Chapter One Hundred and Seven: The Outer Rim of the Savage Lands

"That woman is insane!" Ye Yun muttered to himself. The Azure Spring Palace was truly a place of oddities; its sect master, Daoist Azure Spring, was strange enough already, and now he had run into a woman even stranger.

"Junior Brother, don’t run! Let Senior Sister loosen up your muscles and bones. I guarantee I’ll make you feel wonderful."

Hua Caiyi pursued him relentlessly from behind, and if anyone else had heard that coy, coquettish voice, they might have let their imaginations run wild. Ye Yun, however, felt goose bumps all over.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Streaks of golden sword qi crisscrossed the air. From the force with which they tore through space, Hua Caiyi was clearly not holding back in the slightest; this was no joke.

As a result, the mountains around the Azure Spring Palace became extraordinarily lively.

It was a chase and a flight: from Flower Fairy Valley to the mountain gate of the Azure Spring Palace, and then around Vermilion Peak in a full circle. Only then did Ye Yun finally manage to shake off Hua Caiyi.

"Hahahaha..." In Ye Yun's mind, the Unfettered Demon Lord had been laughing the entire way.

"You brat, you are utterly disgraceful, running all over the mountains because a woman was chasing you. To have you as the ninth-generation inheritor of the Unfettered Demon Palace, I must have been blind." At last given the chance, the Unfettered Demon Lord naturally wasted no time in mocking Ye Yun.

"Laugh all you want. If I hadn't just arrived at the Azure Spring Palace and didn't want to stir up trouble, and if she weren't a woman, would I have run?" Ye Yun complained inwardly, speechless.

Still, Hua Caiyi's movement technique and speed were truly extraordinary. Ye Yun had used the Roc Totem movement art, and in terms of speed he had never seen another Foundation Establishment cultivator who could compare to him, yet Hua Caiyi had managed to pursue him for so long.

"It seems there are many experts in this world. The opponents I have met before were not strong, but that does not mean everyone else is weak." Ye Yun silently warned himself.

Sitting cross-legged on a branch of an ancient tree in the forest, Ye Yun quietly memorized Hua Caiyi's name.

Just then, his divine sense detected four figures appearing nearby. Judging from their clothes, they were all inner sect disciples of the Azure Spring Palace.

By now, Ye Yun had changed into the purple robe of an elite disciple of the Azure Spring Palace. As the distance closed, the four of them saw the attire of an elite disciple on him and were all slightly taken aback.

"Senior Brother looks rather unfamiliar. You must be an elite disciple who only recently reported to the sect, yes?" one of them said. He was a fair-faced young man, scholarly in appearance.

"May I ask how strong Senior Brother's cultivation is? Would you like to come with us to have some fun at the edge of the Savage Wastes?" Another man, broad-shouldered and powerful, also spoke up.

Among the four was also a woman. Her looks were not as striking as the madwoman from Flower Fairy Valley, but her features were delicate and her skin smooth and fine.

"Oh? You're going to train at the edge of the Savage Wastes?" Ye Yun revealed a look of interest.

The cultivation levels of these four were not low. Aside from the broad-shouldered man, who was at the great-circle of Foundation Establishment, the others were all at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Senior Brother still hasn't said what your cultivation level is," said the broad-shouldered man.

"Yue Feng, since this senior brother is an elite disciple, his cultivation cannot possibly be weak," the other three said.

From their conversation, Ye Yun learned that the broad-shouldered man with the highest cultivation was named Yue Feng. The fair-faced scholar was Bai Tang, the other young man was Zhao Hui, and the woman was Zhao Jingjing, Zhao Hui's younger sister.

The four of them had all entered the Azure Spring Palace because their talent was fairly good. They had begun as outer sect disciples, and after their cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they became inner sect disciples.

"I am at the middle Foundation Establishment stage," Ye Yun said with a smile.

"Middle Foundation Establishment?" Yue Feng was slightly startled. He gave Ye Yun a half-smile and said, "With middle Foundation Establishment cultivation, going to the edge of the Savage Wastes would only make you a burden. I am rather curious how a middle Foundation Establishment cultivator like you became an elite disciple."

"Do I need to tell you?" Ye Yun frowned slightly. Yue Feng's arrogant and detached manner made him very displeased.

"Senior Brother, please don't mind him. Yue Feng has quite decent talent, so his temperament is a little proud. Please don't lower yourself to his level." The young man named Bai Tang was more worldly and tactful. Seeing the tension between the two, he quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

Yue Feng merely cast Ye Yun a dark look and said nothing more. Ye Yun, of course, also couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

"May I ask Senior Brother's name?" Bai Tang asked with a smile.

"Ye Yun."

"Since Senior Brother Ye Yun was able to become an elite disciple, then even if your cultivation is not high, you must possess something extraordinary. Let's all go together to train and have some fun at the edge of the Savage Wastes," Bai Tang said cheerfully.

Zhao Hui and Zhao Jingjing had no objections. Yue Feng frowned slightly, snorted coldly, but did not press the matter further.

"It is said that the Savage Wastes are vast and boundless. Even in the outermost areas, there are often Foundation Establishment demon beasts lurking. With our strength, so long as our luck is not too terrible and we do not run into a Golden Core demon king, we should be in no serious danger."

The mountain gate of the Azure Spring Palace was not far from the Savage Wastes. Before long, the group entered the outer region of the wastes. The terrain here was complex, and the path was filled with grass, trees, thorns, and brambles, but for cultivators like them, it did not pose much of an obstacle.

The Savage Wastes were a paradise for demon beasts. The number of beasts living in this ancient primordial forest was beyond counting.

A cry rang out.

A shadow swept across the sky overhead. When the group looked up, their pupils all contracted slightly, and none of them dared make a sound.

What met their eyes was a sea of green flame. It was a flock of Azure Feather Firebirds, every single one of them a Foundation Establishment demon beast. Especially for a beast colony like this, the leading sovereign was at the very least a great-circle Foundation Establishment chieftain.

Back in Sunset Mountain, Ye Yun had also fought the Azure Feather Firebirds, so he naturally knew how formidable these beasts were. This flock numbered roughly over a hundred. Even a newly advanced ordinary Golden Core cultivator would probably have to take a detour.

"The Savage Wastes truly are fraught with danger... far beyond what a small place like Sunset Mountain can compare to," Ye Yun thought to himself.

Ordinary Qi Condensation beasts naturally could not arouse anyone's interest. In the Savage Wastes, there was another harvest besides materials from slain beasts: spiritual herbs.

An ancient primordial forest like the Savage Wastes was the most suitable place for spiritual herbs to grow. Compared to materials taken from Foundation Establishment demon beasts, spiritual herbs were the more precious treasure.

A Fire Vein Python was severed at the waist by the flying sword Zhao Hui had unleashed. It was a Foundation Establishment early-stage demon beast. The python gall could be used as an auxiliary ingredient in alchemy; the sinew could be used to craft tools; the blood could be used for talismans.

Among the five of them, Bai Tang was responsible for cleaning the battlefield and collecting the materials from the demon beasts.

"Brother Zhao's strength is truly impressive. A Foundation Establishment demon beast slain with a single sword strike!" Bai Tang said with a smile while gathering the useful materials from the Fire Vein Python.

"It's only a Foundation Establishment early-stage beast," Yue Feng said with his arms folded across his chest. A flash of contempt passed through his eyes, and his tone was faintly indifferent.

Ye Yun felt unhappy upon hearing this. This fellow was only at the great-circle of Foundation Establishment himself. Though stronger than the average Foundation Establishment cultivator, wasn't he being far too overbearing and conceited?

However, Zhao Hui and Bai Tang said nothing, and Ye Yun had no interest in trading insults with someone like Yue Feng. The five of them continued moving through the forest. From time to time they would encounter a Foundation Establishment demon beast, but they were all only at the early or middle stage and were easily slain by the flying sword Zhao Hui controlled.

For a long time now, I haven't popped in to chat with everyone, and the comments section has been rather quiet. The reason this book's results are poor is naturally that the updates are infrequent. There is another reason as well: the pace of the plot is slow. I understand this very clearly.

When I first started writing this book, the editor strongly opposed it, saying it was not suited to the mainstream commercial novels of today. The reason I have kept writing it all this time is that I did not want to give up halfway, and I also wanted to write some of the things in my own heart. To put it plainly, this book is the complete journey of a person's growth. That was my purpose in starting with Ye Yun's childhood.

Also, thank you to Kuimei for the seal. I cannot guarantee an explosive burst of chapters or anything like that, but what I can do is keep the updates coming, every day without fail...