Chapter 510 485: Closed-Door Cultivation

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A brilliant golden light stung the eyes of the Third Prince and his five True Dao Second Layer experts. Before their horrified gazes, the gleaming golden Sword Gang suddenly crossed several dozen feet and viciously sliced into the body of the Golden Crowned Colorful Feather Beast.

PSH!

With a crisp slicing sound, the Golden Crowned Colorful Feather Beast—a creature whose strength was comparable to an Early-stage True Dao Third Layer expert—was sliced clean in two by that single Sword Gang!

HISS!

The Third Prince and his five experts all sucked in a sharp breath. Their jaws hung open and their eyes were wide with disbelief.

Strictly speaking, the Golden Crowned Colorful Feather Beast was a flying Barbaric Beast. Not only did it possess the combat strength of an Early-stage True Dao Third Layer expert, but its movements were also exceptionally agile, and its flight speed far surpassed that of a True Dao Third Layer expert. 'For such a powerful and nimble Barbaric Beast to be casually cut in half by Zhaang Ye, unable to even dodge... This is far too horrifying!'

After casually slaying the Golden Crowned Colorful Feather Beast, Zhaang Ye's gaze fell upon the Third Prince and his five True Dao experts.

Zhaang Ye's expression was neutral, betraying no joy or anger, but when his gaze swept over the Third Prince and the five True Dao experts, they all felt a chill run down their spines.

Having just slain hundreds of Barbaric Beasts in the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range and just passed a Celestial Tribulation, Zhaang Ye naturally exuded a terrifying Suppression. He himself might not have noticed it, but the six people under his gaze felt his fearsomeness deep in their bones. In their hearts, they felt that Zhaang Ye was more terrifying than a hundred Golden Crowned Colorful Feather Beasts combined.

The five True Dao Second Layer experts suppressed their terror, moving to shield the Third Prince as they stood on high alert. Their hearts hammered against their ribs, terrified that Zhaang Ye would suddenly attack and slice them in two, one by one.

Ironically, the Third Prince, who had the weakest Cultivation, was much calmer than his five guards.

The Third Prince was, after all, a prince. His Cultivation was only at the True Dao First Layer, but his worldliness far surpassed that of the experts by his side. Sensing Zhaang Ye's terrifying strength, a powerful desire ignited within him. 'I must recruit Zhaang Ye! I must make him my subordinate to help me seize the throne of the Daluo Kingdom!'

The emperor of the Daluo Kingdom was already over three hundred years old, his lifespan nearly exhausted. As a prince of Daluo, the Third Prince knew that every one of his siblings was frantically recruiting followers and desperately increasing their combat strength, all to be able to seize the throne and establish their own dynasty after the emperor's death.

The Third Prince forced himself to remain calm, adopting a humble posture. He spoke respectfully, "Thank you for saving us, Senior! I am Luo Juewu, the Third Prince of the Daluo Kingdom. I would like to invite you to my residence to express my gratitude. What do you say, Senior?"

A flicker of light crossed Zhaang Ye's eyes as he said coldly, "Not interested. Leave this place at once!"

A flash of anger crossed Luo Juewu's eyes. He couldn't believe that after he had revealed his identity and extended a respectful invitation, Zhaang Ye had rejected him without a moment's hesitation.

Luo Juewu felt a surge of displeasure. Just as he was about to speak again, an immense aura erupted from Zhaang Ye, crushing the surroundings into dead silence. The words caught in Luo Juewu's throat, forced back down by the pressure. Even breathing became difficult.

Sensing the killing intent radiating from Zhaang Ye, the expressions of the five True Dao Second Layer experts beside Luo Juewu changed drastically. They hastily grabbed the prince and fled into the distance.

Only after fleeing for more than five hundred li in one breath did the True Dao experts finally let out a long sigh of relief. It was only then that they discovered their backs were soaked with cold sweat.

One of the True Dao Second Layer experts stared back in the direction of Zhaang Ye, horrified. "What a terrifying expert! Even True Dao Fourth and Fifth Layer experts don't exude such a dreadful pressure."

"I agree. The aura on that man is terrifying to the extreme. I'd wager his hands are stained with the blood of countless victims; otherwise, he could never have such a fearsome presence."

"Yes, he's incredibly powerful. If he were willing to help the Third Prince, he'd be an exceptionally capable subordinate. It's a pity that people like him are difficult to subdue and even harder to control."

At that moment, a cold sneer appeared on Luo Juewu's lips. "Hard to control? I wouldn't be so sure. My Second Master is arriving in five days. If we run into this man again, I'll have Second Master deal with him. He specializes in Control Techniques and can definitely subdue this person with his Secret Techniques."

The eyes of the five True Dao Second Layer experts lit up. The Third Prince's master had a Cultivation that had reached the True Dao Fourth Layer. If he were to act against Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Ye would have no hope of escape.

A vicious look flashed in the eyes of the Third Prince, Luo Juewu. "This man refused to do things the easy way, so now he'll do them the hard way. I gave him a respectful invitation, and he ignored it. In that case, this Prince will have to use force.

"Heh heh, this Prince would like to see what right you have to act so proud and aloof in my presence. Heh heh, no matter how noble or proud you think you are, you'll obediently become this Prince's dog—an attack dog."

...

Back in the forest, the Fire Spirit watched the six people flee into the distance and asked in confusion, "Master, why didn't you kill them? If they reveal our whereabouts after they leave, I'm afraid we'll be in trouble."

Zhaang Ye shook his head slightly. "The Third Prince has a profound Talisman inside his body. If I had killed him, it would have inevitably attracted the attention of the Daluo Kingdom's royal family, and I would be hunted by their entire clan.

"Furthermore, the Daluo Kingdom is one of the powers under the Green Cloud Sect's jurisdiction. The Third Prince is a member of the royal family. If I were to kill a royal without reason, I'm afraid I would be punished by the Sect. To avoid trouble, it was better to let him go."

The Green Cloud Sect was one of the three major powers in a radius of hundreds of millions of li, governing forty-one kingdoms. These kingdoms continuously supplied the Sect with talent, Spirit Elixirs, and minerals, forming the very foundation of the Sect's power. Although Zhaang Ye was an Inner Sect Disciple of the Green Cloud Sect, he couldn't just casually kill a member of a royal family.

Casually storing the Golden Crowned Colorful Feather Beast in his Little World, Zhaang Ye scanned his surroundings and found that the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi was indeed very dense. The best part was that mixed within the dense energy were traces of pure Heaven and Earth Essence, making this place perfectly suited for Cultivation.

The Fire Spirit said, "This valley is very long, over a thousand li. The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi deeper inside is even denser. We can go further in and open up a cave residence for our Cultivation."

Zhaang Ye nodded, executed his Body Technique, and entered the valley. Following the Fire Spirit's guidance, he found a spot where the Essence Qi was most abundant and carved out a small cave residence. He then found a large boulder and sealed the entrance tightly.

After passing its second Celestial Tribulation, the Fire Spirit had recovered a fragmented Ancient Array from its memories. To prevent any disturbances, the Fire Spirit took out several hundred Essence Stones and set up this incomplete Array.

The greatest function of this fragmented Array was to conceal one's aura. Under the effects of the incomplete Ancient Array, the cave where Zhaang Ye was hiding became completely fused with the stone wall. Unless one was proficient in the Array Dao, even a True Dao Fourth or Fifth Layer expert would never be able to find Zhaang Ye's cave.

WHOOSH!

Zhaang Ye took out a Barbaric Beast Core and began to absorb the Essence Qi within it. Zhaang Ye's self-created Celestial River Righteous Qi was exceptionally tyrannical, capable of devouring all kinds of power. The moment he circulated his Cultivation Technique, the Essence Qi from the Barbaric Beast Core began to surge endlessly into his body.

Three days later, the Barbaric Beast Core emitted a soft PING and shattered into fragments. All the Essence Qi it contained had already entered Zhaang Ye's Meridians.

Zhaang Ye casually brushed the fragments of the Barbaric Beast Core aside, took out another Inner Core, and continued absorbing.

Meanwhile, the Fire Spirit was also in the Little World, silently absorbing Ancient Phoenix Power. The Fire Spirit was formed from Phoenix Blood, and the fastest way for it to increase its strength was to absorb Ancient Phoenix Power. The section of Phoenix Tree in Zhaang Ye's Little World was the roost of an Ancient Phoenix, and it contained pure Ancient Phoenix Power, which was perfect for the Fire Spirit to absorb.

Six days later, Zhaang Ye finished absorbing the second Barbaric Beast Core. The Celestial River Righteous Qi inside his body slowly grew denser. He estimated in his mind, 'At this rate of Cultivation, I should be able to advance to the Late-stage True Dao Second Layer in three months. As for the Peak of the Second Layer, I'm confident I can reach it in six months.'

Of course, that was assuming everything went smoothly. Cultivation was an act of defying the heavens, fraught with hardships and difficulties at every step. If any accidents were to occur during his Cultivation, then all bets were off.

...

While Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit were absorbed in their Cultivation, a middle-aged man in white robes appeared in the valley. Behind him, the Third Prince Luo Juewu and his five True Dao Second Layer experts stood respectfully with their hands at their sides, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The white-robed man's gaze was like lightning. His vast Spiritual Sense meticulously scanned the entire valley as he asked, "Third Prince, was it near here that you encountered that expert?"

The Third Prince, Luo Juewu, nodded. "That's right! He was dressed in green robes and looked extremely young, but his combat strength was formidable. His aura alone was unbearable."

Hearing Luo Juewu's description, the white-robed man's eyes lit up. He said urgently, "Dressed in green and extremely young? Third Prince, tell me everything in detail! Describe his appearance, Cultivation, and temperament—every last detail!"

The Third Prince was slightly surprised, but he didn't overthink it and recounted everything he had seen in detail.

"HAHAHAHA! Excellent, excellent! It really is that junior, it really is! That junior definitely hasn't gotten far, he definitely hasn't!" After listening for a moment, the white-robed man was filled with sudden joy and couldn't help but roar with laughter.

After he finished laughing, the white-robed man commanded, "Relay my orders! Keep a close watch on the surrounding ten thousand li for a young man in green robes. His Cultivation is around the Mid-stage True Dao Second Layer, his combat power is extremely high, and his Body Technique is exceptionally fast. Report to me the instant you have any news!"

-(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)