Chapter 368: Recuperation
In the dense forest where tall trees stood, there would occasionally be spots of light that trickled through the gaps of the lush canopy of branches and leaves that shielded the earth from the hot sunlight. The light shone in bits and pieces onto the ground, forming a totally natural picture made of specks of light, appearing beautiful.
It was completely quiet within the forest. Occasionally, there would be a low roar emitted by an unknown Magical Beast in the distance. It would pass through the hindrances of the dense forest, and would reverberate unceasingly throughout the forest.
“Suo.”
The undergrowth of the quiet forest suddenly moved. Immediately, a black figure shot out. His feet gently pressed against a tree branch which horizontally extended from the trunk. After which, he pushed his body off the branch and landed on another tree branch a few meters above the ground. His sharp, eagle-like eyes scanned everything below him in detail before he sighed in relief. He was also a little doubtful as he muttered softly, “The mountain range behind the Misty Cloud Mountain is connected directly to the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Logically speaking, the current me should have charged into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, right? But, why is it that until now, I have yet to meet any Magical Beasts trying to stop me?’
“That is due to the ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’ in your sleeves.” An old laughter sounded in Xiao Yan’s heart, “The ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’ is an Ancient Unique Beast. An ordinary Magical Beast would feel fear within their hearts upon smelling its scent. Moreover, the ‘Heaven Swallowing Beast’ currently possesses the strength of a Dou Wang class. Which ordinary Magical Beast would dare to reveal itself in front of it?”
“So it is this little fellow’s blessing.” Xiao Yan suddenly understood upon hearing this. He gently patted his sleeves and laughed softly.
“But the Misty Cloud Sect’s groups that have come to search for you aren’t as lucky. From what I can tell, they were attacked by at least three waves of Magical Beasts in just this short distance. Although they were not hurt, their chasing speed has been reduced by quite a large amount.” Yao Lao smiled and said gloatingly.
Xiao Yan laughed coldly. His gaze once again swept across his surroundings, but he had yet to find the best hiding spot. He knit his eyebrows together immediately and shook his head helplessly. As he pressed his feet gently against the tree trunk, his body became like a large bat that spread its wings as it passed through the dense forest, moving past the branches of the trees within its path. He continued to head forward and flee while searching for the best place to hide.
In a forest that was filled with huge trees and Magical Beasts, wanting to find a spot to hide from danger that was also free from any disturbance was undoubtedly somewhat difficult. However, Xiao Yan was considered quite lucky. As the sky gradually darkened, he finally found a good spot.
Xiao Yan was passing through a large area of dense foliage when a dangerous ravine, that was around ten meters wide, appeared in his sight. He slowed his speed and slowly walked toward the edge of the ravine. Lowering his head, he glanced at the dark chasm that seemed to be bottomless. He then lifted his head and slowly swept his gaze at the precipitous mountain wall on the other side. A moment later, his gaze suddenly stopped on a dark mountain cave. This mountain cave was around ten plus meters from the top of the mountain. It did not appear to be created by a human. Instead, it seemed to be forcefully made by a kind of sharp-clawed Magical Beast.
“This place is an excellent one. It’s even covered by fog. Even if there are people flying over, they will have great difficulty discerning anything.” Xiao Yan’s expression carried joy as he studied the position of that dark mountain cave. On that precipitous mountain wall, there were quite a number of mountain caves which were similar to this dark one. However, only this mountain cave had such an excellent a position when compared to the rest. Xiao Yan stood by the edge of the ravine and eyed the mountain cave. If one did not examine it closely, they would only see a faint fog rising from deep within the ravine.
After inspecting it for a while, Xiao Yan’s shoulders trembled slightly. A huge pair of Purple Cloud Wings sprung out. He leapt forward and jumped into the ravine; wild wind blew past his ears. Xiao Yan flapped his wings and he swiftly arrived in front of the mountain cave. He stayed suspended in the air in front of it instead of going in immediately. The dangers of the Magical Beast Mountain Range were peerless, with danger lurking everywhere. If one was not cautious in dealing with them, they wouldn’t even know how they died.
Xiao Yan lifted his sleeves gently and the ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’ flashed out. His finger pointed toward the mountain cave. The latter appeared to have understood. It let out a hiss and turned into a seven-colored flash, which shot directly into the cave.
When he saw the ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’ flash into the cave, Xiao Yan hurriedly withdrew some distance away. After which, he quietly waited.
The wait merely lasted for less than a minute when a shady wind came sprinting out from within the cave. A huge black figure quickly shot out. It was a flying Magical Beast with a fierce appearance that was terrified as it flew out from within. It immediately emitted an awful scream and shot directly into the sky, finally disappearing over the horizon.
“Hu, good fellow. It was actually a Winged Lion Beast. This is a rank three Magical Beast that can contend with a Da Dou Shi.” Xiao Yan was stunned as he watched the huge Magical Beast which had shot into the sky. He shook his head and laughed bitterly, “It is fortunate that I have the help of the ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’. Otherwise, with my current state, it would be likely that I would have had to exhaust a great amount of strength in order to oust it from the cave.”
Not long after the Winged Lion Beast fled, the ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’ flew out from within the cave. It stayed suspended in front of Xiao Yan, hissing while flicking it snake’s tongue in front of Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan lifted his hand and the ‘Heaven Swallowing Python’ returned into his sleeve. Only then did he flap his wings and fly into the cave while feeling assured. His feet landed on the hard mountain rock and a wave of pale color surged up onto his face. He let out a few intense coughs. Following his coughs, the Purple Cloud Wings on his back also automatically turned back into tattoos and shrunk onto his back.
“I am indeed severely injured, ah. After only using the Purple Cloud Wings for a mere few minutes, the interior of my body has already turned into this state.” Xiao Yan wiped off the thread of blood that had flowed from the corner of his mouth as he spoke softly with a bitter smile.
Xiao Yan slowly walked into the interior of the cave which was quite spacious. Although the stench that faintly lingered caused Xiao Yan to frown slightly, the current him, who was faced with being encircled from all directions, naturally was not in the mood to bother about such trifling matters. He flicked his finger and a couple of Moonlight Stones shot out from within the space ring. They landed steadily within the gaps on the mountain wall and their faint light immediately shone and permeated throughout the cave.
Xiao Yan eyed the well-lit interior of the cave and then took a look at the sky outside which had already become completely dark. He thought quietly for a moment before coming to the entrance of the cave. He used all his strength to push a large rock over, which coincidentally blocked over half of the entrance, which prevented the well lit cave from being too obvious in the darkness of night.
After finishing all of these tasks, Xiao Yan finally let out a long sigh of relief. At that moment, the fatigue from fleeing for nearly an entire day slowly rose from deep within his heart, and actually caused his eyelids to become a little heavy.
“Now is not the time to rest.” Just as Xiao Yan could no longer resist and was about to plant his head on the ground and fall into a deep sleep, Yao Lao’s gentle cry suddenly rang out, giving Xiao Yan a start. His eyelids which were about to be folded were hurriedly opened. With a bitter laugh, he quickly took two steps back and found a clean stone platform where he sat cross-legged.
The moment Xiao Yan sat down, the dark black ring shook gently. Yao Lao’s illusionary body slowly floated out.
“Teacher.” Xiao Yan scratched his head and smiled awkwardly as he watched Yao Lao appear.
Yao Lao shook his head helplessly. He beckoned with his hand and the storage ring on Xiao Yan’s finger left the latter’s hand. Finally, it was suspended above Yao Lao’s palm.
“You should first recuperate from the mess within your body. I will refine some medicinal pills that can help to speed up the recovery of your internal injuries. You must recover at the fastest pace possible. Otherwise, it will be too dangerous.” Yao Lao’s Spiritual Strength swept across the interior of the storage ring as he ordered.
“Ah.” Xiao Yan nodded. He ceased speaking any nonsense and his hands formed the training seal in front of him. He closed his eyes and his originally hurried breathing gradually became calm and slow.
Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Xiao Yan had abandoned his distracting thoughts and entered into his training state so quickly. He flicked his finger slightly and medicinal ingredients flashed and appeared from within the storage ring one after another after which they levitated around Yao Lao.
“This little fellow has really stored quite a lot of medicinal ingredients. It really saves me the trouble of going to search for medicine.” As Yao Lao studied the medicinal ingredients that were suspended by his side, he nodded slightly before waving his hand. Immediately, a thick white-colored flame soared and burned. He waved his finger and the medicinal ingredients were orderly yet swiftly thrown into the flame one after another. Compared to the method which Xiao Yan had used to refine the medicinal pill at the Alchemist Grand Meeting, Yao Lao’s smooth refining method that was like a drifting cloud and flowing water which caused everyone to truly understand what an Alchemist Grandmaster was.
The faint glow from the Moonlight Stones the darkness from creeping into the cave past the entrance. Only the crackling of the medicinal ingredients within the flame could be heard within the quiet interior of the cave. The two people within the cave had their labor clearly divided and were busy doing what they needed to.
The silent training continued for nearly two to three hours. Only then did the eyelids of Xiao Yan, who had his eyes tightly shut, tremble slightly. He then slowly opened his eyes. After three hours of recuperation, his originally pale, white face had some additional rosiness which represented vitality.
Xiao Yan let out a long breath of pent up air that had been lingering in his chest for a long time. His expression became a little brighter. He lifted his head and eyed Yao Lao, who was standing at the entrance of the cave, observing the movement outside after completing the refining a long while ago. He smiled gently and said, “Although my injuries are quite serious, the disorderly condition in my body is suppressed. What teacher said is true. The force and blood in my body is rising in an unstable manner. It was indeed a prelude to my strength rising.”
Yao Lao smiled and nodded. He turned his body and gently flicked his finger. A medicinal pill that was emerald in color shot toward Xiao Yan. The latter agilely grabbed it.
“Consume it. With this, the injuries within your body should be able to completely heal. The medicinal effect of the ‘Three-Line Green Spirit Pill’ that you consumed was extremely strong and you were unable to completely absorb all of it. Most of the medicinal effects were deposited within your body instead. It is not good for your body to leave it in your body like that. I have mixed the ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ within this medicinal pill. You may feel a little pain after consuming it. However, it is able to evaporate and release all the medicinal effects that have accumulated within your body. This time around, you can use this opportunity to absorb them. It really depends on your luck just how much your strength can be raised.” Yao Lao shook his head and said, “Quite a number of defects have appeared in your body during the time that I wasn’t around. That ‘Searing Poison’ is also vicious stuff. Once you have recuperated from your injuries, I will think of a way to help you settle it.”
Xiao Yan’s heart felt warmth as he heard the great number of words that Yao Lao rumbled on about. He nodded slightly. He was finally much more at ease with his teacher beside him. That feeling was like a child finding a dependable support, causing him to rest assured.
Xiao Yan stuffed the medicinal pill into his mouth and once again closed his eyes. His mind sunk into his body and began this great advancement!
Yao Lao smiled and nodded as he saw Xiao Yan close his eyes and once again begin his training. He sat by the entrance to the cave and carelessly played with and twisted the storage ring which he had taken from Xiao Yan’s hand. A long while later, his finger trembled slightly and a soft ‘huh’ sound was emitted from his mouth.
“Huh?”
Yao Lao flicked his finger and a broken, black-colored jade piece suddenly appeared in Yao Lao’s hand. His palm gently rubbed this damaged jade piece and his gaze became somewhat fixated.
This piece of black-colored jade was surprisingly the cheap item that Xiao Yan obtained back at the Alchemist Association when searching for treasures.