Bloodstained Poplar

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two streaks of light flew rapidly in from the distance. Moments later, Luo Tai and Lin Qi landed outside the Poplar Forest at the same time.

The prolonged, high-intensity sprint had drained them greatly.

Fine beads of sweat already covered Lin Qi's forehead, his breathing was slightly labored, and more than half of the Dou Qi in his body had been consumed.

"Godfather, it's just ahead!"

Lin Qi exhaled a breath of stale air and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His eyes warily surveyed the Poplar Forest ahead. Each poplar tree was immensely tall, its branches twisted and tangled together.

Just as Lin Qi lifted his foot to head over, Luo Tai reached out and stopped him.

"Wait!"

"What is it, Godfather? Xiao Yi is still waiting for us to save him!"

Lin Qi said anxiously.

"Don't rush. Recover your Dou Qi first."

Luo Tai's voice was exceptionally calm. He took out a bottle of pills from his Storage Ring and handed it to Lin Qi.

"The more it comes down to a moment like this, the more we must stay calm. Excessive emotions will cloud our judgment and lead us into their trap."

Having made his way through Stone Desert City for decades, he understood this perfectly well.

"Yes... I understand, Godfather."

With Luo Tai's reminder, Lin Qi came to his senses as well.

He first looked inward and found that the Dou Qi within his body was already less than half of what it had been at his peak.

If he charged in blindly in this state and encountered an ambush, the consequences would be unthinkable!

At that thought, a layer of cold sweat seeped out across Lin Qi's back. He had been too anxious and had overlooked even something like this.

He hesitated no longer. He immediately found a suitable spot, sat down cross-legged, swallowed a Qi-Recovery Pill, and began regulating his breath to recover.

Another quarter of an hour passed before Lin Qi opened his eyes. The Dou Qi in his body had recovered to eighty or ninety percent. It was not that he did not want to recover fully, but there was no time.

They had already spent an hour and a half racing all the way here from Stone Desert City. It would soon be the Hour of the Rooster.

"The time is almost up, Godfather." Lin Qi rose to his feet, his face grave as he looked at Luo Tai.

"Let's go."

Luo Tai's gaze was calm, betraying no emotional fluctuations. Yet from his slightly clenched fists, it was clear that his heart was far from as tranquil as he appeared.

The two restrained their auras and approached the Poplar Forest one after the other.

Stretched by the setting sun, the shadows of the poplar trees looked like clawing, snarling specters.

"Where are they?"

The two arrived at the edge of the Poplar Forest, yet did not see so much as a single person.

"Godfather! Could Xiao Ding have gone back on his word and deliberately be toying with us?"

Looking at the deserted woods, Lin Qi's brows furrowed tightly as the anger in his heart surged again.

"Quiet!"

Luo Tai barked in a low voice. He slowly walked beneath the shade of a large tree, his sharp eyes carefully scanning the surroundings without overlooking the slightest clue.

Suddenly, his steps halted, and he crouched down.

The sand beneath his feet was covered in fine, winding trails!

"These are... snake tracks!"

Luo Tai pinched up a bit of sand with his fingers and brought it to his nose for a light sniff. His expression turned puzzled. "There are so many! At least a hundred!"

"How could there be so many snakes?" Lin Qi came over as well, deeply puzzled.

Luo Tai did not dare let down his guard. He carefully observed the snake trails. Though dense, they were not disorderly. It seemed that... they had all gone in the same direction!

Moreover, the tracks were extremely fresh. Even the windblown sand had not yet had time to cover them. They must have been left not long ago.

Serpentine Magical Beasts were solitary, cold-blooded creatures by nature. Unless it was breeding season or they had been driven by some powerful external force, such a large-scale and organized movement would never be possible!

Luo Tai's expression turned solemn. As he looked at the tracks on the ground, he vaguely heard a strange sound. It seemed to be... moaning!

Luo Tai's expression changed instantly, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

"Godfather, look over there!"

Lin Qi pointed at an exceptionally thick poplar tree not far away. "On that trunk, there seems to be... an arrow!"

Luo Tai looked up, and sure enough! An arrow pointing toward the depths of the forest had been drawn into the bark of that poplar tree!

This was a provocation! A naked provocation!

Yi'er...

No! Stay calm! Stay calm!

Luo Tai forced himself not to think wildly. He could not panic now!

He tightened his grip on the Jade Serpent Spear, his gaze fixed upon the depths of the Poplar Forest like a pair of blades.

They were setting a trap for him! A trap he had no choice but to walk into!

"Godfather, this is obviously a trap! How about... we wait for our men to arrive, then go in together..."

Looking into the depths of the woods, Lin Qi could not help feeling afraid as well.

"There's no time." Luo Tai shook his head and said through gritted teeth, "Stay outside and provide support. Remember, if I haven't come out within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, don't worry about me. Retreat immediately!"

"This... all right!"

Though Lin Qi was worried, he knew that this was the safest course of action for now. If anything happened, he could still provide support in time.

"Godfather, you must be careful! I recently heard that the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's newly appointed third commander has an exceptionally formidable flying-knife technique. They say he can kill even second-tier Serpentine Magical Beasts in a single strike."

"Though the rumor may not be entirely true, we still have to guard against his hidden methods."

"Mm."

Luo Tai answered faintly, then headed deeper in with his spear in hand.

Along the way, he observed the surrounding environment. The Dou Qi within his body circulated silently, ready at any moment to deal with a possible attack.

He had not gone far when Luo Tai's steps suddenly stopped, his body freezing in place.

On the sand not far ahead of him lay a jade longevity lock!

Luo Tai's breathing stopped for an instant, and his pupils contracted violently. He slowly walked over, the hand he reached out with trembling slightly.

He bent down, picked up the longevity lock, and clenched it tightly in his palm. The icy jade did not soothe his rage. Instead, it made the fury in his heart burn even hotter.

"Xiao—Ding—!"

Luo Tai gritted his teeth and spoke each word separately.

Without hesitation, his body turned into an afterimage as he sped toward the depths of the forest.

After advancing another several hundred meters or so, he rounded a dense patch of shrubs. The sight before him instantly turned Luo Tai's already bloodshot eyes crimson!

In the center of the forest stood a poplar tree so thick it would take two people to encircle it. His son, his only bloodline, was hanging high from it by vines! Blood dripped down from his feet, pooling into a small puddle on the ground.

Dozens of brightly colored venomous snakes crawled densely over his body!

Those venomous snakes were constantly biting Luo Yi's body!

Luo Yi's eyes had rolled back, his body convulsing violently. What came from his mouth was not a scream, but unconscious, agonized moans! His breath was already so weak that he was on the verge of dying!

"Yi'er—!"

At that moment, all calmness and all composure were utterly crushed by the scene before his eyes!