Entering the Forest, Parasitic Web

The moment the iron gate opened, Tang San caught the scent of mud mixed with fishiness and blood.

Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to stop him. He first scanned the area inside before saying in a low voice, "Once we're inside, don't stray too far from me. Even the outskirts aren't a place for children to fool around."

Tang San nodded, one hand already resting on the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridge. "Teacher, I understand."

Yu Xiaogang took a small bottle from his waist and sprinkled some powder over Tang San's cuffs and trouser hems. "Insect-repelling powder. It can ward off most low-level venomous insects, but don't expect it to save your life."

Tang San looked at the powder. "Will soul beasts be afraid of this?"

"Most ten-year soul beasts will avoid it. Hundred-year soul beasts might not."

After saying that, soul power stirred beneath Yu Xiaogang's feet, and a round, chubby beast landed on the ground.

Luo Sanpao wagged his short tail. The moment he appeared, he snuffled toward the depths of the forest and let out a low cry.

It was Tang San's first time seeing Yu Xiaogang's martial soul up close. He showed no contempt, only asking seriously, "Teacher, can Luo Sanpao scout ahead?"

Yu Xiaogang's expression turned slightly awkward, but he still nodded. "His sense of smell is quite good. He can also warn us in advance if he encounters danger."

Hidden in the inner layer of the shoe sole, Ji Yuan heard that and extended his dark-red roots outward along the old cloth.

A warning?

Then let it cry when it should, and shut up when it shouldn't.

Tang San stepped into the forest, his shoe sole pressing into the damp, soft earth. Ji Yuan immediately released the spores he had kept gathered for so long.

Invisible specks slipped through the gaps in the sole, falling into blades of grass, holes in the mud, and rotten tree roots.

Every time they traveled some distance, Ji Yuan left another batch behind.

This was not a path.

This was his web.

Tang San asked softly, "Teacher, why does it smell so strongly of blood here?"

Yu Xiaogang glanced at the bushes beside them. "People hunt soul beasts in Soul Hunting Forest every day. The corpses aren't completely cleaned up, so the smell of blood lingers in the outskirts."

Tang San looked ahead, the concealed weapons in his sleeves already primed. "Wouldn't that attract soul beasts?"

"It would, so don't stay in the same place for too long."

Before Yu Xiaogang finished speaking, Luo Sanpao suddenly darted to the side and barked twice at the grass.

Tang San immediately raised his hand, and Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm.

Several Solitary Bamboo Rat corpses lay in the grass. Their bellies had been bitten open, the blood already dried, while several black insects crawled inside.

After seeing them clearly, Yu Xiaogang relaxed. "Ten-year Solitary Bamboo Rats. They've been dead for a while. They were probably bitten to death by a larger soul beast."

Tang San crouched to inspect them. "Can you tell what kind of soul beast it was from the wounds?"

Just as Yu Xiaogang was about to answer, Ji Yuan had already directed the spores scattered through the soil to latch onto the corpses.

There was not much residual blood and vitality left, but to him, even a mosquito was still meat.

The spores burrowed into the gaps between the bones, absorbing the lingering remnant souls and soul power that had yet to dissipate from the flesh and blood.

The corpses quickly caved in, their fur losing its oily sheen.

Yu Xiaogang was pointing at the bite marks as he explained, "The wounds are torn, and the spacing between the teeth isn't wide. They should have been made by a pack-dwelling soul beast like Netherworld Wolves. However, these corpses dried out too quickly, so that affects the judgment."

Tang San reached out and touched the Solitary Bamboo Rat's fur. "It really is strangely dry."

Ji Yuan let out a silent, cold laugh beneath the sole.

Strange was exactly right.

The stranger it was, the more they would suspect the forest instead of what lay beneath their feet.

Yu Xiaogang stood up. "Let's go. Don't touch the corpses. Soul beast corpses often carry venomous insects."

Tang San followed him. "Teacher, are Netherworld Wolves dangerous?"

"A single one isn't too troublesome. A pack is another matter."

"What if we run into them?"

Yu Xiaogang glanced at him. "Retreat first. Fight only if you can't retreat."

Tang San did not ask anything else.

But Ji Yuan remembered those words.

Retreat?

Tang San could retreat, but the resources could not.

As they continued deeper, the trees blocked out the daylight, and the soul power around them grew more chaotic.

Batch after batch of Ji Yuan's scouting spores fell, his sensing range gradually spreading outward from Tang San's feet.

There were insects in the dirt, sap beneath the bark, and decaying bones under the low grass.

These things had originally been worthless, but in Ji Yuan's hands, they were all scraps of nourishment.

As Tang San walked, he suddenly stopped.

A variegated flower stood in the shadows ahead, its blossom spread wide, densely packed with fine teeth. It slowly turned toward Luo Sanpao.

Yu Xiaogang raised a hand and held Tang San back by the shoulder. "Don't get close. A ten-year Variegated Man-Eating Flower. Its paralytic toxin isn't very potent, but getting bitten would still be troublesome."

Tang San stared at the flower. "Plant soul beasts can attack proactively too?"

"They can. Most low-age plant soul beasts act on instinct. This one isn't even a hundred years old yet, so its attack range is limited."

Yu Xiaogang took two steps forward, intending to continue his explanation. "Look at the edge of its blossom. The darker the color, the more mature its venom sacs are. If you study plant-type soul beasts in the future, you must first inspect their roots, stems, and venom sacs."

By then, the roots beneath Ji Yuan's shoes had already burrowed into the mud.

He had no need to approach the blossom.

The roots were its life.

Several dark-red filaments wound their way underground and pressed against the Man-Eating Flower's roots, then gave them a light prick.

The Variegated Man-Eating Flower's blossom was still turning when it suddenly drooped to one side.

Yu Xiaogang's words caught in his throat.

Tang San saw it too and asked in confusion, "Teacher, why did it wither?"

Yu Xiaogang hurried forward, only to stop outside a safe distance. He lowered his head to inspect the roots. "It shouldn't have. Variegated Man-Eating Flowers are highly resilient unless their roots had long since been hollowed out by insects."

Tang San looked at the soil. "Can insects here eat soul beasts?"

Yu Xiaogang frowned. "It's possible, but uncommon."

Ji Yuan had already drawn out the small amount of paralytic toxin from the flower's roots.

After the toxin entered his body, he did not disperse it directly. Instead, he sealed it along the edges of his leaf veins, allowing his grass body to try adapting to it.

Within the layer beneath his shoe sole, dark-purple patterns surfaced inside that withered wooden thorn before he suppressed them again.

Tang San looked at the withered Man-Eating Flower and said softly, "The things in the Soul Hunting Forest are more complicated than I thought."

Yu Xiaogang looked slightly embarrassed, but immediately said, "That's why I had you observe more and remember more. Theory isn't fixed; it has to change with the environment."

Ji Yuan nearly laughed when he heard that.

Well said.

Even when he was wrong, he could talk his way around it. This useful pawn was even more valuable now.

As evening approached, Yu Xiaogang chose a patch of open ground.

He took out snake-repelling powder and had Tang San scatter it around the perimeter, then had Luo Sanpao circle the clearing and sniff it over.

As Tang San scattered the powder, he asked, "Teacher, aren't we continuing on today?"

"Traveling at night is courting death."

Yu Xiaogang took out the dried rations. "Hunting soul beasts isn't about who runs the fastest. Stay alive first, then talk about soul rings."

Tang San accepted the rations. "What if we can't find a suitable soul beast tomorrow?"

"Then we keep looking."

Yu Xiaogang looked at him. "Your first soul ring will affect you for the rest of your life. Better slow than reckless."

Ji Yuan withdrew most of the spores he had released, leaving only those on the outskirts to scout.

He had already absorbed quite a bit of scattered blood and vitality. His spiritual perception had expanded greatly compared to before entering the forest, and every insect's crawl and blade of grass's rustle in the surroundings could be relayed back through his shoe soles.

Tang San sat cross-legged and began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Ji Yuan did not stand on ceremony, siphoning away a portion of the newly generated inner power from the edges of Tang San's meridians.

Tang San's brows furrowed slightly, and his circulation slowed.

Yu Xiaogang noticed and asked, "Feeling unwell?"

Tang San opened his eyes. "Maybe it's because we walked all day. My meridians feel a little sluggish."

Yu Xiaogang handed him a waterskin. "Don't force yourself to train tonight. Forcing a breakthrough while your body is exhausted will leave hidden injuries."

Tang San took the waterskin. "Rest assured, Teacher. I know my limits."

Ji Yuan sneered silently.

You know your limits?

Your limits are set by me.

As the night deepened, Luo Sanpao lay beside Yu Xiaogang, but his ears kept twitching.

Tang San did not sleep. Leaning against a tree trunk, he flipped through the soul beast guidebook and occasionally asked Yu Xiaogang for advice.

"Teacher, is the Datura Snake really suitable for Blue Silver Grass?"

"It is, but its age can't be too high."

"What if we encounter one around four hundred years old?"

Yu Xiaogang's hand, which had been organizing medicine bottles, paused. "Don't treat your life like a gamble."

Tang San closed the guidebook. "I was only asking."

"Not even asking."

Yu Xiaogang stared at him. "Tang San, your talent is exceptional, which is why you mustn't be hasty. A genius who dies to their first soul ring isn't even a joke."

Tang San fell silent for a while. "I'll remember that."

Hearing this, Ji Yuan slowly tightened his roots.

Four hundred years.

That number was just right.

Any weaker, and it wouldn't be filling enough.

Any stronger, and the blood bag might break too easily.

In the latter half of the night, the forest's insect calls suddenly dwindled.

The spores at the perimeter sent back urgent tremors. Little creatures in the mud were burrowing deeper, and even the birds on the branches had stopped shifting positions.

Ji Yuan immediately reined in all absorption, suppressing his presence into the wooden pad beneath the sole of the shoe.

Luo Sanpao had been lying down, but suddenly raised his head and gave an agitated cry toward the bushes.

Yu Xiaogang sat up sharply, his expression changing at once. "Tang San, get up. Don't leave the circle!"

Tang San grabbed his short blade, Blue Silver Grass unfurling in his palm. "Teacher, what is it?"

Yu Xiaogang did not answer, only staring at the bushes in the darkness.

The next moment, dozens of pairs of glowing green eyes lit up behind the grass.