Blood River Forest

Boom!

With a deafening roar, like a golden mountain collapsing and jade pillars falling, Chen Xian's head buzzed.

For an instant, his ears couldn't hear anything, but a golden light flashed at his brow.

Chen Xian couldn't see with his eyes; instead, his consciousness saw the gate of his Sea of Consciousness at his brow shatter open, forming a golden vortex that swallowed his consciousness.

However, his vital energy was blocked outside.

Within a ball of golden light, his consciousness gradually became clear.

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

"This is my spirit sense?" Chen Xian was slightly moved.

His consciousness was originally formless, but after being swallowed by the vortex in his Sea of Consciousness, it took shape – a hair-like spiritual power.

This power was invisible to the naked eye and could only be sensed through the Sea of Consciousness.

He closed his eyes. In his golden Sea of Consciousness at his brow, the spinning golden vortex seemed to have birthed a strange eye.

It allowed him to see all his meridians and bones, his blood vessels and flesh, and finally, the jade sea in his lower abdomen, a space as large as a house, where dark golden flame vital energy churned.

As the vital energy rolled, flames would sometimes erupt and then disappear.

"This... is internal observation?" Chen Xian murmured, his heart filled with excitement.

Before, he could only sense his body's condition but couldn't see it clearly.

At this moment, having awakened his spirit sense, it was as if he had opened a heavenly eye, seeing himself with perfect clarity.

It was truly miraculous!

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

[Realm: Spirit Sense Beginner]

[Experience: None]

[Lifespan: Three hundred and twenty years]

After observing his entire body with his spirit sense, Chen Xian's gaze fell upon the panel. Seeing his lifespan reach three hundred and twenty years, he was quite excited.

Putting away the panel, Chen Xian tried to look outward, but he found that his spirit sense couldn't break out of the golden vortex no matter how hard he tried.

He couldn't see anything beyond himself.

However, his perception had clearly become several times sharper than before.

Even though he couldn't see his surroundings, if even the slightest breeze blew, he could sense the direction from which it came.

Chen Xian tried a few more times. Although he couldn't control that hair-fine spirit sense, he was already very satisfied.

He got up and stretched his limbs, activated the [Ox Demon Spirit Flame Art], and performed the Great Tablet Smashing Hand. Dark golden flames appeared on his palm, condensing into a palm shadow half a meter wide.

With a palm strike, the air itself trembled.

"Powerful!"

If he hadn't intentionally restrained himself, that palm strike would have blown the tent away.

"Twenty-five cauldrons!"

After retracting his palm, Chen Xian murmured.

Having reached the Spirit Sense Beginner realm, his jade sea had doubled in size, his vital energy had increased accordingly, and his physical body, bones, and flesh had been strengthened and tempered, becoming even tougher and more powerful.

"If Spirit Sense is this strong, then Foundation Establishment and Void Stepping must be even stronger!" Chen Xian muttered.

Soon, Chen Xian noticed other changes.

His hearing had become sharper, allowing him to hear hushed whispers a hundred meters away.

His eyesight was even better; he could clearly see the small ants crawling on the ground outside the tent.

Before, he had night vision and could see far.

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

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Demon Slayer Soldiers previously sent by Second Lieutenant Lu were gradually recovering from their injuries.

Cao Fang, Zhao Yu, and the others had also recovered and were diligently cultivating every day.

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

Chen Xian couldn't discern their strength before, but after achieving Spirit Sense, he could now distinguish their power levels based on their auras.

Ding Chen had reached Blood Moving Great Accomplishment, while Wang Yan and the other three were close to Great Accomplishment.

Besides them, over a dozen other soldiers had also reached Blood Moving Great Accomplishment, while the rest were at the Blood Moving Beginner or Blood Moving Minor Accomplishment stages.

One evening, Second Lieutenant Lu personally came to deliver Liao Zipeng's orders, instructing Ding Chen to lead the Cooks' Camp in cooperation with the Demon Slayer Army to attack the Blood River Forest.

"Blood River Forest?" Ding Chen frowned.

He had never been there before, but he had heard people mention it as one of the fixed battlegrounds for fighting demons.

It's said that the forest is also filled with miasma and fog, and it's easy to get lost if you don't stick with the main army.

Second Lieutenant Lu snorted, "Go to the vanguard camp now and find Captain Chen Quanwu. Remember, don't shame our Cooks' Camp!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left with an air of arrogance.

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

Ding Chen didn't respond.

Vanguard Camp.

By the time Chen Xian and the others arrived, Chen Quanwu had already finished his assignments and was preparing to depart.

"Cook Soldiers?"

Chen Quanwu was a burly man with a full beard, around forty years old, exuding an oppressive aura of battle.

He glanced disdainfully at Ding Chen, who was at the front. "You're Ding Chen?"

"Reporting to the Captain, I am," Ding Chen dismounted and saluted respectfully.

Chen Quanwu's eyes still held a deep disdain. He just nodded. "Let's go."

Ding Chen looked up and asked, "May I ask Captain Chen, are we following behind the main army?"

"En!"

Chen Quanwu grunted indifferently, as if he couldn't be bothered to reply, and then spurred his horse away.

A thousand Demon Slayer Soldiers followed suit, charging out of the camp on horseback.

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

By the time they passed Wumeng Mountain, it was already dark.

Just then, a rider galloped towards them. "By order of the Captain, Ding Chen, you will take your men through Black Wind Valley, pass Seven Mile Peak, and engage the demon army from the west of Blood River Forest. Withdraw along the same route at sunrise, hold Black Wind Valley for half a day, and return to the military camp by noon. There will be no delays!"

The messenger soldier left as quickly as he came.

Ding Chen frowned slightly. He was being asked to take a hundred men to engage the demon army?

Wasn't this just asking them to be bait?

Xue Qishan said, "Brother Ding, this is treating us like bait, preparing to sacrifice us at any moment."

Wang Yan snorted. "Isn't that right? They don't even say how many demons there are. Can a hundred men even hold them off?"

Ding Chen's brow furrowed. "We must obey orders."

He was a Second Lieutenant, and the other was a Captain.

Military orders were difficult to defy.

He immediately spurred his horse towards Black Wind Valley.

After passing through Black Wind Valley, they continued southwest. After traveling about ten kilometers, they saw a mountain range stretching for six or seven li.

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

Ding Chen took out a map from his huai, opened it, and nodded. "It's Seven Mile Peak."

Since guarding Black Wind Valley, it had been inconvenient to be without a map. Ding Chen had asked Liao Zipeng for a map of the area within a thousand li of Demon-Slaying Pass.

Using the map, they quickly passed Seven Mile Peak and arrived at the west side of Blood River Forest.

In the darkness, a thick blood-red mist hung in the air above the blood-red forest.

Beneath the blood mist were fog and miasma, giving everything a hazy, indistinct appearance.

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

They could only rely on the map to gauge its size, approximately thirty-five kilometers in width and breadth.

Ding Chen looked at Chen Xian. "Xianzi, you take your men to provide support here. I'll take Wang Yan and Qin Fei to lure the demons."

Chen Xian shook his head. "I'll take my men to lure them. You provide support here."

When it came to killing demons and earning experience points, he would naturally not back down.

"Qishan, Cao Fang, let's go!"

Chen Xian shouted and spurred his horse into Blood River Forest.