Chapter 545 - 380: Snatching the Soul and Plucking the Spirit
In the end, it was because he and Lechuan had too little to offer Bear Wind. Their relationship was imbalanced, leaving Bear Wind with the upper hand.
"Let Jinbao stay with me a couple more days. You happen to be cultivating here anyway. A Fourth-rank Middle-grade Spiritual Land... isn’t this better than that sect of yours?"
The more contact it had with humans, the faster Bear Wind absorbed all sorts of information about them, and the more worldly it sounded when it spoke.
Over the years, quite a few human Cultivators who ventured into the Barbaric Land had died within Bear Wind’s vast territory. The various tomes they carried were enough to give Bear Wind a much clearer understanding of the human Cultivation World.
Hearing Bear Wind’s words, Fang Qingyuan instinctively wanted to retort. ’What’s so bad about my sect?’ But as he felt the dense Spiritual Qi of this place, the retort on the tip of his tongue changed into a single word:
"Alright."
......
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. For Fang Qingyuan, it felt like the length of a single meditation session. Waking from his trance, he sensed the increase in his Magical Power and sighed to himself. ’If I could always cultivate here, I could shave four or five years off the time it’ll take to advance from the Fourth-Layer Golden Core to the Fifth-Layer.’
’No wonder everyone pursues higher-level Spiritual Lands. They’re the most precious of all cultivation resources. Why else would humans constantly wage wars of expansion if not to seize them?’
Not far away, Jinbao and Bear Wind were sleeping even more soundly. Both had started to snore, their bellies rising and falling in perfect sync.
Fang Qingyuan smiled softly and stood, intending to take a walk. But just as he got to his feet, he saw Bear Wind’s snoring cease abruptly, its eyes radiating a grim chill.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Fang Qingyuan’s forehead. When a Mid-stage Nascent Soul like Bear Wind was angered, its aura was enough to make one feel as if they were plunging into an abyss.
But Fang Qingyuan quickly realized that Bear Wind’s anger wasn’t directed at him.
Bear Wind shot to its feet, its massive body surging forward on a violent gust of wind. Fang Qingyuan, with the now-awake Jinbao, followed close behind.
Upon reaching the surface, Fang Qingyuan watched Bear Wind’s figure streak into the distance. His thoughts raced. ’Could a powerful enemy be invading?’
At this thought, Fang Qingyuan instantly expanded his Mind Divine Technique over a hundred li. Immediately, a wave of terror from the creatures in the distance washed over him.
Among them was a familiar wavelength. ’It’s Nanli!’
Fang Qingyuan focused his Divine Technique on Nanli’s mind. Sensing the familiar presence, Nanli’s terror subsided slightly. She actively cooperated with his technique, transmitting what she was seeing into his mind through the Voice of All Things.
The first thing he saw was a massive Great White Bear, bathed in blood. Its body was covered in countless wounds, its snow-white fur dyed crimson. Even so, the Great White Bear stood firm, shielding Nanli and the other Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts and blocking all of the enemy’s attacks.
Through Nanli’s eyes, Fang Qingyuan saw that the Great White Bear’s opponents were indeed human. Judging by their attire, they were Beast Taming Sect Members.
However, Fang Qingyuan had never seen these particular Beast Taming Sect Members before. The one in the lead was a bald, hulking Cultivator with black tattoos. Behind him stood a young master type, two beautiful Female Cultivators, and an old man with grizzled hair.
At that moment, the old man frowned, glanced into the distance, and said to the bald man:
"Hao Shi, stop playing around. Hurry up."
The words had barely fallen when the Great White Bear staggered backward. As it turned, Fang Qingyuan saw a gaping, dark hole in the abdomen of the slow, portly white bear. Its smooth, round Golden Core was now in the hands of the bald man, Hao Shi.
A tightness gripped Fang Qingyuan’s chest. Through his borrowed sight, glistening specks began to fall. They were Nanli’s tears.
The portly Great White Bear had not yet collapsed. It looked at Nanli, the blood-bubbling corners of its mouth pulling into a smile. Then, still in its clumsy way, but without stumbling over the words, it said:
"Nanli, don’t cry."