It was not dark outside. Yet even so, the rainforest remained engulfed in darkness. m.u.f.fled booming sounds traveled from far away, mixed with the roars and cries of beasts and birds. It was as if a huge change had occurred in the rainforest in the distance.
Su Ming stood at the side of the entrance to the cave and trained his gaze towards the location with a cool expression.
Time trickled by. The booming sound continued traveling out, and it sounded as if it was coming from very close to him. As it became clearer, it made Su Ming think that there was someone closing in on him at a terrifying speed.
He clenched his right fist, and a cold look appeared in his eyes, but he remained unmoving. It was as if he had turned into a statue at the entrance of the cave.
After a long while, once the booming sound was not far from where he was, it started quieting down. Yet the moment it started fading away, a huge bang far stronger than the previous sound rang out suddenly. Su Ming’s eyes fell upon the gaps between the countless wide leaves, and he saw a figure skidding through the sky.
That figure was still far away from where Su Ming was, so he could only see him faintly.
That figure roared at the skies. His roar contained an indescribable fury, and he turned into a long arc that sped into the distance. Very soon, he disappeared.
That person was Xuan Lun.
When the person left, Su Ming felt his body relax. The cold look in his eyes disappeared. He had also doubted his decision to stay in the rainforest, but while the rainforest was the most dangerous place for him to stay, it was also the easiest place for him to be overlooked.
Besides, this place was too big. Even powerful Berserkers of the Awakening Realm would find it difficult to search the entire forest. It was also highly feasible that it was not a possible feat.
Su Ming watched Xuan Lun leave, but he did not act rashly. He chose instead to return to the cave without making a sound. He had already made up his mind to not leave the cave unless it was completely safe.
In his silence, Su Ming sat down. He looked at the unconscious He Feng with a complicated gaze. Once he went through the incident with him, Su Ming had a deeper understanding of the sinister nature of the human heart.
Su Ming rubbed the center of his brows and fatigue appeared on his face as he sat in the dark and quiet cave. That fatigue did not stem from his body, but his heart.
After a while, he made himself focus and took up the beast skin which had borne him rewards during his observations just moments ago. He placed it under his nose and sniffed it once again. A stench of blood wafted into his nose.
‘It’s natural for beast skins to still contain the stench of blood, but as time pa.s.ses by, this smell will grow fainter until it disappears. This beast skin has clearly been around for a long time. It’s impossible for it to have such a thick stench of blood.’
Su Ming’s eyes sparkled and he mumbled under his breath as he looked at the beast skin in his hands.
‘But if the owner of the beast skin always sprays fresh blood on it, then the smell will stay for a long time. If he is just keeping the beast skin as a memento for his tribe, he wouldn’t need to do this…’
Su Ming lifted his head and cast a glance at He Feng as a contemplative look appeared in his eyes.
‘Perhaps my guess is wrong, but if I’m right, then this item is definitely not as simple as it looks!’
Su Ming stood up and went beside He Feng with the beast skin. There was a brief period of hesitation, but very soon, he jabbed He Feng’s arm with one finger resolutely and opened up a wound, squeezing out a little of the small amount of blood remaining in the body. He hesitated for a moment and decided not to use all of it. He only took a little and spread it on the beast skin before withdrawing a few steps and focusing his gaze on it.
The moment He Feng’s blood was spread on the beast skin, it was immediately absorbed. When Su Ming backed away to look at it, the beast skin had already completely absorbed He Feng’s blood. Bubbles appeared on its surface, and wisps of black mist spread out. It seemed to be covered by bubbles that quickly spread to all parts of the beast skin, and the black mist also increased as the bubbles increased.
Su Ming immediately let go and threw the beast skin on the ground, his eyes sparkling. Right in front of him, the black mist became incredibly thick and enveloped the entire beast skin within.
Su Ming circulated his Qi and remained alert, but as time pa.s.sed by, the black mist did not seem to have sufficient energy to grow thicker. It gradually spread out and became smaller before it eventually dissipated, revealing an unchanged beast skin on the ground.
Su Ming frowned and swept his gaze across the beast skin. With just one glance, he saw that the drop of blood he spread on the skin moments ago had disappeared.
‘Was the blood not enough..?’
He cast a glance at the unconscious He Feng and recalled the sight of the black mist on the beast skin. This time, he did not hesitate. He bit his tongue and coughed out a mouthful of his own blood on the beast skin.
The moment the blood landed on the beast skin, a large amount of bubbles appeared. At the same moment, black mist spread out and enveloped the entire beast skin. The time taken for this to happen was cut in half, a clear sign that this was because there was enough blood acting as a stimulant this time.
In an instant, the black mist that had enveloped the beast skin spread out and turned into a black ripple in the shape of a ring. Once it traveled dozens of feet outwards, the black mist disappeared into the walls of the mountain cave.
At the same time, Su Ming’s breathing became rapid. Right before his eyes, when the mist spread out, the beast skin that had been hidden underneath was revealed. There were no longer any words on the beast skin, only a complex picture. The picture itself was completely red, but there was no way of knowing what was drawn since it looked as if there were still a lot of missing parts.
Just as Su Ming focused his gaze on the picture on the beast skin, it started to strangely expand rapidly. It spread all around, and in an instant, it went underneath He Feng’s body and Su Ming’s feet, covering an area of 100 feet around them, causing the area of 100 feet to turn into a red world.
Su Ming did not dodge. He stood in the 100 feet covered in red. During that instant, he fell into a trance, and a strange image appeared in his head.
When he saw the image, it was as if he had come to a strange world. He saw gra.s.s plains, and on the plains was a man whose body was obscured. He wore a long robe and on his face was a black mask. He had his hands behind his back and looked as if he was staring at the sky.
There were hundreds of long arcs whistling through the sky. In every single arc was a presence that was not weaker than Awakening. Some of them even gave off a presence that far exceeded it.
The hundreds of long arcs in the sky caused the sky to be lit in bright colors when they closed in. Rays of light appeared when the Art was cast, and most of them descended upon the man down below. It was a shocking sight to behold.
Su Ming’s heart trembled. He looked at the sights before him at a loss. Yet immediately, he saw the man wearing the familiar black mask on the plains raise his right hand. A gigantic beast skin appeared in his hand. He held it with one hand and laid it out horizontally before pressing it on the ground as it floated in the air.
The moment the beast skin was pushed onto the ground, the entire earth let out a rumble. The beast skin expanded rapidly and spread to its surroundings quickly. In an instant, it covered a circ.u.mference of 100 li.
The plains, which were a 100 li area, were no longer a green gra.s.sland, but a red meadow. There were also red plants growing on it, causing the area of 100 li inside to be vastly different to the area outside.
A ghastly presence spread out.
The rays of light from the hundreds of the Arts closed in on the man, but before they could even get near to the masked man, they faded away above him as if they landed on a formless barrier.
At that moment, the masked man grabbed at thin air with his right hand. Immediately, an eerie beast fang about seven feet long appeared in his hand, and he stabbed it onto the red meadow by his side.
The instant the giant fang stabbed the earth, the fang turned red. A three-headed blood dragon took shape and sped towards the hundreds of long arcs in the sky, roaring.
The masked man quickly brought out another sharp fang and stabbed it on the other side of the red meadow. The fang turned red instantly as well, and a shadow took shape. That shadow exuded a malicious presence, and it was somewhat similar to the Fallen G.o.d of Berserkers Bi Tu had summoned a few years ago.
The shadow took a step forward and charged towards the hundreds of long arcs in the sky.
A booming sound echoed through the world, and Su Ming opened his eyes. There was sweat beading on his forehead. His breathing was rapid, and his eyes gradually became clear. He looked at his surroundings and found that he was still inside the mountain cave. Yet a red meadow had appeared in an area of 100 feet under his feet.
Besides the size, the red hue of the meadow was exactly the same as in the illusion he’d seen when he was in the trance.
Su Ming’s heart thumped against his heart, and he took a long while before he calmed down. He looked at the red meadow that spanned the area of 100 feet, and a bright light gradually appeared in his eyes. He stepped on the 100 feet of red land and walked towards the entrance of the cave.
When he looked back, there was not a hint of red in the cave, as if everything had been just an illusion. Even He Feng had disappeared without a trace. The cave was empty.
Su Ming withdrew and walked back into the area of the red meadow. Once he did so, everything returned to normal. He Feng still lay on the ground, unconscious.
‘No wonder He Feng could survive till now after his tribe was destroyed and had escaped Xuan Lun’s pursuit so many times. He may possess extraordinary intelligence, but if it weren’t for this treasure, it would have still been hard for him to survive till now!
‘This item might have really possessed the might I saw in the illusion, but now it’s already torn. Even so, it still has shocking concealing powers.
‘He Feng… is covered head to toe in treasures!’
Su Ming took a deep breath. This was the first time he had received so many precious items in his life, and all of these had originally belonged to He Feng.
‘But I wonder why he didn’t use this treasure to hide himself when Xuan Lun was after his life.’
Su Ming looked at the red meadow that spanned the area of 100 feet. He walked out once again and left the cave. Before long, he dashed back, and behind him was a centipede about dozens of feet long. It chased after him ferociously. When Su Ming stepped into the area of the red meadow, that centipede, too, entered the area.
Su Ming’s eyes flashed, and he withdrew a few steps, training his eyes on the centipede that he had lured in. When the centipede entered the area of the 100 feet, it started circling around as if unable to see Su Ming standing before it.
After a moment, the centipede let out a frustrated roar. An excited look appeared on Su Ming’s face. He had already ascertained the concealing abilities of this beast skin—they should be incredibly strong.
At that moment, he raised his right hand and pointed at the centipede. The centipede’s head exploded with a bang in an instant, and it died on the spot, its body twisting on the ground.
Yet the moment it died, Su Ming’s eyes flashed, and surprise appeared on his face.