txolops Chapter 21 The Prodigy Chu Yunfei
Chapter 21 The Prodigy Chu Yunfei
Huang Chen stared at the dim array patterns, quickly calculating a way out in his mind: to go deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains to hunt demons.
That's pure suicide; the Black Scale Demon King is nothing more than a lackey in this outer area.
Further in, any one of those great demons dwelling on top-grade spiritual veins could crush him into mincemeat.
You can't go in; you can only go in the opposite direction.
On the edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains, there should be markets and transit stations set up by cultivation sects, which is currently the only place where one can obtain a large number of spirit stones.
As dawn broke, early risers were already cooking over a fire in the shelter's square.
"leader."
Good morning, Chief.
The tribespeople along the way stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully. Huang Chen nodded and walked straight toward the stone house where they held meetings.
Ah Shi and Lao Tie are already inside.
"I need to go out for a while."
Huang Chen didn't waste any words and directly pulled out a leather chair and sat down.
Old Tie's wrinkled face twitched.
"Chief, should we go out now? The remnants of those snake demons outside aren't all dead yet, what if..."
"The spirit stones for the great formation are almost exhausted."
Huang Chen interrupted him, tapping his fingers on the stone table. "It will last at most half a month."
"If we don't go out and get spirit stones, we'll all just wait to die."
The stone house fell into a deathly silence.
Ashi gripped the bone knife at his waist tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"I'll bring a few people with me!"
"You stay here." Huang Chen glanced at him. "Your mission is to protect the home."
"I'm leaving." Huang Chen didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out of the stone house.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated. Huang Chen's figure quickly disappeared into the dense forest outside the shelter.
The outer perimeter of the Ten Thousand Mountains is equally fraught with deadly dangers. Towering ancient trees block out the sun, and the forest is permeated with miasma that lingers year-round.
Huang Chen immediately activated the supernatural ability of concealing his breath. An invisible wave covered his entire body, instantly locking away his breathing, heartbeat, and even the scent of human blood on his body.
To those monsters with keen senses of smell, Huang Chen at this moment looked like a lifeless stone.
Huang Chen moved through the dense forest, the decaying leaves beneath his feet making a soft, muffled sound.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
"call--"
The wind, carrying sand and gravel, stung his face like knives. Huang Chen stopped and took shelter behind a huge rock.
Ahead lay a bottomless canyon. Gale Canyon.
This is a natural barrier separating the Ten Thousand Mountains from the outside world. The area is constantly battered by fierce winds, making it impossible for ordinary birds to cross.
Huang Chen poked half his head out and squinted as he looked down.
In a flat area in the middle of the canyon, a light blue array of light suddenly appeared.
Inside the light cover, there are more than a dozen wooden buildings arranged in a staggered pattern.
Several flags embroidered with the words "Xuantian" fluttered in the strong wind.
It turns out to be a resource transfer point for the Xuantian Sect.
Huang Chen licked his chapped lips. It's true that enemies often meet.
This group controlled the resource channels on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains, buying up materials from rogue cultivators at low prices and then selling them at high prices, making them extremely wealthy.
Following the shadows along the edge of the canyon, Huang Chen slid down the rock face like a gecko.
When Huang Chen was less than fifty feet away from the light barrier, he stopped and hid in a crevice in the rock, where he could see the entrance to the light barrier clearly.
Two disciples dressed in the outer sect attire of the Xuantian Sect were leaning against a stone pillar, looking rather bored.
"Damn it, we're the two of us who have to guard this broken door." The tall, thin disciple on the left spat and tightened his Taoist robe.
"Alright, stop complaining." The round-faced disciple on the right pulled a wine flask from his robes and took a swig. "It's windy in this godforsaken place, a sip of strong liquor will warm me up."
The tall, thin man snatched the wine jug and tilted his head back to gulp it down. "Tell me, why did the sect send Senior Brother Chu Yunfei this time? He's a prodigy of the inner sect."
"What do you know?" The round-faced disciple lowered his voice and looked around. "I heard there was some unusual activity deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains a while ago."
The territories of several demon kings were thrown into chaos.
"What does this have to do with Senior Brother Chu?"
"You idiot! The demon race is in turmoil, with countless deaths and injuries. Those reckless rogue cultivators took the opportunity to scavenge a lot of good stuff. High-grade demon cores, top-quality essence blood, and even broken magic weapons."
The round-faced disciple chuckled. "The sect is planning a massive acquisition. Senior Brother Chu brought a full 100,000 low-grade spirit stones to oversee things, just to swallow up all the good stuff!"
With 100,000 low-grade spirit stones at his fingertips, Huang Chen's heart began to pound. That was enough to keep the Fire-Burning Array running at full capacity for several years.
"One hundred thousand? My goodness." The tall, thin man smacked his lips.
"With so many spirit stones on you, aren't you afraid someone will steal them?"
"Rob? Who dares?" the round-faced disciple sneered.
"Senior Brother Chu is at the late Golden Core stage and possesses a top-grade magic weapon bestowed upon him by the sect. Besides, this is Xuan Tian Sect territory; who would dare to cause trouble here?"
"That's true." The tall, thin man nodded and handed the wine jug back.
The two continued chatting idly.
The sky gradually darkened. The wind in the Gale Gorge howled even more fiercely, its mournful sound like a wail.
Several spirit stone lamps were lit in the wooden building inside the transit area.
Huang Chen was like a real stone, stuck in a crevice.
In the dead of night, the two patrolling disciples at the entrance of the light barrier had already begun to doze off.
The round-faced disciple leaned against a stone pillar, his head nodding. The tall, thin man simply wrapped himself in a Taoist robe and huddled in a sheltered corner, snoring away.
Just then, a crisp sound of porcelain shattering suddenly came from the largest wooden building deep inside the transit area.
"Get out!"
A young and arrogant voice pierced through the array's protective barrier, remaining clearly audible even in the howling wind.
Immediately afterwards, the door of the wooden building was kicked open.
A middle-aged man dressed in the clothes of a hermit tumbled out, a clear red mark on his face.
"Young Master Chu, that's the demon core of a third-tier wind wolf! You're only offering five hundred spirit stones... This... This isn't even enough to cover the cost!" The middle-aged man lay on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs.
"Five hundred spirit stones? This young master is already being extremely merciful." A young man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe slowly walked out of the wooden building.
"The Ten Thousand Mountains are in complete chaos right now. You're lucky you managed to bring the demon core out alive," Chu Yunfei sneered.
"Take it or leave it. If you don't want to sell, then take it and get out of Gale Gorge."
"Look at those rogue cultivators outside who kill and rob; will they leave you a whole corpse?"
The middle-aged man trembled, gritted his teeth, and his eyes were filled with resentment.
"I...I'll sell." The man lowered his head.
Chu Yunfei casually tossed a cloth bag, which hit the man in the face.
"Take the spirit stones and get out of here."
The man picked up the cloth bag, staggered to his feet, and walked towards the exit of the light shield without looking back.
The two patrolling disciples at the entrance were startled awake and quickly stood up straight. Seeing the man approaching, they exchanged a glance, both revealing mocking smiles.
A crack appeared in the light shield. The man walked out with his head down and quickly disappeared into the night of Gale Gorge.
Chu Yunfei stood in front of the wooden building, tossed the Wind Wolf Demon Core in his hand, and turned to walk back into the house.
The door slammed shut.
Huang Chen watched all of this from the shadows.
The direction the middle-aged rogue cultivator left in was exactly the direction that would have passed by the rock wall where he was hiding.
The wind masked his footsteps. Huang Chen slipped silently from the crevice in the rocks, disappearing like a shadow into the darkness at the bottom of the canyon.