228: Chapter 228 Nourishing Spirit Mushroom

Deep within the Northern Territory.

This was the edge of the Demon race's territory, where sinister demonic qi drifted in the air, and wherever one looked, there were only withered trees.

Shen Xingchen and the other four walked along a rugged path.

They all used the "mirage veil" to disguise themselves as Shadow Demon Wolves, advancing toward Dark Moon Valley in a very low-profile manner.

Originally, Fengwu Squad felt that Shen Xingchen was only at the sixth rank and might not be able to keep up with their pace, but after an entire day, Shen Xingchen maintained his rhythm perfectly.

"You are the strongest sixth-rank I have ever seen," Xie Yunshan praised.

Shen Xingchen modestly said, "It was all just luck."

Xie Yunshan shook her head, "Luck cannot build such a solid martial arts foundation; it must be the result of a combination of good talent and day-and-night effort."

Shen Xingchen did not refute, "Mm… I have always been working hard in places you cannot see."

There was nothing wrong with this sentence, right? Who could see him cultivating in the system! ?

This was a montage-style lie—the words spoken were all true, but listening to them would yield different effects for different people.

Xie Yunshan extended her thumb, giving a fierce thumbs-up.

After a day of getting along, Shen Xingchen had become more or less familiar with the people in the squad.

Xie Yunshan was a caring elder sister type, very meticulous in her actions, managing various trivial matters within the team.

Sometimes when Chen Meier made a mistake on trivial matters, she would be nagged by Xie Yunshan a couple of times.

Dong Cheng was a very honest man, married, and had a cute son, but they gathered little and parted much, and his wife always complained.

As for An Ran… she was much bolder and uninhibited.

In just one day, Shen Xingchen was shocked by her dirty jokes; they were simply too dense.

By now, An Ran had evolved to the point where she didn't need to tell jokes anymore; she only needed to smile, and Shen Xingchen knew she was driving again…

Having just passed through a wasteland.

Suddenly, several scarlet figures rushed over from ahead.

Shen Xingchen and the others immediately concentrated and guarded against danger, but their footsteps did not stop.

If they stopped to observe upon seeing a few members of the Demon race, it would appear very suspicious; rushing straight through without a care was the best decision at the moment.

"Hey! You few!"

Those scarlet figures did not easily let Shen Xingchen and the others go.

Shen Xingchen and the others had no choice but to stop and confront them.

Chen Meier stood at the very front, speaking with a hoarse voice, "Is there something you need?"

Those were thirteen Blood Demon Apes, which were considered a medium-to-high bloodline among the Demon race, and their status was slightly higher than that of the Shadow Demon Wolves.

The leading Blood Demon Ape asked, "How did your patriarch teach you? Seeing us of the noble Blood Demon Ape race, you don't even greet us?"

Chen Meier slightly bowed, "Greetings, Blood Demon Commander. We are merely passing by and have important matters on hand, so please do not make things difficult for us."

Actually, these Blood Demon Apes were only at the seventh rank, and Fengwu Squad could easily resolve them. However, if they truly started fighting, it would inevitably disturb the surrounding Demon race, which would outweigh the gains.

The Blood Demon Ape Commander asked imperiously, "What important matters could you possibly have?"

Chen Meier curtsied and said, "This involves our clan's secrets, so it is inconvenient to say more."

The Blood Demon Ape Commander said disdainfully, "Isn't it just that your patriarch is secretly advancing to the ninth rank? Making such a trivial matter all mysterious."

Chen Meier feigned stepping back half a step, her wolf face revealing an incredulous expression, "Commander… This is our clan's secret, how… did you find out?"

This posture perfectly matched the Blood Demon Ape Commander's expectations, granting its vanity immense satisfaction.

The Blood Demon Ape Commander raised its head even higher, "Heh!"

This laughter hid three parts mockery, three parts disdain, and even a tiny bit of sympathy.

Chen Meier pretended to be flustered, "Commander… You must definitely not tell anyone."

The Blood Demon Ape Commander waved its hand, "Got it, got it. You guys can leave."

It felt that these Shadow Demon Wolves were truly too weak, weak to the point of being a bit boring.

Chen Meier waved at the others.

Everyone let out a long sigh of relief simultaneously; finally, no major accidents were triggered.

Suddenly.

The Blood Demon Ape Commander suddenly turned around, its eyes staring intently at the group, "Why have I never seen you guys in the Northern Territory?"

The footsteps of Fengwu Squad all stiffened, and they turned around.

Everyone clenched their fists; if there was anything amiss, their spiritual power would roar out.

Chen Meier smiled, "Our clan has a total of 800,000 demons, it's impossible for you to know every single one of them."

The Blood Demon Ape Commander scratched its head, "Is that so?"

"That's right."

The Blood Demon Ape Commander waved its hand, "That makes some sense, forget it, forget it."

Finishing its words, the Blood Demon Ape Commander led its subordinates and walked in another direction.

Dong Cheng spat and said, "If we met on the battlefield, such weak little things would dare to order us around?"

Chen Meier stomped her foot in anger, "You guys have it easy. Having to say 'you' to these filthy things is what's truly disgusting."

Shen Xingchen chuckled, "Not gonna lie, Sister Meier, you disguised yourself as a Shadow Demon Wolf quite convincingly."

"You still dare to laugh!" Chen Meier looked coldly at Shen Xingchen.

An Ran continued to fan the flames, "Oh my, earlier it was Sister Chen, but now it's changed to Sister Meier. In a few days, will you be calling Team Leader Chen just Meier?"

A previously normal form of address instantly became ambiguous after she put it that way.

Xie Yunshan also looked at Shen Xingchen with a smile.

Their Fengwu Squad currently had two members absent, totaling seven people, configured as five women and two men.

Dong Cheng was a taciturn person, and although another male member wasn't married, he belonged to the category of an old hand, completely uninteresting.

This Shen Xingchen… this time he had truly walked right into the tiger's den.

Shen Xingchen glanced at Chen Meier and said sheepishly, "How would I dare?"

An Ran continued to press the attack, "Oh, so it's not daring rather than not wanting to."

Shen Xingchen raised his hands in surrender, "Whatever you guys want me to call her, I'll call her."

In the clash against the older women, he was defeated once more, leaving behind a humiliating scene.

An Ran said with a giggle, "Then call me Wife."

Shen Xingchen widened his eyes, "？？？"

Xie Yunshan finally couldn't bear to watch anymore, "Let him go, he's still a child."

Only then did An Ran reluctantly stop her teasing.

The group continued walking along the established route.

This covert route was truly too desolate; if they weren't all martial artists with decent cultivation, they would probably have been delayed for a long time.

Even so, it took the group two days just to walk half the distance.

The group was just planning to pick a cave to rest for a bit.

They happened to hear the sounds of fighting coming from afar.

Shen Xingchen carefully hid behind a huge rock and looked toward the distance.

Those were a few Blood Demon Apes; judging by their appearance, they were precisely the squad they had encountered earlier.

Opposite them was another team that looked like birds, pitch-black all over with wings growing on their backs—the Double-winged Demons, which were relatively common among the Demon race.

Right in the dead center of the two teams was a blood pool.

Inside the blood pool, a spiritual plant glowing all over with spiritual light was growing there. The spiritual plant was blood-red, exuding a fragrance that made people drool.

Shen Xingchen recognized it at the very first instance… That was the spirit nourishing ganoderma!