Chu Feng stood at the sky's edge, gazing down. He observed carefully for a long while but could not find the location of the spirit cave, let alone the spirit vein or spiritual consciousness.
With no other choice, Chu Feng descended and began to search through the vast Langya Mountains, intending a thorough, carpet-style search to find the entrance to the spirit cave.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
However, just as Chu Feng moved from the eastern part of the mountain range to its center, he heard a series of piercing booms.
Drawing closer for a better look, Chu Feng discovered it was a demon beast battling a human.
The demon beast stood twenty meters tall and dozens of meters long, resembling a small mountain with its stance.
It looked like an armadillo, its entire body covered in impervious armor. Most notably, it possessed a cultivation of Heaven Martial Seventh Level.
This demon beast was no ordinary creature. Every step it took caused the ground within a hundred-li radius to tremble violently, and the surrounding trees had been forcefully shaken into splinters and collapse.
The giant hammer in its claws was even more terrifying. Each swing summoned a violent hurricane, and each slam created a deep crater. The mountain ridge below had already been bashed into a ruinous, unrecognizable state.
Its opponent was no less formidable, also at Heaven Martial Seventh Level—and it was a woman.
The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, past middle age but still retaining her elegance. What mattered most was her cultivation; reaching Heaven Martial Seventh Level at her age was truly remarkable.
After all, on the Nine Provinces Continent, those who had entered the Seventh Level of Heaven Martial could be counted on one hand, and they were invariably aged elders. For a woman of such youth to reach this level spoke not only to her strength but also to the fact that cultivators of the Eastern Sea were far superior to those of the Nine Provinces Continent.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The demon beast and the woman clashed, constantly generating terrifying ripples of energy. But Chu Feng could see that the woman was already outmatched. She was trying to flee the beast's range of attack, but it was locked onto her tightly, giving her no chance.
"This demon beast is acting strangely. It seems to have lost its reason."
Probing with his keen mental power, Chu Feng found the beast bloodthirsty and roaring continuously. Yet, despite the woman's repeated questions about why it was attacking her, the beast offered no answer, only unleashing lethal blows.
This meant the beast was either mad or afflicted by some problem. Moreover, after wandering a large circle through these mountains, Chu Feng had found plenty of demons, but very few at the Heaven Martial stage. How could such a powerful beast suddenly appear?
There were many suspicious points here, certainly with some underlying reason. But unfortunately, it wasn't his concern, and Chu Feng wasn't so idle as to meddle in others' life-and-death struggles for no reason. If the situation were vastly one-sided, or if a cultivator were bullying common folk, he would definitely intervene.
But here, it was two evenly matched existences fighting. They might have a misunderstanding, a grudge, or some other reason, and Chu Feng didn't want to get involved.
In the world of cultivators, the strong were respected. There were too many conflicts, too much slaughter. If he intervened every time he saw something like this, he simply couldn't afford to and wouldn't have the time.
"Wait, there are others." Just as Chu Feng was about to leave, he noticed two people hidden in a nearby stretch of forest.
They were an elderly man and woman, both with considerable cultivation—both at Heaven Martial Eighth Level, even stronger than the woman fighting. From their attire, they seemed to be on the same side as her.
But at this moment, instead of joining the fight to help the woman against the demon beast, they were sitting back, watching the spectacle with the air of observers enjoying a show from the mountainside.
This change of circumstance caught Chu Feng's attention. Driven by curiosity, he concealed his presence and slowly drew closer, focusing his mental power to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Old man, are we really just going to watch the Young Miss be killed by this demon beast? That's a bit heartless, isn't it? After all, the Master has treated us well all these years," the old woman said, watching the distant scene with a hint of remorse on her face.
"Did you think I wanted this? But right now, our worthless son is imprisoned by the Ma family. If we don't follow their orders to eliminate the Young Miss, the one who dies will be our son. Do you want the Young Miss to die, or our son?" the old man hissed in a low, reprimanding tone.
"That damn boy, always causing us trouble! If word of this gets out, where will we old couple put our faces!" Hearing this, the old woman began cursing but made no further mention of sparing the Young Miss. It was clear she had made her decision.
"Our son is useless, but you can only blame the Young Miss for being too stubborn. The Li family and the Ma family have long been allied. They each hold a key to that treasure. Now that the time is ripe, why not just unite with the Ma family and open it together?"
"But the Young Miss simply refuses. She's been obstructing at every turn and even recruiting allies at great expense, seeking confidants. It's obvious she wants to strengthen the Li family's power to open the treasure alone."
"Her actions naturally displeased the Ma family. Finding ways to eliminate the Young Miss is understandable. So you see, the Young Miss is bringing this upon herself."
"In other words, if she continues like this, sooner or later she'll spark a great war between the Li and Ma families. That would harm many innocent people. Our actions now could be seen as helping the Li family, saving them. There's nothing to feel guilty about." The old man spoke with righteous conviction, framing his betrayal of his master in such a noble light.
"Treasure?!" Hearing this, Chu Feng's eyes lit up.
A treasure in the Langya Mountains? What kind of treasure? The first thing Chu Feng thought of was the Natural Creature hidden within these mountains.
Could it be the Natural Creature had already been discovered?
"It seems today's idle business can't be ignored after all."
In that instant, Chu Feng turned and shot toward the battlefield where the woman and the demon beast were fighting. Today's matter likely concerned the Natural Creature and the spiritual consciousness within these mountains.
Even if it had nothing to do with the spiritual consciousness, since there was a treasure involved, Chu Feng would absolutely not stand by and watch. He had already decided to intervene.
"You and I have no grudge. Why are you pressing me so relentlessly, determined to take my life?" By now, the woman was utterly exhausted, thoroughly suppressed by the demon beast. She continued to question it, but the beast responded only with piercing roars and overwhelming killing intent.
"Roar!" Just then, another furious roar erupted. The giant hammer in the beast's claws was once again swinging down toward her.
In that moment, the woman instinctively tried to dodge, but her own Heaven Force was already depleted. Her speed could no longer keep up with her will, and this blow was impossible to evade.