Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible
Chapter 71: Eccentric Old Monster

Chapter 71: Eccentric Old Monster

Shen Kai was in a terrible mood. The order from the higher-ups in his sect was to be as low-key as possible while exploring the mysterious world fragment.

But who could have foreseen that that weirdo Mu Ran would discover it?

Shen Kai hadn’t believed a single word that came out of his mouth at the time Mu Ran was explaining how he had discovered the portal by a ’coincidence’.

He hadn’t had much of a chance to test that guy, but Mu Ran’s behavior reeked of a certain type of idiocy that he could never think of as genuine.

No one in the world of cultivation can be such a happy-go-lucky idiot, especially not a young man cultivating two paths of power at once, just like Shen Kai. The pressure his cultivation base left on Shen Kai’s perception was no laughing matter, considering how low his actual cultivation was.

Not to mention, this Mu Ran was a person who could walk through the layers of protection that surrounded the gateway to the fragmented world. Every cultivator before him had been fooled by those protective mechanisms.

Yet, Mu Ran had not only forced his way through the barriers they had set up to repel investigators, he had even disabled more than half of them somehow in the process.

Shen Kai hadn’t had the time to examine the damages, but he could sense the existence of the portal from far away even after escaping from there. The bothersome bugs from foreign sects that had been snooping around in this area for the last few days would all come rushing to it, he was sure.

Thinking about the consequences, Shen Kai’s heart ached.

After all, the portal was hidden from the perception of outsiders using seventy-one types of illusion spells and a grandmaster-level array formation that twisted a multitude of cosmic laws around it.

Unless an expert cultivator beyond the realm of Soul Reformation came down there, there was no way anyone could just sniff out the portal while investigating that area.

How was he going to explain this to the Sect Master? Who would believe that someone discovered the portal while chasing a squirrel with the goal of pissing on it?

Feeling vexed, Shen Kai wrapped the shawl around him to hide his tattered clothes and small injuries from prying eyes. There were a lot of cultivators with scary backgrounds here, loitering around the town upon sensing the suddenly revealed traces of the mysterious world fragment.

He had just barely avoided a group of dozens whose appearance and accent suggested that they were from a sect that didn’t belong anywhere within five thousand square miles. Hell, they might even have been from overseas...

"Young man, can I have a word with you?"

The kind voice jolted Shen Kai into focusing on the seat beside him on the ferryboat. An old man, holding a large black and red fish scale in his palm, was sitting beside him, wearing a peaceful expression on his face.

Shen Kai suddenly felt that something was wrong with this situation. He was a cultivator at the fifth phase of the Physique Transformation realm. How come he hadn’t noticed this old man coming to sit beside him right now?

He could swear that this seat was empty ten seconds ago...

"Young man, I wanted to ask if you’ve seen two children. Both are slightly younger than you, and not very strong, beginner cultivators from a big sect nearby.

"One of them addresses the other as ’boss’. The two of them should have entered one of the towns nearby as representatives of the Crimson Snow sect. You met them, right? Can you point out which direction they went to?"

Shen Kai was dumbstruck. How did this old man know that he had met those kids?

But his surprise only lasted for a mere second. Survival instincts kicked in fast. The casual way he had been sitting immediately changed into an attentive, respectful posture.

He had no doubts in mind that he was facing someone beyond the Soul Reformation realm!

"Hey, answer the question, boy. Don’t keep me waiting. I haven’t got all night. I’m an old man..."

The powerhouse started to nag like an impatient beggar. But this persona did not fool Shen Kai.

In the dim light of the boat’s lanterns swaying along the rhythm of the river’s waves, Shen Kai’s eyes gazed upon countless terrifying bestial shadows superimposing behind the old man’s hunched, harmless figure.

A cold chill enveloped his bones.

He didn’t have the mental strength to lie to the old man. He didn’t want to die so young.

"Yes, I met them, sir. They went into the woods at the south of Pine Town to investigate something. If you follow the road that runs through the woods, you’ll definitely discover their tracks."

Shen Kai’s answer was very honest and straightforward, respect and politeness radiating from his face like the sun emitting light. The old man looked satisfied with his answer.

"The woods close to Pine town? Ha~ I should’ve guessed. No wonder somebody tried to erase my mark on the body of those kids. If my suspicion is true, the abomination is definitely looking for something that can strengthen its spiritual body!

"That place... I remember it had a gateway to a hidden world fragment. That old Holy Land’s remains should still be there. I wonder if all traces of foreign invasion have been cleaned up by now.

"Heh~ It is no wonder that they headed there! The abomination has done its research well! Thank you, young man!"

Shen Kai didn’t know if he should feel relieved. And the next thing the old man said left him even more shocked.

"Young man, I can see that you’re stuck in a bottleneck at the midpoint of Physique Transformation Realm. Let me see..."

Shen Kai’s forehead became wet with cold sweat. The words coming out of the old man’s mouth were scaring him.

What did he know about that place?

How did he know that Shen Kai was stuck in the bottleneck?

And what did he mean by "let me see"?