Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 448 - 438 Black Soul Flower

Chu Hao snorted, raised his right hand, and with a swipe, Fire Feather swept a flaming slash across. With a smack, that fist was instantly severed and fell off, and the flames danced, turning countless insects to ashes.

The Insect Person reached out with its arm, the insects wriggling, and a new right hand was immediately "regenerated."

It launched another attack, but as there’s a natural counter for everything, the Spirit Fire Phoenix Feather was its nemesis, restraining it completely. Every time Chu Hao swung his arm, countless insects were burned to ashes.

Its body grew smaller and smaller, changing from the size of a giant to that of a three-year-old child, until finally it collapsed with a bang, reverting back into innumerable Black-Spotted Worms that hid in the soil beneath the base of the Blue Sword Orchid.

Who says insects lack wisdom?

They stood guard here, knowing that this Spiritual Medicine would attract prey, and all they needed to do was to lie in wait. Now that they’ve hidden beneath this Spiritual Medicine, how can you strike them?

If you attack with flames again, you’ll harm the Spiritual Medicine, but if you don’t... the remaining Black-Spotted Worms will take the opportunity to strike and seek revenge.

Chu Hao retracted Fire Feather and strode forward. With only so many Black-Spotted Worms left, he naturally was not afraid.

As he approached the Blue Sword Orchid, those Black-Spotted Worms indeed burst forth again, turning into more than a dozen black lines attacking his feet.

"Be careful!" Su Wanyue and the other three ladies all exclaimed in alarm.

Chu Hao smiled slightly. With a sweep of his right hand, he picked the Blue Sword Orchid and placed it into the Mustard Seed Ring. At the same time, he activated his Physique, and boom, flames surged over his body with a mix of blue and purple light flowing around him, a sight that would even make the War King feel uneasy.

"Squeak—" The Black-Spotted Worms let out shrill cries. Ordinary flames they could ignore, but the Green Flame was too terrifying; upon contact, it incinerated them.

Chu Hao frowned slightly; these insects were indeed fierce—the brief time they had was enough for them to make several bites. A single Black-Spotted Worm might be small and seem insignificant when biting, but the sheer number of them was overwhelming.

He looked down and saw the ankles of both his legs showing bones, the flesh having been eaten away by the Black-Spotted Worms.

If there had been more, even with the Green Flame, it would have been useless. He could burn some to death, but he would have been gnawed to the bone by the endless Black-Spotted Worms.

In fact, these insects didn’t possess much strength. At most, they were comparable to a Warrior, but when there are enough ants, they can kill an elephant. A certain number had caused a qualitative change and were truly frightening!

Moreover, the defense of the Black-Spotted Worms was impressive; ordinary physical attacks were utterly ineffective.

"Chu Hao!" Su Wanyue and the other three ladies all stepped forward, their expressions filled with concern.

However, Fu Xue, after glancing at the other three women, gave a sly smile and stealthily stepped back. With so many people caring for her Junior Brother Chu, there was no need for her to intervene.

Chu Hao nodded as powerful energy radiated from his body, and his flesh began to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This was the power of Body Cultivation. No matter how severe the injury, as long as it wasn’t fatal, it could heal quickly, with a recovery strength that was staggering.

—Reaching the Strongest Realm, one could even regenerate from a drop of blood, which is truly inconceivable.

Soon, Chu Hao’s feet were restored to their original state, but his complexion turned somewhat pale; after all, regenerating flesh was somewhat draining.

He retrieved the Blue Sword Orchid and said, "Let’s all eat it. The road ahead is bound to get more dangerous. Any strength we can enhance is good."

All four women nodded, divided the Blue Sword Orchid, and stuffed it into their mouths regardless of whether it was flowers or leaves. After all, such Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were precious, and wasting even a bit was shameful.

Chu Hao also consumed the orchid. The Flame Furnace ignited, quickly refining the efficacy of the medicine completely.

It was a pity that although the Blue Sword Orchid was a Spiritual Medicine that could enhance the Physique, there was only one flower, and it was divided among five. The medicinal strength was too weak to help Chu Hao’s Body Technique reach the War General level.

Not being an Innate Body Cultivator but choosing the Body Cultivation path, how could it be easy?

Chu Hao’s biggest mistake was not visiting Medicine Valley to get Dragon Tooth Rice before entering the ruins, an Ancient Era spiritual item. Dragon Tooth Rice couldn’t compare with the Blue Sword Orchid in terms of singular effect, but its advantage lay in quantity—it could be consumed daily, and after several times, the effects would surpass the Blue Sword Orchid.

Half a day later, all five had completely refined the Spiritual Medicine, but the benefits wouldn’t manifest suddenly. They would gradually enhance their Physiques over the next ten or so days.

However, after spending half a day here, more and more Martial Artists arrived, including a War King. Most, however, were Warriors and Martial Sects, who were the main body of Trial Participants.

Those with a higher Realm naturally had an advantage, but in such a treacherous environment, the advantage wasn’t that great. Mainly, one needed to be careful, because if you truly encounter danger, in practice, there wasn’t much of a difference between a Martial Sect and a War King.

Chu Hao’s group continued onwards. The Black Soul Flower certainly wouldn’t be easy to obtain; otherwise, it would have been picked by the War Venerate long ago, wouldn’t it? Thus, there was no need to panic about falling behind.

What was once a dead and quiet valley became bustling with life as more people poured in. Ahead of Chu Hao was a sight of three different groups of people, giving the place an almost street-shopping vibe.

One advantage of this was that those behind didn’t have to worry about a sudden emergence of danger beneath their feet, as the path had already been trodden by those ahead.

But just half an hour later, a cluster of Golden Clouds was seen drifting close to the ground. Upon "discovering" the leading group, the cloud suddenly started whirling about, enveloping that group.

"Quick, run!" Fat Cat suddenly exclaimed, with its fur standing on end.

Fat Cat was normally composed, but if it showed such a demeanor, it signified extreme danger.

Without a second word, Chu Hao shouted to the four women and turned to flee.

Su Wanyue and the other women, already aware of Fat Cat’s miraculous abilities, began to run without hesitation.

As they ran, they looked back and saw that the group of people ahead had already fallen to the ground, their bodies showing no signs of injury, peaceful as though they were deep in slumber.

The Golden Cloud, however, drifted towards the second group of people at a fast pace.

The second batch of people were initially stunned, but they began to retreat. Yet, their speed couldn’t match the Golden Cloud, and soon they were caught and fell to the ground with a series of thuds, as if falling into a deep sleep.

Then the Golden Cloud chased after the third batch of people.

"What is that thing?" Chu Hao said, his scalp tingling.

"The Soul-Extinguishing Cloud!" Fat Cat, perched on Chu Hao’s shoulder, urged him to run faster. "That’s a major killer; if it touches you even slightly, your soul is guaranteed to be extinguished, and you’ll become a living dead."

No wonder those touched by the Golden Cloud immediately lay on the ground and didn’t get up, as if in sound sleep.

—They were indeed sleeping, only they would never be able to wake up again.

While they were talking, the Soul-Extinguishing Cloud had caught up with the third group of people, effortlessly wiping out their souls. Then, it started chasing after the party of five including Chu Hao.

Its speed was so swift that not even the fast pace of Chu Hao and the others could compare, and it continued to close in on them.

"Fat Cat, is there any way out?" Chu Hao asked Fat Cat.

"There is!" Fat Cat nodded, then suddenly yelled at the top of its lungs, "Keep it up! Run faster! Keep it up! Run faster!"

Damn this damn cat!

"Quickly, teleport us!" Chu Hao roared.

"There are five of you, do you want me to die or something!" Fat Cat rolled its eyes and continued to shout, "Keep it up! Run faster! Keep it up! Run faster!"

Chu Hao and the others had no choice but to keep running for their lives.

Since they were going against the grain, they soon came across others entering the valley. Considering everyone was now on the same side, Chu Hao shouted, "Escape! Run for your lives!"

People have a herd mentality, and seeing the anxious expressions of Chu Hao and his party, the group also instinctively turned and fled. But their speed couldn’t compare to Chu Hao’s, and they were quickly caught by the Soul-Extinguishing Cloud and fell one by one.

After devouring the souls of several groups of people, the Golden Cloud, as though satiated, finally rose leisurely into the sky and floated away with the wind, as peaceful as ever, showing no signs of being a demon cloud.

Chu Hao also stopped, putting down Gu Qingcheng and Fu Xue, and gazing up into the sky, he said, "What on earth is the Soul-Extinguishing Demon Cloud all about?"

"This place must be incredibly sinister for such a demon cloud to form." Fat Cat too stared at the sky, "Let’s get going while we can. The cloud, having fed, won’t move again for at least three days."

"Fed?" Gu Qingcheng asked curiously.

"Yes, this cloud constantly devours the souls of living beings. If it swallows enough souls and does so for long enough, it can transform into a true living creature," said Fat Cat.

"It can become a living creature?" Chu Hao was astonished.

"Of course!" Fat Cat said, "There are Stone Spirits, Fire Spirits, Water Spirits in the world; why can’t a demon cloud become a living creature? Given time, it will develop flesh and blood and be no different from real living beings."

Chu Hao and his companions were all amazed. Nowadays, with martial arts in decline, they hadn’t even heard of such spirits as Earth, Fire, or Water Spirits.

"Aren’t you moving yet? Don’t you want the Black Soul Flower anymore?" Seeing them engrossed in wonder, Fat Cat urged them on.

Only then did Chu Hao and the others resume their journey. As they passed those who would never wake up, they all shook their heads. In the ruins, adventuring brought unpredictable fates—nobody knew what the next second might hold, fortune or calamity.

After some more trials and dangers, which they managed to survive with both alarm and luck, two days later they reached the deepest part of the valley.

There weren’t many who could make it this far; most had lost their lives in earlier perils. In the end, including Chu Hao’s group, there were only four groups left.

At the end of the valley, there was a small pond, in the middle of which stood a palm-sized stone pillar. Atop this pillar grew a very peculiar flower—a single stem, as dark as ink, about a foot long, with a seven-petalled bloom at its tip.

The Black Soul Flower! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)