Chapter 548 - 173: Hold the Line, Don’t Rush
Then, Chen Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
The bag containing several pounds of Divine Tree Juice was intact, without any tears.
After securing his belongings, Chen Yan sat on the ground, pulled out a beef jerky stick, tore the package open with his teeth, took a big bite, and then unscrewed a bottle of water, gulping down several mouthfuls.
He looked around...
In the distance behind him, the outline of the mountain ridge could be seen — Evil Land Mountain was already behind him.
And at this moment, he found himself in a forest.
The surroundings were filled with bizarre twisted trees, and the forest was densely packed with these kinds of strange trees.
But judging from the direction of Evil Land Mountain, he had already teleported to the other side of the mountain — the east!
The Shenxing Talisman had transported him nearly a hundred miles, a distance which made Chen Yan not too worried about the pursuers catching up immediately —
It’s dozens of kilometers! Even by car, they’d have to pinpoint his location precisely and follow a straight line!
It would take an hour!
Moreover, given such a distance, it’s unlikely the enemy could find him, even if those creatures wanted to pursue, they’d have to spread out far and wide to search.
The probability of being caught was not high.
Chen Yan wasn’t overly worried.
Once he finished eating and drinking, feeling his energy and strength partially restored, he got up again.
He slung his rifle across his back and took a recurve bow from his bag, hanging it on his shoulder, and strapped a quiver of arrows to his waist.
He had fired his gun in the mountain belly, so the creatures had already seen it.
Therefore, he thought it best not to use firearms again to avoid the Fierce Beast Race in the mining area hearing the gunshots, deducing it was him, and then tracking the sound to pursue.
Although the likelihood was small, Chen Yan felt it was better to be cautious.
Right, stay steady, don’t take reckless risks!
He still had three days of teleportation time left!
As long as he wasn’t found or caught by the enemy within these three days, he’d be fine!
Chen Yan was very confident about this!
·
After getting back on the road, Chen Yan continued his journey eastward through the forest.
As for Big White, he wasn’t worried — that big cat was amazingly clever, and with its keen sense of smell, it could surely find him.
He had separated from it before, and after so many days, it could still find him in the canyon.
So Chen Yan reckoned, as long as he kept moving through the forest, Big White would naturally find a way to catch up.
If they couldn’t meet...
Then it was fate!
At the moment of escape, the use of the Shenxing Talisman was the only option; without it, he definitely couldn’t have gotten away.
So there was nothing he regretted or lamented now.
·
Chen Yan walked eastward through the forest for an entire day — internally, he felt that the farther he got from Evil Land Mountain, the further he’d be from the Fierce Beast Race’s mining area, enhancing his sense of safety.
After such a day’s walk, the outline of Evil Land Mountain appeared much blurrier.
Chen Yan hadn’t heard any sounds of pursuers, which reassured him more and more.
Moreover, he didn’t know if it was his imagination, but the further east he went, the more he felt the air’s humidity increasing.
Even the wind blowing through the forest seemed to carry a trace of warmth.
Calling it warmth might be an exaggeration, but indeed, judging by his body’s response and sensation, the more he walked east in the forest beyond Evil Land Mountain, the slightly warmer it seemed to become.
After a day, Chen Yan estimated that he had covered another several dozen kilometers!
By his calculations, even if it wasn’t quite a hundred miles, it wouldn’t be much less.
He stopped once for a rest and even climbed a sturdy twisted tree, selected a thick branch, and tied himself to the trunk with a rope to sleep for two to three hours.
Upon awakening, he resumed his journey eastward.
He remembered Du Li had once mentioned that if he kept heading east past the mountain ridge, after a few days, he could emerge from the forest.
By then, there would be a chance of encountering people!
Of course, whether it would be the scout of a human cultivator or the scout of the Fierce Race depended on fate!
Fortunately, Chen Yan had less than two days of teleportation time left.
In two days, he suspected he might not even make it out of this forest.
But Chen Yan wasn’t in a hurry — if he didn’t make it out this time, he would just come back another time!
After all, the harvest this time was already plentiful enough!
That bag of Divine Tree Juice Chen Yan had inspected but didn’t dare drink immediately — such a thing should be carefully researched and tested after returning.
It was a sacred item of the Fierce Beast Race, and what if humans couldn’t consume it directly?
After all, previously Chen Yan had only drunk versions diluted many times over.
The creatures of the Fierce Beast Race were naturally immensely strong in body, each of them with a physique akin to a damn Green Giant.
He was human; what if drinking it directly caused him harm? Who would be to blame?
This place was fraught with dangers, not suitable for research.
As for another gain...
Those long stem tendrils, Chen Yan had inspected them and found they were over three meters long!
As thick as a child’s arm.
And the piece removed from the end, Chen Yan examined it, finding it hard to the touch, akin to wood in texture.
The color was milky white, and moreover...
Chen Yan sniffed it; it emitted a fragrance.
The scent was very much like... a peach?
In Jinling Prefecture, near where Chen Yan was, another major city, Xicheng Prefecture, was a famous peach growing area in Dragon Country.
During one summer break while at university, Chen Yan had gone there with classmates, also visiting the peach groves in the area.