Chapter 18: Mysteries of the Scarlet Moon Forest

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Mysteries of the Scarlet Moon Forest

His attention shifted to Qingyu. The white snake was glaring at Ying Wei while continuing to hiss. Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

What’s wrong?

[I still can’t forgive him for injuring you earlier.]

[I want to kill him and make him realize that he messed with the wrong person.]

Forget about it. He and I are no longer fighting.

[You’re just going to leave like this? He injured your cheek. Look! Your cheek is bleeding!]

It’s a minor injury. Besides, my goal was to test my abilities, not kill them.

[You’re too naive, Ye Xuan. You’ll eventually learn that the cultivation world doesn’t work the way you think it does.]

Ye Xuan let out a brief sigh, turned his gaze forward, and bid farewell to the three members of the eagle tribe.

With the help of the crimson lightning coursing through his body, he shot away from the area at high speed, leaping from one tree branch to another.

Qingyu’s irritation gradually faded after Ye Xuan advised and calmed her down.

He could now fight Mortal Beasts and hold his own against someone at the Spirit Beast level.

Further training would improve his abilities even more, but the earlier battle against the three members of the eagle tribe had consumed a considerable amount of his energy and qi. Night was also approaching.

It wouldn’t be wise to keep wandering around the forest, especially with the risk of being attacked by other monsters.

"Let’s find a secluded place to cultivate. I’ll continue training tomorrow."

Qingyu didn’t respond. She simply kept looking ahead, following wherever Ye Xuan took her. The young man landed when he spotted a rocky hill ahead.

The hill wasn’t particularly large, but a peach tree with lush foliage stood at its peak.

The tree was quite tall and bore an abundance of fruit. Although other trees surrounded it, the peach tree was what caught Ye Xuan’s attention.

"What a beautiful place. That tree is bearing so much fruit."

As he examined the hill, Ye Xuan faintly heard Qingyu hiss. Her tone and voice sounded different from usual.

"What’s wrong, Qingyu?"

[Nothing. I just have a strange feeling when I look at that tree.]

[Spiritual qi is flowing from beneath the ground into that peach tree, as if... the tree itself is alive.]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment before looking ahead with a sharp gaze.

If Qingyu, who knew far more than he did, said something like that, then there was definitely something wrong with the tree.

He glanced around, but there were no monsters near the rocky hill. It was as if something about the hill made the monsters reluctant to approach.

Since he knew nothing about the peach tree or the hill, Ye Xuan was unwilling to take any risks.

He decided to head in another direction, putting some distance between himself and the hill.

This forest is far more complicated than I imagined.

[There are many mysteries hidden here. That’s why many cultivators are reluctant to come.]

[We should find somewhere else. I’ll help you.]

Ye Xuan cleared his throat and continued moving away from the area.

Along the way, he came across many different places, including small lakes, waterfalls, swamps, and mysterious ruins.

However, thanks to Qingyu’s advice, he chose to avoid several potentially dangerous locations.

His current abilities weren’t sufficient to deal with whatever mysterious threats might be lurking there.

He stopped when he reached the first waterfall, which marked the entrance to the territory of the Blazing Flame Serpent Clan.

Since they hadn’t found any other safe locations, Qingyu suggested that Ye Xuan cultivate there.

[I’ll keep watch over you. Just focus on cultivating.]

"Thank you."

He leaped onto a rock above the waterfall’s pool, sat cross-legged, and formed a hand seal to activate his qi-gathering technique.

Spiritual energy began flowing steadily through Ye Xuan’s meridians, allowing the slash on his cheek to heal quickly.

Qingyu, however, took a different approach. She stood guard in front of Ye Xuan, keeping an eye on the surrounding monsters.

They knew this place was dangerous, but at least it was safer than other locations because it was close to the Blazing Flame Serpent Clan’s territory.

Furthermore, Qingyu’s presence alone was more than enough to make the monsters tremble in fear.

Sure enough, not a single one dared to approach, even though the white snake in front of Ye Xuan hadn’t transformed into her enormous white serpent form.

Ye Xuan cultivated for approximately five hours. Once his strength had recovered, a wave of qi spread outward from his body.

The surge caused ripples across the pool and generated a powerful gust of wind that shook the surrounding trees.

He opened his eyes and was startled by what he saw. A large group of monsters had gathered in front of him, silently watching him. There were quite a few of them.

Ye Xuan glanced at Qingyu. His white snake was still protecting him by intimidating the other monsters.

"Should I train against them again tonight?" Ye Xuan asked.

[Stay away from those spiders. Their strength is equivalent to that of Spirit Beasts, and they can release poisonous gas into the air. Dealing with them would be a real hassle.]

He turned and spotted three black spiders with purple eyes lurking in the darkness of the forest.

The rest were merely monsters such as ants, snakes, centipedes, and wild boars.

"Those spiders, huh? I’ll be careful."

He extended his hand, allowing Qingyu to return to his neck. The white snake followed his instructions.

A sword appeared in Ye Xuan’s hand, immediately bursting into flames and crimson lightning. He gripped it firmly as he stood on the rock.

"Tonight will be my final training session against you all. I can feel spiritual qi surging inside my dantian," Ye Xuan replied.

[I can sense it too. Finish your training tonight. Tomorrow, you can focus on cultivating and breaking through to the next realm!]

Ye Xuan nodded in agreement with Qingyu’s words. He shot off the rock above the pool and charged straight into the horde of Mortal-stage monsters.

He moved according to the sword techniques taught by his sect, killing the monsters in his path even as some of them tried to flee under Qingyu’s intimidation.

This worked to Ye Xuan’s advantage because the monsters had become even more frightened.

They had no intention of attacking him and only wanted to escape. Even so, he still had to keep a close eye on them.

The slightest lapse in concentration could leave him injured, whether from a claw attack or their poisonous abilities.

Most importantly, he had to avoid the purple-eyed spiders, especially their poisonous gas.

Ye Xuan’s sword continued blazing with flames as he killed each monster, allowing their bodies to burn until nothing remained but ashes.

The more often he swung his sword, the more accustomed he became to attacking and dodging.

Each battle taught him valuable lessons, making his attacks stronger and more precise.

His combat abilities also improved rapidly thanks to the crimson lightning.

When the night reached its deepest hours, Ye Xuan stood tall amid pools of blood in various colors spilled by the monsters. Some were black, others purple, and the rest red.

His clothes were also stained and splattered with their blood. However, that didn’t matter.

What mattered most was that he had survived and successfully killed a horde of Mortal Beasts with only minor injuries.

He extended his hand and extracted the monster cores from every monster he had killed. In total, twenty-three monster cores floated above Ye Xuan’s palm.

His attention then shifted to the purple-eyed spiders. They hadn’t moved at all because they didn’t feel threatened.

Ye Xuan looked at them but had absolutely no intention of attacking them.

"It seems I won’t be able to cultivate in peace while they’re constantly watching me," Ye Xuan remarked.

[What if you break through within the Blazing Flame Serpent Clan’s territory? They could protect you.]

"They have a poor relationship with humans. Besides, I already went there once, going there a second time might make them feel threatened."

[Then what?]

Ye Xuan turned to look in another direction, "It’s time for me to leave this forest."