Thunder Kylin Beast of the Black Demon Forest, Illusory Spirit Road

"And according to the information I obtained..."

Bing Tianxiao leaned in conspiratorially.

"Ji Xuan is gathering a large force and marching into the Black Demon Forest in full strength."

"The Black Demon Forest?"

Luo Li was slightly taken aback.

"That's right."

Bing Tianxiao casually snapped off a branch and drew a simple map in the snow. "Their target is an adult Thunder Kylin Beast."

"Ji Xuan wants to overwhelm that beast with sheer numbers and obtain its Essence to strengthen his spirit body."

"The Black Demon Forest is huge. If the two of us 'outsiders' quietly sneak in and take out a bunch of them..."

Bing Tianxiao let out a sly chuckle.

Yet Luo Li's anticipated praise never came.

Instead, the air suddenly fell silent.

That silence carried a faint, dangerous chill, colder even than the wind and snow around them.

The smile on Bing Tianxiao's face gradually stiffened.

He felt a blade-sharp gaze fixed firmly upon him.

Feeling somewhat guilty, he raised his head and met Luo Li's smiling yet unsmiling eyes.

Luo Li paid no attention whatsoever to the Black Demon Forest, nor did she care about that unfortunate Thunder Kylin Beast.

She merely looked quietly at Bing Tianxiao.

A flush of embarrassed irritation slowly appeared on her exquisitely delicate face.

Since he knew every detail of Ji Xuan's operation to hunt the Thunder Kylin Beast, even their route of advance...

Then what had been the point of her seriously analyzing everything like a fool just now...

The girl's cool voice carried a hint of gritted-teeth fury.

Flames seemed to dance within her glass-like eyes.

"You knew so much. You really were messing with me just now!"

"Uh... well..."

Cold sweat instantly broke out across Bing Tianxiao's forehead.

He gave an awkward laugh, trying to defend himself.

"Um... Heroine, listen to my explanation! I was only... only trying to verify..."

"Clang!"

Luo Li did not listen to his nonsense at all. The Luoshen Sword slid half an inch from its sheath with a crisp ring.

She turned and walked away, leaving Bing Tianxiao only her proud, icy back and a stiffly delivered sentence.

"We're going to the Black Demon Forest. And for the rest of the way, you are not allowed to speak!"

Watching the girl's angry retreating figure, Bing Tianxiao rubbed his nose.

"This girl sure has quite the temper..."

He shook his head, picked up his longbow, and quickly followed after her.

The Black Demon Forest lay on the edge of the core region of the Illusory Spirit Road, shrouded year-round in a dense layer of black miasma.

Ancient trees towered there, each one resembling a twisted ghost. Their branches and leaves were black as ink, blotting out the sky and sun, leaving the forest without sunlight all year and making it dark and terrifying.

At this moment, at the entrance to this deathly silent forest.

A group emerged from the other side of a mountain stream. Reaching the bank, they crouched down and drank several mouthfuls of spring water.

"Ge Hai, why do you always forget? While on the Illusory Spirit Road, you can't just drink stream water that hasn't been inspected."

"Brother Xuan, I was really thirsty, so I only took a couple of sips. It'll be fine. Besides, the Black Demon Forest is our territory. Who would dare poison the water here?"

Ge Hai stood up and said with a smile.

A handsome youth in a white robe slowly walked out from the crowd.

Even from afar, he carried an air of refined elegance.

Ji Xuan!

He was Ji Xuan, the one already selected by the Sacred Spirit Academy, whose name had spread throughout the Illusory Spirit Road.

Beside Ji Xuan stood a youth dressed in fitted black clothes. His expression was cold and stern as his eyes swept over the surroundings, making him appear extremely cautious.

"Beihai, there's no need to be so tense. With you and me here, no one in the entire Illusory Spirit Road can stand against us."

Ji Xuan gently patted the black-clad youth on the shoulder and smiled faintly.

"Yang Hong and Zhao Tiandu were taken out by Bing Tianxiao. We'd better stay on guard."

Qiu Beihai did not take it seriously and said coldly.

In truth, the Spirit Road was a special space created by the Five Great Academies using the divine artifact, the Mirror of Judgment.

Everything within it could be called illusory, yet it could also be said to truly exist.

The trials they faced were more about tempering their willpower and combat experience.

Only youths with the strongest willpower, tremendous potential, and great fortune could make it to the end.

As for those weak-willed people, if they died in the Spirit Road, they truly died.

Conversely, those with strong willpower could come back to life even if they died in the Spirit Road.

Naturally, he was not afraid of that. He simply did not want to lose this Spiritual Energy Infusion.

"Bing Tianxiao?"

Hearing this, the corners of Ji Xuan's lips curled into a faint smile.

His smile was as gentle as jade, yet it carried an indescribable disdain.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing over the dark forest as though he were looking at an insignificant ant.

"Just a clown who knows how to hide in the shadows and fire cheap shots."

Ji Xuan's voice was calm, carrying an innate sense of superiority:

"Yang Hong and Zhao Tiandu probably fell because they underestimated him and let their guard down."

"If they faced him head-on, those sneak-attack tricks of his would not even be worth mentioning."

"Compared to him, I'm more interested in that Thunder Kylin Beast."

A glint of golden light flashed through Ji Xuan's eyes:

"As long as we obtain its Essence, all of us will gain enormous benefits!!"

Qiu Beihai frowned.

Although he felt that Ji Xuan was being overly confident, when he considered the strength of their current team, as well as Ji Xuan's own strength, he said nothing further.

After all, in the Spirit Road, strength was what truly mattered.

"Alright, let's go."

Ji Xuan turned and headed deeper into the dense forest.

The group followed behind him, moving forward slowly.

Once Ji Xuan's party had completely vanished behind the forest, the surroundings returned to deathly silence.

Only the occasional cries of unknown birds and beasts drifted over, making the atmosphere even more sinister.

"Phew..."

A breeze swept past, and two figures slowly emerged from behind a huge boulder by the previously empty stream.

Bing Tianxiao brushed the fallen leaves from his body and looked in the direction Ji Xuan and the others had left:

"Just as I thought. Ji Xuan's appetite is quite something. He isn't afraid of choking himself to death."

Luo Li stood beside him, the Luoshen Sword in her hand still sheathed.

Yet the cold sword intent radiating from her body seemed to make even the surrounding air freeze.

She did not respond. Her glass-like eyes merely shifted slightly toward a dense thicket on the opposite bank of the stream.

It looked utterly calm there, without even a single leaf stirring.

Yet in Luo Li's perception, two exceedingly faint but impossible-to-ignore auras were hidden there.

"Alright, stop hiding."

Bing Tianxiao lazily stretched and called toward the thicket:

"Those idiots led by Ji Xuan are gone. Let's stop playing hide-and-seek. Come out, you two over there..."

After his words fell, the thicket remained completely still.

It was as though Bing Tianxiao had merely been talking to the air.