The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#197 - A different world

Not long after entering the valley, Yang Tao and Xia Huai had each found a messenger to their liking.

Thus, of the three, only Lu Jing remained without a find.

However, it was still early, and the three weren't in any hurry, continuing onward.

They hadn't expected that this walk would last a full two hours.

It wasn't that Lu Jing's standards were too high, and he looked down on all the nightingales along the way. In fact, Lu Jing didn't have many requirements for a messenger, just that it be discreet in appearance and fly fast.

Moreover, as the dried golden beetles in his bag dwindled, Lu Jing, like an older youth who had failed dozens of blind dates, appropriately relaxed his standards.

From flying fast, it became above average, not a drag, but still no nightingale was willing to swallow the pill in his hand.

Seeing the dried golden beetles about to run out, Lu Jing couldn't help but wonder if today was a lost cause, and he'd have to come back tomorrow?

Seeing this, Xia Huai and Yang Tao also became anxious for him, not even bothering to admire the scenery within the valley, constantly looking around, searching for a suitable messenger for Lu Jing.

By this time, the three had already reached a very deep part of the valley, with almost no other new students nearby.

Moreover, the number of nightingales was visibly decreasing, and further ahead was another of the Academy's Eight Views—Otherworld.

That sound was very different from the calls of the other nightingales in the valley, lacking any melodious or ethereal quality, and instead sounding rather shrill and grating.

It reminded Lu Jing of the noise of chalk scratching across a blackboard when he was in school, which only made people feel irritable.

"Are there other birds in Nightingale Valley?" Yang Tao asked in astonishment.

"We certainly haven't encountered any along the way," Xia Huai replied.

Subsequently, the two also noticed that their newly acquired messengers, Red Bean and Chicken Leg, had shown varying degrees of restlessness after hearing this strange cry.

Red Bean was slightly better, only looking around on Yang Tao's shoulder, occasionally shaking its feathers and pacing back and forth, while Chicken Leg hesitated for a moment, then suddenly spread its wings and flew out, ignoring Xia Huai's calls, and darted towards the place where the sound came from.

Worried that it might be in danger, Xia Huai immediately used her light body technique to chase after it.

Seeing her move, Lu Jing and Yang Tao also hurriedly followed.

The three's movement techniques were on full display at this moment.

Xia Huai's light body technique followed a flexible and graceful path. Without seeing her exert much effort, she lightly touched her toes, and her whole person darted out several yards, even jumping onto the treetops, stepping on the branches, and leaping through the forest.

This reminded Lu Jing of the scene when they first met.

In comparison, what surprised Lu Jing even more was Yang Tao. Seeing that his spear technique emphasized the word "heavy," he didn't expect his light body technique to be quite excellent as well.

In terms of speed alone, he was no less than Xia Huai, but he was much worse in terms of flexibility. However, he also had his own solution. Whenever he needed to change direction drastically or react quickly, he only needed to push his spear in the opposite direction to borrow force.

Lu Jing had also encountered such a unique light body technique for the first time, which could actually be combined with spear technique.

If only considering the grade, his light body technique was probably only around the seventh or eighth grade, but after being integrated with spear technique, it immediately became comparable to a fourth or fifth grade light body technique.

And to know that a seventh or eighth grade light body technique is much easier to cultivate than a fourth or fifth grade one, the only drawback is that Yang Tao's light body technique requires the use of both hands and feet, and it is easy to become flustered when encountering enemies.

However, in terms of surprise, Xia Huai and Yang Tao were even more so.

As Lu Jing lifted his foot, they heard a sound of crashing waves in their ears, which directly suppressed the previous strange cry. Then, Lu Jing only took one step and had already arrived behind Xia Huai, and with another step, he directly surpassed Xia Huai.

Was this the power of a light body technique at the Great Accomplishment realm?!

Xia Huai and Yang Tao exchanged glances, both somewhat horrified.

Lu Jing didn't stop his steps and took three more steps, leaving Chicken Leg, who had flown out first, behind, then turned around and grabbed Chicken Leg, throwing the dizzy bird back to Xia Huai.

At this point, the three finally breathed a sigh of relief. Xia Huai reached out and gently stroked Chicken Leg in her palm, trying to calm Chicken Leg down, and asked Lu Jing, "Should we go forward?"

Lu Jing was about to answer, but his gaze swept to Yang Tao on the side, and he suddenly froze, then asked, "Where's your Red Bean?"

Yang Tao was shocked when he heard this. Everyone was busy chasing Chicken Leg just now, so he didn't care about Red Bean on his shoulder, subconsciously thinking that the bird was still with him.

But now, where could he see Red Bean's shadow?

"Don't worry, like Chicken Leg, it must have flown towards the previous sound," Lu Jing said, "Let's continue chasing after it."

Now the three had no other choice but to continue forward.

After passing through a narrow and undulating river channel, the three's eyes finally opened up again, but soon their gazes were attracted by the huge cave in the middle of the rock wall ahead, which was a full hundred feet wide in diameter.

Without anyone reminding them, Lu Jing knew that it must be one of the Academy's Eight Views—Otherworld!

Just standing in the distance and looking inside was enough to make people feel shocked!

The huge and incredible cave opening was like a giant beast opening its mouth, and even the sunlight that fell into it was swallowed cleanly.

Except for the initial two to three hundred feet, the inside of the cave was completely dark, deep and mysterious, as if it were connected to the other end of the universe.

In comparison, the three standing outside the cave were as small as ants.

The vines covering the cave entrance also didn't know how many years they had been growing for, each one thicker than Lu Jing's thigh, looking like green giant pythons, winding and gathering together.

"This cave… is too big!" Yang Tao looked dumbfounded, originally wanting to find some suitable words to describe the scene in front of him, but in the end, apart from the three words "too big," he couldn't think of any other description.

But at this moment, these three words were indeed the most intuitive feeling in the hearts of the three.

"The front is the forbidden area, we can't go forward anymore," Xia Huai said with some worry.

But as soon as she said this, Lu Jing, who had the best eyesight, had already found the Red Bean that had been lost earlier. It was in the cave about ten feet away.

Next to Red Bean was another nightingale. That nightingale looked very inconspicuous, only half the size of Red Bean, and its feathers were gray and dull, but Lu Jing didn't know if it was his illusion.

The always proud Red Bean was actually quite respectful to the fellow race that looked like a small sparrow, and the two nightingales were now huddled together, guarding a bird's nest.