Chapter 299: Death Crisis

One of my teams was completely wiped out; not a single one escaped," said one of the nine terrifying Frostsoul Watchers. "These cultivators are quite strong this time."

"The attack on the core territory was reported long ago. I believe leaders are already in pursuit." Lower-tier Chaos Beings are vast in number. If the outermost regions were attacked, they wouldn't be too concerned, as the area is too vast to effectively chase down cultivators. However, this attack was in the core territory, so the Lower-tier Chaos Being tribes would quickly deploy forces from all sides to hunt them down.

"These cultivators are few in number and not very strong. If not for the cities providing protection, we would have devoured them all long ago," the Frostsoul Watchers said, their faces full of resentment. In terms of overall strength, Lower-tier Chaos Beings are far more powerful than cultivators. Yet, cultivators have the protection of their cities, allowing them to cultivate in peace and occasionally launch sneak attacks on Lower-tier Chaos Beings, using them as resources to improve their own strength.

"If only we could break through another city, then we could feast on those cultivators to our heart's content," one Frostsoul Watcher mused dreamily.

"Yes, I heard that when Poyang City was breached last time, our kin in that area had a wonderful feast. There were hundreds of millions of cultivators inside; it's rare to see so many normally," another Frostsoul Watcher agreed. "It's a pity, breaching a city is easier said than done."

The thirty-five cities of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm require "merit points" to apply for construction. These cities are vast secret treasures exchanged with merit points, jointly controlled by the Hall Masters and Elders, ensuring extremely high security. Even if Lower-tier Chaos Beings are powerful, a direct frontal assault is unlikely to succeed; only with an inside-out strategy is a breach possible. Each time a city is breached, it's a terrible catastrophe for the cultivators. The Prime-tier powerhouses established the "Nine Rivers Sacred Realm" specifically to temper the younger generation, and the arrangements already strongly favor cultivators. If a cultivator's city were still to be breached under such circumstances, it could only mean the cultivators themselves were too incompetent.

The nine Frostsoul Watchers conversed briefly as they piloted cloud formations, flying at supersonic speeds, patrolling in all directions.

At that moment, a message arrived: "Leader Desolate Hoof, one late-stage God-Emperor Blood Demon Erethis and fifteen mid-stage God-Emperor Frostsoul Watchers in your territory have been killed. It is suspected that an Elder has entered the core territory to hunt." "Understood."

A terrifying bolt of lightning emerged from the vast river. Bathed entirely in lightning, it immediately began patrolling its territory. The Elders' hunting zone was already very close to the Nine Rivers.

"How dare they hunt in my territory?" The terrifying figure wreathed in lightning moved through the void at immense speed. The vast region around Rainmist City was home to numerous tribes of Lower-tier Chaos Beings. Among them, the Chaos Desolate Hoof tribe was small in number, but its individuals were generally powerful. In the vicinity of Rainmist City, only one member of the Chaos Desolate Hoof tribe had reached the Perfected God-Emperor level, naturally becoming the tribe's leader.

Perfected God-Emperor Lower-tier Chaos Beings are quite rare. For populous tribes like the Frostsoul Watchers, there might be several Perfected God-Emperor individuals around Rainmist City. However, most tribes might only have one Perfected God-Emperor, or even none at all. The so-called "Elder Hunting Zone," as the core territory of Lower-tier Chaos Beings, is divided into various territories, each managed by a leader. This is also the greatest danger Elders face when hunting. After all, these Lower-tier Chaos Beings are highly intelligent and would not foolishly allow themselves to be hunted. Within the core territory, killing one would inevitably lead to pursuit.

Inside the black flying vessel. "We killed fifteen mid-stage God-Emperor Frostsoul Watchers, and not one escaped," Di Qing said excitedly. "In terms of value, this team of Frostsoul Watchers is even slightly more valuable than that Blood Demon Erethis we killed before."

Luo Feng nodded. A late-stage God-Emperor Blood Demon Erethis's venom is extremely valuable, so its corpse could sell for around 150 million Chaos Crystals. Coupled with its merit value of 10 million merit points, the total worth was approximately 160 million Chaos Crystals. As for the fifteen Frostsoul Watchers, including their merit points, they should fetch around 190 million Chaos Crystals. "We can probably head back now," Luo Feng said. "I originally planned to kill two late-stage God-Emperor prey and then return, and we've nearly reached that goal."

"We should be cautious," Di Qing agreed with a nod. "The Elder Hunting Zone is the core territory of Lower-tier Chaos Beings, and there are far too many powerful entities here."

On their journey, they encountered prey twice: once a late-stage God-Emperor Blood Demon Erethis, and once a team of Frostsoul Watchers. This demonstrated that the core territory had numerous and powerful Lower-tier Chaos Beings. "Phew."

Once they reached an agreement, Di Qing immediately piloted the black flying vessel, cautiously beginning their return journey toward Rainmist City.

Luo Feng surveyed his surroundings, thinking to himself, "My current strength is still too risky for the Elder Hunting Zone." Elders occasionally dared to come here, partly because they operated with clones, and partly because they wouldn't carry extremely valuable treasures like the "Heart of Immortality" or the "Pocket World." Thus, even if a clone perished in battle, they wouldn't feel too much regret. Luo Feng, however, carried these two treasures and naturally had to be even more careful.

"Once my strength advances further, I'll be suited to frequently hunt in the core territory," Luo Feng mused. If his Path of Life and Death could advance to the mid-stage God-Emperor level, as a fusion path, "mid-stage God-Emperor Path of Life and Death" should be comparable to a Perfected God-Emperor on an ordinary path. By then, his strength should reach the Hall Master level. As long as he avoided the interior of the Nine Rivers, the safety factor would be relatively high. "However, I've been in Rainmist City for nine hundred epochs, and my Path of Life and Death has only reached the early God-Emperor stage. Breaking through to the mid-stage God-Emperor will face greater obstacles, and the time required probably won't be short." Luo Feng understood that his current cultivation was relatively smooth, without encountering any bottlenecks, unlike some cultivators who get stuck and find it hard to make any progress—that was true suffering.

"I should, as Elder Yuan and the others said, avoid looking at other cultivators' legacies and rely entirely on my own exploration. This way, every step will be solid enough." Luo Feng had always adhered to this philosophy and had not purchased any "Half-Chaos Legacy" to this day. He felt like a blank slate; viewing other cultivators' legacies would only contaminate his own path of cultivation. Only by exploring entirely on his own, where every bit of accumulation led to understanding the essence, would his cultivation be truly solid. "Luo Feng is just too strong."

As Luo Feng pondered his cultivation, Di Qing next to him was still stunned by their gains. "To have such a harvest in the Elder Hunting Zone... Luo Feng must now be considered a relatively powerful Elder."

"If this continues, won't he reach the level of the three Hall Masters soon?" Di Qing thought to himself. "Perhaps the entire structure of Rainmist City will change because of Brother Luo Feng." "No... with Brother Luo Feng's talent, he might not even care for Rainmist City." A mix of emotions swirled in Di Qing's heart. In his eyes, the high and mighty three Hall Masters of Rainmist City might be insignificant before Luo Feng.

With their minds preoccupied, the black flying vessel soared at supersonic speed. Suddenly—

In the far distance, a terrifying bolt of lightning appeared, and that formidable entity gazed over from afar.

"Hm?" Luo Feng and Di Qing instantly became alert, not daring to be distracted in the slightest. "It's, it's, it's..." Di Qing stared in disbelief at the terrifying lightning in the distance; just sensing its aura from afar made him tremble with fear. That aura far surpassed that of the Blood Demon Erethis.

Luo Feng also fixed his gaze on the distance. Instinctively, a strong sense of threat warned him, making his soul tremble slightly.

"A Chaos Desolate Hoof... a Perfected God-Emperor level being." Luo Feng's soul trembled. Such a terrifying aura undoubtedly belonged to a Perfected God-Emperor. "It must be the leader of the Chaos Desolate Hoof tribe." As a less numerous tribe, there should only be one Perfected God-Emperor in the vicinity of Rainmist City, naturally making it the leader.

At first glance, the Chaos Desolate Hoof appeared entirely black, but upon closer inspection, one could discern subtle hints of deep blue. Its massive body was covered in layers of scales, and on either side of its head were two incredibly sharp, curved horns. Its eyes, brimming with lightning, fixed upon Luo Feng and Di Qing, and that single gaze made both of them tremble with fear.

"Brother Luo Feng," Di Qing said, realizing the situation was dire.

"Hide yourself first; I need to find a way to escape," Luo Feng said, instantly storing Di Qing and the black flying vessel.

Luo Feng knew full well that defeating his opponent was out of the question; the immediate priority was to escape. "A Perfected God-Emperor, and a Chaos Desolate Hoof at that!" Luo Feng realized this was the greatest threat he had faced since arriving in the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm.

There are many tribes of Lower-tier Chaos Beings, each with distinct talents. For instance, Frostsoul Watchers possess various abilities but excel at none. Blood Demon Erethis are skilled in stealth and venom but are mediocre in direct combat. The Chaos Desolate Hoof, however, is entirely different; its racial talent is exceptionally powerful, making it one of the strongest existences at its tier. In terms of physical body, it is arguably among the most terrifying at the same tier of Lower-tier Chaos Beings. The three Hall Masters, for example, have individually killed Perfected God-Emperor Lower-tier Chaos Beings. But this was partly because the Hall Masters possessed sufficiently powerful treasures, and partly because they had an advantage that suppressed their opponents. If they were to encounter a Perfected God-Emperor Chaos Desolate Hoof, the three Hall Masters would likely be helpless.

"How dare you hunt in my territory," a low voice rumbled across the vast void. The Chaos Desolate Hoof leader stared coldly at Luo Feng. "Are you a newly promoted Elder from Rainmist City? Your clone isn't leaving today." No sooner had it spoken,

Boom!!!

The vast void around them suddenly condensed into terrifying azure lightning, which struck directly at Luo Feng. The lightning was too fast; Luo Feng had nowhere to dodge.

"Bang!!!" The lightning struck Luo Feng. He possessed the "Heart of Immortality," which greatly enhanced the resilience of his Immortal Blood Sea Body, imbuing it with an essence of indestructibility. At this moment, he endured the terrifying blow head-on. Although his mind reeled slightly, his body held firm.

"The Heart of Immortality is indeed resilient, almost indestructible," Luo Feng thought with a hidden sigh of relief. If he could withstand the lightning's ranged attack, he still had a chance to escape.

"Hm?" The Chaos Desolate Hoof leader in the distance showed a hint of surprise, then it moved.

As it moved, its terrifying, lightning-bathed form instantly shot across the heavens and earth, tearing through space! The mere aftershocks caused the surrounding hundreds of millions of kilometers of space to rip open layer by layer, revealing even faint, ethereal secret patterns at the outermost edges. Beneath the twisted, torn sky, although Luo Feng evaded with all his might, that formidable figure was already upon him!

End of Chapter.