TL: Etude
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
Feng Luxue had thoroughly explored the remaining areas of Zone 13 and reported back to the base before returning. Meanwhile, Ye Tian continued to monitor the situation there, with the base's permission, reporting back daily.
Three more days went by.
Ye Tian's copy talent cooldown ended.
He could copy again.
However, before making his move, he sent a message to the base.
The content of the message was a lie, claiming he had noticed some unusual movements in the beast nest and requested the base to send one of the top thirty-six Emperors for reinforcement, preferably one of the more powerful ones.
This was because once he stole the Void Flower, the Emperor-level beast, the Golden Winged Peng, would surely be enraged.
By then, this entire area would be engulfed in the fury of the Golden Winged Peng.
If the base didn't take measures, it could easily suffer significant damage.
After sending the message, Ye Tian, code-named "610", entered the cave.
Soon, he approached the Golden Winged Peng.
"Mystic-level flight talent, copy!"
"Top-tier slashing talent, copy!"
After copying these two talents, Ye Tian then set his sights on the Void Flower.
Closer!
Even closer!
Quickly, Ye Tian was within arm's reach of the Void Flower.
Whoosh!
Ye Tian's speed reached its peak, grabbing the Void Flower in one swift motion and storing it in his spatial equipment.
Then, he immediately activated teleportation, moving through the channel within.
He didn't choose to turn invisible while retreating because it was too slow; if the Golden Winged Peng attacked in a frenzy, he would still be within range of the attack. The Golden Winged Peng's attack was so powerful that even a slight graze could cause serious injury.
"Woo~~~"
The cry of the Golden Winged Peng echoed.
It opened its eyes and saw its guarded treasure, the Void Flower, gone.
In the next instant, sensing Ye Tian's aura, it didn't hesitate to spread its golden wings, slicing through the void.
Boom!!!!!
Golden light, as if tearing through the void, enveloped the entire underground space. This was the result of the Golden Winged Peng's numerous wing slashes in an instant.
Numerous beasts died within the golden light, even some Saint-level beasts were affected.
The Golden Winged Peng didn't care about the deaths beneath its wings; its sole focus was to kill its enemy.
Boom, boom, boom!!!!!
The sturdy underground stone walls were also struck by the golden light, turning into countless dust particles.
Meanwhile, Ye Tian rapidly teleported, avoiding these attacks.
In an instant, Ye Tian teleported to the outside world and continued teleporting.
After several teleports, he quickly activated his invisibility talent and entered a river.
This was part of his pre-planned escape route.
Just moments after Ye Tian turned invisible and entered the river, a gigantic Golden Winged Peng appeared above, its divine sense covering tens of thousands of miles, scanning inch by inch the earth, rivers, and all weaker beings and beasts.
In an instant.
The Golden Winged Peng had scanned an area of a hundred thousand miles but couldn't find any trace of Ye Tian.
At the bottom of the river.
Ye Tian hid within the mud, his top-tier invisibility talent fully activated. Several times, he was swept by the powerful divine sense of the Golden Winged Peng, but it didn't cause any disturbance.
Fortunately, his top-tier invisibility talent was powerful enough, and since the Golden Winged Peng didn't have any special talents targeting invisibility, it couldn't detect Ye Tian.
But Ye Tian had just taken a huge risk; if he had been even a moment slower, he would have been discovered.
Within a hundred thousand miles.
Unable to find Ye Tian, the Golden Winged Peng started attacking in a frenzy.
Piece by piece, the land was shattered by the Golden Winged Peng, countless beasts slain by its blade.
It had gone completely mad!
Meanwhile, the base had received the news.
An Emperor ranked in the top thirty-six had taken action!
Ye Tian, unaware of the events unfolding outside, didn't dare to show himself, not even daring to use his disguise talent. Even if he disguised himself as a beast, the Golden Winged Peng had killed even its own Saint-level beast subordinates.
Half a day later, the sounds of battle outside ceased.
Ye Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, I chose this plan. If I had tried the disguise approach, I might have been slain by its wings immediately."
Ye Tian felt relieved.
At the same time, he realized he had overestimated his invisibility talent.
Against a formidable enemy, invisibility was useless. The opponent's attacks could cover thousands, even tens of thousands of miles, indiscriminately striking everything within range.
Invisibility did not mean disappearance. If hit by an attack, he would still die.
After waiting another half day, Ye Tian took advantage of the night to leave the river in a shadow state, then teleported multiple times to approach the base.
Only when he entered the base did he finally feel a huge weight lift from his heart.
Just ten minutes after his return, an Emperor summoned him for a discussion.
It was the Kuruo Emperor!
In the fortress of the Kuruo Emperor, Ye Tian met him.
"Kuruo Emperor, what do you need me for?" Ye Tian asked.
"We thought you had perished. It's surprising that you came back alive!" the Kuruo Emperor said, genuinely astonished.
"By sheer luck," Ye Tian replied calmly.
"What happened out there? Why was that Emperor-level beast so furious?" the Kuruo Emperor asked.
Ye Tian was the only human present at the scene, so only he could provide the details.
Ye Tian quickly replied, "A beast killed a few Saint-level beasts and broke into their nest. I don't know what it did, but the big bird came out, furiously slaughtering everything. I stayed invisible and hid, luckily avoiding its attacks. I heard the sounds of battle later and stayed hidden until it ended before leaving."
"So that's what happened!" The Kuruo Emperor believed Ye Tian's story, knowing well the terror of the Golden Winged Peng. Even with Ye Tian's invisibility talent, if he were discovered, he wouldn't have escaped.
Thus, he didn't think Ye Tian had provoked the Golden Winged Peng.
However, he was wrong.
It was indeed the Golden Winged Peng's doing!
"Kuruo Emperor, how did the battle turn out?" Ye Tian asked curiously.
"One of the top thirty-six Emperors was seriously injured. In the end, the Battle Axe Emperor personally intervened, severely injuring the opponent. But the opponent was too fast and escaped without a trace!" the Kuruo Emperor explained.
"Even the Battle Axe Emperor couldn't keep them?" Ye Tian was surprised.
"Yes," the Kuruo Emperor nodded, "That bird must have a Mystic-level speed talent and its cultivation level was not weak. Its speed is faster than the Battle Axe Emperor's. After being severely wounded, it activated its bloodline power, boosting its speed, so the Battle Axe Emperor naturally couldn't catch up and gave up the chase. According to my estimation, that bird's strength is at least on par with the top five on the Emperor List!"
"That's incredibly strong!" Ye Tian exclaimed.
But one thing the Kuruo Emperor got wrong was that the opponent possessed a Mystic-level flight talent, not a Mystic-level speed talent.
"You may go back now. You did well in this incident. Without your early warning, we might have only sent a few ordinary Emperors to handle it, which could have led to serious losses," the Kuruo Emperor praised.
"It's nothing, just a small matter!" Ye Tian was somewhat embarrassed.
This incident was his doing, and if the Kuruo Emperor and the injured Emperor knew about it, they might want to kill him.
After excusing himself, Ye Tian returned to his castle to rest for a while before preparing to integrate the two talents he had copied.