It seemed that he had been too impatient. Since the Ring of Green Fortune Emperor would have eventually been his, he could have left it for now. His priority should have been to have grabbed a stalk of spiritual herb home instead.
After some effort, Chu Chen decisively gave up his pursuit for the Ring of Green Fortune Emperor. With his weak hatchling body, the pressure he had to endure to have made it through a thousand feet had just been too much. If he rushed in without a care, he would have ended up as a pancake and would have still failed to have acquired the ring.
After examining his vicinity, his gaze swept past an area and his eyes had immediately brightened. About 10 feet to his side, there had been a tuft of spiritual herbs growing at a slanted angle. Its entire body had been purple in color and its leaves were wide.
Waves of dense spiritual energy emanated from the spiritual herb. The density of its spiritual energy had been far beyond any spiritual herbs that Chu Chen had seen before.
'C-c-could it be a level-2 or higher spiritual herb? I'm rich!'
Chu Chen had been overjoyed. He quickly clambered toward those purple spiritual herbs. One step, two step, three step…
With each step, the pressure around him increased significantly. Even 10 feet's worth of pressure had already been beyond Chu Chen's expectation.
'A thousand feet was difficult to cover, how can I not achieve this mere 10 feet?'
The unwillingness to submit welled up deep within Chu Chen's heart once again. He gritted his teeth and took one step at a time, having moved forward. On that tender body of his, the muscles had been pulled taut, hard as steel.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Chu Chen finally made it to the purple spiritual herbs. With a simple peck, he picked up the entire stalk of herbs and finally let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
His journey back had been much more relaxing as the pressure on his body lightened. That allowed his footsteps to have moved faster. When he finally walked out of Black Fog Valley, his body went limp and sprawled on the ground.
If anyone passed by and saw a bird lying on its back like a human, they would have surely found it odd.
He had truly been exhausted. That mere 10 feet of distance felt like it had been a few thousand kilometers under the effect of that terrible pressure.
Although the all encompassing pressure caused him pain, it also benefited him. He clearly felt that every inch of the eaglet's body, bones and muscles had been tempered by the immense pressure like compressed steel, turning it tougher and more malleable.
The Black Fog Valley had been a good place to have trained the eaglet's body!
After a moment of rest, Chu Chen caught his breath and slowly stood up. He picked up the spiritual herbs and flapped his little wings, flying towards his own abode.
After having put down the spiritual herb, Chu Chen returned to his nest. Hungry and tired, he quickly gobbled down his food. Halfway through his meal, he heard a sound.
"Little one, it's so late already. Where did you go earlier?"
Just as Chu Chen satisfyingly swallowed a piece of egg shell and enjoyed its taste comfortably, a cold and clear voice drifted by from a nearby source that caught him by surprise, having given him a scare.
Looking up, he saw the figure of the beautiful witch dressed in black that stood right beside his nest. Her pair of star-like eyes seemed to have carried a hint of gentleness as she watched him quietly.
Meeting the witch again, her pretty face seemed to be showing an extra hint of fatigue. That pale face of hers seemed to have been all the more fair in the darkness.
She was like a snow lotus that blossomed alone in the darkness; cold, proud, and stunning. However, that prideful appearance had somehow carried a hint of rare gentleness.
'Is that from her wounds by the Secret Sky Sect disciples that have yet to recover?'
The thought flashed across Chu Chen's mind. The witch looked at him and waved gently. In her eyes were a hint of kindness.
'Is she asking me to go closer? Don't tell me that she's taking me in as a pet?'
A helpless thought appeared in Chu Chen's mind. He had still been planning to quickly go to sleep after having eaten the egg shells, so that his consciousness could return to his main body. It was because he wanted to take a good look at the spiritual herbs he spent so much effort obtaining.
The way things looked, he would not have been able to go to sleep and transfigure back if he did not send the witch away.
He hesitated for a moment, flapped his wings and landed on the witch's fair arm. Her soft and fair palm had been as white as jade, gentle and warm. When Chu Chen's little claws landed, he had to be extra careful, afraid that his sharp claws would have scratched her tender skin.
The witch watched his action and that added tenderness in her gaze. She gently patted Chu Chen's little head gently and placed him by her chest. With a wave, she flew away.
'Hm? Where's this woman taking me?'
A wave of rich and clean fragrance washed over him like a tsunami, having made him slightly dizzy.
Happiness rushed into him, having caught Chu Chen off guard. Speaking of which, he had only been a teenager. He had never had such close contact with a female. With such a turn of events, the stimulation had been a little overwhelming for him.
Chu Chen's mind was in a daze. One could have even seen little stars having flashed in his tiny little eyes.
When the witch stopped and saw the eaglet in a cute daze, a hint of a smile crept onto her face.
With that smile, it felt as though spring had arrived and flowers had bloomed together. Chu Chen had seemingly heard the sound of flowers blooming in his daze.
The witch's expression had always been icy cold. The smile on her face had been extremely rare. Due to the rareness of that, it had been all the more precious. In the dark night, that gentle smile of hers looked just like a white lotus that had bloomed in adversity.
However, the witch's next action shook Chu Chen to the core, almost having him exclaimed in surprise!
The witch trotted toward a steaming hot spring. She looked into the hot spring and her fair jade-like fingers moved in front of her chest and slowly undid her dress…
'N-n-no...d-d-don't…'
Chu Chen had screamed wildly in his heart. However, his eyes were as if they had been possessed. He stared intently at the witch's every move, afraid that he would have missed any interesting moments.
'What's she doing? Is she taking off her clothes? Is she really taking off her clothes?'
Chu Chen's mind had been inundated by crazy thoughts. It was as if the floodgates had been opened, having surged through his mind and made him unable to have collected his thoughts.
It had been too exciting, too violent. Could it have been the legendary sight of a beauty having walked out of a bath, right before his eyes???