Ambush before Garakil

Since everyone was mostly certain that Shui had perished, their pupils contracted upon finding his aura without any sign of weakening.

"Kuh! He lives!"

The enemy immediately prepared to launch a second barrage, but then a scream arose from the left side of the forest.

"Gah!"

That scream pulled everyone's attention, but then there were another two screams from the same area.

"Guh!"

"Ah!"

Fearing further casualties, the pressure of a Sky Realm expert exploded from the left.

"Exit the forest! He must be concealing himself among the trees."

The expert was right, but how could Shui make it so easy for them? After many months of exploring the uses of his wood soul, Shui learned how to perfectly mimic the aura of plant life and camouflage himself. He believed that by relying on this technique, only Masters who practiced soul cultivation or touched on the laws of wood could detect him, much less a mere Sky Realm expert. 

While the enemy tried to flee from the forest, Shui controlled the flora to hinder their movements so that he could kill more of them. These men were elders from the Gus clan, so he had no hesitation about gaining more of their enmity. Even an average-level clan like theirs strongly valued their Earth Realm elders, so the damage Shui was dealing to them was almost too much to bear. 

"Grand Elder Yerin! Please have your elders cooperate in stopping this beast!"

Afraid of hurting his own elders, the Sky Realm expert from the Gus clan, an old man dressed in black, beseeched the Wailings clan for aid. However, the grand elder of the Wailings clan was no fool, and this was his second time dealing with Shui, so he knew that sending his elders forward would result in further casualties. He rose from the right side of the forest and responded.

"Surely you jest, Grand Elder Alan. How could I bear to send my elders into the same forest that you made your elders retreat from?"

Although he addressed him by his title, Yerin beat Alan in both power and status, so there was disdain in his tone. They had joined forces to slay Shui, but he had no intention of losing more of the clan's elders, lest the high elder find further fault in him. If it weren't for the sake of further cooperation, he would have already attacked the forest to force Shui out. Nonetheless, at the current rate, the remaining Gus clan elders would either escape or perish, so they would be able to attack the forest without worry.

Alan was able to gleam Yerin's intentions and gritted his teeth, but he knew he couldn't afford to make a move against him. He devoted his spiritual sense to searching the forest for Shui's presence from the sky, but his efforts were fruitless even as more elders were slain. His eyes were bloodshot as the last elder in the forest also parted for the world of the dead and immediately flung fireballs at the forest. They would get into trouble with the local powers if this fire spread beyond their control, but Alan threw away such considerations for the sake of killing Shui. Pleased that he didn't have to burden himself with that risk, Yerin supported Alan's actions.

Due to being attuned to the flow of the forest, Shui could hear the cries of the burning plants, but he buried his empathy and prepared his next move. While he could escape if he wanted to, he didn't want these clans to bother him for the rest of his time in the Merulla region, so he planned to give them a taste of fear.

As Alan continued to ruthlessly burn the forest, something suddenly burst out of the flames. Believing it to be Shui, Alan changed his aim immediately.

"Die, you demon!"

Fireballs flew towards the shape, fully intent on burning it to a crisp, but upon realising what that object was, Yerin exclaimed.

"Stop! It's a trap!"

However, it was too late. Alan couldn't change the trajectory of the fireballs, and right before they made impact, the shape was revealed to be a boulder of ice. The ice quickly vaporised, creating a fog that engulfed the battlefield. Yerin was about to make a move to disperse the fog, but then he sensed a terrifying aura, one that could even make him feel fear.

"What, is this?!"

After a moment of hesitation, he dispersed the fog and was stunned by what he found. With blood pooling under him as he lay on the ground with his shocked face aimed at the sky, was the grand elder of the Gus clan, Alan. He had been split horizontally into two halves, and light had already left his eyes, so there was no chance of reviving him. There was only one possible culprit, but no one could believe it was him, especially Yerin. Although he looked down on Alan, he was still an expert in the Sky Realm, so even Yerin couldn't guarantee that he could kill him in one strike. Perhaps there was a chance if he caught him off guard, but Yerin knew that Alan had his barrier deployed, so there was no way a Soul Realm cultivator could hurt him. The terrifying aura he sensed was likely the cause, but there wasn't a single trace left of it.

'Could his rumoured Master have taken action? But then why isn't he attacking us anymore?'

While Yerin and the elders remained stunned by the sight, a tide of beasts swiftly approached. After a quick scan using spiritual sense, Yerin discovered that some of the array flags had been destroyed, which resulted in the deactivation of the concealment array. He couldn't believe that Shui was the one who killed Alan, but this much was well within his abilities.

"That cowardly wretch! Everyone! Retreat!"

Yerin collected Alan's corpse, but the scent of his blood had already attracted a tide of high beasts, and he didn't want to provoke the great beasts in the forest or the experts inside Garakil by starting a slaughter. Watching as they fled from the beasts from a good distance away, Shui smirked. He had purposely exposed his true aura when he killed Alan to plant apprehension in their hearts. It didn't matter if they thought he used some trick or had aid; as long as they couldn't figure out what that aura was, neither clan would want to make any rash moves. Furthermore, in case they retained too much morale, Shui subtly tripped some of the elders of the Wailings clan so that they were killed by the beasts. The number of causalities on the Wailings clan side was still far less in comparison to the Gus clan, but he judged that it would be enough.

"Now I can finally focus on my mission."

With the elders and beasts behind him, Shui continued his journey to Garakil. He didn't have very high expectations, but he looked forward to battling the dragon subspecies within the canyon outside Garakil.