Sorry for the late chapter. I was so busy lately I didn't have time to write. I apologize for making all of you wait. I hope they don't call me so soon, so I can upload a new chapter as soon as possible.
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After Ye Feng, Fu, Jian Chen, and Ming Dong left the forest, 15 spatial gates appeared in the sky above the Southwest forest.
Twenty cultivators emerged from the spatial gates; they all frowned when they saw how the whole forest had withered away.
Two cultivators—Ye Guo Ye Feng's father and the Ancestor of the Celestial Mountain sect—emerged from the special gates.
Suddenly, another spatial gate appeared in the sky, and a middle-aged man emerged from it. The man looked ordinary; however, the space around him was vibrating continuously.
One of the cultivators narrowed his eyes when he saw and said loudly with a loathing tone, "Tian Jian."
The cultivator was a bold, muscular man; he looked like a middle-aged man with tanned skin. He was wearing a brown robe and carrying a heavy green spear on his back.
When Tian Jian heard the middleman's voice, he smirked, looked at him, and said, "It's been a while, Ping." I see you haven't changed at all; you are still as barbarian as I remember."
Ping growled in anger and was about to attack Tian Jian when all of a sudden he felt an invisible force charging at him to restrain him.
When he sensed this, Ping narrowed his eyes. He grabbed his heavy spear from his back, preparing to defend himself, but suddenly, another invisible force charged out with incredible speed and clashed with the one that was about to restrain Ping. "BANG."
The Celestial Mountain Sect ancestor narrowed his eyes when he saw this and yelled in anger, "Yun Che, are you seeking death?"
An old man, dressed in a white robe; he had a long gray beard and hair, chuckled at the words of the Celestial Mountain sect ancestor. He responded, "You can try if you want, old man." I've been itching to kill you for so many years now, you old fool."
"CLAP," Tian Jian interrupted with a clap of his hands and said to all those present. "We have pressing matters right now; both of you can settle your rivalry and grudges later. We need to figure out what that dragon silhouette and the black-purple cloud were." Also, we need to know how this forest withered away so quickly."
The cultivator snorted and said to Tian Jian, "Why should we listen to you? Who the hell do you think you are bossing us around?"
Tian Jian shrugged his shoulders, smiled at the bald cultivator, and said, "If you don't want to help us suit yourself, don't blame me later on when the mysteries of the world punish you and turn you into dust."
When Tian Jian mentioned this, everyone present shivered in fear.
Tian Jian then looked at everyone present and said, "Your ancestors and the founder of Mercenary City made an oath to the mysteries of the world that the future generations of their sects or clans will unite with the other protector sects and clans whenever the Tian Yuan continent is in danger."
Everybody calmed down after hearing what Tian Jian said, and Tian Jian continued, "I am sure you all want to return back to your own sects and clans as quickly as possible, so let's get to work and investigate this forest for some clues. I am confident that we will discover the cause of the forest's deterioration in no time."
When everyone heard what Tian Jian said, they nodded and started flying around the forest to search for clues.
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With Jian Chen, Fu, Ye Feng, and Ming Dong
"Fu, do you expect me to believe what you've just said, man?" Do you think I am a five-year-old kid?" Ye Feng glanced at Fu with a frustrated expression.
Fu's eyebrows twitched as he said to Ye Feng, "It's true, brother Feng. You were inside a purple-black cocoon, and a huge purple-black cloud covered the entire forest." Also, when we arrived at your location, the whole forest withered away."
Ye Feng stared at Fu as if he were an idiot, and Fu grew angry. He said to Ye Feng, "If you don't believe me, ask Ming Dong and Jian Chen."
Ye Feng then looked at Ming Dong and Jian Chen, and they nodded their heads. Jian Chen then said to Ye Feng, "What Fu said is true, but he didn't mention to you that the cloud and the cocoon were emitting a destructive aura, and when the dragon silhouette appeared, the destructive aura intensified."
Ye Feng was surprised when he heard this, and he started thinking seriously about what he had just heard.
Suddenly, the four of them heard a rustle in the nearby bushes, and twenty leopard monster beasts surrounded Fu, Jian Chen, Ming Dong, and Ye Feng.
The fur of the leopard monster beasts was as white as snow. When Ye Feng recognized the monster beast, he exclaimed in surprise, "These are the snow leopard monster beasts; what are they doing here?" They usually live in snowy environments."
When Fu heard this, he rolled his eyes at Ye Feng and said to him, "Who cares where they usually live? Let's kill them all."
When Ming Dong heard what Fu said, he thought to himself, "This guy really has a black heart."
Ye Feng chuckled and nodded his head to Fu, but Fu smiled widely at Ye Feng, Ming Dong, and Jian Chen. He then said to them, "I have a fantastic idea. How about we compete against each other?"
Jian Chen was confused and asked, "Compete against each other?"
Fu nodded his head and started explaining, "Yes, whoever kills most of these cats is the winner; the loser between us needs to buy the others a meal when we get to Wake City."
Before any of them could respond, the snow leopard monster beasts lunged at them. They quickly summoned their saint weapons and began chopping the snow leopards monster beasts into pieces with ease, saying, "SQUASH, SQUASH, SQUASH, SQUASH, SQUASH."
It took them less than a minute to slaughter the monster beasts. Fu, Jian Chen, and Ming Dong began extracting the monster cores from the corpses of the monster beasts, while Ye Feng stood motionless, staring at his saint weapon, {the blood dragon fang}, in shock.
What was shocking? Ye Feng's saint weapon underwent a significant transformation, replacing its original crimson blade with a purple-black one.
His saint weapon's hilt and guard were also purple-black.
Fu turned his head towards Ye Feng and said, "Brother Feng, why are you not digging out the monster cores?"
Fu closed his mouth, his eyes widening as he observed the alterations made to Ye Feng's saint weapon, uttering incredulous words, "What the hell happened to your saint weapon?"
Both Ming Dong and Jian Chen looked at Ye Feng's saint weapon, and Jian Chen's eyes widened in shock. He then thought, "The color of his saint weapon changed; it is the same color as the cocoon he was trapped in and the cloud that covered the forest."
Jian Chen then narrowed his eyes; he could feel the same destructive aura as the purple-black cocoon, the purple-black cloud, and the dragon silhouette he saw.
Jian Chen then said seriously to Ye Feng, "Ye Feng, I think your saint weapon had mutated when you were trapped inside the purple-black cocoon."
Fu, Ye Feng, and Ming Dong widened their eyes when they heard what Jian Chen just said, and Jian Chen continued, "I can sense the same destructive aura from your saint weapon that I sensed from the cocoon, the cloud, and the dragon silhouette."
Ming Dong and Fu were shocked. They surrounded Ye Feng. They then tried to sense Ye Feng's saint weapon aura.
Their eyes widened when they sensed the destructive aura that Ye Feng's weapon was emitting.
Ye Feng narrowed his eyes in concern when he sensed the destructive aura emanating from his saint weapon (the blood dragon fang).
Jian Chen noticed Ye Feng's worried expression and said to him, "Ye Feng, your saint weapon mutation may not be a bad thing; maybe it is a good fortune for you."
Ye Feng, Fu, and Ming Dong looked at Jian Chen in surprise, and Jian Chen remembered his mutated Dantian. He then continued, "You need to take your time and study your saint weapon." Perhaps in the future, you could harness the destructive aura your saint weapon emits during battles, or perhaps this mutation made your saint weapon sturdier."
Ye Feng thought about what Jian Chen had just said, nodded his head, and said to him, "You are right, thank you."
Fu then turned to Ye Feng and said, "Brother Feng, I also noticed that after you came out of that cocoon, your body became more muscular than before."
Ye Feng was surprised, and he checked his body. He observed that he had gained lean muscle mass. He was surprised to discover that he wasn't bulky and muscular like Fu.
After observing Ye Feng's body keenly, Jian Chen asked, "Does your body feel any deference than before?"
Ye Feng thought for a moment, and then he answered, "I feel my body is way stranger than before, like a thousand times stronger than how it used to be."
Jian Chen nodded and said, "It seems your body has mutated along with your saint weapon."
Ye Feng sighed and nodded his head. "It seems I will need to study my saint weapon and my body thoroughly." He thought to himself.
Ye Feng then took out a map from his space ring. After examining the map, he said to others, "In order for us to go to Wake City, we will need to bypass Silver Wind City. I think we should stop in Silver Wind City for sometime."
When Fu heard Ye Feng's suggestion, he asked, "Why do we need to stop at Silver Wind City?"
Ye Feng sighed and began his explanation, saying, "First, I need to study my saint weapon and body thoroughly to be sure there are no hidden dangers in my body, and Dantian Silver Wind City is the best place for me to do that."
Jian Chen, along with Fu and Ming Dong, nodded in agreement, and Ye Feng continued, "Second Silver Wind City is the perfect place for me to make my breakthrough to the Earth Saint Master realm."
Ye Feng then looked into Fu's eyes and said, "Third, Silver Wind City is a good place for you to absorb the silver-striped golden snake blood and essence."
"Beside that, I am sick of sleeping and living in the forest. We stayed more than a month in that stupid forest. Give me a break, well you." Ye Feng rolled his eyes as he spoke to Fu.
Jian Chen and Ming Dong chuckled when they heard what Ye Feng said, and Ming Dong asked, "Is it alright if I travel together with you guys?"
Fu's eyebrows twitched when he heard Ming Dong's question, and then he said to Ming Dong, "Of course you, moron, we are now friends, aren't we?"
Jian Chen and Ye Feng smiled at Ming Dong, nodding their heads in his direction, before they began storing the corpses of the monster beasts and their monster cores in their space rings and space belts.
After that, they started their journey towards Silver Wind City.