Chapter 761 - 112: Encounter on the Way

Viscous, deep-green liquid seeped in from the edges of the Rift, accompanied by a strange gurgling sound from within.

A glint flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes as he immediately unleashed a wave of Spiritual Power.

The method was effective. The moment his Spiritual Power made contact, the viscous liquid dissipated like melting snow, but the effort also consumed some of his Spiritual Power.

’Although this method works, it’ll be difficult to continue my training in peace. I might as well just erase the Rift entirely.’

So, with a change of mind, he picked up the Snow Monarch Blade and slashed at the seeping liquid. After a single strike, the substance vanished into nothing.

His spirits lifted.

’Looks like this method works.’

After another moment’s thought, he raised the blade with his right hand, resting its spine on his left shoulder. He channeled his power for a moment, then suddenly slashed forward. The strike passed through the Rift and hit the creature on the other side.

An ugly, sharp shriek seemed to ring out. The light on the other side flared violently for a moment, the countless eyeballs twitched, and then they suddenly vanished.

He waited for a moment. When nothing else unusual happened, he took out a cloth, wiped the edge of the Snow Monarch Blade, and rested it on his lap again before resuming his training.

Over the next several hours, similar phenomena occasionally occurred, but he now had experience and managed to drive them off each time with the Snow Monarch Blade.

The night passed just like that. As dawn approached, he noticed the virtualization of his Second Self had deepened. He could faintly hear a strange sound, as if from a faraway place, and an intense sense of threat washed over his spirit. He knew he couldn’t continue any longer.

’But this Rift shows no sign of dissipating. It’s already been active for almost twelve Hours.’

’Central City is under the influence of the Fumu Domain, so Rifts are suppressed the moment they appear. But there’s nothing like that here. Although I can see the Rift weakening over time, it’s clear it will persist if I don’t handle it myself.’

He immediately raised the Snow Monarch Blade and slashed. The light before him was instantly extinguished, and the sense of threat vanished. He took a moment to assess his state. The night had been quite fruitful.

This type of training depended on the duration of the tempering and the amount of essence absorbed. This single session was worth three or four of his usual ones. Though it was somewhat dangerous, the returns were correspondingly large.

His original goal was to push his Spiritual Power to the Perfection Realm by the end of December. If he could train like this every day, he might be able to achieve his goal much sooner.

He sheathed the Snow Monarch Blade, stood up, and returned to the level above. Chaoming, likely exhausted from flying all day yesterday, was still curled up asleep. However, the bird woke up the moment it sensed his movement and gave him a low chirp.

Chen Chuan gave it some food and water, then lifted the tent flap and stepped outside. The sky had already lightened. The three campfires had been extinguished, though faint wisps of smoke still rose from them.

The morning air in the Merging Land was damp and dewy. He watched a mist rise from the forest opposite him and drift in his direction.

It looked perfectly normal, but he could tell that the so-called mist was actually composed entirely of tiny, almost imperceptible insects.

A glint appeared in his eyes. Wherever his gaze passed, the mist of insects instantly dispersed and fell to the ground. Just then, a rustling sound arose, and the trees in the forest nearest to the swarm began to tremble.

Pieces of bark slithered down the trunks, rapidly absorbing the tiny fallen insects before crawling back up the trees and returning to their original positions.

Chen Chuan watched for a moment before a thought occurred to him. He glanced at Chaoming, who immediately ran out of the tent to his side. He gave the bird a quick inspection and soon discovered that the undersides of its wings were completely covered in tiny, fuzz-like parasites.

The parasites’ heads had already burrowed into Chaoming’s flesh and were digging deeper. Even with its Mutated Organization, Chaoming couldn’t stop their penetration.

Encounters like this were inevitable in the Merging Land. One could only develop resistance after adapting to the environment over time.

He took a pill from his pocket and fed it to Chaoming. A short while later, the bird spread its wings and shook its body. A layer of black ash rained down from beneath its wings—the remains of the parasites, killed by the medicine.

Chen Chuan went out and fed several pills, each with a different effect, to his horses before leading them to the river for a drink.

As soon as he reached the riverbank, his gaze fell upon the riverbed. A creature resembling black asphalt was writhing below. It unfurled a long, slender, eye-like organ and stared upward. Chen Chuan, however, calmly returned its gaze.

The creature met his gaze for a moment before closing its "eye." Its asphalt-like body slowly seeped back into the riverbed until it was gone from sight.

After the horses finished drinking, he packed up his tent and belongings, swung back onto his horse, and flicked the reins to urge it forward.

At his current pace, he estimated he would reach the native encampment before noon, provided he didn’t run into any trouble.

After riding for more than three Hours straight, Chaoming suddenly let out a warning cry from the sky.

At the same time, he heard the distant thundering of hooves, and they were rapidly approaching his position.

Unsure of their identity, Chen Chuan reined in his horse by a stream. A moment later, several Dragon-nosed Horses appeared on the opposite bank.

The riders wore black Armor and iron masks, and they carried spears. Each one looked fierce and powerful. It was clear at a glance they were Cavalry Soldiers from the Old Imperial Family.

The group on the other side seemed surprised to see him there as well. Even though Chen Chuan was in civilian clothes, they could tell from his mount that he was from the Dashun Military, and they immediately halted.

The two parties stared at each other from a few hundred yards apart.

However, just by looking at Chen Chuan from a distance, the riders felt an indescribable, oppressive pressure. After only a moment, their leader let out a sharp Call, wheeled his horse around, and galloped away.

He wasn’t just blindly fleeing; two of the Cavalry Soldiers holding Long Spears remained behind to cover their retreat. At that moment, however, an invisible shockwave seemed to sweep through the area.

The Cavalry Soldiers swayed in their saddles before tumbling to the ground.

The leading Samurai’s body shuddered, but he immediately slumped forward over his horse’s back. He appeared to have some form of Spiritual Protection, so he wasn’t severely affected. But before he could get far, a loud BOOM echoed behind him. A large hole suddenly blew through his back, and the horse’s head in front of him exploded in unison.

The headless horse’s corpse tumbled forward. The leading Riding Warrior was made of stern stuff; knowing he couldn’t escape and apparently fearing he might leak intelligence, he immediately drew a dagger and plunged it up through the roof of his mouth, straight into his brain. He twitched once, then went still.

Chen Chuan, meanwhile, slowly rode his horse across the stream. Wherever he passed, white, foam-like substances floated to the water’s surface.

As his horse’s hooves touched the bank, they churned up countless insect corpses from the soil. A large patch of what had appeared to be weeds lay flattened nearby. All of them were creatures killed by the force of his Spiritual Power.

He stopped before the bodies of the Cavalry Soldiers and gave them a cursory glance. One elite Samurai and three Cavalry Soldiers—the Old Imperial Family’s standard four-man squad. Judging by their Armor coverage, they were likely just a reconnaissance unit.

Based on their direction of travel, they were most likely heading for the Federation’s camp.

’The Old Imperial Family is supposedly allied with the Federation against the Dashun garrison,’ he mused, ’but that doesn’t mean they’re actually cooperating. It seems they’re making their own moves on the side.’

’Still, no need for me to overthink it. It doesn’t matter who they are. If they’re an enemy, they just need to be eliminated on sight.’

He tugged the reins and continued onward.

He had no time to deal with the bodies. In a place like this, they would be gone without a trace before the afternoon was over anyway.

Another half Hour later, he finally arrived at the location of the native settlement marked on his map. What greeted him, however, was a field of burnt-out ruins.

Judging by the embers, the camp had likely been destroyed five or six days ago. It was now occupied by a swarm of giant insects with hard, chitinous shells.

He glanced around, noticing shell craters and shrapnel fragments in several places. The area had clearly been subjected to artillery bombardment.

’In this region, only the Federation and Lynx have that kind of firepower.’

’As for motive, they were probably clearing out potential threats in the periphery. Or perhaps they simply didn’t want the local natives to be exploited by the Defense Department’s garrison.’

But even with the camp destroyed, finding its location confirmed he was on the right track.

Moreover, the attackers’ retreat route was still faintly discernible. He might be able to find their main camp just by following these tracks.

He glanced at his watch. ’It’s one in the afternoon. I can travel for another three or four Hours before making camp. Then I can set out early tomorrow morning and continue along the route Chen Bitong marked. If I don’t run into any major dangers or obstacles, I should be able to see that camp by noon tomorrow.’

Just as he was thinking this, Chaoming let out another warning cry from the sky. He looked up to see a large, gray-feathered bird diving aggressively at his companion. The new bird was much bigger than Chaoming.

Yet Chaoming showed no fear, instead engaging the larger bird in a mid-air duel, nimbly soaring and dodging.

Chen Chuan could tell at a glance that the bird was domesticated. Afraid that Chaoming might be in danger, he called out to summon it back. The large bird did not give chase.

A moment later, countless human figures emerged from the woods ahead.

A group of people emerged, their faces daubed with paint and their bodies wrapped in airtight cloaks. The man in the lead immediately captured Chen Chuan’s attention, because he was wearing an old, worn-out Pioneer Team uniform.

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