"Since it's like that, we shall also part ways here! Thanks for the grace you have shown us. I hope to see you again!" Ultimately, Ling Hai decided to part ways and clasped his fist.
"Alright! Then I won't force you to stay. I hope to see you again someday!" Cheng Yu had been waiting for this answer as he clasped his fist in reply.
"See ya!" Ling Hai brought his group of people and left in the direction Ning Yan had gone. Cheng Yu looked at their leaving silhouette as he started to worry.
"What's wrong? Worried about your fling?" Tian Xue saw Cheng Yu's expression as she mocked. These few days, Cheng Yu kept on flirting with those Huaxian Valley females, especially Ning Wushuang and Ning Xue. They were practically together for the whole period of time. This caused Tian Xue to feel extremely resentful.
"You are so sharp!" Cheng Yu were somewhat concerned about them. After all, all of them were holding spiritual-grade artifacts. Besides, Ling Hai and his people had seen it very clearly. To say they were not tempted, it would be a lie. Now that everyone had parted ways, it was hard to tell if he would attack them out of his own interest.
"Then you can always go and invite them back! Hmph!"
"Enough. Let's move on. Aren't you anxious to search for G.o.d's water? The earlier we find it, the sooner you can return!" Cheng Yu no longer showed concern for this matter. Whether they were to make it out alive, it would depend on their fate. Besides, with spiritual artifacts with them, their strength wouldn't be that weak. Perhaps, they might even cooperate again. In any case, it was no longer his problem.
"You want to chase us away as well?" Hearing Cheng Yu's words, Tian Xue felt that Cheng Yu also wanted to chase them away.
"In the future, if I wish to open up a business to sell vinegar, I will definitely look for you!" Cheng Yu glanced at Tian Xue before walking in the other direction. TL Note - Vinegar and Jealousy have the same characters in Chinese and are often used interchangeably for comedic effect.
"Really? Why?" Tian Xue couldn't understand the meaning behind his words and misunderstood it as something good. Thus, she chased after him, questioning Cheng Yu's decision.
"Because the vinegar inside you will never be sold out. Simply getting a huge profit from just a small investment. You tell me, if I don't look for you, then who can I look for?" Cheng Yu laughed.
"You…stop indulging yourself in your own fantasy. I'm just not used to seeing people flirting with others so openly. What do you treat us women as? Whenever you see one, must you flirt with them?" Tian Xue finally understood what Cheng Yu meant as she quickly retorted.
"You aren't my wife. Why do you care so much?" Cheng Yu muttered.
"Hmph! Luckily, I am not your wife. Otherwise, I would certainly cut of that part of yours that shouldn't be there," Tian Xue harrumphed.
"I'm also glad that you aren't. At least I still have that part of mine intact, unlike you. Not possessing what you are supposed to have," Cheng Yu looked at Tian Xue's chest as he spoke.
"You…where are you looking? You h.o.r.n.y pervert. Who says I don't have it?!" Seeing Cheng Yu's glance, Tian Xue immediately understood what Cheng Yu meant as she replied bashfully.
"Whoever replies shows that they don't have it!" Cheng Yu immediately ran away after he spoke the sentence.
"Cheng Yu, you scoundrel! Stay right there!" Tian Xue chased.
"Haiz! I'm truly puzzled, why do they always quarrel whenever they speak to each other?" Tian Xing stood behind them, shaking his head and displayed a baffled expression.
"Senior Brother Yun Zhong, why has Death Forest become like this? In the past, wasn't it filled with dangers? Why has it became so easy to traverse?" Inside the strange forest, a group made up of Golden Core middle and late stages appeared there. Among them, a Golden Core middle stage man voiced out the strangeness happening before them. As a Golden Core expert, all of them had been to Death Forest before. Naturally, they knew that Death Forest was a place that was filled with danger, making it suitable to use to improve one's strength, but not for searching for treasure.
Because, inside Death Forest, the likelihood of finding treasures would be only the rumored Death Shrine. However, to locate Death Shrine was nigh a delusion for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, or even ordinary Golden Core Cultivators. Meanwhile, Nascent Soul cultivators were not able to enter the core area. So, it was impossible to locate Death Shrine. More importantly, no one had truly seen the rumored Death Shrine before. That had always been a folk tale and whether it existed, no one knew. Therefore, no Golden Core cultivators were willing to risk it all to charge in.
However, now that the few of them arrived at Death Forest's first stage Death Swamp, they could just fly past it without any hindrance. In addition, during the night they arrived at Death Bone Tomb, not even one white bone army could be seen. When they arrived at Death Fantasy Ocean, one of them had accidentally flown up to the sky. Unexpectedly, they realized that the illusion formation was no longer there and they were allowed to reach the strange forest without any obstacle.
"That's right! Senior Brother, look at this place. It seems like all the previous traps we experienced before were all fake!" Another Golden Core late stage expert slashed his sword towards one of the demonic beasts in front of them. He had actually managed to injure it, causing him to be extremely surprised.
"When such a strange phenomenon happens, it symbolizes that an unusual treasure has appeared. Seems like a treasure appeared in this Death Forest," Witnessing all the events that were happening before them, Yun Zhong was also very surprised. After much pondering, this was the conclusion he came to.
"Senior Brother Yun Zhong! You mean…the rumored Death Shrine is about to appear?!" One of them voiced out his surprise.
"That is hard to say. Who knows if there really is a Death Shrine? As for the treasure, it is definitely true. Kill these beasts and let's increase our speed! It's a hard to come by chance that we managed to reach the core area this easily. Perhaps, we might discover an ancient treasure," Yun Zhong pointed to the beast horde and said.
"Senior Brother, do you think that brat called Cheng Yu is as powerful as sect master said he is? A Golden Core initial stage fighting against a dozen Golden Core cultivators alone. Wasn't this a little too exaggerated?" Another man called Yun Qian was unconvinced by the news the sect master had told them. That's right. This group of people was recalled by Kunlun's Elders as they were a group of Golden Core disciples. This time, their mission was to search for their sect's cultivators and protect them, and preventing them from being killed off by Cheng Yu.
"Regardless of it being true or not, everyone should be extra cautious. Even if he is not as formidable as he is rumored to be, he was still at the very least able to stand against a dozen Golden Core cultivators alone. It's not like we have not met such a genius before. We only need to search for our sect disciples, and protect them. That's all," Yun Zhong commented nonchalantly.
"Senior Brother, we heard that the brat also had a formidable soul artifact. Perhaps, when we b.u.mp into him, we might even be able to eliminate him," Another one laughed.
"Enough. Let's speed up our journey! If we are to come across the unusual treasure I spoke of, we need not take such a risk against him," Yun Zhong commented.
Without the others, Cheng Yu, Tian Xue and Tian Xing entered the Mountain River Diagram and used the Jewel Cauldron to travel around again. Although the speed was very fast, the area they were at was too large. There was no harvest at all. During dinner, the trio came out from the Mountain River Diagram with the intention to roast meat. In fact, the trio actually did not need to come out, but they wanted to come out from the diagram to take a breather. After all, the outside world was a lot more genuine. Furthermore, Cheng Yu needed to come out to survey their surroundings as well as to formulate their flying path.
"Senior Brother, the core area of Death Forest is so huge. How are we going to search for Death Shrine?" While barbecuing, Tian Xing questioned.
"We might not necessarily be able to locate Death Shrine, but I'm sure I can locate the place I'm searching for. It's just a matter of time only," Cheng Yu replied nonchalantly. When it came to this problem, it was also a headache for him. He had promised them that he would help the duo search for Death Shrine. But Death Shrine had only been a rumor. The possibility of locating it was even lower than finding a needle within this large forest. Just searching for his Heavenly G.o.d Palace would already take a huge amount of time. Factoring in Death Shrine, Cheng Yu did not dare to imagine the time needed.
"Senior Brother, do you think this area will have the palace you are searching for?" Tian Xing commented. All along, he thought that the reason why Cheng Yu had come here was to accompany them to search for Death Shrine. Unexpectedly, Cheng Yu was also searching for the palace.
"Right. That's why I'm pressed for time. Perhaps, I can't accompany you until the end. A month. In a month's time, if we are still unable to locate Death Shrine, I will need to leave," Cheng Yu spoke. A month. This was the longest extension he could give himself. It was impossible for him to continue helping them search for a G.o.d knows whether it existed Death Shrine.
"What?! A month? It's too short! The palace you are searching for might have already used up that period. You clearly aren't willing to help us!" Tian Xue felt that the timeline was way too short. She was unwilling to accept it.
"Then I have no choice as well. In a month's time, I have to return. There are still a lot of matters waiting for me in the Secular World. I can't possibly stay here for a long period of time."
"You are a cultivator. Why must you be plagued with what's happening in the Secular World?" Tian Xue roared.
"Some things you don't know. If I'm just cultivating for myself, I would rather not cultivate and be an ordinary person in the Secular World. The reason why I want to continue raising my strength is all for the sake of my loved ones. If because of strength I need to abandon my loved ones, I would rather not pursue it," Cheng Yu spoke seriously. The words Cheng Yu spoke of was not only for them, but also for himself. He wanted to remind himself not to forget his original intention. Tian Xue and Tian Xing were both startled by Cheng Yu's words. They never expected the reason why Cheng Yu started cultivating was because of these reasons. Wasn't cultivating supposed to reach the unreachable realm, be revered by others, breaking the heaven's will? But unexpectedly, he was actually doing it for his loved ones.
"This…I also came searching for Death Shrine for the sake of my mother," Tian Xue suddenly spoke. It was as if she wanted to sympathize with Cheng Yu's reasoning.
"Therefore, I won't obstruct you two searching for Death Shrine. However, we both have our own aims. You have the people you care for as do I. I do truly hope that we can locate Death Shrine, but it is impossible for me sacrifice my time just for the sake of your loved one," Cheng Yu commented.