Chapter 686: Chapter 696 Exploring the Path
Throughout the journey, they frequently encountered demon beast attacks.
Since everyone was flying at high altitudes, ordinary spiritual beasts—even those at the Beast King Level—could not harm them. Only demon beasts at the One-star Little Demon Level or flying spiritual beasts could assail them.
Encounters with demon beasts were rare, and with many powerful individuals striking together, they easily dispatched them.
However, everyone was extremely cautious, and even when encountering a lone demon beast, they tried to avoid killing it if possible.
That’s because many demon beasts lived in groups.
They had their own clans.
If one were killed, it would likely attract retaliatory attacks from its clan.
Just like Chu Feng, a disciple of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect—if he were killed outside, once the Sword Sect ascertained who was responsible, they would immediately take action to avenge Chu Feng.
In this manner, they flew without mishap for nearly four days, and they were now very close to the Gate of Hell.
But as they penetrated deeper into the Demon Sea Fierce Land’s heartland, the demon beasts they encountered became increasingly formidable.
Chu Feng had already started replenishing his Sword Qi with spirit stones two days earlier.
Upon entering the Fierce Land, the Fire Energy in the air had dropped drastically, and his rate of absorbing spiritual energy could no longer keep up with the rate of consumption.
In such perilous places, one must always ensure that there is a sufficient supply of Sword Qi available within the body.
Otherwise, it would be easy to fall.
Han Sheng and Lu Kuixi and others had always been watching Chu Feng like a tiger watching its prey, hoping that he would be killed by demon beasts.
Seeing that they were almost at their destination and Chu Feng was still alive and well, Han Sheng and Lu Kuixi exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat anxious.
This kid with the surname Chu, his life is incredibly tenacious.
Why doesn’t he die?
It won’t do; we must find a way to kill him, or at least injure him.
"Si Huang, you are the strongest among us all. With formidable demon beasts roaming around here continuously, if you get injured or if your Sword Essence is severely depleted, it would be easy for other enemies to take advantage of you," Han Sheng said with rolling eyes, a face full of apparent concern.
"How about we take turns scouting ahead? Especially those with low cultivation, they are not much use anyway. Using them as pawns to scout ahead would be perfect."
Si Huang was startled; leading the way was indeed very dangerous.
But precisely because she was leading the way, they could detect dangers early. Even if they did encounter danger, she could rely on her powerful strength to resolve it promptly.
Thus, out of the more than two hundred people in the team, there were no fatalities.
Only a few had sustained minor injuries in skirmishes with demon beasts.
"We are almost there anyway, with at most three to four thousand miles left to travel. There’s no need for others to take risks now!" Si Huang rejected Han Sheng’s ’kind’ suggestion.
Han Sheng was still somewhat discontent.
"Si Huang, I know you have a kind heart and are considerate of everyone. But you also need to think about the bigger picture. Our main purpose on this trip is to compete for the Treasure tree. If you have a mishap, with just us folks, we won’t have the strength to obtain the Treasure tree."
In the presence of others, Han Sheng was full of bravado and extremely arrogant.
Only in front of Si Huang would he willingly bow his head.
Don’t think that this is humility.
It’s a scheme with ulterior motives.
For the sake of greater interests, he behaves so humbly in front of Si Huang. Once his wishes come true, once he has Si Huang, he will reveal his true colors.
"Si Huang, I also think that what Han Sheng says makes a lot of sense. How about we choose a few people to take turns scouting ahead?" Lu Kuixi also chimed in from the side.
"This..." As the team leader, Si Huang found it rather difficult to act on her own accord.
"It’s settled then! Chu Feng, you’re very capable, so you’ll take turns scouting the path with me and Han Sheng. Each of us will explore a thousand li, this way we can safely reach our destination."
Lu Kuixi forcibly took over Si Huang’s leadership with utmost authority.
He even bared his fangs, explicitly demanding Chu Feng to join in the scouting.
"Sigh, I just worry that that waste with the surname Chu is a coward! I have no objections though." Han Sheng shrugged his shoulders, looking at Chu Feng with undisguised contempt.
In front of everyone, they were trying to force Chu Feng into scouting the path, essentially sending him off to his death.
"Is it just about finding someone to scout the way? I will take Chu Feng’s one thousand li." Elder Zi Xu, a man of integrity, seeing Han Sheng and Lu Kuixi openly bullying Chu Feng, resolutely stood up to help.
"You?"
Han Sheng and Lu Kuixi’s expressions changed slightly, they didn’t expect someone to be so foolish as to offer themselves as a scapegoat for Chu Feng.
However, given Elder Zi Xu’s status and strength, they couldn’t overtly refuse.
"Elder Zi Xu, your kindness is deeply appreciated. I’ll do it myself! Otherwise, these two will surely find other ways to deal with me." Chu Feng gratefully bowed to Elder Zi Xu, and then flew straight forward.
Yan Qing, his Sword Slave, followed closely behind, loyally safeguarding Chu Feng’s safety.
As Chu Feng flew past Si Huang, she hesitated for a moment and said coldly, "If there’s danger, retreat immediately. I will back you up."
Although she possessed the cultivation of the Supreme Sword God, it didn’t mean she was invincible.
If attacked by two or three Nine-star Little Demons at the same time, she too would have to beat a hasty retreat.
Furthermore, there were some Little Demons with special attack methods that were very difficult to deal with.
"Alright!"
Chu Feng nodded and immediately flew to the front of the team.
In a place like this, the most important thing is to have a strong Divine Sense. Chu Feng’s Divine Sense was no less powerful than a typical Supreme Sword God – it was even stronger than Si Huang’s.
If he scouted the path, as long as they didn’t encounter any Great Demon-level demon beasts, there wouldn’t be any danger.
After flying for about thirty li, Chu Feng came to a stop.
"There’s danger ahead, we might have to detour!" Chu Feng said seriously.
"We’ve come across danger so soon?"
Han Sheng and Lu Kuixi both looked skeptical.
They thought Chu Feng was intentionally trying to shirk his duties or play tricks to offload the responsibility.
Both of them released their Divine Sense to carefully investigate, but didn’t discover any danger. They didn’t even sense the presence of ordinary Little Demons.
"Chu Feng, stop playing tricks. There’s no danger up ahead. Why would we need to make an unnecessary detour?"
"Our time is very limited, we can’t afford to be delayed by your baseless scaremongering," Han Sheng berated imperiously.
"It seems I too can’t sense any danger!" Si Huang also released her powerful Divine Sense to probe.
She found nothing as well.
"But this area is very strange. There are no demon beasts at all," Si Huang remarked in surprise.
This point had already been noticed by many present.
"This Chu Feng kid is particularly cunning. He probably seized on this point to willfully frighten us with exaggerated warnings. Everyone must not be fooled by him," Lu Kuixi chimed in from the side.
Suddenly, dissatisfaction arose among the crowd, and many people began to accuse Chu Feng.