“A storage pouch? I don’t have one. Do you have a storage pouch?” Li Feng only now recalled that when he saw Ge Feng and Ge Ying last night, their hands were empty. Yet, during the fight with the one-eyed man, both had drawn longswords.
Moreover, the one-eyed man had said he chased the Ge siblings for days, but their clothes showed no signs of distress. Connecting these clues with Ge Ying’s words, Li Feng couldn’t help but think the Ge siblings had a storage pouch.
“No storage pouch? How is that possible? You’re so powerful. How could your family or sect not provide you with a storage pouch?” Ge Ying looked at Li Feng in disbelief.
Ge Feng also gazed at Li Feng, puzzled. Given the strength Li Feng had just displayed, he was clearly a cultivation genius. How could such a genius not have a storage pouch?
“I don’t have a master, and my family doesn’t know I’m cultivating,” Li Feng replied.
“How is that possible?” Ge Feng and Ge Ying exclaimed in unison. They had always assumed Li Feng’s prowess came from a powerful family backing him and a master carefully training him, but his words shattered their assumptions.
“There’s no need for me to lie to you,” Li Feng said calmly.
Family? Even his parents might not know he was cultivating, unless Zhong Shuhui had passed the news back.
A master? In his past and present life, he never had one. His achievements today were the result of his own exploration.
The Ge siblings fell silent for a moment. Ge Feng spoke, “Li Feng, I truly admire you.”
A self-taught cultivator so strong made Ge Feng, who had family support and a master’s guidance yet still fell short, feel a twinge of shame for his past pride.
“This time, my brother and I didn’t bring any extra storage pouches, or we’d give you one,” Ge Ying said.
“Ge Ying, do you have many storage pouches?” Li Feng asked, looking at her curiously. In his previous life, storage pouches were extremely rare, which led to government research into two-dimensional space to develop two-dimensional storage pouches. However, those were unstable, and items placed inside sometimes vanished inexplicably.
So, Li Feng had assumed storage pouches were rare in this era too. Yet Ge Ying spoke of giving him one, which surprised him.
“Storage pouches are rare but not uncommon. You can find them in some ruins. Almost every young powerhouse in our family has one. If we had an extra one, we’d give it to you,” Ge Feng explained with a smile. A storage pouch was valuable, but he valued Li Feng’s strength more. With such remarkable achievements at a young age, Li Feng’s future was boundless, so Ge Feng chose to befriend him.
At the very least, while their family didn’t have many storage pouches, they had over a hundred. The elders used higher-grade storage rings, while the younger generation used storage pouches. Giving one to Li Feng was no issue.
Li Feng understood now. What he considered rare was not so in this era, sparking excitement in his eyes. With a storage pouch, traveling would be far more convenient. He resolved to get one when he had the chance.
Though the Ge siblings were less skilled than him, they knew more. Li Feng felt fortunate to have met them.
“Do you know anything about Black Wind Forest?” Li Feng asked.
“Black Wind Forest is a woodland at the foot of Black Wind Mountain. It’s called that because black winds constantly blow down from the mountain,” Ge Ying answered.
“Black Wind Mountain, black winds?” Li Feng looked at Ge Ying, puzzled.
“Li Feng, you don’t know? And you’re still heading to Black Wind Forest?” Ge Ying looked at him, surprised.
Li Feng nodded sheepishly, “I only heard from someone that Black Wind Forest has Golden Cicada Fruit. To boost my strength, I came.”
The Ge siblings were speechless. Not knowing about Black Wind Mountain or its black winds, yet daring to venture to Black Wind Forest, they admired Li Feng more and more.
After a while, Ge Ying explained, “Black Wind Mountain is a dangerous place in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Legend says there’s something even more terrifying than ferocious beasts up there.”
“More terrifying than ferocious beasts? Could it be a demon beast?” Li Feng’s expression shifted, his voice tinged with disbelief.
Beasts were divided into wild beasts, ferocious beasts, demon beasts, and the legendary spirit beasts. Wild beasts were ordinary animals found in forests, while ferocious beasts were stronger, with the most powerful reaching the peak of the Innate Realm. Even peak Innate Realm martial artists dared not face a peak ferocious beast.
Above ferocious beasts were demon beasts, distinguished by their intelligence. Even a newborn demon beast had at least Innate Realm strength.
So, when Ge Ying mentioned something more terrifying than ferocious beasts, Li Feng immediately thought of demon beasts.
“Exactly, demon beasts. Legend says the black winds blowing down from Black Wind Mountain are the breath of that demon beast,” Ge Ying said, her face serious.
Li Feng took a deep breath. Though he doubted the black winds were the demon beast’s breath, he didn’t question the existence of a demon beast on Black Wind Mountain. In the vast Hundred Thousand Mountains, a few demon beasts weren’t surprising.
If Black Wind Mountain truly had a demon beast, he would need to be extremely cautious on this trip. Though the demon beast lived on the mountain, if it suddenly descended to Black Wind Forest, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“But we don’t need to worry. The demon beast on Black Wind Mountain has never come down, unless someone goes up to provoke it,” Ge Feng said at that moment.
“Someone provoked it?” Li Feng asked, surprised.
“Yes, decades ago, a few Innate Realm experts went up Black Wind Mountain seeking a breakthrough opportunity,” Ge Feng nodded.
“What happened then?” Li Feng asked eagerly.
“Decades passed, and no one saw them come down. They’re probably dead,” Ge Feng said.
“Probably? Definitely,” Ge Ying added. “Black Wind Mountain has been a dangerous place for countless years. Countless martial artists have entered, but none have returned alive. It’s all recorded in our family archives.”
“What about Black Wind Forest?” Li Feng asked, growing concerned. He hadn’t expected Black Wind Mountain to hold such a secret, and now he felt uneasy about going to Black Wind Forest.
“Black Wind Forest, at the foot of Black Wind Mountain, only has ferocious beasts. Compared to the mountain, it’s much safer, but…” Ge Ying paused before continuing, “In the depths of Black Wind Forest, there are Innate Realm-level ferocious beasts.”
“Innate Realm-level ferocious beasts?” Li Feng was shocked. At his current Refining Qi Second Stage, facing an Innate Realm ferocious beast meant certain death.
“Wait, you said the depths of Black Wind Forest. How big is it?” Li Feng asked. If the forest was only a few square miles, going there would be pointless; any fight could attract an Innate Realm beast.
Though Li Feng wanted the Golden Cicada Fruit, he had no intention of dying for it.
“Black Wind Forest is at least twenty miles deep. As long as we don’t venture too far, we won’t disturb Innate Realm beasts,” Ge Ying explained.
“But we still need to be careful. Even without encountering Innate Realm beasts, Acquired Realm beasts are tough to handle. If we meet a strong Acquired Realm beast, we can only flee,” Ge Feng added. “This time, whether we get the Golden Cicada Fruit or not, we must leave Black Wind Forest the same day. The beasts are more active at night, and the danger multiplies.”
Li Feng nodded, knowing Ge Feng spoke the truth. This wasn’t unique to Black Wind Forest; the entire Hundred Thousand Mountains were like that.
“Then let’s venture into Black Wind Forest. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find the Golden Cicada Fruit,” Li Feng said.
