appointed time, so let’s not make him suspect anything.”
With that, they hurried back to the agreed meeting spot. Nevertheless, they did not see Ou Yangming and Big Yellow; only Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard were seen lying lazily on the ground.
Xia Zizhen furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Where’s Master Ou?”
Fat Antelope glanced at him and answered, “He’s still inside, of course.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman and Xia Zizhen exchanged glances. They both looked worried.
‘Ou Yangming has previously expressed a strong interest in the poisonous pills. Did he enter the Poison Forest to collect them?’
The Poison Forest was incredibly dangerous. One would not be attacked by animals, but the plants inside were shockingly poisonous. Even for Poisonous Saber Gentleman, who had studied the Poison Art for decades, he only dared to linger at the periphery and did not have the guts to go deeper inside. If Ou Yangming did not know his limits and directly ventured into the Poison Forest… The consequence would be unimaginable.
“Gentleman, you should go and take a look. If you meet Master Ou, help him if you can,” Xia Zizhen noted.
Poisonous Saber Gentleman was reluctant, but he nodded seriously. He knew the severity of the matter, so he would not delay things.
Despite that, just as he turned around and wanted to leave, a wind blew as a black figure blocked his path.
Silver Ridge had unknowingly gotten up, and it stared fiercely at him.
Poisonous Saber Gentleman’s face darkened a little. He naturally would not care much about a low-rank spirit beast, but he felt troubled when he thought about its background. If the man accidentally slaughtered the leopard, Ou Yangming would likely fall out with him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Xia Zizhen questioned with a dark face.
“Since you’re back, stay here.” The Silver Ridge Giant Leopard narrowed its eyes and added, “Master ordered us to ask you to wait here.”
“Hmph, are you trying to stop me?” Poisonous Saber Gentleman laughed out loud.
The spirit leopard shook its head and replied to him, “I can’t stop you, but I’ll do my best.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman raised the corners of his eyes a little, and a threatening look could be seen in his eyes. He gently placed his hand on his saber’s handle and asked, “Do you think that I won’t kill you?”
An enormous momentum rose from Silver Ridge’s body. After receiving a full equipment set from Ou Yangming, it was confident about fighting. Besides, even if it ended up not being a match for its opponent, it could simply escape.
With that, the human and the leopard confronted each other. The atmosphere was so tense that a fight would break out at any time.
At the spur of the moment, Xia Zizhen swayed and stood between them. “Leopard, your master didn’t return by the appointed time, so aren’t you worried?”
The Silver Ridge Giant Leopard shook his head without any hesitation. “I have confidence in them.”
Ou Yangming was someone valued by even the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One, so how could he be troubled by the small forest around the lake?
Needless to say, the leopard was unaware of the dangers in the forest, thus it blindly trusted Ou Yangming and Big Yellow. If it knew about the Poison Forest and the spirit beasts that lurked inside, it would have an entirely different attitude.
Xia Zizhen took a deep breath to suppress his anger. “Leopard, I suspect your master’s in trouble, or he wouldn’t have missed the appointed time.”
The spirit leopard swung its tail and finally looked hesitant. As far as it remembered, Ou Yangming was not one to go back on his word. If that was the case, why had he not returned yet? Could he really be held back by something?
“How about this? We’ll wait for another 3 hours. If he still hasn’t returned, we’ll go and look for him. What do you think?” Xia Zizhen continued.
Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard looked at each other. This time, they quickly reached a consensus.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman smiled bitterly at each other. It was difficult for them to find a caster, and Ou Yangming turned out to be a potent one.
Before they achieved their goal, the caster must be safe.
※※※※
Ou Yangming and Big Yellow roamed in the forest for a long time. They collected at least 30 kinds of spiritual flowers and herbs.
From being surprised yet overjoyed, they eventually became numb. Moreover, Ou Yangming also realized that not every spiritual flower or herb was guarded by spirit beasts; most of them were protected by half-spirit beasts.
The half-spirit beasts had notable combat powers, but they were a piece of cake for Big Yellow.
Therefore, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow gained the spiritual herbs that they wanted without putting in much effort.
“Woof, woof…”
Ou Yangming stopped and looked at Big Yellow, which was still excited. He shook his head and said, “Big Yellow, we should go back.”
He wished to continue too but since their time was up, even if it was for the sake of keeping their word, they could not go on.
Big Yellow whined as it was unhappy, but it left with Ou Yangming.
Instead of leaving the forest right away, they went back to where they parted with the small centipede.
The energy centipede was nowhere to be seen as it must have wandered off.
Ou Yangming turned his wrist to retrieve Ghost Mo’s poisonous pill. He drew 2 circles on it with his finger, causing an invisible power to be released.
At the center of the Poison Forest, a nearly 1-meter-long centipede was leaping up to a big tree to absorb the energies of a poisonous pill at the treetop. As the centipede kept going deeper into the forest, the poisonous pills that it found were of higher quality. Similarly, as more poison-series energies gushed into its body, its body changed drastically. Its thin body had expanded to over 1 meter in size, making it look hideous and fearsome.
It was not as frightening as the real Ghost Mo, but it had almost unlimited growth potential.
All of a sudden, the centipede froze as if it sensed something.
Subsequently, it sucked the poisonous pill in front of it hard into its body. It sprung up without warning and zoomed away like a cannonball, then it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 635 - Wutong Tree
Ou Yangming and Big Yellow stared at the Poison Forest in front of them. Although they still had Ghost Mo’s poisonous pill, they did not want to enter the forest anymore.
All of a sudden, Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up, and he uttered softly, “It’s coming.”
Before his voice died away, a black figure sprung to the spot in front of them. It was a centipede over 1 meter in length, and it would look extremely fearsome if it made threatening gestures. Nonetheless, the centipede approached Ou Yangming and coiled around his arm. It kept twisting its body, which was clear to even Big Yellow that it was cheerful.
Ou Yangming chuckled and shook his hand. “Go inside.”
The centipede nodded and slithered into the poisonous pill.
“Lil’ Ming, this fella really became a spiritual being.” Big Yellow stuck out its tongue. It got up like a person and gestured with its paws. “It was only this big earlier, but now it’s thi
s big… Won’t it grow into the sky in the future?”
Ou Yangming looked snappily at the big yellow dog. “Nonsense. Do you think that there are many such places here?”
Big Yellow sat back down and asked in confusion, “You’re right. What’s this place? Why are there so many treasures here?”
The young fellow was stunned. Indeed, there were many strange things in this secret realm. Putting aside the swarms of insects, the 2 areas beside the lake were definitely abnormal.
Whether it was the trees that could produce poisonous pills or the endless spiritual herbs, they could not be found in normal places.
In particular, spiritual flowers and herbs, which were treasures that were rarely seen in ordinary places, were in abundance here.
Ou Yangming exhaled deeply and looked up into the distance. Over there, something seemed to be calling out to him, and it was a feeling that he had since the beginning.
He guessed that he would understand the source of every secret if he went over there.
The young fellow curbed his thought and waved at the big yellow dog. “Let’s go.”
Big Yellow responded to him, then it reluctantly left the forest with him. At this moment, it secretly blamed Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman. ‘What are those fellas up to? Why won’t they stay here longer?’
As soon as they left the forest, they heard the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard’s deafening roar.
When Ou Yangming looked, he saw Fat Antelope and Silver Ridge standing side by side to confront Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and flashed toward them. The atmosphere loosened up at the appearance of him and the big yellow dog. Whether it was Fat Antelope or Xia Zizhen, they were relieved.
“Woof, what are you doing?” Big Yellow questioned proudly.
The several fights in the forest made it much more confident.
Xia Zizhen frowned a little and explained, “Master Ou, you missed the appointed time, so we wanted to go and look for you, but your pets won’t allow us. Heh, if you’re still not back yet, I’m afraid that this collision will be inevitable.”