Chapter 46: Ether Sensitivity

In the past two days, Ji Xinghuo and his team discovered several groups of Stone Scythe Specters, the largest group numbering over a hundred, but there were no Giant Stone Scythe Specters.

By now, they had ventured over a hundred kilometers deep into Peak Valley.

Attacks were becoming more frequent, some from monsters, but more from various poisonous snakes and insects, proving quite troublesome.

Snap!

Chi Zhonglin slapped his neck and opened his palm to reveal a bright red stain with a mosquito corpse the size of a thumb.

He reacted just half a second late, and his neck had already swollen up into a large lump.

“Such a poisonous mosquito…”

Chi Zhonglin grimaced and looked back at his teammates.

Ren Mian and Jiangnan Caiyi tore up a piece of spare clothing to wrap their faces and necks tightly. They also sprayed themselves with insect repellent.

Ji Xinghuo was dressed similarly, with only his eyes showing.

However, the effectiveness was limited. The mosquitoes in Peak Valley were not deterred by the repellent, and ordinary fabric could not stop their thirst for blood. They bit regardless.

Peak Valley was humid and hot, like a large steamer. The more tightly one was wrapped, the hotter it felt.

Ji Xinghuo and the others felt sticky and extremely uncomfortable.

Relying on his tough skin for some relief, Chi Zhonglin did not cover himself fully. After two days, he was bitten hundreds of times. Though his fungal giant constitution allowed for quick recovery, it left marks and was mentally taxing.

But he was too proud to complain.

Until now, when he could hardly stand it anymore, just as he was about to speak, Ji Xinghuo gestured.

“Someone’s here.”

Ji Xinghuo pointed in a direction.

The teammates looked but their view was blocked by the forest. Ji Xinghuo continued, “Six people, about three hundred meters from us. Seems like another hunting team.”

“Hmm, they’ve spotted us too.”

“They’re coming closer.”

As Ji Xinghuo spoke, the team slightly spread out but remained relatively close. Chi Zhonglin positioned himself at the front, Ren Mian placed her hand on her waist, Jiangnan Caiyi drew her katana.

No one looked particularly nervous.

They had encountered another hunting team just yesterday. They merely exchanged glances from a distance and then went their separate ways.

When both parties are aware of each other’s whereabouts and an ambush is impossible, and there are no conflicting interests, conflicts usually do not arise.

“They look non-hostile, just coming to check,” mentioned Ji Xinghuo.

Soon, six figures emerged from the woods, stopping about a hundred meters away.

Both sides sized each other up.

This hunting team, much like their own, had everyone wrapped up tightly, showing only their eyes. Judging from their builds, they appeared to be five men and one woman, all with black pupils, likely also from the Asia-Pacific Community.

Chi Zhonglin, the only one with his face exposed, became the focus.

“Chi Zhonglin?”

Suddenly, a man on the opposite side called out the name.

Ji Xinghuo had noticed this man earlier. He held a traditional hunting bow and was accompanied by a sleek, large black leopard, clearly a hunter with sharp senses, probably the leader of their group.

“And you are?” Chi Zhonglin was puzzled, not recognizing him immediately.

“Dammit, you’ve forgotten me already?”

The hunter pulled down the cloth covering his face, revealing a middle-aged man who cursed, “Just last month you competed with me for a lady at the club. I thought well of you and didn’t quarrel. We even called each other brothers then. I should’ve beaten you up!”

“Ahahaha…” Chi Zhonglin, looking embarrassed, replied, “Big bro Xue, your face was covered and you were standing so far away. I’m not good with faces, so I didn’t recognize you immediately. My mistake.”

Seeing Xue Yi still looked displeased, he quickly added, “Next time I’m back, I’ll treat you to a drink, Window Nine, I’ll cover all expenses.”

“That shows sincerity.”

Xue Yi’s expression softened. He then looked at Ji Xinghuo and the others, “Are they your teammates?”

“Yes,” Chi Zhonglin nodded but made no move to introduce further.

Both sides had their faces covered, revealing nothing.

Xue Yi didn’t intend to introduce his own teammates. Suddenly he asked, “Chi Zhonglin, you wouldn’t also be here to hunt the Giant Stone Scythe Specter, would you?”

“Also?” Chi Zhonglin caught the key word.

Both men’s expressions changed and fell silent suddenly.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at Ren Mian; her thinking necklace was activated. He thought to himself, “Sister Ren, your information network seems a bit leaky…”

“Hmm,” Ren Mian responded quietly, “Little Chi, ask where they got their information from.”

“Big bro Xue, how did you know about the Giant Stone Scythe Specter in Peak Valley?” Chi Zhonglin asked immediately.

“When I set off, it seemed half of East Xia District’s hunting teams knew about it,” Xue Yi did not conceal, “I don’t know who leaked it. On the way here, we already encountered three or four teams, all here for the Giant Stone Scythe Specter.”

He spat in disdain, “So many teams, none easy to mess with. Probably a wasted trip, just trying our luck now.”

“I see,” Chi Zhonglin pretended to be just informed. “We haven’t found anything either.”

Xue Yi did not suspect.

Though competitors, a brief exchange was enough before preparing to part ways, “Then, may the best team win.”

“Good luck, big bro Xue.”

Chi Zhonglin waved as he watched Xue Yi and his team move away.

Ji Xinghuo and the others headed in another direction. Once they confirmed the other team was beyond magnetic field sensing, he signaled it was safe.

“Looks like we might come up empty-handed this trip.”

Ren Mian spoke, “Such widely spread information is usually deliberately released by someone with ulterior motives. The goal is twofold: either use others to weaken the Giant Stone Scythe Specter for their gain or there’s no Giant Stone Scythe Specter at all, just luring enemies out of Olympia for an ambush.”

Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but think, Sister Ren got the news days before anyone else, could it be targeting her?

Ren Mian seemed to read Ji Xinghuo’s mind and shook her head, “If it’s the latter, we’re not the target.”

“Why?” Ji Xinghuo asked.

“My enemies wouldn’t bother with such complicated schemes. They’d act directly in Olympia,” Ren Mian said quietly.

Ji Xinghuo was shocked.

Damn!

What kind of place is Olympia?

Just from the Asia-Pacific Community, there are at least thirty resident legendary beings, and General Hawk of Olympia, a king-level being, known as ‘Champion Marquis’!

Those daring to act directly in Olympia must also be legendary beings, right?

And not just one!

Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi were also startled by the information revealed in Ren Mian’s words, exchanging glances. Chi Zhonglin’s voice was a bit hoarse, “Sister Ren, who exactly are your enemies?”

“I won’t tell you yet,” Ren Mian’s tone was light yet filled with confidence, “Don’t worry, it doesn’t concern you.”

Ji Xinghuo felt a bit more relaxed.

First, he trusted Ren Mian; second, he trusted his own abilities. His magnetic field sensing was always on, and he detected no one tracking or spying.

“Sister Ren, are we still going to look for the Giant Stone Scythe Specter?” Chi Zhonglin asked.

“Of course, we continue,” Ren Mian reasoned, “The likelihood that someone wants to profit from the situation is higher. If we’re lucky, we might get the upper hand. But, if something feels off, we’ll retreat immediately back to Olympia.”

For the next few days, the team roamed around Peak Valley.

They collected a few different species but found no Giant Stone Scythe Specters. Instead, they encountered several other hunting teams from both the Asia-Pacific Community and foreigners.

More and more people were getting the information.

Ren Mian decided they would search for a few more days before heading back, not wanting to waste more time.

On the tenth day.

Ji Xinghuo suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.

A massive irregularly shaped rock floated above, resembling a jagged potato. It was wide horizontally but short vertically, with its broadest part over a hundred meters across. Trees and weeds grew on it, vines dangled from the edges, and the entire rock gently swayed with the wind, casting a large shadow.

It was a small Suspended Mountain.

Suspended Mountains were abundant in Thousand Peak Abyssal Forest; the largest could span tens of thousands of meters, the mediums thousands, all occupied by Tianyu Wangting as cities, numbering over a thousand.

The remaining Suspended Mountains were much smaller, scattered about.

Many were in Peak Valley, but all were small suspended ones. Some Suspended Mountains were anchored to the ground with thick vines, with Stone Scythe Specters climbing up to claim them as their territory.

However, the one in question was ownerless.

It had no connection to the ground and kept shifting its position.

“Xinghuo, why are you looking at it?” Chi Zhonglin asked, gazing upward.

This Suspended Mountain seemed unremarkable; they had encountered several larger ones these past days, none with anything noteworthy.

“There’s something up there.”

Ji Xinghuo pointed, puzzled. “But I’m not sure what it is…”

His magnetic field sensing picked up something on the cliffside of the Floating Mountain, hidden by thick plant vines.

The magnetic field inside was strange; the magnetic lines formed a highly regular vortex, not typical of biological fields, yet seemingly alive.

Ji Xinghuo had never seen anything like it and couldn’t immediately understand.

Hearing this, Chi Zhonglin’s eyes lit up; he trusted Ji Xinghuo’s senses. If Ji Xinghuo said there was something good, there probably was.

“Let’s go up and check!”

Ren Mian nodded in agreement.

However, everyone hesitated as they looked at the mountain floating three hundred meters above ground. None of them could fly; how would they get up?

“Let me try,” Ji Xinghuo immediately thought of a method.

He took out a nanorope, choosing the heaviest arrow to tie one end of the rope to the arrow’s tail, securing it firmly.

The nanorope was thin and light, over a thousand meters long, definitely long enough.

The challenge was hitting and anchoring the arrow onto the Floating Mountain.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t shoot directly below the mountain but walked over two hundred meters away to lessen gravity’s influence, aiming for better distance. He squinted upward, his eyes subtly flashing as he activated Wànxiàng Senluo.

His arrowhead moved back and forth, seemingly searching for the right point to hit.

Suddenly, he shot an arrow.

The arrow soared upward, trailing the long nanorope like a tail, gradually slowing down as it rose higher.

“This will fail; we can try a few more times though,” Chi Zhonglin judged the trajectory, realizing it likely wouldn’t reach the mountain body and was already falling.

The next second, he stared in amazement.

The arrow entangled perfectly with a vine dangling from the mountain.

Ji Xinghuo grasped the nanorope skillfully, shook it sharply, and wound it around the vine, tugging a few times to ensure it was secure.

“Can it really work?” Chi Zhonglin was astonished.

Ji Xinghuo brought the nanorope back to directly below the floating mountain, stating, “I’ll go up first.”

The nanorope was very thin, only three millimeters in diameter, yet could support several tons. However, it could cut hands if pulled too hard. Ji Xinghuo wore gloves to prevent this.

He wrapped the rope around his palms a couple of times to lift himself higher and alternated hands with the rope to ascend.

Midway, he hung in midair, gently swaying with the wind.

His teammates below watched nervously.

Fortunately, Ji Xinghuo quickly climbed to the top, grabbed the vines, and continued upward, reaching the top of the Floating Mountain. From there, it was easier. Ji Xinghuo instructed his teammates to tie the rope around their waists, then pulled them up one by one, eventually drawing up the rope to avoid accidents.

“Where’s the place you mentioned?” Chi Zhonglin asked eagerly.

“Follow me.”

Ji Xinghuo led his teammates across the mountaintop. The forest here was no different from the ground, with birds the only animals evident.

He reached the opposite side of the Floating Mountain, descended a dozen meters along the vines, and brushed aside the weeds to reveal an entrance.

Chi Zhonglin and the others followed him in.

Inside was a natural cave, several tens of square meters in area, three to four meters high. Their arrival disturbed a flock of bats, which flurried out in a rush.

Ji Xinghuo stood in the middle of the cave.

In front of him hung a stalactite from the ceiling, with a corresponding stalagmite on the ground, vertically aligned. The tips were only ten centimeters apart, almost touching.

Between this tiny gap, there was a glowing orb.

The light was faint, like a firefly’s glow but very pure.

At the heart of the light was a tiny crystal, irregularly oval and only the size of a green bean. It hovered steadily, flickering softly every few seconds.

Chi Zhonglin’s eyes widened. He observed for a few seconds but couldn’t make anything out.

“Is this a rare item?”

He voiced everyone’s inner question.

Many strange and natural wonders existed in the Star Realm, some born naturally and others nurtured by life. Storage wonders were one type, among many other functionally magical treasures.

Ji Xinghuo saw a hint of a smile in Ren Mian’s eyes and asked, “Sister Ren, do you recognize this thing?”

Ren Mian nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, this is a naturally born variant, Ether Sensitivity.”

“Ah?” Chi Zhonglin was disappointed.

He thought it was some priceless treasure. It turned out to be just an Ether Sensitivity variant.

Ether Sensitivity was a high-quality ability, but among high-quality abilities, it held the highest value, even more expensive than superior abilities.

It could increase the star power limit of an Exo and boost star power recovery speed, essentially enhancing cultivation efficiency and being acutely sensitive to the distribution and flow of ether energy.

Ether Sensitivity was much sought after in various professional templates.

The sources of Ether Sensitivity were broad, but naturally born ones were extremely rare, which is why Chi Zhonglin did not recognize it immediately.

Still, no matter how rare, it was merely a high-quality ability.

The initial high expectations plummeted upon discovering it was just a high-quality ability, leaving everyone quite disappointed.

“Still, it’s worth over two million, like finding free money.”

Ji Xinghuo laughed and gently took the crystal at the center of the light.

As it was moved, the light quickly dimmed, turning into an unremarkable white crystal, like a piece of quartz.

Immediately, an information interface popped up before his eyes.

【Variant: Ether Sensitivity】

【Grade: High-Quality】

【Fusion Success Rate: 100%】

【Upgradeable: Yes】

Ji Xinghuo’s eyes flickered as he saw the 100% fusion success rate!