CHAPTER 774: CHAPTER 767 HEAVENLY IMMORTAL PERFECTION

The Zhuang Mansion covered a sizable area with numerous rooms ample enough to accommodate a substantial number of people.

However, Chen Hai didn’t really care about these things.

After all, as a loner, no matter how vast the territory or how many rooms there were, they were essentially of no use to him.

If he had to point out the place in the mansion that pleased him the most, it would certainly be the garden here.

The combination of green trees, flower beds, and ponds, along with the small pavilion he was currently in, resembled a beautiful painting.

The enchanting scenery and favorable environment were enough to make one feel refreshed and invigorated.

Immersed in the garden, Chen Hai had been able to adjust his state and sink into cultivation more quickly than ever before.

In tranquility, time always seemed to fly by swiftly.

When Chen Hai arrived at the garden to begin his cultivation practice, it was only around two or three in the afternoon.

In the blink of an eye, the sun had set and a crescent moon was already hanging high in the sky.

At dusk, initially, the whole earth seemed to be merely covered with a thin gauze.

Now, the dense night that enveloped the world, along with the vast shadows cast by the garden’s lush trees, had plunged the small cool pavilion and its surrounding area into complete darkness.

"Heavenly Immortal Perfection, have I finally made the breakthrough?"

"The breakthrough of a Small Realm is generally easier, but if I want to advance further and become a Golden Immortal, which involves a breakthrough at a Great Realm, I don’t know how long it will take to truly complete this step, even with my talent and abilities,"

"Forget it, let’s not think about that for now. Let’s continue to cultivate while there’s time!"

Inside the small cool pavilion, Chen Hai, who had been sitting like a statue for several hours, finally slowly opened his eyes.

Originally, he was only one step away from Heavenly Immortal Perfection.

After purchasing Shen’s Mansion, he had spent less than a day practicing in this garden and naturally completed this step of the breakthrough.

For this, Chen Hai felt incredibly gratified.

Whether his successful breakthrough had anything to do with the favorable environment of his residence or not, he always felt that spending over a hundred thousand Spirit Coins on this mansion was truly worthwhile.

The power fluctuation accompanying the breakthrough of the Small Realm was still markedly abnormal, sweeping towards the surroundings.

Chen Hai’s reaction was neither especially fast nor particularly concerned. However, if there were any attentive people nearby, no matter how much he tried to conceal it, such a strong fluctuation of power was like fireflies in the dark, impossible to completely hide.

Having achieved his breakthrough and opened his eyes, Chen Hai scanned his surroundings. Apart from feeling a bit chilly, he noticed nothing unusual and temporarily suppressed the joy brought about by his slight advancement.

After taking a deep breath, he once again immersed himself in cultivation.

...

Several hundred meters away from Shen’s Mansion, in a small and seemingly elegant courtyard.

An ethereal layer of pale scarlet mist had, at some unknown time, completely shrouded the entire courtyard.

Ethereal music, coming from nowhere, played intermittently, like the murmuring of a resentful woman or the deep sighs of a lovesick soul.

In the courtyard outside the wing rooms, a graceful figure clad in red moved in and out of visibility within the red mist.

Sitting before an ancient zither, her figure had white hair that fell to her waist, disheveled by the light breeze, making it impossible to discern her true face.

Her movements as she played and sang were so elegant, involuntarily evoking an indescribable pleasure in the onlooker.

"Devil, meet your end!" In the main bedroom of the wing room, not more than ten or twenty steps from her, the door suddenly burst open.

A shirtless, burly man wielding a huge axe burst out from the blasted-open bedroom door.

His gaze locked onto the figure robed in red within the courtyard, he let out a thunderous roar and, raising his axe, cleaved straight towards her.

"Big brother, do I look pretty?"

This lady in red was none other than Chi Lian from the Ghost Clan.

Faced with the burly man who was hacking at her with his axe, she coyly covered half her face with her pipa, lifting her arm to drape her crimson sleeve over her countenance, and flashed a smile at the man.

"Pretty, truly pretty..." The next moment, the man, brimming with murderous intent, became as if his soul had left him, his face going slack. He nodded, then stood there, stunned.

"Big brother, my skill in playing the qin is actually quite average."

"What I’m truly good at is playing the xiao!"

"If you want to hear a tune, then come over. I’ll show you something nice..."

Lightly brushing aside the disheveled white hair covering her face, Chi Lian giggled behind her hand and crooked her little finger at the man.

"Uh-huh!" Like a marionette on strings, the man stepped forth, one pace after another, arriving in front of Chi Lian.

What appeared to be a perfect visage of Chi Lian, with a lovely face, suddenly began to corrupt and rot away before him, vile pus and foul stench dripping continuously from it.

"Ah..." The burly man, who had been somewhat dazed, let out a terrified scream, snapping to his senses at this eerie scene.

"Don’t be scared, big sister will take good care of you!" A strange laugh echoed as Chi Lian’s white hair, which seemed to bristle in the wind, writhed like living creatures, tightly entwining the man.

In just moments, the towering nine-foot-tall burly man had withered, his body shrinking as if to that of a three-year-old child, devoid of all life, collapsing to the ground.

"A regular Human Soul from the Nine Realms’ Heavenly Tribulation, of good quality, and quite tasty."

"To hunt such a living soul within Mang Mountain City, where Immortal-grade is hard to come by, my luck isn’t too bad tonight!"

"As for the other two left in the courtyard, their strength is too weak. It’s best to leave them be for now!"

"Despair, fear, sadness, hatred... These negative emotions can nurture ordinary Human Souls, making them delicious."

"Let’s wait a few more days, until this place is completely filled with negative energy. That will be the true time for harvest!"

Licking her lips, Chi Lian had stood up.

Her gaze pierced the walls of the nearby side rooms, falling upon a trembling woman in a corner and a young boy.

However, she did not ruthlessly pursue these two, opting not to act against them, but rather, her body flickered, preparing to shoot off into the distance.

In truth, their group had been in the West District of Mang Mountain City for five or six days.

Over this substantial length of time, only around a hundred people had died at their hands, not out of mercy, but because the time was not ripe – the common people’s underlying fear and despair had yet to fully surface.

"Hmm, a power fluctuation of Heavenly Immortal level?"

"Is such a delicacy hidden in this place?"

"Within Mang Mountain City, such a level of living soul is an unparalleled delicacy, a rare find indeed."

"It just surfaced, and then the power vanished so quickly? This delectable prey wants to hide."

"Having revealed itself to my eyes, Chi Lian, do you think trying to mend the fold after the sheep are lost, continuing to hide, will be of any use?"

"No, I must hurry over. White Bone is also nearby; if I’m late, I might not even get a taste of the soup!"

Muttering to herself, Chi Lian’s body shimmered, and she vanished from sight.