Chapter Ninety-Four: The Overlaid Death Pact

Gu Feng returned to the entrance of the treasury with a grim face. Under Wind Wan'er’s frightened gaze, he had the system preserve the bodies, then rose into the air and sped toward Wolf King City.

According to the system’s calculations, even at full speed, it would take him a day and a half to reach Wolf King City.

Gu Feng’s heart was exceedingly heavy. In the blink of an eye, three people at his side were dead, and Gu Yan had been abducted. He blamed it all on his own carelessness. If he had brought them into the treasury together with him, none of this would have happened. If he had sent them away first, perhaps this tragedy still might have been avoided.

In short, Gu Feng was deeply self-reproachful.

The shortest route to Wolf King City passed through the Sakda Mountains. Legend said that Sakda was the name of a nonhuman lifeform; in order to save humanity, he had sacrificed himself in these mountains. To commemorate him, people named this range after him.

The mountains were filled with eerie strangeness. Unless one was a true expert, at least at the level of a Great Spiritual Master, ordinary people who passed through this place would easily lose their way, even if they flew overhead.

Precisely because of the mountains’ unusual nature, they contained many precious natural treasures, drawing countless adventurers in to test their luck.

For an adventurer, it was like buying a lottery ticket. Hitting once was enough.

Seven hours later, Gu Feng flew to the mountain range and, without the slightest hesitation, went straight in.

Someone who saw him fly inside sneered to a companion, “Look, another rookie. He’s in for a rough time.”

“Why do you care? Is it your job to save him if he’s unlucky?”

“Tch. If it were a beauty, maybe I’d go save her.”

What had been a clear, cloudless sky suddenly filled with dense mist. Looking up, Gu Feng found himself surrounded.

“Old man, what’s going on?”

“Mist realm.”

“What the hell is a mist realm?”

“It can form illusions, mazes, in short, it bewilders any lifeform that enters it. If you can’t get out, the creatures within will attack you until you die.”

“How does it form?”

“There are many ways. Demonic plants, terrain, all sorts of things can do it.”

“Just tell me how to break it. I don’t have time to waste here.”

“Fly straight down. Remember, it must be perfectly vertical. Forget it, I’ll give you laser guidance. See this laser line? Just follow it.”

Gu Feng followed the laser downward.

Soon, a stone wall appeared ahead.

Looking at it, Gu Feng asked, “Old man, are you sure this is right?”

“Just follow the laser. Don’t deviate, no matter what.”

Gu Feng circulated his spiritual energy and slammed hard into the wall.

He went right through it. The impact he had expected never came.

He continued flying downward. One after another, he encountered fields of lava, lakes, ice caverns, snake pits, primeval beasts... all manner of deadly environments.

Gu Feng, following the laser, pressed on without fear.

Ding dong! This time, Gu Feng actually hit something solid. Flattened against the dirt, he got up, leaving behind a human-shaped imprint on the ground.

At that moment, a gigantic flower covered in teeth lunged at him.

If it bit down, even three Gu Fengs would not have been enough to fill its mouth.

Gu Feng was shocked. Remembering that plants feared fire, he instantly unleashed his fire element. Like a volcanic eruption, flames over two meters high burst from his body in an instant.

But the plant did not retreat at the sight of fire. Instead, it spat a viscous, saliva-like substance at Gu Feng.

Caught off guard, Gu Feng was instantly hit. The flames were actually extinguished by the spray, and no matter how he circulated his spiritual energy, it was useless.

Before he could even feel disgusted, the flower’s enormous mouth had already snapped down.

Staring at those sharp teeth, Gu Feng had no doubt that if he were bitten, he would be reduced to pulp.

“Damn it! What now?”

“I’ve got it.”

Gu Feng quickly exchanged for an extra-thick large iron pot and covered himself with it.

The flower bit down hard on the iron pot.

Crack...

The flower’s teeth were far sharper than Gu Feng had imagined.

The large iron pot was actually bitten through, and the tremendous force distorted its shape.

Seeing that the iron pot could no longer hold, Gu Feng had no choice but to exchange for a smaller one and try to endure a little longer.

Crack!

For reasons unknown, the flower’s strength grew even more terrifying. The second iron pot was bitten apart in a single strike.

“No! Damn it, no!”

Gu Feng was utterly unwilling to accept it. Though he would not die, Gu Yan was in the hands of thieves, and at a time like this, every second mattered more than anything else. What good would resurrection do? It had a distance limit. Gu Feng regretted not placing his resurrection coordinates on Gu Yan; otherwise, he could have killed himself and revived directly beside her.

“I want to activate the self-death contract!”

“Calm down, kid. How many times have I told you? This is an illusion. Do you understand?”

All at once, the huge flower that had been biting him vanished. Before his eyes now stood only an enormous tree, exuding white mist.

“See? Everything you encountered was its doing.”

“It has life?”

“A tree that has become a demon. Tell me, does it have life or not?”

“What should I do?”

“Enrage it! Obtain the death contract. If you can use the death contract on it, I guarantee your cultivation will rise by at least five levels.”

“How do I enrage it?”

Five levels of advancement was too tempting for Gu Feng. He had to enrage it.

“That’s your problem.”

“Fine.”

Gu Feng walked toward the tree. Still believing trees feared fire, he circulated his spiritual energy and sent a blaze surging toward it.

The tree did not react at all, just like an ordinary tree, allowing Gu Feng to burn it as he pleased.

He burned for a long while, but it did no good.

“Not afraid of fire? Then I’ll add some fertilizer.”

Gu Feng strode over, loosened his trousers, and started pissing directly onto it.

When he finished, there was only a puff of white smoke, and still no effect.

“Not afraid of piss? Then I’ll use my sword.”

He drew his giant spiritual weapon sword and began hacking at it furiously.

The clang of the blows rang far into the distance.

After several strikes, Gu Feng looked closely and discovered that not even a mark had been left behind.

The tree remained utterly unresponsive.

“I still don’t believe it.”

So Gu Feng tried every method he could think of—poisons, corrosive potions... everything usable, he used.

The tree still gave no reaction whatsoever.

“Damn it! Old man, tell me, is this tree asleep?”

“Now you’ve got it right. It really is asleep. Let me remind you: as long as you can wake it, that counts as enraging it.”

“Wait, let me ask you something. What level is this tree?”

“Level? Let me tell you, it’s not very high. Sixty-two.”

“What? Sixty-two? You want me to wake it up? That’s suicide! The death contract only works up to a limit of ten levels, don’t you remember?”

“Oh right, I forgot to mention: as long as the system recognizes it, that limitation does not apply. Forget sixty-two levels—even at one hundred, it will still work. Go ahead and give it a try. You must wake it up.”

“Fine! Then I’ll use my ultimate move.”