Chapter 154: Little Thing
There wasn’t any natural light in the surrounding environment, but Qi Ying was using his Purple Sun Eye, so he could clearly see that he had arrived in an ice cave! Even though his night vision was effective in a radius of two hundred feet, he still couldn’t see the walls of the cave.
He stepped forward, and immediately discovered that the ground underfoot was very icy and slippery. As such, he had to focus his True Energy to the soles of his feet to stabilize himself. He looked up to try and gauge the height of the cave, but the ceiling was also too far away for him to see.
The air within the cave was very cold, and a layer of frost soon materialized outside of Qi Ying’s robes.
After taking a cursory glance around him, Qi Ying continued onward.
There had to be some treasures in such a peculiar cave!
Even if the dragon vein weren’t there, it would presumably be some other valuable treasure.
Qi Ying made his way forward very slowly, making sure to constantly look around him as he advanced. After walking for about seventy to eighty feet, the surface of the ice was no longer smooth. Instead, it became quite bumpy, and even through his boots, the soles of his feet were struck by a numbing sensation.
However, there didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that it became progressively colder as he delved deeper into the cave.
All of a sudden.
Whoosh!
A shadow flashed past in front of him again, disappearing in less than half a second. Qi Ying wanted to chase after the shadow, but it was simply too fast and vanished in the blink of an eye.
‘It’s that thing again!’
Qi Ying speculated that it was most likely some type of beast.
It had to be quite a high-ranking one as well, seeing as it possessed such incredible speed and could live in such a harsh environment.
Furthermore, it had appeared before him twice, but did not attack him, thereby indicating that it was probably not dangerous.
Under normal circumstances, special beasts always existed alongside some sort of exotic plant, so it was quite likely that there was something very unique that was growing within the cave.
‘Perhaps it’ll assist me in my cultivation!’
Many exotic plants and minerals contained True Dragon Energy, and even though they couldn’t enhance one’s aptitude as a dragon vein could, they could aid warriors in their cultivation by purifying their True Energy or Spiritual Energy, thereby enhancing their rate of progression.
Additionally, exotic plants and minerals could often only be found in very special environments, and the vast majority of them couldn’t be artificially bred. As such, all of them were priceless treasures of extreme rarity.
Even if the treasure in the cave couldn’t provide much assistance to him, he could sell it for an astronomical price in the outside world!
With that in mind, Qi Ying quickened his pace.
After walking for another hundred feet or so, Qi Ying finally saw something else aside from ice. An indistinct black shadow could be seen about two hundred feet away, and it appeared to be a tree.
‘How can a tree grow in such a cold place without any sun exposure? That’s no ordinary tree!’
Qi Ying quickly rushed over to that black shadow up ahead.
After finally reaching the tree, he discovered that it had a black trunk and green leaves. At the same time, there were grape-like fruits growing upon it, except they were all separate from one another and didn’t grow in bunches. Furthermore, their colors varied between shades of green and purple.
Qi Ying reached out to touch the tree trunk.
“Gasp…”
Upon making contact with the tree trunk using his fingertips, Qi Ying immediately withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted. “It’s so cold!”
He looked at his right index finger to find that it had already been frozen solid, and he immediately guided his True Energy there to provide some warmth. Only then did he manage to regain feeling in that finger.
“What kind of tree is this?”
Qi Ying was very surprised.
If the tree trunk were to be crafted into a weapon, even if a Spirit Martial Stage warrior would be frozen solid upon being struck with it!
Clang!
Qi Ying drew the Purple Light Sword that he had taken from Chu Zidian, and prepared to cut down a tree branch. He wanted to see if it would still have the same freezing effect after being detached.
Just as he was about to bring his sword down.
“Scree scree!”
A burst of animated cries suddenly erupted from within the branches and leaves, immediately following which a black shadow emerged.
“What is that?”
Qi Ying immediately unleashed a True Energy Protective Barrier in preparation for any sudden attacks.
However, the anticipated attack never arrived, and Qi Ying’s eyes widened as he stared at the creature before him. It was a squirrel-like creature that was about the size of a mouse; it had a mouse’s body and tail, but a head akin to a squirrel’s. It was slightly smaller than one of his hands, and had silver fur, a pair of black little eyes, as well as a thin and long tail.
It landed on the ground while nibbling on a greenish-purple fruit, seemingly enjoying itself thoroughly.
It soon finished the fruit before raising its core above its head, and looking up at Qi Ying with a very humanized expression. Its little mouth gaped open slightly, and it licked its lips, as if to say, “This fruit is very delicious!”
“What an adorable little thing… Let me have a try.”
Qi Ying put down his Purple Light Sword and reached for a fruit for himself.
“Scree scree.”
The little thing cried urgently.
Qi Ying didn’t know what it was trying to say, so he ignored it. However, in the instant when his fingers made contact with a fruit, that bone-chilling sensation invaded his body again, making him recoil instantly.
‘How about…’
Qi Ying enveloped his hand in a layer of True Energy and tried again.
However, as soon as his finger made contact with the fruit, it melted like an ice cube before dripping onto the ground as a puddle of green liquid, which soon froze solid.
“What a strange fruit!”
Qi Ying raised his sword and lashed out with it.
Thump!
A small section of a tree branch was sliced off, along with its leaves and fruits.
Splat!
After the tree branch fell onto the ground, it began to melt just as the fruit did. However, it was melting a little more slowly, and was only reduced to liquid after about twenty seconds, before being frozen solid.
“Er.”
Qi Ying was a little speechless.
It appeared that anything on the tree would melt if it were to come into contact with True Energy, or if it were detached from the tree…
That was very strange.
At that moment, the little silver thing on the ground sprang onto the tree, and plucked off a fruit with its little claws.
The little thing then sprang into the air and landed on Qi Ying’s shoulder with the fruit held in its paws.
“Scree scree!”
It tried to pass the fruit into Qi Ying’s mouth, but its stubby little arms were too short, and it couldn’t reach that far.
“Heh.”
The little thing was really beginning to grow on Qi Ying, and he gently cupped it in his hands. “So you’re the only one who can pluck fruits from the tree… Are you giving that to me?”
“Scree scree!”
The little thing seemed to be able to understand what Qi Ying was saying, and it nodded vehemently in response.
Chapter 154: Little Thing
There wasn’t any natural light in the surrounding environment, but Qi Ying was using his Purple Sun Eye, so he could clearly see that he had arrived in an ice cave! Even though his night vision was effective in a radius of two hundred feet, he still couldn’t see the walls of the cave.
He stepped forward, and immediately discovered that the ground underfoot was very icy and slippery. As such, he had to focus his True Energy to the soles of his feet to stabilize himself. He looked up to try and gauge the height of the cave, but the ceiling was also too far away for him to see.
The air within the cave was very cold, and a layer of frost soon materialized outside of Qi Ying’s robes.
After taking a cursory glance around him, Qi Ying continued onward.
There had to be some treasures in such a peculiar cave!
Even if the dragon vein weren’t there, it would presumably be some other valuable treasure.
Qi Ying made his way forward very slowly, making sure to constantly look around him as he advanced. After walking for about seventy to eighty feet, the surface of the ice was no longer smooth. Instead, it became quite bumpy, and even through his boots, the soles of his feet were struck by a numbing sensation.
However, there didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that it became progressively colder as he delved deeper into the cave.
All of a sudden.
Whoosh!
A shadow flashed past in front of him again, disappearing in less than half a second. Qi Ying wanted to chase after the shadow, but it was simply too fast and vanished in the blink of an eye.
‘It’s that thing again!’
Qi Ying speculated that it was most likely some type of beast.
It had to be quite a high-ranking one as well, seeing as it possessed such incredible speed and could live in such a harsh environment.
Furthermore, it had appeared before him twice, but did not attack him, thereby indicating that it was probably not dangerous.
Under normal circumstances, special beasts always existed alongside some sort of exotic plant, so it was quite likely that there was something very unique that was growing within the cave.
‘Perhaps it’ll assist me in my cultivation!’
Many exotic plants and minerals contained True Dragon Energy, and even though they couldn’t enhance one’s aptitude as a dragon vein could, they could aid warriors in their cultivation by purifying their True Energy or Spiritual Energy, thereby enhancing their rate of progression.
Additionally, exotic plants and minerals could often only be found in very special environments, and the vast majority of them couldn’t be artificially bred. As such, all of them were priceless treasures of extreme rarity.
Even if the treasure in the cave couldn’t provide much assistance to him, he could sell it for an astronomical price in the outside world!
With that in mind, Qi Ying quickened his pace.
After walking for another hundred feet or so, Qi Ying finally saw something else aside from ice. An indistinct black shadow could be seen about two hundred feet away, and it appeared to be a tree.
‘How can a tree grow in such a cold place without any sun exposure? That’s no ordinary tree!’
Qi Ying quickly rushed over to that black shadow up ahead.
After finally reaching the tree, he discovered that it had a black trunk and green leaves. At the same time, there were grape-like fruits growing upon it, except they were all separate from one another and didn’t grow in bunches. Furthermore, their colors varied between shades of green and purple.
Qi Ying reached out to touch the tree trunk.
“Gasp…”
Upon making contact with the tree trunk using his fingertips, Qi Ying immediately withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted. “It’s so cold!”
He looked at his right index finger to find that it had already been frozen solid, and he immediately guided his True Energy there to provide some warmth. Only then did he manage to regain feeling in that finger.
“What kind of tree is this?”
Qi Ying was very surprised.
If the tree trunk were to be crafted into a weapon, even if a Spirit Martial Stage warrior would be frozen solid upon being struck with it!
Clang!
Qi Ying drew the Purple Light Sword that he had taken from Chu Zidian, and prepared to cut down a tree branch. He wanted to see if it would still have the same freezing effect after being detached.
Just as he was about to bring his sword down.
“Scree scree!”
A burst of animated cries suddenly erupted from within the branches and leaves, immediately following which a black shadow emerged.
“What is that?”
Qi Ying immediately unleashed a True Energy Protective Barrier in preparation for any sudden attacks.
However, the anticipated attack never arrived, and Qi Ying’s eyes widened as he stared at the creature before him. It was a squirrel-like creature that was about the size of a mouse; it had a mouse’s body and tail, but a head akin to a squirrel’s. It was slightly smaller than one of his hands, and had silver fur, a pair of black little eyes, as well as a thin and long tail.
It landed on the ground while nibbling on a greenish-purple fruit, seemingly enjoying itself thoroughly.
It soon finished the fruit before raising its core above its head, and looking up at Qi Ying with a very humanized expression. Its little mouth gaped open slightly, and it licked its lips, as if to say, “This fruit is very delicious!”
“What an adorable little thing… Let me have a try.”
Qi Ying put down his Purple Light Sword and reached for a fruit for himself.
“Scree scree.”
The little thing cried urgently.
Qi Ying didn’t know what it was trying to say, so he ignored it. However, in the instant when his fingers made contact with a fruit, that bone-chilling sensation invaded his body again, making him recoil instantly.
‘How about…’
Qi Ying enveloped his hand in a layer of True Energy and tried again.
However, as soon as his finger made contact with the fruit, it melted like an ice cube before dripping onto the ground as a puddle of green liquid, which soon froze solid.
“What a strange fruit!”
Qi Ying raised his sword and lashed out with it.
Thump!
A small section of a tree branch was sliced off, along with its leaves and fruits.
Splat!
After the tree branch fell onto the ground, it began to melt just as the fruit did. However, it was melting a little more slowly, and was only reduced to liquid after about twenty seconds, before being frozen solid.
“Er.”
Qi Ying was a little speechless.
It appeared that anything on the tree would melt if it were to come into contact with True Energy, or if it were detached from the tree…
That was very strange.
At that moment, the little silver thing on the ground sprang onto the tree, and plucked off a fruit with its little claws.
The little thing then sprang into the air and landed on Qi Ying’s shoulder with the fruit held in its paws.
“Scree scree!”
It tried to pass the fruit into Qi Ying’s mouth, but its stubby little arms were too short, and it couldn’t reach that far.
“Heh.”
The little thing was really beginning to grow on Qi Ying, and he gently cupped it in his hands. “So you’re the only one who can pluck fruits from the tree… Are you giving that to me?”
“Scree scree!”
The little thing seemed to be able to understand what Qi Ying was saying, and it nodded vehemently in response.
