Chapter 93 - Why Go So Far?
Damien crossed a few kilometers towards the north, and he sensed a rich aura of spiritual essence coming from a certain direction.
'Found it!' He sensed that the aura was coming from the Crimson Berry he was searching for.
He focused his gaze and saw a crimson fruit dangling on the branch of a huge tree which was more than 100 meters tall.
There were also a couple of other trees around the tree which had thin creepers waved around them, and a mishmash of flowers, claiming remnants of light and sticking out against the otherwise dark lower level.
However, there was still a gloomy air pervading the region and Damien could hear a mixture of sounds, mostly belonging to varmint, echoing in the air, drowning out the rustling of the leaves and branches of the treetops in the wind.
He thought of using his sword to cut down the fruit from below. But decided not to since it might attract the attention of some dangerous ethereal beasts. He realized that the only choice was to climb the tree slowly and silently and then carefully pluck the fruit.
'Never expected my tree climbing skills would be put to test now.' Damien sighed as he slowly made his way towards the base of the huge tree.
He was surprised to see that there wasn't any Sky Ethereal Realm beast guarding this place. Especially when such a rich spiritual aura was emanating from the fruit. He had thought of using his undead Flame Hog as distraction in case there was a Sky Ethereal Realm beast guarding the tree.
But now that no such beast was there, he decided to take hold of the chance quickly.
Damien carefully started to climb his way up in a slow pace trying not to give out any sound.
*rustle*
*rustle*
*rustle*
However, when he had reached about 20 meters high, he heard some faint rustling of grass from the ground. He twisted his neck around and looked below. His eyes widened when he saw strange insects burrowing out through the earth, approaching the base of the tree he was climbing at a fast pace!
'FUCK...those are the Blight Flayers!' Damien howled inwardly when he saw those creepy black insects crawling towards him.
These insects actually weren't really strong and usually survived under the ground preying on weaker organisms. After all, their cultivation levels varied around Low Levels of the Nascent Ethereal Realm to Peak Levels of the Nascent Ethereal Realm.
But they were known for their vicious blood-sucking bite that could drain a normal cultivator at the Nascent Ethereal Realm dry within minutes.
However, that was not the only thing that made them dreadful. It was the excruciating pain that tormented their prey as they sucked off their blood. They would strip off the skin or flay them off as they suck their prey's blood. Skin and blood, both acted as nutrients for them.
In a normal situation, Damien could kill a swarm of them with his eyes closed.
But now he was stuck in a tight spot unable to fight back.
If he does, it would only be a matter of time till a Sky Ethereal Realm beast appears. He couldn't even use his undead slave since that would also lead to the same conclusion, and the Flame Hog obviously wouldn't be able to last even seconds against a Sky Ethereal Realm beast.
Damien had barely any information about this area since no one approached this area due to the frightening pressure experts experienced when they neared this area. They could only barely spot the Crimson Berry hanging on the tree.
But when he entered, he didn't experience any kind of pressure and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to pluck the fruit quickly and return.
The Blight Flayers travel around the Dark Forest underground since it was safe, and they could also absorb the higher quality of ethereal air present in the air by burrowing towards the inner regions.
They had been staying in this place hidden, to be under the presence of the soothing aura of the Crimson Berry. They rarely burrowed outward lest they get eaten or killed by a stronger ethereal beast.
However, they sensed a weaker prey approaching the huge tree and decided to attack the oblivious prey since there weren't even any stronger ethereal beasts around.
After all, seeing such juicy and weak prey in front of them, how can they resist their hunger?
Damien took in a deep breath and tried to climb faster. He didn't dare to distract himself with other thoughts and focused on climbing to the top.
"You need to run right now!" Luna's urgent remark echoed in his mind.
"I can't, just almost 80 more meters, and I can get it...Arghhhhh!"
Before Damien could complete his sentence, his face contorted with pain as he felt the Blight Flayers swarming all over his body, flaying his skin and sucking his blood by tearing through his defensive ethereal energy.
Almost every part of his body hurt. His neck, his chest, his arms, his legs were hurting as if innumerous sharp knives were twisting viciously into his body.
He felt a horrifying amount of pain as he felt his nerves being torn apart to shreds along with his skin, slowly, in a long train of agony.
Damien was still continuing his climb, gritting his teeth while enduring the agonizing pain.
'Ughhh...only 30 more meters...I can make it.' The more Damien got closer to the top, the more determined he was. However, his pace of climbing was slowing down as he kept losing a lot of blood at a rapid rate
"You idiot, stop climbing! Get down this instant!" Luna bellowed seeing his stupidity.
She quickly took out the herbs from Damien's soul space and instantly concocted a Supreme Tier Rank 6 Heaven Healing Pill!
She transferred it into Damien's soul space and shouted in his mind, "I don't need that fruit anymore. See, I have already concocted your stupid pill for you. Now get down, before you die! You should obey this goddess immediately!"
Damien was slightly surprised noticing tinges of concern and worry in her voice, and also at the fact that Luna had already concocted the pill he needed before he even kept up the end of his bargain.
But even after sensing the pill in his soul space, his gaze didn't waver away from the Crimson Berry 15 meters away from him.
"Heh...when did I ever take orders from you? I don't take orders from anyone...I always follow my wishes and most of all I always keep my promises. Besides...I wouldn't even be alive...if it weren't for you...So, the least I can do is get this damn fruit for you." Damien said in an undaunted tone.
"You! I don't want you to keep any stupid promises and you can also forget about the deal we made. I don't need any lame fruit. I am not going to get impressed with your stupidity. If you die, I swear I am going to make you reincarnate as a dog before I dissipate."
"Ha...you don't scare me...little goddess...Even if you turn me...into a dog...I will become...the most powerful...dog in the universe…" Damien said in a flippant tone. However, his face had already become pale as white as a sheet. He even felt like his whole body was becoming numb and slowly losing his grip on the tree.
He was already in an exhausted state since he had just sliced off his soul essence and had strained himself for too long by maintaining his soul energy connection to the ethereal beasts before.
Luna's face became red with annoyance and frustration seeing Damien cracking lame jokes with her even in such a perilous situation. She didn't expect Damien to be so serious about keeping up the end of his deal even after getting the pill from her.
'Why...why go so far?' Luna thought, seeing Damien struggling to even keep himself conscious. She felt that the mortal she was residing in was beyond her understanding.
She felt strange and her heart faltered for a split second for some reason seeing him struggle so much, enduring the pain for someone like her. After all, she knew she was just like a parasite who only cares about herself and thought that Damien should have the same opinion.
Just as he was 3 meters away from the Crimson Berry, Damien circulated his ethereal energy to the maximum.
"Anti-God Art's First Stage - Undying Wrath!!"