"You came to cause trouble, didn"t you? You knew how hard it was to find that thing and you just let it go? I…" Mu Shaoai was so p.i.s.sed off that he punched a nearby tree, causing its leaves to rustle in protest."That"s enough, Junior Brother Shaoai. It"s just one creature. There might be more nearby," Yu Yifeng said.
"More? Go and find one then!" Mu Shaoai yelled, kicking a nearby tree. He roared in anger, "I"m teamed up with a bunch of idiots! We can all forget about entering the Violet Illusory Land this time!"
Zhou Li and Qingyu were confused. It wasn"t easy for them to catch that Illusory Moon Beast, so why did Xiao Chen let go of it? They couldn"t seem to find a logical explanation for it.
Xiao Chen continued to smile until he finally said, "Let"s rest here for now. I"ll take you somewhere later."
The fact was that he had left a Divine Sense mark on that creature earlier. He would find it without fail as long as it didn"t run more than thirty miles away from him.
Cultivators these days were incapable of manifesting their Divine Sense unless they had profound cultivation. No wonder Yu Yifeng and the rest couldn"t understand what he did earlier.
Fifteen minutes later, Xiao Chen made a lazy stretch. He glanced at the mountain range that extended forever into the northwest and said, "Let"s go. It"s time." He was sure that there was a nest of Illusory Moon Beasts nearby. That creature must have returned home after suffering a fright.
Still livid, Mu Shaoai merely scoffed.
They followed him for a good fifteen minutes on a rugged path filled with stones and brambles until Mu Shaoai finally lost his patience. "Where exactly are you taking us?"
"I"m not forcing you to come. You can leave any time if you want to," Xiao Chen replied indifferently.
"You!" Fury shot through Mu Shaoai"s brain. How could he leave when the group was following Xiao Chen? Roaming the Forest of Illusory Moon on his own would put him in great danger.
Their journey continued for a little longer until Xiao Chen signaled them to be quiet. "Keep your voice down from here on." He could sense that the Illusory Moon Beast was nearby. He spotted at a rock cave shrouded by greenery and whispered, "Follow me quietly."
Everyone advanced in utter silence. Xiao Chen swept the cave with his Divine Sense when they were close and sure enough, he discovered nearly twenty Illusory Moon Beasts. He immediately cast a spell, sneakily placing a Barrier near the cave entrance. Then, he led the group to cautiously approach the entrance.
Careful as they were, the creatures inside still discovered them when they were close. Just as the twenty or so Illusory Moon Beasts were about to charge out, Xiao Chen dashed to the entrance with Immortal-override Steps and sealed it.
The creatures were so shocked that they rapidly retreated and gathered into a group. The others also caught up to Xiao Chen by then. When they saw this scene, they thought they were dreaming. It was that unbelievable.
"Dear G.o.d! Junior Brother Xiao, how did you know there"s a rabbit nest here?" Qingyu exclaimed in surprise.
Yu Yifeng had never seen so many Illusory Moon Beasts in the same place either. He was similarly dumbfounded.
Zhou Li laughed heartily. "Junior Brother Xiao is truly a G.o.d among men. He knows there"s a rabbit nest here with just a quick calculation!"
Frowning, Mu Shaoai scoffed. "He"s just lucky."
Xiao Chen smiled and said nothing.
Inside the cave, the twenty or so Illusory Moon Beasts were so frightened that they were shaking all over and screeching nonstop. They kept shaking their heads and swinging their claws back and forth.
Yu Yifeng smiled at them. "Rest a.s.sured we won"t hurt you, little ones. You just have to spit out your Heart of Illusory Moon."
As if they could understand him, the creatures exchanged glances and nodded at him. Li Muxue chuckled and walked over to them. "They"re really intelligent, aren"t they?"
"The Illusory Moon Beasts are creatures with the greatest spiritual nature in the Forest of Illusory Moon. They don"t attack and we won"t harm them when retrieving the Hearts of Illusory Moon either. Before long, they"ll grow another Heart."
Qingyu walked over as well. While speaking, she tucked an Illusory Moon Beast into her embrace and gave it a gentle squeeze. She said softly, "Be good, little rabbit. We won"t hurt you."
A grinning Zhou Li got interested as well. With a laugh, he said, "Junior Sister Qingyu, hug me too. Or give me the rabbit. Either works."
Qingyu whipped her head around to glare at him. "Don"t try and flirt with me, you hooligan!"
Yu Yifeng shook his head with a smile. He counted there to be eighteen Illusory Moon Beasts. Then, each creature walked up to him and spat out a glittering crescent-shaped object.
Noticing the abundance of Spiritual Qi in these creatures, Xiao Chen asked, "Can we take these creatures out of this place? I want to bring one back for Xian"er."
Yu Yifeng placed the Hearts into the Illusory Moon Pouch as he explained, "No, they"ll die as soon as they step out of the forest."
"Oh, that"s a pity." Xiao Chen was rather regretful.
Moments later, seventeen of the Illusory Moon Beasts spat out their Hearts. The remaining one stayed in a corner. Noticing its relatively large size, Yu Yifeng guessed that it must be pregnant.
The other creatures surrounded the pregnant Illusory Moon Beast while shaking their heads nonstop. They looked so pitiful that Li Muxue said, "Since it"s pregnant, why don"t we just leave it alone?"
Yu Yifeng nodded. That was precisely what he wanted to say. A pregnant Illusory Moon Beast would suffer great harm if it spat out its Heart of Illusory Moon. He said, "One more or less won"t make any difference. Let"s go. We"d disturbed them long enough."
His voice had yet to fade when the pregnant Illusory Moon Beast was abruptly suspended in the air as if an intangible force was lifting it by the neck. Its face became twisted with agony. Ultimately, its Heart of Illusory Moon was forcefully taken out.
"Junior Brother Shaoai, what are you doing?!"
Everyone turned to look at him in unison. Yu Yifeng stared at his Junior Brother, whose expression had taken on a malevolent look, in disbelief.
Mu Shaoai looked emotionless as he tossed the pregnant creature over his shoulder. He said coldly, "A Heart is still a Heart, is it not?" He then threw the object to Yu Yifeng nonchalantly.
Yu Yifeng shook his head with a sigh. He looked at the group of frightened Illusory Moon Beasts and the dispirited-looking pregnant one. He sighed again before saying softly, "So sorry, you all."
"Hmph! How altruistic!" Mu Shaoai commented icily.
The rest said nothing. Li Muxue and the other female disciples instantly became downcast.
Xiao Chen"s brows were tightly furrowed. What a cold-hearted person. But thinking about it from another perspective, perhaps someone like Mu Shaoai was more suited to temper himself in the Forest of Illusory Moon.
Suddenly, a burst of applause came from outside the cave, followed by joyless laughter. "To think you got ahead of us."
Everyone immediately detected the intruder. They swiftly exited the cave and found ten men surrounding the entrance, all wearing white badges with the words "Surging Waves Sect" carved on it. They were from the Surging Waves Sect of the Middle Continent.
The Surging Waves Sect was a sizable sect with quite the reputation in the northern border of the Middle Continent. Yu Yifeng saluted them with a smile and politely said, "So it"s Senior Brothers from the Surging Waves Sect."
The group"s leader sneered. "Save your breath. Since we found this cave as well, give us our share. Hand over half of the Hearts of Illusory Moon in your hands."
Qingyu frowned and whispered to her neighbor Zhou Li, "What gives them the right? These people are so unreasonable." Zhou Li"s brows were furrowed too. He shook his head, indicating for her to keep quiet.
Mu Shaoai sneered loudly. "Are you half-asleep or did s.h.i.t get inside your brain?"
The gaze of the group"s leader turned sharp and cold. He said sinisterly, "I dare you to repeat yourself!"
"I"m asking you if s.h.i.t got inside your brain!" Mu Shaoai yelled with his chest puffed and glared at him.
"d.a.m.ned kid! Seeking death, aren"t you?" the group"s leader yelled, his voice imbued with Qi. Instantly, an Immortal"s Sword materialized in the air and emitted blinding rays of light.
Meanwhile, his fellow disciples also took out their magic treasures and weapons — some bearing a broadsword and some holding an iron whip. A cold aura immediately enveloped the forest.
Of the ten disciples of the Surging Waves Sect, two were in the peak of the Core Forming Realm with the rest in the late-stage of the same realm. It was obvious that they were all ruthless fighters. Over on their side, Yu Yifeng was the only one in the peak of the Core Forming Realm. Mu Shaoai was a mere Lv 9 Core Forming Realm cultivator. Qingyu, Li Muxue, and the rest were currently in the mid-stage of the same realm. In a direct confrontation, their strength was clearly inferior.
When it seemed that the sparks of fire were about to be lit up, Yu Yifeng stepped forward and said, "Let"s all calm down. No one should be fighting anyone here. We can give you some of our Hearts of Illusory Moon."
"That"s what I want to hear. This Grade 3 district belongs to the Surging Waves Sect. Since when does a little sect from the East Continent dare to challenge us?" The Surging Waves Sect disciples began laughing out loud.