Chapter 145: Random Encounter

The endless colorful desert stretched before them, with not the slightest trace of any buildings—or even ruins. Those who had originally thought this was Ironblood City felt their hearts sink to the bottom. In this terrifying desert, they had lost seven Earth warriors of equal strength on the very first day. Although they managed to survive the following days with Ye Feng’s help, no one could predict what might happen next. For those accustomed to cultivating in Earth’s gentle environment, this place was not just a nightmare—it was a place where even nightmares were impossible. A single moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.

“What should we do?” The blue-haired beauty collapsed helplessly on the sand, tears welling in her eyes.
Ye Feng frowned deeply. At this moment, he too had no idea what to do. He could survive in such an environment, but ensuring the safety of the other ten people was uncertain. Moreover, all the information they had previously obtained was wrong—no towns, no Ironblood City. Only the endless colorful desert and various highly aggressive predators. Everyone knew clearly that without finding local inhabitants, it would be impossible to locate the teleportation array, which was only about ten square meters in size, on such a vast planet. They didn’t even know how big the planet was! If the teleportation array was buried under sand, their fate would undoubtedly be to die here slowly.

“We must find someone! Ask them where the teleportation array is!” Ye Feng put on the detector. Although he had learned just a couple of days ago that the detector wasn’t omnipotent, its help could still guide them away from most predators. Currently, the detector could only cover an area roughly equivalent to that of a large city on Earth, including its surrounding towns—less than 20,000 square kilometers, which was clearly insufficient. But even if it covered a larger area, Ye Feng didn’t have the energy to monitor it further.

Suddenly, a powerful presence enveloped everyone, including Ye Feng. At that instant, he broke into cold sweat. He could clearly sense that they had been targeted by some extremely powerful entity. He tried to use the energy detector to find any clues about the entity’s strength and whereabouts, but the detector showed nothing.

“How is that possible!!!” Ye Feng was filled with shock. The energy detector he had designed could only detect values below 100 million. That meant it could detect opponents two levels above the Yuan Ying stage. But now, there was absolutely no reaction from the detector, indicating that the opponent had surpassed its detection limit. Under such pressure, Ye Feng felt his body almost unable to move. He could only turn his eyes toward Wu Dao and the others, who were just as immobilized. Sweat dropped continuously from Wu Dao’s forehead.

“If it were a magical beast, by now we’d have turned into mere excrement scattered across this desert!” Ye Feng thought to himself in frustration.

“Huh? How come there’s a person at the Yuan Ying stage here?” A rough voice suddenly rang out in their ears.

A glimmer of surprise appeared in Ye Feng and the others’ eyes. Almost simultaneously, the pressure on them vanished. A middle-aged man with a beard, dressed in gray clothes, carried a giant sword about his height on his back. In his left hand, he held a fiery red gourd and took a big swig from it. A fresh, mellow aroma wafted toward them from his direction.

“Elder…” Wu Dao stepped forward to bow, about to ask something, but was interrupted.

“My name is Zong Hao!” the middle-aged man said nonchalantly. “Are you a monk? From which temple?”

“I am Wu Dao from Shaolin,” he replied honestly.

“You’re from Shaolin?” Zong Hao’s expression finally grew slightly serious. “Shaolin, the fourth largest sect in the Buddhist realm?”

“I don’t know if what you mean is our sect’s base in the cultivation world. We all just transferred here from the mortal realm recently,” Wu Dao said, not daring to lie, as he wasn’t sure if Shaolin referred to the one that originated from Earth.

“You came from a mortal planet—why are you here? This is the Gray Star Region! Usually, even those at the Divided Mind stage wouldn’t come here easily.” Zong Hao looked at them in confusion. “I thought I was mistaken when I detected a human at the Yuan Ying stage just now.”

“Elder, this shouldn’t be the Origin Planet!” Ye Feng couldn’t help but interject.

“Which idiot told you this is the Origin Planet? Tell me, and I’ll spank him!” Zong Hao raised an eyebrow at Ye Feng, waiting for an answer.

“Uh, this…” Ye Feng couldn’t help but look at Wudao.
“Hey, big monk, you can’t be this ignorant!” Zong Hao said with a teasing smile. “If you go to Shaolin in the Buddhist realm like this, you’ll really get spanked…”
“This is Beast Planet, a second-class planet in the Gray Sector. Most of its inhabitants are magical beasts at the Yuan Ying level, with five at the Qi Chuo level. The Gray Sector is a region uninhabited by humans! How could Beast Planet be mistaken for the Origin Planet by you?” Zong Hao looked at Wudao and Ye Feng in confusion.
“We originally used a teleportation array to reach the Origin Planet, but when we came out of it, we ended up here…” Ye Feng said softly, trying to explain that they hadn’t come here on their own.
“You used a teleportation array aimed at the Origin Planet, but ended up here?” Zong Hao frowned after hearing this. “Where did you come from?”
“Earth!” Ye Feng looked at Zong Hao expectantly, hoping he had heard of Earth.
“Earth? What a strange name. I’ve never heard of it!” Zong Hao shook his head. “But the Origin Planet is indeed the starting point for over twenty mortal planets to reach the cultivation planets, and one of many starting points in the cultivation world.”
“Senior, do you know where the teleportation array to the Origin Planet is?” Ye Feng and the others had finally encountered a human, so they couldn’t let go of this question.
“There’s no teleportation array to the Origin Planet here because the Gray Sector is an extremely dangerous place. Direct access to the starting points of the cultivation world isn’t allowed. If kids like you who know nothing step into a teleportation array and are sent here, their chances of survival are slim!”
“By the way, is there a teleportation array nearby? You must have just been teleported here! It seems none of you are injured.” After saying that, Zong Hao looked around but found no teleportation array.
“We flew here from 40,000 kilometers away, taking almost four days,” Ye Feng said helplessly, shaking his head. “We’ve already lost seven companions!”
“Impressive! You’re only at the Yuan Ying level, yet you’ve managed to survive here for four days. Ordinary Yuan Ying-level cultivators would die without a doubt after just one day in such a place. Even those at the Qi Chuo level have little chance of surviving four days, as there are too many predatory creatures here.” Zong Hao immediately became interested in Ye Feng and the others.

“From which teleportation array did you come, senior? If we can’t go to the Origin Planet, we should be able to leave here using the same teleportation array you came from!” Ye Feng was now focused solely on leaving.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that will disappoint you. I’ve been teleporting all the way here; I didn’t use any teleportation arrays, and I don’t even know where the teleportation arrays are on these planets!” Zong Hao shook his head helplessly at Ye Feng.
“Teleporting?” Wu Dao and Kong Xu’s eyes lit up upon hearing this term.
“Mm, moving directly from one planet to another in an instant. Starting from Bru Star, the entrance to the Gray Star Region, that’s how I got here.” Zong Hao nodded. “In total, I’ve teleported seven times to get here.”
“What exactly brings you here, senior? I wonder if we can help?” Ye Feng knew it was impossible for the other party to appear here for no reason.
“Kid, you want me to take you all away from here, right?” Zong Hao easily saw through Ye Feng’s thoughts. “If it were just one or two people, it would be simple—I could just teleport them away. But with eleven people… I can only take two at a time. I’d have to make many trips!” Zong Hao looked troubled.
“Why exactly did you come here? Why not tell us? Maybe we can help!” Ye Feng resolved to make a deal with him.
“It’s fine to tell you. I’m looking for the Immortal Grass!” Zong Hao smiled at Ye Feng. “I heard someone found it on this planet, so I came to check it out! If you can help me get one, I’ll take you to Bru Star, where there’s a teleportation array that leads directly to the Origin Planet. And Bru Star is also a second-class planet. It may not be as prosperous as the Origin Planet, but it’s not much worse!”
“Then it’s settled!” Ye Feng said excitedly. “We’ll help you find the Immortal Grass, and you’ll help us leave here!”
“If anyone can find it, I won’t mind giving them an extra high-quality spirit crystal!” Zong Hao smiled at the confident Ye Feng.
“Then let’s get started!” Ye Feng called out to Wu Dao and the others. “Be careful, and try to stay together!”