Chapter 435 - 273: Mist Sea 2

Chapter 435: Chapter 273: Mist Sea 2

As they traveled through the forest, the entire group, being in the Gang Qi Realm, had plenty of Inner Qi. Since this stretch near Mengchu City had few and weak desolate beasts, they could proceed at full speed.

Di Kui had consulted with Yu Fei, and they agreed to travel at full speed. Though Yu Fei’s outwardly displayed realm was only the Five Realms Divine Intent, his Body Technique was superior to everyone else’s.

Aside from the Celestial Star Travel Body and the Shrinking Earth Stepping Technique, he hadn’t practiced any new Body Techniques. Fueled by his immense Inner Qi and enhanced by his Wind Attribute Divine Intent, Yu Fei’s speed was first-rate even among Gang Qi Martial Artists.

Ye Shuping had told him that after mastering the Great Sun Glaze Body, he would automatically gain an Escape Technique, with speed far surpassing his current level. There was no need to waste energy practicing a new Body Technique.

The group moved swiftly through the woods. The trees here were relatively short, under ten meters tall, and they made good time leaping between them.

The team’s bottleneck, by comparison, was the two strongmen. Their footsteps were heavy, and they made a considerable amount of noise.

These two men were burly, with knotted muscles, and each carried a massive, custom-made wooden crate on his back, topped with a solid shield.

The strongmen were responsible for transporting supplies and protecting their employer. These two likely specialized in defensive and enhancement Secret Techniques.

A man and a woman flanked them on the left and right. The pair had a chilly aura, and the woman carried a bow and a blade.

’To be honest, ever since super-powered weapons came into existence, very few Martial Artists practiced archery.’

’In terms of both range and power, bows and arrows were far inferior to super-powered weapons.’

’Whether facing colossal, otherworldly beasts or a tide of monsters vast as the sea, the utility of a bow and arrow was quite limited.’

’Of course, a Martial Artist who had truly mastered the art of archery was still incredibly formidable.’

Yu Fei mused to himself, ’Perhaps I could try practicing archery. The limited range of my Immeasurable Sword Qi has always been a major weakness.’

’I’ve been cultivating in the Divine Realm for so long, and my Spiritual Power has increased immensely, yet the optimal killing range of my Immeasurable Sword Qi is still barely a hundred meters. Beyond that, the Sword Qi becomes uncontrollable.’

’If I were to master an ultra-long-range archery technique...’

Yu Fei tucked the idea away. Once he advanced to the Gang Qi Realm, he could give it a try.

Traveling at full speed, the group made rapid progress.

After half a day, Di Kui appeared and called for a half-hour rest.

"Mr. Gao, the Mist Sea is just ahead. This next leg of the journey will be dangerous. We need to avoid combat as much as possible and keep our energy levels at seventy percent or higher so we can respond to any emergencies."

Yu Fei himself felt no fatigue; this level of exertion was less than a sparring session with Ah Zhen. However, noticing the somewhat ragged breathing of the strongmen, he agreed to Di Kui’s request.

"Fengxi, go catch a desolate beast!"

"You got it."

A soft voice drifted on the wind, but no one was in sight.

The temporary rest stop Di Kui had chosen was quite strategic. It was next to a cliff face, with a river not far off. Yu Fei also noticed numerous signs of human activity, suggesting this was a wilderness outpost Di Kui had established.

The two strongmen set down the large wooden crates they were carrying and immediately began meditating to recover their strength. The three guards took up positions to watch their surroundings, acting with practiced professionalism.

Yu Fei didn’t stop them, even though he knew there were no threats within a fifty-kilometer radius.

With the advancement of his realm and breakthroughs in his Spiritual Secret Techniques, Yu Fei’s perceptive range had expanded even further.

The Soul Foundation Secret Skill was like soil, and his various perception-based Secret Techniques were the seeds. Now that they had sprouted and grown, his perceptive abilities soared. The more he advanced, the stronger his senses became, making him a veritable human radar.

"What’s in those? They look heavy."

Yu Fei was curious. Between the two of them, they were carrying over four cubic meters of supplies. Di Kui had arranged for them to live off the land by hunting desolate beasts, so why did they need so much equipment?

The burly man on the left opened his eyes, stood up, and opened his wooden crate to begin his explanation.

"Mr. Gao..."

This was the name Wang Yu had used, and the others had followed suit.

"The most dangerous part of our journey is the latter half. The two of us are carrying three camping tents in total. They’re the ’Wayfarer’ model from the ’Ancient People’ brand. They have some inherent stealth capabilities, are fireproof, heat-resistant, and soundproof. They can withstand attacks from desolate beasts below the third tier and have a built-in alarm system."

"These tents make up most of the weight."

Yu Fei took one out for a quick look. ’No wonder it can block desolate beast attacks,’ he thought. ’This thing is made of interlocking metal scales and alloy plates. It must weigh a ton.’

"Additionally, we’ve brought a large supply of insect repellent, healing potions, and drinks for restoring Inner Qi."

Yu Fei glanced at them. They were a brand he didn’t recognize. He opened a bottle and took a sip. It was slightly bitter with what seemed to be a hint of alcohol. He didn’t like it.

Yu Fei rummaged through the contents and opened the last crate.

"This one has almost half a crate of high-energy compressed rations, enough for three months..."

"And that’s everything!"

Yu Fei was puzzled.

"Are we going to use all of this?"

’I’ve already shortened the trip to about half a month. Aren’t these preparations a bit excessive?’

Shi Qiang said with a good-natured honesty:

"Mr. Gao, these are for you. The manager said you might not have prepared your own supplies, so he specifically instructed us to bring these for your use in the Eternal Night Forest."

"Rest assured, these are the items we’ve determined to be the most useful. Since we don’t know how long you’ll be staying in the Eternal Night Forest, I prepared a three-month supply. This is the maximum amount we can carry!"

Shi Qiang’s explanation was very thorough. This must have been Wang Yu’s arrangement.

In truth, Yu Fei didn’t need any supplies, but he couldn’t just say so. After a moment’s thought, he spoke.

"I won’t need that much. I only plan to stay in the Eternal Night Forest for about a week. You’ve prepared far too much. Carrying all this will seriously slow us down!"

"How about this: we’ll use the surplus supplies to sustain a forced march. That way, we can travel even faster."

Shi Qiang looked as if he wanted to object but held his tongue. Yu Fei was the employer, and Wang Yu had warned them to obey his every command, so Shi Qiang nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Mr. Gao. We’ll reorganize the supplies, then!"

The other strongman also got up to help Shi Qiang reorganize the contents of the wooden crates.

Before long, Fengxi returned with a deer—a fourth-tier desolate beast.

Di Kui had already built a fire.

After a brief rest, the group continued on their way, officially entering the region known as the Mist Sea.

This forest was called the Mist Sea because of the omnipresent, heavy fog.

The trees here grew progressively taller, with giant thirty-to-forty-meter-high trees becoming a common sight.

The mist swirled only beneath the canopy. Since Martial Artists below the Grandmaster realm could not fly, the fog had a significant impact on their travel speed.

At Yu Fei’s request, the supplies originally intended for him were now used to sustain their forced march, which increased their pace considerably.

With various potions to replenish their Inner Qi and high-energy compressed food to sustain them, the group’s rest periods were cut even shorter. They now spent more than half of every day on the move.

At night, the two strongmen set up the campsite and were the first to go to sleep.

The task of keeping watch was assigned to a guard named Ya Kuan and to Fengxi. The three guards and the two rangers—Di Kui and Fengxi—rotated this duty.

After five consecutive days of forced marching, the group’s condition had noticeably deteriorated.

Exhaustion was etched on every face.

It was mainly due to the difficulty of navigating the Mist Forest. Di Kui frequently had to stop to confirm their route, and they had been attacked by numerous desolate beasts.

Here, both the density and strength of the desolate beasts had increased significantly. They were even attacked by a pack of fifth-tier wolves, each the size of a calf with a ferocious temperament.

Yu Fei, however, did not make a move. He simply watched as the three guards drove the wolf pack away.

Di Kui and Fengxi were truly skilled. Every night, they managed to find a suitable place to make camp. Through his perception, Yu Fei realized these spots must have been deliberately prepared in advance.

At each campsite, the trees were relatively small, making them easy to clear.

Yu Fei had kept his senses extended the entire time, and he was finally beginning to understand the so-called "distorting power."

In fact, the wolf pack that had attacked them earlier had entered his perception range long before. At that time, they were only fourth-tier.

The night before, this pack had defeated a fifth-tier porcupine. After devouring it, the entire pack had advanced to the fifth tier.

’This is completely illogical,’ Yu Fei thought. ’It doesn’t even follow the law of conservation of energy.’

’Then again, who knows if the law of conservation of energy even applies in this godforsaken place.’

Yu Fei had also seen some trees in the forest grow at least a meter overnight. And these were supposed to be supernatural trees!

Di Kui and the others were now focused on one thing: reaching Celestial Rock City tomorrow to finally get some rest. This high-intensity march had kept their nerves stretched taut.

’Hm? Trouble!’

Yu Fei’s senses suddenly picked up the previously defeated wolf pack. They had advanced in rank again, their numbers had grown, and they were now charging straight for the camp. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

He couldn’t comprehend it. Just a few days ago, they were fourth-tier wolf-beasts. Now, as if they were cheating, they had successively advanced all the way to the sixth tier.