188: Chapter 188 The Journey to the West

Tang An looked left and right, full of anticipation.

Chu Feng, however, was indifferent; those bandit Cultivators, or those who specialized in robbery, had sharp eyes and rarely made mistakes.

The truly good items had long been kept for themselves, and what was brought out for sale was mostly common merchandise.

Expecting to find a hidden gem here was unlikely.

The four of them wandered in front of various stalls.

Chu Feng's expression was calm; while he appeared to be looking at the goods casually, he was secretly keeping an eye on the surroundings.

He carefully observed the information of every Disciple of the Asura Ghost Sect.

Their numbers, their Cultivation levels, the tokens they wore, their patrol routes, as well as the Formations and Restrictions that might be laid out in the small town.

This information was extremely important for Duobao Pass.

If the Sect were to launch an attack on the Asura Ghost Sect in the future, this small town would inevitably be the first stronghold to be eradicated.

He did not alert the other three; scouting alone was sufficient.

Chu Feng's Divine Sense was even more powerful than that of an average Golden Core Perfection Cultivator, so scanning around quietly made him difficult to detect.

Yun Luoli and Jiang Miaoyi walked arm in arm; they were particularly interested in those exquisite accessories, picking one up from time to time to examine it closely.

Previously, Jiang Miaoyi was only interested in Cultivation, but now, she had actually grown fond of accessories as well.

Indeed, people do change.

Yun Luoli stopped in front of a stall and picked up a small sachet.

The stall owner was a thin, middle-aged man. Seeing a customer approach, he hurriedly introduced, "Young lady, you have a good eye. This is a Spirit Gathering Sachet. Wearing it on your person can speed up the gathering of spiritual power. Although the boost is not large, it excels in durability."

Chu Feng smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "The scent is quite nice. If you like it, buy two."

Yun Luoli happily paid the Spirit Stones, picked up two sachets, and gave one to Jiang Miaoyi.

Tang An stopped in front of a stall specializing in Talismans.

He picked up a Profound Rank High Grade Concealment Talisman and examined it carefully.

The stall owner was a burly man with rolls of fat. Seeing Tang An looking at the Talismans, he quickly put on a smiling face and began to introduce them, praising the Talisman to the high heavens.

Tang An sneered, sizing up the stall owner who looked less like a craftsman and more like a butcher or a bandit.

This Talisman was nine times out of ten stolen goods.

He thought about it; perhaps he could really use these concealment Talismans in the subsequent journey, so he didn't say much and took out Spirit Stones to buy a few.

All three of them had found something.

Only Chu Feng looked again and again, walking from one stall to another, but there was never a single item that could catch his Dharma Eye.

In his eyes, these so-called "treasures" were too ordinary.

... The group finished their rest and returned to the caravan.

Ximen Qing stood in front of a carriage, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Prepare to set off. The journey ahead will be even more treacherous, so you must remain vigilant."

Following Ximen Qing's order, the caravan slowly drove out of the oasis town and stepped into the vast desert once again.

The wheels rolled on, kicking up dust that filled the sky.

At the entrance of the oasis town.

Several men resembling Loose Cultivators stood in the shadows, their gazes fixed tightly on the departing caravan.

One of the tall, thin men narrowed his eyes, a smile hanging on the corners of his mouth.

The caravan traveled day and night, barely stopping except for necessary rest.

Three days later, the caravan finally crossed the desert.

As the last stretch of sand was left behind, a vast expanse of rolling mountains and forests appeared before them.

The trees were towering, their branches and leaves blocking out the sky; just approaching them made one feel a chill.

"We have entered the forest. Everyone, perk up!" Ximen Qing shouted.

The caravan slowed down, and everyone subconsciously gripped the Magical Artifacts in their hands.

The mist in the jungle grew thicker and thicker, a vast expanse of white. From time to time, the roars of unknown beasts came from within the mist, sometimes near and sometimes far, making people's hearts hair-raising.

"Everyone be careful, stay close to the team. Once we cross this mountain, we will reach the territory of the Ximen Clan. Hold on!"

Everyone dismounted and walked forward step by step.

No one dared to fly; in this kind of ghostly weather, flying up was just courting death.

And no one was willing to go ahead to scout the path; no one wanted to be cannon fodder.

The four of them, led by Chu Feng, walked in the middle of the procession, following unhurriedly.

"Sss!"

Suddenly, a black shadow swooped down from the canopy above, its speed astonishingly fast.

Its target was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Ximen Clan at the front of the team.

Before that person could react, a sharp pain followed.

He looked down and saw a giant python as thick as a water bucket biting his body tightly, its two fangs deeply embedded in his flesh.

"Ah!!!"

He screamed, and with a 'crack', he was broken into two pieces.

Blood sprayed, staining the surrounding leaves red.

"You beast, you are courting death!"

The surrounding Ximen Clan Disciples were furious and attacked one after another.

Magical Artifacts flew into the air, flashing with colorful lights, and smashed fiercely onto the giant python.

The giant python hadn't even had time to swallow before it was chopped into several pieces. The snake head rolled onto the ground, its mouth still opening and closing.

The caravan continued forward, but the atmosphere was clearly more tense.

They hadn't gone far when the ground suddenly shook violently, as if some behemoth was moving underground.

Before everyone could stand firm, the ground a hundred zhang ahead suddenly exploded. Soil and stones splashed everywhere, and a giant pangolin the size of a large cart burst out from the ground.

The pangolin was covered in gray-brown scales, each one the size of a washbasin, layered on top of each other like an indestructible suit of armor.

It raised its head, its two small eyes staring coldly at the caravan, then let out a low roar and rushed straight over.

"Form a defensive Formation!" Ximen Qing's face changed drastically, and his voice went out of tune.

Everyone acted quickly, and colorful lights wove into a barrier, attempting to stop the behemoth.

But the pangolin didn't care at all and rammed right into it.

"Boom!!!"

The defensive Formation collapsed instantly, and those Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators were sent flying hundreds of zhang away, crashing to the ground and vomiting blood.

Several Magical Artifacts smashed onto the pangolin, only making metallic clanging sounds before being bounced away, not even leaving a white mark.

The pangolin curled into a ball, rolled on the spot, and crushed directly toward the crowd.

"Run!"

"Help!"

Screams erupted everywhere.

Many Cultivators couldn't dodge in time and were crushed by the giant ball of flesh. Their bones cracked audibly, and they were turned into patties on the spot.

Where the pangolin rolled, it left behind shocking trails of blood.

It rolled to the side of the carriages transporting resources and smashed into them fiercely.

"Crack!"

Several carriages made of refined iron shattered in response, and the metal Ore and medicinal herbs in the carriages scattered all over the ground.

Several horses pulling the carriages were killed on the spot, lying in pools of blood and twitching.

"Beast!"

Ximen Qing's eyes turned red, and his magic power surged throughout his body.

"Old Tang, go slash it a couple of times just to show some effort." Chu Feng stood in the distance and smiled slightly.

"Alright!" Tang An had been itching for a fight for a long time. Hearing this, he immediately raised his sword, flew up, and stabbed toward the pangolin's rear.

The cultivation level Tang An displayed was Foundation Establishment Completion Stage.

The pangolin was a Level 10 Profound Rank Yao Beast.

The two belonged to the same Realm.

With Tang An's addition, the pressure on Ximen Qing was greatly reduced.

It soon fell into a disadvantage.

Seeing this, the surrounding Cultivators were invigorated. They swarmed forward, and attacks of all colors rained down upon it. The pangolin let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground with a boom.

The dust settled, leaving only a bloody, mangled corpse on the ground.

But the caravan had also paid a heavy price.

After counting the numbers, more than forty Cultivators had died, and more than thirty were injured.

"Quick, pack up the things; we cannot stay long!" Ximen Qing's face was full of exhaustion, but he still forced himself to command the group.

Everyone scrambled to clean up the mess, but before they could set off, the mist suddenly became even thicker.

A sharp whistling sound came from the mist, getting closer and closer, and more and more piercing.

Immediately after, countless black shadows rushed out of the mist, covering the sky and earth, dense and numerous.

It was bats.

Sheep-faced bats.

These bats were incredibly ugly, with faces like sheep, mouths like rats, sharp teeth, and wingspans of two to three chi wide.

They came in swarms, and their numbers were uncountable, at least a thousand of them.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!!!"

Waves of sound were emitted from their mouths, like countless needles piercing into one's ears simultaneously.

"Ah!!!"

Several Qi Refinement Cultivators immediately covered their ears and screamed, blood flowing from their seven orifices as they fell to the ground, rolling.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators were no better off; they only felt their heads buzzing, splitting with pain, unable to concentrate at all.

"Not good! These are Sheep-faced Bats, gregarious Yao Beasts. Everyone, seal your hearing and kill them quickly!" Jin Lian's face turned pale as she shouted loudly.

Chu Feng also felt a wave of sound pierce into his mind, but he recovered instantly.

The Sheep-faced Bats specifically targeted injured Cultivators.

They swooped down, their sharp teeth biting into necks, tearing with force. As blood gushed out, they pressed their mouths against it, gulping down the blood.

The caravan was in total chaos.

Hundreds and thousands of bats flew everywhere, biting anyone they saw.

The Cultivators were stumbling about, screams ringing incessantly in their ears. Some desperately swung their Magical Artifacts to drive them away, some held their wounds and fled, and some fell to the ground, twitching.

"Woo, woo, woo!!!"

Suddenly, a sound of a flute rang out.

Jin Lian took out a flute Magical Artifact and played it. Sound waves rippled out from the flute, spreading like water waves, disrupting the sound frequency of the Sheep-faced Bats.

Everyone's headache was instantly alleviated significantly.

"Quick! Everyone, attack together! My wife cannot hold on for long!" Ximen Qing's face was full of anxiety, and his eyes were red.

Several Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Ximen Clan hurriedly cast Spells, taking advantage of the moment the bats' sound waves were interrupted to fight and kill them.

Apart from their sound wave attacks, these bats did not have strong defense. Once the Cultivators caught their breath, they immediately counterattacked.

One by one, the bats were killed and fell to the ground, and their corpses soon piled up on the ground.

"Go!"

Seeing this, Chu Feng waved his hand, and the Five Poisons Banner was sacrificed. It shook in the wind, transforming into a huge green cloth, flying in the air.

The green cloth shook in the air, and a strange suction force surged out. Hundreds of Sheep-faced Bats couldn't struggle in time and were sucked into the banner, disappearing without a trace.

With this move, half of the bats in the sky vanished instantly.

The remaining Cultivators were greatly invigorated and charged up, shouting.

Magical Artifacts flew, Spells blasted, and colorful lights illuminated the mist-filled jungle.

With Chu Feng's assistance, in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the bats were dead or injured. Except for a few that escaped, the remaining corpses carpeted the ground.