บท 11: The Wilderness
"Miss Ying, don't you need this to break through?" Lu Feng smirked, revealing a small, rectangular wooden box.
Carefully opening it, the aroma of the flaming exotic herb filled the air and some people inhaled deeply.
"Don't you need it?" Lu Feng probed, leaning closer with a cheeky smile. Xiu Ying smiled softly.
"Will you give it to me?"
"W… what?!" Lu Feng gasped, unable to believe Xiu Ying, and just asked him to give her an herb he bought for 4 million jade!
"You have no use for it," Xiu Ying replied calmly.
"Hehe, Miss Ying. Let us discuss this at Ma Dong's restaurant; I heard you love his noodles," Lu Feng beamed.
Xiu Ying's eyes narrowed. And she turned back, her golden eyes fixed on the broad back of Li Chen, who rode away without looking back.
"Pig Yun, take him to the horse dealer."
"Brother Chen! Wait, I'll take you to the market," Pig Yun bellowed, approaching Li Chen on his mount.
A few minutes later, they stood outside a short wooden fence, staring at a large field populated with several horses.
"What kind would you like to buy, sirs?" a man who bowed before them, his tone revealing his yearning for money.
"How much is a Ferghana steed?" Pig Yun asked, his eyes locked on a group of reddish-brown horses with muscular bodies and impressive heights.
They were the famous blood-sweating horses, known for their outstanding stamina over long distances. Powerful military regiments had them.
The horse dealer smiled devilishly and opened his right hand, revealing his five stretched fingers.
"500 jade?!" Pig Yun's eyes widened, and his cheeks trembled as he almost grabbed the horse dealer but Li Chen held his shoulder.
[I'll give you 200 jades and trade my horse. Will that get me a Ferghana horse?]
The horse dealer's body trembled greatly, as he couldn't understand how Li Chen's voice boomed from his surroundings. And what in the world were these writings?!
He nodded like a hungry chicken and went inside, his gait similar to someone about to flee.
Sometime later, Li Chen mounted a Ferghana horse, gently stroking its mane.
[Thank you, Brother Yun.]
Slapping Li Chen's back, Pig Yun chortled, "Miss Ying sent me. By the way, she said, Don't waste much time because Autumn Haven's sect will soon start a selection in our realm and something tells me she wants to take you along."
[Oh? I'll hurry then.]
"Good!"
****
By the time Li Chen arrived in the wilderness, he could see the sky was covered with orange light as the sun had set.
NEIGH—!
The Ferghana horse neighed loudly, causing Li Chen to lower his gaze to the dark forest around him.
[Tsk!] He clicked his tongue in annoyance, jumped down, and unsheathed his sword. Slowly approaching the area, he lifted his sword to chest level.
Finally, reaching there, he caught a rabbit chewing on something. Its large furry ears twitched and it sprung into action, but Li Chen was faster.
SWISH—!
A sword light swiftly detached the beast's head and he stared at the limp corpse [Now to light fire.]
Gathering some sticks, he arranged them together and began a fruitless journey of striking stones against each other.
After a few minutes, Li Chen gave up, fell on his buttocks, and leaned against a tree. 'She didn't even give me clothes!'
Turning to his mount, he sighed and looked away. [By the way, what did I gain from killing that spirit?] Li Chen asked.
2 Divine points for killing the vengful spirit.
1 Divine point for warning Xiu Ying about a betrayer.
[3 divine points! 7 more and I can do better things. If it was possible, I would have liked to gain the ability to return. From the real world, I could draw anything to my advantage.]
Suddenly, Li Chen paused. His eyes went back to the hovering words and narrowed at the letter 'A'.
[What do you mean by betrayer? It's not just one person, is it?]
His questions were left unanswered as the words vanished, leaving him in darkness. Turning back to the sticks, he instantly got inspiration.
'Condensation.' he mused, focusing his energy to manifest this 1-star mortal-grade technique. This was the lowest and most mainstream technique.
A tiny, pure ball of light appeared before the sticks. The intensity of condensed light caused a searing heat that made Li Chen lose control.
The ball exploded, blasting him backward, and everything in a five-meter radius became ash. Although his body ached, Li Chen couldn't help but reconsider if appearing in this world was a bad thing.
Who in their right minds would hate to wield such powers?
However, in his glee, an azure light flashed so fast that he couldn't respond. A claw appeared before his eyes and he slashed his face.
With widened eyes, he waited for death but the sound of metal scraping metal pierced the night air.
Both Li Chen and the creature, which revealed itself to be a pitch-black, two-tailed phantom cat, were stunned.
Staring at the 1.4-meter-tall beast, Li Chen couldn't help but realize it was the rabbit's blood that drew it here.
SHING—!
His sword left the sheath and in that moment, the phantom cat, who prided itself on being the king of the night, faced a being who became the darkness himself.
This was his elemental art in action. Unlike martial techniques, elemental arts came from instinct and grew along with the cultivator.
Copying Pig Yun's technique, he raised his sword high and executed the Mountain Slash. The phantom cat leaped out in time but another Li Chen appeared from its left and slashed its tails off.
Screaming in pain, the creature was about to run but the darkness itself entangled it and formed a humanoid figure, which revealed itself to be Li Chen.
With a fluid motion, he decapitated the beast, mounted his horse, and left the area.
The night was tough, but he survived after killing four beasts that saw him and his mount as prey.
As the morning sunlight pierced through the gaps of tree branches, a tall figure staggered through the forest into an open space.
Right before him was a massive lake and he kneeled before it.
Cupping his hands, he scooped a handful of water and washed his mask. [Why can't I remove this thing?! Xiu Ying and that foolish general's son get to flaunt their faces and I'm not even sure I have a nose!]
Unbeknownst to Li Chen, a pair of large eyes from within the great lake were locked onto him and the being slithered forward.
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