<h4>Chapter 303 - Immortal Beast Stampede</h4>
“When do stampedes usually happen?” asked Long Chen.
“I don’t know about that either. But don’t worry. During a stampede, a protected area is activated in the Elementary Zone where more powerful cultivators would remain. As long as you rush over as soon as possible, you will be protected,” Zhang Yuanteng exined with a grin, patting Long Chen’s shoulder.
“The protected area in Area Eighteen should be at the boundary between Areas Seventeen and Eighteen. If there is a stampede, all we need to do is rush there. However, you don’t have to worry. Stampedes are very rare and have only happened a few times. Immortal Guards are usually very safe.”
Long Chen was only asking casually, so he did not think much of the stampedes.
Subsequently, Long Chen tried obtaining information on the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit from different sources, but to no avail. He slowly sensed that if he wanted to climb the ranks in the Counter Essence Realm to gain ess to the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit, his current cultivation level was far from sufficient. He needed to be at least at the Seventh River Stage.
“If I had known, I would have cultivated until that level before entering this ce. But fortunately, there are endless immortal beasts in the Counter Essence Realm. I am very close to reaching the Third River Stage already.”
He had made tremendous progress with the Divine Fire Clone technique, condensing more and more fire seeds to be nted in his meridian points. Long Chen had also mastered thest attack of the Azure Dragon Combat Technique, which was several times stronger than Nine Heavens Dragon Ascension and was the essence of thebat technique.
There was more important progress—Long Chen realized that he could cultivate the third level of the Soul Swallowing Gaze. He was already adept at using Seduction and Soul Snatching, which were the first two levels. As for the third level, it did not have any true attacking power, but it would boost Long Chen’s strength greatly.
The third level of the Soul Swallowing Gaze was called Sight.
Long Chen discovered that when he used Sight, the room, mountains, and rocks around him would disappear, or rather, seem like they had disappeared. What remained clearest in his sight would be humans. Using the Soul Swallowing Gaze, he would see people as strange gray clouds of mist, which seemed to be their souls.
This applied not just to people, but to all life forms. Even a flying insect would be clear as day when the Soul Swallowing Gaze was active. Even if he was in the darkest ce, he would be able to detect the movements and locations of life forms. It was the equivalent of being able to see souls.
During a routine patrol, Long Chen got a clear look at a few beasts in the mist, and he could tell how strong they were.
<i>With the Soul Swallowing Gaze, I will be at an advantage if I fight someone in the dark. I can prevent ambushes too. No living creature can escape my eyes ...</i>
Long Chen was impressed that the mere third level of the Soul Swallowing Gaze was already so awesome. He wondered how much better it could get. It came from Li Xuanji, so there was no way it would be simple.
<i>The end of the month will arrive soon. I can’t rest well knowing Xiao Xi is at Yuqin Pce. There’s not much time left. I must seize this chance to find the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit. But if I’m stuck patrolling this ce every day, when will I get a chance to check out the Advanced Zone?</i>
Long Chen thought long and hard about this problem for a few days.
On the eighteenth day after his arrival, Yu Tao arranged for Long Chen to continue patrolling with Yu Chong, a task reserved for the lowest-ranked Immortal Guards. Although he had seen many ck-tier herbs so far, he had not seen a single Earth-tier herb. All Earth-tier herbs were guarded by Yu Tao and the rest with their lives.
In the face of Yu Chong’s increasingly frequent provocations and betrayals, Long Chen would have killed him if they were not in the Counter Essence Realm.
Yu Chong, who was walking behind him, asked usingly, “Long Chen, this is clearly the path. Where are you going?”
“Is where I’m going any of your business?” Long Chen ignored him. He had suddenly noticed some movement within the mist in that direction, and he wanted to check it out. However, when Yu Chong saw that Long Chen was being rude, he immediately argued back.
“What did you just say, punk? Are you looking for death? Don’t think you can be so smug just because you beat me one time. Let me tell you this: you are no match for me in a real battle,” Yu Chong yelled, stepping in front of Long Chen as he red at him.
“Idiot.” Long Chen ignored him. He knew that he could not kill Yu Chong here, so he did not want to waste his efforts. He needed to be able to kill malicious people like him in one strike.
When he was about to walk around Yu Chong, he suddenly felt a vibration in the ground.
<i>Did I imagine that? </i>He thought he had imagined it at first, but even Yu Chong’s face changed. Yu Chong quicklyy on the ground and listened. Then he paled.
Long Chen heard many beast roars that seemed to shred through space, shaking the entire Counter Essence Realm!
The ground trembled violently, and the sound of countless beings running came from all directions.
<i>Boom!</i>
Only tens of thousands of horses charging together could create this sound.
When he looked up, Long Chen realized that the mist around him had be much thicker than before. He calmly activated his Soul Swallowing Gaze and looked far out into the mist. To his shock, a dense crowd of powerful souls were running from the depths of the mist in his direction.
<i>Immortal beast stampede? </i>The term Zhang Yuanteng had recently mentioned to Long Chen popped into his mind.
“Immortal beast stampede!” Yu Chong shouted in terror. He had heard of the terrifying stampedes before, and now one was unfolding right before him. Seeing as the horde of beasts would arrive soon, he did not care about arguing with Long Chen. Everyone had likely sensed the hordeing, and the weaker Immortal Guards were already heading towards the protected area.
Without a word, Yu Chong ran. Since Yu Tao hadn’t exined anything to Long Chen, he assumed Long Chen had no idea how scary an immortal beast stampede was.
<i>That punk doesn’t know a thing and is standing there like an idiot. I’ll let him die. </i>Yu Chong felt great relief thinking that Long Chen would die beneath the ws of immortal beasts.
When he saw Yu Chong running away, there was a cold sh in Long Chen’s eyes.
“I can’t believe an immortal beast stampede really happened. It’s a good thing though—I can take advantage of the chaos and risk my life to enter the Advanced Zone. I’ll try to find the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit there. If I don’t do it now, I might not get another chance. I can wait, but Xiao Xi cannot.”
With that thought, Long Chen immediately ran with Yu Chong.
When he saw Yu Chong running, he grinned. He did not dare kill Yu Chong before, but now? The rumbling of running beasts was right behind them, and perhaps the beasts would arrive in a few breaths’ time. Long Chen could use the beasts to kill Yu Chong.
To be honest, Long Chen had been holding back his anger for a very long time. Now, it was time for him to explode!
As he chased after Yu Chong, Long Chen activated his Dragon Soul Transformation and took out the Azure Dragon Halberd. It glinted coldly.
<i>I’ll let him have a taste of the Azure Dragon Combat Technique’s final move. </i>Long Chen quietly but quickly caught up to him.
“Yu Chong.” A soft voice rang in the panicked Yu Chong’s ear. He had been initially focused on fleeing, but he was startled to hear Long Chen’s voice behind him. His shock turned to rage because Long Chen should have been waiting at the spot for the immortal beast stampede. Why was he chasing after him spouting nonsense?
“Get the fuck away!” Yu Chong yelled, turning around!
“Azure Dragon Combat Technique ...”
When Yu Chong turned around, a powerful aura suddenly pressed on him, making it hard to breathe. Amidst his confusion, he saw a white thread flying towards his head. Before he could react, he felt an agonizing, sharp pain between his brows. Then the world went dark.
“Dragon King Burial ...”
This was thest attack of the Azure Dragon Combat Technique. It was clean and simple, yet it brought unparalleled destruction. When Long Chen closed in on Yu Chong’s back, he released the attack. Yu Chong did not even have a chance to retaliate before he died.
He had never expected Long Chen to be this bold. Although Long Chen was not a wolf, he had a personality like one—he had the ability to bide his time, and viciousness. Yu Chong had died at the hands of his wolf-like nature.
After killing Yu Chong, Long Chen threw the body behind him. There was an endless sea of immortal beasts chasing him. Since they hated Immortal Guards to the bone, nothing would be left of Yu Chong’s body in seven minutes. There would be no evidence of his death.
“There was no reason for this other than to make you understand that anyone who angers me will meet their end. It’s the same for you, your older brother Yu Tao, and even the Ninth Prince.” The corners of his lips curled up as he looked at Yu Chong’s body.
He stood in the same spot for a while. Using the Soul Swallowing Gaze, he could already see the approaching beasts. If he returned to the base too quickly, Yu Tao would definitely be suspicious. Now that the immortal beasts were in sight, he could say that Yu Chong had run off on his own first, but the beasts caught up and killed him. That way, Yu Tao would not have any evidence to refute his im.
“There are so many beasts. This is definitely the immortal beast stampede that Zhang Yuanteng mentioned.”
Long Chen headed towards the protected area. The horde of beasts had caused a hugemotion, and the sounds of beast roars shook the heavens and the earth. Many other Immortal Guards were running towards the protected area as well. Since Long Chen was fast, he spotted Zhang Yuanteng just before he arrived.