Dao Companions Help Me Live Forever

Chapter 188: Experiment

One month later.

In the outskirts of the Wan Yao Mountain Range, a temporary camp.

Facing the sudden appearance of Yu Xian, Luo Han's body suddenly froze, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

"Why are you here?"

Yu Xian opened his arms and tightly embraced the bewildered Luo Han, feeling her soft body, and lowered his head affectionately.

"I suddenly missed you, so I came to see you."

Unlike the arrangement for Yu Lan, Luo Han's training took place in the Wan Yao Mountain Range. Due to the special nature of her cultivation technique, alchemy was her way of practicing.

Therefore, she would leave her home and gather herbs, refine pills, and truly understand the growth environment, biological characteristics, and even the accompanying demonic beasts of each medicinal plant in the Wan Yao Mountain Range.

These practical experiences greatly improved her alchemy skills and further enhanced her cultivation technique.

However, in the past, she didn't dare to go out casually, let alone conduct field investigations.

So when Yu Xian wanted to arrange training for her and Yu Lan, she took the initiative to come to the Wan Yao Mountain Range to take a look.

The goal this time was to refine a second-grade spirit pill in the Wan Yao Mountain Range.

For Luo Han's level, refining a spirit pill was not difficult. The difficulty lay in collecting the alchemy materials bit by bit and then refining the pill with a devout heart.

This was destined to be a time-consuming task.

Coupled with the dangers in the Wan Yao Mountain Range, it greatly reduced efficiency.

"I missed you too."

Luo Han buried herself in the man's chest, smelling the familiar scent in his arms, feeling the man's deep affection, and suddenly relaxed.

It was as if as long as she stayed by his side, she would never have to worry about danger and could shelter herself from wind and rain.

This was also the place where she was infatuated with him.

"You just rushed over like this, aren't you afraid of being deceived by mountain spirits using illusions? It would be disastrous if you lost your innocence."

Yu Xian teased with a smile.

He didn't really come to see Luo Han only after missing her.

Seeing her was just a side matter. His real purpose was to test the quasi-third-grade formation he had recently comprehended - the Mist Prison Formation.

But the two things were not conflicting. With a pleasant reason, everyone was happy, so why not do it?

Luo Han snorted, "If I can't even recognize my own man, then I don't need to be an alchemist. There are so many different smells of medicinal herbs, and I can distinguish each one, let alone your scent."

Yu Xian was puzzled, "I have a scent?"

Luo Han said, "Everyone has a scent, but yours is the strangest. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. Recently, I can't smell it at all. But not having a scent is also a kind of scent."

Yu Xian immediately froze, a flash of insight in his mind.

He understood what Luo Han meant by her words. He used to often use deception techniques to enhance his own aura, so his scent would naturally come and go.

After breaking through to the Gold Core stage, the deception technique was imprinted on his Gold Core, and the deception technique never stopped running, hiding his aura. Only a illusory Foundation Building stage aura was revealed, but it was just a facade.

But for Luo Han, she didn't rely solely on her eyes to judge people, but also her nose and heart.

Such a simple truth, he had been ignoring it all along.

He had always wanted to minimize his presence as much as possible, so the purpose of the deception technique was to turn him into a stone.

But little did he know that doing so was actually the biggest flaw.

True concealment should be to blend with the environment and nature, sometimes intentionally leaking one's aura, which was a deeper level of hiding, just like a chameleon.

A new realization surged in his heart.

The technique of deceiving the heavens is about to reach a new level, just a matter of time.

Yu Xian's aura stirred slightly.

"Now what?" asked Luo Han, her nose wrinkling in confusion.

"The scent has returned again? Huh? Is it the scent of Sister Yulan now? Or is it my own scent?" Luo Han raised her head in astonishment.

"How did you do it?" she asked.

Yu Xian smiled mysteriously, "It's not something I can say, not something I can say."

After understanding the principle, it became easier for him to imitate the aura of others.

Especially since both Yulan and Luo Han had deep interactions with him, their auras had merged with each other before, making it even simpler to imitate.

Luo Han pouted and said, "If you don't want to say, then don't say. It's enough for me to know that you are my husband."

Then, a watery tenderness appeared in her eyes.

"You're here, and my heart is in chaos. So, to make it up to me, you must accompany me well!"

She stared at Yu Xian intently, her gaze firm yet tinged with a hint of shyness.

For her personality, to take the initiative to say this much was already quite difficult.

But when she thought about the loneliness she had experienced in the mountains these past few days, as well as the tension and unease in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, Luo Han felt her heart pounding uncontrollably, overwhelmed by an irresistible impulse.

Yu Xian was slightly taken aback, but his hand was already familiarly sliding down her back.

"Of course, I will accompany you well," he said.

After speaking, he looked at the male and female cultivators standing behind Luo Han.

"You two have worked hard these past few days. Now, Luo Dan and I have some private matters to attend to. Please excuse us."

The male and female cultivators were both Foundation Building cultivators, assigned by Yu Xian to protect Luo Han.

The man came from the Demon Hunting Squad and was named Zheng Qiusheng. He was over 120 years old and his cultivation was in the early stage of Foundation Building, but he was considered an experienced Foundation Building cultivator with formidable strength.

After all, these Foundation Building cultivators who had accumulated years of experience all had their own trump cards.

Nowadays, his son worked in the Taxation Department, and their family relied on the City Lord's Mansion. The whole family lived in Shangyang City.

He could be considered a typical middle-aged office worker, burdened with the responsibilities of children and family. Therefore, he was quite reliable.

The woman was named Wan Yanyan and came from the Wan family, known for their beast taming skills.

However, she was only in her fifties and was a newly promoted member of the Foundation Building stage. She excelled in beast taming and had a second-tier beast and several high-quality first-tier beasts under her command.

After the establishment of the Taxation Department, she was recommended by the Wan family to join the department. Not long ago, she made a breakthrough in Foundation Building and then signed a twenty-year work contract.

Because she was a woman and familiar with the habits of demonic beasts, Yu Xian chose her from within the Taxation Department to assist Luo Han.

"No problem, Lord Manager," the two of them nodded.

Obviously, they also knew who the boss was.

But Wan Yanyan's gaze lingered on Yu Xian a bit longer, subtly straightening her chest to show off her beautiful figure.

They were still unaware of what had happened in Shangyang City these past few days, but it didn't affect their awe towards the Lord Manager.

Especially Wan Yanyan.

After breaking through to the Foundation Building stage, she clearly felt that her progress in cultivation had slowed down.

Moreover, in order to break through to Foundation Building, she had almost exhausted her savings and signed a work contract with the Taxation Department that had extremely low compensation.

If she could get close to the Lord Manager, even if it was just a good position arranged for her within the Taxation Department, her future life would be much better.

But she was still too reserved, so the Lord Manager naturally ignored her.

...

Temporary camp.

Under the hastily arranged silent formation.

The air gradually became quiet, as if only their breaths remained.

The two embraced each other, speaking in whispers.

Luohan looked at Yu Xian's profile, as if she had noticed something. Beneath his gentle smile, there was a hidden sense of sadness, so she casually brought it up.

"How is Sister Lan doing lately?"

The only person she could think of who could affect her husband's emotions was Yulan.

Yu Xian, with one hand on the pillow, stared at the patterns on the tent, casually saying,

"Yulan has been on a mission recently and hasn't come back for quite some time."

Taking advantage of the situation, Luohan pretended to be resentful and said,

"So I'm just a backup, huh?"

But Yu Xian couldn't tolerate it and lightly slapped her.

"It seems I still haven't tamed you."

His smile gradually became wicked.

Luohan quickly begged for mercy, "I surrender, I surrender. Husband is the best in the world."

Seeing this, Yu Xian burst into laughter.

Indeed, he was still a vulgar man. The last bit of frustration left over from the matter with Master Liu had completely disappeared.

Unknowingly, it had become dark.

...

The next day.

A ancient and primitive tree, about thirty to forty meters tall, big enough for more than ten people to embrace. Its bark was dark and faintly emitted a metallic luster.

Even with four people standing on its thick branches, it didn't seem crowded.

"Lord Supervisor, that is the territory of the Silverback Rampage Ape group, Rampage Ape Mountain. It is said that the old Ape King inside almost crossed the Demon King's Thunder Tribulation.

But it seems that something unexpected happened later, the old Ape King didn't break through, but also didn't die.

However, the strength of the old Ape King is not comparable to ordinary second-order demonic beasts. My Golden Fur Mouse trembles all over every time it gets close here, sending me a warning signal."

Wan Yanyan had a snow-white Golden Fur Mouse on her shoulder, about the size of a palm, cute and lazy, currently swaying its tail.

Golden Fur Mice have a bloodline talent for danger warning, and they have a gentle temperament. Many cultivators who can afford it like to keep one if conditions permit.

When Yu Xian killed a formation master while fishing, he kept a Golden Fur Mouse. He initially obtained his formation inheritance from that person.

"It's okay, I just want to test it out."

After hearing Wan Yanyan's introduction, Yu Xian became very interested in the Silverback Rampage Ape King.

He wanted to test the power of the formation. If his strength was too weak, it would be useless, but if it was too strong, he wouldn't dare.

An old ape king with strength close to that of a Demon King was perfect.

Without waiting for the others to answer, Yu Xian landed on the ground and floated towards Rampage Ape Mountain like a feather.

Silverback Rampage Apes are a type of ape-like demonic beast and one of the main peripheral demonic beast tribes. They mostly have gray and black fur.

Once they break through to the second-order bloodline, they will grow long silver-white fur on their backs, which has a hidden aura effect.

Previously, Zhao Laozu was ambushed by a second-order silver-white Rampage Ape, which led to a series of changes in the Zhao family.

Yu Xian recalled the information about the Silverback Rampage Ape in his mind as he entered Rampage Ape Mountain.

The trees in Rampage Ape Mountain were thick, mostly made of ironwood and tung wood, both of which were hard varieties. Judging by their age, many were over a hundred years old, belonging to first-order spirit wood.

There were even some second-order spirit woods that were five to six hundred years old.

In other words, there was at least one second-order spirit vein beneath Rampage Ape Mountain.

Compared to the barren world of cultivation in Shangyang City, even just a branch of the Wan Yao Mountain Range appears to be rich in resources.

"Yao beasts cannot reach the third stage, so they cannot transform into human form and cannot utilize the natural resources bestowed by the heavens and earth like human cultivators. They cannot possess skills such as alchemy and artifact refining to turn these external objects into various resources. They can only make limited use of some spiritual flowers, rare herbs, spiritual springs, and other spiritual objects. If these spiritual woods were obtained by human cultivators, they could be quickly turned into talismans and refining materials. The resources in the Wan Yao Mountain Range are abundant, and it is impossible for knowledgeable human cultivators not to take advantage of them. However, judging from the attitude of the young Yao girl named Yue Xiaoxiao earlier, it is likely that the high-level human cultivators have already reached a cooperation with the upper-level Yao clans."

Various thoughts flashed through Yu Xian's mind. The technique of deceiving heaven was constantly operating within him.

Moreover, the silver fur he had obtained from a mid-stage second-level Silverback Rampaging Ape before was a close imitation of the aura of the Rampaging Ape.

Therefore, he went straight to the depths of the Rampaging Ape Mountain without encountering any accidents.

"It should be here."

Yu Xian saw a valley ahead, with two black-furred Rampaging Apes guarding the entrance, busy picking at each other's lice.

Looking up at the sky above the valley with his spiritual eyes, he saw a thick aura of death and an endless scent of blood rising, as if there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood hidden within.

He was very familiar with this as he practiced the Blood Demon Dao.

His body gradually disappeared, using the invisibility technique.

However, the invisibility technique was not a pure disappearance of the physical body, but rather similar to that of a chameleon.

The two Rampaging Apes were focused on picking at lice and didn't notice that someone had already entered the valley.

...

Deep in the valley.

There was a roughly made thatched hut, with a crooked roof that seemed like it could collapse at any moment.

Behind the thatched hut, there was a spring that turned into a small stream.

A skinny old ape, only a little over two meters tall, was sitting cross-legged in front of the stream, resembling a human. He closed his eyes in meditation, and the surrounding spiritual energy flowed into his body with a certain fluctuation, constantly tempering his physical body and increasing his demonic power, just like human cultivators who absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Suddenly, the old ape opened his eyes, a hint of doubt flashing through them.

He felt that the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to have undergone some changes. Then, he saw white mist suddenly appearing in the void, seemingly endless, occupying his entire field of vision.

"Formation?!"

The old ape was greatly shocked and stood up straight. His eyes turned red, but he didn't have the ferocity and cruelty of an ordinary Rampaging Ape. Instead, he had a sense of wisdom and calmness.

"Who visits my Rampaging Ape Mountain?"

This old ape could actually speak.

Speaking was one of the signs of a Demon King.

As the white mist churned, a tall bald man walked out. His eyes were calm and emotionless, but his voice was full of humanity.

"You can actually speak, but it seems that your demonic power has not reached the level of a Demon King?"

The old ape breathed a sigh of relief when he saw someone appear.

"When I was crossing the Thunder Tribulation of the Demon King, I luckily refined a horizontal bone in my throat, so naturally, I can speak like a fellow cultivator. I wonder why the friend has come to my Rampaging Ape Mountain? I have always been cultivating in the mountains and have never offended any human cultivators. But it seems that the friend is not here for a friendly visit?"

The bald man twisted his neck and made a cracking sound.

"It doesn't matter, let's fight first and then talk."

The white mist spread out from under the bald man's feet and quickly transformed into chains of mist, attacking the old ape.

I'm not feeling well today, so I only managed to write four thousand characters after struggling for a long time. I'll make up for it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)