Chapter 776: Encounter

An adult Red-tailed Crane was still guarding the nest.

Qin Sang climbed silently, approaching the nest.

The guarding Red-tailed Crane was standing at the edge of the crevice, watching the chase unfolding below. It vaguely sensed something and turned its head towards Qin Sang's hiding place.

Qin Sang already knew the Red-tailed Crane's spiritual perception was keen. Realizing he had been exposed, he immediately activated a talisman and lunged towards the crevice at top speed.

The escaping light rapidly magnified in the Red-tailed Crane's pupils.

The Red-tailed Crane raised its head and neck, letting out a shriek. Its wings spread, and just as it flew out of the crevice, it saw a black fireball flying directly towards it.

The aura emanating from the fireball terrified it.

In a hurry, the Red-tailed Crane swung its long tail forcefully. The red tail, like a blazing feathered fan, swept towards the fireball with a dazzling red light.

'Boom!'

The Nine Nether Demonic Flame erupted.

The Red-tailed Crane let out a tragic cry and was sent flying. The red light was pierced by the demonic flame, and its beautiful red tail had most of its feathers scorched off, turning it into a pitiful, bald-tailed crane.

However, despite its miserable appearance, the Red-tailed Crane had not sustained serious injuries. Its figure quickly stabilized, and as it turned to block Qin Sang again, it realized the escaping light was too fast. Taking advantage of the brief opening, Qin Sang had already rushed into the nest.

The Red-tailed Crane shrieked repeatedly.

On the ground below.

The Two-headed Hou was frantically fleeing, continuously creating illusions to distract the Red-tailed Cranes. Even so, it still had several new claw marks on its back, having been relentlessly pursued by the Red-tailed Cranes.

Finally, it escaped to the river valley and, without hesitation, leaped into the water.

Just then, the Red-tailed Cranes discovered their nest had been invaded by an uninvited guest. Enraged, they immediately abandoned the Two-headed Hou and shrieked as they rushed towards the nest.

Qin Sang, having burst into the nest, felt his scalp tingle as he perceived this scene.

If the Red-tailed Cranes managed to trap him inside the nest, even his excellent escape technique would be useless.

He happened to see the young Red-tailed Cranes stumbling from the aftermath of the Nine Nether Demonic Flame's impact, so he ignored them. His figure flickered continuously, and he reached the ancient vine with surprising ease.

The ancient vine clung to the rock, its top hanging down, laden with a cluster of fruits.

Five of the fruits had turned red and were nearing ripeness, while the others were small green fruits with little apparent medicinal value. Qin Sang quickly took out a jade box, picked the five red fruits, and then turned and fled.

Even the young Red-tailed Cranes were enraged, but unfortunately, their strength was too weak to stop Qin Sang.

Qin Sang repeated his tactic, once again activating the Nine Nether Demonic Flame to repel the guarding Red-tailed Crane. He flew out of the crevice, and seeing the adult Red-tailed Cranes pursuing him, he dared not hesitate. He immediately launched his escaping light and headed deep into the mountain range.

For a time, the mountain echoed with furious crane cries.

Qin Sang did not look back. A flock of Red-tailed Cranes pursued him, crossing two tall mountains in the blink of an eye.

The difference in speed became apparent. Even the Red-tailed Crane leader, flapping its wings furiously in pursuit, couldn't match Qin Sang's speed and was gradually left behind.

Qin Sang had long since planned his escape route. As he crossed the third mountain peak, the moment he was out of the Red-tailed Cranes' sight, he swerved, leaped into a mountain stream, and then submerged himself, using the river water to conceal his aura.

The Red-tailed Cranes, having lost sight of their target, were furious and wildly attacked the valley.

By this time, Qin Sang had drifted downstream to a confluence of rivers, where he sensed the Two-headed Hou's aura.

'Splash!'

Water splashed as Qin Sang emerged from the center of the river, seeing the Two-headed Hou sprawled on the bank, licking its wounds.

Upon seeing Qin Sang, the Two-headed Hou immediately stood upright, leaped to the riverbank, and watched him with an expectant look, while also remaining wary of the direction Qin Sang had come from.

"Are you still worried about my escape speed?"

Qin Sang landed on the bank, and a flash of spiritual light from his body evaporated the water stains.

This fruit theft had indeed gone surprisingly smoothly.

It was fortunate that this flock of Red-tailed Cranes was not numerous, their flight speed wasn't fast, and there were no other fierce beasts nearby. Otherwise, even with Qin Sang's superior speed, being chased for too long would surely have alerted other fierce beasts, leading to a dangerous encirclement.

The Two-headed Hou stared expectantly at Qin Sang's Thousand-Weight Ring.

Qin Sang took out the jade box, pointed to one of the fruits, and huffily said, "Stop staring. This one is yours! If you're not sure, add an extra layer of restriction yourself."

Unexpectedly, the Two-headed Hou's vertical pupils flashed, and it truly unleashed a gust of green wind that settled on the fruit, forming a green ring.

"You actually dared..."

Qin Sang glared fiercely at it. The Two-headed Hou quickly hopped aside, tail tucked, with an ingratiating smile.

Lying in the jade box, now out of the dim crevice, the spiritual fruits revealed more details. Streaks of what appeared to be blood-red threads were visible within their red skins.

Among the five spiritual fruits, some had dense blood-red threads, while others had sparse ones, indicating varying degrees of ripeness.

Unfortunately, the spiritual fruits lacked any fragrance, perhaps because they were not truly ripe.

Qin Sang recalled the ancient texts and classical records he had read but could not remember any similar spiritual fruits, nor had he ever heard of an ancient vine bearing such fruits.

He would have to find a way to investigate them later. Before understanding their medicinal properties, he dared not consume them.

Putting away the jade box, Qin Sang changed his route and continued towards the direction of the Sky Tower.

After crossing a few mountains, he suddenly stopped, frowning as he looked at the valley to his left.

The valley was lush with green grass, and the surrounding mountain forests had overgrown, almost completely obscuring it. Qin Sang only noticed the valley's existence upon reaching this spot.

Within the valley, there were surprisingly several thatched huts.

These huts were clearly relics from ancient times, enveloped by a shimmering barrier of unknown spiritual array origin. Protected by this barrier, the huts showed no signs of decay.

At that moment, in front of the huts, two individuals were watching Qin Sang warily.

Their gazes met.

Qin Sang noticed they were holding strange wooden shuttles, seemingly attempting to break the spiritual array. And with their efforts, faint ripples actually appeared on the barrier.

Seeing the barrier change, they momentarily neglected their surroundings in their excitement. They hadn't expected someone to appear just then, and couldn't help but exchange glances before becoming highly vigilant.

After discerning Qin Sang's cultivation level, a sharp glint flashed in their eyes. But then, sensing the aura of the Two-headed Hou, their expressions immediately froze in extreme surprise.

"To be able to control such a powerful demonic beast, could this person be concealing their true cultivation level?"

The two clearly mistook Qin Sang for an ancient monster pretending to be weak.

"One is at late Core Formation, and the other is slightly weaker than Cui Ji. Both are formidable opponents."

Qin Sang discerned their cultivation levels and acutely perceived the change in their gazes.

After a moment's thought, Qin Sang slowly retreated with the Two-headed Hou.

If the other party attempted to silence them, he naturally wouldn't make it easy for them.

The huts were situated in a location that had likely been searched countless times, and whether there were any treasures inside was unknown. He wouldn't initiate an attack and complicate matters. Unless he used the Fire Bead, even driving them away would waste a considerable amount of time.

The two sides simply watched each other until they disappeared from sight, with neither party making a move. A major conflict did not occur.