Chapter 127: Gray Robe Youth

On the peak of a tall mountain.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged on a mountain rock, his eyes slightly closed. Three feet above his head, a milky-white crystal ball, the size of a baby's fist, floated, casting a holy light that enveloped him.

At his glabella, a phantom-like soul sat cross-legged, greedily absorbing the wisps of holy light. As the light entered the soul, it subtly grew more condensed.

This cultivation continued for nearly an hour before Zhou Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The milky-white crystal ball above his head slowly descended, eventually merging into his glabella. Now, the illusory soul continued to sit cross-legged there, but above its head, another milky-white crystal ball had appeared, constantly emitting holy light to gradually condense the soul.

The holy light emitted by the milky-white crystal ball formed a protective barrier, shielding Zhou Yuan's soul from any external interference.

After finishing his cultivation, Zhou Yuan regretfully shook his head. Although he could feel his soul becoming more condensed, he was still unable to break through to the late Void Realm.

“Soul cultivation is truly difficult,” Zhou Yuan sighed.

However, Zhou Yuan knew that cultivation was a step-by-step process that couldn't be rushed. He quickly composed himself and floated down the mountain.

In the open forest.

When Zhou Yuan returned, he saw Yaoyao and Luluo sitting there. In front of them, Tun Tun held a newly hunted Genesis Beast in its mouth. It then joyfully ran up to Yaoyao and nudged her.

Clearly, it wanted Yaoyao to roast it for him to eat.

“I don’t know how,” Yaoyao said, merely glancing at it indifferently.

Tun Tun paused, then looked at Luluo.

The green-haired girl blinked her large eyes, smiled brightly, and then shook her head, saying, “I don’t know how to do any work either.”

Evidently, she was also a pampered young lady who wouldn’t know how to do rough work like barbecuing.

Tun Tun immediately deflated and lay down limply.

“Another little miss,” Zhou Yuan muttered helplessly, watching the scene. He had only been cultivating for a short while, and they were already starving and utterly unwilling to do any work.

Zhou Yuan walked over, and Tun Tun immediately let out joyful growls towards him.

“Little beast, you only know how to curry favor now,” Zhou Yuan grumbled to himself. Nonetheless, he walked over and busied himself, skinning and bleeding the Genesis Beast before putting it on the spit.

“Still no breakthrough?” Yaoyao asked with a touch of embarrassment, seeing Zhou Yuan busy.

Zhou Yuan shrugged.

“If you could absorb a drop of ‘Soul Origin,’ you should be able to break through,” Yaoyao mused.

Luluo cupped her chin with a small hand and said, “But didn’t you say, Sister Yaoyao, that absorbing ‘Soul Origin’ requires two types of Genesis materials for the perfect effect?”

“What were those two materials called again?”

Zhou Yuan interjected, “Soul Nurturing Grass and Vermilion Blood Fruit.”

He frowned and said, “These two Genesis materials are quite rare and difficult to find.”

Luluo smiled. “No rush, we should be able to buy them once we reach Saint Remains City.”

Saint Remains City is one of the largest cities outside the Saint Remains Region. Its City Lord’s Mansion is also one of the strongest powers in this vast area.

Zhou Yuan and his companions' destination was Saint Remains City, as it was the closest point to the Saint Remains Region.

Zhou Yuan nodded. It seemed like their only option for now.

“And what about the Gu Family? Will they cause trouble? We took their family's treasure, so I doubt they'll let it go easily,” Zhou Yuan suddenly said.

Yaoyao replied, “We exposed their conspiracy. The Gu Family is probably overwhelmed right now and won't have time to bother with us. Still, it's always good to be prepared.”

Zhou Yuan nodded.

After half an hour, the Genesis Beast was finally roasted. Zhou Yuan took out his dagger, cut a piece for each of the two girls, and then gave the large remainder to the drooling Tun Tun.

Boom! Boom!

However, just as they were engrossed in their meal, they suddenly felt the ground tremble.

All three looked up towards the depths of the mountain, where numerous Genesis Beasts were frantically fleeing, as if something terrifying was pursuing them.

“Could it be the Gu Family pursuing us?” Luluo exclaimed.

Zhou Yuan's brows furrowed slightly. Genesis Qi surged around him as he stared intently into the depths of the dense forest, where he faintly sensed an extremely sharp fluctuation.

Was it truly the Gu Family's pursuers?

Under Zhou Yuan's watchful gaze, after a while, a rustling sound came from deep within the forest. Then, he saw a figure slowly emerge from the mountains.

As the figure stepped out, Zhou Yuan finally got a clear look at him.

It was a young man in a gray robe, carrying a heavy black sword on his back. A black cloth was wrapped around his eyes, yet his steps remained steady.

Moreover, as he walked, the trees beside him quietly split apart, their fractured surfaces smooth as mirrors.

“What powerful sword aura!”

Zhou Yuan's gaze grew extremely solemn as he looked at the young man with the black cloth over his eyes. The aura emanating from the latter made his skin tingle, indicating that this young man with the black sword was incredibly powerful.

The gray-robed young man slowly approached, eventually arriving at Zhou Yuan's location.

Tun Tun let out a low growl, and a black light appeared in its mouth.

The gray-robed young man's steps faltered slightly; he had clearly sensed the powerful presences before him.

Zhou Yuan watched the gray-robed young man warily, ready to act if the latter made any suspicious move.

Thus, the atmosphere became silent for a moment.

Grrr...

However, the silence was suddenly broken by a sound. Zhou Yuan and the other two looked at each other with strange expressions, as the sound had come from the stomach of the strikingly cool gray-robed young man before them.

The situation instantly turned awkward.

The gray-robed young man’s face seemed to subtly twitch. He finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “I haven’t eaten for three days.”

Pfft.

Luluo was the first to burst out laughing.

Zhou Yuan also twitched his lips, finding it ironic that such a grand entrance was followed by such an awkward opening line.

However, he also breathed a sigh of relief, realizing it wasn't the Gu Family's pursuers.

“We have some food left; you can join us,” Zhou Yuan said, pointing to the remaining half of the roasted meat.

The gray-robed young man nodded at Zhou Yuan, then sat down beside them and unceremoniously took the half-roasted meat, beginning to devour it in a somewhat savage manner.

Zhou Yuan was startled by his eating style and asked, “There are Genesis Beasts everywhere in these mountains. Couldn’t you just hunt one and roast it yourself?”

The gray-robed young man swallowed the meat in his mouth and replied, “I don’t know how to cook. It would taste bad.”

Zhou Yuan chuckled wryly. *Everyone here acts like royalty,* he thought. *He was a prince of the Great Zhou, for goodness sake, and here he was, practically a cook!*

Luluo, with her delicate hands propping up her chin, stared at the gray-robed young man with a smile and slowly said, “I never expected to meet the rumored Sword Blind Man of the Sword Dynasty here…”