A demonic-bird shaped flying puppet soared above the swirling clouds in the sky. Its back was wide and smooth, capable of holding six to seven individuals. Of course, at this moment, there were only Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng on it.
Ye Chen's both hands were holding Murong Qingcheng her in an embrace, taking in her fragrant body scent.
The two had come closer during their time at Mysterious Murky City. They hadn't gotten to the final base, but they had already done everything else. At this moment, Murong Qingcheng's face was not covered with black muslin, and her beautiful face was right before Ye Chen's.
Eyebrows like a peacock's plume, supple flesh, exquisite nose standing tall, spotless and unusually red lips…Murong QIngcheng's dense black hair rolled down along her hairs, a few strands floating at the tip of Ye Chen's face. Seeing Ye Chen's gaze, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
'Sleeping in a beauty's arm, waking up by the sword!'
Feeling the soft body in his arms, this saying involuntarily appeared in Ye Chen's mind.
Screech!
As the two were being affectionate, a four-clawed demonic bird suddenly shot through the clouds. The bird was much larger than Ye Chen's roc puppet. Its two eyes were like lamps, and its whole body gave off a darkish red sinister aura.
The demonic bird was fond of eating flesh and blood, especially one with strong vitality. Ye Chen had already cultivated to rank three spirit body, and Murong Qingchen's demonic body's vitality was even above his. The demonic bird couldn't suppress its desire.
Seeing that Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng hadn't attained late Sea of Soul realm cultivation base, it screeched again and pounced at them, its four claws ripping through the air.
Buzz!
Still holding Murong Qingcheng with his left hand, Ye Chen took out the Gold Sword with his right hand and slashed. With that, the bird's head flew off, and its corpse fell through the cloud sea far behind the roc puppet.
"The Four Clawed Demonic Birds usually live in the Northern Sector, most concentrated in the Desolate Fire Region. Seems like we're about to reach the Desolate Fire Region." Murong Qingcheng said.
Upon leaving Nine Dragon Lake, the two had hastened non-stop. After all, the time limit of Shadowless Poison erupting was getting increasingly close.
Sheathing the Gold Sword back, Ye Chen spread out his soul power underneath and said, "We're at the Iron Feather River."
The Desolate Fire Region was right after Iron Feather River.
…
At the bank of Iron Feather River, a black-robed man and an old man in multi-colored clothing were standing on a reef.
Crash!
The headless carcass fell in the river, creating a sky-reaching splash.
"Killing my four-clawed bird is not something an ordinary person can do." The old man in multi-colored didn't have a demonic beast's body, but his pupils actually stood erect, glimmering with a bizarre five-colored radiance.
Black-robed man said gloomily, "This kid is growing too fast. If given a little more time, I'm afraid nobody below the Life and Death ream would be able to deal with him. If we want to get the secrets of the undying body, this is probably our chance. If we fail here, our only option will probably be to sell the information."
The black-robed man was precisely the Yin Demon Ancestor.
Ye Chen's fame was number one under the five young tyrants and had spread throughout the entire Sky Martial Region. Therefore, considering the day of battle between Bai Wuxue and Xia Houzun, he waited here. As he had expected, Ye Chen really did come. However, his strength left him helpless. Although he believed that he wouldn't lose to Lin Tian, but he wasn't completely confident in dealing with Ye Chen.
Therefore, without any other option, he decided not to enjoy the spoils alone, and contacted his old friend—Ancestor Sky Bird.
The latter's strength was even above his. He had once cultivated a powerful art that only demonic beasts could cultivate. It caused his Zhen Yuan to possess a demonic aura, which allowed him to tame beasts even more easily than Thunder Region's beast tamers.
The four-clawed demonic bird which just died was merely a comparatively weak tenth grade demonic beast in his herd. It didn't cause him any heartache.
…
The Desolate Fire Region was to the west of the Northern Sector.
The western part was full of mountains, and the Barbaric Mountain Range divided the region into three major regions. It was the biggest mountain range of the Northern Sector. Even considering the whole True Spirit Continent as a whole, it was considered as one of the biggest.
Arriving beside the edge of the mountain range, Ye Chen took out the map given by the Valley Lord. After studying it for a moment, he pointed northwest and said, "That should be the place."
The mountain range was too big. Without a map, it would be like trying to fish out a needle from the ocean. It would be nigh impossible to find the Phoenix Plume Tree. Of course, even with the map, they might not necessarily find it. It depended on one's luck.
Murong Qingcheng said, "There are dozens of barbaric tribes with varying sizes in the mountains. Small tribes have a population in tens of thousands, whereas the big tribes can easily hit millions. If we really can't find it, we might to be able to trade with the tribes. These tribes have been living here for years. They might have the Phoenix Plume Tree."
Ye Chen nodded, "Sure! If we're really at the end of rope, that will be our only choice. Although, these barbarians are aggressive and irate. So, it probably won't go down smoothly."
Barbarians were a branch of humanity, but they didn't recognize themselves as humans. Hence, they didn't have much good feelings for humans.
Shua!
The roc puppet headed toward the northwest of the mountain range.
After a few days, Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng entered the depths of the mountain range. As far as the eye could see, ups and downs of the mountainous terrain stretched across, giving off an aura of wilderness.
"Let's head down!"
This place was precisely the region Valley Lord had told them about. But, it was merely a map, and the discrepancy could be as much as tens of thousands of li.
The two landed on a small, broken summit. It seemed as if a big battle had occurred here.
Ye Chen released his soul power and inspected surroundings, but found nothing special. He then continued to inspect different regions.
At the fifth region, Ye Chen let out a cry of surprise.
"What?" Murong Qingcheng asked.
Ye Chen said, "Three hundred li away, there is a valley brimming with a thick Qi of wilderness. Furthermore, it has a thick fog weakening my soul power. I can't inspect its depths."
"Let's move a bit closer."
Murong Qingcheng's soul power was not as extensive as Ye Chen's; it was restricted to a hundred li like other Sea of Soul realm experts. However, Murong Qingcheng had demonic eyes that could penetrate through the valley's depths if they were sufficiently close.
After flying for nearly three hundred li, the two could faintly see the silhouette of a valley shrouded in a thick fog.
"Open!"
Murong Qingcheng's infused her with eyes with the demonic power. Following that, the exterior of her pupils parted open, revealing a pair of golden-colored erect eyes. The golden eyes emitted an invisible ray, peering into the valley.
Beside her, Ye Chen said inwardly, "The Demonic race is worthy of a race considered superior to the humans. Any demonic expert with a cultivation base of Sea of Soul realm will have this ability. But, they seem quite strange on a human. I wonder how many human experts were sacrificed in defeating the demon race."
After a while, Murong Qingcheng closed her demonic eyes.
"There is a rank ten Black Wind Leopard. It has already discovered us and is rushing over. There are many other tiger type beasts as well. Inside the valley is a region with a dense spirit light. My demonic eyes couldn't pierce through it. It should be the spiritual Qi emitted by herbs."
Although the demonic eyes were powerful, they couldn't pierce through dense energies. On the other hand, soul power didn't have this drawback. Each had its own merits and weaknesses.
"Then, let's wait for a bit." Ye Chen said.
Roar!
The valley's thick fog parted as sharp air-cleaving sounds came, followed by low growls of demonic beasts.
"Who comes to my Black Wind Valley?"
The air-cleaving sounds dissipated before a herd of tiger-type beasts appeared before Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng. It was headed by a tenth grade Black Wind Leopard. However, this Leopard had already half transformed; it stood straight with its sinister leopard head.
Ye Chen's face remained unchanged, "We have a business offer for you."
"Business offer, what is it?" Black Wind Tiger sized up Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng. Especially for the latter, its gaze lingered on her for a long time.
Ye Chen's expression turned cold before he said indifferently, "We want a Phoenix Plume Fruit. If you have it, I can buy it for double the spirit stones."
"Double spirit stones?" Black Wind Tiger chuckled darkly, "That's not a low price. Tell me, how many spirits stones is your so-called double the price?"
"One Phoenix Plume Fruit is worth thirty thousand upper-grade spirit stones…I'll give you sixty thousand."
"Sixty thousand is too little." Black Wind Leopard shook its head.
Murong Qingcheng said, "You have it?"
"Of course, I have it! But your price is too little for me. Let's do it this way—a hundred thousand spirit stones and this woman. You can have the fruit after a month." A tyrannical expression appeared in the leopard's eyes.
Ye Chen sneered, "You don't have it!" He could see that the former was merely trying to pick a fight.
"Kid, you're really irking me. I'm giving you a chance to get lost right now. You won't have one later." Black Wind Leopard naturally didn't have the Phoenix Plume Fruit. After cultivating to the half-human form, its taste had turned more toward humans. AndMurong Qingcheng certainly suited its tastes.
"I'll also give you a chance. If you know something about the Phoenix Plume Fruit, you can speak right now. Otherwise, you can die." Persuasion wouldn't work on this beast with its savage nature; only tyranny would come in handy.
"Courting death! You dare talk with my boss in this manner!"
Behind the Black Wind Leopard, a ninth or tenth-grade beast roared and attacked. A majestic demonic energy turned into a beautiful ray as it shot toward Ye Chen.
"Break!" However, Ye Chen neither retreated nor dodged, just pointing his finger.
Pop!
A stone-pillar like cyan-colored finger shot through the space, destroying the light ray and continuing to make its way toward the Black Wind Panther.
As a tenth grade Demonic King, the Black Wind Panther's strength was immeasurable. Ordinary tenth level beasts were not worthy of even being its food. This was also the reason why it held Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng in such contempt. Only a wave of its claw, which hadn't transformed into perfect limbs, was seen, and the cyan-colored finger shattered immediately.
"Soul Extinguishing Wave!"
Murong Qingcheng's attack immediately followed. An incorporeal soul wave battered its Soul Sea, causing it to become dizzy momentarily. However, it was merely a temporary effect. After all, the will of demonic beasts was not that different from humans. Moreover, Murong Qingcheng's comprehension had also not reached perfection.