Chapter 44: The Ultimate Stink Bomb

Chapter 44: The Invincible Stink Bomb

Yan Huaixuan's gaze drifted back to the roasted demon beast meat, and only after a long while did he look away.

Shen Lian slept for a while before his drowsiness faded, and saw that Yan Huaixuan was still meditating.

He couldn't beat him in a fight, and he couldn't leave, either. Just looking at this person was enough to sour his mood.

So he decided to go do something else instead.

But this time, he actually discovered something incredible.

Shen Lian's eyes lit up as he walked toward the large patch of plants.

This area was teeming with many rare herbs and Spirit Plants, all of which he had seen in that book on alchemy cultivation.

Shen Lian scanned the area—there were simply too many to count, and quite a few weren't even available in cultivator settlements!

Suddenly, Shen Lian caught a whiff of something. He took a deep breath, and his expression instantly changed.

But then, remembering something, Shen Lian still pinched his nose and followed the scent over, only to find a patch of blue, thick, fleshy flowers.

Shen Lian glanced around, and he picked quite a few—of course, making sure to cover himself up thoroughly.

Shen Lian gathered quite a number of plants throughout the night, but unfortunately, his storage ring was extremely small.

Shen Lian figured he couldn't sleep anyway, so he might as well just go ahead and refine them.

The whole night passed, and Shen Lian didn't feel tired at all, though he still meditated for a bit in the morning.

When he opened his eyes again, that same mysterious roasted demon beast meat had appeared beside him again, wrapped in oil paper. It looked just like it had last night, still warm.

Shen Lian didn't even glance at it before throwing it to the Wind-Riding Beast.

The Wind-Riding Beast opened its mouth and bit down, then nudged Shen Lian with its head.

Shen Lian patted it, thinking.

Even a beast—if you show it a little kindness, it knows how to repay you.

But some people are more terrifying than beasts.

He climbed onto the Wind-Riding Beast and looked at Yan Huaixuan. "When do we set off?"

Yan Huaixuan still had that expressionless face. "Now."

Now—now was perfect timing.

Shen Lian suppressed his hunger and grabbed onto the Wind-Riding Beast. During the night, he had improved the saddle, adding stirrups for his feet and a handle between him and Yan Huaixuan.

Shen Lian grabbed the handle, so he wouldn't be swaying left and right anymore.

Yan Huaixuan glanced at the handle.

Shen Lian was initially pleased with the improvement he'd made last night, but the very next second, his handle flew straight off.

Shen Lian's hands were empty. "..."

The Wind-Riding Beast made a sharp turn, and Shen Lian had no choice but to lunge forward violently, nearly pressing against Yan Huaixuan just to avoid being thrown off.

Once he'd steadied himself, Shen Lian couldn't help but look up at Yan Huaixuan.

He suddenly started to suspect that Yan Huaixuan had done this on purpose.

But what would be the point of Yan Huaixuan playing such a trick?

Wasn't Yan Huaixuan eager to cut ties with him completely?

Shen Lian could only chalk it up to his own bad luck.

And as it turned out, he really was in for some bad luck.

After running with Yan Huaixuan for nearly another full day, the city ahead was finally free of patrolling guards. Shen Lian was just about to say they didn't need to clear the way anymore.

But Yan Huaixuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Shen Lian immediately had a bad feeling. "Don't tell me we've been caught up with?"

Sure enough, the Wind-Riding Beast stopped in its tracks, flattening itself against the ground, refusing to move no matter what.

Yan Huaixuan then grabbed Shen Lian and flew into the air, and Shen Lian could only watch helplessly as the Wind-Riding Beast's body twisted and deformed, as if crushed by a merciless hand.

Shen Lian's pupils shrank.

The Wind-Riding Beast that had served as his makeshift pillow last night had now turned into a pool of blood and gore.

But before Shen Lian could think further, countless demon soldiers suddenly appeared in the air, and from beneath their feet, many demons also emerged.

A tall, imposing woman stepped out of the crowd of demons.

"We meet again, human cultivator."

Shen Lian turned toward the voice—they knew this person.

It was Tadanya. Her weapons were two hammers, which she hoisted up. "After I fought you that day, I sensed something was off. You didn't really think my nose was for nothing, did you?"

"I've already caught a whiff of that stink on you two!"

With that, an overwhelming pressure burst from Tadanya's body.

Chen Xue immediately said, "Oh no, she's at the Void Insight Stage!"

Shen Lian's face turned pale in an instant. His cultivation was far too low—only at the Condensing Truth realm, two whole realms below Tadanya.

But the expected pain never came. Shen Lian was startled, only to see Yan Huaixuan's long sleeve sweep out as he pulled Shen Lian behind him.

Shen Lian looked up at Yan Huaixuan.

Tadanya sneered. "What a devoted pair of dao companions. But let's see if you can still stick together through hardship under our demon clan's assault!"

"You humans dare to run rampant in our demon realm—utterly audacious! All demons, seize them! Take them alive! We'll boil them into soup when we get back!"

The moment she spoke, swarms of demon soldiers charged at Yan Huaixuan and Shen Lian.

Yan Huaixuan raised his hand, and Ling Yun appeared in his palm.

Battles at the Void Insight Stage were not something Shen Lian could get involved in. His eyes could barely stay open, and all he could see was Yan Huaixuan standing before him, his snow-white robes billowing despite the lack of wind.

The long sword in his hand moved in an impenetrable dance.

Shen Lian touched the item in his arms—it was something Zheng Huifeng had given him.

"Shen Lian, this teleportation scroll—even a cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence stage might not be able to stop you. You can instantly teleport a hundred kilometers away."

But it could only teleport one person, and only once.

Seeing Yan Huaixuan locked in battle with the demon soldiers, Shen Lian hesitated for a moment.

It wasn't that he cared about Yan Huaixuan—it was the scroll he hated to waste. This scroll was his ultimate life-saving ace.

He hadn't even been willing to use it at the blood formation.

As he mulled it over, Shen Lian suddenly saw Yan Huaixuan's movements falter. Tanya immediately caught the brief lapse and seized the opportunity to charge forward.

She crossed her twin hammers and slammed them down at Yan Huaixuan's head.

Although Yan Huaixuan reacted swiftly and raised his sword to block, Shen Lian saw him freeze up again.

And for some reason, Shen Lian pressed a hand to his chest.

His heart started aching again.

Gasping for breath, Shen Lian spotted out of the corner of his eye a demon soldier sneaking up behind him while Yan Huaixuan was occupied with Tanya.

Shen Lian's pupils contracted. Without thinking, he gritted his teeth and hurled the pill he had concocted last night.

The demon caught the pill, thinking it was some treasure, but it was just a tiny pellet.

It grinned and crushed it. "This junk, you—"

Before it could finish, the demon's whole face twisted. "What the hell is this?! It smells like crap!"

With those words, the demon's eyes rolled back, and it passed out.

Not just the demon—even Tanya and Yan Huaixuan's faces changed.

"What is that? It reeks!" Tanya's face scrunched up as she gagged and stumbled backward.

Shen Lian hadn't expected the random find from last night to work so well. He rubbed his nose and chucked out a few more, which exploded mid-air.

Chen Xue was shocked. "Master, why do your pills blow up?"

Shen Lian coughed lightly. When he'd made them, he'd thought of grenades, so he'd added some explosive stuff.

In an instant, a god-awful stench filled the air.

The demons who breathed in the most turned green. "Ugh, what is this, ugh, what is this, ugh."

Tanya was the quickest to react. "Hold your breath!"

Sure enough, once they held their breath, they couldn't smell it anymore.

Hold their breath? Shen Lian raised an eyebrow, then switched to chucking out a different kind of green pill.

Those pills exploded mid-air, and the powder stuck to the demons' bodies.

The demons immediately lost it and burst out laughing uncontrollably.

Realizing what was happening, their eyes bugged out.

"What the hell is—haha—going on, haha, damn, it stinks, haha, it stinks, haha."