Chapter 147: Four out of five.
Yao Jun dug himself down into the ground, covering the top of his small cave with a layer of ice to prevent any snow from entering while he focused on recovering himself. While chewing on some pills and boiling some medicinal herbs to apply to his wounds, he was also rather curious how much the inside of his Demon God's Gate had changed ever since he entered this hidden realm.
He had absorbed two new Demonic beasts, Zhuyin and Zhuanxu, and had eaten the fresh meat and drunk the blood of countless other Demonic beasts, all so that he could strengthen Little Thunder and the others. He truly looked forward to leaving this hidden realm and seeing the changes.
But first he had to find Guo Luo and reach the place that was resonating with his Demon God's Gate. Yao Jun had expected the resonating to change once more, leading him to a different place after absorbing Zhuanxu. But it had not, the resonating was now pointing towards the same place it had pointed when he first entered the hidden realm, towards the center of the hidden realm.
Yao Jun swallowed a few more pills and poured the boiling mixture of herbs onto his body, letting it seep into his wounds and mix with his blood. Yao Jun closed his eyes and put almost all of his focus on moving the medicine around inside his body, coating all his wounds with the mixture to speed up the healing process. He only left a small part of his mind to keep an eye on the surroundings, making sure that he was not ambushed.
He continued to quietly recuperate for almost half a month, with most of his time spent on healing his left arm and the part where Zhuanxu had stomped down on him. He did not choose to continue moving immediately after healing, choosing to spend a few days quietly cultivating to make sure that there were no problems with his veins.
“A bit of pain, but I guess that is to be expected from fighting like that.”
Yao Jun stretched his body and enjoyed the popping sound from his joints as he muttered to himself. There was a throbbing pain coming from several parts of his body, not disappearing despite the large amount of medicine he had used to heal his wounds. But Yao Jun simply accepted this pain for the moment, considering it the price he paid for fighting in such a self destructive way.
“There's people coming? Can't stay here.”
While Yao Jun was stretching, he suddenly sensed a group of people approaching. Absorbing Zhuanxu had given Yao Jun the same abilities as Zhuanxu, one of those abilities was to use the surrounding ice to see and sense everything it came in contact with. Because of this, Yao Jun could sense that the people who were approaching were all very powerful, if he stayed in this underground cave, he would look suspicious once they found him.
Yao Jun removed the ice above him and climbed out of the cave, putting on a fresh green robe and sitting down on the ground with crossed legs and closed eyes. He had judged that he would not be able to move away fast enough to avoid being discovered, as they would be able to sense his Qi once he started using it to either move into the shadows or increase his speed. In that case, he figured it would be better to pretend like he had not noticed them, checking if they were hostile before he decided on his next course of action.
“Who is there?!”
After a few minutes of waiting, the sound of footsteps resounded over the mountain top, a vigilant shout directed towards Yao Jun as the group of people he had sensed got close enough to notice him. Yao Jun pretended to be shocked, rapidly standing up and jumping backwards, directing a wary gaze towards the group of people. This was the first time he could see what they looked like, but when he saw the group, his pupils rapidly shrinking
The group consisted of nine people, seven men and two women. Just by looking at them, Yao Jun could see that three of the people in the group came from the Yao clan, three from the Zhuang clan, and three from the Demon race. The weakest person in the group was one of the girls, with a cultivation at the early stage of the 4th Houtian Sky.
But what really caused Yao Jun's pupils to shrink, were the three people who seemed to be the leaders of this group. The first person who seemed to be a leader was a man clad in the black robes of the Yao clan, with long black hair tied into a bun, chiseled features and clear gray eyes, Yao Duan He, the person most likely to become the next Yao clan patriarch.
The second of the three leaders was someone from the Demon race, a male youth who looked like a normal human. He had long black hair tied up into a ponytail, smooth features, and fiery golden eyes that radiated disdain. Gao Zhou Wuhan, the one who was most likely to be the next leader of the Demon race, and the son of the current empress and emperor.
The final of the three leaders was a woman clad in the blue robes of the Zhuang clan. She had long and smooth blue hair, smooth and clean features, cherry red lips, and crimson eyes that constantly swept the surroundings with a curious gaze. Zhuang Shao Ju, the person most likely to be the next matriarch of the Zhuang clan.
Following Yao Duan He were two male youths with burly builds and short shaven hair, they were clad in slightly tattered Yao clan robes. Following Gao Zhou Wuhan were two male youths from the Demon race, one of them a tall and elegant youth who had yellow eyes that resembled a toad's, as well as a slight green tint to his skin. The other youth was more average looking, with shoulder long brown hair, sharp eyes that resembled a wolf's, as well as some brown fur growing on his neck and hands.
Following Zhuang Shao Ju were a male and a female youth clad in clean Zhuang clan robes. The male was a bit short, but his bare upper body showed off his muscles, he had short blue hair and vigilant green eyes. The girl had long blue hair that was shaved short at the sides of her head, a buxom body, and brown eyes that carried an enchanting expression.
“There is no need to attack! I am Song Sito Jun, just a lone wanderer!”
Yao Jun threw out another fake name as he called out, cursing his own terrible luck. First he had encountered Wei Zhong Jun, and now he had encountered these three. Now he only needed to encounter Qiao Xian Yi and he would have encountered all of the five future rulers.
“A lone wanderer? How have you managed to survive here with your low cultivation?”
One of the Yao clan youths looked at Yao Jun with a wary gaze as he questioned him. Most people at the late stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth would not be able to survive in this frozen wasteland, either dying to the cold or dying after being attacked by the powerful Demonic beasts.
“I am able to control ice, so the cold here does not bother me, I can also dig into the ground whenever I sense a Demonic beast approaching, perfectly hiding myself.”
Yao Jun gave a quick explanation, even showing off that he could control ice and sink his own body into the ground. The Yao clan youth nodded his head, looking half-convinced.
“Hey, little boyo. We are heading towards the center of this hidden realm, what do you say to joining us?”
Just when Yao Jun thought they would move along and leave him alone, Zhuang Shao Ju opened her mouth and spoke out in a cheerful voice, causing Yao Jun to mentally curse at her.
“You want him to follow us, with that pitiful strength of his?”
Before Yao Jun could say anything, Gao Zhou Wuhan spoke out, his voice containing a mixture of disdain and confusion. Yao Jun was only at the late stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth, there was no worth in bringing him along. He might even end up being a hindrance when they reached the center of the hidden realm and discovered what had caused a commotion there recently.
“Don't be so rude, Zhou-Zhou, he might have his uses. And if he doesn't, we can just ditch him then, or use him as bait.”
Zhuang Shao Ju pat Gao Zhou Wuhan on the shoulder, speaking with a bright smile. Yao Jun felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly upon hearing her words, especially when he heard what she called Gao Zhou Wuhan.
“I told you not to call me that.”
Gao Zhou Wuhan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zhuang Shao Ju, his voice cold as he talked to her. Yet despite his anger, he did not lash out with an attack or do anything else, simply averting his eyes from her, so it seemed like he was not willing to battle her.
“So?”
Zhuang Shao Ju turned away from Gao Zhou Wuhan and looked at Yao Jun again, sending him a cheerful smile as she asked him once again. Had it been a normal person, she would not bother talking to them like this. But the youth in front of her perfectly matched the youth that Wei Zhong Jun had told her about last time they met, so she figured it was worth a shot to drag him along.
“How could I possibly reject such a gracious offer?”
Yao Jun resisted the urge to put on a wry smile, responding with a polite smile as he continued to mentally curse his own luck. He wanted to move along on his own, to hunt down Guo Jiahao and Guo Zhe, to find Guo Luo. But if he were to refuse Zhuang Shao Ju here, he would look far too suspicious, they might even attack him if they found him too suspicious. Yao Jun was confident he would be able to escape even if they decided to attack him, but there was no telling how wounded he would end up while doing so.
“Excellent! You can call me Senior Sister Ju, that is Zhou-Zhou, and that is Little He.”
Zhuang Shao Ju clapped her hands together with a bright smile, introducing herself and the two other leaders. Hearing how she referred to the two others, Yao Jun once more felt the corners of his mouth twitch.
“The name is Gao Zhou Wuhan, call me Zhou-Zhou and I will turn you to ash.”
Gao Zhou Wuhan turned his golden eyes towards Yao Jun, speaking to him in a cold voice. Yao Jun did not doubt that if he even joked about calling him Zhou-Zhou, Gao Zhou Wuhan would attack him with all his might.
“Yao Duan He.”
Yao Duan He spoke in a low voice, speaking the first words he had said since he arrived here. He did not even look at Yao Jun as he spoke. This was not disdain or disrespect, it was complete disregard. To someone like Yao Duan He, people at the 2nd Mortal Earth were the same as ants or air, not worth of his time.
“I am Song Sito Jun, it is nice to meet you.”
Yao Jun introduced himself once more, putting on a polite smile and giving them a bow. The other people in the group also introduced themselves, and they then started moving again, heading towards the center of the hidden realm.