TL: Etude
Ye Tian concealed his presence and entered the tree.
"Ye Tian, the stones of this mountain must be a kind that blocks spiritual sense. They're very valuable. Many of the top forces' headquarters in Zhonghai Super Base are made of similar material to block spiritual detection and suppress the extension of spiritual sense. That's why those Saint-level beasts haven't used their spiritual sense to detect me, otherwise, I would have been exposed here long ago!" Feng Luxue communicated telepathically.
Ye Tian tried it out and, indeed, his spiritual sense was suppressed, probably to only one-tenth or even less of its usual range. He refrained from using spiritual sense to scout the cave, to avoid being detected.
"Ye Tian, do you have a way to investigate inside?" Feng Luxue asked.
In front of Feng Luxue, Ye Tian immediately activated his invisibility talent.
"This…" Feng Luxue was shocked. He could feel Ye Tian in front of him, but his spiritual sense couldn't detect Ye Tian's presence.
"Is this invisibility?" Feng Luxue was astonished. He had seen invisibility talents before, as the Battle Axe Mercenary Hall had talents with such abilities, often assigned to special missions. However, their invisibility couldn't hide from the spiritual sense of a Saint-level entity.
But Ye Tian's invisibility talent was terrifyingly effective, even Feng Luxue couldn't detect him.
"Indeed, it is invisibility. It can hide from Saint-level beasts," Ye Tian's voice came.
Then, Ye Tian deactivated his invisibility, reappearing in front of Feng Luxue. "With this invisibility, I can go over and take a look," Ye Tian said.
"Okay," Feng Luxue nodded. With Ye Tian's impressive invisibility talent, he was undoubtedly the best candidate for reconnaissance and unlikely to be discovered.
Whoosh!
Ye Tian, now invisible and also using his flight talent, flew over. He chose to use the flight talent instead of relying on his King-level or higher flying ability to minimize air disturbances. Even the slowest Saint-level flight would create some air disturbance, which might be detected by a beast with a special ability to sense minor changes in the air. But a flight talent, being an ability, wouldn't cause such disturbances and was less likely to be discovered.
Before long, Ye Tian reached the entrance of the cave and flew in low. The cave entrance led underground, seemingly connecting to a large subterranean space. At this point, Ye Tian didn't dare to use spatial perception to investigate, as it could not deceive powerful Saint-level beasts, and if any beast also had spatial talents, he would be exposed.
"I'm here!" Ye Tian reached a vast underground space, like a small underground world.
Here, Ye Tian saw many Saint-level beasts and sensed the presence of several Emperor-level beasts in the distance. One of them, a golden bird resembling the mythical Golden Winged Peng, took his breath away. Its wings, likely hundreds of meters long, shone like two small suns. The other Emperor-level beasts seemed like its guards.
"This bird must be the King here," Ye Tian speculated.
As he flew closer, a familiar, intense longing surged within him. It was stronger than any he had felt before, indicating the presence of an item that could evolve his copy talent. Excitedly, he approached within 2,000 meters of the large bird and used his copy talent to check its abilities.
Type: Golden Winged Peng
Bloodline Talent: Moonlight
Strength Talent: Pseudo-Mystic (30%)
Flight Talent: Mystic
Speed Talent: Top-level
Defense Talent: Mystic
Eagle Eye Talent: Top-level
Slashing Talent: Top-level
Ye Tian was utterly astounded by the talents of the Golden Winged Peng. Its abilities were incredible, certainly on par with the Thirty-Six Emperors, and perhaps even stronger. Its array of talents was extensive.
"I can't copy talents for a few more days; best not to disturb it for now," Ye Tian thought to himself.
He was particularly interested in the Roc's Mystic-level flight talent and its top-level slashing talent, as his other talents were already sufficient. The slashing talent reminded him of something akin to an attack-type talent, possibly with unique effects like slicing through sturdy materials.
Moving his gaze from the Golden Winged Peng, Ye Tian carefully navigated around it, focusing on something behind it. There, he saw a flower growing in the void, rooted deep within the space. Ye Tian decided to call it the Void Flower.
"This Void Flower must be the source of my intense longing; I must obtain it!" Ye Tian resolved.
He figured the Golden Winged Peng was guarding this flower, making this place its nest. The special nature of the mountain above had probably kept it hidden from people or other powerful Emperor-level beasts.
"The Void Flower isn't fully mature yet, but it's still hugely beneficial for my copy talent. I won't wait for it to mature completely, as who knows how long that would be. Plus, once it's fully mature, the Golden Winged Peng will likely consume it immediately," Ye Tian planned to seize the Void Flower in a few days.
The Void Flower, capable of evolving his copy talent, was something Ye Tian was determined to acquire at any cost. Of course, he couldn't let anyone else know about the situation here, as the likes of the Battle Axe Emperor would definitely come to claim the Void Flower.
"Time to leave," Ye Tian slowly retreated without alerting the Golden Winged Peng. After leaving the underground space and exiting the cave, he returned to where Feng Luxue was waiting.
"How did it go?" Feng Luxue asked upon Ye Tian's return.
"There are many Saint-level beasts underground and four Emperor-level beasts, including one as powerful as the Thirty-Six Emperors. I didn't dare get too close. This is definitely a powerful beast nest, and they're unlikely to leave it unless necessary. We should avoid disturbing them if we can," Ye Tian reported truthfully, omitting only the Void Flower.
"Four Emperor-level beasts, with one comparable to the Thirty-Six Emperors!" Feng Luxue gasped, relieved he hadn't ventured down there himself.
"Right, we need to report this to the higher-ups and see how they want to handle it," Feng Luxue said.
Then Ye Tian suggested, "I have the invisibility talent and can keep watch here. You finish surveying the other areas and then return to the base. Don't worry; even Emperor-level beasts won't detect me if they don't scrutinize carefully."
"Okay," Feng Luxue agreed, finding Ye Tian's plan reasonable. Little did he know, Ye Tian was preparing to challenge the Emperor-level beast comparable to the Thirty-Six Emperors.