Chapter 157: Opportunity or Trap?
Chapter 157: Opportunity or Trap?
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Zhu Rong had wondered why he felt that strange tightening in his chest, as if something dangerous was about to happen.
He had his doubts, but no proof, nothing that could justify it. Now, however, things were different.
He had just killed a beast infected by that corruptive energy, and from what he could deduce, it was likely that the entire secret realm had already fallen under its corruption.
That alone set off every alarm bell in Zhu Rong’s mind, and the realization did not reassure him, on the contrary, it made him even more alert than before.
Not because he had discovered that such a destructive energy had started to emerge once again, but because, despite however long it had been here, the surrounding area showed no signs of contamination.
The lush greenery was still present, the towering trees still reached proudly for the sky, the sky above was clear and bright. All of this stood in stark contrast with the truth he had just uncovered.
"There is something extremely wrong here," he thought, finding more and more inconsistencies in this secret realm.
And it was making him a little paranoid.
He had the feeling that this place was no longer a fortunate opportunity, but more like a trap, an extremely deadly trap.
Yet, as his mind began racing through all the possible causes, he decided to take a deep breath and calm himself down.
After all, one thing was clear, there was indeed a problem in this place, and the last thing he should do was lose his composure.
For now, whatever was happening here did not seem to be fully out of control yet, and there had to be a reason for that.
He did not dwell on it any further and instead focused on what was more important,
reuniting with the others.
With his first attempt using spiritual sense, he could already tell the forest was vast. To scan it for too long with spiritual sense alone would have been nothing but a pointless waste of energy.
He wanted to try another method, one that would give him a much broader view of what was around him and what awaited him ahead.
That method was none other than going up.
The Spiritual energy wrapped around him in an instant, and with a light leap he shot straight upward, soaring vertically at great speed. He soon reached a height of nearly one hundred and fifty meters, already far above the tallest trees.
Once he reached that height, he stopped midair, standing there as if walking on air.
Now that he had reached the fourth stage and had perfect control over his spiritual energy, he could use it to levitate and even fly for long distances.
He had already been capable of limited flight back at the third stage, thanks not only to his good control of Qi but also because one of the elements he had integrated into his dantian was wind. But now, at the fourth stage, that ability had only been further enhanced.
High above, floating over the vast sea of green, he scanned the land and immediately noticed the imposing mountain standing before him.
He also spotted the presence of a castle, and upon seeing it, he couldn’t help but wonder who could have created this secret realm.
If there was a castle here, then it was likely that the realm had been constructed by someone. But if that was the case, then why was the corruptive energy here as well?
Was it possible that it had been placed here deliberately, that this was indeed a trap? But if so, why hide the secret realm at all?
"Seems like things just keep getting more complicated," he murmured, shaking his head.
That being said, now he had a destination.
He no longer needed to wander aimlessly. Surely the others must have noticed that mountain as well, or at least most of them. As for those with cultivation levels too weak to attempt flight, one could only hope they would decide to climb the trees and try to make their way up.
Either way, it was clear that anyone who had seen it would be heading there. He doubted the others had noticed the strangeness of this place. After all, the last encounters with infected creatures dated back thousands of years; even if someone had heard of them, without direct experience it would be nearly impossible for them to recognize what these creatures were.
But if not for the strangeness of this realm, then surely they would be drawn by the possibility of seizing precious resources.
If this truly was the legacy of a powerful cultivator of the past, it was likely that he had left behind strong artifacts, cultivation techniques, or even some rare cultivation resources, who knows.
Zhu Rong was certain that such thoughts would cross the minds of many, and that they would hurry to reach that place.
’Oh well, one way or another it seems I’ll be able to reunite with them,’ he thought.
But just at that moment, he sensed a powerful explosion of spiritual energy erupting from the side.
He immediately turned his gaze toward it and tried to probe the area.
It was several miles away from where he was, but given the sheer force of the unleashed energy, its traces spread out in every direction, making it easier to perceive.
Zhu Rong managed to sense them and immediately felt a certain familiarity.
With a single step in that direction, he dashed ahead.
Meanwhile, where that explosion of energy had erupted,
The area was in complete disarray.
A massive crater had opened at the center, the ground shattered and scorched, still bearing the marks of devastation.
All around lay the lifeless bodies of strange beasts of various forms and sizes,
from their auras it was clear they had all been at the third and fourth stage. Their bodies bore the marks of lightning, sparks occasionally flashing across them before vanishing.
At the center of the crater stood two figures.
One was a woman with long gray white hair and violet eyes, her beauty made all the colder by the icy expression on her face.
Before her was a big creature over four meters tall, thin and bizarre in appearance. It stood there half crippled, with six limbs, half of them reduced to dust, the others clearly damaged.
The beast, with its long, foxlike face and pale, vitreous eyes, seemed oblivious to the condition of its body as it focused its attention entirely on the woman before it.
The aura it emanated was far superior to that of the other beasts, it was clearly at the fifth stage. Yet despite this, it had still ended up in such a dire state.
Its trembling body staggered as it struggled to remain upright. With its mouth wide open, it let out a furious roar before launching itself once more toward her.