Chapter 396 - 372: Tier Five Monster, The Trial Ends

Chapter 396: Chapter 372: Tier Five Monster, The Trial Ends

That day, Zhang Chi slew another Tier Four Late Stage Demon and finished harvesting its materials, and both of them were quite pleased.

But in the next instant, a horrifying chill suddenly ran down Zhang Chi’s spine.

With a sweep of his Divine Thought, Zhang Chi immediately discovered a humanoid monster. It had appeared hundreds of miles away and was rapidly approaching him and Qin Yuyan.

The humanoid monster looked human but was dozens of feet tall. It had a single white horn on its head, its entire body emanated a terrifying aura, and it was wreathed in black Demonic Qi.

Even with his powerful Divine Thought, he was unable to penetrate the Demonic Qi to get a clear look at the humanoid monster’s true form.

The only thing he could confirm was that this humanoid monster was a Tier Five—a Divinity Transformation Level existence—and its speed was terrifyingly fast.

The humanoid monster wasn’t using a normal Flying Escape. Instead, it walked through the air, step by step. Its pace seemed unhurried, yet each stride spanned dozens of miles.

’Have we killed so many Demons that we’ve attracted its attention? Or have we accidentally trespassed into its territory?’

Zhang Chi couldn’t help but speculate.

He immediately pulled Qin Yuyan along and used a Teleportation Talisman without a moment’s hesitation.

After all, a Divinity Transformation Level being was not something he could afford to provoke.

Even with a Spiritual Treasure, he would stand no chance. He might be cut down before he could even activate it.

Even his Death Replacement Puppet might not work.

Besides, he was carrying a vast amount of resources. Even if the Death Replacement Puppet worked, he would surely lose everything if he were killed.

As for Qin Yuyan, she would undoubtedly die.

Of course, it was possible the being wasn’t coming to kill them, but that chance was slim.

After all, this was the Demon Abyss.

SWISH!

The next instant, with a flash of five-colored light, the two of them vanished. When they reappeared, they were already far from their previous location.

Even so, Zhang Chi didn’t linger. He immediately took Qin Yuyan and fled upward through the Demon Abyss at full speed.

They even used Spirit Talismans to boost their speed.

Only after they had traveled for thousands of miles did Zhang Chi finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Qin Yuyan asked, very confused.

Her Divine Thought was ordinary, so she was completely unaware of what had just happened and hadn’t even sensed the danger.

Over the past few years, however, she had been thoroughly impressed by Zhang Chi’s immense power. Thus, she had cooperated without question, doing whatever he told her to do.

"I suddenly had an ominous feeling that danger was approaching, so I decided we should leave," Zhang Chi said.

He didn’t mention the Tier Five being. After all, it would do no good, and it would only frighten Qin Yuyan.

Moreover, if that humanoid monster had some special Divine Technique, it might be able to sense them just by him mentioning it. That would be a huge problem.

"Is that so?" Qin Yuyan said, realization dawning on her. "You did the right thing. In fact, I think we should get even farther away. We’d best be more cautious for a while."

"I was thinking the same thing."

Zhang Chi agreed.

The two continued to fly farther away for a solid month. After that, they laid low for several more months. Seeing that nothing unusual occurred, they finally resumed their hunting.

Because of this encounter, the two had clearly become more cautious. They kept their Divine Thought extended at all times to watch for any more unexpected visitors.

Fortunately, nothing similar happened again after that.

Of course, they didn’t know that just after they left, the humanoid monster arrived at the place where they had killed the Demon.

After that, the humanoid monster searched the area for several days before finally giving up.

「Five more years passed in the blink of an eye.」

One day, Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan finally stopped their exploring and hunting, flying together toward the spot where they had first entered the Demon Abyss.

Over the course of ten years, the pair had slain many more monsters and harvested a great deal of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

They had killed seventy-one Tier Four Late Stage beasts alone, which, when added to the sixty-six from before, made for a total of one hundred and thirty-seven.

In other words, after slaying the Octopus Monster King, the two of them had killed an average of seven Tier Four Late Stage monsters each year.

As for Tier Four Middle and Early Stage creatures, they had killed even more.

They had even slain three Tier Four Peak monsters, not including the Octopus Monster King.

This was only because the Demon Abyss was so vast. Although monsters were plentiful, those at Tier Four Late Stage and Peak were relatively rare.

Otherwise, with Zhang Chi’s Combat Power, he could have harvested far more; killing ten Tier Four Peak monsters in a single day would have been no problem at all.

Then there were the Tier Five existences.

The two of them had only encountered one: the humanoid monster.

Fortunately, Zhang Chi’s Divine Thought was powerful and his reflexes were quick enough that the being never actually managed to confront them.

Otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous.

At this moment, Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan flew together, each propelling themselves with a Top Grade Magical Treasure.

Zhang Chi was still using the Top Grade Treasure Cauldron, while Qin Yuyan used her Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Golden Lotus.

As for the Golden Seal, Zhang Chi had put it away long ago.

After all, one shouldn’t flaunt their wealth.

Even the Magical Power fluctuations from Zhang Chi’s body were suppressed, revealing only the cultivation of a Nascent Soul Middle Stage expert.

That day, the two finally arrived at their original entry point, where a large number of Nascent Soul Cultivators had already gathered.

And as time passed, their numbers continued to grow.

Some Demons were also drawn to the gathering, but with the human cultivators being so numerous and powerful, these Demons were only courting death and were quickly slaughtered.

After that, no more Demons came near.

After all, the Demons were not stupid. Even the siege on the human cultivators here thirty years ago was only because they had discovered the spatial channel.

The cultivators greeted one another upon sight. Even those who were strangers before struck up conversations.

Because they would all soon become members of the Desert Divine Palace, and most would even become Core Disciples.

As such, it was only natural for them to get acquainted.

A few cultivators approached Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan to talk. The pair responded politely—neither overly enthusiastic nor cold and distant.

Of course, these cultivators were primarily interested in Qin Yuyan.

For one, Qin Yuyan was beautiful, and Female Cultivators who had reached her level of cultivation were relatively rare.

For another, Zhang Chi was only revealing a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivation, so naturally, he wasn’t regarded with much importance.

But no one went out of their way to bother Zhang Chi. It was completely unnecessary, and since he and Qin Yuyan were teammates, they wouldn’t do so out of respect for her.

Besides simply conversing, many cultivators also held trade fairs, exchanging the various resources they had obtained in the Demon Abyss.

The wealthier cultivators even used Spirit Stones directly to purchase various Demon and Demon Beast Materials.

Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan also participated in a few trade fairs, selling some materials and buying some resources they needed.

However, both of them remained low-key, strictly controlling the volume of their trades so as not to attract too much attention.

Time continued to pass, and soon, the thirty-year period came to an end. All the cultivators who were going to return had arrived.

Those who hadn’t returned had undoubtedly perished or were otherwise unable to make it back.

"How can there be so few people left?"

"Yes, but that’s to be expected. The Demon Abyss is truly a deathtrap. If it weren’t for you and your Magical Treasure, Third Brother, I might not have made it back either."

The number of cultivators at the gathering was at its peak, yet when Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan looked around, they couldn’t help but be surprised.

Compared to when they first entered, their total number had been cut in half. The death rate was horrifying.

Moreover, even among the surviving half, many had been seriously injured during the trial.

However, Nascent Soul Cultivators had many healing methods. As long as they survived, they would generally be fine.

RUMBLE!

Just then, the space began to vibrate violently, and a spatial channel identical to the one from before appeared once more.

WHOOSH!

A Nascent Soul Peak Cultivator then flew out of it. It was the same Desert Divine Palace Elder from before.

PHEW!

Seeing this, the cultivators couldn’t help but let out a collective sigh of relief.

Their biggest worry had been that they would be forgotten here, even though the chance of that was slim.

"Everyone, congratulations," the Desert Divine Palace Elder said, looking at the crowd with a slight smile. "Now, it is time to go back. I will guard the rear for you."

Compared to the last time they met, his smile was clearly warmer, as these cultivators were all about to become his fellow sect members.

Some of them might even reach the Nascent Soul Peak in the future.

"Thank you, Elder!"

"Take care, Elder."

The cultivators all responded in kind before turning into streaks of Escape Light and flying into the spatial channel.