Spiritual Sense
Under the protection of his battle skill, Liu Guan Tao coughed violently, dying his black hair with drops of red.
Although Lion's Mane reduced the strenght of Ye Mo's Stone Breaking Punch, his back was awfully painful and his right leg was broken in the fall.
"He throws himself at me like i killed his mother and doesn't give me any chance, with this leg i won't be able to escape anymore."
"He's too abnormal, i thought only his battle skills were powerful because he was a student of the Tiger Martial institute but this cunning scum has outstanding instincts and his tactics aren't those of a boy his age."
Ye Mo brought the best out of his battle skills in each situations to overcome his opponent, Liu Guan Tao had no choice but to acknowledge his abilities.
Resigning himself, he called out "Ye Mo, let's make a deal."
"What kind of deal could you offer that would interest me?" Ye Mo laughed lightly, saying halfheartedly.
Liu Guan Tao swallowed a Qi Rejuvenating pill which helped a cultivator recover his qi faster. Although it couldn't match the depletion brought by the use of a mid-tier battle skill, he will be able to spend more time under Lion's Mane.
He also took an healing pill while still knowing it was too low of a quality to heal his injuries before Lion's Mane wears off.
After the Qi Rejuvenating pill began to take effect, Liu Guan Tao started:
"Listen, i will be honest with you. One of our elders is meant to come deal with you, he might already be on his way as we're talking. A Qi Gathering cultivator can't do anything against a Foundation Establishment; Once he finds you, he will bring you back and you will meet a gruesome death."
"What i propose, if you spare me, i will tell him you escaped and give him wrong directions. I can even say we were attacked by some beasts and mention it as the doings of a certain clan. It will give you plenty time to escape in this vast jungle, he might even abandon the search seeing the size of the forest and directly take me back to the clan. What do you think? I can swear an oath if you don't believe me."
"You won't need to take an oath" Ye Mo stood up, his heart peaceful.
In the meantime, inside the Liu clan's conferance hall.
A group of elders silently sat around a wide egg-shaped table, a solemn and serious atmosphere filling the place.
Their faces were either indifferent, gloomy or serious.
"Why have we all been gathered here, members from the Xiong clan could come back cause trouble at the restaurant at any moment." One of the elders charged with guarding a property of the Liu clan said in worry.
Clan head Liu Hao was sitting on the main seat with a severe gaze, "A few hours ago, the person suspected to have killed one of our members has reappeared in the city. Its presumed he's an agent from a rival clan and isn't alone in this ploy. Liu Guan Tao's team have given chase and has been joined by Liu Hong and another member of his group but this is too important a matter to let any mishap occur and i don't trust they will be successful in their endeavor if the opponent is really backed up by the clans."
"An elder must go and get answers, bring the suspect back and assure yourself nothing wrong occurs to the juniors. Who volunteers?"
The elders gazed at each other for a moment. No one spoke.
This task looked simple but if a clan was really involved then it was more complicated than it seems. Why risk it when they could stay in a familiar environment where they knew what to expect?
Most elders were shrewd and wouldn't throw themselves away in the wolf's den without thinking it through.
Abruptly, Liu Han stood up, pushing his seat back in a loud screeching noise, "I will go. I can leave this instant and bring him back even if i have to cut his limbs first!"
"No." Just as Liu Han finished speaking, Liu Dan sitting next to Liu Hao immediately denied. "You are our disciplinary elder and have too important matters to deal with here. You can't go."
At his side, Liu Hao nodded.
At this moment, all kinds of complicated expressions appeared on the elders faces.
Bringing Liu Han's role as a disciplinary elder was just an excuse and everyone here knew it.
The truth was that Liu Han with his limited talent, only reached the second layer of the Foundation Establishment realm having the weakest cultivation among the elders.
In addition, Liu Han have always been short-tempered having little patience making him prone to make wrong decisions in the heat of the situation.
Being their son and brother, Liu Dan and Liu Hao prefered to send someone else.
"I will go." Someone suddenly said.
Liu Hao and the others turned towards this elder.
"If its brother Tian He then im assured." Liu Hao smiled.
Tian He was a tall gaunt man with light brown hair falling over his shoulders and dark blue eyes, so dark they seemed almost black.
This elder have a special status in the Liu clan as he was one of the three external elder but also one of the most powerful with his cultivation of the 6th layer Foundation Establishment realm.
Having been in service for more than twenty years, everyone knew his abilities and he was respected for his strenght and his calm demeanor.
Another important point was that as an external elder, Tian He didn't have the Liu clan's bloodline and although he was trusted, the years wouldn't change this fact. The clan leader and the others had less misgivings in sending an outsider out compared to a true Liu clan member.
"Then i will depart immediately."
With this expert willing to go, the matter was settled.
Tian He left the Liu clan and quickly reached the gate of the city. By this time, the rain had calmed down but the ground was littered with puddles of water and the sky somber.
With a small impulsion, Tian He shot off like a hurricane, his speed easily surpassing Liu Hong when he fought Ye Mo.
His Charging Whirlwind battle skill, with Skybound Leaping was the best among mid-tier movement types in the Liu clan.
Adding the great increase in the skill effect due to the powerful qi of a Foundation Establishment realm expert and they weren't in the same league anymore.
He was so fast it seemed like he wasn't touching the ground, his body parallel to the earth and his legs surrounded by a whirlwind.
In less than 2 hours, Tian He reached the mountain filled jungle.
Among cultivators, the Foundation Establishment realm was often considered like the true base of cultivation, the Qi Gathering realm being the preparation of the body and soul to reach this base.
Only after reaching the Foundation Establishment realm could you be considered a full-fledged cultivator and this for one reason.
Once you reach this level, you are able to project your spirit sense outwards.
The spiritual sense most commonly called spirit sense when projected outwards rendered the cultivator capable of sensing his surroundings clearly in a certain radius around him.
The spirit sense also carried the intent of the user and with a deep killing intent you could directly slaughter across space killing weak willed beings and low level creatures, leaving Qi Gathering cultivators often defenceless against them.
Tian He walked inside and focused, spreading his spirit sense in the surroundings. In a radius of 162 meters around him, he could feel each strand of grass, every small insect and the dancing leaves in the wind as if they were right in front of him.
In an environment like the jungle where the view was poor and the vegetation dense, the spirit sense was an extremely useful arm.
"Its strange, there's very few beasts in these woods and they are only ordinary animals. Could it be the work of Liu Guan Tao and Liu Hong's team?"
Without lingering too much, Tian He advanced and after leaving the previous range of his spirit sense, he would use it again to perceive any untold danger.
The spirit sense was taxing to the mind and after using it for a prolonged period, the cultivator would start feeling headaches and might even faint if persisting. It needed a good mental fortitude and couldn't be maintained at all time so users would only spread it for an instant before taking it back, lessening the symptoms.
After walking for nearly three hundred meters, Tian He's eyes suddenly expanded in shock as he used his spirit sense.
In a corner a few dozen meters away, a severed head was skewered against a sharp branch.
Big flies buzzed around and some insects wandered on the surface, biting the flesh; Its features were still discernable however and Tian He knew them too well.
"Liu Guan Tao!"