Chapter 42 – A Match Made in Heaven

The corners of Hao Chen’s mouth twitched: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye…..doesn’t have to be so honest…..”

“I didn’t want to lie to you,” Feng Ye continued expressionlessly.

Aren’t you already lying to me? Hao Chen thought. In all the time they had been dealing with one another, there had been very few truths spoken by either side.

But if he really said that, he felt that he wouldn’t be able to stick around. Hao Chen didn’t want to part ways with Feng Ye just yet. He couldn’t think of a new topic for the moment, so he was silent for some time.

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became increasingly awkward.

After a while, Feng Ye smiled lopsidedly with a slightly roguish air: “I was just joking.”

This joke was a little too real. Hao Chen recalled Feng Ye’s coldness at that moment. If that hadn’t been genuine, he would eat his fan.

But since the other party had given him a way out, Hao Chen agreeably climbed down the ladder. He gave a cooperative laugh, then said with some rebuke: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, please don’t make such jokes anymore….”

He immediately covered his chest and donned a hurt expression: “How sad it makes me, ah…..”

Feng Ye: “……”

He couldn’t see any sadness, only shamelessness.

Hao Chen paused with an expression of hurt and a hand over his heart, raising his head to look beyond Feng Ye, where he could faintly hear raised voices.

He belatedly realized why Feng Ye had stopped just now. It was likely because he noticed that there were people in front of them.

But Hao Chen had been daydreaming, and hadn’t heard the faint sounds at first. Now that the two of them were at a stalemate and those people were getting closer, Hao Chen could finally hear them.

Feng Ye also turned away to look forward.

In a place like the Floating Island Secret Realm, which was completely isolated from the outside world, meeting other people might not necessarily be a good thing.

As humans, cultivators were sometimes more terrifying than the monsters that lived on the floating island. Even monsters wouldn’t attack their companions, but this might not be the case for humans seeking treasure.

By killing the other party, they could monopolize the riches, and as long as they buried the body in a random pit, no one would ever know. The Floating Island Secret Realm was only open for one day. After that one day, the entrance and exit would be closed, and it would be ten years before it opened again. 

In the past ten years, the bones of corpses had long since merged with the soil, and the bodies had become nutrients for the various spiritual plants growing here. Where could any evidence be found?

Moreover, the secret realm’s area was not small. More than 1,700 cultivators had entered, and just like ants in a forest, they generally didn’t run into each other. If something like murder and robbery happened here, the victim would be out of luck. 

However, Feng Ye and Hao Chen had no such worries at all. First of all, they didn’t take seriously these cultivators who were at most in the beginning stages of Foundation Establishment.

Second of all……

A breeze carrying the scent of blood blew from the direction the voices were coming from.

Feng Ye’s nostrils flared slightly, and Hao Chen also caught that fishy scent. It seemed that those coming from ahead harbored bad intentions.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye,” Hao Chen suddenly called out.

“En?” Feng Ye didn’t turn his head, continuing to stare at the swaying grass and trees in front of them.

“There’s the smell of blood ahead.” Hao Chen pasted on a frightened expression and leaned slightly toward Feng Ye. “Is it possible that we might run into a murder and treasure-stealing drama?”

Feng Ye immediately moved aside. When he saw the look of fear on this person’s face, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Although Hao Chen stopped immediately and tried to adjust his expression, he wasn’t a professional actor and couldn’t switch smoothly between expressions. After so many changes, the look on his face didn’t resemble a smile, nor did it resemble shock. If it had to be described, it looked more like a grimace.

Feng Ye: “……”

His lips twitched, and he shook his empty sleeves.

Then he explained to the confused Hao Chen: “I don’t have to worry about someone killing me for treasure. I have no money, so what can they steal?”

“But Fellow Daoist Hao Chen…..” Feng Ye swept his gaze over his clothing. Although he wasn’t wearing any valuable ornaments, the air of frivolity he exuded inside and out made it impossible to associate him with poverty.

So Feng Ye commented: “Fellow Daoist Hao Chen looks like a fat sheep at first glance.”

A fat fish, Hao Chen refuted inwardly. But then he felt that this rebuttal wasn’t right, because he was not fat.

Could tens of thousands of tons be considered fat? Of course not.

Besides, although he was indeed a wealthy local tyrant who didn’t even bother to pick up the valuable (in the human realm) pearls and corals strewn around his territory, his belongings were unfortunately still in the distant heavenly North Sea. He hadn’t taken anything with him.

The only item he carried was a folding fan made from his own tail feathers, which was also his usual weapon. 

As for its value……one feather on his fan was probably more valuable than all of the spiritual plants in the Floating Island Secret Realm combined.

So, he was indeed a fat sheep…..no, a fat fish…..no, no, it didn’t sound right no matter how he said it. In any case, he was worth robbing.

But Hao Chen didn’t acknowledge this. He also shook his empty sleeves: “What a coincidence, I’m penniless too. Fellow Daoist Feng Ye and I are truly a match made in heaven.”

Feng Ye: “……”

He wanted to crack open Hao Chen’s brain to see what was going on in there. How did every topic turn out like this in the end?

He had to say that this was also a type of skill. Feng Ye was once again left speechless by Hao Chen’s words.

He simply ignored Hao Chen, turning his attention to the front. 

The sounds were very obvious to them due to their enhanced hearing, which was inconsistent with their apparent cultivation levels, as the source was actually quite a distance away from them.

But while the two of them were talking nonsense, the cultivators making all the noise were drawing closer to them.

A shout came from within the shaking bushes: “Shixiong, I can’t run any longer…..”

“Shidi, don’t stop! It’s catching up!”

“But I really can’t run anymore. My legs…..”

As the voices grew louder, two people who were being pursued by something unknown rushed out of the bushes. As soon as they jumped out, they noticed Feng Ye and Hao Chen standing nearby. 

Upon seeing fellow cultivators, the two disheveled martial brothers stared blankly for a moment.

Simultaneously, Feng Ye and Hao Chen stared at the two men. Judging from their attire, daoist robes with eight trigram patterns, they should belong to Wending Sect.

That was exactly the top sect in the world, which had been so arrogant when they first appeared circling above everyone’s heads with the Cloud-Summoning Banner.

These two Wending disciples truly lived up to the reputation of their sect. Their cultivation had reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, and they were only a step away from Foundation Establishment.

However, the two Wending Sect disciples appeared to be in a bad situation. The older cultivator looked fine, apart from a few holes in his clothing that had likely been caused by branches as he rushed through the forest.

The younger one was in a more miserable state. The cloth over his left calf had been torn away, and the exposed skin was covered by a bloody wound. Judging from the irregular tear marks, it was likely caused by the claws of a monster.

It seemed the two of them had been overthinking things. There was no murder or treasure-stealing drama, just two unfortunate cultivators who had encountered a powerful monster.

While Feng Ye and Hao Chen were sizing them up, the two martial brothers finally snapped out of their daze.

They subconsciously felt a little happy at the sight of fellow cultivators, because the thing chasing them was an extremely terrifying monster, and the younger brother with an injured left leg really couldn’t run any longer.

If this continued, the monster would catch them sooner or later. But now, the situation seemed to have improved. As long as they could convince these two to help, they might have a chance of survival.

However, before joy could appear on their faces, they noticed Feng Ye and Hao Chen’s cultivation levels. 

One was at the third level of Qi Refining, and the other was at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

With such low cultivation, they couldn’t even think of helping. They would basically just be delivering food to the monster.

“Raawr!”

The moment they stopped, they heard a roar and footsteps approaching from behind.

This roar woke the two men up. The older cultivator gritted his teeth, thinking that although he didn’t know how these people sneaked their way into the Floating Island Secret Realm with such low cultivation, it was still better than having no help at all.

So he opened his mouth and said rapidly: “My two daoist friends, I am Cheng Yiming from Wending Sect, and this is my fellow junior disciple, Lu Xiao. We’re being chased by a monster. I’m begging the two of you for help – I will reward you handsomely later.”

Hao Chen could only scoff inwardly upon hearing this. This Cheng Yiming had a silver tongue. He did not indicate the monster’s cultivation level, because he knew that since the monster was at Foundation Establishment stage, Hao Chen and Feng Ye most likely wouldn’t help. 

In addition, this so-called handsome reward was nothing but a blank check. Only ghosts knew if he would be good for it later.

Besides, even if these two kept their promise and delivered a sufficient reward, Hao Chen would not be tempted. 

Considering the reward money that Hao Chen felt was thoroughly beneath him, lending a helping hand was really too much of a bother. It would be better to stand and watch. After all, they were just two strangers, and it didn’t matter whether they lived or died.

He was the great god who guarded the North Sea, and that was all. He didn’t possess compassion and a sense of equality for all living creatures that mortals thought a god should have.

Therefore, Hao Chen stood in place, unmoving.

Feng Ye did the same, standing beside Hao Chen with his arms folded.

Seeing them like this, the two Wending Sect disciples felt somewhat hopeless, but harbored little resentment. After all, if they put themselves in their shoes, they wouldn’t help either upon encountering such a thing.

Even though they didn’t deliberately point out the monster’s cultivation level, they could figure it out with just a little thought. If two cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining couldn’t defeat this monster, wouldn’t it be courting death for these cultivators at the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining to try?

With a crack, the sound of branches being stepped on came from behind them, along with a low, throaty growl.

A monster with bloodshot eyes bared its sharp fangs, staring fiercely at the four humans in front of it.

This monster looked like a mix between a tiger and a leopard, and was about three or four meters tall. If it stood up, it would likely be taller than multiple adult men. 

There were differences between breeds of monsters. Judging from its size, this monster wasn’t as tall as the White-Nosed Demon Bear that Feng Ye had encountered before, but its power in all aspects beat that of the White-Nosed Demon Bear into the dust.

Although the White-Nosed Demon Bear had spontaneously advanced to Foundation Establishment, that was because of the power Hao Chen injected into it to forcibly heighten its cultivation. To be accurate, it was actually only slightly stronger than a monster at the tenth level of Qi Refining. Faced with this tiger/leopard monster, whose cultivation had already reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, it naturally couldn’t be compared to the former.

Likewise, these two useless fakes would never be able to defeat the monster with their superficial skills.

Taking no action was the best option. They wouldn’t have to worry about exposing their identities or putting themselves in danger. 

After all, the monster didn’t seem intent on attacking them.

The tiger-leopard stared at the four of them for a moment, before its blood-red eyes finally moved toward the two people it had pursued all this way. Monsters were far more keen than humans.

Very naturally, it also felt that Feng Ye and Hao Chen were complete wastes, and that their pitiful cultivation levels posed no threat to it at all. 

In comparison, the two humans at the tenth level of Qi Refining had richer spiritual energy in their flesh and blood, and would bring greater improvement to its own cultivation.

The higher a monster’s cultivation, the more intelligent it was. It looked down on Feng Ye and Hao Chen, feeling that it would be a waste of energy to hunt these two losers. When its blood-red eyes swept over the two of them, they held a very human air of contempt. 

Hao Chen: “……”

This was outrageous. How dare such a small Foundation Establishment monster look down on him, the Kunpeng?

In his original form, a flap of his wings would blow it away in a blast of wind and break every bone in its body. The ignorant were truly fearless!

However, it wasn’t convenient to teach the creature a bloody lesson at this time. So while the monster was drawn to the two Wending disciples, Hao Chen tugged at Feng Ye’s sleeve.

Leaning close to Feng Ye’s ear, he whispered to him with great comradery: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, let’s escape together!”

His face was full of deep affection, and although he didn’t say it explicitly, his actions and expression said: Look, I didn’t forget to take you with me even while running away. My feelings are so sincere.

It was a pity that the flower fell into the stream with love, but the flowing water was heartless. Goosebumps popped up all over Feng Ye’s body, and he suddenly flicked his sleeve, pulling the corner of it away from Hao Chen.

Then he shook his head with disdain and replied: “Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, escape on your own.”

Hao Chen firmly refused: “No, I’ll never abandon you!”

As he spoke, he tugged Feng Ye’s sleeve once again, performing this drama of deep affection and comradery to the end.

Feng Ye: “……”

It was only because he had no sword that he didn’t simply cut off his sleeve and leave Hao Chen with nothing to hold onto.

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Chapter 41 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 43