The Forest of Death was as dark as ink as if all light had been absorbed.

When a cold wind blew, Ou Yangming shrunk his neck and let an exquisite short sword slide out from his sleeve. When he stabbed the corner of the centipede's eye and pulled it outward, a red light shot out. It was a blood crystal, which looked like the purest carnelian1, and it was so red that one would tremble in fear.

Ou Yangming lifted his right hand and felt a cold sensation from his palm.

A sound was suddenly heard coming from his wrist as he retrieved his Tianyuan Stone and held it in his hand. Just as he was going to brush it across the blood crystal, he glanced at Xue Boren and kept his stone.

'I should hide this accomplishment first.'

All of a sudden, a dead Qi drifted out from the blood crystal. When Ou Yangming scanned with his mental power, he was shocked as he sensed an extremely weak life force fluctuation, but it was a fleeting feeling as though it was a dream.

Ou Yangming asked softly after he pondered for a brief moment, "Senior, why do I feel something strange from the dead Qi above the Forest of Darkness? It feels like… It has life."

Xue Boren could not help but laugh and shook his head. "How's that possible? The dead Qi is dead, so how can it have life? Younger Brother Tianrui, you've probably overconsumed your mental power. Let's take a short break before we continue to kill other ferocious beasts!"

As for Xue Xuanle, a look of worry could also be seen on her charming face. She had something to say but was hesitant to speak.

Ou Yangming nodded and no longer said a word. He closed his eyes and recuperated for a long time to recover his mental power to its peak, then he opened his eyes, which shone as bright as lightning.

After breathing out some cold air, he uttered, "Let's go!"

Not long after Ou Yangming and his companions left, a thin bamboo rat emerged from the black soil and devoured the Black-winged Centipede's body. Its eyes did not have light at all as they were dark and hollow. After it was done, it glanced in the direction where the young fellow and the others left, then it turned around and went away. It walked for an unknown period before it arrived in front of a black river, then it went inside and disappeared.

The forest was lonely while the small paths were desolate.

Xue Boren wielded his sabers like horned dragons coming out of an ocean as he chopped the head of a middle-rank monster into two.

A blood crystal rolled out right away. Xue Xuanle beamed and cheered, "Let me do it, let me do it!" She carefully wiped the blood crystal clean and kept it in her interspatial bag, and she was very gentle throughout the process. It was worth noting that the interspatial bag was a gift to the young lady from Ou Yangming so that she could gather blood crystals.

Xue Boren sighed as he watched. 'Love is the most difficult thing to deal with, and it's just so important that both sides are well-matched. If a carp falls in love with a flying bird, what good will it bring? The theories in the world aren't complicated at all—one should know what's within one's power. You and he are from different worlds, so how can this be forced, fool!' His throat moved as he wanted to say something, but he could not bring himself to do it.

He simply sighed and looked elsewhere.

At the spur of the moment, a thunderous sound was heard. Fearsome gravel flew amidst an airwave, and they shot like cannonballs and broke some branches.

Ou Yangming and Xue Boren exchanged glances. The latter turned to look and said in a deep voice, "Judging from this momentum, I suppose that someone's fighting against a vicious beast! Should we go and take a look?" He looked at the Ou Yangming, which was evident that he was asking for his opinion. Ever since the elder witnessed how profound Ou Yangming's mental power was, he revered him even more. It had nothing to do with the young fellow's identity as he simply approved him as a powerhouse.

The young fellow pondered for a long time and asked the elder in return as he felt troubled, "Will we cause a misunderstanding if we go there now?" He was not one to snatch things from others, and he found it hard to do something like that.

Xue Boren wondered for a brief moment and was also hesitant. Since a fight was already going on, they might cause an unnecessary misunderstanding if they were to go there at this time.

Without warning, the fierce beast in the fight somehow turned his body and charged in Ou Yangming's direction.

6 whistling winds could be heard behind the beast!

"Quick! Stop it from getting away!"

"Yes, quickly chase it…"

The person at the front was about 3 meters tall. He carried a righteous aura and had green veins that bulged like squirming green insects all over his body. The man carried a heavy black hammer that emitted a striking light, and it looked oppressive as it probably weighed at least 350 to 400 kilograms. Judging from his cultivation base, he was an Advanced Spiritualist.

He laughed heartily and looked ahead as he shouted, "Brother, I'm Su Tianqian. Help me stop this beast, and I'll surely reward you well once we return to the city!" He sounded upright and gave off a favorable impression.

Xue Boren was elated. He cupped his hands and replied to the man, "Ah, Shopkeeper Su, I've long heard of your name. Now that I'm finally meeting you today, you're unordinary indeed."

Before his voice was gone, he had wielded his sabers and became entangled with the Iron Blood Mantis like a ghost. The beast could not break free as a result, and it moved its claws everywhere as if they were white hooks. Ear-piercing sounds were heard at once, but Xue Boren was well-experienced. He moved wonderfully by going left and right, up and down, front and back. Consequently, the human and the beast were in a deadlock situation.

Seeing as Ou Yangming was confused, Xue Xuanle explained, "Big Brother Yu, Shopkeeper Sure's very famous among the rogue cultivators in Huixun City. He established the Su Family Business, which has an auction house, a smithing workshop, and so on under it. He's also a nice person, so he's liked by many."

Ou Yangming nodded but had a weird look on his face as he thought, 'The Su Family Business.' He remembered the name well.

When Su Tianqian and his people arrived, had spun his heavy hammer in circles. Each time he struck, spiritual Qis gathered and shrunk then exploded, where they spread in all directions like spider webs. The man's movements were big, but he handled the details perfectly.

All in all, the 7 people worked with great chemistry, by which they attacked and defended as a unit.

Being sieged by Su Tianqian, Xue Boren, and the 5 other men, the Iron Blood Mantis could not hold on any longer and was finally slaughtered.

As Su Tianqian hit his heavy black hammer hard on the ground, a 16-centimeters-deep mark appeared on the ground, causing gravel to fly everywhere. He turned to look at Xue Boren and cupped his hands with a smile. "Senior, how should I address you?"

Xue Boren immediately waved his hand and answered, "I'm Xue Boren, and I've come to Huixun City for a while. My brother always talks about you, Shopkeeper Su. Sure enough, you're a heroic and exceptional person."

An odd look could be seen on Su Tianqian's face. His voice sounded like muffled thunder as he asked, "Please forgive me for being bold, but may I know who your brother is?"

"My brother's Wu Huandong!" Xue Boren uttered with respect.

Su Tianqian turned his hand and waved his big hammer gently as he smiled brighter than before. "Ah, it's Elder Wu. Sorry for not realizing earlier!"

Subsequently, he very casually looked at Ou Yangming and asked in slight confusion, "Brother, which clan are you from? You're good-looking and have a striking appearance." Earlier when Su Tianqian was spinning his heavy hammer, he had secretly checked out Ou Yangming. He thought that the young fellow had a distinguished temperament and a smooth Qi momentum as if he had merged with the universe. The shopkeeper was only asking because he felt that the fellow's movements had unusual inner meanings.

Ou Yangming intended to be acquainted with Su Tianqian. He sighed and thought, 'Given that a rogue cultivator can gain such a remarkable reputation in Huixun City, he's not simple at all.'

He quickly cupped his hands and replied to the man, "I'm Yu Tianrui. Greetings, Shopkeeper Su."

Xue Xuanle also saluted the man and introduced herself in high spirits, "I'm Xue Xuanle!"

Su Tianqian lifted his sleeve and smiled. "Ah, Younger Brother Yu, if you have time to spare after this, please visit the Su family."

"Of course, of course. As long as you won't think that I'm too talkative," Ou Yangming instantly agreed to it.

The few of them conversed for a while more before Su Tianqian did a fist salutation and said, "Since the hunt is ongoing, I'll invite you after it ends." Through their brief conversation, he found out that Ou Yangming was staying at the Wu family for the time being and had a high level of attainment in formations, thus he valued the young fellow even more.

Following that, Su Tianqian led his men into the depths of the forest.

Xiao Boren squinted his eyes and was deeply moved. "Shopkeeper Su's a heroic figure indeed."

Ou Yangming also had a great impression of Ou Yangming, so he expressed with a smile, "Indeed, he's formidable and has an attractive character." He moved his shoulders and uttered, "Let's go!"

With that, he leaped and disappeared into the forest.

※※※※

Multi-armed King Kong distorted the environment with its mental power while it walked quietly in the Forest of Death.

When the goshawk took a deep breath, the air seemed to have been drawn in reverse. It shuddered with fear when it looked up at the dead Qi above the forest. At this point, half of its feathers were gone, which was clear that it had suffered before this.

It glanced at Multi-armed King Kong and asked, "Did Master give any orders?"

Multi-armed looked at it and answered while its fur shook a little, "Master just asked us to follow him from a distance away. No matter what, we just need to do as Master says." As it looked deep into the forest, a fleeting light could be seen in its eyes.

Big Yellow looked dejected and unhappy instead.

The king kong looked away and patted the big yellow dog gently. "The cultivation path is like sailing against the current, where one must forge ahead or one will be driven back. It's good to believe that diligence can make up for dullness, but you shouldn't pull the string too tightly too, or it'll break. All in all, you must know how to control it well."

Big Yellow looked into the distance and sounded rather melancholy as it said, "I understand those principles but the thought of me being so useless makes me…" It lowered its voice and its proud head.

"Was that what you were thinking when you bit Teng Xiaoyun?" Multi-armed King Kong patted Big Yellow again but spoke in a heavier tone. It sighed and looked like it had gone through the vicissitudes of life. "Cultivation is patient and painstaking work, where one must settle down first before one becomes well-prepared. Big Yellow, you're in discomposure now. If your mind isn't clear, it'll be tougher for you to break through barriers. The more you seek something, the harder it'll be for you to achieve it, and you might even get further from your goal."

Its voice sounded like a sharp warning in Big Yellow's head as though water from the 9 heavens had poured down on it.

Big Yellow's eyes dimmed as if it was bewitched, but its aura settled down by the time it came back to its senses.

It no longer looked impatient as it nodded.

At this moment, Ou Yangming and his companions continued to advance into the forest. Due to the lack of light, they were alert and dared not relax at all.

A violent aura suddenly appeared in Ou Yangming's senses. His pupils shrunk, and he halted.

A semi-precious stone consisting of a dull red