radicalducati 521. Inside the mountain peak
521. Inside the mountain peak
Looking at the mountain peak before him, Xiao Yan hesitated to approach. This mountain peak hadn't originally existed; Xiao Yan had practically witnessed it suddenly appear from a spatial rift.
From afar, the mountain ridges appeared to float in a grayish-white sea of mist, utterly out of place with the atmosphere of this small world. The mist seeped from every fold of the mountain, as if the mountain range was slowly secreting some ancient liquid. Xiao Yan reached out and touched the curtain of mist hanging from the rock face, feeling an oily sensation on his fingertips. Strangely, he felt his Dou Qi being suppressed the moment he touched the mist, rendering it completely unusable.
Soul power could still be used, but the range of soul perception was limited. After carefully exploring the characteristics of the mountain, Xiao Yan obediently entered from one corner. There was no other way; all the high-grade medicinal herbs in the Pill Realm had disappeared, clearly a deliberate arrangement by the Pill Tower.
The sudden appearance of this mountain peak must be quite strange, and Xiao Yan can only explore it himself now.
Although his fighting spirit was suppressed, his soul power had already entered the Spirit Realm, so he could easily escape unscathed from a typical Dou Zun.
In fact, before Xiao Yan, he had already seen many alchemists enter the mountain, proving that the alchemy gathering was not lacking in highly skilled and daring individuals. Once Xiao Yan made up his mind, he immediately took action; he never liked to hesitate or look back.
After Xiao Yan entered, he suddenly realized that the mist set up by the Pill Tower and the gray mist of the first level were a very suitable combination. One could isolate battle qi, and the other could isolate soul power. Ordinary people wouldn't have any good way to break through.
The grayish-white mist didn't particularly obstruct vision, only making distant views somewhat blurry. Xiao Yan scanned the area and realized that this place should have originally been just a perfectly normal mountain range.
"What's this?" Xiao Yan's keen spiritual senses immediately gave him some information: "Someone has made a move here?"
Xiao Yan leaped around a few times, but since he couldn't use his Dou Qi or any movement techniques, his speed was indeed slower.
However, Xiao Yan arrived at the location of the energy burst not long after. There, two humans and a beast were locked in combat. The two humans were facing the same predicament as Xiao Yan; their Dou Qi was suppressed, and they could only fight the demonic beast with their soul power. Xiao Yan also detected that their soul power was not yet at the peak of the mortal realm, meaning they were only around the sixth rank.
"Damn, this thing is really troublesome. If it weren't for the fact that it lacks battle aura, I would have killed it already!"
"Friend, focus, this guy has the perfect combination of timing and location."
The magical beast was called the Swamp Beast. Despite only possessing the strength of a peak Dou Huang, it remained undefeated due to its location in the muddy swamp. In the outside world, the Swamp Beast would never be a match for the two alchemists, but at this moment, firstly, the two alchemists' fighting spirit was suppressed, and secondly, it was in the swamp environment that the Swamp Beast loved most. Knowing its strength and weaknesses, it even gained the upper hand for a time.
The scene was extremely tense, and for a time it was impossible to determine the winner. Xiao Yan looked back and immediately understood the reason for the dispute—not far behind the water swamp beast, there stood a graceful water lily.
Despite being in the mud, the Narcissus Orchid was free of any mud or dirt. Xiao Yan was also struck by a thought: this Narcissus Orchid was one of the five main ingredients for the Fuling Qingdan pill he was preparing to refine!
And it is precisely because of this good stuff that the two alchemists, even though they are struggling now, have no intention of stopping or leaving.
"It really is here!" Finding one of the medicinal herbs he needed so easily put Xiao Yan in a great mood. He also realized that the people of the Pill Tower had indeed hidden all the medicinal herbs in this mountain.
If he and the Spirit Clan were to fight here, relying on this fog, everyone would only be able to use their soul power, and the outcome would be uncertain. Especially regarding Wei Jiangyuan, Xiao Yan still hadn't sensed the full extent of his soul power.
Now that he had encountered it, Xiao Yan naturally had no reason not to take the Narcissus Orchid. With a flick of his soul power, a black vortex immediately appeared, trapping the Swamp Beast in its center. Even though its fighting spirit surged and mud splashed everywhere, it showed no sign of escaping.
"Who is it?" Sensing this soul power, the two who were originally fighting the swamp beast immediately looked around warily, after all, they could tell from this commotion that the person who made the move was far stronger than them!
Xiao Yan remained silent, simply using his Soul Flow Black Vortex to firmly trap the Swamp Beast. Then, he split his Soul Flow in two, one of which transformed into a sharp Soul Needle, striking the Swamp Beast from behind and killing it instantly.
Subsequently, the demon core was also extracted by this seemingly weak but actually powerful soul force, while another force directly removed the entire Narcissus Orchid and flew towards Xiao Yan.
"Stop!" One of them couldn't stand seeing Xiao Yan take away the medicinal herbs he had worked so hard to find, so he launched an attack in Xiao Yan's direction.
The impact was considerable, causing many trees in the forest to rustle. However, Xiao Yan's soul power merely moved casually, annihilating all of his power into nothingness.
"These rare treasures belong to the capable; thank you both." Having obtained the Demon Core and the Narcissus Orchid, Xiao Yan turned and left without ceremony.
As he left, Xiao Yan was in high spirits. The attack that killed the Water Swamp Beast was not the real Heaven-Rank Soul Skill, Hidden Shadow Needle, but a simplified technique he had figured out after much practice. Even so, it was still much better than his previous performance.
At the same time, Xiao Yan also truly felt the significant progress of his soul power. He was only one step away from successfully cultivating the Hidden Shadow Needle. He only needed one opportunity to break through!
He didn't have time to ponder this carefully, because the resources within the mountain were certainly limited. The mountain had only recently appeared, and he could still find many medicinal herbs. As more people entered, there would be no shortage of experts, and his opportunities would only dwindle. Time waits for no one!
Xiao Yan no longer dared to recklessly activate his soul perception to the fullest extent. Unable to use his battle qi, he would have to rely entirely on his soul power for the rest of the battle.
Meanwhile, on another mountain peak in the Pill Realm, Wei Jiangyuan, who had been strolling leisurely, suddenly stopped.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. Looks like I'm really lucky."