chsdbacks Chapter 7 Tribulation 1
Chapter 7 Tribulation 1
Chen Fan held the larva before his eyes, extending his divine sense to gently envelop the newborn creature. Although most of the "Spirit Control Technique" was now useless, he was already familiar with the basic methods for establishing a spiritual connection with spirit beasts, and had even imprinted a mark of recognition on the larva during its egg stage. His divine sense, like a gentle stream, tenderly touched the larva's extremely faint sea of consciousness, which was merely a blurry halo, conveying a peaceful and non-confrontational thought.
The larva's antennae trembled slightly again.
Immediately, the blurry halo slowly emerged and gently touched Chen Fan's divine sense.
The bridge of consciousness has finally been built.
Chen Fan carefully placed the larvae back beside the futon and took out a small piece of spirit stone fragment and placed it in front of it. The larvae sniffed for a moment, then buried its head and began to eat. Its appetite was very small; a single fragment was enough to sustain it for several days.
Withdrawing his gaze, Chen Fan continued to cultivate with his eyes closed.
From larva to combat-ready form, the Golden-backed Mantis requires at least half a year of meticulous feeding and training. He wasn't in a hurry. This insect was a legacy from its parents and could potentially be one of its assets in the future Crimson Forbidden Land. He would patiently nurture it, waiting for it to grow into an asset on his path.
Just as he patiently studied the "Great Evolution Prison Suppression Scripture," patiently refined elixirs, and patiently accumulated every spirit stone.
The path to immortality is long and fraught with peril; only by proceeding cautiously at every step can one glimpse the chance to achieve eternal life.
Chen Fan closed his eyes, and the spiritual power condensed in his sea of consciousness began to circulate slowly once more. The first level of the mental cultivation technique was still some distance from perfection, but not far off. At this rate, in another half month, he might be able to attempt to break through to the realm of perfection.
At that time, the number of Qi Refining Pills produced daily may increase by one or two.
……
When Chen Fan returned from the market for the third time, he was not at all relaxed.
The first two sales of pills went smoothly. He disguised himself, shipped the pills in batches, and acted cautiously, without revealing any flaws. Ten Qi Refining Pills were exchanged for fifty spirit stones, and fifteen pills for seventy-five spirit stones, gradually filling his storage bag. However, this smooth sailing felt like a thorn in his side.
In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. Every year in the Yue Kingdom, countless rogue cultivators perish not only in the demon beast realms but also on their seemingly peaceful journey home. Success can easily lull one into complacency, and complacency breeds weakness, which becomes a death warrant.
Therefore, when he flew over that nameless, desolate mountain with sparse vegetation and his divine sense detected a faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation of spiritual energy behind a pile of rocks to his left, Chen Fan was not surprised, but felt a chill in his heart.
—It finally came.
This mountain is located between the market town and Spirit Beast Mountain, about fifteen miles from Fire Cloud Peak. The mountain is greyish-white, with weathered rock layers and only a few drought-resistant shrubs dotting the landscape. The view is expansive, seemingly unsuitable for an ambush. Chen Fan chose this route not out of carelessness, but because it was the shortest of the three return routes. A shorter route means less time spent traveling, thus reducing the chance of encountering danger. However, he also knew that if someone was plotting something, the length of the route made no difference; it was simply a matter of where it was convenient to strike.
The answer lies in this mountain.
Chen Fan rode on his dusty, low-grade flying sword, staying a few feet close to the ground at a moderate speed. His divine sense was constantly extended, covering an area of over forty feet around him. This was the result of his greatly enhanced divine sense after revising the "Great Evolution Prison Suppression Scripture." Previously, it could only cover twenty feet, but now the range had doubled, and his perception had become much clearer.
The faint fluctuation came from behind the pile of rocks thirty feet away. It was so weak that he would have been unable to detect it if his divine sense had not been so advanced. This was a slight leakage that was unavoidable when a cultivator deliberately suppressed his spiritual power, like an undercurrent that would inevitably cause ripples on the surface.
More than one person!
A sweep of divine sense revealed two more faint sources of spiritual energy near the pile of stones. The three individuals were positioned in a triangular formation: one behind the pile of rocks directly in front, one behind the earthen slope to the left, and one behind the withered tree to the right. It was a classic ambush formation: a frontal blockade and flanking maneuvers. Once the prey was caught in the trap, it would be attacked from three sides, with no way to retreat.
Chen Fan mentally calculated the distance: thirty zhang, twenty zhang, fifteen zhang...
Ten zhang!
The flying sword hovered in mid-air without warning. Chen Fan's figure was as steady as a mountain, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.
"Come out." The voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the silent mountains.
A few breaths of silence followed behind the pile of rubble.
Immediately, a burly man in a brown short robe emerged from behind the rock. His face was dark, and a hideous old scar on his left brow bone severed his eyebrow in two, revealing his cultivation level to be at the eleventh level of Qi Refining! In his hand was a mountain-splitting axe-shaped magical weapon, the blade of which flickered with crimson flames, exuding considerable power.
Two more figures appeared on either side. The one on the left was thin, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and possessed the cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining. He held a gleaming, cold-looking Water-Splitting Dagger. The one on the right was a short, stout middle-aged man, also at the ninth level of Qi Refining, wielding a short, jet-black staff covered in strange runes.
The three men formed a triangular encirclement, their positioning exquisite, sealing off all of Chen Fan's escape routes. The burly man in brown robes blocked him from the front, the thin man controlled the left flank, and the short, stout man locked down the right flank. No matter which way he tried to break through, he would face attacks from both of them simultaneously.
Chen Fan's gaze swept over the three men, finally settling on the burly man in brown robes. His expression remained calm and composed, except for his left hand, which he quietly slipped into his sleeve.
"What do you three intend to do by blocking our path?" Chen Fan asked indifferently.
The burly man in the brown robe grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, but his eyes held no mirth, only the coldness of a predator: "Fellow Daoist, why feign ignorance? This road is where my two brothers and I make our living. Those who pass by should always leave some money to save their lives." His gaze greedily swept over the storage pouch at Chen Fan's waist. "Fellow Daoist, you've returned from the market laden with spoils. How about we share some, and then we can all go our separate ways? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Chen Fan remained silent. His divine sense, like a net, analyzed the situation in an instant: the burly man in the brown robe possessed the highest cultivation, but his spiritual energy fluctuations were somewhat unstable, suggesting he had only recently broken through to the eleventh level and his foundation was not yet stable. The thin man and the short, fat man were both at the ninth level, their spiritual energy mediocre, and their magical artifacts were not rare treasures. The three were dressed in disheveled clothes and possessed different magical artifacts, clearly not from the same sect, but rather a hastily assembled rabble. Such cultivators, when things went smoothly, were like wolves and tigers; when things went against them, they were easily scattered.
"I am but a mere rogue cultivator. All the spirit stones I have obtained are earned with my life. I have no surplus wealth to share with you all," Chen Fan replied calmly, his left hand already discreetly holding a talisman in his sleeve.
The burly man in the brown robe's smile suddenly turned cold, and he shouted sharply, "You don't know what's good for you! Then don't blame me..."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Fan had already moved!
He neither charged forward nor retreated, but suddenly activated his flying sword, transforming into a gray shadow and rushing straight towards the skinny man wielding the Water-Splitting Dagger on his left! At the same time, a talisman shot out from his left sleeve, exploding in the air with a "poof," and three fireballs the size of heads, blazing with flames, formed a triangular shape and roared straight at the face of the brown-robed giant!
The timing was impeccable!
The burly man in the brown robe was speaking to himself when his concentration wavered slightly. The fireball came hurtling towards him with no way to avoid it, so in haste he could only hold his axe horizontally in front of him to block it!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Three explosions rang out in quick succession! Flames erupted and heat waves surged! The burly man in the brown robe groaned, staggering back two steps from the immense impact, his blood churning!
This is the very moment!
Chen Fanren arrived with his sword and pounced in front of the skinny man! The skinny man was clearly not expected that he would abandon his strength to attack the weak and that he would be the first to come to him. In his surprise, he was a beat slower than usual!