Two days later, Wu Tao's figure continued to move through the forest.
However, his attire at this moment was quite disheveled, covered in mud and blood all over.
And, at this time, a blood-red centipede, five to six zhang long, was following behind Wu Tao.
This centipede was currently chasing after Wu Tao in a frenzy.
The centipede's massive body, as it sped through the forest, moved as if on level ground, swift as lightning and powerful as thunder.
Its hundreds of pairs of legs, at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, wriggled and climbed among the giant trees and rocks.
Monsters in the Qi Refining stage generally ranged from one zhang to over ten zhang in size. Those in the Foundation Establishment stage were dozens of zhang or more, not exceeding a hundred zhang.
And at this moment, behind Wu Tao, was a rare, peak Qi Refining stage blood-amber centipede.
The reason this blood-amber centipede had been relentlessly pursuing Wu Tao was that Wu Tao had snatched a precious blood-amber spirit fruit from its nest.
This blood-amber spirit fruit was a treasure that could improve the aptitude of cultivators and monsters, and enhance physical strength.
For such a spiritual item, Wu Tao was naturally determined to obtain it.
The blood-amber centipede had chased him for thousands of miles. The chase, between man and beast, had lasted for over twenty hours.
However, the blood-amber centipede was ultimately less agile than Wu Tao. Even at full speed, Wu Tao, using the complex terrain, continued to widen the distance.
As for why Wu Tao didn't resolve the blood-amber centipede once and for all.
It was not because Wu Tao couldn't defeat it, but because the cost of killing it was not worth it.
The blood-amber centipede was tough, incredibly fast, and highly venomous, making it difficult to deal with. Yet, its entire body had no part worth spiritual stones.
It would consume time and effort, and yield no significant benefits, making it utterly impractical. A self-serving individual like Wu Tao would never engage in such thankless toil.
...
Night fell.
After another day of pursuit and struggle, Wu Tao finally managed to shake off the blood-amber centipede.
In a hidden cave.
At this moment, Wu Tao looked at the blood-amber spirit fruit in his hand, its skin dark red and its core faintly shimmering with a flame-like red light. He frowned, popped the fruit into his mouth, and swallowed it whole.
The next second, Wu Tao felt a warm current rise from his dantian, rapidly spreading outwards, and in an instant, it permeated his limbs and meridians.
Seeing this, Wu Tao immediately sat down on the ground and began refining the medicinal power contained within the blood-amber spirit fruit.
An hour later, Wu Tao exhaled, and after carefully sensing for a moment, his expression suddenly changed slightly.
"This blood-amber spirit fruit indeed lives up to its name..."
"My spiritual power seems to have increased slightly?"
Wu Tao threw a punch, and said in surprise, "Not only that, it seems my physical strength has also increased."
Given Wu Tao's mediocre aptitude, it was no longer easy for his cultivation to advance. It would require precious heavenly spiritual materials or rare elixirs to progress further.
But unexpectedly, after consuming a blood-amber spirit fruit, both his spiritual power and physical strength had increased. Although it was only a negligible amount, it was still precious.
More importantly, the medicinal properties of the blood-amber spirit fruit had improved Wu Tao's rather poor aptitude.
At the "mid-mountain" of a majestic peak, at a thousand-zhang wide mountain crevice, where the yin and yang sides of the mountain met. Below it was a dark valley. Standing on the rocks, Wu Tao looked down at the valley, which was a realm of darkness and depth, making it impossible to see anything within.
...
Suddenly, a faint aroma of wine drifted up from below. Wu Tao's palm suddenly revealed a golden vortex, and that faint, almost imperceptible aroma of wine was drawn into his palm.
After a moment of thought, without any warning, Wu Tao leaped into the dark valley.
"Bang!"
He landed within three minutes. The valley was not deep, only about ten zhang. With Wu Tao's peak Qi Refining stage cultivation, he would not be injured.
The moment he stabilized himself, Wu Tao's gaze swept around the surroundings.
Wu Tao discovered that this place was merely a spacious cave.
But the next moment, Wu Tao was immediately attracted by a white light ahead. It was light shining in from outside, clearly indicating a passage leading outwards.
Walking towards the source of light, the light entered through a hole large enough for a person to pass through. This cave must hold something extraordinary within. Judging by the terrain, it might be a "closed-off" circular basin that no one had ever discovered before.
...
Wu Tao stood there, pondering for a moment, then his figure suddenly moved, transforming into an afterimage, and he drilled through the broken hole.
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, the scene before him became vast. However, in the next second, Wu Tao quickly concealed his aura.
His breath-concealing technique, while not a particularly high-level secret art, was a famous spell recorded in the Myriad Laws Immortal Pavilion of the Grand Unity Immortal Sect.
With a mere thought, he could conceal nearly half of his life force.
Just like now, after an instant, he became like plants and rocks, revealing no trace of life. Da Feng Novel Network.
If not seen with one's own eyes, no one would ever discover that another person was present.
Wu Tao did this because the area before him was a rather sizable mountain grotto-heaven.
Within the grotto-heaven, towering spiritual trees, exuding spiritual energy, were scattered everywhere, forming a verdant "spiritual tree" forest.
And deep within the "spiritual tree" forest, the roars of apes and monkeys could be faintly heard.
"Spiritual tree forest, brewing monkey troop, monkey wine."
Three names flashed through Wu Tao's mind simultaneously...
"Hiss," "Hiss hiss..."
Standing still, Wu Tao listened to the continuous monkey calls around him, the sounds originating from the depths of the "spiritual tree" forest before him.
Wu Tao did not move, remaining in place, quietly listening to the calls from the depths of the "spiritual tree" forest.
Wu Tao dared not extend his divine sense to investigate. All monsters were highly sensitive to the perception of cultivators' divine sense.
Wu Tao's divine sense, at the peak Qi Refining stage, could not possibly deceive such a large group of brewing spirit monkeys.
They were getting closer. The monkey calls sounded as if they were right beside his ears. Wu Tao could see large shadows flickering among the treetops in the "spiritual tree" forest ahead.
They appeared. The first brewing spirit monkey finally showed itself before Wu Tao.
This brewing spirit monkey, gripping a green vine hanging from a tall spiritual tree, swung rapidly from the depths of the "spiritual tree" forest.
It was an incredibly tall ape-monkey, covered in golden fur all over. As it moved and climbed, a faint aroma of wine emanated from its body.
With the appearance of the first brewing spirit monkey, the second, third, and fourth, other brewing spirit monkeys naturally followed, swinging out from the depths of the spiritual fruit forest.
Each brewing spirit monkey was incredibly tall, and a faint aroma of wine emanated from its body.
They were close now. Wu Tao was only a few hundred meters away from these brewing spirit monkeys, and he could easily see them. By all rights, the spirit monkeys should have discovered Wu Tao long ago.
But curiously, despite being so close, the brewing spirit monkeys acted as if they couldn't see Wu Tao. Not a single one discovered him or leaped to attack him.
Wu Tao stood still, as if he had expected this all along, with his eyes open, watching dozens of brewing spirit monkeys swing to and fro among the tall spiritual trees.
After picking the spiritual fruits from the trees, these brewing spirit monkeys would carry them and leave along the same path.
These brewing spirit monkeys were currently picking various spiritual fruits and fresh fruits, which were the main ingredients for brewing the legendary monkey wine.
There were many kinds of spiritual fruit trees here. Almost every spiritual fruit tree had at least several hundred fruits, and there were nearly a thousand such trees in total. Combined, there were tens of thousands of various kinds of spiritual fruits.
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