Chapter 5613: The Danger Lurking in the Can
Chu Feng didn’t slack around while waiting for Zhang Yingxiong to return.
He first took some time to grasp the method to absorb the Immortal Stream’s energy—it took him an entire day to master it despite his talent. Surprisingly, Zhang Yingxiong didn’t return even though a day had already pa.s.sed.
Chu Feng didn’t think that a mishap would befall Zhang Yingxiong here; the latter was exceptionally thorough in searching for the best cultivation spot because he didn’t want to miss this opportunity to make a breakthrough. Thus, he didn’t bother looking for Zhang Yingxiong but instead inspected the can he obtained from the madwoman.
The can was the treasure he obtained following Chaotic Era Scholar’s guidance. It was the main reason he came to the Immortal Stream Upper Realm.
Chu Feng initially thought that the Nine Realms Immortal Region was the treasure Chaotic Era Scholar had left for him. The world spiritist who created the Nine Realms Immortal Region in the legend fitted Chaotic Era Scholar’s profile, after all.
Contrary to what he had thought, it was Zhang Yingxiong who opened the Nine Realms Immortal Region. Since that was the case, he should carefully examine the can since it was the real gift from Chaotic Era Scholar.
The can had three locks. Chu Feng had deciphered the first two, but he struggled to decipher the third.
Ten days pa.s.sed in a flash.
Zhang Yingxiong had yet to return, but Chu Feng had managed to make significant progress regarding the can. A flash of light scattered from the can, and a spirit formation gate manifested in front of him.
Without any hesitation, Chu Feng stepped in and was transported into a palace large enough to house over ten thousand people. However, there were hundreds of thousands of bizarre ent.i.ties floating in the air. These ent.i.ties had black bodies, but they emanated flickering light like fireflies.
Chu Feng felt threatened by them.
Jip jip jip jip!
The bizarre ent.i.ties noticed Chu Feng and charged at him like sharp arrows. Chu Feng hurriedly escaped from the realm.
“That was a close shave!” Chu Feng could tell with his sharp senses that he would have died if he had continued remaining inside that palace.
“I think I have seen those things before, but I can’t remember where,” Eggy said.
“Are they from the Asura Spirit World? But I didn’t sense the Asura Spirit World’s aura from them,” Chu Feng said.
“I need to think about it. It has been too long that I’m struggling to recall,” Eggy said before falling into deep contemplation.
“I"ll be troubling you then, Milady Queen. Those things are too dangerous, and they are aware of my existence now. It’ll be too dangerous to return there without ample preparation,” Chu Feng said.
He didn’t think that Chaotic Era Scholar was out to harm him, but those bizarre ent.i.ties most definitely posed a threat to him. He had to figure out a solution to overcome them, and Eggy’s information might prove to be invaluable.
Perhaps, this treasure might be intended for Eggy.
“At the very least, I’ve fully deciphered this can now. I can return to the palace as soon as we figure out a countermeasure,” Chu Feng looked at the can in his hand as he said.
The three locks on the can were still present, but they wouldn’t hinder Chu Feng anymore. He could project his consciousness into the can whenever he wanted to.
“Brother Chu Feng, I’ve kept you waiting.” Zhang Yingxiong finally returned.
“Did you find the best cultivation spot?” Chu Feng asked.
“Ey, I didn’t find the best spot, but I did find a slightly better one. I guess that’s the limit of my abilities. Brother Chu Feng, let’s get moving,” Zhang Yingxiong said.
Chu Feng followed him to an area above the water, but he couldn’t sense anything peculiar about the area even with his Heaven’s Eyes. He tried entering the water, but he didn’t find anything worthy of note.
“Brother Chu Feng, have you familiarized yourself with the cultivation skill?” Zhang Yingxiong asked.
“I have,” Chu Feng replied with a nod.
“That’s good! Come, let’s begin. Let’s devour this place clean in a single breath!” Zhang Yingxiong said as he began cultivating.
Chu Feng circulated the cultivation skill too and immediately felt a stream of energy gus.h.i.+ng in from the surroundings. Indeed, the energy from the Immortal Stream was amazing at tempering the body and the soul.
Initially, the rate at which Chu Feng and Zhang Yingxiong absorbed the energy was the same. However, as time pa.s.sed and Chu Feng became more proficient in the cultivation skill, the rate at which he absorbed the surrounding energy increased.
That prompted Zhang Yingxiong, who had closed his eyes to focus on his cultivation, to open his eyes and look at Chu Feng. The rate at which he absorbed the energy had increased with time too, but it was nowhere as fast as Chu Feng’s.
A conflicted expression appeared on his face, but he quickly closed his eyes to focus on his cultivation.
As time pa.s.sed, Chu Feng realized that he was gaining a better sense of his surroundings, including the amount of energy left inside the water. That allowed him to keep his promise to Zhang Yingxiong and absorb only 30% of the energy.
Thus, he slowed down his rate of absorption and instead devoted his spare attention to constructing smaller formations in his body and soul to facilitate the a.s.similation of the energy. This would allow him to better benefit from the energy he absorbed.
Thirteen days later, the tremendous energy that was previously harnessed inside the lake vanished without a trace. Both Chu Feng and Zhang Yingxiong opened their eyes at the same time.
“How do you feel?” Chu Feng asked.
“It’ll take me some more time to complete the tempering, but I should be able to make a breakthrough.” Zhang Yingxiong was in a good mood. He stood up and bowed to Chu Feng, saying, “Thank you, Brother Chu Feng.”
“What are you doing?” Chu Feng was confused.
“Brother Chu Feng, your mastery over the cultivation skill was clearly above mine. You could have absorbed 60% of the energy in this place if you wanted to, but you kept your promise and took in only 30%. It’s only right for me to thank you for keeping to your word,” Zhang Yingxiong said.
“I should be the one thanking you instead. You could have deprived me of this opportunity if you wanted to, but you shared this precious cultivation resource with me and even imparted the cultivation skill to me. If not for your cultivation skill, I’d have been much more inefficient in absorbing the energy even if I figured out another way to do it. Zhang Yingxiong, you’re truly a good person,” Chu Feng said.
“What are you saying? We’re friends!” Zhang Yingxiong declared, only to become uncertain right after. He looked at Chu Feng with careful eyes as he sought affirmation, “We’re friends, right?”
His reaction evoked a peal of laughter from Chu Feng.
“Yes, we’re friends.”
Chu Feng was happy to befriend Zhang Yingxiong based on the generosity he had shown here.
Zhang Yingxiong flashed a beaming smile at Chu Feng. He was overjoyed to hear that Chu Feng thought of him as a friend. His innocent reaction further raised Chu Feng’s impression of him.
Zhang Yingxiong was an enigmatic figure, and his master was bound to be an extremely formidable individual. Given his talent and background, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to be arrogant and condescending.
Yet, he was earnestly trying to befriend Chu Feng here, not displaying the slightest arrogance or condescension at all. Chu Feng was the type of person to treat others the way they treated him.