I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

Chapter 284: Moving

Using the Bursting Fire Steps to their fullest, Yi Chen was manoeuvring seamlessly through the rows of trees and shrubs that stood in his way.

Since it was still afternoon, the sunlight seeped through the dense canopy above and illuminated his path forward by forming several golden patches on the muddy ground ahead.

Stepping onto a bunch of dead leaves, Yi Chen’s figure kept moving towards the north as the vegetation around him started to become more and more dense, thus affecting his movements.

"So that’s why she wrote that it would take me about fifteen days to reach there." Yi Chen muttered, thinking back to Gao Zhen’s letter.

His speed decreased significantly, but he still kept moving. However, along the way, he was soon forced to stop.

In front of him, three wolves were growling at him with a bloodthirsty expression.

===== STATUS =====

Name: Nether Wolf

Nature: Fire

Cultivation: Grade One [Equivalent to First to Second Qi Absorption Stage Cultivator]

Remark: A demonic beast [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]

==================

"No shit..." Yi Chen muttered when his eyes fell on the beast’s remark.

’Is the system trying to suck what little EXP I have left with me?’ Yi Chen thought in frustration. A part of him was itching to regenerate remarks, but unlike before, his EXP was down by a lot, and thus, he had no intention of being wasteful.

’Besides, it isn’t my first time chancing upon these ugly puppies...’ he thought while thinking back on the time he had first entered the Jade City.

At that time, he was so amazed at the sight. However, now, after he had faced several ghost-like beasts and thousands of Glacial soldiers inside the tomb, they looked as docile as puppies.

GRRR!

It was at that instant that one of the Nether Wolves lunged in Yi Chen’s direction as fiery Qi laced its jaws.

One bite from it and any Meridian Refinement Stage Cultivator would lose their arm. Yi Chen, too, would share the same fate if his arm got caught in its jaws.

However, that was if he allowed it to be caught.

Just when the wolf’s sharp jaws were about to reach his neck, intending to finish Yi Chen as fast as possible, a sharp Qi covered Yi Chen’s entire body.

ZOOOOOM!

The wolf’s body flew straight past Yi Chen, now cut in two halves, before crashing next to him.

THUD!

+3500 EXP

’Well, that’s a decent amount of experience points...’ Yi Chen thought, slightly impressed, his eyes soon locked on the other two Nether wolves.

Grrrr...

Grrrr...

Clearly witnessing what had happened to the first wolf, the other two didn’t dare to lunge at him. With a low growl, they slowly retreated a few steps.

Knowing that they were not Yi Chen’s match, but at the same time, afraid that they would be attacked if they showed their back to him.

After seeing the first Nether wolf being sliced apart as if it were paper, Yi Chen understood that compared to the Glacial soldiers, these wolves’ defences were too weak.

’They are so easy to slay...Just why did Madam Gao tell me about them as if they were a big deal...’ Yi Chen thought to himself.

Being isolated inside the Tomb for several years, he had no way of comparing his strength with anyone. It was this reason that gave rise to such questions in his head.

If not for that, he would have clearly known that it wasn’t that the Nether Wolves were too weak. It was he who was too strong.

’Hmm, should I just kill them?’ he thought while locking his eyes with the wolves, which couldn’t help but take another few steps back with growls that had begun to sound similar to yelps.

"Yes, I think I can test that on them..." Yi Chen thought as the very next instant, his spiritual energy poured into the wolves’ bodies, scanning them from head to toe.

’A blue core and a red core....ah, they both have a strange dark spot on them. Is it because they are pseudo cores?’

Yi Chen thought before withdrawing his spiritual energy.

The moment he did so, fear overtook the two beasts as they ran for their lives in different directions.

However, the moment they had surrounded Yi Chen, their fates were already sealed.

ZIIIIIIIP!

+2500 EXP!

.

.

+1500 EXP!

Seeing the decreasing experience points, Yi Chen clicked his tongue in irritation. It clearly indicated that the more he hunts them, the less EXP he would gain, and eventually it would be the same as with the Glacial soldiers, i.e. he would get no experience points at all.

"Well, whatever, it’s not like I’ll end up meeting a wolf pack all of a sudden," he shrugged his shoulders and continued heading north.

Seeing the vegetation that became denser and denser with time, he finally stopped using the Bursting Fire Steps and, relying solely on his legs, kept moving forward.

If he were to encounter something unexpected, like those wolves, then he would have enough time to make the decision of whether engaging with them was worth it or not.

However, it seemed that the three wolves that he encountered were the only ones in the area, and as a result, even after travelling for an hour, he didn’t encounter any other demonic beast.

Looking at the dimming light, he soon decided to set up a tent, not wanting to encounter the powerful beasts Gao Zhen had told him about earlier.

The Great Beast Forest was divided into two parts: the inner and the outer parts.

The inner part was more popularly known as the Valley of Death and was covered in dense fog throughout the year. It was the place where powerful demonic beasts from Grades 5 to 9 resided.

According to some rumours, even the fabled mythical beasts existed inside that mysterious valley.

The outer part was the part of the forest which humans were more or less familiar with, and was also the region Yi Chen was currently in.

Although the maximum strength of the demonic beasts found in this region was Grade 4, it was still something to be wary of.

Because if he were lucky, the beast would be either at the Eighth Qi Absorption Stage or the Ninth, which, although difficult to deal with, would still give him enough leeway to escape.

However, if he weren’t lucky, he would end up meeting a beast which was at the First Core Building Stage.

It was for this very reason that he had decided to set up a tent right now.

With nightfall approaching, the probability of encountering stronger demonic beasts would increase significantly.

An opportunity that sounded enticing if he wanted to farm experience points, but also carried the risk of certain death.

Not wanting to gamble with his life, he naturally busied himself with pitching the tent before the surroundings completely darkened.

However, despite his fast movements, he was unable to judge just how quickly light disappeared in the forest.

"Tch...looks like I’ll have to start a fire," he muttered in irritation as the surroundings almost turned pitch black.

By the time he was about to conjure a flame, everything in front of his eyes turned pitch black, but instead of continuing with his actions, Yi Chen paused.

"This..."