Chapter 96: Lady in the Lost Forest
Although Zhou Donghuang used to stand on top of the world in his previous life, his strengths lay in his power and the Way of Essence. In the field of romantic relations.h.i.+ps, he was a complete “romantic idiot.”
“If I had known this earlier, I would’ve picked one of the ladies that the star clans or the top sects sent… then, I wouldn’t be in such a spot when I have to face these things now.” Zhou Donghuang sighed as he walked out of Chuxiu Inn.
If he stayed in the courtyard, the girl’s cries would make him feel even more uneasy, so he decided to take a walk. As he strolled, Zhou Donghuang was not paying attention. It was only when he heard some gossip that he perked up.
“Did you hear the news? Yesterday, someone found that the spirit in the Lost Forest suddenly turned strange… accordingly, this only happens when a spirit fruit or a G.o.d-tier demon appears.” The voice had come from within a horse-drawn carriage. It was the voice of a middle-aged man. Of course, it was only because of Zhou Donghuang’s extraordinary sense of sound that he could hear the conversation in the carriage as it pa.s.sed by.
“It can’t be a G.o.d-tier demon!” Another voice chimed in. “In the Lost Forest, the strongest are the two ‘golden-crowned eagles…’ and those two eagles have only achieved petty consummation of the gathered qi and not even great consummation, how could they possibly reach connate-tier and become connate demons?”
“This morning, our Ouyang family sent two level-nine elders to explore the Lost Forest… I heard the Chu royal household also sent people in. Did your Lui family do anything?”
“I just heard this news from you. But this morning, I saw our Head Elder Liu and Third Elder leave the household anxiously.”
“They must have gone to the Lost Forest.”
“Who cares… even if there really is a spirit fruit, and even if my family gets it, we cannot possibly use it.”
…
As the carriage went further away, the voices that Zhou Donghuang heard became softer.
“Ouyang family? Lui family?” As far as he knew, both the Ouyang and Lui family were premier tyc.o.o.n families with many level-nine adepts, nothing that the s.h.i.+ family could compare with. Their conversation had piqued his interest. “Lost Forest? Unnatural spirit?”
The Lost Forest was in the north of the Chu royal city and covered a vast expanse of land. Inside, there were not only many fearsome beasts, but even some demons that had extraordinary talent. The demons in the forest ranged from level-one of the gathered qi to petty consummation, but there were only two that had achieved petty consummation. They were the kings of the forest, the two golden-crowned eagles.
These demons were filled with treasures, the higher their level of practice, the more valuable their body parts. There was a phrase from Earth: if it can be sold, it will be killed. It was the same on Ziyun planet. Because the demon body parts were so valuable, some adepts even put themselves in grave danger to go into the Lost Forest to hunt these demons. Those who were successful earned a fortune, while some would fail and die within the forest. The Lost Forest was an extremely dangerous place, particularly the depths of the forest. This was a land ruled by the two golden-crowned eagles of petty consummation of the gathered qi, even the strongest adepts from the Chu royal household could not enter easily.
“Unnatural spirit, there must be a reason… it’s unlikely that a connate demon would appear. It must be a spirit fruit.” As he thought of this, Zhou Donghuang’s eyes lit up. A spirit fruit that could affect the spirit of the Lost Forest had to be at least of the same level as the ten-thousand-year red fruit and was surely a treasure for him now.
“Just as well, I don’t want to return to the inn for now, since I’m free… I shall take a look.”
The Lost Forest was only a hundred miles from the Chu royal city. With Zhou Donghuang’s current footsteps, he only took an hour to reach it at a leisurely pace. If he had rushed, he would not have taken so long at all.
The Lost Forest was a dense forest that looked the same everywhere within. After entering, one could get lost easily if one did not mark the route along the way.
“The spirit here… is already starting to feel strange.” Not long after entering the forest, Zhou Donghuang could already sense the unnatural spirit that hung in the thick air. As compared to any others, he could sense the unnatural spirit more easily.
“The spirit seems to be in the depths of the forest… looks like there probably is a spirit fruit that appeared.” With a glint in his eye, Zhou Donghuang stepped in a graceful footwork as he rushed towards the depths of the forest like a bolt of lightning. Now, Zhou Donghuang was already at level-eight of the gathered qi, and his qi alone was equivalent to the strength of eight bulls. With his extreme physical strength and with his second-grade swiftness technique, he was the fastest man in the country of Yunyang for any adept beneath petty consummation of Qi-gathering. Of course, Zhou Donghuang could also use a first-grade swiftness technique, but that would be too energy-intensive and not suitable for him to use for longer durations. Lesser-grade swiftness techniques were inferior but more efficient over longer durations.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
…
Where he pa.s.sed, it was as if a gust of wind swept by, causing flowers and gra.s.s to tremble and the trees to sway. Even the beasts and demons scurried away in fright. His speed was so fast that it was as if a lightning bolt had flashed by; the beasts and even the demons avoided it.
Along the way, Zhou Donghuang also saw many adepts hunting beasts and demons. But his speed was so fast that although the adepts could sense the movement, by the time they could turn to look, he had already disappeared.
“Almost there!” After an hour, Zhou Donghuang arrived at the depths of the Lost Forest. There were only a few demons here. The rare ones that he saw were all extremely powerful, with the strength of at least a level-eight adept. At the same time, he could also sense that the source of the spirit in the forest was close by. His eyes shone with expectation.
…
In the deepest part of the Lost Forest, there was a clear lake that looked like a piece of jade lying on the ground from a distance. Now, from the side of the lake, the spirit seemed to flow into a shadow sitting cross-legged beside the lake.
This was a lady in a pale green dress. She seemed about twenty years of age, with beautiful eyes, a high nose and crimson lips. Her alluring face seemed to radiate coldness. Her long hair was held in a pale green hair band, the loose hair drifting despite the still air.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
…
Now, a spirit funnel appeared above her head, as all the spirit energy of the Lost Forest flowed straight into her body. The lady’s cold face flashed slowly with a radiance. Upon closer inspection, one could see that her pale hands and legs were also flas.h.i.+ng as if she had been poisoned and was controlling the toxicity in her body.
On another end of the lake, there were two huge trees upon which a ma.s.sive bird’s nest lay.
A fog hung around the lake that isolated it from the rest of the world outside. The fog not only blocked the vision of those from the outside, but any stray insects that got too close would also be instantly destroyed by the fog.
The fog concealed a frightening killer. It was like a giant bell, isolating the lady and the two huge trees from the rest of the world.
Whoos.h.!.+
…
Outside of the fog, two golden-crowned eagles were circling above the layer of fog, trying to penetrate the fog but being forced back by it time and again.
“Second Brother, forget it,” said the darker colored eagle to the other in demon tongue.
“Big Brother, could this be the s.h.i.+eld of legends?” asked the other.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“But… in the legends, only magnificent pract.i.tioners who obtained the level of contained primal essence could produce a s.h.i.+eld!”
“I think… the lady who stole our land must be such a magnificent pract.i.tioner!”
“How could it be? That lady looks just twenty… at such an age, she cannot possibly be a magnificent pract.i.tioner!”
“Don’t forget that when she arrived yesterday, she threw us out with just a wave of the hand… if she had wanted to kill us, we would not be alive.”
“If she really is a magnificent pract.i.tioner of the legends, why is she stealing our territory?”
“From her looks, she must be injured… perhaps she’s just borrowing the place to treat herself, and she’ll leave once she’s recovered.”
“I hope so.”
…
Clearly, these two large golden-crowned eagles were the masters of the Lost Forest, the famed demons who had attained petty consummation of Qi-gathering. The imperial court of Yunyang country had once sent two great consummate adepts to hunt these two eagles, but was unsuccessful because the eagles could fly. Once they took to the skies, even connate adepts could do nothing about them.