Chapter 639 - 258: The Mysterious Golden Skull!
The scorching fire aura on the Red Fire Luwu appeared like a bonfire in the night to it, leaving behind traces of Fire Source Power along the path.
When the Red Fire Luwu came to the Earth Cave, these traces might not have been obvious since it arrived stealthily.
However, after entering the Earth Cave and engaging with Spirit Monsters, the fire aura was naturally released during combat, and any injuries would cause a bit of the aura to leak on the way back.
Because of this, it managed to launch a surprise attack on the Red Fire Luwu last time. They pursued and fought each other for hundreds of thousands of miles, but unfortunately, the Luwu eventually escaped.
To its surprise, after just a few decades, the Red Fire Luwu dared to venture into the Earth Cave again.
When it sensed commotion and arrived at the forest outside the Earth Cave, it couldn’t find the Red Fire Luwu.
In the remnants of the battlefield, the fire aura seemed even more intense.
This made the Eight-legged Feiyi somewhat suspicious of whether the Luwu, which it had gravely injured last time, had gained some opportunity. Otherwise, why did the lingering Red Fire aura seem even stronger?
This doubled intensity of aura made the Eight-legged Feiyi uneasy.
It most detested things like the Supreme Yang Flame.
The old Luwu’s Red Fire was even more intense, making it very uncomfortable.
After wandering for a while and failing to find traces of the Luwu, the Eight-legged Feiyi vanished into the forest in frustration.
...
"Puff!"
Inside the Turtle Shell Array, a long-drawn sound made Shen Can open his eyes, and then he opened the array to let in some fresh air.
The Red Fire Luwu, with its large face covered in dark golden fur, instinctively lowered its head.
"This fruit is too cold."
After saying this, the Red Fire Luwu looked out through the opening of the array.
"Feiyi has been here."
Shen Can glanced at the Red Fire Luwu and then heard it speak: "I’ve been entangled with it for thousands of years. No matter how deeply it hides its aura, I can still sense it."
Shen Can released his Divine Sense, sensing some corroded leaves in a part of the forest, surrounded by a strange, thin aura.
This location was already beyond the sensing range of the Red Fire Luwu’s Divine Sense.
They really are long-time adversaries to be able to sense each other this way.
"That old creature hides near the Earth Cave, specifically ambushing Tier Five creatures coming and going. Relying on its wings, it can also spread a plague mist, repeatedly escaping unscathed."
Killing intent gleamed in the eyes of the Red Fire Luwu, as it had suffered many losses to Feiyi.
Once the aura of plague enters the body, even driving it out with its Divine Fire requires a great deal of effort.
"Are there many Tier Five creatures coming to the Earth Cave?"
Shen Can asked the Red Fire Luwu.
"Two Tier Five members of the Wood Ginger Race, I’ve seen them both,"
the Red Fire Luwu said. "This group is very skilled in the Wood Element; like plants, they can also sprout; though their lifespan can’t match us Wild Beasts, it’s not too far off."
"There should be a Human Race Tier Five from your Cloud River Valley; I ran into them once many years ago. Ever since Feiyi released the plague in Cloud River Valley, I haven’t seen them—don’t know if they’re dead or alive."
"The Guanxiong Race has three Tier Five members, including one at the Tier Five Middle Stage. Years ago, Feiyi went into the True Mountain Domain of the Guanxiong Race but was beaten back before accomplishing anything."
"The Dai Land Ant has two Tier Fives, with one rumored to have reached the end of its lifespan over five hundred years ago."
At this, the Red Fire Luwu glanced at Shen Can and said, "You know how lifespan works—just because they say the end is near, it doesn’t mean they’re actually dead. Who’s to say?"
"Tianze has a Xiangliu, and outside the territory of the Giant Mountain Range, far to the south, there’s a great river where they say a powerful Dragon Monarch resides, though its strength is unknown."
"There used to be a Kui Ox descendant group in the southern part of Tianze, but they haven’t been seen in a long time—whether there are any Tier Fives is uncertain."
"Counting me, the Snow Beast, Feiyi, and you, along with others hiding in the wild, there should be around twenty to thirty Tier Five creatures in the region spanning hundreds of thousands of miles of the Giant Mountain Range north to south. As for Tier Six, I don’t know."
"When I advanced to Tier Five, I spent over a hundred years traversing the south and north of the Giant Mountain while searching for Source Power-rich areas, nearly dying more than ten times.
Apart from creatures of the same tier, there were also mysterious lands inhabited by magical creatures; although no Tier Fives were stationed there, even a Tier Five could get trapped."
"No choice but to return, fearing that venturing further would get me eaten by unknown creatures."
"Beast King, do you remember the routes you traversed? Could you map them out?"
"I can do that,"
the Red Fire Luwu immediately agreed.
After giving Shen Can the map, the Red Fire Luwu’s big eyes spun, and it said, "I also know a place with a Spiritual Object, and Feiyi knows about it too.
"Unfortunately, no one has managed to get there over all these years. Shall we attempt to retrieve it?"
Seeing Shen Can looking over, the Red Fire Luwu didn’t explain further.
Surely it couldn’t say that it kept failing to bring back the Spiritual Object, getting beaten each time it attempted?
Shen Can readily agreed.
"This time, we snatch it and run, no need to fight with the Spirit Monsters."
Shen Can sensed his restored vitality, feeling that another round of action was plausible and, with the array, they could retreat to rest as needed.
"Let’s go, grab that Spiritual Object and see if Feiyi gets mad."
The man and the beast stealthily snuck back into the Earth Cave.
Two days later.
Energy boomed at the entrance to the Earth Cave, with the cold energies exploding in mid-air like ephemerals.
Two slightly bedraggled figures repeatedly dodged between the exploding Yin Qi blossoms.
Energy impacts on their bodies were incinerated by the Supreme Yang Flame attached to them.
Shen Can landed on the Red Fire Luwu’s back, wielding the Breaking Spear to precisely block attacks from behind with every swing.
Meanwhile, the Red Fire on the Luwu’s body consistently blasted open the Yin energy impeding their path.
Chasing behind them were as many as nine Tier Five Spirit Monsters, spewing ocean-like Yin energy with every opened mouth.
Other Low Tier Spirit Monsters, enhanced by the Yin Qi, charged at the duo even more wildly as if on a bloodthirsty frenzy.
The man and the beast hustled out of the forest, not daring to pause, sprinting over ten thousand miles away.
Then, they found a place to set up a Witch Array and hid.
"With such commotion, it’s likely to draw out that sinister Feiyi crawl,"
lying within the Witch Array, the Luwu opened its mouth from which Yin Qi continuously emitted.
The energies of Extreme Yang and Yin crackled in its mouth.
Shen Can wasn’t faring much better, cold steam seeping from him, quickly pooling into a cold water puddle around him.
The Breaking Spear vibrated, releasing a burst of flame that vaporized the puddle completely dry.
This venture into the Earth Cave resulted in a beating, and they failed to retrieve the Spiritual Object mentioned by the Luwu.
In actuality, the situation differed somewhat from what the Luwu had previously understood.
The discrepancy wasn’t vast; mainly, the number of Spirit Monsters nearby had doubled.
The Spiritual Object was not the imagined Spirit Fruit but a pile of dark golden bones.
A fragmentary skull with Witch Runes floated above the golden bone hill.
Before Shen Can could sense the Witch Runes on it, the Spirit Monsters discovered him.
In the fleeting moment he glanced at it, his Divine Sense resonated slightly with the Witch Runes on the golden skull.
Then, the man and the beast began their escape, pursued and beaten out of the Earth Cave.
"What on earth was that, to be guarded by so many Spirit Monsters?"
"No idea."
The Red Fire Luwu shook its head. It was the first time it had clearly seen the bones at a close distance; before, it only sensed a golden light with a powerful aura.
"We’ll see if there’s another opportunity in the future,"
said Shen Can, introspecting his body, where a layer of gray ice crystals wrapped around his meridians, and vigorous blood energy continued the Circulation of the Heavens, working to melt the ice.
The man and the beast rested for half a year; fortunately, the Yin Qi remained only on the surface of the Celestial Vein, or expelling it would have been more cumbersome.
Opening the array, the Red Fire Luwu scanned around, wandering for a bit before looking surprised.
"Huh, Feiyi didn’t show up?"
"Could it be that the number of Spirit Monsters we drew frightened that crawler, or did it think that another strong Tier Five had entered the Earth Cave?"
The thought made the Red Fire Luwu suddenly happy.
As Shen Can dismantled the array setup, he said, "Beast King, would you guide me to settle a score with the Holy Envoy Race at their lair?"