Chapter 280: An Increase in Overall Cultivation

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: An Increase in Overall Cultivation

But his gains over the past half-month weren’t limited to that. Ever since the canyon, he had put away his Celestial Dragon Armor, relying solely on his body’s defenses to withstand the beasts’ attacks.

Not only did his physical defenses improve, but his body’s resilience was also tempered.

Especially during his battle with the giant ape, he had eventually stopped using his True Qi, relying entirely on his physical strength.

In other words, Chu Fan could now fight an opponent of the same Realm and stage relying on nothing but his physical fortitude and strength.

The White Fox’s sensitivity to auras far surpassed Chu Fan’s, so with its guidance, he quickly found Yan Ying and the others.

They were resting in a forest on a hill. When Chu Fan arrived, the ground was littered with beast carcasses and fresh blood.

The dozen or so people were clearly divided into two groups. One consisted of Yan Ying, Ye Xiaohan, and Wei Mian; the other was Long Yinwen, Guo Zi, and their party.

By the looks of it, everyone except Long Yinwen was injured.

They had clearly just been through a major battle.

Seeing Chu Fan arrive, Yan Ying’s group looked overjoyed, but Guo Zi and his people showed only anger and contempt.

"You’re back. Did you find those places?" Yan Ying asked, her voice laced with fatigue.

Chu Fan nodded. "I’ve found the locations of Moon Cang Mountain, Celestial Wave Valley, and the Spring of Life. Where should we go first?"

"Which one is closer?" Yan Ying asked.

"Moon Cang Mountain."

"Then let’s go to Moon Cang Mountain first," Yan Ying said.

"Do you need more rest?"

"I’ll just take a pill." Yan Ying took a small bottle from her robes, swallowed a pill, and stood up. "Let’s go!"

Chu Fan patted Ye Xiaohan and Wei Mian on the shoulder. "Let’s go. We’ll head to Moon Cang Mountain first. I have something to tell you on the way."

As the four of them were about to leave, Guo Zi stood up and blocked their path.

"Chu Fan, don’t you forget your responsibility for being allowed into the Hua Xu Secret Realm."

"No one’s stopping you from being a lapdog, but don’t you dare order me around. Who the hell do you think you are?" Chu Fan glared at him.

The moment Chu Fan’s words fell, Guo Zi’s followers all got to their feet, glaring daggers at him.

Chu Fan ignored them and looked to Long Yinwen. "Are you going with them? Or with us?"

Knowing he couldn’t avoid taking a side, Long Yinwen stood up. "I’ll go with you for now."

"Your Highness!" Guo Zi cried out anxiously.

"That’s enough. We all entered this Secret Realm to seek our own fortunes. I have important matters to attend to with Chu Fan’s group, so we will part ways for now," Long Yinwen declared.

Guo Zi glowered at Chu Fan and warned, "Protect His Highness. If anything happens to him, I guarantee I will take your life."

Chu Fan just chuckled coldly, helped Yan Ying up, and started walking forward without a word.

Once they were on their way, Chu Fan said to the other four, "While we’re in this Secret Realm, if you encounter beasts you can handle, don’t avoid the fight. Killing them will grant you a portion of True Spirit Qi that will aid your Cultivation. It’s also a great way to gain combat experience, so don’t waste these opportunities."

"Is that really how it works?" Wei Mian asked in astonishment.

"It’s best to fight beasts with Combat Power comparable to your own. As long as you can guarantee your safety, kill as many as you can. Your Cultivation will improve rapidly," Chu Fan explained.

"No wonder everyone who enters the Secret Realm comes out with their Cultivation greatly improved! No one knew this was the reason. We all just assumed it was due to finding some lucky opportunity!" Long Yinwen said, nodding from the side.

As they spoke, they flew over a mountain ridge and spotted a forest below where at least several hundred wild boar-like beasts were foraging.

Chu Fan asked, "Those beasts below have the Combat Power of the Divine Separation Realm Middle Stage. Wei Mian, want to go down and give it a try?"

Wei Mian shook his head. "I’m already at the Divinity Separation Realm Peak. Until I break through my bottleneck and enter the Integration Realm, accumulating more is useless."

Chu Fan sighed in understanding. Wei Mian had been born with two souls in one body. Until that issue was resolved, he could never enter the Integration Realm—not even with an Integration Pill.

"When we find some beasts with Combat Power equivalent to the Soul Emergence Realm, we’ll let Long Yinwen and Yan Ying have a go," Chu Fan said.

Chu Fan was now addressing Long Yinwen directly by name.

To Chu Fan, titles like Emperor or Crown Prince were merely matters of status. If someone wanted his respect, they had to earn it.

This Imperial Grandson possessed little actual ability, yet he still tried to play political games. Chu Fan naturally felt no respect for him.

They passed a river and saw a pack of massive, bear-like beasts splashing by the bank.

"This pack of beasts has Combat Power roughly equivalent to the Soul Emergence Realm. Yan Ying, you go down and give it a try. Xiaohan, you go too. I’ll watch from above and provide backup. If you’re in danger, I’ll intervene immediately," Chu Fan said, pointing at the beasts below.

Yan Ying nodded, and she and Ye Xiaohan dove straight toward the pack of beasts.

Long Yinwen followed close behind them.

Ye Xiaohan was only in the Nascent Soul Realm. Logically, fighting those beasts should have been a suicide mission for him, but with Chu Fan watching over them, he wasn’t worried.

Yan Ying was quite talented. It wasn’t long after charging into the pack that they managed to slay one of the beasts.

Ye Xiaohan and Long Yinwen, however, were struggling badly.

’You know, if you go down and kill the beasts yourself, I have a way to channel the True Spirit Qi to them,’ the White Fox said to Chu Fan. ’They don’t have to do the killing. It would save time.’

’Huh? It works like that?’

Since that was an option, Chu Fan didn’t want to waste any more time. Without a second thought, he drew his Juntian Sword and charged down.

With his Cultivation at the Integration Realm Tier Nine Peak, he could slay swathes of these Soul Emergence Realm beasts with a single swing of his Sword.

He charged into the horde, and in no time, all seventy or eighty of the beasts were slain.

"Well?" Chu Fan asked Yan Ying and Ye Xiaohan.

Ye Xiaohan exclaimed in delight, "My Cultivation jumped four Tiers!"

"I went up one Tier," said Yan Ying.

But Long Yinwen sounded frustrated. "Why didn’t I even go up by half a Tier?"

This uneven distribution was, of course, the White Fox’s doing.

Chu Fan explained, "It’s probably because you were too far from me."

The group continued toward Moon Cang Mountain. Whenever they encountered beasts, they would stop. Chu Fan took the lead in the attacks, while the others followed behind to reap the rewards.

Before they even reached Moon Cang Mountain, Ye Xiaohan’s Cultivation had advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm Peak, and Yan Ying had reached the Soul Emergence Realm Peak.

Even with the White Fox’s biased distribution, Long Yinwen still managed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm Peak.

Chu Fan said to the envious Wei Mian, "Don’t worry. I know where the Celestial Dao Fruit is. After we visit the Nine-Layered Tower on Moon Cang Mountain, I’ll take you to get the fruit first."

Wei Mian was deeply moved. If not for Chu Fan, he never would have had the chance to enter the Secret Realm in the first place.

Not only had Chu Fan secured him a spot to enter the Secret Realm, but during the half-month he was away, he had also remembered his plight and found the Celestial Dao Fruit for him.

How could he not be moved?

’To think, he and his wife had been plotting against Chu Fan at the very beginning.’ Who could have imagined that Chu Fan would not only forgive them but also go to such lengths to help him? ℯ

"Brother Chu, from this day forward, I will follow your lead in all things."

"There’s no need for that. It was nothing."