Chapter 163 Meeting Every Move with a Counterstrategy

The female cultivator with the surname Zeng had come to ask Hu Li for a favor.

She was planning to refine a batch of Soul-Nourishing Pills, but she was still missing one ingredient: the Profound Heaven Stone.

"The Profound Heaven Stone?" Hu Li frowned. He had never even heard of it and had no idea what kind of object it was.

However, the female cultivator with the surname Zeng mistakenly thought he was troubled because the Profound Heaven Stone was a rare and precious item, extremely difficult to obtain. Moreover, it was common knowledge that the Profound Heaven Stone was a specialty of the deep interior of the Western Spirit Continent. She had searched for this medicinal ingredient for several centuries without success, and her heart had long since grown cold. Yet, thanks to the favor of the Great God Pangu, she had befriended the Pill-Seeking Beast before her, which rekindled her hopes. After all, a Pill-Seeking Beast's instinct for finding medicinal herbs was top-notch.

Therefore, she quickly offered firm assurances: "Junior Brother, you don't need to worry about safety. I have also invited three other friends. Their combat skills are quite good, and they frequently go to the Western Spirit Continent to gather herbs and take on missions. Junior Brother, I really need the Profound Heaven Stone. If Junior Brother is willing to help me with this favor, I will be endlessly grateful and will certainly reward you handsomely."

She actually wanted to go to the Western Spirit Continent? Hu Li chuckled awkwardly and said, "Elder Sister Zeng is too polite. What talk of handsome rewards or not? As long as your younger brother is capable of it, just give the word, Elder Sister. Between us siblings, what need is there for such worldly possessions?" He had already made inquiries. The Western Spirit Continent was crawling with demonic monsters, and miasma hung heavy in the air; it was no different from a dragon's pond or a tiger's den. With just his meager abilities, how could he follow a group of people harboring ulterior motives deep into such a dangerous place? Besides, he didn't even recognize that so-called Profound Heaven Stone.

The female cultivator gritted her teeth and tempted him with benefits: "Doesn't Junior Brother want to take on missions in the Western Spirit Continent? Just accept them, and we can help you complete them together."

Hu Li waved his hand: "Altogether it's only ten-odd points of merit, not even enough between my teeth. I'd rather not do them."

The female cultivator had no choice but to up the stakes: "We have plenty of manpower; Junior Brother might as well take on two or three more." The Western Spirit Continent was a tough place to survive, and this was already her limit. Therefore, she bit down hard on the words "two or three."

"Really?" Hu Li's eyes lit up, though they quickly dimmed again. He refused in a muffled tone, "How could I be so embarrassed? Besides, I haven't lived here for a full three years, so I must return the same day. Having to search for herbs and complete missions at the same time—how could there possibly be enough time?"

Unexpectedly, the female cultivator seemed to have considered this aspect long ago and said repeatedly, "There's enough time, plenty of time. Anyway, we won't be able to help with searching for the herbs. Therefore, Junior Brother can simply go look for the Profound Heaven Stone, and we will help you with your missions. If there are only two or three missions and they aren't too complicated, one day will be more than enough."

Hearing this, Hu Li understood the underlying meaning and smiled heartily: "That would be wonderful. To be honest with you, Elder Sister, I have indeed taken a fancy to three missions at the mission hall, and they happen to all be in the Western Spirit Continent. One is to slay ten fifth-rank demonic monsters, and the other two are gathering missions. Gathering missions are very simple, and I can complete them along the way. The mission to slay the demonic monsters will simply have to be entrusted to Elder Sister Zeng and those three friends." He could see that, come what may, this trip was unavoidable for him. Otherwise, heaven knew what other crooked schemes this woman and her friends would hatch if this one failed. Most importantly, while he had settled down in the Southern Spirit Continent, Feng Ke'er could not constantly live as an unregistered person hiding from the light of day. Therefore, he and Feng Ke'er had discussed it; the Western Spirit Continent was sparsely populated, which made it just the place to resolve the issue of heavenly retribution. They had been looking for an opportunity to go over there anyway. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the mission hall to check out missions.

The female cultivator readily agreed.

Both parties agreed that pills, tools, and the like were to be brought by themselves. On the morning of the fifth day, everyone would gather at the Ding-character Ferry Pier.

After seeing the female cultivator out of his immortal cave, Hu Li immediately went to the mission hall to accept the missions—no one was willing to go to the Western Spirit Continent to do missions, so after dozens of days, those three missions were still hanging intact in the mission hall.

Accepting missions required a deposit. Regardless of difficulty, the deposit for all missions was the same: ten spirit stones each.

Hu Li handed over thirty spirit stones and claimed the missions.

The Western Spirit Continent was fraught with danger. Going there required thorough preparation.

First of all, Barrier-Warding Pills to counter the demonic miasma were indispensable. These pills were effective for ten hours, and since they would be making a round trip on the same day, one pill per person was more than enough—Feng Ke'er had suggested that the first level of the Cleansing Heart Incantation could dissolve a hundred poisons. For example, the white fog of the Myriad Ant Forest and the noxious Qi of the Miasma Sea were no problem at all. Perhaps it could even counter the demonic miasma.

Hu Li, however, dared not agree, saying that since a Barrier-Warding Pill only sold for one hundred spirit stones, one pill per person was only two hundred spirit stones anyway. Spending two hundred spirit stones to buy peace of mind was worth it.

Secondly, since the Western Spirit Continent was so dangerous and Hu Li's cultivation was not high, Feng Ke'er believed that his equipment should be upgraded where possible, and any that needed replacing should be traded for new ones at the marketplace.

Hu Li, however, thought otherwise. An ominous beast's skin, fur, and body could all be refined into equipment; in this regard, demonic beasts were superior to human cultivators. For instance, his silver robe was his own fox fur, and his weapon was his own pair of front paws. These things were all connected to his own flesh and blood and would automatically upgrade as his cultivation increased, so they did not need Feng Ke'er's help to be refined. Nor could she refine them.

However, Feng Ke'er still felt that caution was the parent of safety and suggested he purchase an additional piece of defensive armor. After all, it was said that demonic monsters were all extremely fierce.

As for herself, this trip was to face heavenly retribution. According to the Master of Tongtian, one could not play tricks in front of heavenly retribution. Any form of resistance would only invite harsher punishment, so she shouldn't waste any equipment.

As a result, after strolling around the marketplace, the master and servant returned empty-handed—damn it, the equipment was too precious. A mid-grade treasure-class heart-protecting mirror with mediocre craftsmanship and a plain style actually sold for one hundred crystal stones. How was that any different from daylight robbery?

Feng Ke'er remembered the pet vest she had made previously. It was a top-grade treasure-class item, and regardless of its functions or grade, it was far more powerful than the heart-protecting mirror.

When Hu Li received the vest, his mouth split wide open in a smile. Back in the immortal cave, he immediately pulled it on over his long robe.

"Um, it looks rather bizarre; this won't do, this won't do. Besides, don't flash your wealth; you'd better wear it underneath your long robe," Feng Ke'er said, almost choking on her own saliva the moment she saw it.

Hu Li lowered his head to look at himself, accepted the advice gracefully, and changed it.

Finally, using some medicinal herbs Hu Li had brought back from the lower realm, Feng Ke'er refined ten bottles of Crimson Blood Pills. This was a commonly used medicine in the spiritual realm for replenishing blood and healing injuries. After Feiyi was injured, the female cultivator with the surname Zeng had given the pill formula to Hu Li.

Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Feiyi. Hu Li's intention was to arrange for her to guard the immortal cave. However, he couldn't withstand her bitter pleading, so five days later, Feiyi also appeared at the Ding-character Ferry Pier.

The female cultivator and her three friends had been waiting at the pier for a long time.

Seeing Feiyi follow behind Hu Li, they didn't even spare her a glance.

The female cultivator smilingly introduced her three friends to Hu Li one by one: "Junior Brother, let me make introductions. These three are Immortal Muqing, Immortal Wangxin, and Immortal Jinshi."

When Feng Ke'er heard the four words "Immortal Jinshi," she was so startled that her eyelids twitched—could the amiable middle-aged female cultivator before her be the founding ancestor of the Azure Cloud Sect, Immortal Jinshi?

If it really was her, then good grief, this world was too small! Besides, how many years had it been since she ascended, yet Jinshi was still only a false immortal, with a cultivation level of merely the seventh layer of the Tribulation Realm! This was far too snail-paced!

As for the other two, Immortal Muqing was a tall, middle-aged, beautiful woman at the sixth layer of the Tribulation Realm.

Immortal Wangxin was taciturn and possessed a bitter melon-like face, making him look quite elderly, much like a man over fifty years old. Among the four, his cultivation was the highest, at the eighth layer of the Tribulation Realm.

Hu Li led Feiyi forward and paid his respects to them one by one.

After a brief mutual introduction, everyone boarded a guiding light sphere together and set off for the Western Spirit Continent.

Because of Hu Li, the party had to return the same day. Therefore, time was extremely tight. The female cultivator took out a sheepskin scroll and unrolled it in front of Hu Li.

Hu Li tilted his head to look; it was a map, presumably of the Western Spirit Continent.

The female cultivator gestured on the map as she spoke: "Junior Brother, fifth-rank demonic monsters are mainly concentrated in the eastern district. Therefore, the four of us have briefly discussed and decided that after arriving at the pier, we will go to the eastern district to carry out hunting missions, trying our best to lure the demonic monsters of this area away. At that time, you can take the opportunity to bring Feiyi from the eastern district into the central interior to search for the Profound Heaven Stone. What do you think?"

Hu Li looked back at Feiyi, who stood respectfully behind him with her hands at her sides, and hesitated greatly: "I have no problem with that. It's just that Senior Sister's serious injuries have only recently healed..." Suddenly, he slapped his forehead in vexation and exclaimed, "Look at this memory of mine. Senior Sister, I forgot to prepare a Barrier-Warding Pill for you! What is to be done now?"

The other four were dumbfounded. Fighting against a pack of demonic monsters was no child's play. Therefore, everyone had made extensive preparations and brought many items. At the same time, to save space, they hadn't brought a single unnecessary thing. For something like the Barrier-Warding Pill, only one was needed, and none of them had brought an extra one.

Feiyi was petrified. She was a beast-servant with no personal possessions; how could she possibly have one hundred spirit stones to buy a Barrier-Warding Pill? Furthermore, without Hu Li speaking up, she didn't even have the right to leave the immortal cave by a hundred steps.

*You did this on purpose! You brat, you definitely did this on purpose!* Once they came to their senses, everyone was roaring inwardly.

Hu Li scratched his head: "What should we do? Senior Sister's cultivation is the lowest; she certainly won't be able to withstand the demonic miasma. How about I cede my Barrier-Warding Pill to Senior Sister..."

The female cultivator decisively interrupted him: "Junior Brother is going deep into the central interior; how can you manage without a Barrier-Warding Pill? In my opinion, there is no demonic miasma near the pier; Feiyi might as well just wait for us at the pier."

Immortal Jinshi nodded in agreement: "Indeed. Guarding the pier, she will be in a position to coordinate with us."

Hu Li laughed awkwardly: "I suppose that's the only way. Senior Sister, then you will just stay at the pier to coordinate with us." Inwardly, however, he felt a surge of secret triumph: *Hmph, hmph, wanting to monitor your grandpa? No way!*

Feiyi respectfully accepted the order.

Next, everyone gathered around to finalize some details of the operation.

An hour later, the Western Spirit Continent came into view in the distance.

According to Feng Ke'er's habit, upon arriving in an unfamiliar place, she would first release her spiritual sense to probe around. However, with four false immortals of no low cultivation sitting around her, she could only "look" through Hu Li's eyes.

Looking from afar, the Western Spirit Continent resembled a leaf floating on a sea of clouds. Amidst the hazy mist, black baleful Qi was faintly discernible.

It truly was a place eroded by demonic Qi.

Everyone involuntarily straightened their backs, their expressions turning solemn.