Blood River Forest

Boom!

A thunderous crash, like a golden mountain collapsing and a jade pillar toppling, left Chen Xian's head buzzing.

For an instant, he could not hear a single sound, but a golden light lit up between his brows.

Chen Xian could not see with his eyes. Instead, his consciousness saw the door to the sea of consciousness between his brows shatter open with a roar, forming a golden vortex that swallowed his consciousness.

But Origin Qi was blocked outside.

Within that cluster of golden light, his consciousness gradually became clear.

Soon, Chen Xian's consciousness manifested within the golden light as a dark golden thread as fine as a hair.

"Is this my spirit sense?" Chen Xian was slightly moved.

Consciousness had originally been formless and intangible. Yet after being swallowed by the vortex of the sea of consciousness between his brows, it had taken shape, becoming a threadlike power of spiritual perception.

This power could not be seen with the naked eye and could only be sensed through the sea of consciousness.

With his eyes closed, the golden sea of consciousness between his brows seemed to give birth to a strange eye within its spinning golden vortex.

It allowed him to see the meridians, tendons, bones, blood vessels, flesh, and skin throughout his body. Finally, he saw the jade sea in his lower abdomen, a space as large as a house, where dark golden flame Origin Qi churned.

As the Origin Qi rolled, flames would occasionally blaze up with a roar before vanishing.

"Is this... internal observation?" Chen Xian murmured, his heart surging with excitement.

Before this, he could only sense the state of his body, unable to clearly see what was happening within.

At this moment, he had opened his spirit sense. It was as though he had opened a celestial eye, seeing himself through and through.

It was truly marvelous!

Martial Art: Ox Demon Spirit Flame Art (Minor Accomplishment)

Realm: Spirit Sense Beginner

Experience: None

Lifespan: Three hundred and twenty years

After using his spirit sense to inspect every part of his body, Chen Xian's gaze fell on the panel. When he saw that his lifespan had reached three hundred and twenty years, he was still immensely excited.

Putting away the panel, Chen Xian began attempting external observation. However, he found that no matter what he did, his spirit sense could not break free of the golden vortex.

He could not see anything beyond himself.

Yet his perception was clearly several times sharper than before.

Even though he could not see his surroundings, if the slightest breeze passed by, he could sense which direction it was blowing from.

Chen Xian tried several more times. Though he still could not control that threadlike power of spirit sense, he was already satisfied.

He rose and stretched his bones, then circulated the Ox Demon Spirit Flame Art and unleashed the Great Tablet Smashing Hand. Dark golden flames flared from his palm, condensing into a palm shadow half a meter wide.

When he struck with his palm, even the air trembled.

"Powerful!"

Had he not deliberately held back, that single palm strike would have sent the entire tent flying.

"Twenty-five ding!"

After withdrawing his palm, Chen Xian murmured to himself.

Having reached Spirit Sense Beginner, his jade sea had doubled in size, and his Origin Qi had increased along with it. His flesh, tendons, bones, and skin had also been strengthened and tempered, becoming ever tougher and more powerful.

"If Spirit Sense is already this strong, then Dao Foundation and Soaring through the Air must be even stronger!" Chen Xian murmured.

Very soon, Chen Xian discovered that he had undergone other changes as well.

For example, his hearing had become much sharper. He could hear whispers from a hundred meters away.

His eyesight had also improved. He could clearly see tiny ants crawling over the ground outside the tent.

Previously, he had only possessed night vision and could see far into the distance.

Now, he could not only see farther, but also see finer details.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The Demon Slayer Soldiers who had previously been sent over by Second Lieutenant Lu gradually recovered from their injuries.

Cao Fang, Zhao Yu, and the others had also recovered and trained bitterly every day.

Ding Chen, Wang Yan, Qin Fei, Xue Qishan, and Luo Ying were still progressing quite quickly.

Chen Xian had been unable to see through them before, but after attaining Spirit Sense, he could judge the five men's strength from their aura.

Ding Chen had already reached Blood Moving Great Accomplishment, while Wang Yan and the other four were nearing Great Accomplishment.

Aside from them, more than ten other soldiers had reached Blood Moving Great Accomplishment. Everyone else was at Blood Moving Beginner or Blood Moving Minor Accomplishment.

That evening, Second Lieutenant Lu personally came to convey Liao Zipeng's orders, telling Ding Chen to lead the cook soldiers in assisting the Demon Suppression Army's attack on Blood River Forest.

"Blood River Forest?" Ding Chen frowned.

He had never been there, but he had heard others mention it. It was one of the fixed battlefields where they fought demons and devils.

It was said that the forest contained miasma and fog. Without following the main army, it was easy to lose one's way inside.

Second Lieutenant Lu snorted coldly. "Go to the Vanguard Camp of the front army and find Commandant Chen Quanwu right now. Remember, don't disgrace our Cooks' Camp!"

With that, he turned and left with an air of self-importance.

Wang Yan clenched his fists. "I really want to beat him up!"

Ding Chen did not respond.

Vanguard Camp of the front army.

By the time Chen Xian and the others arrived, Chen Quanwu had long finished assigning his forces and was preparing to depart.

"Cook soldiers?"

Chen Quanwu was a rough-looking man with a full beard, around forty years old. A suffocating aura of slaughter radiated from him.

He cast a disdainful glance at Ding Chen, who stood at the front. "You're Ding Chen?"

"Reporting to the Commandant, I am." Ding Chen dismounted and bowed respectfully.

Chen Quanwu's eyes still held deep contempt. He merely nodded. "Set out."

Ding Chen raised his head and asked, "May I ask, Commandant Chen, are we following behind the main army?"

"Mm."

As though he could not be bothered to deal with him, Chen Quanwu gave a faint grunt and rode away.

Immediately afterward, a thousand Demon Slayer Soldiers galloped out of the camp after him.

Ding Chen mounted his horse, and the hundred men followed.

By the time they passed around Wumeng Mountain, night had fallen.

At that moment, a fast rider galloped toward them from ahead. "By order of the Commandant: Ding Chen is to lead his men through Black Wind Valley, cross Seven Mile Peak, and harass the demon and devil army from the western side of Blood River Forest. Withdraw by the original route at sunrise, hold Black Wind Valley for half a day, and return to camp at noon. There must be no mistake!"

The messenger came and went like the wind.

Ding Chen frowned slightly. He was being told to take a hundred men and harass the demon and devil army?

Was that not simply sending them out as bait?

Xue Qishan said, "Brother Ding, they're treating us as bait. They're ready to sacrifice us at any time."

Wang Yan snorted coldly. "Exactly. They didn't even tell us how many demons and devils the enemy has. Can our hundred men really hold them off?"

Ding Chen said gravely, "Obey the order."

He was only a second lieutenant, while the other man was a commandant.

Military orders could not be defied.

He immediately spurred his horse toward Black Wind Valley.

After passing through Black Wind Valley, the group continued southwest for more than ten kilometers, where they saw a mountain range stretching six or seven li.

"That should be Seven Mile Peak, right?" Chen Xian said calmly.

Ding Chen took out a map from his robes, unfolded it, glanced at it, and nodded. "It's Seven Mile Peak."

Ever since they had begun guarding Black Wind Valley, it had been very inconvenient not to have a map. Ding Chen had asked Liao Zipeng for a map of the thousand-li area around Demon-Slaying Pass.

Using the map, the group quickly crossed Seven Mile Peak and arrived on the western side of Blood River Forest.

Under the night sky, thick blood qi floated above the crimson forest.

Beneath the blood qi lay mist and miasma, giving the place a hazy, indistinct feeling.

As for how vast Blood River Forest was, it was impossible to tell.

They could only judge from the map that it covered an area roughly thirty-five kilometers across and long.

Ding Chen looked at Chen Xian. "Xianzi, take the men and wait here for support. I'll take Wang Yan and Qin Fei to lure out the demons and devils."

Chen Xian shook his head. "I'll take the men to lure them out. You stay here and provide support."

When it came to killing demons and devils and earning Experience Points, he would certainly not yield the honor to anyone else.

"Qi Shan, Cao Fang, move!"

Chen Xian shouted, spurring his horse into Blood River Forest.