Chapter 748: 748 was captured
The leaders on both sides also began fighting. Tan Shaoting had killed the Fifth Rank pangolin and was now entangled with a Fifth Rank Thunder Tiger.
There wasn’t even a moment of rest. Tan Shaoting had no choice but to drink the Spiritual Spring Water while fighting.
Although this might get noticed by his fellow cultivators and the demon beasts, nothing is more important than his life. He couldn’t afford to worry about anything else.
The battle between the peacock and the cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage didn’t leave much suspense; their cultivation was indeed lacking a bit, and this peacock was indeed a formidable being.
Its attention, however, had been on Tan Shaoting, and it realized this person really had some valuable things. It became more interested. It stopped engaging with the cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage and shot a golden vine towards them.
Meanwhile, it also sent another vine to wrap around Tan Shaoting.
The cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage awkwardly dodged, but Tan Shaoting was bound.
He had noticed the vine coming for him, but was too caught up with the Fifth Rank Thunder Tiger to escape. Weighing his options, he ultimately got caught by the vine and was carried away by the peacock.
Tan Shaoting wanted to break free, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. The gap between their strengths was simply too great,
However, the Array was still below. It wasn’t that he couldn’t part with the Fifth-tier Array, but in the eyes of others, the children were still inside.
So, in the moment of freeing himself from the bind, he didn’t attack or try to save himself; instead, he quickly put away the Array Plate.
Even if there were suspicions, that’s all that could be done.
The peacock didn’t expect that this ant could still pull off some little tricks under its restraints.
It tightened the vine even more, dragging Tan Shaoting as it flew through the sky. In an instant, they left the battlefield.
From the cultivators’ perspective, it looked like the peacock had attacked the Array, but it didn’t quite seem that way either.
They didn’t have the mind to care about anything else now. Although the leading peacock had left, the battle still continued.
Tan Shaoting contacted the three children in the space, telling them not to worry, as he couldn’t let them be exposed now. The peacock clearly noticed there was something different about the children.
Floating in mid-air, Tan Shaoting kept his eyes closed, but he remembered the route using Divine Sense.
The peacock kept an eye on him, and seeing that he was behaving, it sped up.
Swaying in mid-air made Tan Shaoting dizzy, but he could barely figure out they were heading towards the Demon Realm; was it planning to take him to the Demon Realm?
From the beginning, it didn’t kill him, indicating that he still had some value.
The more it was like this, the more he couldn’t afford to reveal anything.
In about half an hour, they reached the barrier between the Cultivation World and the Demon Realm. The peacock didn’t pause and flew straight through.
Upon entering the Demon Realm, the peacock’s speed slowed, and Tan Shaoting opened his eyes. The Spiritual Energy here was quite sparse, which made sense, considering the entire continent was cursed. The Demon Realm was on this continent as well.
Below, there were lush trees everywhere, and countless demon beasts waiting near the barrier – were they waiting to cross over?
After about another half an hour, the peacock stopped.
Tan Shaoting was thrown heavily to the ground. Since he was still bound, he didn’t struggle and didn’t try to get up. This was a steep mountain peak, a cave, perhaps the cave dwelling of the peacock?
"Stop pretending you’re dead on the ground."
Hearing a woman’s voice, Tan Shaoting opened his eyes. "Fellow Daoist, you brought me here, may I ask for what reason? Also, could you untie me?"
"Aren’t you afraid?"
"Fellow Daoist, would being afraid help? Please let me go."
"Oh, you’re quite calm. I could let you go; after all, you can’t escape."
With that, the vines binding Tan Shaoting unraveled and returned to the peacock’s side.
Tan Shaoting stood up and stretched his stiff limbs. "Fellow Daoist, why did you capture me here?"
"No reason, it’s just that I found you displeasing. But I do want to know, what were you drinking? Why was the Spiritual Energy so rich?"
Tan Shaoting understood. Whether human or beast, everyone wanted Cultivation Resources.
"Are you referring to this Spiritual Spring Water, fellow Daoist? I obtained it in a secret realm," he said, tossing a small bottle to the peacock. It was a storage bottle; though it looked small, it could hold quite a lot.
The peacock caught it, opened to take a look, then quickly capped it. This whole process was carried out using Divine Sense, indicating that this thing could indeed cultivate Divine Sense.
"Is this all?"
"Yes, I didn’t fill the bottle completely, and I’ve used some myself."
"If I said this is mine now, would you think I’m robbing you?"
Hearing this, Tan Shaoting mentally ridiculed; beasts are beasts, even if they can speak human words, their thoughts haven’t evolved.
"I can give this Spiritual Spring Water to you, fellow Daoist, but could you let me leave here?"
"No."
Tan Shaoting fell silent, knowing this was outright robbery. Since he was no match for it, he’d have to come up with another plan.
"Do you feel indignant? Alright. I’ll give you a chance; if you can descend the mountain within an hour, I won’t capture you again."
From the peacock spirit’s words, Tan Shaoting understood there must be something tricky about the mountain. But it was an opportunity nonetheless.
"I naturally believe your words, fellow Daoist, but could you give me half an hour to rest?"
Tan Shaoting was stalling for time. In the space, Qi Wen was asking Xiao Huei about the peacock’s situation.
"Master, this peacock is very unusual."
"Do you know its lair?"
"Yes, there’s a problem with its mountain peak.
Master, let me tell you, it’s easy to go up, but difficult to come down."
"What do you mean?"
"It’s not hard to climb, but descending is much more exhausting than ascending."
"Is there any way around it?"
"No, but I’ve heard that all peacocks are like this. They lure more animals to the mountain, and then deal with them at the top, because they can fly up with wings."
Qi Wen once again put Xiao Huei back into the Spirit Beast Bag and conveyed this information to their father.
Outside, Tan Shaoting was unsurprisingly refused by the peacock.
"No, I’m starting the timer now. If you don’t reach the bottom within the hour, don’t blame me for not giving you a chance."
The peacock was highly confident in its mountain peak, so much so that even the tigress wouldn’t go up.
Of course, anyone wanting to descend would be impossible; they would leave their most precious items but not their lives.
Tan Shaoting had learned the secret of the Peacock Mountain Peak. No matter what, he had to try.
So he turned and set off. Considering the peculiarity of this mountain, he couldn’t think of any solution for the moment.
"Dad, why don’t you walk backwards?" Qi Wen suddenly suggested.
"Walk backwards?" Tan Shaoting repeated but decided to give it a try.