Chapter 39: Followers of the Crimson Emperor
Chapter 39: Followers of the Crimson Emperor
The four ran swiftly, climbing up the hill through the trees in the forest, and from their vantage point atop the slope, they could observe the surroundings for any signs of movement.
Ren Mian glanced at Ji Xinghuo, and seeing him nod to indicate that it was safe, she said, "Let's take a break and regain our strength."
"Huff..."
Chi Zhonglin set down his heavy backpack, cursing between breaths, "What's wrong with those forest patrol tribe members? They just attacked us out of the blue."
"It's not surprising," said Ren Mian gravely. "They are probably followers of the Crimson Emperor."
As she spoke, she took out a small grass seed and planted it on the ground. It quickly grew into a lush green plant, its leaves glowing and shedding a radiant light that invigorated the body and soothed fatigue, quickly restoring their lost energy.
Ji Xinghuo had seen this plant before, known as the "Millennium Green."
In addition to restoring stamina and relieving fatigue, Millennium Green could also heal minor injuries, and it was a staple for almost all plant witches.
"Followers of the Crimson Emperor..."
Chi Zhonglin felt the refreshing sensation of his restored energy, but his face remained grim. "What bad luck! The forest patrol tribe members I've met before were always so friendly. I can't believe they would also worship the Crimson Emperor and become heretics."
Ji Xinghuo and Jiang Nancai's faces also turned somber.
The Crimson Emperor was a Stellar God.
In the Star Realm, there existed beings of immense and supreme power, revered by the alien races as Stellar Gods, to whom they bowed down in worship, becoming their followers.
The power of the Stellar Gods was akin to mythology, reaching the heavens and the earth, and beyond imagination! The strengths of the Stellar Gods varied, with some stronger than others, but four of them were acknowledged as the strongest, most terrifying, and oldest. Their followers were spread throughout the Star Realm, their names renowned, and their faith had even infiltrated the Milky Way Galaxy, amassing millions of devotees!
These four Stellar Gods were collectively known as the Lords of the Star Realm.
And the Crimson Emperor was one of them.
The Crimson Emperor's full divine name was "Luyuan Chidi," and he had countless other divine names.
The God of War, the God of Anger, the Master of Madness, the Blood Drinker, the Destroyer, the King of Slaughter, and many more—these were just some of the more well-known titles, and among the various alien races in the Star Realm, there were countless other names for him.
The Crimson Emperor's power ranked first among the Lords.
He had an insatiable thirst for battle and slaughter, and those who fought and killed in his name might earn his favor.
Thus, the followers of the Crimson Emperor were fearless and reckless, filled with an uncontrollable anger towards their enemies and the world, which granted them immense destructive power.
At the same time, the Crimson Emperor valued courage and glory, admired the weak who dared to rise against the strong, and encouraged challenging all authority.
Even on Earth, there were followers of the Stellar Gods.
Initially, it was the aliens in the Star Realm who worshiped the Stellar Gods, and when they returned to Earth, they brought their faith with them, spreading it secretly.
The worship of Stellar Gods was harmful, as it eroded one's will like a plague, eventually leading to disaster.
The countries of Earth denounced these followers as "heretics" and worked tirelessly to eradicate them.
However, the allure of the Stellar Gods was immense, especially the Lords, whose heretics were like weeds that couldn't be completely eradicated. Every now and then, they would resurface and make headlines.
But in the Star Realm, worshiping Stellar Gods or Lords was commonplace, and many alien races followed them openly without hiding.
The followers of the four great Lords were particularly troublesome, and once entangled, it was extremely difficult to break free.
The followers of the Crimson Emperor were known for their brutality.
Without a doubt, the forest patrol tribe would pursue them upon discovering the deaths of their three members. The tribe had a keen sense of smell, and the most skilled among them could detect a target's scent from several kilometers away, making it challenging to shake them off in the intricate forest.
"Little Chi, get out the deodorant," Ren Mian instructed.
Chi Zhonglin rummaged through his backpack and quickly found a spray can, which he used to spritz everyone from head to toe.
Earlier, Ren Mian had stuck a "Sweat-Absorbing Orchid Leaf" on the back of each person's hand, capable of absorbing body odor, and in combination with the deodorant, it completely eliminated their scent.
"Rest for another five minutes, then we need to get as far away from the forest patrol tribe's settlement as possible to avoid being caught up to," Ren Mian said, glancing at her mechanical watch.
Ji Xinghuo nodded slightly, his vision opening up the interface of the Myriads Star Pupil.
When he had shot and killed the forest patrol tribe members earlier, he had sensed the absorption of spiritual source power, and now he saw that he had gained a total of 23 points!
"So much!" Ji Xinghuo exclaimed in surprise.
The strongest of the three forest patrol tribe members, the male who had undergone three life evolutions, equivalent to an advanced alien on Earth, was very powerful. However, his magnetic field intensity was similar to that of an elite Shadow Roaming Spider, and Ji Xinghuo had expected him to provide around 4 points of spiritual source power, but he had actually gained 15 points, nearly four times more.
The other two female forest patrol tribe members, who had undergone two evolutions each, had provided 4 points of spiritual source power each.
"Is it because the forest patrol tribe has higher intelligence than monsters?" Ji Xinghuo speculated inwardly, but he felt that this wasn't the whole reason.
In terms of intelligence, the female forest patrol tribe members were not far behind the male, yet the gap in their strength and the spiritual source power they provided was disproportionate.
"Could it be because of their faith?" Ji Xinghuo couldn't be sure, but he suddenly thought of the first person he had killed, Jizong Bang, a super alien who had also seemed unusual.
Jizong Bang had provided 137 points of spiritual source power, which now seemed like an extraordinarily high amount.
The amount of spiritual source power gained seemed to be somewhat related to one's strength, but it wasn't the primary deciding factor.
"Let's keep moving."
While their stamina had only partially recovered, they couldn't afford to delay any longer.
Ji Xinghuo kept his magnetic field perception active at all times, channeling all 23 points of spiritual source power he had just obtained into the rotating magnetic field. With a progress of 140/359, the range of his magnetic field perception expanded slightly, and his body quietly strengthened as they traveled.
After more than an hour, the team had crossed over two mountains.
As Ji Xinghuo turned a mountain ridge, a vast expanse opened up before him, revealing a chain of endless mountains in the distance.
The breathtaking scenery relaxed the quartet's mood a little.
"That's the direction we came from." Standing at a higher vantage point, Ren Mian pointed back the way they had come. Ji Xinghuo jumped to her side, gazing into the distance, taking in the peaks and forests as far as the eye could see, his Myriads Star Pupil scanning the landscape like a radar for any signs of movement.
His gaze paused for a moment, and at the foot of a mountain, he spotted something.
"The Forest Patrol Tribe!"
Ji Xinghuo pointed in that direction, and after comparing the terrain, he said, "If we had kept going for another two or three kilometers earlier, we would have entered their tribe."
"You can see that from so far away?"
Chi Zhonglin was incredulous. He placed his hand on his forehead, squinting as he tried to make out what Ji Xinghuo was seeing. All he could see was a stretch of green trees, and he had no idea where the tribe was located. "That's at least fifteen kilometers away..." he muttered.
Ren Mian also looked at him with surprise. She could only vaguely make out some contours.
If Ji Xinghuo hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have been able to identify the tribe either.
Realizing his slip-up, Ji Xinghuo said, "I only noticed their movement because of the clear weather today, the unobstructed view, and our elevated position."
Without further questions, Ren Mian drew a line on the map and said, "We need to detour around this tribe's territory."
"We should get going now," Ji Xinghuo suddenly said.
In the distance, he had spotted a group of about a dozen Forest Patrol Tribe members running through the forest, climbing towards the mountain ridge where they were.
They were only six or seven kilometers away.
The Forest Patrol Tribe relied on hunting for their livelihood, and even without the scent, they could track down their prey using their rich experience, albeit at a slower pace.
The three teammates' expressions changed, and they turned to run.
This game of cat and mouse lasted for three days—and in the Star Realm, each day was equivalent to a day and a half on Earth, making it six Earth days in total.
From daytime to starlit nights and then to darkness, they traveled day and night, resting for a maximum of ten minutes at a time, with no time to eat, let alone sleep. They could only catch a few minutes of shut-eye occasionally.
Even with Ren Mian's various plants for quick recovery of stamina and spirit, under such high-intensity pursuit, the group's condition deteriorated significantly.
Their physical energy, stellar power, and willpower were all but depleted, and their traveling speed inevitably slowed down.
"Rest for ten minutes."
As soon as Ren Mian finished speaking, Chi Zhonglin plopped down on the ground, his face worn out and bloodshot eyes, his entire frame looking thinner than before.
Aside from her pale complexion, Jiang Nancai seemed to be in decent shape, but that was only on the surface; in reality, she was extremely weak.
Ji Xinghuo was also nearing his limit.
He had to keep the rotating magnetic field active at all times, which left him mentally exhausted, with a slight throbbing pain in his head.
Only Ren Mian remained unchanged, still radiating vitality.
"Those Forest Patrol Tribe members should also be reaching their limit soon," Ren Mian said, gazing into the distant forest and then at Ji Xinghuo.
These stubborn forest hunters were tenacious adversaries. If not for Ji Xinghuo, who always detected their approach in advance and allowed the team to detour accordingly, they would have been caught by now.
After three consecutive days of pursuit, the two groups had traveled over four hundred kilometers away from the Forest Patrol Tribe's settlement, far beyond its territorial reach.
Only less than ten persistent tribe members were still in pursuit.
Ji Xinghuo looked up at the sky and suddenly said, "It might rain tonight."
Chi Zhonglin's face lit up at the prospect. He had just noticed the changing weather, and he exclaimed, "If it rains, we can finally shake off those pesky followers of the Crimson Emperor!"
The rain would not only wash away their scent but also obscure their tracks.
They had been longing for rain, and now it finally seemed within reach.
However, Ren Mian shook her head. "Even without the rain, they won't be able to catch up. But if it does rain, we'll take this opportunity to make them pay for these past few days of relentless pursuit."
"You mean... take them out?"
Chi Zhonglin hesitated, worried that there might be high-ranked powerhouses among their pursuers.
"If there were any legendary-ranked members of the Forest Patrol Tribe chasing us, they would have made their move by now," Ren Mian asserted confidently. "We'll observe them from the shadows first. If there are no legends, we'll strike. What do you all think?"
Jiang Nancai was the first to voice her agreement. "I'll follow Sister Ren's decision."
"Good!"
Chi Zhonglin added vehemently, "They've been chasing us for so long. We must teach them a lesson and vent our anger, or I won't be able to sleep a wink when I get back to Earth."
"What about you, Xinghuo?" Ren Mian asked.
Ji Xinghuo slowly stood up, his eyes gleaming, and replied, "I'll do whatever Sister Ren decides."
(End of Chapter)
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