145: Chapter 145 The Swordsman Among Flowers, the Demon-Slaying Alliance

Zhao Feng tried to refine the investiture of the gods again on a cliff outside the waterfall. But this investiture of the gods was extremely peculiar; no techniques or tricks worked, and it could only be refined by letting his Spiritual Qi and Spiritual Sense naturally permeate it. Judging by the rate of refinement, it would take at least several years.

It seemed impossible to refine the investiture of the gods in the short term to realize his plan. Zhao Feng had to find another way, though he hadn't held much hope for it anyway, so he couldn't exactly call himself disappointed.

Inside his Dantian, a thumb-sized figure exactly like Zhao Feng sat cross-legged, smiling. With lowered brows and closed eyes, he held a hand seal, and a ring of seven-colored light shone brilliantly behind him.

The small figure wore a suit of brilliant, shining silver armor. Suspended to his right was a miniature long halberd, and to his left was a small blade. An ancient-looking scroll rested on his knees, and a small seal was in his little hand, spinning continuously.

This small figure was Zhao Feng's Nascent Soul, and these items were his entire current collection. There was the Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact armor, the Heaven-Swallowing Armor, and the Dragon Halberd, both refined from Yao Beast Materials and secret silver. There was the ten thousand mountain seal, refined from compressed mountain rock combined with a miniature Spiritual Vein and the Mountain God's Edict, as well as the blade aura and the investiture of the gods. These items would be Zhao Feng's reliance for venturing across the world in the future.

Relying on these Spiritual Artifacts, Zhao Feng's Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivation could unleash the combat power of the Middle Stage. Even without using his divine methods, which were comparable to the Peak of the Soul Emergence stage, he could still roam the world freely.

Zhao Feng's previous battles had actually been in the wrong direction. With the physical strength and power of his Bronze Body, close combat was his greatest advantage, while Spells remained his weak point in the short term.

After reflecting on his own mistakes, Zhao Feng began to plan for tomorrow's bride-snatching.

Rushing in blindly would certainly lead to certain death, so he had to make an escape plan beforehand. First, he needed to know exactly which Yao Race were going up the mountain, what their strengths were, what their personalities were like, and what their relationships were with each other.

This information was indeed too difficult to obtain for a rogue Cultivator without an organization like Zhao Feng, so he first had to find a Yao Beast to ask.

He was still nearly twenty kilometers away from White Deer Mountain, which counted as the outskirts of White Deer Mountain. Since the grand wedding was approaching, there should be quite a few Yao Race around. The Mountain Gods Domain caused too much of a commotion; until he understood the methods of high-level Cultivators, it was better to avoid using it if possible.

At this time, his super vision and super hearing would be very useful.

Considering the issue of planetary curvature, Zhao Feng could still see clearly within twenty kilometers. If that really didn't work, he could fly higher.

Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators could already perform short-distance spatial travel. According to the terminology of the cultivation world, it was called Displacement, or Small Displacement, to distinguish it from the Great Displacement of the Body Integration Stage.

Small Displacement allowed for spatial travel of about ten kilometers. Its principle was to open a sub-space attached to the main space. Due to spatial density and spatial folding, one could travel to any area within ten kilometers. Of course, this ten-kilometer limit existed because maintaining sub-space travel consumed a massive amount of energy; theoretically, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators could not exceed ten kilometers, with exceptions for special circumstances.

Therefore, Zhao Feng was currently capable of three flight modes, which meant he had quite a few methods at his disposal. In addition, he had a Golden-Winged Roc spirit pet, whose speed even exceeded that of his Bronze Body; it was truly terrifying.

Of course, it didn't need to be that complicated right now; he just needed to fly a little higher.

The night was cool as water. The moonless night provided Zhao Feng with too much convenience, and the possibility of exposure was greatly reduced. Zhao Feng's divine eyes were like lightning, his vision and hearing pushed to their limits.

Countless bird calls and insect chirps entered his ears, along with the snoring of distant households, dog barks, and more. As the chaotic information entered his brain, Zhao Feng quickly discovered what he needed.

There were human Cultivators nearby.

He looked in that direction and discovered a sneaky figure—it was actually him!

Zhao Feng smiled slightly, glanced back at the waterfall, and then punched through the space in front of him. The next second, he had already arrived in front of that person.

"Swordsman of the Flowers, long time no see!"

The figure shuddered and turned around in a panic, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. "Are you human or Yao?"

His voice trembled, and he seemed very afraid. This couldn't be blamed on him; he had just come out to use the bathroom, so how could he encounter someone coming to find him?

Zhao Feng smiled and said, "I am naturally human. I know you are from the Demon-Slaying Alliance. I came to find you this time because I hope you can introduce me; I have important matters to discuss with your Demon-Slaying Alliance."

The Swordsman of the Flowers saw that although he looked ordinary, he was gentle as jade and did not look like a bad person. Moreover, someone who could appear in this wilderness was not someone he could handle, so he said, "Alright, my brothers are nearby. Please come with me."

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist. May I ask what important matter you have to discuss with our Demon-Slaying Alliance?" Zhao Feng had already sensed someone approaching within his Mountain Gods Domain, but his Spiritual Sense had no reaction, indicating that the person's cultivation was above his own.

Following the voice, he saw a middle-aged Daoist. The Daoist wore a yellow robe, had a dark complexion, and his brows were full of sternness. He held a horsetail whisk, his eyes fixed tightly on Zhao Feng, ready to strike at any moment.

Zhao Feng performed a Daoist salute and said, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist. My name is Zhao Feng. I have come here because of the matter regarding White Deer Mountain. White Deer Mountain has gathered many Yao, and it is the perfect opportunity to slay demons. I also greatly admire your Alliance's work in slaying demons."

Hearing Zhao Feng's words, the Daoist's expression eased slightly, and his vigilance relaxed quite a bit. "Alright, Fellow Daoist, please come to our camp to talk."

After speaking, he stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation, but seeing his accumulated Spiritual Qi, he still hadn't completely let down his guard.

Zhao Feng knew in his heart that they were guarding against human Cultivators who had defected to the Yao Race, but he was open and aboveboard, so he had nothing to worry about. He walked ahead, as the firelight of the camp could be seen from here.

While it was called a camp, it was actually just a bonfire. Even this bonfire was for people like the Swordsman of the Flowers; if they were just Cultivators, sleeping in the open like this would have been perfectly fine.

There were five people in the camp. They were sitting cross-legged on the ground with their eyes slightly closed. Seeing Zhao Feng and the others approach, they stood up one after another. These five people were imbued with Spiritual light, and their Spiritual Qi was restrained; one could tell at a glance that they were accomplished Cultivators.

Zhao Feng's Spiritual Sense swept over them, and he discovered that two of them were at the Nascent Soul Stage, while he could not sense the depth of the other three; they only gave him a feeling of being unfathomable.

"Young Friend, casually scanning others with your Spiritual Sense is not a polite practice." The white-haired old Daoist, who was the leader of the five, stopped the Daoist nun beside him who was showing a look of displeasure, and said gently.

"Greetings, Seniors. I am merely a rogue Cultivator who has long been in the mountains and am unfamiliar with such rules. Please do not take offense." Zhao Feng showed an apologetic expression and bowed to each of them respectively.

"Come, please take a seat." The white-haired old Daoist smiled.

The group took their seats one after another and began to chat in front of the bonfire, while the Swordsman of the Flowers stood to the side. The relationship between status and strength in the cultivation world was evident.