Chapter 22: Passing Through The Outer Halls And Entering The Inner Chambers!
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
‘I wonder if this branch can be kept alive if I use some planting or grafting methods…‘
Bei Feng played with the Vampiric Vine’s branch in his hands as a wonderful idea suddenly appeared in his mind.
If the Vampiric Vine could be planted in his own yard, wouldn’t he end up with an inexhaustible supply of Blood Origin Fruits? Even if the effects were to be weaker due to it being planted in a different world, that would still be acceptable.
Obviously, Bei Feng did not know how much time it took for a Blood Origin Fruit to ripen. Otherwise, he would not be entertaining such whimsical notions.
Bei Feng dug a small hole beneath the banyan tree, directly stuck the Vampiric Vine branch into the hole and left it to its own devices.
Skipping back to his room, Bei Feng jumped onto the bed and lay down with a contented sigh. He switched on the TV, fiddled absentmindedly with his mobile phone and rolled around on the bed. Such a leisurely life was definitely not something those of the working class could compare with!
***
Midnight. It was a silent night, and the moon hung high in the cloudless sky, its white light blanketing the earth.
“Zi zi!”
A little mouse about ten centimeters in length scampered across the yard, sniffing left and right in search of food.
It peered cautiously at its surroundings as it dashed past the banyan tree.
“Shua!”
Just as the little mouse passed by the Vampiric Vine’s branch, it saw something flash out of the corner of its eye. Agile like lightning, it turned around just in time to see a bunch of leafed branches spreading out toward itself with an inconceivable speed! Like a blood-red snake, the Vampiric Vine coiled itself around the little mouse in an instant!
“ZI ZI!”
The little mouse began a frantic struggle as it screamed in terror! However, the Vampiric Vine kept on constricting it tighter and tighter…
In just one minute, the little mouse had completely stopped struggling.
Sensing that its prey had ceased all movements, the Vampiric Vine loosened its grip around the little mouse.
A red root, faint in hue and as sharp as a needle, extended out of the ground and pierced ruthlessly into the little mouse’s flesh.
Blood essence flowed steadily from the little mouse as the Vampiric Vine sucked on it with its root. The little mouse’s body shrunk visibly along with the Vampiric Vine’s absorption.
In just a few seconds, the little mouse had turned into a dried-up corpse, consisting of only skin and bones. All of its blood had been sucked clean!
Its meal finished, the Vampiric Vine finally retracted its roots and resumed swaying along with the night breeze, awaiting its next prey…
***
The next day, before the sun had even risen, the chirping of the early birds had already formed a noisy orchestra together with the loud morning cicadas, creating a cacophony which resounded through the mountain woods. Bei Feng had already grown accustomed to waking up this early, and was unfazed by the din. To him, every morning was an opportunity to upgrade his body!
Like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, once reconstructed, his body would be another step closer to perfection!
Bei Feng felt much more relaxed as he climbed the mountain this time. Previously, he would have to stop and rest at least a few times on his way up. This time, due to the improvement in his physique, he only felt his breath become somewhat ragged, though it wasn’t to the point that he’d have to stop and take a break.
“At this rate, my body should be back to normal after a few more days of cultivation,” Bei Feng stood on the stone platform, looking up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky as he murmured to himself.
Nobody wished to spend the latter half of their life on a wheelchair. Naturally, Bei Feng was not an exception. When he felt the improvement in his body’s condition, Bei Feng was filled with optimism, as he anticipated the brighter future.
Perhaps it was because of his excellent mood, or maybe because his body had gotten stronger, but Bei Feng was able to execute the movement sets of the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique much more fluidly this time. It might even be a combination of both those reasons.
Although he could not be said to have attained a complete mastery of the movements, he could be considered as having passed through the outer halls and entered the inner chambers. In other words, Bei Feng had a passably decent proficiency in the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique now. His movements were no longer clumsy and tinged with hesitation. They looked practiced and fluid like water now.
***
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Cao Kun was a rich second generation kid and never had to worry about anything in his life. He did not have any bad habits either; and only had one passion in his life. That was, to travel.
He had been to countless places in the past few years. No matter where he went, instead of travelling along the more common tracks, he would look for unconventional paths to trek on. Cao Kun enjoyed exploring the untraversed regions and finding seldom seen sights in remote places.
His trip to Mt. Qing Ling was also not an exception this time. Currently, Cao Kun’s group of four was trekking down Mt. Qing Ling through the woodlands rather than following the pathway designated for the tourists.
“Elder brother Kun, could it be that we’re lost? How come we can’t find our path down no matter which way we turn?”
Ding Liang, who was trudging behind the group, groaned. A huge backpack weighed down on him, causing him to hunch over like an old lady.
The two girls in the group also wore painful expressions on their faces as they followed behind Cao Kun. When they had reached the top of the mountain the day before, they realized that it had become too dark to descend the mountain. Thus, they had spent the night on the mountaintop and were trying to find their way down in the morning.
“Don’t worry! We’ll definitely be able to find a way down,” Cao Kun reassured the group.
Although his voice was filled with confidence, he was actually cursing and swearing furiously inside his mind. ‘F*cking hell! Although this Mt. Qing Ling isn’t that small, it isn’t all that big either! Logically speaking, we should have already made our way to the bottom of the mountain by now. Who would have thought that this stupid mountain’s paths would be filled with so many twists and turns?!’
Ridiculously enough, judging from the countless trodden paths available for Cao Kun to choose from, there apparently had been hordes of people like them, using random, unorthodox paths.
Logically, one should be able to get to the bottom of the mountain by following any random mountain path. However, the paths Cao Kun had been following thus far had all been dead ends!
They always either led to a cliff, or were blocked by some boulder.
The group had been wandering aimlessly around the mountain for a long time and naturally became flustered. However, Cao Kun could not lose his cool in front of the group. Otherwise, if the entire group were to start panicking, it would be even harder to find the correct path down.
As expected, the moment they heard Cao Kun’s reassuring words, the other three also became calmer as they resumed walking.
“Look! There’s someone up ahead!”
One of the girls shrieked in excitement.
“Great! Let’s go and ask him for directions,” Cao Kun smiled as he inwardly heaved a sigh in relief and quickened his footsteps.
“Hi, sorry to bother you! We’re lost, and I’m wondering if you could show us the way down the mountain…” Cao Kun went up to the person and asked.
At that moment, Bei Feng was in the middle of assuming a strange posture when a group of people walked up to him.
“Ahem. Hi, can you help us please? We’re tourists and we had been walking in circles on this mountain for an entire day and a half already… do you know the way down the mountain?”
Cao Kun had no choice but to clear his throat and ask a second time as he stared dumbly at Bei Feng, who seemed to be treating them as empty air.
Bei Feng had actually heard Cao Kun’s words. However, it was a critical moment in his cultivation and he could not reply. If he were to open his mouth to speak, the breathing pattern of the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique would be disrupted.
Had he reached the grand completion stage and attained full mastery of the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique, it would be no problem for him to speak while maintaining the breathing pattern. However, at Bei Feng’s current level, if he opened his mouth to speak, the whole morning’s cultivation would have been completely for naught.
.
A minute passed…
Three minutes went by…
Cao Kun felt as though a flock of crows was flying above his head, crying out, “Awkward! Awkward!” [1]
“Elder brother Kun, maybe this person has some issues with his brain?” Ding Liang said softly.
“Hmm… in my opinion, there’s an 80% chance that this idiot is someone who’d escaped from a mental hospital!” One of the girls whispered.
“That must be the case! What normal person would be so free as to run up a mountain so early in the morning and act like some crazy guru?” The other girl whispered back.
The few of them were speaking with hushed tones and assumed that Bei Feng, who was two, three meters away from them, would be unable to hear them. They did not know that, in his state of concentration, even the sound of a cricket hopping in the bushes five meters away from him would be heard by him with absolute clarity.
‘You’re the crazy one! Your entire family’s escaped from the mental hospital!’
A few rows of black lines appeared on Bei Feng’s forehead as he listened to the group’s discussion, his irritation increasing. A few ripples immediately appeared in his heart, almost causing him to lose the proper breathing rhythm.
Bei Feng hurriedly reined in his emotions, calmed his heart and refocused his mind. He did not dare to think about anything that would cause him to lose his concentration anymore.
‘Profundity simplified!’
Cao Kun suddenly thought of these two words as he observed Bei Feng’s strange movements.
As a second generation nouveau riche, Cao Kun’s person was worth a few billion yuan. Thus, he was usually accompanied by a few bodyguards. Those bodyguards were not the kind who were all bark and no bite, practicing only some superficial skills. They were the real deal! All of them had solid martial backgrounds! When they were practicing, they too seemed to enter a similar state as the one Bei Feng was in right now!
In fact, from Cao Kun’s perspective, the martial art that this random guy was practicing seemed even more complex than those of his veteran bodyguards!
Right at that moment, sunrays pierced through the clouds.
As though responding to a summon, a gold-glazed ray the thickness of a pencil broke off from them, flying toward Bei Feng.
Its speed was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, it had shot into Bei Feng’s nose, causing Cao Kun who was watching from the side to rub his eyes, unsure of what he’d just seen.
[1]TL/N: The chinese pronunciation of the word ‘awkward’ sounds a bit like the call of a crow.
