Chapter 589 - 353: Lovely Jade, Wafting Fragrance
Logically speaking, if they were to charge over and stop those enemies in the dense forest from attacking, the pressure on the array’s barrier would be greatly reduced.
This would also allow the array’s power to be better distributed to other areas, significantly reducing the number of Tribulation Cultivators who could exploit any openings.
But clearly, these Cultivators from the Celestial Hearing Tower were all jaded old-timers. They wouldn’t exert themselves unless absolutely necessary, preferring to slack off instead.
This was actually quite normal. How much Immortal Fate did they even earn in a month? Was it enough to make them risk their lives at the first sign of an enemy attack?
For them, long past the age of hot-blooded, reckless youth, it really wasn’t worth it.
Seeing the old-timers slacking off, Zou Feng found himself in a difficult position.
Xiaolv’s judgment was never wrong. If it said there was something tasty in the dense forest, then it was a sure thing.
Yet now, he could only look but not eat. The feeling was like a knife twisting in his heart.
But what else could Zou Feng do? He and Su Qingyu couldn’t possibly launch a suicide charge with just the two of them, could they?
If their luck was bad and the enemy had multiple Dao Foundation Realm experts lying in wait, or if they had set up some powerful trap, they would be in for a world of hurt.
So, charging in recklessly was definitely not an option. He had, after all, only just advanced to the Dao Foundation Realm. As a fledgling at the initial stage, he didn’t yet dare to dominate cultivators of the same realm as he had back in the Spiritual Energy Realm.
Su Qingyu, of course, also understood the situation. She frowned and sighed inwardly, likewise thinking their meal was off the table.
"Hey, you two fellow disciples! Since you’re here, you might as well toss something over there, right? If your luck is good and you smash one of them to death, that’s a good deed right there. You can even claim a reward!" Not far away, one of the old-timers noticed the two of them just standing there dumbly and offered a reminder.
But as he spoke, his eyes, looking as if they were about to pop out of his head, were locked firmly on Su Qingyu’s prison guards.
Lusting after her beauty was secondary. The main reason was that this guy probably also cultivated some second-rate Poison Technique, which was why he was paying special attention to related "delicacies."
Su Qingyu was not known for her good temper. Sensing his greedy gaze, her toenails instantly shot out, like blades suddenly flicking open.
"Got the guts to get a closer look?" Su Qingyu said, a smirk playing on her lips.
The old-timer immediately retracted his gaze in embarrassment and backed down. "Senior Sister jests. How would I dare to be so presumptuous..."
With that, he let out a loud roar and began to focus on continuing his ranged attacks on the dense forest.
His reason for backing down was simple. A Core Disciple following a True Inheritor here was very likely a trusted confidant. If you didn’t have some serious backing yourself, it was best not to provoke them.
This small interlude diverted Zou Feng’s attention.
He then also turned his gaze to Su Qingyu’s all-too-familiar prison guards, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Su Qingyu thought he had suddenly gotten some ideas and spat, "What, you want to play with my nail clippers now, do you?"
Zou Feng shook his head. "No... Palace Master, we need to get a good meal this time. Just waiting here is probably hopeless. How about..."
As he spoke, Zou Feng used a secret voice transmission to explain the method he had just thought of to Su Qingyu.
After hearing him out, Su Qingyu couldn’t help but frown. "Are you sure this method will work?"
Zou Feng said, "I can’t be sure, but it’s worth a try!"
"Fine, let’s give it a try..."
Following that, the two of them also began to launch token ranged attacks toward the dense forest.
But as they attacked, they quietly slipped away from their position.
They then took a roundabout path, leaving the area covered by the array’s barrier and arriving at a patch of bushes to the left of the dense forest.
"Palace Master, should I begin?" Having found a spot he deemed suitable, Zou Feng asked, rubbing his hands together.
Su Qingyu already knew his plan. She sat down right where she was, extended her prison guards—their "nail clippers" now retracted—and said, "Hurry up!"
The next moment, Zou Feng first formed dazzling Holy Lotuses with his hands, then placed them on Su Qingyu’s feet. He began to rub her feet at a speed so fast it left afterimages.
Of course, this wasn’t Zou Feng having a sudden whim to show off the massage techniques he had mastered with his Shaking Flower Hand. It was to further apply Poison Attachment to Su Qingyu’s prison guards!
’That’s right. Since charging rashly into the dense forest isn’t a good idea, why not try setting a trap first, putting out some bait, and then lying in wait?’
And this bait, naturally, was the poisonous gas from the two of them that would trigger the "appetite" of other Poison Cultivators.
Unfortunately, the poisons Zou Feng could currently use were mostly colorless and odorless. Even if he deliberately altered their properties to emit a fragrance, it still wouldn’t be enough to serve as an effective lure.
But the poison from Su Qingyu’s Calamity Poison Body was filled to the brim with an alluring fragrance. Even from a great distance, just a whiff of it could make one’s mind grow hazy, as if hit by a charm spell, causing them to lose their reason and unknowingly make poor judgments.
And as for the part of Su Qingyu’s body where this tempting fragrance was most concentrated, Zou Feng had long since personally confirmed it was, without a doubt, her pair of prison guards.
An alluring and irresistible foot odor, coupled with the extra Poison Attachment from Zou Feng’s Flower Hand to enhance the effect and double the pleasure—the chances of luring the Poison Cultivators in the forest were actually quite high.
After all, this location was not within the range covered by the array.
Even if some Poison Cultivators came over just out of curiosity to check the situation, as long as there weren’t too many of them, they could still try for a quick and decisive battle.
In any case, this spot wasn’t far from the array’s barrier, but it wasn’t a short distance for reinforcements from the dense forest to arrive.
Zou Feng continued moving his hands in a blur, sending Lotuses splashing everywhere. He was rubbing Su Qingyu’s feet so hard they were practically smoking.
He had never used so much force before. Su Qingyu’s cheeks naturally flushed red from the friction. "Tsk, why are you using so much strength? You’re going to make my feet sweat!"
Zou Feng’s hands didn’t stop. "Sweaty feet are even better! The scent will be stronger!"
Su Qingyu froze. She was about to correct him that it was a fragrance, not the stench of sweat, but then felt that saying so would only make her seem more defensive...
"...If you don’t lure anything tasty over soon, I’m going to rub the sweaty smell out of you!" Su Qingyu said through gritted teeth. She was starting to regret cooperating with Zou Feng on this not-so-reliable plan.
’No matter how this plays out, it feels like I’m the one losing out. If we don’t lure any Poison Cultivators, it means my poison fragrance isn’t potent enough.’
’But if we do manage to lure them from so far away, it means the scent is truly overwhelming and long-lasting. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it pungent...’
Zou Feng was just about to casually ask which part of him Su Qingyu planned to rub a sweaty smell out of when a disturbance came from the distance.
Two Cultivators in black robes and hoods flickered in and out of view like ghosts in the distance, clearly approaching their position.
Seeing this, Zou Feng was overjoyed and sent a voice transmission: "It worked!"
"As expected of the Palace Master! What a pair of soul-snatching, life-reaping legs!"
"If you come up with any more of those crude nicknames, believe me, I’ll stab you with my ’nail clippers’!" Su Qingyu’s face was grim, showing none of the joy of having successfully lured the Poison Cultivators. "Besides, don’t forget the scent from your hands is mixed in there too!"
Only then did Zou Feng realize his flattery had backfired. He quickly adopted a serious tone. "I’ll make the first move. Palace Master, you act according to the situation. These two look manageable. We’ll each take one!"
With that, Zou Feng lowered his body, instantly entering the Spider Stance.
With serious business at hand, Su Qingyu couldn’t be bothered to argue anymore. She began to focus on releasing her intoxicating, maxed-out poison gas.
Sure enough, as the distance closed, the two black-robed Poison Cultivators, who had initially been approaching cautiously out of mere curiosity, began to lose their composure. They grew increasingly desperate to find the source of this intoxicating fragrance.
Just as Zou Feng saw that they were close enough and was about to burst into action, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.
’Wait, these two Poison Cultivators... they’re not human!’
Thanks to his Cultivation of the Corpse Luo Heart Scripture, even though the Skill had already been used for a fusion, it had still given him considerable knowledge of Corpse Poison and a corresponding Perception.
As the two Poison Cultivators drew closer, Zou Feng saw through their facade.
These two were actually just powerful Corpse Puppets!
’Tsk, I knew it wouldn’t be this easy. The real mastermind is obviously hiding somewhere farther away. That person wasn’t completely stupefied by the "foot odor" and knew to send in Corpse Puppets to scout for traps.’