The Science of Cultivation-Chapter 226: Pursuit

“I shouldn’t have forced him to come with us,” Li Lang murmured weakly. “He could’ve stayed in the Crucible like he wanted. I forced him into a situation he knew he was unprepared for.”

“Enough with that already!” Long Yi bellowed. “It’s not helping. Save your energy for when we arrive.”

Seeing the two young men agitated, Zhu Yi shook her head.

“Your friend is right. There’s no time for reflection or second-guessing.”

With a dreary mood, the group silently proceeded in the direction of where the Tracing Origin Art indicated Wei Ping was. They all knew what was to come. Being captured by a demonic cultivator who had suffered from cultivation deviation, otherwise known as deviators, could only lead to one outcome. They would have their life force sucked out of them in order to fuel their cultivation.

The people who captured Wei Ping operated in numbers. Following them meant intruding on their stronghold. It was expected that there would be even more deviators there, and they had to face them if they wanted to rescue Wei Ping.

With them using Zhu Yi’s Skyrunner, they were making good progress, but they still couldn’t see a shadow of anything. They were reaching deeper into the mountain ranges where Qi beasts reigned. It wasn’t a surprising location, as the wilderness on the border was the perfect spot for deviators to hide. It made it hard for anyone to track them down, and if any sect or organization tried to hunt them down, they could jump between territories to break their pursuit. It also allowed them to be near their favorite sort of prey, orthodox cultivators.

It wasn’t that demonic cultivators could only use orthodox cultivators to advance their cultivation. Each technique was unique and came with different conditions. However, it was a fact that orthodox cultivators possessed purer Qi, which made it significantly easier and less risky to digest.

If they absorbed the life force from other demonic cultivators, the negative effects the victim was suffering from their own cultivation technique could be passed on. It was like how humans preferred livestock that were herbivores. Carnivores faced an additional vector of disease exposure through their diet.

As they traveled further and further into the mountain ranges, Li Lang composed himself. He began questioning his allies about their past experiences in dealing with these deviator hideouts.

“What should we do if they continue to flee into the righteous sects’ territories? It’s common for them to do that in order to escape, right?”

“Yes, but that is usually a last resort. They don’t know we can track them down right now. By the time they find out, they won’t have time to evacuate with their captives. It shouldn’t be an issue if our objective is only to rescue people.”

“Do they keep a lot of captives around? I thought they would be the type to immediately consume every drop of Qi out of whoever they captured.”

“The more mindless among them do, but as you saw, these people were organized. Their type usually keeps a stock of feed around. It’s their primary currency.”

So they treat humans like Qi stones. Just perfect.

“Hmm, it seems like they’ve come to a stop. Their hideout should be just ahead.”

This made everyone alert. Weapons were unsheathed as they prepared physically and mentally for the battle ahead.

Their Skyrunner soon came to a stop near the base of a mountain. They would approach the rest of the way on foot to remain undetected.

The four Foundation Establishment cultivators trekked through the thickets of the forest, on guard against any Qi beasts or lookouts. Surprisingly, they didn’t encounter anything. It appeared as if the Qi beasts left these deviators alone.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Still, that only made it easier for Li Lang’s group. They carefully drew closer to the mountain. They cautiously scanned their surroundings, but all they found were trees and stones. There was nothing like an entrance into the mountain before them. If Li Lang hadn’t picked up Wei Ping’s signal from the Tracing Origin Art, they would’ve moved along already.

“This place is well hidden,” Zhu Yi muttered. “It seems it won’t be possible to take a covert approach.”

“Senior, you plan to attack the mountain directly?” Li Lang asked with a frown. “Isn’t that stirring the hornet’s nest? Who knows what kind of experts reside here?”

“It’s better than to wait here for who knows how long. We would’ve never been able to take their captives away without them noticing anyway. The stability of a deviator’s mind is questionable, but it doesn’t mean they are without intelligence. Their stronghold would naturally be well fortified and filled with means to detect intruders.”

Her words made Li Lang speechless. He never directly dealt with any deviators, so he couldn’t refute her claims.

Seeing he had nothing to say, Zhu Yi and Ma Kong proceeded with their plan.

“You two stay here and wait for my signal. We will try to keep as many of them occupied as possible. Depending on the situation, I may need you to invade their hideout or retreat from the area.”

The two Nightmoon Valley cultivators went over the signals and then rose up into the air. Their aura began to increase, as they made themselves known to everyone in the vicinity. They followed it up by projecting their voice loudly across the entire area.

“Come out here, weaklings who have lost their way. We know you’re hiding under this mountain like the scared rats you are. It’s time for you all to pay for your sins.”

No response came, and only the sounds of birds chirping in the distance could be heard. As if having expected this response, Zhu Yi began casting a powerful Qi art.

A giant orb of darkness quickly formed above her. It was easily a hundred times her size. Once it stopped growing, the darkness began dripping down from it. It was as if the orb was being overfilled with gooey liquids. The darkness latched onto the ground and began to spill toward the mountain.

The eerie Qi art didn’t produce any noticeable effects, but it expanded its coverage quickly.

“Still hiding like a turtle? Don’t blame me for what comes next, then!”

When the darkness engulfed a sizable part of the mountain, it suddenly began to simmer. It started off gentle, but rapidly grew more active. Within the span of a breath, the tranquility of the area shattered as the ground erupted into a violent tremor.

It was only when the earth cracked that several figures appeared. A dozen people, with some riding on giant Qi beasts, came rushing in defense of their hideout. They charged at the two cultivators hovering above, choosing to skip past the talking and dive into the fighting right away.

Unfortunately for them, their attack was destined to fail. Ma Kong had been on guard this entire time. The newcomers were all in either the early or middle stages, so they weren’t a match for him. He easily kept them at bay while his partner busied herself with channeling the Qi art that shook the mountain.

“Is that all of you? I remember there being more of you earlier,” Zhu Yi yelled.

The deviators didn’t reply. They only exchanged glances with each other before resuming their attacks.

Flashes of light filled the skies as the intensity of their fight grew. Li Lang and Long Yi carefully watched every second of it.

“Are you sure we haven’t missed the signal?” Long Yi fretfully asked. “It’s been some time. Maybe we should move to help them? Perhaps they are being pressured too much to even give a signal.”

“No,” Li Lang firmly declined. “We wait. It’s not like we’d be much help in this situation, anyway. I’m not afraid to admit that we’re too inexperienced. We’d only get in the way.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“That—if only I had an Earth-grade artifact! Not that I blame you or anything. It’s just—”

“I understand, but it really is my fault. I promised you a Mortal-grade artifact a long time ago, but I haven’t been able to even deliver on that. You had to make one yourself. I’m sure if you were properly equipped, you would be much stronger than you are now.”

The helplessness the two currently experienced wasn’t completely useless, though. They burned every second of their experiences into their heads. The frustration that welled up would eventually be used to further their growth. The spectacle before them would prepare them for their future fights. While the artifacts they saw in action would be used as a reference for their future creations.

As they watched entire clusters of trees being blown to bits in the wake of powerful Qi arts, the two obtained a better grasp of what cultivators in their realm were capable of.

We’re lacking an arsenal of techniques. And over there, that man is using a tamed Qi beast to fight. I want to learn how to do that as well. It’d be perfect for someone like me who isn’t proficient in combat.

After several more rounds of exchanging blows, Zhu Yi finally gave a signal to her two allies lying in wait. When the two of them saw it, they both took in a deep breath. That was because it was the signal for retreat!