Chapter 287: Their Respective Cultivation

Luo Feng and Di Qing, carrying the spoils of their second hunt, began their journey back in the black flying vessel.

During their return, they were as cautious as ever.

"A flying vessel is approaching. Be careful." Vast, invisible fluctuations enveloped the area. Within this zone, three concealed figures had already detected the vessel using a formation.

"Let them proceed deeper into the formation before we act," the three hidden figures patiently waited.

Suddenly...

"Hmm."

Inside the black flying vessel, Luo Feng's Eye of Annihilation, located between his eyebrows, remained open. Ever since his paths of Life and Destruction had both reached the early God-Emperor stage, this Eye of Annihilation had naturally advanced further, enhancing its observational capabilities. "Something's not right around here," Luo Feng immediately transmitted to Di Qing. "Retreat at maximum speed now."

"Oh," Di Qing replied, sensing no danger himself, but trusting his companion.

Luo Feng had only sensed that something was amiss; he hadn't detected any enemies, and the surrounding void appeared normal. However, his Eye of Annihilation had perceived an unusual operation of the surrounding world's rules. A shadowy rule had permeated the natural laws, and its influence deepened the further they ventured.

*Whoosh.*

The black flying vessel abruptly retreated, returning along its original path at extreme speed.

"They're exposed! They've been discovered!" "Trap them!"

Dense shadowy power descended upon an area spanning hundreds of millions of kilometers, instantly turning it dim. Luo Feng's vessel was also within this vast region enveloped by the shadowy power. However, they were already close to the "boundary."

At this moment, the endless shadowy power was thick and viscous, completely restraining the vessel. "Heaven and Earth United." "Creation of Heaven and Earth."

A majestic figure appeared, naturally mobilizing the vast power of heaven and earth. Its right hand, like a massive axe, struck downwards furiously. Where the axe cleaved, it was as if the entire world was split in two, a colossal fissure forcefully torn open in the fabric of heaven and earth.

This was Luo Feng's most suitable forbidden technique, "Creation of Heaven and Earth," developed after his paths of Life and Destruction reached the early God-Emperor stage, based on the characteristics of his Heaven and Earth Avatar. After this massive fissure was cleaved open, even the shadowy power was momentarily split, creating a huge gap.

*Whoosh.*

The black flying vessel immediately shot through this gap, its speed surging, and in a single dash, it broke free from the shadowy power's grasp. The majestic figure also instantly fled along the heaven-and-earth fissure, bursting out. Only after escaping the vast expanse of shadowy power did Di Qing secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"Brother Luo Feng, they must be masters from the Myriad Shadow Pavilion," Di Qing transmitted. "If we had been trapped within their formation, it would have been big trouble."

"This formation is formidable. My Heaven and Earth Avatar's forbidden technique only managed to cleave a small gap," Luo Feng also realized how difficult their opponents were. "Hahaha."

Laughter rang out.

Three distorted shadows descended around them, condensing into three figures.

Each of them wore grey robes and masks, and an invisible power emanated from them. "It truly is the Myriad Shadow Pavilion," Luo Feng and Di Qing confirmed.

In Rainveil City, there were three main factions consistently involved in theft and plunder: the Insect Nest, Myriad Shadow Pavilion, and Ghost Market. All three were subordinate to Hall Master Weiyang. The forces led by Hall Master Weiyang constituted the largest power in Rainveil City. Within the Myriad Shadow Pavilion, those responsible for theft held relatively ordinary positions.

The actual mid-to-high-ranking members were those in charge of plunder. These plunderers typically concealed their aura and appearance, as "plundering" easily invited enemies.

"Those responsible for plundering in the Myriad Shadow Pavilion are generally God-Emperor Mid-Stage Enlightened Ones. Weaker individuals wouldn't dare to plunder," Di Qing transmitted to Luo Feng. "From our brief exchange just now, we can already estimate their approximate strength," Luo Feng was also well aware.

"Hahaha, Di Qing and Luo Feng."

The three grey-robed figures looked at Luo Feng and Di Qing. One of them chuckled, "No wonder you two dared to go hunting together; you certainly possess some strength. You understand the rules of plunder, don't you?" "Of course," Di Qing replied, "we are willing to offer a sum of Chaos Crystals."

"Not too much, just leave behind the corpse of a low-level Chaos Lifeform, and we'll let you go," the grey-robed figure stated.

Di Qing and Luo Feng exchanged glances. "Alright," Di Qing agreed, and with a wave of his hand, he released the corpse of a low-level Chaos Lifeform. It was the cheapest among their spoils from this hunt, valued at approximately 800,000 Chaos Crystals.

"That was straightforward," the leading grey-robed figure said. After collecting the corpse, their three figures distorted, and the three shadows vanished.

"Let's go." Di Qing and Luo Feng piloted the black flying vessel, bypassing the shadowy formation's range, and continued their journey back.

Inside the flying vessel.

"When hunting outside, besides low-level Chaos Lifeforms, other cultivators are also a threat," Di Qing shook his head. "We naturally don't mind those plunderers of average strength; we can even fight back and kill them. But encountering powerful ones is troublesome."

"If we can escape, we escape. If we can offer some Chaos Crystals, we do," Di Qing shook his head. "But if the plunderers don't want Chaos Crystals and insist on killing and seizing treasures, then we have no choice but to fight for our lives."

Luo Feng nodded. Judging from their brief encounter, the three opponents were likely "God-Emperor Mid-Stage Enlightened Ones," possibly having accumulated power for a long time at that stage and possessing no shortage of secret treasures. Luo Feng admitted to himself that even with Di Qing's cooperation, they weren't confident they could defeat the three.

*Whoosh.*

After flying for a while, the black flying vessel finally arrived at Rainveil City. Di Qing also smiled, "Our luck is truly good. Although we encountered a God-Emperor Late-Stage low-level Chaos Lifeform during our first hunt, we successfully escaped. And during the return journey of our second hunt, even though we faced plunderers, offering a low-level Chaos Lifeform corpse allowed us to avoid disaster."

"You call that good luck?" Luo Feng asked. "It's very good luck," Di Qing affirmed. "You'll understand once you've hunted more often. During hunts, suddenly encountering an extremely powerful low-level Chaos Lifeform can result in heavy casualties for the entire team. Or on the way back, encountering plunderers who disregard rules and forcibly kill for treasures."

Luo Feng listened and nodded.

"That's how it is for us early God-Emperors in Rainveil City. We risk our lives, and we might still be plundered," Di Qing sighed. "Fortunately, I come from a Source World and possess cloning techniques. Otherwise, life would be much harder." "Cultivation isn't easy in Rainveil City," Di Qing remarked, then couldn't help but glance at Luo Feng. "Of course, Brother Luo Feng, you're different. You already possess the strength of a God-Emperor Mid-Stage Enlightened One. You just need to acquire a few more suitable secret treasures to enhance your abilities. You'd be strong enough to join any faction in Rainveil City."

"There are many factions within Rainveil City. However, God-Emperor Mid-Stage Enlightened Ones are sufficient to serve as core members," Di Qing said. "After all, above that are the Elder-level cultivators, and their numbers are quite few." Luo Feng smiled.

In Rainveil City, there were a total of 723 God-Emperor Late-Stage Enlightened Ones. Among them, 327 served as Elders. Many of them had avatars adventuring in the Dark Holy Realm. Their avatars in Rainveil City rarely took action.

When Elder-level cultivators acted, it was usually intelligence that garnered the attention of the entire city. God-Emperor Mid-Stage Enlightened Ones were the backbone of many factions operating in Rainveil City.

"Do you have any plans to join a particular faction?" Di Qing inquired.

"No need," Luo Feng gently shook his head.

What he cared about most now was to quickly advance his "Path of Creation and Destruction" to the early God-Emperor stage. "That's true. You haven't been in Rainveil City long, so focus on your cultivation for now," Di Qing said. "However, if the opportunity arises, becoming a high-ranking member in a major faction offers many benefits."

Luo Feng smiled, but said no more.

As they talked, the black flying vessel had already reached the majestic Chaos Palace. "Let's sell the spoils first," Di Qing and Luo Feng flew together towards the Chaos Palace.

The remaining eight low-level Chaos Lifeform corpses, including their battle merits, were sold for a total of 8.6 million Chaos Crystals, which Luo Feng and Di Qing split equally.

After splitting the Chaos Crystals, Luo Feng and Di Qing went their separate ways to procure items.

"This time, I'll primarily purchase materials from God-Emperor Mid-Stage low-level Chaos Lifeforms," Luo Feng began to meticulously browse through Rainveil City's various merchants, inquiring about the prices of all materials suitable for the paths of Life and Destruction. He spent an entire day comparing prices in detail and bargaining.

Ultimately, he purchased approximately 1,000 sets of "God-Emperor Mid-Stage" low-level Chaos Lifeform materials, each set costing around 3,300 Chaos Crystals. It was estimated that at least ninety percent of the God-Emperor Mid-Stage low-level Chaos Lifeform materials suitable for Luo Feng in the entire Nine Rivers Holy Realm had now been collected. The remaining ones were extremely rare and hard to come by. Afterwards, Luo Feng also purchased supporting cultivation elixirs and other items totaling 900,000 Chaos Crystals.

"What a coincidence, the official flying vessel is arriving soon," Luo Feng was pleasantly surprised. On the third day after completing his purchases, one of his avatars, carrying the storage secret treasure "Illusionary World Maze," departed with all the acquired treasures for the Origin Continent. He had to bring the Illusionary World Maze, a storage treasure, with him every time. Luo Feng also feared theft, as different cultivation systems could sometimes be very difficult to guard against.

"In the Origin Continent, with the Eye of Creation and Destruction, cultivation efficiency is indeed more than ten times higher than in Rainveil City." Luo Feng had long decided that for his initial hunts, he would make a trip to the Origin Continent after each one. In the future, once he became wealthy enough, he might only visit once after several hunts.

"Di Qing and Luo Feng are back from their second hunt." Since they lived in the same cave dwelling, Luo Feng and Di Qing didn't try to hide anything, so Di Ming and Di Fu naturally became aware.

"It looks like they had a rather smooth trip."

Di Ming sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, his expression complex. "Since arriving in Rainveil City, I've also hunted once, but the results were a complete mess." There was a reason why normal hunting parties in Rainveil City didn't want bloodline cultivators at the early God-Emperor stage. During hunts, their positive contribution was negligible, and they were more likely to be a burden.

"This time, there were 32 team members, all early God-Emperor bloodline cultivators. Everyone had studied for a long time and discussed methods of cooperation. But what was the outcome?" Di Ming felt quite disheartened. If their team encountered anything stronger, they would likely be annihilated.

Even against the weakest low-level Chaos Lifeform, all 32 of them, following their pre-planned cooperation methods, coordinated their encirclement and attack.

However...

The low-level Chaos Lifeform's body was too formidable. Its life force was too strong. Their coordinated efforts were exquisite; they successfully unleashed seven consecutive sets of encirclement techniques, their continuous assault preventing the low-level Chaos Lifeform from even retaliating. However, after enduring seven sets of attacks, the low-level Chaos Lifeform, despite being severely wounded, still hadn't died. In a frenzied counterattack as it approached death, the low-level Chaos Lifeform mercilessly killed 7 team members, severely injured over ten more, and the remaining members fled in panic.

"Thirty-two team members couldn't even kill one low-level Chaos Lifeform. No wonder hunting parties don't want us," Di Ming shook his head. "I should focus on cultivating well using Rainveil City's resources and strive to advance my strength."

He appeared poor on the surface.

However, as someone with infinite spatial rewards, Di Ming was actually quite wealthy. He just had to be extremely careful when using his wealth. After all, he was too weak, and hadn't even cultivated a cloning technique yet. "The legacy of the True Witch lineage in the Nine Rings World Tower is truly extraordinary. Regarding the Void lineage, I've gained a lot, and I feel I'm getting closer to a complete 'Spatial Grand Dao,'" Di Fu was also very pleased inside the Nine Rings World Tower. Although he was mostly helping with odd jobs and basic tasks, he had gained a great deal.

After all, while they were different cultivation systems, their essence was all "Dao." "If I can comprehend the complete Spatial Grand Dao, I'll be qualified to survive on the Origin Continent until the next era," Di Fu smiled brightly, full of confidence for the future.

If he had remained on the Origin Continent, stuck at a bottleneck, he might not have broken through even by the time of the Origin Continent's Great Nirvana.

But having come to Rainveil City, with access to so many different cultivation systems and abundant resources, the difficulty of breaking through had naturally decreased significantly. "I came to the right place," Di Fu felt very fortunate.

With Luo Feng and Di Qing looking out for him, he didn't need to worry about his dwelling in the city, making things naturally easier.

"Brother Luo Feng already has the strength of a God-Emperor Mid-Stage Enlightened One; he's surpassed me," Di Qing sat cross-legged in his quiet room, looking at the jade bowl before him, which contained an amber-like liquid. "I've been stuck at this final bottleneck for too long."

"Eighty million Chaos Crystals, I sold many of my treasures to acquire this 'Void Marrow Liquid,' all for this one gamble." Di Qing hadn't been in such a hurry initially, but the imbalance in the team's strength made him decide to take this chance now. All the wealth he had accumulated over a long period had been exchanged for this precious item.

"Here goes."

Di Qing opened his mouth, and all the amber-like liquid from the jade bowl floated up and entered his mouth.