Chapter 280: Hunting Outside the City

Di Qing looked at Luo Feng with a serious expression and asked, "Brother Luo Feng, since we're going hunting together this time, we'll need to cooperate closely. Therefore, it's essential to understand each other's strengths. I cultivate the Dao of Space, and my specialty is trapping and killing enemies with sword arrays."

Luo Feng calmly replied, "I excel in close-quarters combat."

The Dao of Life and Death, by its very nature, centers on the transformation of creation and destruction, making close-quarters combat its forte. Luo Feng's "Dao of Life and Death" at the ultimate realm is powerful enough to rival early-stage Divine Emperor cultivators of ordinary paths. Just with this Dao of Life and Death, Luo Feng already possesses the strength of an early-stage Divine Emperor enlightener. Moreover, he has five powerful avatars, further enhancing his strength. Even those early-stage Divine Emperor enlighteners who specialize in body refinement, no matter how strong their physical bodies, would find it difficult to possess five special talents like Luo Feng.

"Hahaha, excellent! I'll be responsible for setting up formations, and you'll focus on close-quarters combat. This is a perfect match!" Di Qing was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Among cultivators, very few choose close-quarters combat as a fighting style, as their targets are naturally born Chaos Origin creatures. Which of those naturally born Chaos Origin creatures doesn't possess a formidable life-form and extraordinary talents?

"However, I currently lack a suitable weapon," Luo Feng said, frowning as he voiced his concern.

"Let's go, I'll accompany you to choose one," Di Qing said without hesitation, even secretly deciding that if Luo Feng didn't have enough Chaos Origin Crystals, he could lend him some.

A moment later, Luo Feng and Di Qing arrived at a shop in the inner city of Yulan City.

When Luo Feng first arrived in Yulan City, he had already explored the entire city and had a clear understanding of the weapons and secret treasures available there.

"This pair of gloves will do," Luo Feng immediately set his eyes on a pair of black gloves, a hint of pleasant surprise in his gaze.

"These are a set of secret treasure gloves crafted by 'Crescent Dao Monarch' in his early years, containing the profound mysteries of both the Dao of Life and the Dao of Destruction. Their combination of life and death makes their power extremely terrifying," the attendant on the side quickly introduced. "Currently, 'Crescent Dao Monarch' is one of the peak existences in the Dark Sacred Realm; he has elevated both the Dao of Life and the Dao of Destruction to the half-step Chaos Origin level." Luo Feng had already heard about these things during his previous visit. Crescent Dao Monarch was an extremely terrifying enlightener, having reached the half-step Chaos Origin level in both Daos, making him much stronger than the patriarchs of the two nations.

"What's the price?" Di Qing eagerly urged from the side.

"105,000 Chaos Origin Crystals," the attendant replied with a smile.

"Can you make it cheaper?" Luo Feng began to bargain.

In the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm, except for a very small number of uniformly priced items, many treasures could be haggled over. Although this pair of gloves was powerful, its suitable users were very limited. Only someone like Luo Feng, who cultivated both the Dao of Life and the Dao of Destruction, would be interested in them.

"I'll go ask the proprietor," seeing Luo Feng's interest in buying, the attendant immediately went to report to his superior. Soon, the proprietor himself came to negotiate with them. After intense bargaining, both parties finally settled on 98,000 Chaos Origin Crystals.

Luo Feng happily accepted the pair of gloves. These were gloves personally crafted by Crescent Dao Monarch for his disciple when he was at the 'late-stage Divine Emperor' level in both the Dao of Life and Dao of Destruction. At that time, Crescent Dao Monarch held a considerably high status in the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm. It's important to note that achieving the late-stage Divine Emperor in one Dao already offered the prospect of becoming an elder in Yulan City's Elder Hall. Although Crescent Dao Monarch was only an elder in the Elder Hall back then, his strength was almost comparable to that of the Hall Master.

"What a treasure!" After refining the gloves with a thought, Luo Feng sensed the profound mysteries of life and death combined within them and immediately fell in love with them.

"Secret treasures at the late-stage Divine Emperor level generally aren't very expensive. But if they reach the perfected Divine Emperor realm, even the cheapest would cost over a million Chaos Origin Crystals," Di Qing said with a smile from the side. "You got a really good deal on this pair of gloves." Luo Feng nodded in agreement. Previously, Luo Feng had spent over 190,000 Chaos Origin Crystals on resources, and now another 98,000 Chaos Origin Crystals on this secret treasure. His Chaos Origin Crystals were running low.

Inside the cave dwelling, Di Fu looked at Di Ming with a worried expression and asked, "Di Ming, are you really planning to go hunting?"

"I've been in Yulan City for so long, and I've met quite a few cultivators who train with Chaos Origin bloodlines," Di Ming nodded and said. "There are many, many cultivators who have reached the early-stage Divine Emperor level through Chaos Origin bloodlines in Yulan City. Dozens of early-stage Divine Emperor Chaos Origin bloodline cultivators teaming up still have hope of killing the weakest low-grade Chaos Origin creature."

"But there's also a chance of death," Di Fu looked at his companion, his eyes filled with worry.

Di Ming smiled gently and reassured him, "Don't worry."

He actually had his own secret trump cards. Although he didn't have avatar techniques, he had received rewards related to spiritual will from the Infinite Space Treasure Vault and had even helped Ancestor Yan Feng exchange for treasures. At that time, what he asked the Ancestor for were life-saving items. Ancestor Yan Feng found him two of the top life-saving treasures; these items could merge with his soul and be activated when facing a mortal crisis. Additionally, Di Ming himself had exchanged for a life-saving item in the Infinite Space Treasure Vault. He knew deeply that since he didn't have avatar techniques, self-preservation must be his top priority, and other aspects could be accumulated slowly.

"Cultivating this path doesn't allow for retreat," Di Ming's gaze was firm, his decision made. Having been in Yulan City for nearly a hundred epochs, he had observed for a long time and confirmed that almost all the powerful individuals who rose to prominence grew by fighting low-grade Chaos Origin creatures.

"Di Ming, since you've decided to go hunting, you must choose your teammates carefully," Di Fu reminded him.

"Yes," Di Ming also understood the importance of choosing teammates. Outside the city, without the constraints of rules, anything could happen. The reason he had delayed going out until now was patiently searching for suitable teammates. This was also why Di Qing was so pleasantly surprised when he discovered the Milky Way Lord. A trustworthy and capable companion was truly rare.

After Luo Feng bought the secret treasure gloves, he spent over a hundred days familiarizing himself with them. Then, he and Di Qing quietly departed from Yulan City. Outside Yulan City, a black flying vessel instantly became invisible, almost impossible for the naked eye to detect. Inside this black flying vessel were Luo Feng and Di Qing. This was the most powerful flying vessel Di Qing possessed, with extremely strong stealth capabilities.

"Given our combined strength, our hunting targets will primarily be low-grade Chaos Origin creatures at the early-stage Divine Emperor level. While we aren't afraid of mid-stage Divine Emperor low-grade Chaos Origin creatures, killing them would be extremely difficult," Di Qing analyzed to Luo Feng.

"It's difficult to accurately judge the strength of low-grade Chaos Origin creatures just by their appearance," Luo Feng said with some concern.

"That can only be relied on experience," Di Qing smiled and said, "We'll work together to make the judgment."

Luo Feng nodded in agreement.

"Now that we're outside the city, we must both observe our surroundings carefully," Di Qing reminded him. "Not only do we need to be wary of low-grade Chaos Origin creatures, but also other cultivators."

"I understand," Luo Feng said, slowly opening the Eye of Imitation of Life and Death on his forehead. The surrounding area spanning billions of kilometers was under his observation, and even lingering spatiotemporal traces from the past were clear to his eyes. Aura, spatiotemporal traces, fluctuation traces, willpower remnants – Luo Feng carefully observed all directions.

Di Qing also used a secret treasure to investigate the surroundings in the void.

"We are now approaching 'Cold Ice River,' one of the Nine Rivers. Countless low-grade Chaos Origin creatures live in the Nine Rivers, and the closer we get, the easier it is to encounter them," Di Qing said. "Low-grade Chaos Origin creatures at the early-stage Divine Emperor level are the most numerous, accounting for over ninety percent of the total. The stronger the low-grade Chaos Origin creature, the rarer it is. Therefore, the probability of encountering an extremely powerful low-grade Chaos Origin creature is still very low." Di Qing appeared quite relaxed, as he had extensive hunting experience. In the past, when hunting with other companions, Di Qing always had to be constantly wary of them. But this time, acting with Luo Feng, he felt much more relaxed. Both parties had avatars on the Origin Continent; without immense temptation, it was impossible for them to betray each other.

"Understood." Amidst their casual conversation, Luo Feng suddenly fell silent. He looked distantly into the far-off distance. His Eye of Imitation of Life and Death on his forehead had already spotted a colossal creature—a large, winged creature carefully concealed in the void from afar. It had a pair of sharp claws, wings that spread wider than its body, a triangular head with three faces, and was coldly observing its surroundings. The scales on its wings were gray, filled with an aura of desolation, and merely looking at it invoked a sense of deathly fluctuation.

"Three-faced Gray-winged Beast," Luo Feng said with a solemn expression. "From its size, aura, and fluctuations, it should still be at the early-stage Divine Emperor level." Saying this, Luo Feng waved his hand, and a translucent map appeared beside him, marking the low-grade Chaos Origin creature.

"Oh," Di Qing controlled the black flying vessel, cautiously approaching. Finally, he also discovered the low-grade Chaos Origin creature.

"I also think it's at the early-stage Divine Emperor level," Di Qing judged based on his own experience.

"Brother Di Qing, I'll go first and try it out," Luo Feng said, his eyes gleaming with fighting intent. "I haven't fought a low-grade Chaos Origin creature before."

Di Qing nodded with a smile, "Alright, if you can't handle it, I'll step in."

He also wanted to use this opportunity to properly assess Luo Feng's strength.

Luo Feng's body was suddenly draped in a white robe, which was precisely the robe formed by his "Heavenly Light Avatar." The Heavenly Light Avatar was the toughest among his five great avatars, making it much more suitable as armor than purchasing a secret treasure armor. Secret treasure armor could recover from minor damage, but once severely damaged and its secret patterns broken, recovery became extremely difficult. However, a robe formed by the Heavenly Light Avatar could quickly recover its energy flow, no matter how tattered it became.

"Go," Luo Feng thought, instantly entering the future timeline. Among cultivators, quite a few could enter the past timeline, but very few could enter the future timeline. This was also a manifestation of the Time Avatar's ability.

"Brother Luo Feng can travel through other timelines," Di Qing thought, secretly marveling at the sight.

The Three-faced Gray-winged Beast was hidden in the void, its three faces coldly observing its surroundings. Its slender, thread-like tail slowly swayed as it patiently waited. It knew that cultivators often approached the 'Cold Ice River' direction, presenting it with opportunities for ambush.

"Devour cultivators," it yearned in its heart. The more cultivators it devoured, the more heavenly rewards it would receive, and the stronger it would become. Perhaps one day, it might even hope to leave this world.

"Boom." Suddenly, a vast world projection descended, directly suppressing the Three-faced Gray-winged Beast. As cultivators gained enlightenment, their spiritual will would improve. For instance, Di Qing and the Myriad Realms Lord only had their spiritual will transform to the Divine Emperor stage after reaching the ultimate realm. However, Luo Feng's cultivation of the Dao of Life, Dao of Destruction, and Dao of Life and Death successively to the ultimate realm brought him even more significant gains in spiritual will. The comprehension of the Dao of Life and Death, in particular, helped him the most. Luo Feng's World Avatar now possessed a staggering three hundred times the perfect divine body's energy reserves, and his spiritual will could easily control it. The power of the world projection was naturally extremely formidable.

"Heaven and Earth Unity." At this moment, the Heaven and Earth Avatar merged with the surrounding vast world; it was as if the entire world became Luo Feng's domain. Control of Heaven and Earth. World Projection. All worked together to suppress and bind the Three-faced Gray-winged Beast.

"There's a cultivator!" The Three-faced Gray-winged Beast was furious and shocked. Its wings vibrated violently, trying to break free from the restraint, but the binding force was too strong. It felt like it could only exert sixty to seventy percent of its strength, muttering "This is bad" in its heart.

"Forbidden move: Heavenly Severing Curse Technique."

"Elemental Art." At this moment, Luo Feng's Karma Avatar unleashed one of the forbidden moves, "Heavenly Severing Curse Technique," which he created only after fully comprehending the Dao of Life and Death. This move consumed a lot of energy but was incredibly powerful. As the karma curse descended, Luo Feng's World Avatar also unleashed the Elemental Art. The Three-faced Gray-winged Beast "saw" a colossal star rolling towards it, crushing its will.

"Rumble." As beings that had leaped out of the cage, low-grade Chaos Origin creatures possessed terrifyingly tenacious life force, both in soul and body. Simultaneously struck by the "Heavenly Severing Curse Technique" and "Elemental Art," the Three-faced Gray-winged Beast felt a daze, its consciousness significantly dulled.

Just at that moment, "Slash!"

Luo Feng, clad in a white robe, stood majestically, about one-third the size of the Three-faced Gray-winged Beast, appearing out of thin air before it. The moment he appeared, Luo Feng's immense hands, clad in the secret treasure gloves, were like sharp claws, imbued with the mysteries of life and death cycles. They pierced straight into the Three-faced Gray-winged Beast's chest.