Chapter 347: Traveling Together

“The fur of the Golden Ape King?”
The man in green gasped sharply upon seeing the golden fur in Chen Xiao’s hand.
The Golden Ape King was a beast of royal rank, an existence at the level of a True Spirit Deity. People like this man in green were merely at the first or second level of the earthly realm. In their eyes, the Golden Ape King was an unattainable, legendary being.
Even just one of its hairs was a rare treasure. Moreover, this hair carried the aura of the Golden Ape King. With it, one could travel freely around the outskirts of the Fallen Mountains without any beasts daring to attack.
After all, it was a being of royal rank—the king of beasts.
This hair had been cut off by Chen Xiao from that Golden Ape earlier. Though the ape had extremely strong defenses, Chen Xiao, with his Life and Death Dual Kill Sword, was still able to take off at least one hair.
However, the fact that this man in green could recognize the fur of the Golden Ape King clearly meant he had considerable knowledge and was not an ordinary first-level warrior.
In the Heavenly Realm, there were only two types of cultivators: warriors and mages. These three were clearly warriors. Mages, on the other hand, were extremely rare.
Below the Heavenly Realm, warriors and mages were separate, but once one reached the Heavenly Realm, the boundary between them blurred.
“I wonder, sir, where did you obtain this hair?” The man in green became even more cautious after seeing it.
How could an ordinary person obtain the fur of such a royal-ranked beast?
“Heh, if I had nothing to rely on, how would I dare to wander in these Fallen Mountains?”
Chen Xiao glanced at the three with a half-smile.
Soon, the man in green realized his mistake. Who could easily reveal the origin of such a precious item?
Suddenly, the burly man rolled his eyes, grinned widely, and said, “Since this brother is lost in these mountains, why not travel together? I happen to have a map of the outskirts of the Fallen Mountains.”
“Yuan Chi!”
The man in green frowned upon hearing the burly man’s words and called out softly.
But Chen Xiao paid no attention. He looked at Yuan Chi and said with a smile, “In that case, I’ll gladly accept your offer.”
Chen Xiao didn’t see himself as an outsider. He tucked the Golden Ape King’s hair into his chest, patted the little head inside, then walked over to the three and sat down on the ground.
Originally, the three were sitting around a clean cloth, with some food laid out on it.
Chen Xiao didn’t hesitate at all. He grabbed a piece that resembled a cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Mmm, delicious! I haven’t eaten roasted meat in three years; my taste buds have gone dull.”
Chen Xiao mumbled as he ate.
“The food in this Heavenly Realm is truly unique. Just this single piece contains energy equivalent to that of a small Yuan Stone vein!” he thought in amazement.
“Hehe…”
Watching Chen Xiao’s eating habits, the woman disguised as a man couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Did this woman not care? The man in green could only sigh helplessly. Still, he held deep wariness toward Chen Xiao. Likewise, he understood what Yuan Chi had in mind.

Chen Xiao carried the fur of the Golden Ape King. With him around, it was like having an extra pass that allowed them to move freely around the outskirts of the Falling Mountains.

Moreover, they were here to search for the Zhu Ling Grass. Although nothing in these outskirts could threaten them, it was better to be cautious.

Chen Xiao’s presence undoubtedly provided them with an extra layer of protection.

Watching Chen Xiao devour his food as if he hadn’t eaten in three years, the man in green’s wariness diminished slightly. Yet, most of his attention remained focused on Chen Xiao.

“Hey, brother. My name is Yuan Chi. He’s my brother, Yuan Mou. He…” Yuan Chi stared at the woman disguised as a man, stammering for a while, not knowing what to say.

“My name is Zi Qi,” the woman said, her voice as clear as a man’s. Her disguise was extremely thorough. If not for Chen Xiao’s strength far surpassing hers, it might have been impossible to detect it.

“Um, I’m Shang Weiting. It’s an honor to meet you all, brothers,” Chen Xiao said, holding half a piece of cake in his mouth as he hurriedly bowed to the three of them.

Seeing Chen Xiao’s actions, even Yuan Mou, who had been wary of him, couldn’t help but smile.

“Brother Shang, we came here mainly to look for the spirit grass you grow. Would you be willing to join us?”

Yuan Chi might seem rough, but he wasn’t actually the kind of person who thought only in terms of strength. His words were quite skillful.

“Um…” Chen Xiao reluctantly put down the food in his hand. In truth, he really didn’t want to part with it. This food was tastier than anything prepared by top chefs on Earth, even though it was just simple cakes and meat.

“I’ve already been wandering these mountains for three years. A few more days won’t make a difference.”

Chen Xiao swallowed a mouthful of steamed-like meat and then smiled. Subconsciously, he glanced at Xi Xi in his arms. At that moment, Xi Xi had vacant eyes and didn’t even look at her favorite food.

Although worried, Chen Xiao couldn’t do much. He had checked her body several times with his mental power and found nothing abnormal. He had originally planned to bring Xi Xi into the Main God Space, but in the Heavenly Realm, all connections to the Main God Space were severed, making it impossible to bring her in.

So, he could only hold her in his arms.

However, Chen Xiao’s concealment skills were far more advanced than Zi Qi’s. The three of them didn’t even realize Xi Xi’s existence.

Chen Xiao knew well that Xi Xi’s race was extremely powerful and she was also a creature of the Heavenly Realm. If she were recognized, it would be a problem.

Hearing Chen Xiao’s words, the three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, they sat down again. After eating and drinking their fill, the four of them stood up.

Yuanmou took out a map, and the four of them followed the route on it, gradually moving deeper into the Meteorite Mountains. Chen Xiao also released the aura from that golden ape king’s hair. Almost instantly, countless beasts hidden in the shadows were scattered by the aura of that king-class beast. Along the way, the four faced no obstacles. Most of the beasts outside the mountains were of lower rank and posed no threat to them. Even a few hidden lower-rank beasts fled at the sight of that aura. Along the way, Chen Xiao didn’t ask many questions—he wasn’t familiar with the Heavenly Realm, nor did he know about the various supernatural abilities of its inhabitants. If he revealed any clues and was recognized by some powerful beings in the Heavenly Realm, it would be extremely dangerous. Those beings might imprison him to help the Heavenly Map within him grow, even try to gather all the fragments of the map and fully bring down the nine Heavenly Shadows. By then, Chen Xiao’s fate would likely be completely in others’ hands. Therefore, since arriving in the Heavenly Realm, he had sealed away the Heavenly Map along with the aura of the primordial spiritual fire in his dantian using the power of Yin and Yang, not letting even a trace escape. Now, the aura around Chen Xiao had completely transformed to resemble that of the three people before him. His ultimate goal in approaching them was to learn more about the habits of the inhabitants of the Heavenly Realm through interaction, so he could hide better in this incredibly mysterious and powerful world. “What exactly is the relationship between the Heavenly Realm and Earth? Is the power in their bodies actually the true energy of ancient martial artists?” Chen Xiao lightly licked his lips. The power of Yin and Yang within him had mimicked the true energy of ancient martial artists, circulating continuously in his body centered around his dantian. “I’m not unaware of what those spellcasters are either.” As he thought this, suddenly, the three people in front of him stopped and looked warily ahead. Chen Xiao was slightly surprised. He sent out his spiritual sense and saw a narrow valley ahead, with five or six murderous auras lurking within it. These auras were clearly aimed at Chen Xiao and the others. At that moment, Chen Xiao’s heart stirred slightly. He realized that the range of his spiritual sense had doubled—from originally a dozen meters to over twenty meters. “So that’s how it is. For a True Spirit God, a king-class warrior in the eyes of the Heavenly Realm’s inhabitants, why is my spiritual sense restricted to just a dozen meters?” Chen Xiao immediately understood. His spiritual sense was limited to that range because he had just arrived in the Heavenly Realm and hadn’t adapted to its environment. After several days of wandering, he had now fully adapted. Yet he knew well that the spiritual senses of the Heavenly Realm’s inhabitants were likely many times stronger than his own. Without the aid of the primordial path, his spiritual sense would be no different from that of an ordinary True Spirit God.

The powerful kings of the Heavenly Realm have lived here generation after generation. Their divine consciousnesses have been forged by this environment into something incredibly strong, far beyond what the gods of the universe can compare to. At this moment, Chen Xiao was striving to strengthen his own divine consciousness, aiming to adapt to this environment as quickly as possible. At the very least, he wanted to train his divine consciousness to be on par with that of the kings here. Chen Xiao understood that his current strength was likely not enough to rival even a being at the peak of the True Spirit God level. Although he had never encountered true strongmen here, he had already assessed his own strength based on various signs. …

“What should we do?” The three from Yuanmou clearly sensed the murderous intent in the valley. The five people inside were all at the first level of the Earth realm. If they mastered some form of coordinated attack technique, the four of them would surely die here. Even Zi Qi, who was a second-level Earth realm warrior, wouldn’t be able to help. Moreover, this valley was the only path leading to the Zhu Ling Grass, and having those five first-level Earth realm beings lurking here was extremely troublesome. Additionally, the restraining force of the Heavenly Realm was incredibly strong, making it impossible for Earth realm cultivators to fly. “What should we do?” Chen Xiao stared at the three of them in bewilderment, blinked once, then said, “They’re lying in wait here, and we already know they’re here. What are we afraid of?” Without waiting for them to respond, Chen Xiao immediately launched a strike at the stone wall of the valley. Boom! Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out in the valley, causing the mountains on both sides to collapse. Immediately afterward, five figures rushed out in disarray. “Die!” Chen Xiao suppressed his strength to the level of a Virtual God, but he possessed immense combat experience. Before those five could land, he leaped upward. His true energy transformed into a sharp sword blade, which severed the first man’s head in one strike. Then, like a whirlwind, Chen Xiao rushed to the second man and split him in two. In the next instant, he was already in front of the third man, his sword piercing through his head. In the blink of an eye, the three men in black were dead at Chen Xiao’s hands. Throughout the entire process, his strength never exceeded the level of a Virtual God. He relied solely on his unparalleled skills, at the level of a Virtual God, to kill those three. Meanwhile, Chen Xiao secretly absorbed the souls and memories of those three, quickly processing their memories. “Hm? They came for Yuanmou and the others?” Chen Xiao’s mind stirred slightly as he immediately understood. Those five men in black were not the so-called bandits from the Fallen Mountains. They had come specifically to deal with Yuanmou, Yuan Chi, and Zi Qi. It seemed that Yuanmou and the others had also sensed this, which explained their hesitation. Exhausting all his true energy, Chen Xiao pushed off the ground with his toes and soared into the air once again, rushing toward the remaining two men.

None of these five may survive. Chen Xiao understood that this was related to internal struggles within their families, and those families were extremely powerful in the heavens. Not wanting to get involved, he had no choice but to kill them without leaving any trace.
The two men in black hadn’t even landed when they saw their companions dead at the hands of an ordinary-looking young man, which shocked them. But before they could do anything, they saw that terrifying young man approaching them.
Thwack! Thwack!
With two crisp sounds, the two men’s heads flew into the sky, and they died instantly.
“Done.”
Chen Xiao gently landed on the ground, turned around, and smiled at the three remaining men.