A New Day! Deeper We Go!

The next day.

Before the sky had fully brightened, the first cry of a soul beast echoed from the distant woods.

The sound was clear and long, as if some avian soul beast were announcing the arrival of a new day.

Immediately after, more sounds joined in.

Hissing, roaring, chirping, and low moans.

Rising and falling, they wove together into a morning symphony unique to the Star Dou Forest.

Qing Mufeng opened his eyes; the horizon was just beginning to turn a pale, fish-belly white.

He sat up and stretched his somewhat stiff neck.

Although the rocky ground had been covered with a fur mattress, sleeping on it was still not as comfortable as his bed at home.

However, he had slept well.

Last night, he had drifted off while circulating the Azure Dragon Method, his soul power flowing slowly through his meridians; even in his sleep, his body's cultivation had not ceased.

This was another benefit of the Azure Dragon Method: automatic circulation.

Although the speed was much slower than active cultivation, it had the advantage of persistence, accumulating bit by bit.

Liu Yunlan was already awake.

The old lady crouched by the stream beside the camp, washed her face with the clear water, and took out a comb to coil her silver hair back up.

Her movements were nimble, not at all like those of someone over seventy.

Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing woke up one after another.

The couple walked to the stream, washed up briefly, and then returned to the camp to start packing away the fur mattresses and the leftover dry ration packaging from the night before.

Qing Zhengyue was the last to rise; before getting up, the old man swept the surrounding hundred-zhang radius with his spiritual power to confirm there was no danger before standing up and walking to the stream to wash his face.

Breakfast was simple.

Liu Yunlan took a few scallion pancakes out of her storage ring—they had been made at home before they set out—and although they were cold, the texture was still quite good.

The old lady also brought out a jar of pickled vegetables; as she opened the lid, a salty, fragrant aroma wafted through the air.

Shen Wanqing boiled a pot of hot water and poured a bowl for everyone.

The five of them sat around the campfire, eating pancakes, drinking hot water, and chewing on the pickles; no one spoke, but the atmosphere was harmonious.

Qing Mufeng ate two scallion pancakes and drank a bowl of hot water, feeling strength return to his body.

Liu Yunlan watched him finish and tucked another one into his hand.

"Eat more; we have a long way to go today," the old lady said.

Qing Mufeng did not refuse; he took the pancake and ate it slowly.

Qing Zhengyue finished the last bite of his pancake, picked up his bowl to take a sip of water, set it down, and swept his gaze over the group.

"Once you're full, pack up your things and prepare to move out."

A quarter of an hour later.

Five figures departed from the camp, continuing their trek deeper into the forest.

Qing Zhengyue remained in the lead, his long saber unsheathed by three inches, his eyes scanning the woods ahead like a hawk.

The deeper they went, the denser the trees became, the dimmer the light grew, and the stronger the scent of decay in the air.

Qing Hongyuan followed closely behind, his right hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his gaze steady.

His conversation with his father last night had made his goal even firmer—he wanted to fly, he wanted to transform into a dragon, he wanted to become more like a dragon.

Liu Yunlan held her grandson's hand as they walked in the middle, the old lady's steps remaining light.

Her eyes scanned the bushes on both sides from time to time, her right hand never leaving the poisoned short dagger.

Shen Wanqing walked behind her husband, the phantom of her Jade Orchid martial soul flickering above her head, ready to provide support to the team at any moment.

The five of them moved at a steady pace, their coordination seamless, without a single wasted movement.

From dawn until noon.

The five of them had traveled through the forest for a full four hours.

The path was becoming increasingly difficult to traverse.

The vines and shrubs on the ground grew denser, and at times, Qing Zhengyue had to swing his saber himself to hack out a path that was barely passable.

The canopy overhead grew thicker, blocking out almost all sunlight, leaving the forest as dim as twilight.

The wood-attribute energy in the air grew more concentrated, to the point where even breathing carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.

The wind was laced with damp moisture and the smell of earth, and occasionally, one could catch a faint, fishy odor—the scent markers left behind by large soul beasts.

Qing Mufeng's Azure Dragon Pupil remained half-activated, his irises shimmering with a faint golden light.

He could clearly perceive the flow of wood and wind attributes within the surrounding environment.

Those intangible energies surged through the air like streams, growing denser the further they ventured.

"We're almost there." Qing Zhengyue suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed ahead.

The group halted in unison, following the old man's line of sight.

The terrain ahead had undergone a transformation.

The flat woodland gradually vanished, replaced by an undulating valley.

Two modest hills flanked a low-lying basin, where waist-high wild grass grew thick and several massive ancient trees stood with canopies like sprawling umbrellas.

At the entrance of the valley stood two giant boulders, acting like natural gateposts.

Looking inward from the entrance, one could see that the vegetation grew denser and the trees taller, with a faint cyan mist drifting through the air.

That was no mist.

It was wood and wind attribute energy so concentrated it had nearly condensed into substance.

Qing Zhengyue crouched down, pinched a bit of soil from the ground, and brought it to his nose to sniff.

The soil was damp, exuding a rich scent of vegetation, yet laced with a strange, distinct odor.

It was the scent left behind by a soul beast.

"The scent of a Wind Wood Dragon." The old man's eyes lit up. "And more than one."

Qing Hongyuan stepped forward, crouched beside his father, and sniffed the soil as well.

"At least three different scents," he said. "They differ in age and size."

Qing Zhengyue nodded, stood up, and scanned the surrounding terrain.

The landscape here was more treacherous than the valley they had visited yesterday.

The two hills acted like natural walls, pinning the basin between them, with only the entrance and the depths providing a way in or out.

Once inside the valley, the steep slopes flanked them on both sides, dense jungle lay ahead, and the entrance remained their only path of retreat.

"This terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack," Qing Zhengyue analyzed. "If the Wind Wood Dragons are inside, we had best lure them out to fight. Do not enter; the space inside is too narrow and works against us."

Qing Hongyuan nodded. "I will go in to lure them; Father can lead the others in an ambush outside."

Qing Zhengyue glanced at his son and nodded.

"Be careful," he said, uttering only those two words.

The five of them did not rush into the valley, instead finding a concealed spot in the woods outside the entrance to lie in wait and observe the situation within.

Qing Mufeng lay behind a rock, his Azure Dragon Pupil fully activated, the golden light in his irises more intense than usual.

His gaze pierced through the cyan mist at the entrance, extending deep into the valley.

The interior of the valley was far larger than he had anticipated.

From the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than an inconspicuous hollow.

But once one stepped inside, it became clear that the space was remarkably vast.

The valley stretched about three hundred zhang in length and reached a width of nearly one hundred zhang at its widest point, with towering trees covering the surrounding slopes, their overlapping canopies sealing off the sky above the valley.