Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Having managed to successfully slip past the Land Creation Realm cultivator and the rest of the cultivators who had been blocking his path, Xuan Hao didn't linger around any longer than necessary. Leaving the second the demon beast that had originally been chasing after him launched itself forward in a brutal attack on the shocked Land Creation Realm cultivator who was still in the process of taking in what had just happened and how he had ended up being exploited by someone who was not only far weaker than himself, but also in a disadvantages position that should never have allowed him to do what he had ended up doing.

Maybe more importantly than everything else was the realization that the main reason that Xuan Hao had managed to succeed in slipping past him and turning him into the new target of the demon beast was none other than himself.

If he had just waited instead of blowing up the demon beast corpse, he had assumed to be some kind of peace offering, he wouldn't have ended up in his current situation where he was helpless to try and stop Xuan Hao from escaping.

As for relying on his subordinates to chase after and deal with Xuan Hao? The Land Creation Realm cultivator didn't even think about doing something like that, as they were still needed to form a defensive line to protect the weaker members of the expedition and the supplies that were stored with them.

Not to mention, even if they had the opportunity to chase after Xuan Hao, the Land Creation Realm cultivator felt doubtful they would be able to catch him. After all, the terrifying speed he had displayed just now had even surprised someone at the Land Creation Realm like himself, let alone those subordinates under him.

With that kind of speed, he simply didn't see any way for his subordinates to successfully catch Xuan Hao even if they had the opportunity to chase after him.

Because of this, the Land Creation Realm cultivator ultimately decided to focus his full attention on dealing with the demon beast with assistance from his subordinates to ensure that the battle was in his favor. Dealing with Xuan Hao was something for the future when he finished his expedition into the Verdant Abyss and could make full use of his faction's power to find Xuan Hao and punish him accordingly.

At the end of the day, even though he didn't really intend to engage in combat with such a powerful demon beast. Now that the opportunity had presented itself and he had no way to avoid a drawn-out battle, he fully intended on winning, as only by claiming the precious bones and blood of the demon beast in front of him would he feel that not everything was a worst-case scenario.

The worth of a Land Creation level demon beast corpse was more than enough to soothe his hurt ego after he had been hoodwinked by someone weaker than himself to fight for him.

…

At the same time that the Land Creation Realm cultivator was coming to terms with what had happened and began to focus his full attention on trying to kill the demon beast that was going all out trying to kill him after it had concluded that he was the master mind behind it's child's death, Xuan Hao found himself relaxing as he clearly sensed the two powerful beings clashing violently with each other without chasing after him. Knowing from the fact that none of them had chased after him yet, that he had managed to successfully dump the terrifying demon beast onto the Land Creation Realm cultivator he had run into by accident.

Although part of him did feel bad about it, he also understood that this was a great opportunity for the Land Creation Realm cultivator to not only grow through combat but also kill a powerful demon beast without too much of a risk due to how far from the core of the Verdant Abyss the battle was taking place.

To be honest, if not for the fact that he had been used by him, the Land Creation Realm cultivator would properly feel grateful to encounter such a demon beast far from the core of the Verdant Abyss. After all, it did make a difference whether you encountered the demon beast by chance, or someone dumped it on you before running away.

Oh well… I will apologize to him in the future if I have the chance or find a way to lend him a hand. Maybe if he encounters a similar situation to me when I'm stronger…

Smiling a bit wryly to himself as he thought this to himself, Xuan Hao quickly shook his head before he turned his attention towards the master disciple pair whom he was still carrying around with his domain.

Considering everything that had just happened and the fact that he had travelled far too fast for the two of them to sense what was happening outside some terrifyingly powerful demon beast chasing after them, it was a given that the two of them were in a state of complete confusion as they looked around like a bunch of helpless chickens, still not aware of who it was that had ended up picking them up before escaping from the terrifying demon beast that had seemingly appeared out of thin air.

Even though he did want to explain things to the two of them, he didn't really have the time to do so now, as he was still far too close to the battle between the Land Creation Realm cultivator and the demon beast.

Whoosh-!

Because of this, Huo Fen and Meng Jie were forced to silently observe their rapidly changing surroundings without the slightest clue as to what was happening or where they were going.

In the end, this quiet journey through the ancient forest of the Verdant Abyss lasted for two hours before Xuan Hao finally felt that he had travelled far enough away to be safe even if the battle taking place deeper in the Verdant Abyss came to an end. Not just because of how far away he now was, but more so because it would be difficult for either of them to track him now that he had travelled far beyond the area that their divine sense covered.

The demon beast corpse that the powerful demon beast clashing with the Land Creation Realm cultivator might have used to track him down was also gone after the Land Creation Realm cultivator had blown it up… And though it was a pity to lose such a precious corpse given just how valuable the dead body of a Celestial Immortal Realm demon beast was to everyone from Formation Masters and Blacksmiths who could make use of their bones and claws to forge artifacts and formation cores to Alchemists who could make use of their organs and blood in potions and pills, he didn't feel too bad about it, as he still had around a dozen Celestial Immortal Realm corpse split between three different interspatial rings that had been completely taken up by the massive bodies...

"Wha- You! It was you who saved us!"

As he finally came to a stop, Huo Fen and Meng Jie were finally released from his domain and placed down on the ground, as Huo Fen instantly recognized him and called out with a look of disbelief plastered all over his face.

"Yes, it was me." Nodding his head in acknowledgement as he said this, Xuan Hao casually pulled out a spiritual fruit before throwing it over to the somewhat absent-minded Meng Jie, who woke up from her trance to catch the spiritual fruit before eagerly starting to devour it under the speechless look from her master who simply couldn't understand how his disciple was so easy to distract with a single spiritual fruit.

At the same time, he also understood that Xuan Hao's reasoning to distract his disciple undoubtedly had to do with him wanting to talk with him about something…

"So… Might I ask what it is you want from the two of us…?"

So, working up his courage, Huo Fen did his best to maintain a calm expression in front of this friend that had turned out to be far more powerful than he had originally expected. Wondering just what it was he wanted from the two of them, as in his eyes, even the Stardusk Essence he had won during the auction didn't seem to particularly draw the interest of this friend of his.

"Nothing much, I'm just curious about why someone who hasn't even reached the Celestial Immortal Realm would go to such great risks to get his hands on something precious like Stardusk Essence even knowing that he would make enemies of countless major powers and powerful Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators."

Hearing what Huo Fen said, Xuan Hao didn't directly state that he wanted the Stardusk Essence, but instead asked the question that had been on his mind since he realized Huo Fen's main goal during the auction was to get his hands at the Stardusk Essence even at the risk of his own and his disciple's life…