268: Chapter 264 Military Qi 268: Chapter 264 Military Qi Feeling the gaze of everyone converging on him,
Chen Hai, with a helpless expression, stood up.
Last night, when he had executed the Little Five Thunder Skill, the power of the palm he struck had been unexpectedly great.
This situation must be the aftermath of that palm strike!
If he had known that the Little Five Thunder Skill, which he considered the weakest Thunder Skill, held such immense power to burst open the trunk of a big camphor tree and fell it completely,
under everyone’s watchful eyes, he certainly wouldn’t have been interested in testing the skill’s power!
But now, it seemed a bit too late for regrets!
Indeed, although the Little Five Thunder Skill was powerful, its usage during combat drained him slightly more than usual.
The palm that broke the camphor tree was executed with no reservations, with full force.
Continuously executing such a palm strike ten to eight times would have been his limit.
Of course, this didn’t mean that his mana would be completely depleted at that point.
However, after striking ten to eight palms consecutively, the Thunder Map that carried the Little Five Thunder Skill would run out of power and become dim.
Without the Thunderbolt True Intent augmenting his palms, the strikes he delivered would be no better than punches, naturally lacking any power.
However, for Chen Hai, being able to perform the Little Five Thunder Skill consecutively ten to eight times was already satisfying!
After all, his cultivation in this skill had only just begun.
As he continued his cultivation, the Thunder Map that carried the Little Five Thunder Skill would only grow stronger.
Perhaps, once he fully mastered the skill, using the Little Five Thunder Skill once would only consume a trivial amount of the map’s power?
Standing up and frowning, Chen Hai pondered briefly then walked a few steps to the simple table in the center of the tent that held a map.
“Brother Fang, I think the blockade area can be reduced a bit!”
He casually picked up an ink brush beside the map and directly drew a sloppy circle on it.
That unknown entity, likely fearing sunlight, chose to hide during the day, so its hiding place must definitely be filled with yin qi.
Not long ago, Chen Hai had already investigated the local topography and terrain using Geomancy Inspection Skill, and the circle he drew represented the range of yin land in that area.
The area of mountain forest, spanning several dozen miles, was now reduced to about ten miles in diameter with his casual drawing.
Reducing the blockade area didn’t guarantee finding the entity’s hiding spot.
But at least, it would save Brother Fang and Ye Cheng a lot of manpower and resources.
“Chen, reducing the whole forest to such a small area, do you have any justification?”
“I remember, the night before last, that thing appeared around this spot…”
With slightly furrowed brows and a bit of hesitation, Brother Fang picked up the ink brush and marked a spot outside the small circle drawn by Chen Hai on the map.
His action was clear; he wanted to tell Chen Hai that the known location where the entity appeared wasn’t included in the area Chen Hai circled.
“Brother Fang, during the night, that entity moves as swiftly as flying and can freely roam the forest.”
“The spot you marked only shows where you spotted it.”
“It doesn’t mean it definitely hides nearby; perhaps, it darted from the area I circled to the spot you marked.”
Looking up at Brother Fang, Chen Hai explained.
His guess wasn’t entirely certain, but he was somewhat confident, around seventy to eighty percent.
If Brother Fang wasn’t willing to believe his words, there was nothing Chen Hai could do.
After all, the resources being wasted weren’t his.
“Senior Chen, I have also paid special attention to the topography of this forest!”
“The area you circled, with yin qi crisscrossing, seems to be the reputed Corpse Nourishing Land.”
“Evil creatures fearing sunlight might hide in the Corpse Nourishing Land, and I think there is a great possibility!”
Brother Fang frowned, still unsure whether to follow Chen Hai’s suggestion.
Meanwhile, Hu Laodao, who had stood by, quickly voiced his agreement following Chen Hai.
With over fifty years of experience in Jianghu, Hu Laodao certainly wasn’t lacking in expertise.
When he had been forcibly brought here while passing by the forest, he had felt a chill throughout his body that made him shudder involuntarily.
Because of this, he paid special attention and took a few more looks at the forest.
At that time, he had already formed some speculations about the forest.
However, without specific investigation, he couldn’t be sure that his speculations were accurate.
But now, seeing the circle that Chen Hai drew on the map, he promptly shared his speculations.
In Hu Laodao’s eyes, Chen Hai, a prominent figure in Taoism, stated issues with the forest, so there certainly couldn’t be a mistake.
“Corpse Nourishing Land, is there such a concept?”
Slightly startled, Brother Fang hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: “Alright, let’s follow your advice and narrow the blockade area.”
Whispering to a subordinate beside him, he gave a few orders.
After the man nodded his head and briskly exited the military tent, Fang hesitated slightly before continuing, “Chen, besides this suggestion, do you have any other methods?”
Due to this matter, Fang and the others had already stayed in this region for almost a month.
That thing was elusive like a ghost, making it impossible for them to resolve the issue perfectly.
Whether it was Fang or Ye Cheng and the others, everyone was already extremely frustrated.
Last night, the power of the Little Five Thunder Skill that Chen Hai displayed was indeed astonishing.
Although Fang was initially displeased with Chen Hai because Zhou’s leg had been broken,
upon reflection, he still felt somewhat shocked by the slap Chen Hai had delivered.
Having such a formidable person here naturally made Fang pin his hopes on Chen Hai to find that thing.
“Chen Hai, with the Little Five Thunder Skill at your disposal, if that thing dares to show up, a single slap from you could probably kill it instantly.”
“If you really have a good method, don’t keep it to yourself!”
“In this damned place, I’ve already stayed for nearly a month.
Solving this matter sooner will let me return and relax sooner!”
Following a chuckle, Ye Cheng, who trailed behind Fang, also spoke up to Chen Hai.
Of course, given his relationship with Chen Hai, the words he spoke were straightforward and not at all euphemistic.
“What method could I possibly have?
At best, I could personally visit that region and investigate thoroughly!”
Chen Hai rolled his eyes at Ye Cheng, shrugged his shoulders, and replied grumpily.
Although it was not yet noon, the sun was already shining brightly.
When he had been summoned here yesterday, he had thought about making a divine soul departure to investigate the mountain forest when the yang qi between heaven and earth became intense.
Having mastered the Little Five Thunder Skill and understanding its tremendous power, Chen Hai had already decided in his heart without needing Ye Cheng’s request.
Finding the hiding spot of that thing was both to help Ye Cheng and others and to perform a good deed by eliminating a hazard for the people.
After all, several households living near this stretch of the mountain forest had been wiped out by that thing.
Despite Fang, Ye Cheng, and their soldiers having searched the entire forest back and forth several times,
ordinary people failing to find the hiding spot didn’t mean that Chen Hai couldn’t either.
The vision of a departed divine soul was different from ordinary people.
Earth and rocks that obstructed those soldiers were like nothing to Chen Hai’s divine soul, which could move through them with ease.
“Brother Cheng, Brother Fang, wait here for a moment!” he called out to a few people inside the tent.
With a sweep of yin wind, Chen Hai’s divine soul had already departed.
“What is this?
Military qi?
Evil qi…” Within his field of vision, all he could see was a faint blood-red color, pervading the region.
At that moment, it felt as if he were standing on a beach during high tide.
The blood-red qi, like the tide, continually battered his soul body.
His divine soul body was as solid as a rock and extremely resilient.
Although the blood-red qi’s impact couldn’t seriously harm him, it made his vision unclear and felt incredibly uncomfortable.
“With thousands of soldiers gathered in this area, these blood-red streams must be the military qi and evil qi they’ve accumulated.”
“I can just about withstand this level of military qi and evil qi.”
“If there were even more soldiers, there wouldn’t need to be a million-strong army, just tens of thousands would be enough to shatter my soul body into pieces…”
Chen Hai muttered to himself silently, somewhat speechless.
As the last True Man of Yanhuang Country, Three Madness True Man had never been heard of in any legend where he directly withstood the Iron Cavalry of Yuanmeng.
It seemed that under the torrent of Iron Cavalry composed of countless armies, even the strongest Tao Cultivators would likely have to kneel.
Thinking this, Chen Hai felt considerably less gloomy.
After all, his divine soul could now withstand the military qi and evil qi of over a thousand soldiers.
Attaining such strength was truly remarkable.
Knowing that military qi and evil qi in this area could suppress Taoist skills, Chen Hai lost interest in further probing.
His soul returned to his body, and he stood up straight.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m heading directly to that forest.”
“It’s up to you whether to follow me or stay here and wait for the results of my investigation.”
After dropping a few words, Chen Hai strode toward the outside of the tent.
The area where the tent was pitched was relatively flat; the circle that Chen Hai had drawn was about fifty meters away at its nearest point.
Right on the edge of the forest, where the sunlight could reach, Chen Hai found a relatively clean slab of stone and sat down cross-legged on it.
His divine soul left his body, departing once again.
Perhaps because this location was near the edge of the yin land, the military qi and evil qi formed by thousands of soldiers had weakened to an extreme here.
Here, that bit of military qi and evil qi had virtually no effect on Chen Hai’s divine soul.
Glancing at Fang, Ye Cheng, and the others hurrying towards him, Chen Hai’s soul turned and dove headfirst into the forest.