Chapter 337 - Following The Blue Deer
Back at the main peak of the Shattered Star Peaks, Xuan Hao was walking through the lush forest that covered the entire main peak together with the two blue deers. The small blue deer leading the way, with the bigger one cautiously following behind him. Not daring to take its eyes off him for even a second in case he decided to do something.
"Hah…"
Sighing audibly upon seeing how cautious the larger blue deer was of him, Xuan Hao could not help but regret letting out his aura earlier. Even after everything had calmed down and he didn't attack, the large blue deer still remained extremely scared and cautious of him.
Well… Not that I can blame it…
Thinking this as he thought about it from the large blue deer's point of view, Xuan Hao could indeed see why it remained so cautious and scared of him… He was after all someone who was far stronger than it and would easily be able to kill it along with its child, the small blue deer…
Thump thump!
Seeing the small blue deer leading the way suddenly come to a stop as it lightly stomped both its small hooves on the ground before looking back towards Xuan Hao. Clearly wanting him to come.
"What is it little one?"
Walking up beside it and soon spotted a few decaying objects in the shape of small lamp posts. Covered by shrooms and other foliage from the forest that had overgrown the small lamp posts over the years.
"A path?"
A narrow stone path could barely be discerned beneath the thick foliage around the lamp posts, as Xuan Hao felt the excitement of discovering something related to the power that had occupied the Shattered Star Peaks in the past.
Following the narrow stone path would surely be able to lead him to some kind of ruin and from what he had experienced so far. Ruins would often have some kind of precious artifact, cultivation manual of precious spiritual herb inside of them!
At least when nobody had visited them beforehand…
"You want me to go?"
Glancing over towards the small blue deer that refused to take another step forward along with the larger blue deer not even daring to step anywhere close to the narrow stone path.
Thump!
The small blue deer seemed to have understood what Xuan Hao said as it stomped both its front hooves in confirmation before looking up at Xuan Hao with an almost pleading look on its small, cute face.
"I see, so something dangerous is that way and you want me to deal with it…?"
Understanding the reason why the small blue deer had brought him here in the first place, Xuan Hao didn't know whether to laugh or cry as the small blue deer had intended to use him as a means to deal with the problem at the end of the narrow stone path…
Nod Nod~
Innocently nodding its small head with an almost human expression on its face, Xuan Hao confirmed the fact that the small deer clearly understood what he was saying and at the same time didn't see anything wrong with sending a total stranger like him off to deal with the whatever was waiting at the end of the stone path…
[Side Quest: You encountered a small blue deer asking for help to deal with a threat that once took the life of the small blue deer's mother.]
[Reward: Full Moon Ganoderma(Mystic)]
Just as Xuan Hao was about to scold the small blue deer, the system sprang into action as a new side quest appeared. Confirming his initial suspicion about the fact that there was something dangerous waiting for him at the end of the stone path.
"A Mystic Grade Full Moon Ganoderma…"
Seeing the reward from the side quest, Xuan Hao could not help but whisper quietly to himself .
The Qi Gathering Formation required five different mystic grade materials outside of the Transcendent Grade required for the core of the formation.
The five different mystic grade materials each belonged to one of the five elements. Fire, Wind, Water, Wood and Metal. The material related to the fire element already in his possession in the form of the Ash Sunstone that he was given by the system long ago…
The Full Moon Ganoderma just so happened to be the mystic grade item from the wood element that the Qi Gathering Formation required, with it, he would be in possession of two out of the five required mystic grade materials needed to set up the Qi Gathering Formation!
"Guess there is no reason not to explore where the stone path leads to…"
Knowing that he would have gone to explore what laid at the end of the narrow stone path even without the side quest and the small blue deer urging him to go, Xuan Hao glanced back at the excited small deer happily moving around the larger blue deer as it watched him move forward.
"What a weird deer…" Muttering this to himself as he rolled his eyes at the small blue deer's clearly excited expression, Xuan Hao left the two blue deers as he moved along the narrow stone path until the two blue deers completely disappeared from sight.
Leaving Xuan Hao alone on the narrow stone path.
Whoosh!
Not intending to continue moving as slowly as he had when he followed the small blue deer earlier, Xuan Hao increased his speed, while at the same time preparing his defences in case he was ambushed along the way.
After all, given the simple fact that the system had given him a quest, Xuan Hao knew that whatever the small deer wanted him to deal with, was something that would be able to pose a threat to him!
Feeling himself grow more and more cautious the longer he travelled along the narrow stone path, Xuan Hao didn't even notice how the stone path began to expand the closer he got the end of the path.
It was only when it had already expanded to over double its size that Xuan Hao noticed it, but he didn't pay too much attention to this and instead just continued to travel along the ancient stone path.
…
"What in the world is happening!?"
It was only after travelling for at least an hour that Xuan Hao came to a stop as he looked around at the ancient stone path that had now transformed into a large ancient stone road.
"I should have reached the end of the stone path- stone road, long ago… Why does it seem like I'm not moving at all?!"
Voicing his thoughts, Xuan Hao looked at the stone road filled with confusion, he had clearly travelled far faster than a normal person could walk and given his current speed, he would already have been back at the Flying Sword Sect… Let alone reach the edge of the Main Peak!
Having already seen the Main Peak from the ground, Xuan Hao very clearly knew how big it was!
"I don't believe I can't reach the end of this stone road!"
Whoosh!
Not holding back in the slightest this time around, Xuan Hao exerted all his strength. Instantly crossing dozens of miles within a few seconds.
…
Slowly, another hour passed…
"Hah… How come… Hah… There is no end to this bloody road…? Why can't I leave?"
Sitting down on the ground in a spot that looked exactly the same as the place he had been an hour ago, Xuan Hao could not help but feel a wave of helplessness wash over him.
At this point he had already realized he was trapped in some sort of confusion formation similar to the mist formation around the Flying Sword Sect that would cause people below a certain cultivation realm to always end up in the same location that they entered through.
No, the formation he found himself in was different. Instead of calling it a confusion formation like the Flying Sword Sect's mist formation, it was more fitting to call it an entrapment formation, as it trapped him inside with no way out…
Xuan Hao had already tried moving off the road, but the road would soon appear in front of him after moving through an empty forest for a few minutes.
Flying up into the air would not help either, as the sky would turn into a solid surface after moving up a few hundred meters.
Breaking through the sky would then end up with him digging his way out of the ground next to the road. Digging down beneath the road on the other hand, would cause him to appear a few hundred meters up in the sky with the road beneath him…
Xuan Hao very clearly understood that the entrapment formation that he was inside of, was way above anything he understood.
It very clearly incorporated the manipulation of space to a level that Xuan Hao had never seen before, he even speculated that the formation itself was set up by someone at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm. Maybe even someone in the Soul Ascension Realm!
"Now… How do I get out…?"
Knowing that following the stone road would not help him, Xuan Hao sat down and began thinking about ways to escape the entrapment formation.
