Chapter 8: Countermeasures
At the foot of Rain Terrace Mountain, outside the protective formation, the young cultivator and the young mistress gasped for breath. The young mistress looked up, annoyed. “If Uncle Zeng hadn’t reacted quickly, we would have fallen for that old man’s trap…”
“Mistress, what do we do now? Uncle Zeng is trapped inside…” one of the three young male cultivators asked worriedly.
“Find Huang Feiyan first. Uncle Zeng will be out soon. This mountain protection formation was likely left by a Rotating Core Realm cultivator. I didn’t expect a Rotating Core cultivator to have emerged from this place… Hmph… If Uncle Zeng weren’t also a Rotating Core cultivator, he might have actually fallen for it…” The young mistress snorted.
They began searching for Huang Feiyan’s trail, first discovering the retreating group from Rain Terrace Blessed Land.
“Mistress? What should we do?”
“Follow them for now… There’s a peak Qi Sea Realm cultivator among them. Although I can defeat her, and you can hold off the early-stage ones… it’s a waste of time. Huang Feiyan might escape during the chaos. Just follow them. Once Uncle Zeng is out, we can capture them all… This damned Rain Terrace Blessed Land… I won’t be satisfied until they’re all dead…” A cruel glint flashed in the young mistress’s eyes. These people had nearly ruined her plans. If she couldn’t kill Huang Feiyan now, dealing with the Huang family’s retaliation later would be incredibly troublesome. Damnable!
“Mistress, why can’t I sense Huang Feiyan’s aura?” one of the cultivators beside her asked, puzzled. “Is she not among them?”
“Perhaps she’s concealing it well. There are too many mixed auras there…” The young mistress shook her head, but soon frowned. “Wait… I sense her aura… Behind us… Hmm? How strange. Did Huang Feiyan separate from them?!”
“Could it be that Huang Feiyan didn’t want to endanger these ants and decided to act alone?” the male cultivator chuckled. “The heavens are on our side…”
“Hmph, I understand. Huang Feiyan probably thought that even with Uncle Zeng, these people couldn’t protect her and would only be a burden, so she left alone… Hmph, perfect. She’s severely injured now. Even if she had any life-saving measures, she likely used them after being hit by that Yin Dragon Soul’s tail… She’s a lamb to the slaughter… No need to follow this group. After I kill Huang Feiyan, I’ll deal with Rain Terrace Blessed Land slowly. Let’s pursue Huang Feiyan!”
“Yes, Mistress!”
Meanwhile, Mingyan and Huang Feiyan had reached the edge of Dragon Ridge. Huang Feiyan had left pieces of her torn dress along the way, confident her pursuers would find them.
“Tell me your plan,” Huang Feiyan said, intrigued by Mingyan’s confidence.
“Celestial Sister, do you know how vast Dragon Ridge is?” Mingyan asked as they walked.
“I’m not sure… I’m not familiar with this area.” Huang Feiyan shook her head. Dragon Ridge was on the edge of the Eastern Continent, while the Huang family was located near the center. The Eastern Continent was vast. The distance between Dragon Ridge and the Huang family was so great that an ordinary person couldn’t travel even half of it in their lifetime.
“I read about it in the sect’s books. Dragon Ridge stretches over five hundred miles in both directions. It’s home to numerous ferocious beasts and spirit beasts. I don’t need to explain the strength of some of these beasts, as you’ve likely encountered them before, Celestial Sister.”
Huang Feiyan nodded. “There are many beasts within equivalent to the Qi Sea and Divine Gate Realms, and perhaps even stronger ones… But how is this related to your plan?”
“As far as I know, although ferocious beasts possess cultivation, they still retain their bestial nature, correct?”
“Yes. Except for some spirit beasts and divine beasts who can transform into humans or are naturally intelligent, most ferocious beasts only develop true sentience and shed their bestial nature after surpassing the Divine Gate Realm.” Huang Feiyan nodded, knowledgeable on this subject.
“If they can’t shed their bestial nature, they naturally retain their habits. The area deeper into Dragon Ridge from here is the territory of a bear… According to the books, it possessed strength equivalent to a peak human Divine Gate Realm cultivator thirty years ago… It’s autumn now… Bears don’t hibernate yet…” Mingyan explained. “My blood is the perfect bait to lure it here.”
“But what good will that do? Will it attack those people?”
“Of course, Celestial Sister. Look at the tree to your left.” Mingyan pointed to a tall poplar tree with clear claw marks and some fur still clinging to it.
“These are marks left by that bear, indicating its territory. Ferocious beasts have a strong sense of territory. If they find intruders, they’ll attack without mercy, be it humans, cultivators, or other beasts…” Mingyan continued. “And the pieces of your dress will lure those people here… So, if we can attract the bear and make them encounter each other, we can use it to buy us time… Although this place is full of ferocious beasts, I’m confident I can find a way out.”
“And this bear is a female. If she has cubs, even better. She’ll be even more ferocious…”
“…Your blood has a strong life force, which will definitely attract those beasts… How are you so familiar with the habits of these beasts?” Huang Feiyan was surprised.
“I used to be a hunter in my village. Although these beasts are far more ferocious than the ordinary animals I hunted, as long as they haven’t shed their bestial nature, they’ll act according to their primal instincts. Therefore, their actions are predictable. As long as we avoid the territories of demon kings, we should be fine. The Blessed Land has maps of the beast territories near Rain Terrace Mountain. Although they don’t mark the demon kings’ territories, generally, demon kings don’t allow their territories to overlap with those of other beasts. So, as long as we navigate according to these territories, we can find a way out.”
“And Dragon Ridge is so vast… Whether they can find us then is another matter. As for my fellow disciples, they should be far away by then, so we don’t need to worry about their safety.” Mingyan’s plan was simple: escape with Huang Feiyan and buy time for his fellow disciples. However, he didn’t know the cultivation level of the cultivator stronger than the sect leader… If that person was too powerful, these tricks might be useless. Against absolute strength, all schemes were futile… Ultimately, he was too weak, which was why he needed to rely on such tactics.
If the enemy was truly that strong, they might have to blindly venture into a demon king’s territory… and hope the demon king would prioritize the greater threat, giving them a sliver of a chance to survive.
Huang Feiyan nodded, understanding his plan.
As they traveled, Mingyan observed their surroundings. Bears were large, especially those with high cultivation. He needed to track the Divine Gate Realm bear to ensure his blood would effectively lure it.
To avoid suspicion about the “clues” they were leaving, Mingyan had Huang Feiyan disguise them as if they were snagged by branches, caught on rocks, and so on. He also increased the distance between each clue to force their pursuers to waste time searching. After all, he and Huang Feiyan couldn’t outrun them in a direct chase.
But at this rate, they would eventually be caught. He needed to find the bear quickly.
Finally, his efforts paid off. Following a trail of dried droppings, he found fresh bear scat…
Huang Feiyan covered her nose, unable to bear the stench. Although Mingyan had experience tracking prey using scat, he hadn’t expected fresh bear droppings to be this foul… Did higher cultivation make their waste more potent? It made some sense. Droppings were essentially waste products the body didn’t need. Cultivation was a process of purifying the body…
Mingyan looked at Huang Feiyan with a strange expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Huang Feiyan shivered under his gaze. “We cultivators are different from beasts! We don’t need to use the toilet after reaching the Spring Gushing Realm. Have you forgotten?”
“Oh… right, right…” Mingyan slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten? Ferocious beasts couldn’t control their bestial nature, but humans, even ordinary ones, possessed intelligence from birth. Cultivation further refined them. Beasts only underwent such transformations at higher realms…
“Ahem… The bear should be nearby… We shouldn’t get any closer. If it finds us, we’ll be in danger.” Mingyan said, “Celestial Sister, leave your last ‘clue’.”
He then took out a small knife and cut his wrist. A small amount of blood wouldn’t be enough to attract the bear.
Blood welled up from the wound and dripped onto the ground. Mingyan’s blood didn’t have a strong metallic scent; it even had a faint fragrance, which was even more alluring to beasts. Even Huang Feiyan couldn’t tear her eyes away from the wound. His blood wasn’t just attractive to beasts…
Mingyan had often used his blood as bait while hunting, unaware of its special properties, assuming it was just the scent of blood attracting the animals…
After letting enough blood flow, he quickly stopped the bleeding, wiped his hand, and bandaged the wound. His powerful regenerative abilities would quickly form a scab, but the blood loss made him slightly pale. “Celestial Sister, let’s leave quickly. We can’t stay here…”
Huang Feiyan left her final “clue” and nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, she supported Mingyan, and they quickly left.
About fifteen minutes later, the young mistress and her cultivators arrived.
“Blood… why is the Yang energy in this blood so strong?” The young mistress noticed the blood on the ground, sensing its potent life force and Yang energy. This was strange. How could Huang Feiyan, poisoned by a Yin toxin, have such strong Yang energy in her blood? Even under normal circumstances, this shouldn’t be possible… This blood would make an excellent medicinal ingredient…
“Mistress, why does it smell so awful here?” one of the cultivators asked, feeling dizzy from the stench of bear scat.
“Can’t you see the droppings?” another cultivator rolled his eyes, covering his nose.
“It looks quite fresh…”
The young mistress also felt nauseous. “Quickly search for more clues. Let’s not stay here too long. It’s disgusting…”
Just then, she sensed something amiss. Her divine sense detected a bright aura approaching rapidly, far brighter than the surrounding life auras. The faint tremors in the ground confirmed it wasn’t her imagination…
“Something’s coming!” The young mistress leaped into the air, but her subordinates, only at the Yang Tomb Realm, couldn’t fly. They were instantly knocked to the ground by the charging bear. With a roar, the bear swiped at them with its claws, tearing them to shreds before they could react!
The young mistress’s face paled. She could sense the bear’s immense power, comparable to Sect Leader Xia Yanming. She didn’t have time to collect her subordinates’ remains and immediately fled into the air!
The bear, after tearing apart the three cultivators, fixed its gaze on the young mistress and gave chase. Unable to fly, it was enraged by this airborne intruder in its territory. It roared furiously, determined to tear her apart. The young mistress’s face turned white. Although Qi Sea Realm cultivators could fly, it consumed a lot of spiritual energy. They couldn’t fly indefinitely. Once her energy was depleted, she would have to land…
Coincidentally, she was fleeing in the same direction as Mingyan and Huang Feiyan…
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