Blocking the Door

Shi Yan slowly opened his eyes and smiled at Di Ya Lan, who was immersed in surprise. "Congratulations, Sister Lan."

Having figured out the mysterious Martial Soul's peculiar uses, Shi Yan was also very excited. Di Ya Lan had only fooled around with him for a few days and gained some benefits, miraculously breaking through to the Human Position realm. This showed that the mysterious Martial Soul was indeed infinitely useful.

"Thank you."

Di Ya Lan's beautiful eyes overflowed with gratitude.

She knew, of course, that all the changes in her body were Shi Yan's doing. She had truly felt the benefits these past few days.

"Mm, perhaps it's related to the medicinal effects in my body, but it's also the result of Sister Lan's diligent cultivation," Shi Yan said calmly. "Sister Lan, you've reached the Human Position realm. Have you checked if your 'Blue Demon Flame' Martial Soul has changed?"

Di Ya Lan smiled charmingly, like a blooming flower, and gracefully extended her left hand. A ball of blue flame suddenly emerged from her palm.

The ball of flame was about the size of a watermelon and gradually covered her entire left hand.

The blue flame seemed to have a spirit, transforming into streams of fire snakes that coiled around her smooth wrist.

As Di Ya Lan's thoughts changed, the wondrous "Blue Demon Flame" took on various forms. The flame would turn into a spirit snake, then into a flying bird, lifelike, as if it could fly out of her palm at any moment.

"The moment I broke through to the Human Position realm, I felt the 'Blue Demon Flame' change. The Martial Soul has been strengthened..." Di Ya Lan's mouth was full of smiles. "It not only grew from fist-sized to head-sized, but it also gained the ability to materialize objects. This is its second stage."

Materializing objects?

Shi Yan nodded, immediately realizing that Di Ya Lan's "Blue Demon Flame" Martial Soul was also quite extraordinary. He praised, "Then I must congratulate Sister Lan even more."

"It's all thanks to you." Di Ya Lan's eyes rippled like clear water, and she smiled, a hint of desire seeming to emerge from her lips again.

"This, how is this possible?"

Mu Yu Die, on the tree, had a look of disbelief on her delicate face. "It's only been about ten days, how could Sister Lan break through to the Human Position realm so quickly? Sister Lan, I remember you only stayed in the Innate Third Heaven Realm for half a year, right?"

"That's right." Di Ya Lan was very happy and smug. "I indeed only entered the Innate Third Heaven Realm half a year ago. Even I didn't expect to break through to the Human Position realm so quickly. I originally thought it would take at least three to five years of hard cultivation to reach the Human Position realm, hehe."

Mu Yu Die rolled her eyes, almost speechless.

Could it be... that guy's thing really had the miraculous effect of a God Grade medicinal liquid?

Thinking of this, Mu Yu Die blushed again and cursed herself, no longer daring to think further.

Another five days passed.

Shi Yan and the other two continued to move cautiously in the Gloomy Forest.

For five days, every night, the Gloomy Forest became very lively. The roars of Yao Beasts and the screams of human Martial Artists and mercenaries occasionally echoed, sending chills down one's spine.

Shi Yan realized that someone must have provoked a high-level Yao Beast. For the past few nights, he would find a quiet and safe area to rest and resolutely refused to go out at night.

He avoided provoking Yao Beasts and passing mercenaries, adopting a policy of evasion.

Because of this caution, although the three of them hadn't traveled much in these five days, they hadn't encountered any major threats.

In addition, Shi Yan was lucky enough to encounter some human Martial Artists killed by Yao Beasts. As soon as the Yao Beasts left, Shi Yan would collect the residual Essence from those people.

For safety's sake, he would always wait for the Yao Beasts to leave for a while before appearing.

Although the harvest each time was not large, the accumulation had gradually strengthened his body's "Petrifying Martial Soul."

Now, his body could completely petrify in an instant according to his will, his skin turning a dark brown, and his physical defense was slowly increasing.

He had also never forgotten to practice "Berserk" these past few days.

However, the last hurdle was indeed difficult to cultivate. Once he tried to activate the negative power in the Acupoints on his head, he would suffer from splitting headaches. After his Essence flowed backward, he would instantly faint from the intense pain.

After cultivating for a few days, the last stage of "Berserk" had not yet been broken through.

After fainting several times in a row, he secretly guessed that his method might be wrong, so he abandoned blindly forcing himself and decided to think of a different method to try again.

It was late at night again.

Shi Yan and the other two were hiding in a dark cave in a valley, covering the entrance with bush leaves, and talking in low voices.

Outside the cave, the sounds of Yao Beasts passing by came wave after wave. The low growls and roars of the Yao Beasts seemed to fill all directions. It was unknown how many Yao Beasts were out tonight.

"Something's not right tonight. It seems like all the Yao Beasts in the Gloomy Forest are out and about," Di Ya Lan frowned. "This is too strange. Normally, even if mercenaries and Martial Artists are too active, the Yao Beasts would only cause trouble for two or three days at most. There shouldn't be so many Yao Beasts out. I wonder what's going on."

"With such a huge commotion from the Yao Beasts, there must be a high-level Yao Beast orchestrating things behind the scenes," Shi Yan said with a grim expression. "That 'Thunder Wing Silver Wolf' is a level seven Yao Beast, equivalent to a Martial Artist in our Heaven Position realm. Not only does it have a Demon Crystal within its body, but it also possesses intelligence comparable to ours. With it leading the charge, this must be a big deal."

"Fortunately, we've been very careful these past few days. We're not seeking to travel far, only to ensure our safety. Otherwise, we would surely be in trouble," Di Ya Lan nodded.

"Stomp! Stomp!"

The sound of messy footsteps suddenly came from outside. Judging by the sound, it should be human Martial Artists moving about.

With the frequent presence of Yao Beasts outside, it was highly unlikely that human Martial Artists moving about at this time would be good news. They were likely being chased by Yao Beasts again.

"Should we go out and take a look? Maybe we can help?" Mu Yu Die, with her kind heart, quietly asked for their opinions.

Shi Yan and Di Ya Lan exchanged glances, neither of them saying anything.

"What? You want to stand by and do nothing?" Mu Yu Die's delicate eyebrows furrowed, seemingly displeased.

"Yao Beasts are rampant outside, and we've finally found a hiding place. Once the location of our cave is exposed, I'm afraid we'll be in grave danger. Besides, how can you be sure that the Martial Artists outside aren't disaster gods? If they covet your beauty, who knows what problems will arise. It's best not to meddle in other people's affairs," Shi Yan snorted coldly, not being polite at all.

Mu Yu Die wasn't brainless. She understood these situations in her heart, but she couldn't bear to see others being killed by Yao Beasts, which was why she spoke up.

But being lectured with a stern face by Shi Yan, she found it hard to save face. She tilted her head back and snorted, muttering softly, "Cold-blooded! Not a bit of human decency. So you're afraid of dying too. I thought..."

"That wasn't being afraid of dying, that was courting death!"

Shi Yan let out a cold laugh, baring his teeth. "Miss Mu, you saved me twice, but I think I've already repaid your kindness. Remember one thing: the only reason I'm still here is no longer because of you, but because of Uncle Luo's instructions."

He paused, then continued in a deep voice, "I am not your servant. Don't try to provoke me with your spoiled young lady temper! If you really make me unhappy, I'll just pack up and leave. You can do whatever you want then."

"You!" Mu Yu Die felt wronged. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gritted her teeth and choked out, "You, you just know how to bully me!"

"Alright, alright. We should stick together at this time. We're all heading to the Merchant Alliance, and it's good to have someone to watch our backs. Don't throw a tantrum," Di Ya Lan advised.

"No!"

Shi Yan suddenly stood up, his expression turning grim. "Those guys seem to know there's a cave here. They're coming this way!"

"No way?" Di Ya Lan exclaimed, quickly drawing her short sword and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Shi Yan at the cave entrance. "What do we do?"

"Roar!" "Growl!"

The roars of Yao Beasts echoed from outside the cave, and it seemed more and more of them were converging towards this location.

"Block the entrance!"

Shi Yan's face changed. He reached out and pressed against a rock blocking the cave entrance, shouting, "Help me hold it! Don't let anyone enter the cave! If anyone gets in, the Yao Beasts will definitely know something's up and won't leave us alone. We'll all suffer then!"

When Shi Yan entered this cave, he not only covered the entrance with leaves and shrubs outside but also moved a rock to block it from the inside. This was to prevent such a situation, and he hadn't expected it to actually come in handy.

"Okay!" Di Ya Lan was startled and quickly reached out, helping Shi Yan push against the rock blocking the cave entrance.