Chapter 597: Chapter 590: Warning

When the Heavenly Maiden spoke like that, Chen Hai’s complexion also turned somewhat strange.

After a True Immortal dies, the arduously condensed Immortal Body dissipates into the heavens and earth. Ordinary cultivators might not know about this, but at the level of True Immortals and True Demons, it is naturally clear.

Originally, Chen Hai thought that the Pure Essence Qi, which was about to disperse between heaven and earth, could be absorbed by any cultivator.

But now, seeing the puzzled look on the Heavenly Maiden’s face, he realized that the reality was not as he thought.

He pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked to confirm, “Ying, this kind of Essence Qi can only be allowed to dissipate, and general cultivators simply cannot absorb it, right?”

“Yes!” The moment he finished speaking, the Heavenly Maiden nodded with a certain look on her face.

Shortly after a slight pause, she spoke again to explain to Chen Hai, “This Pure Essence Qi still contains a residual imprint of the deceased True Immortal.”

“To absorb and refine this kind of Essence Qi consumes a lot of time, not to mention the risk of being influenced by the residual imprint, leading to loss of control over one’s power and falling into demonic confusion.”

“There are rumors that the dispersion of this Pure Essence Qi nourishes all things in heaven and earth.”

“If we cultivators absorb and refine this Pure Essence Qi, we would be defying the natural order, which can cause the heaven and earth to reject us!”

“What? Have you ever refined and absorbed this kind of Essence Qi before?”

…

While explaining these things, the Heavenly Maiden took a few extra glances at Chen Hai.

In terms of strength, she originally thought that, within the realm of True Immortals, she was invincible and could hardly find a match.

But after encountering Chen Hai, she realized she might have underestimated the heroes of the world.

In terms of speed, she could indeed overpower Chen Hai.

However, no matter how fast she was, if she couldn’t break through Chen Hai’s defense and truly harm him, what could she do!

Striking the opponent a thousand times, he seemed unfazed; with just a slight negligence on her part, one hit by him could possibly cause her to fall directly.

The battle between the Heavenly Maiden and Chen Hai seemed to be just like this.

If she became too exhausted and her speed dropped, she would definitely be the loser.

Chen Hai was currently merely a Guest Elder in a small sect within the West Barbarian Mountain Territory.

Despite this, he possessed such strength which, though she had not asked, certainly piqued her curiosity.

If it were true, as she guessed, that Chen Hai could absorb the Pure Essence Qi from a True Immortal’s dispersal for his Cultivation, then his possessing such strength would be somewhat plausible.

Chen Hai chuckled dryly and did not say anything.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, his actions had already given the Heavenly Maiden her answer.

Ren Tianxing had just died, and the Pure Essence Qi from his dissipating Immortal Body, more than eighty percent, still permeated the surrounding void and had not completely dispersed.

Now, the Heavenly Maiden could clearly feel that the Pure Essence Qi lingering in the surrounding void was surging like a tide, rushing towards where Chen Hai was located.

With her senses, she even felt that as the Pure Essence Qi flowed towards Chen Hai, its rate of merging into the heaven and earth seemed to suddenly increase by several times.

This situation, Chen Hai himself might be unaware of.

But the Heavenly Maiden, witnessing this scene, felt as if the forces of heaven and earth were competing with Chen Hai over the ownership of this Essence Qi.

Staring in shock at this sight, she turned her gaze to Chen Hai, her expression complex, sizing him up for a while.

Ultimately, she didn’t say much, merely quietly sat down by the side, acting as Chen Hai’s protector.

While refining and absorbing the Pure Essence Qi that permeated the surroundings, Chen Hai always retained a sense of vigilance, constantly guarding against the surroundings.

In matters of flipping over the boat with a woman, Chen Hai had heard plenty during the Blue Star era.

Although there truly existed an intimate relationship between him and the Heavenly Maiden, it was merely accidental, not a case of mutual affection growing over time.

For the time being, to trust the Heavenly Maiden wholly and unreservedly was definitely not possible yet.

Keeping a part of his heart guarded, and taking some precautions, Chen Hai did so just to be on the safe side.

When he felt the Heavenly Maiden silently guarding him without any other actions, he was slightly relieved and heaved a sigh of relief.

Several two-hour periods later, Chen Hai, who had been sitting cross-legged, finally stood up.

After Ren Tianxing died, the Pure Essence Qi that dispersed was less than half absorbed by him.

After all, although the speed at which he devoured it was still relatively fast, every time he ingested a certain amount of Pure Essence Qi into his body, it took some time to completely refine it for his own use.

Because of this, the Essence Qi left after Ren Tianxing’s death was only absorbed a little by him, the rest being wasted and scattered between Heaven and Earth.

Indeed, it wasn’t just Ren Tianxing who died; all four from Medicine King Valley perished here.

Unfortunately, the four of them did not die at the same spot.

You can’t have both fish and bear’s paw, so Chen Hai, to absorb and refine this Pure Essence Qi for his own use, could only choose the spot where one of them died.

Among the four from Medicine King Valley, Ren Tianxing was the strongest and was personally slain by him; choosing the Pure Essence Qi that dispersed after his death as the target for his absorption and refinement was totally justified.

“Absorbing this Pure Essence Qi has saved me a year or two of arduous cultivation; this gain is still acceptable!”

Feeling the increase in his own strength, Chen Hai was somewhat satisfied and nodded.

“No wonder your strength is so formidable, being merely in the Mid-Period True Demon, yet able to compete equally with me, who is just a step away from Earth Immortal and in the Perfect Realm of True Immortal.”

“So, you possess this ability to absorb and refine the Pure Essence Qi from their Immortal Bodies after killing True Immortals for cultivation!”

“However, this ability of yours, it doesn’t matter if I’ve seen it, but don’t randomly reveal it in front of others.”

“Otherwise, all individuals on the Immortal Path will regard you as a public enemy, attracting their collective pursuit to kill you!”

…

Looking solemnly at Chen Hai before her, the Heavenly Maiden earnestly advised.

“Is it really that serious?” Hearing this, Chen Hai could not help but be stunned.

“That’s natural; being cultivators, they naturally have their own pride.”

“Using the Pure Essence Qi that disperses from their Immortal Bodies after their death for cultivation, your actions are equivalent to using them as nourishment for your own Cultivation. How could they possibly tolerate that?”

“Your strength, though decent, is crowded with powerhouses in the path of Immortality. Not to mention the likes of Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals, just an Earth Immortal getting involved would certainly spell doom for you!”

Nodding affirmatively, the Heavenly Maiden explained.

“I understand!” Looking at the Heavenly Maiden, Chen Hai joked, “You already know this secret, yet you don’t admit to being my woman.”

“Thus, you should also count as an outsider, right? What do you say, should I silence you?”

Recognizing the jest in his words, the Heavenly Maiden laughed behind her hand, “Who’s your woman? What happened between us was mainly for antidote purposes.”

“If it weren’t for the Red Dust Purgatory Love Silk Poison in my body that has yet to be thoroughly removed, I would have already left, why would I stay here and continue to let you bully me?”

“Thinking of silencing me? Come on then, let’s see who’s afraid of who!”

As she spoke these words, the Heavenly Maiden intentionally puffed out her chest.

“Not afraid of me? Just don’t scream and shout later on…” With a chuckle, Chen Hai suddenly scooped up the Heavenly Maiden and walked towards the depths of the forest.