Chapter 895: Chapter 894: Setting the Trap
The six of them gathered together and flew forward, their speed indeed different, much faster than when he traveled alone. They ignored spirit plant creatures they encountered, only dealing with them when they were dragged to five or six at a time.
At this point, Hou Niao finally understood how these Daoist cultivators from the Upper Realm handled such creatures.
They collected them with elixir furnaces.
Upon reaching the Golden Core realm, one inevitably learns a bit of Alchemy Dao, at least that’s the case for these five Daoists. They could casually make basic elixirs for themselves; though they might not reach the level of a Pill Master, they were at least somewhat knowledgeable, a custom seemingly common in the Universe Cultivation Realm.
Their methods varied, some faster than others, supplemented by basic techniques of pill cultivation like early suppression, making it relatively easy to handle.
It was then Hou Niao realized that these people came from a rather unique background. A Golden Core selected by the Boundary Domain to exert influence on an unfamiliar Lower Realm must be multi-talented, likely taught skills beyond mere martial arts, like formations, talismans, and artifacts, which were probably all familiar to them.
A Daoist heritage choosing someone, how could they not be exceptional and comprehensive? Without such qualities, how could they gain respect from Lower Realm cultivators? In contrast, only his senior sister did nothing but draw her sword to kill, while other Daoist heritages could easily find such talents.
Looking at the elixir furnaces they each brought out, radiant and filled with hidden clouds, it was clear their resources were incomparable to his; first in the quality of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from outer space, second, when traveling, a Daoist heritage surely wouldn’t gift subpar artifacts to tarnish their own reputation.
He somewhat regretted not searching Sharma’s treasures when he killed him to maintain appearances; it was a case of suffering for vanity, and he vowed not to act like that again.
Truth be told, using an elixir furnace to collect these spirit plants and creatures seemed like the proper way, much more sophisticated than Hou Niao’s crude methods; the key was that after collecting with an elixir furnace, one could refine major elixirs during the flight. He didn’t know about the quality, but it was indeed more convenient for preservation, unlike having to immediately digest and absorb what he swallowed, which was of a different level altogether.
It was precisely because of his unique method of collecting spirit plant creatures that attracted side glances from the other Daoists; the two who knew him were more understanding, aware of his rustic background from Jinxiu and his notorious reputation as a sword cultivator who shunned miscellaneous skills, so such behavior was normal. However, the other three Daoists looked down upon him, unable to fathom which universal Daoist heritage would send such an oddball for such a formidable task.
Despite the disdain, cultivators wouldn’t wear these negative feelings on their faces; rather, subconsciously, they didn’t truly regard him as a companion, more like a burden to be discarded at any time.
Continuing straight ahead this way, drawing creatures and resolving them en masse, then moving forward... endlessly repeating the rhythm, no one complained, as such monotony had long become routine at the Golden Core level, something ordinary Golden Cores could endure, let alone these one-in-a-thousand figures within the Boundary Domain and Daoist heritage.
Coming from across the Universe, one must be prepared to live a lifetime in solitude.
Hou Niao was well aware of the internal rejection by the Daoists and quashed thoughts of gathering information; he only stayed ostensibly united with them because traveling together was genuinely faster, and compared to improving his cultivation, he prioritized finding his senior sister.
This manner of flying continued for a year. After a year, the situation began to change; the green mist thickened, and more and more spirit plant creatures emerged suddenly from it, and unlike before, their strength grew, indicating the spirit plants now appearing were of increasingly higher grade.
But he still couldn’t understand why even an Immortal’s medicine furnace couldn’t thoroughly refine these things?
Because the methods to deal with spirit plant creatures became increasingly skilled among them, and the surrounding creatures multiplied, to maintain speed as much as possible, they no longer drew only five or six creatures at a time but increased to eleven or twelve, concentrating their efforts.
One person handling two was still manageable for the Daoists, but Hou Niao struggled significantly. After all, using saliva meant he had to engage at close range, appearing repeatedly in peril.
He wouldn’t ask for help out of pride, and the others pretended not to notice; in such group activities, failing to keep pace simply meant insufficient ability. The smart choice would be to voluntarily withdraw; forcing oneself would only lead to self-inflicted suffering. With a bit of luck, maybe someone kind would lend a hand; if not, one could only become fodder for the creatures. As Golden Core cultivators, they were all mature enough not to attempt to persuade earnestly.
Handle your own matters yourself.
In a blur of speed, the six of them trailed by eleven spirit plant creatures but didn’t stop to save time, following the usual practice of dealing with a full twelve in one go to avoid the time wastage of addressing them one by one.
The leader was Daoist Huang Yun, who had invited Hou Niao to join, not with pure intentions; back on Sizhou Island, Hou Niao acted nonchalantly, coming and going carefree, slaughtering without sparing a glance at the several dozen cultivators below, which left Daoist Huang Yun and Fairy Fei Bai recognizing Hou Niao, though he didn’t know them, setting the stage for a scheme.
A year had passed, mostly spent on travel, as a means to erode the sword cultivator’s vigilance over time; even the most cautious would relax slightly after over a year. That would be the chance to dig a pit.
Losing Sharma was significant to him; though benign on the surface, to emerge out of thousands of cultivators at the same realm was a testament to his pride, only suppressed by truly gifted Daoist heritages. Yet, how could he ever tolerate a rustic sword cultivator riding roughshod?
Each of them took turns leading; the leader’s role was to maintain speed without drawing more than twelve spirit plant creatures, balancing speed and safety.
Among the six, only Hou Niao, as a mid-stage Golden Core, was unqualified to lead, for fear he would cause trouble, while the others alternated monthly, requiring greater heart power than the others. It was now his turn again, and in his view, the opportunity had finally arrived; this couldn’t drag on indefinitely, allowing this sword cultivator to casually increase cultivation, could it?
Now was the critical moment, having drawn eleven creatures; he needed only to pretend a careless mistake while gathering the twelfth, drawing a swarm that might eliminate the sword cultivator, whose manner of subduing creatures appeared astonishingly clumsy.
For the others, actually, they were quite at ease, capable of handling several more creatures each if needed.
At last, he saw the opportunity.