Not This One

When the seven of them entered the Black Stone Forest, the sun had already climbed above the treetops.

The path on the outer edges was not particularly difficult to walk, and old footprints left by hunters were still visible on the ground. Lin Yue walked at the very front, carrying that thick-backed short knife in his hand, reminding them as he went.

"Do not break formation once we enter the forest. If you see a spirit beast, listen to orders first—you especially."

He glanced back at Lu Yuan.

"You do not even have a soul skill right now. If something actually happens, do not think about rushing forward on your own."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Understood."

The eighteen or nineteen-year-old young spirit master beside him chuckled.

"Deacon Lin, you have said that three times all the way here."

"Finding it annoying?"

"I dare not."

"Then shut your mouth."

The group continued southward.

Lu Yuan did not speak much, his gaze constantly sweeping back and forth between Lin Yue and the surrounding woods.

That line of gray text was still there.

[Lin Yue]

[Today, Black Stone Forest]

[Node of Destiny: Death]

Ever since they entered the forest, it had not vanished once.

After walking for more than two hours, they only ran into two ten-year spirit beasts, not even making it necessary to halt the group.

Another young man who had come to supplement his second spirit ring gradually grew somewhat anxious, several times attempting to walk deeper in, but Lin Yue pressed him back each time.

"Find a suitable one first, not an older-aged one first."

Lin Yue pushed aside the branches and leaves blocking the road. "If you truly want to casually grab a spirit ring, catching a ten-year sharp-horned deer outside the city would save more trouble."

The man was left speechless by his words and could only honestly follow along.

Near noon, Lin Yue at the very front suddenly raised a hand.

Everyone stopped.

There was a very long drag mark in the muddy ground ahead, the edges still stained with wet mud, burrowing all the way into the depths of the bushes.

Lin Yue squatted down and inspected it for a few moments.

"Serpentine spirit beast, it just passed by not long ago."

The young spirit master leaned forward half a step.

"How big?"

"Cannot tell for sure."

Just as his voice fell, a burst of hurried friction sounds came from the bushes.

Lu Yuan immediately grasped the dark iron spear behind his back.

The sound grew closer and closer.

The next moment, the branches and leaves burst violently apart, and a triangular snake head poked out from within.

Cyan-black scales were covered in mud and water, and there was an open wound right beside its left eye.

"Blue-patterned python, around two hundred years!"

Lin Yue shouted, "Move aside!"

The crowd quickly scattered.

Yet that blue-patterned python had no intention of stopping at all, fleeing toward the side close to the ground. When passing by a young spirit master, as if stimulated by something, it suddenly raised its snake head and bit over.

The yellow spirit ring lit up.

That person's arms rapidly covered a layer of grayish-brown coarse hair, crossing to block in front of his chest.

Bang!

His entire body was knocked back two steps.

Lin Yue had already charged over from the side.

The first spirit ring lit up, a layer of white light floating over the thick-backed short knife, and he slashed across the side of the snake's neck with a single blade.

Three other deacons closely followed and swarmed up.

The blue-patterned python struggled for a dozen breaths before quickly losing all movement.

Lu Yuan had consistently stood on the outer perimeter.

If he charged in right now, he could not help with anything anyway, and instead it would easily distract Lin Yue and the others.

Lin Yue shook the blood off his blade, just preparing to stand up when he suddenly frowned.

"Wait."

He flipped the snake's body over.

Several scratch marks on its lower abdomen were immediately exposed, the deepest one nearly tearing open the scales, and the wound was still very fresh.

Someone nearby squatted down.

"We did not hit this."

The relaxed look on Lin Yue's face faded.

"It was not looking for prey just now."

That young spirit master looked forward along the bushes. "Then what was it running from?"

Lin Yue stood up.

"Running for its life."

The hand with which Lu Yuan gripped his spear tightened somewhat.

The blue-patterned python on the ground had already lost movement, yet the gray text above Lin Yue's head remained distinct.

[Node of Destiny: Death]

The true danger was still ahead.

"Retreat the same way."

Lin Yue did not hesitate. "Leave this area first."

That young spirit master in his early twenties could not help saying, "The stream gully is right ahead, and some people saw an armored beast there in previous years. We have already walked all the way here..."

Lin Yue looked at him.

"Is the spirit ring important, or is your life important?"

The other person opened his mouth, and in the end closed it nonetheless.

The group quickly retreated along the original path.

Walking back two hundred paces, the woods behind them consistently remained without movement, with only the faint, crisp sounds produced when the soles of their shoes trod over fallen leaves.

The more it was like this, the less Lu Yuan dared to relax.

Lin Yue at the very front suddenly raised his hand once more.

"Stop."

Several people immediately stood still.

The footprints left upon coming were still there.

Yet right beside those footprints, a few fresh depressions had been added.

Lin Yue squatted down to inspect, but Lu Yuan raised his head, looking toward the tree canopies on both sides.

If something truly had followed them all the way from the ground, it was impossible to leave merely these few prints.

The wind swept through overhead, a large swath of branches and leaves swaying at the same time.

Lu Yuan's gaze suddenly paused on the right front.

A leaf was moving there as well.

It was merely half a beat slower than the surroundings.

"Uncle Lin, upper right!"

Lin Yue did not ask for the reason, his body already lunging out toward the left side.

Almost simultaneously, a grayish-black shadow crashed down from the tree canopy.

Sharp claws grazed past Lin Yue's shoulder, the clothing fabric tearing instantly.

If he had still stood in his original spot, the position where that claw landed would have been precisely his neck.

After the black shadow landed, its four limbs crouched low, pale yellow eyes staring fixedly at the crowd.

On its front right paw, it was still stained with undried snake blood.

"Wind-rending leopard!"

Lin Yue rolled over and stood up, his voice sinking.

"Over three hundred years, disperse!"

The wind-rending leopard did not give people any chance to catch their breath, pouncing out once more.

This time, everyone was already prepared.

Two deacons blocked the path from left and right, Lin Yue horizontalizing his blade to block the front.

The wind-rending leopard forcibly twisted its body mid-air, and the moment it hit the ground, a long staff heavily smashed into its waist side.

It rolled a circle, yet did not escape.

Those pale yellow eyes turned a circle, finally landing on Lu Yuan at the tail end of the group.

Lu Yuan's shoulders and back instantly tensed.

The wind-rending leopard's hind legs pressed low.

The next moment, the gray shadow had already pounced over.

Too fast.

Lu Yuan did not even clearly see its movement in mid-air, only managing to horizontalize the dark iron spear across his chest in time.

A tremendous force crashed onto the spear shaft.

His hands instantly went numb, Lu Yuan's entire person being flung into the fallen leaves, his chest feeling as if something was blocking it, unable to catch his breath for a long while.

Yet the wind-rending leopard's direction was also deflected by half a foot from this single spear.

Lin Yue had already charged up from the side, slashing a blade into its shoulder and neck.

The other few people closely followed and pinned it down.

The long staff smashed its hind leg, and another deacon's soul skill also heavily bombarded its abdomen side.

The wind-rending leopard struggled a few times, finally collapsing onto the ground.

"Do not kill!"

Lin Yue suddenly shouted.

The person preparing to deliver the killing blow abruptly halted their hand.

Lu Yuan propped himself up from the ground with his spear, his arms still aching severely from numbness.

Lin Yue strode over, pulling him up by the arm.

"Where are you hurt?"

"Not hurt, just fell painfully."

Lin Yue pinched his arm, then glanced at his chest, confirming there were no issues before letting go.

"How did you spot the one in the tree just now?"

"The leaves."

"The leaves?"

"The surrounding ones all moved together, only that patch was a bit slower."

Lin Yue looked for a moment in the direction he pointed, then turned back.

This time he did not smile.

"I have seen quite a few people with innate rank eight spirit power."

He sheathed his short knife back into his waist.

"There are not many who can still keep their eyes fixed on the surroundings when real trouble happens."

Before Lu Yuan had time to speak, the grayness within his field of vision gently swayed.

[Lin Yue's death node has changed]

[Obtained Origin of Destiny]

The gray text originally suspended above Lin Yue's head faded bit by bit, soon no longer visible.

The hand with which Lu Yuan gripped his spear finally relaxed somewhat as well.

Lin Yue had already walked beside the wind-rending leopard and squatted down, lowering his head to examine its size and sharp claws, then looked back to glance at the dark iron spear in Lu Yuan's hand.

"Over three hundred years, fast speed, and sufficient burst."

As he spoke, he patted the wind-rending leopard's head.

"After we return, I will contend with the temple master for the recommendation quota on your behalf."

Lu Yuan looked at him.

Lin Yue cracked a smile.

"However, if you want to go to Spirit City, you must get your first spirit ring first after all."

He stepped aside to make room.

"This beast is just right."