Chapter 73: Crisis at Mount Departure Sect
Chapter Seventy-Three: Crisis at Departure Mountain Sect
This time, the future had given no specific time frame; he didn’t know when it would happen. When he spoke of it, he’d mentioned he wasn’t involved in this matter, as if no one truly knew anything. Shen An found this claim hard to believe.
Someone had definitely come here to cultivate and absorb primordial oxygen in the past; it was only that no one was aware of it.
After midnight, Shen An finally noticed something different.
This change didn’t come from the entire ground, nor from the whole sky. It was only here—only on Phoenix Mountain—that something was happening.
Above, the sky had lost all traces of moonlight and stars, shrouded entirely by dark clouds. On the ground, a dense fog gradually began to blanket everything, obscuring the scenery below.
Suddenly, Shen An felt he’d lost all connection with the outside world. He quickly released his sense outward.
His perception vanished like a clay ox into the sea, swallowed without a trace.
Instantly, Shen An activated his Eye of Insight, but even that could only penetrate ten meters around him; it too was suppressed here.
Fortunately, it still served some purpose. Shen An quickly turned his gaze to the ground.
The earth seemed to have transformed.
This was no longer Phoenix Mountain.
A look of alarm crossed Shen An’s face. He dared not venture too deep and could only advance with extreme caution.
As he went forward, he seemed to hear footsteps. Shen An immediately halted and found a spot to hide, pressing himself behind cover.
The mountain remained a mountain, but it was no longer Phoenix Mountain.
Shen An had no idea where he was now; all he could do was proceed step by step.
“Didn’t Future say nothing about this kind of change?” Shen An muttered, puzzled.
The newcomer appeared tall and broad, carrying what looked like a wine gourd in his hands as he walked forward.
Shen An observed closely. The man’s clothing was unfamiliar—not modern attire, but the style of ancient garments.
This sight only piqued Shen An’s curiosity all the more.
“No way, could I have traveled to another time?”
The thought sent his mind into chaos.
He dared not move a muscle, for he couldn’t gauge the man’s strength at all.
Before long, Shen An watched as the man disappeared into the mist.
Shen An quickly followed, treading carefully and keeping his distance.
The burly man arrived at the edge of a pool. The pool seemed extraordinary, and the surrounding mist appeared to emanate from its waters.
Shen An sensed the unusual nature of this pool.
Moreover, he could feel that the primordial oxygen here was several times thicker than outside—far more abundant.
Shen An was utterly stunned.
He worried he might never return.
What on earth was happening?
He watched as the big man filled his gourd repeatedly from the pool.
After several minutes, the man departed.
Once he was certain the man was gone, Shen An revealed himself and approached the pool.
He gazed at the clear water, the white mists spiraling upward, and the shimmering waves within—a scene beautiful as a painting.
Could this water be a treasure?
At this thought, Shen An summoned his spatial ability and activated his devouring power.
At once, the water from the pool began to vanish into his dimensional space.
Simultaneously, Shen An sensed his potential value increasing steadily.
Potential Value +10,000
Potential Value +10,000
The melodious chime in his mind was like celestial music, filling Shen An with incomparable joy.
All around him, countless streams of primordial oxygen flooded into his body, gradually converting into pure energy, which he refined with his breathing technique, making it a part of his own strength.
The small pool, though it appeared to contain little water, was like a bottomless abyss, endlessly devoured into Shen An’s space.
He felt like a pauper who’d suddenly become fabulously rich; this exhilarating sensation was utterly new to him.
Immersed in this bliss, he was abruptly jolted by a loud shout from ahead.
Shen An instantly snapped out of his reverie and looked up.
“I sensed something was amiss long ago—so it’s you, boy, stealing our Spiritual Spring Water!” The burly man now wielded a massive iron hammer.
From farther off, a series of “dong dong dong” sounds echoed, as if someone were striking a gong.
Shen An’s face paled; he heard many footsteps rushing toward him.
Their pace was swift, and one person advanced even faster than the rest.
As Shen An turned his gaze, he saw a man holding a long sword appear in his line of sight.
“How dare you steal from our Departure Mountain Sect? You must have a death wish.”
“Senior Brother, this man is stealing from our Spiritual Spring,” the burly man reported.
The swordsman’s gaze was icy as he looked at Shen An, snorting coldly. “My name is Li Yuanshan, direct disciple of the sect. Who are you, and why are you within our sect’s grounds?” His voice was frosty.
Shen An could tell that any unsatisfactory answer would mean instant death.
He couldn’t discern the swordsman’s cultivation level.
Before absorbing the spring’s energy, he hadn’t been able to see through the burly man’s strength; now, he could tell the man was at the third tier. But the swordsman’s cultivation remained inscrutable.
Outwardly calm, Shen An’s heart pounded with tension.
The swordsman stood there arrogantly, his gaze fixed on Shen An.
A massive pressure weighed down on Shen An.
“If I say I was just passing by, and entered here by mistake, would you believe me?” Shen An ventured.
“Entered by mistake?” Li Yuanshan narrowed his eyes, as if weighing Shen An’s words.
Suddenly, his gaze flashed coldly as he took in Shen An’s attire. “You’re an outsider.”
At his words, a murderous aura erupted from him, as if he meant to tear Shen An to pieces.
The others bared their teeth, their eyes full of venomous hatred as they glared at Shen An.
“Outsiders deserve death!”
The words spat from the burly man’s clenched teeth. With Li Yuanshan’s confirmation, his suspicions solidified.
Without hesitation, he charged at Shen An.
As the burly man closed in, Shen An felt the primordial oxygen around him sucked into the man’s body. A killing intent as tangible as iron enveloped him, making it difficult to breathe.
With his Eye of Insight, Shen An saw red light flicker around the man, waves of energy surging and trembling with every breath, sending out ripples in all directions.
“Outsider, prepare to die!”
The iron hammer came crashing down.
Shen An instantly shifted aside, dodging the blow. At the same time, a black iron saber appeared in his hand, and he engaged his foe at once.
In the crowd of onlookers, shock flickered across their faces when they saw the black iron saber in Shen An’s grip.