Chapter 6: Dense Forest

Chapter 6: The Dense Forest

Shang Yunduo was really annoyed.

Why did it sound so hard to get a little something?

He had no idea how big the valley was—if a crowd swarmed in all at once, would there be any spiritual herbs left for him?

In the following days, they did speed up. By the sixth day, the fog in the mountains ahead got thicker, and the trees below grew denser, their crowns interlocking like a green carpet, leaving almost no gaps.

Flying to a certain point, the tree shadows that had been rising and falling with the hills suddenly flattened out. From above, the canopy looked even more like a smooth green blanket, covering the ground tightly.

Niu Chengdian stopped, turned around, and said, "Everybody, if we keep flying on swords from here, we might attract Twin-headed Eagles. Let's descend here!"

Twin-headed Eagles were second-rank demonic beasts, highly territorial, extremely fast, and irritable. If provoked, they wouldn't even fear third- or fourth-order beasts, and in flocks, they'd dare to chase even Core Formation cultivators, let alone a bunch of Qi Refining cultivators.

Nobody said anything, but they all stayed on guard inside. The weaker cultivators grumbled, "Why did the Midnight Lotus have to grow near Twin-headed Eagles?"

Another gutsy one sneered, "If it grew right on the street, would there still be any left for us?"

That made sense. Spiritual herbs didn't only grow in desolate mountains; it was just that rich spiritual veins were already occupied by sects, and the easy-to-find spiritual plants and beasts were already grabbed by sects and powerful cultivators. For rogue cultivators like them, cultivation was already harder than for sect disciples. To find anything, they had to go to dangerous, remote places—the more they thought about it, the more pissed off they got.

This time, with most sect disciples going to the Ancient Wilderness Secret Realm, they had already gotten really lucky.

Shang Yunduo followed the crowd down through the gaps in the trees. The sudden darkening of the "sky" startled him. Niu Chengdian stopped on the branches of the canopy, holding onto a branch. When the last person landed, he let go and dropped down, blocking the only remaining light, making the surroundings even darker.

Two idioms popped into Shang Yunduo's head: "no sky in sight" and "blotting out the sun and covering the sky."

No exaggeration.

Everyone brought out their lighting tools, some even pulling out fire sticks—the gap between rich and poor was obvious.

Shang Yunduo, Yan Jia, and Wang Ming all used Glow Pearls issued by the Taiyuan Sect, each the size of a ping-pong ball, lighting up only about three body lengths—nothing special, pretty common magic tools.

Glow Pearls could be held in hand or suspended beside the body.

Shang Yunduo had just started learning telekinesis, so it didn't work well at a distance. He kept his Glow Pearl steadily in front of him. Yan Jia, on the other hand, was already zipping his Glow Pearl all over the place, checking out the weird stuff.

With various other cultivators' artifacts, everyone could clearly see the scene above: thick branches and dense leaves stretched far, and away from the trunks, branches from three or four trees tangled together, layer after layer, blocking every bit of sunlight.

Without light, little vegetation grew on the ground—only a few shade-loving plants scattered in the piles of dead leaves.

"Let's move."

But the farther they walked, the more suffocating the air got.

Though it was summer, it should have been humid and hot, yet this undergrowth was cold and damp, the air murky and thin. Shang Yunduo felt increasingly uncomfortable, wishing he had a fan to move the air around.

Before long, some already added layers against the cold, but the chill pierced right through clothes, making their guts feel like they were freezing into ice. Only fire-attribute cold-resistant artifacts could fend it off. Those without such tools had to rely on their spiritual energy to withstand it, using up almost as much spiritual energy as sword flying.

"How much longer?" After half a day of walking, the lower-cultivation rogue cultivators had started taking pills, but pills were limited, and this pitch-black forest seemed endless.

"Almost there," Niu Chengdian said, looking down at his compass. Other cultivators skilled in formations also examined their compass artifacts.

Some were checking directions, others were sensing spiritual energy. Without a compass, they risked losing their way and being trapped here forever.

Shang Yunduo knew nothing about formations and had no compass, so he stuck close to Niu Chengdian and Li Wuzi, observing how they used their compasses as they walked.

Afraid of losing track of his two nominal junior brothers, he glanced back from time to time.

Yan Jia and Wang Ming both practiced Water-element techniques, so walking through this gloomy forest did not feel in their element; instead, they were very sensitive to the cold. Neither of them had fire-attributed artifacts, and after trudging for most of the day, they looked exhausted and thoroughly miserable.

Shang Yunduo stopped to wait for them.

"Senior Brother?"

"Hmm..." Shang Yunduo somewhat reluctantly handed a red jade bracelet to Yan Jia. "Here, wear this."

Yan Jia paused, lowering his gaze to the jade bracelet, which was clearly imbued with fire spiritual energy.

Shang Yunduo was still thinking that if Yan Jia found the bracelet too feminine, he would find a string to hang it around his neck. Unexpectedly, Yan Jia only hesitated for a moment before putting it on with delight. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Shang Yunduo: "... Mm."

Wang Ming looked on enviously, but since his cultivation was higher than Yan Jia's and he didn't really know Shang Yunduo, he felt too embarrassed to ask if he had any other heating artifacts.

As for Shang Yunduo's worry about the bracelet, they didn't mind at all. Except for certain direct disciples of sect elders who had so many treasures they could pick and choose, no one normally cared.

Artifacts were scarce, especially treasures handed down from ancient cultivators. If one obtained a valuable item, would they refuse it just because the original maker was a different gender?

Even bracelets, let alone hairpins, earrings, embroidered capes, or headdresses—if obtained, they would be worn, at most with a slight alteration to the appearance. Moreover, many sects themselves valued appearance and adornment, with many male disciples wearing gold and jade bracelets.

With the Fire Jade Bracelet, Yan Jia felt much better. Halfway through the day, he even took it off and let Wang Ming wear it for a while. As for Shang Yunduo, without this artifact, he was left with only a jade pendant that gave a little protection against the cold, and he had to channel his spiritual energy to stay warm. Fortunately, he had a Fire Spirit Root, which made him more cold-resistant than those with other spiritual roots.

Yan Jia and Wang Ming saw this and were deeply moved, realizing they had greatly misunderstood Senior Brother Shang in the past!

They had only heard others' words and assumed Senior Brother Shang was eccentric, aloof, and unapproachable. After returning to the sect, they would definitely confront those who had spread rumors.

They trudged on in silence for a long time, until Shang Yunduo could no longer keep track of time. Suddenly, the sky ahead grew slightly brighter, and they faintly felt a weak breeze.

"The moon!"

The people walking ahead called out joyfully.

Moonlight filtered through the sparse, thinning gaps in the leaves, and even the chill was partially driven away.

Those who had been holding on until now immediately refused to take another step upon seeing the moon. "Let's rest here for a while!"

"Yes, let's rest here for a while!"

Shang Yunduo also wanted to rest. Even boot camp training hadn't required such a day-long forced march, and running a marathon had never been this exhausting. He dragged his weary legs into the moonlight, and every pore felt refreshed!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured down with the moonlight, making cultivators who usually didn't pay much attention to this thin spiritual energy feel as if they were bathing in spiritual energy. One after another, they couldn't help but sit down to meditate.

Niu Chengdian hesitated, not sure whether to stop them. "There might be demon beasts lurking nearby..."

Before he could even finish speaking, Shang Yunduo, who was taking a deep breath, suddenly smelled the scent of wild beasts. Immediately after, he caught a glimpse of something flashing by in the distance. He thought to himself, 'Talk about a jinx!' but quickly warned, "Be careful!"

Cultivators, especially rogue cultivators, were highly sensitive to danger. Many of them didn't even figure out what to be careful about before they were already on alert, pulling out artifacts and brandishing weapons without hesitation. They were as fast as could be, but the demon beasts were faster. Before the other half of the cultivators could prepare, they were ambushed. Two rogue cultivators at the sixth layer of Qi Refining had their throats torn open before anyone could react.

The artifacts they had just taken out but had yet to use fell to the ground as their owners fell, and their corpses were brazenly dragged off by the demon beasts.

"It's a Shadow Fox!"

Someone angrily hurled a spell at the Shadow Fox, which hadn't gotten far.

But the Shadow Fox only leaped aside, then came back, baring its teeth and snarling at them.

Most of those who came for the Midnight Lotus were cultivators with Water or Fire spiritual roots. Instantly, fireballs, water balls, and ice spikes flew toward the few Shadow Foxes, striking hard.

Shadow Foxes were pursued by water and fire spells, tucking their tails and yelping as they retreated deep into the woods. But after venting their frustration, the group didn't dare let their guard down.

Although Shadow Foxes were low-level demon beasts with limited attack power, these foxes were extremely cunning, vengeful, patient, and especially skilled at ambushing. When you were alone, it was almost impossible to defend against their attacks.

Fortunately, they had enough people. Ahead lay another stretch of dark, sunless dense forest. After discussion, they decided to rest here for now.

To avoid being ambushed by Shadow Foxes, they lit torches in a circle around them and took turns keeping watch among the dozen or so remaining people.

Shang Yunduo sat together with two junior brothers, the three of them taking different watch shifts.

Shang Yunduo closed his eyes for a short rest, wishing he could just lie down.

After all, he didn’t need to meditate; sleeping sitting up was nowhere near as comfortable as lying down.

But since everyone else was meditating, he would look too conspicuous if he were the only one lying down, so he had to pretend to be meditating while catching a little sleep.

In the first half of the night, the Shadow Foxes only harassed them twice.

As the night deepened, they began to visit the camp more often, sometimes howling, sometimes feigning ambushes, trying to wear them down and waiting for them to slip up.

Shang Yunduo couldn’t sleep well; he was tense and restless. When his turn for watch finally came, he felt a weary relief.

It was now the final stretch before dawn. Mist rose in the woods, and the Shadow Foxes grew even more restless, hiding within the fog.

Shang Yunduo sat by the campfire, looking around left and right, and even pulled out his demon beast manual and flipped through it.

It had records on Shadow Foxes.

As you'd expect from foxes, they loved to steal demon beast cubs and eggs.

The eggs of the twin-headed eagle were also on their menu, and they particularly loved eating them.

Shang Yunduo muttered to himself: no wonder they ran into them here. They were just the appetizers; the twin-headed eagles were the main dish.

The fact they dared steal from twin-headed eagles showed they had real skills. They were as fast as the eagles, lightweight bodies, fur that let them hide in shadows, paws that made no sound, and thin, sharp claws and teeth.

They could tear through skin and flesh in an instant.

In the marketplace, many cultivators used Shadow Fox teeth and claws as hidden weapons.

Shang Yunduo suddenly felt a cold chill on his neck and pulled up his armored vest.

His side was relatively quiet compared to the others.

It seemed the demon beasts could also judge spiritual power. A fake Qi Refining Peak mixed in with a group of Qi Refining stage rogue cultivators could not only bluff people but also deceive the cunning foxes that loved to pick on the weak.

The low-level cultivators got annoyed and struck back, throwing fireballs and ice spells into the mist, and some even used artifacts. Shang Yunduo simply picked up stones by his feet and threw them, which was enough to scare off the Shadow Foxes sneaking a look at him.

Daybreak was finally approaching. The Shadow Foxes that had been harassing them all night suddenly ran south. The few people on watch were puzzled and couldn’t help exchanging glances.

Soon after, they suddenly heard sounds of fighting and cursing not far away.

The light of flames and spells illuminated the dark before dawn.

The meditating crowd was startled awake, each grabbing their weapons and looking in that direction.

Someone instinctively asked, “Should we go help?”

The voices were clearly from human cultivators. Those Shadow Foxes must have discovered them and given up their attack here.

Another person said coldly, “They must also be here looking for the Midnight Lotus.”

Those who had hesitated to go over immediately stopped in their tracks.

After a few seconds of silence, someone stepped forward and stamped out the campfire in front of them.

Shang Yunduo: “...?”

Huh?

What’s this about?

Could they be planning to join in on an ambush?

But before they could put out all the fires, the unlucky bunch, fleeing in panic, first spotted them.

Through the mist, they looked at each other from a distance. The other group actually had a few more people than them.

Awkward.

Author’s note:

Yunduo: Another day of having his mind blown (dumbfounded)