Chapter 101: Unexpected Encounter
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While various beings from the Long Empire were becoming increasingly alert due to the powerful aura emanating from the dark gray portal, Ethan found himself in a dilemma.
He needed to retreat as quickly as possible and take them with him.
Sure, he could transport them and move them away, but the problem was that there were not just the two of them.
Not far from here, there were also the other disciples of the Phoenix Sect.
He didn't have a carriage or anything like that with him, so he wondered what to do.
Taking only the two of them and leaving the others behind didn't sit well with him.
Even though he didn't know any of these people, he didn't feel comfortable leaving them to their fate, which he knew wouldn't be anything good.
He would have asked the elder of the sect for help, but it seemed that he would have to think of something else since the elder was dealing with the enemy cultivator and now whatever was coming out of the portal.
Ethan was a bit curious to at least see what kind of being it was, as the one who had yet to appear had already caused quite a stir.
But he decided to stop thinking about this and focus on his current problem. After all, as they say: Curiosity killed the cat.
He had considered putting everyone inside his minor dimension, but then hesitated.
'What if they wake up?'
Even though he intended only to put them inside and move them to a more remote location, then bring them back out and wait for them to wake up, he was worried they might wake up while still inside.
After all, the time inside his minor dimension flowed 100 times faster than the outside world. In other words, one minute outside would equal an hour and 40 minutes inside.
Certainly, he didn't expect anyone to wake up in that time frame, but the problem was that it wouldn't take him just one minute to get a bit further away.
He was sure that if he wanted to go to a sufficiently distant and safer place, he would have to head toward the outer part of the Spirit Forest. In other words, it could take him between 30 to 60 minutes, depending on how quickly he recovered.
If this time is multiplied by 100, there would be more than enough time for almost everyone present to wake up.
And that was a problem.
'Think, Ethan, think…'
While he tried to find a solution to this problem, Bai Yu's voice echoed in his mind.
"Well, you could always put them to sleep every time they wake up.
After all, you can always perceive what's happening inside the minor dimension," Bai Yu said as if it wasn't a big deal.
Just as Ethan was about to consider this option, Bai Yu's voice echoed again.
"And remember, you're an alchemist.
Is it possible that you don't have something with you to make them sleep for a long period?"
Hearing this last statement, Ethan didn't focused on Bai Yu's sarcasm but on her words.
"Damn, she's right. Why didn't I think of that?" he thought, and immediately after, he opened his storage to examine something.
Ethan's storage was no longer as empty as before; it was now filled with items of every kind arranged in a certain order.
He had at least one box for each item, including a whole box for every type of herb.
He scrolled quickly to see if he had the material he needed, and in no time, he found it.
"Thank god, with this, I should be able to gain at least a few more hours," he thought as he pulled the material from his dimensional pocket.
In his hand was what seemed to be a yellowish root, the upper part of which had a small plant with two leaves.
He took a few, and then vanished from the spot.
In less than 5 seconds, he reappeared at the same spot from where he had departed, now holding not herbs but a series of white bandages.
Ethan wasted no time and wrapped a bandage around each person's neck, ensuring they were loose enough not to strangle anyone, but not so loose as to slip off.
Ethan didn't have time to think of a better and more comfortable solution, so he went directly to extracting the essence of those herbs and preparing a liquid that would make someone drift into their dreams for entire days.
The effect varied depending on the person, but overall, it was certain that no one would wake up for the next 24 hours.
He immersed the bandages in the liquid so that they would carry its effect for a while.
Wrapping them around each person, the bandages would release the scent of the plant, which would be inhaled by them for several hours.
Of course, the aroma released by the bandage wouldn't last too long, but once absorbed, it would do its job for hours.
It wasn't the most effective method of using the plant's properties, but in desperate times, desperate measures were needed.
As he finished applying the bandages to everyone, he noticed that there was one more person among the group of disciples who had come to rescue.
It was a girl.
She seemed to be of the same age as the other disciples, covered in a brown cloak with a hood.
The hood was down, revealing the girl's graceful face.
As soon as Ethan approached the girl and saw her face, his body froze, and a perplexed expression appeared on his face.
If an outsider had seen him in this way, they would have thought he was mesmerized by the girl's beauty.
But they couldn't have been more wrong.
For Ethan, who had seen beauties like the sect master and Bai Yu, this was nothing.
The reason he was shocked was that he recognized who the girl was.
"Damn, isn't she the one who stole herbs from me at the city market?"
As he wondered what she was doing here, the pressure emanating from the portal suddenly increased several times.
It didn't take a genius to understand what was happening.
Turning his head in the direction of the portal, Ethan thought with a renewed sense of urgency.
'Something is coming out of the portal.'
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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:
Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
As always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, feel free to share them below.
See you tomorrow with another chapter.⬇️