"A Directional Teleportation Talisman can be used like that?!" The Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain were dumbstruck as they watched the Silver-ringed Heavenly King Earthworm get forcibly teleported away.
The earthworm's despairing gaze in particular left an unforgettable impression.
Anyone could guess the fate awaiting this great Nascent Soul demon beast.
Demon Quelling Pass operated under a strict rule: anyone below the Body Integration stage who approached the pass would die. A great Nascent Soul demon beast sounded formidable on paper, but before a colossal juggernaut like Demon Quelling Pass, it was courting certain death.
"Huh? Isn't that the obvious way to use it?" Lu Yang asked, surprised. He had assumed demon beasts simply lacked the brains to think of such a tactic, but why hadn't the Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain—fellow humans—thought of it either?
Just look at Meng Jingzhou; he had figured it out in an instant.
"Are Golden Core and Nascent Soul demon beasts really that common in this dense forest?" Lu Yang wondered, recalling their encounters over the past few days. Setting aside those actively looking for trouble, they had run into quite a few roaming rogue beasts, all of them at the Golden Core stage.
Tonight was even more absurd; a Nascent Soul demon beast had actually come barging in.
Fortunately, Meng Jingzhou had that Directional Teleportation Talisman to send the Silver-ringed Heavenly King Earthworm straight to Demon Quelling Pass. Otherwise, Lu Yang would have had to resort to the Eldest Senior Sister Imitation Fist.
The hook-nosed elder brother shook his head. "That's impossible. Whether human or demon, most cultivators active in this forest are at Foundation Establishment. If every trip involved getting ambushed by several Golden Core demon beasts like this, no one would dare come here anymore."
On second thought, Lu Yang realized he was right. The demon beasts were just unlucky to have run into their group. Had it been any ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, they would have been dead long ago.
"It must be because you two young heroes have slaughtered so many beasts that the stench of blood clinging to you is drawing their attention," the hook-nosed elder brother analyzed.
He sighed inwardly. The five of them were at late Foundation Establishment and still struggled against beasts of their own rank. Yet look at these two young heroes—slaughtering early- and mid-stage Golden Core beasts was as easy as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.
What a disparity!
"I propose we wait until tomorrow morning when the city gates open, then head back inside to properly rest, change our clothes, and wash away the scent."
Lu Yang nodded. The hook-nosed elder brother's suggestion was sensible. Over the past few days, all seven of them had been wound tight as bowstrings. If they weren't in battle, they were on the way to one, which put an immense strain on the mind.
In truth, Lu Yang's spiritual power far exceeded that of his peers, so in theory, he shouldn't have been exhausted so quickly. Meng Jingzhou and the Five Heroes felt tired, but he shouldn't have.
Yet who asked him to have the endlessly troublesome Immortal Fairy dwelling in his spiritual space? Lu Yang constantly had to divert a portion of his mental energy to keep her company and listen to ancient anecdotes while he was at it.
These ancient tales included, but were not limited to:
The supreme geniuses of the dragon and phoenix clans squabbling over jealousy.
Immortal Kirin fleeing abroad because his harem had caught fire, earning him the moniker "Fire Kirin."
Immortal Ying Tian urging everyone to refrain from taking action in the future to preserve the prestige and mystique of celestials.
Immortal Suiyue remarking that eating a meal cooked by the Immortal Fairy felt like a year dragging out into an eternity, thereby comprehending the theory of relativity and enthusiastically championing for her to cook for the other three celestials as well.
Immortal Jiuchong publishing academic papers to prove he was the very first celestial and personally leading archaeological excavations to establish his orthodox primacy.
Frankly speaking, every one of these ancient secrets was connected to celestials and held immense value; they would fetch astronomical prices at any auction.
If the pedantic scholars studying ancient history were to hear them, they would probably be so thrilled they wouldn't sleep for days. The sheer wealth of information was enough to completely overturn modern perceptions of the ancient era.
Yet for Lu Yang, he was genuinely terrified that he might wake up one morning to find the Four Ancient Celestials looming over him, sneering malevolently, "You know too much. Die!"
He didn't possess an Immortal Dao fruit.
At best, by the time his Eldest Senior Sister rushed over, there would only be a corpse left to collect.
When Lu Yang voiced his concerns to the Immortal Fairy, she maintained her usual carefree attitude. "Oh, come on! Ying Tian and the others are nice guys, very easy to talk to. They'd never do that to you. Just look at me—I know so much, yet aren't I living safe and sound?"
Lu Yang stared blankly at her soul form, sorely tempted to remind the venerable lady that she had been dead for over three hundred thousand years and had only revived two months ago.
Through these days of relentless combat, both Lu Yang's and Meng Jingzhou's battle experience had grown substantially, and their lethal strikes had become increasingly practiced and precise.
Their cultivation bases were also steadily advancing, solidifying their late Foundation Establishment realm as they edged slowly toward the Golden Core stage.
"Why do I feel like your combat experience is richer than mine?" Meng Jingzhou asked, puzzled, confident it wasn't just an illusion.
Lu Yang replied deadpan, "If our senior brothers and sisters beat you black and blue from dusk till dawn, your combat experience would improve too."
Lu Yang distinctly remembered this bastard clapping and cheering from beneath the ring while he was being battered.
Meng Jingzhou looked thoughtful. "It works like that?"
He refused to be outdone by anyone his entire life; he certainly couldn't lose to Lu Yang in combat experience.
The night of rest proved far from peaceful. Another Golden Core demon beast attempted a sneak attack, only to be pummeled to death by Meng Jingzhou on night watch duty.
It was a rabbit the size of a domestic pig, sporting two front teeth three to four inches long and glowing ruby-red eyes.
"Do we really draw that much aggro? They won't even let people sleep at night!" Meng Jingzhou kicked the rabbit spirit in annoyance. He had momentarily lost focus during the fight, and the rabbit spirit had managed to take a bite of his hair.
Fortunately, his Body Tempering had long since extended to his hair, sparing him from a haircut.
The Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain couldn't explain it either. Having limited experience, they had never seen anyone slaughter demon beasts so aggressively. "This really shouldn't be happening. By all accounts, this is the forest's periphery. There shouldn't be so many Golden Core beasts here—it's simply not worthwhile for them to roam out this far."
"Forget it, we can discuss this once we're back," Lu Yang called out, leading the group toward Demon Quelling Pass to recuperate.
When the group arrived at Demon Quelling Pass, they overheard the crowd near the city gates buzzing with chatter.
"Did you hear? Last night, a great Nascent Soul demon used the cover of darkness to attack Demon Quelling Pass, only to get slapped to death by the Soul Formation expert on night duty!"
"Seriously? Had that beast drunk too much? A mere Nascent Soul beast dared to launch a sneak attack?" a companion asked in disbelief.
As one of the six major fortresses guarding the borders of the Demon Domain, Demon Quelling Pass was impossible to breach without several Body Integration experts joining forces.
That said, there were precedents. A few great demons would drink too much and dash toward Demon Quelling Pass to test their courage. The lucky ones were blasted away, while the unlucky ones wound up simmering in a pot the next day, feeding a feast for the whole city.
"Of course it's real! Haven't you noticed there are more city guards today than yesterday? The higher-ups suspect the demon race is planning a major move and sent a cannon-fodder scout to test our defenses!"
"Are we going to war again?"
"Unlikely. It was probably just a probe."
"There's another wild rumor going around."
"What is it?"
"They say the beast was sent here by someone using a Directional Teleportation Talisman."
"Come on, that's bogus. Can a Directional Teleportation Talisman even be used like that?"
"That's why I said it's just a wild rumor."
"So do we get to eat a good meal today?" Demon Quelling Pass frequently distributed the meat of demon beasts killed outside the gates to the populace.
"I doubt it."
"Why?"
"The dead beast is an earthworm spirit. How are you supposed to eat that?"
Inside the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy blinked in wonder. "Eh? You folks don't eat earthworms around here?"
"...Fairy, do you even hear yourself right now?"
Chapter 248