by Feng Yise
This fellow was truly a monster. It seemed like nothing could stump him!
Feng Zhirou was also a haughty and proud individual. She always felt somewhat unwilling to submit. Not knowing why she faintly looked forward to some situation to occur later up the mountain!
Who asked you to be c.o.c.ky!
. . . . . .
A moonless dark night.
The faint breeze made the leaves rustle as two figures slowly headed for the Crimson Summit Ridge.
Although demonic beasts had greater vitality than humans, they are not tireless.
Currently, it was midnight, and most of the Long-arm Stone Apes headed back to the mountain to rest. It naturally would not be like daytime where ape shadows were aplenty.
Human martial artists' night vision abilities were quite strong. Even though they did not have the same range as daytime, nor was it as clear, seeing things within a small radius was still not an issue.
Furthermore, with a rise in realm, the changes that essence energy had towards martial artists' bodies would also become greater. The night vision abilities of human martial artists would become increasingly stronger.
Feng Zhirou and Ye Yuan walked towards the mountain unhurriedly in fear of alerting the Long-arm Stone Apes.
"The Crimson Summit Ridge is so huge. Where do we look for the Crimson Soul Grass?" Feng Zhirou suddenly transmitted her voice and asked.
"The summit!" Ye Yuan only said two words.
"What? The summit? There's a very high chance for that Ape King to be at the summit!" Feng Zhirou nearly made a sound.
"Can you not get all worked up over nothing? Why is this place called the Crimson Summit Ridge? Why is the medicinal herb called Crimson Soul Grass? Please use your brain, alright?" Ye Yuan said grumpily.
This woman had no use at all other than making a fuss over every little thing.
Being uncultured was truly frightening!
Seeing Feng Zhirou still having that blank look, Ye Yuan could only explain, "This place is called Crimson Summit Ridge because the mud at the summit is crimson in color. That sort of mud is called Crimson Xiang Soil, one of the extremely few soils which can breed the Crimson Soul Grass. However, the quantity of Crimson Xiang Soil on this Crimson Summit Ridge isn't a lot either. Just that small patch at the summit. Hence, for us to obtain the Crimson Soul Grass, we must go to the summit!"
Feng Zhirou did not know what to say either. This Ye Yuan was simply like an encyclopedia. He knew everything!
Only him with such broad and profound knowledge dared to barge into this Crimson Summit Ridge with Essence Qi Realm cultivation, right?
"What if . . . What if we bump into the Ape King at the summit? What should we do?" Feng Zhirou who was subdued by Ye Yuan suddenly had her momentum weakened considerably.
"How would I know? If we really come across it, then just drop everything and run! As for how far we can run, it will be up to our capabilities. Well, this is my affair, no need to drag you into this. Why don't you stay instead?" Ye Yuan said very irresponsibly.
"No way! I promised aunty to protect you. I can't watch you take risks alone!" Feng Zhirou was very resolute on the matter.
"Haha, then thank you so much, Senior Apprentice Sister. If we really run into the Ape King, to have a great beauty like Senior Apprentice Sister accompany me along the Yellow Springs, it's also a beautiful thing!" Ye Yuan laughed and said.
Feng Zhirou suddenly felt like she was duped. But the words already came out of her mouth, so she did not intend to take them back. She just rolled her eyes at Ye Yuan and said, "Enough crap, quickly go!"
Due to the fear of alerting the Long-arm Stone apes, the two walked very slowly. Only after two hours did they gradually fumbled their way to the summit with scares but without danger.
The summit was an open space. The Long-arm Stone Apes already cleared it out.
Arriving at the summit, there were many more night-patrol Long-arm Stone Apes. And from the looks of the aura coming off of their bodies, there were even quite a few Tier 2 Long-arm Stone Apes among them.
It looked like that Ape King was definitely on this summit.
"So many Long-arm Stone Apes. What to do?" Feng Zhirou asked rather anxiously.
Ye Yuan swept a gaze across this open field and transmitted his voice, "See that small hill in the distance? There's a cave up there. If my speculation is right, that Ape King should be inside that cave. In the entire summit, the place with the thickest Crimson Xiang Soil is on that small hill. The Crimson Soul Grass should be there!"
"Ah? Is-Isn't that very dangerous? Right now, we are at the summit. The moment we're discovered by the Ape King, then we won't even have the chance to escape!" Feng Zhirou said worriedly.
"Mm, it's indeed quite dangerous. But I also have to go no matter how dangerous it is! Without the Crimson Soul Grass, Lu-er definitely won't make it."
Seeing Ye Yuan risk his life for a maidservant, Feng Zhirou was also deeply touched.
Such an affectionate and faithful man, there really isn't many in this world!
Normally, Ye Yuan appeared to be cheeky and frivolous. But, when it really came down to the eleventh hour, he was highly reliable.
"Then, what should we do?" Feng Zhirou kept away her nervousness and resolved to cooperate with Ye Yuan to harvest the Crimson Soul Grass.
Ye Yuan observed for a while and then said, "Have you noticed that there aren't any Long-arm Stone Apes patrolling around the vicinity of that small hill?"
Feng Zhirou looked towards that small hill and found that that was really the case!
"Behind the small hill is a cliff. We'll circle over there and scale up the cliff! As long as we don't startle the Ape King, the possibility of us getting away is still very huge," Ye Yuan said.
"C-Can this work? We have to pass by that cave if we're climbing from the cliff."
"I don't really care anymore. At this point, we can only take our chances and give it a shot. Before long, day will break. Once dawn comes, we will have even less of a chance!" Ye Yuan made up his mind.
Feng Zhirou gritted her teeth and said, "Okay! Later, you go and find the Crimson Soul Grass. I'll keep a lookout for you!"
Chapter 134 - Goodbye, Ye Yuan!
Ye Yuan and Feng Zhirou avoided the night-patrolling Long-arm Stone Apes and circled around to the cliff area.
This cliff was virtually perpendicular to the ground. The distance from the top of the cliff to the place she and Ye Yuan were standing at was a full thousand feet tall!
"Ye Yuan, this cliff is so high. Can you make it?" Feng Zhirou asked Ye Yuan rather worriedly.
Scaling heights was completely different from using movement techniques on the flat ground. When one was ascending heights, they had to shake off the gravity from the Earth. Using movement techniques had a huge burden on martial artists.
After all, even if it were Crystal Formation Realm martial artists, they also could not soar in the skies.
Spirit Condensation Realm martial artists still had the advantage. But it was practically impossible for Essence Qi Realm martial artists to scale a thousand feet cliff.
Firstly, the essence energy of Essence Qi Realm martial artists could not bear the consumption of a thousand feet distance. Secondly, Tier 1 movement techniques were insufficient to support martial artists to scale a thousand feet.
"What do you mean 'Can you make it?' Take away that question mark. Of course I can!" Ye Yuan said without any care.
"But . . . the top of the cliff is a full thousand feet away from us here!"
"Isn't it just a thousand feet? You go first, Senior Apprentice Sister; I'll follow! We're already here. I can't keep dragging Senior Apprentice Sister down!" Ye Yuan smiled and said.
No matter how Ye Yuan said it, it sounded like he was going beyond his means in order to look impressive. If he were to climb halfway and fall because his essence energy was unable to support him, that would not be fun.
This cliff was a full thousand feet away
from the ground. One misstep and his life would be guaranteed gone.
"There's really no problem?" Feng Zhirou asked suspiciously.
"Of course there's no problem! When have I disappointed Senior Apprentice Sister before?" Ye Yuan said with a smile.
Feng Zhirou thought about it. It seemed like Ye Yuan was really a freak and it appeared like there had never been anything he could not do before. Perhaps he could really make it?
"Fine, then I'll make a move first!"
Feng Zhirou nodded, and she tiptoed lightly, bounding on the cliff.
Feng Zhirou's body was light as a swallow. The sheer precipice which appeared to be beyond reach was akin to walking on flat ground to her.
Her movement technique was the high-grade Tier 2 martial technique, Spiritual Swallow Dance. It was originally famed for its light, graceful movement and speed. It was very suited to be used to scale this cliff.
Only to see that she either tiptoed or lightly tapped occasionally with her sword scabbard on the cliff. Her entire person shot up the cliff with extreme speed and in a blink of an eye, she crossed over 200 feet in distance.
However, the higher Feng Zhirou climbed, the further her heart fell. Because she could not sense Ye Yuan's presence!
Feng Zhirou could not sense a single bit of sound from below her!
Did Ye Yuan not move yet, or did he . . . fall down already?
Feng Zhirou really wanted to tilt her head down to see if Ye Yuan was there or not, but climbing the cliff was also not a relaxed matter for her. How could she have spare energy to bend down and look for Ye Yuan?
If Ye Yuan still had not moved yet, could it be that he was intentionally playing with her?
Impossible! There was no way that Ye Yuan would be so bored to that extent!
Did he . . . fall down already? But without even making any sound?
The more her imaginations ran wild, the more anxious Feng Zhirou got. The actions of her movement technique also became somewhat erratic.
Skid!
While Feng Zhirou was restless, her feet slipped and did not give support!
In a blink, Feng Zhirou's figure fell sharply.
"Careful, Senior Apprentice Sister!"
Just then, Feng Zhirou suddenly received Ye Yuan's voice transmission.
It turned out that Ye Yuan was actually following closely behind her all along!
But right now, Feng Zhirou already had nowhere to borrow strength from, unless she used her sword to stab into the cliff.
But that way, the impact of the sword and the cliff would surely give off an ear-piercing sound. The whole mountain full of Long-arm Stone Apes would be alarmed.
Even if they could ascend the cliff, they would also be unable to escape death.
Hence, in an instant, Feng Zhirou gave up on saving herself and allowed herself to plummet down the cliff!
She decided to take a look at Ye Yuan before dying. After she died, there probably would not be anyone constantly bickering with him anymore, right?
However, she did not manage to see Ye Yuan, because when she had just slid down around 20 feet or so, she felt a palm lightly supporting from beneath her feet!
It was this support which allowed her body to go back on the right track once again!
"Senior Apprentice Sister, you go up first. I'll follow right after!" Practically at the same time, Ye Yuan transmitted his voice over.
Feng Zhirou knew that this was Ye Yuan saving her. But . . . having suffered such an impact, could Ye Yuan still survive? She could even hear the sound of the wind rushing as Ye Yuan descended sharply.
Not knowing why, Feng Zhirou had an impulse to cry currently.
Yet, she knew that she could not waste this chance Ye Yuan risked his life to exchange. Hence, her toes tapped downward, using the momentum to execute the Spiritual Swallow Dance, and headed up the cliff speedily.
Feng Zhirou forcefully chased away all the thoughts in her head and focused her mind on climbing the cliff!
To the Feng Zhirou who discarded her distracting thoughts, scaling this thousand feet precipice was not a tough matter.
Before long, Feng Zhirou saw the top of the cliff. Her toe tapped on the cliff one last time, and her entire person flew up the cliff like a swallow.
But at this moment, Feng Zhirou did not have the slightest joy from conquering the cliff. She slumped on the ground, her heart feeling like a knife was twisting in.
Feng Zhirou, it's all your fault! You caused Ye Yuan to die! Sniff, sniff . . .
Feng Zhirou sobbed lightly but did not dare to make any sound. She used her hands to cover her mouth as she just convulsed there.
Tears cascaded down from the corner of her eyes and drifted down the cliff along with the wind.
Feng Zhirou, the one who should have died was you! Why you are still alive now, but Ye Yuan's dead?!
Feng Zhirou, why couldn't you have been nicer to Ye Yuan normally? He clearly helped you out a lot, but why can't you swallow your pride to say thanks?
Ye Yuan, I'm sorry, sorry, sorry . . .
Feng Zhirou kept on blaming herself in her heart, but she knew that Ye Yuan would never hear it.
Although Ye Yuan voice transmitted earlier that he would follow right after, Feng Zhirou knew that Ye Yuan definitely only said that to console her.
Under the impact of her plummeting down the cliff, it was impossible for Ye Yuan to have any chances of survival.
Even with her Fourth Level Spirit Condensation Realm strength and high-grade Tier 2 movement technique, it was also impossible to survive under those conditions, much less Ye Yuan who was only still at the Ninth Level Essence Qi Realm.
Feng Zhirou knew that Ye Yuan's Instant Flash was already trained to an extremely profound level. But that was still a Tier 1 movement technique after all. How was it possible to negate such a large impact power?
I'm sorry, Ye Yuan! I won't die! I'm going to finish your dying wish! I'm going to find the Crimson Soul Grass and other herbs! I'll return to the State of Qin and request for Lord Wu Daofeng to help Lu-er refine the Essence Yang Pill! If Lord Wu Daofeng can't refine it, then I'll go outside to look for even more amazing alchemists. No matter what, I'll definitely find a way to let Lu-er survive! Feng Zhirou silently swore.
Finishing, Feng Zhirou forcefully roused her spirit and stood up, preparing to seek out the Crimson Soul Grass.
Feng Zhirou looked at the pitch black cliff, and her tears started flowing once again uncontrollably.
Goodbye, Ye Yuan!
Sayin this in her heart, Feng Zhirou turned around and prepared to leave.
But right then, Feng Zhirou suddenly heard wind rushing sounds coming from below the cliff. It seemed there was something moving!
Chapter 135 - Discovered!
"No way! This . . . How's this possible? Could it be a hallucination?"
Feng Zhirou felt that she just heard an indistinct sound. It should be a hallucination because the probability of Ye Yuan surviving was really not great.
"But if it's a hallucination, why is the sound getting louder? Could it . . . Could it be . . ."
Just as Feng Zhirou was completely dazed, a figure darted up from the pitch black cliff!
Seeing the figure, Feng Zhirou was stunned there as tears burst forth from her eyes.
"Great! Great! He's fine! He's really fine!" Feng Zhirou shouted in her heart.
"Senior Apprentice Sister, I . . ."
Ye Yuan only voice transmitted a few words before noticing a light blue mass pouncing on him and hugging him.
That faint fragrance wafted into his nose, involuntarily shaking up Ye Yuan's mind.
"Ye Yuan, you're really alright. Excellent! It's really great!" Feng Zhirou transmitted as her tears flowed silently.
This feeling of holding a beauty in one's embrace was truly something that all men d.e.s.i.r.ed!
However, this was not the time to be immersed in affection. They had to quickly look for the Crimson Soul Grass.
Fe
ng Zhirou clearly also noticed her discomposure and hastily released Ye Yuan. She wiped the tears from the corner of her years and said, "You . . . Don't misunderstood. I just . . . I just thought that you died because of saving me . . . That's . . . That's why I was like that."
Ye Yuan was stunned and immediately broke into a smile. "What happened just now? Why can't I remember anything? Senior Apprentice Sister, I'm exhausted. Let's recuperate for a while and then go find the Crimson Soul Grass."
"En . . ."
Ye Yuan's condition at the moment was not good. His essence energy was virtually depleted completely.
If not for the fact the thickness of his essence energy greatly surpassed those of the same rank, most likely, he would have burned out and died.
The expenditure of the duo was not minor. They each consumed a medicinal pill and adjusted for some time before recovering some strength.
"Senior Apprentice Sister, there's no time to lose. Let's hurry up and look for the Crimson Soul Grass."
"En, let's go."
Finishing, the pair descended side by side.
Along the way, Feng Zhirou was relatively silent, significantly different from usual.
"Ye Yuan, you . . . How did you come up? I . . . I didn't mean that . . . I . . . I . . ."
It was still Feng Zhirou who broke the silence first. She simply could not suppress her curiosity.
Except that her attitude when asking the question was completely different from usual, rather like a little wife instead.
Ye Yuan knew that Feng Zhirou was still feeling awkward, so he smiled lightly and said, "I know that Senior Apprentice Sister didn't mean that. But I'm rather surprised, how come Senior Apprentice Sister fumbled?"
Feng Zhirou's face turned red as she said with embarrassment, "Actually, I . . . I thought that you couldn't keep up, so . . ."
Ye Yuan only came to a realization after hearing Feng Zhirou say that. So she actually caused such a blunder because she was worried about him.
Initially, he found it weird too. With Feng Zhirou's base, it should have been impossible to make such a mistake.