Chapter 142 - A little cut.

Two days of grueling travel later.

Xin had cautiously crossed an ancient bog, its damp silence broken only by the occasional croak of frogs and the crunch of his boots over decaying wood. Emerging onto the northern passage that led to the Yellow Pine Forest, he ascended a tall hill, then climbed up an ancient oak, taller than any tree in the forest he grew up in. His non-repressed wood qi control made the climb rather trivial, but he had to remove his Mercury Greaves, as they hindered the wood qi emanations from his feet. A stern cold wind blew in his face, a herald of the soon coming winter.

Xin climbed a wide branch and stood up tall, surveying the sprawling forest. It was his first time climbing so high, and he had to breathe out to relieve his anxiety.

The Yellow Pine Forest stretched vast, taking a week to cross diagonally on foot — if one survived, of course. Just like most other pine trees, the yellow pines shared a connected root network, nurturing younger and weaker plants. But the yellow pines elevated this to a different level, draining any mundane forest within years.

This forest, however, was far from ordinary, and there was a reason why imperial foresters never destroyed the yellow pines. As Xin learned upon returning to the sect, these trees were actually a bulwark, containing the rampant spread of qi-active, invasive plants that grew in the forest's depths, closer to the area's natural ley lines. It all fect like an abandoned gardening project, and Xin suspected it was.

From the fragmented history he pieced together, Xin knew that the forest was once gifted to a high-ranking minister of the First Imperial Court, though his name had been purged from the annals of history. After being seized by the court, it became imperial property, only to be lost for decades during the Bonemen campaigns. A few centuries later, it was leased to the Southern region's Autumn Leaf Sect, who didn't manage to hold this distant holding against the Skyfolk advances.

Autumn Leaf sect… 

Mother had never spoken of her sect owning this place, never even hinted at its significance. Father mentioned it only in passing, warning to never venture beyond its outskirts without a Condensation Stage escort, yet here I am, about to break this advice. Forgive me.

As Xin looked around and scanned the area, he was assailed with a sense of dread. I've been walking for days, yet haven't seen a single Border Guard patrol. No bandits, not even a single poacher, despite the bog's abundance of game. Eerie.

Xin knew that the closest settlement was half a day of travel to the west, and he considered visiting it to collect some intel. He quickly discarded this idea, as hanging around inns and farmsteads could expose his location to rumours, and he had no idea what sort of connections and allies the demoness had. 

Xin briefly considered detouring to a small settlement half a day's journey west to gather intel, but quickly dismissed the idea. Inns and farmsteads bred rumors, and he had no idea what connections or allies the demoness might have had. Although he didn't know where the demoness was, he was almost sure he knew where she wasn't.

South-west. This is where we came from the last time, looking for the mine passage. It was there that we were attacked by earth qi soaked ghouls, and later by the Little Mantis and his swarm. Wherever this hag's lair is, it's likely not there, as it would clash with Little Mantis's sphere of influence. He had a stronger pack of creatures, not even speaking of his iron mantis trap card, so it's safe to assume he'd bully the demoness out of his turf if they ever clashed. 

Him not killing her is also a clue. Means her lair might be in an area not suitable for a pack of mantises and cannibal grasshoppers to fight in. A narrow passage? On top of a very tall tree? Very thick bushes? Xin squinted and tried looking for such landmarks in the distance, yet the forest was too dense, the tree he climbed not tall enough, and his vision was obscured.

Master, it's time.

Oh, of course.

Hugging the tree trunk for balance in case his head spun again, Xin activated the technique. He had trained his totemic abilities these past few days, yet, even despite his past tiger totem cultivation experience and high compatibility, the new techniques were still quite draining to use.

Oh. Through his enhanced senses, the forest transformed, and Xin looked at it from a new perspective. Heaven qi flowed outward from the area, refusing to settle, as if it was too malicious for its blessing. This meant that this forest was more likely to produce the undead and malevolent spirits, despite being inside of the Emperor's formation.

The earth qi was quite potent here, yet also unbalanced in some clusters of the forest. Without proper qi recipients, the earth qi corrupt areas could spread and poison the mundane plants and animals, killing or mutating them into unhinged monsters, and collapsing the whole ecosystem of this place as a result.

Xin saw what master Xie Taowei meant now, this place certainly needed human intervention to save. Just not the kind his own forest got…

Fucking Fist sect. Xin spat on the ground in contempt, then watched the spittle travel with the wind and hit a nearby tree instead. Hehe, wish I had more time for this.

After memorising every landmark emanating significant amounts of qi that he could see, Xin carefully climbed down and took a break. He ate some dried partridge meat with berries, then meditated to restore his soul and qi reserves. He noticed his qi recovery go smoother than usual, a result of the area's auspicious qi density, and assumed it would be even more auspicious inside, unless he ventured into an area that was too dense (just like that time when their caravan was looking for the mine passage).

***

An hour later. 

Xin ventured deeper into the forest, heading toward the first suspicious landmark — a cluster of dark green bushes entwined around a massive ancient oak. This looked suspicious in an otherwise pine-dominated forest, and warranted investigation.

What are these bushes? Parasitic plants? A nomadic qi active plant colony? Eh, will have to see for myself. Xin spread the mundane bushes as he deftly traversed the woodlands, making sure not to walk through open areas where he'd leave too many tracks. 

Hey totem, prepare to activate the…

Fuck! Xin leapt back, then immediately activated Resonance Palms. One of the bushes he moved away had just procured a thorn and stabbed under his wrist, where his hand was only protected by the armor padding, and not the metal plating. His heart raced. It's an ambush!

Xin retreated a few steps, scanning around and looking for signs of humans hiding or vines emerging, yet despite his best efforts, he noticed nothing.

Celestial Vigil. Perception qi infusion. Come on, Xin, notice something or you're dead! He focused, his heartbeat at the limit, then looked at the bush again. Oh. He exhaled a sigh of relief. What a joke, I overreacted. 

He approached the bush closer and squatted in front of it. It was just a regular blackthorn bush, with juicy wild sloe berries growing on it, its thorns sharp but ordinary. A parasitic plant coiled around its branches, its thin vines leading downwards, towards a fist-sized sack near the bush's roots, resembling a small bag. 

It seems that it uses the bush as bait, puppeteering it and making its branches move, sharpening its thorns with qi. This is enough to kill small birds and rodents, yet it's unlikely to be too dangerous for larger creatures.

Xin considered this wound too shallow to warrant a healing seed use, so he applied some blood stoppage powder, then wrapped his wrist in a simple healing ointment soaked bandage, then another unsoaked one and moved on.

A few minutes later, his senses still enhanced, Xin heard a noise in the distance. Moments later, a bird flew up, spooked.

Sniff, sniff. Xin picked up several smells, yet couldn't properly identify them. Tigers weren't an animal relying on smell to hunt (their smell still superior to humans), and it was only because Xin was combining his own perception bloodline with the previous totem's abilities that the effect was so impressive. When it came to the Baihu, its Celestial Vigil was only marginally improving his sense of smell. Still, Xin considered it a great tradeoff, but it was still frustrating to lose something he grew so reliant on. 

Shit, what's that? Two sources of noise down right. With that bird spooked, three total. A pack of… who? Clearly moving towards me, this can't be a coincidence. Should I run? Take up a good position? Stand my ground here? Think! There's only a few categories of creatures that could be approaching me this way, how about we eliminate some? 

Bark! Growl! Woof! Xin imitated a dog to the best of his ability, baiting out a response, then moved towards a nearby tree and kept scanning. 

"Bark!" A hoarse response followed immediately. A wolf! Xin's challenging bark agitated it!

"Wooooo!" Another wolf howled from an opposite flank. In Xin's interpretation, it meant "Let's attack together!"

"Woof! Woof!" A wolf in the central area also called out. 

I can probably take on several wolves, even if they're qi active. It would still be wiser not to. Xin quickly dispelled his Resonance Palms, then climbed a tall nearby tree with the speed of a spooked cat.

Moments later, four animals emerged simultaneously from behind the bushes, running in unison. By the heavens, I hope it's not another xiandao master controlling a pack of creatures! And by the ancestors, not another rank two! Xin pulled out the sword path disciple's meteoric sword out of his bag of holding.

The wolf pack that emerged had only four members total, and looked quite intriguing. Two looked like regular wolves, there was even something dog-like in their lithe physiques. The third one had a light bluish hue in its grey fur color, akin to a noble hound. The fourth one was pitch white, with spiral red ornaments circling around its eyes like ceremonial mascara. 

The wolves surrounded the tree Xin climbed, grinning their teeth. He noticed the white wolf's teeth look particularly menacing — they were large, crimson coloured and dripped toxic looking pink saliva.

I should stay calm, they can't get me here. Two regular wolves, one qi active wolf. These shouldn't be a problem, I could dispatch twice as many. It's the white wolf that looks like trouble — it's none other than the albino goredrinker wolf! A rare breed, a live specimen could be worth a fortune…

The wolves circled some more, barking and howling fruitlessly at Xin looking down at them. Interestingly, only the albino goredrinker didn't respond when I barked out, and it's also completely quiet now. Creepy. I wonder if these wolves have any innate ranged abilities? Wish my crossbow was still intact… Should have taken that bow the nomads wanted to give me, at least.

Twenty breaths later, the albino goredrinker approached the qi active wolf from behind and bumped its nose into its packmate's thigh, as if nudging it to action. His Celestial Vigil still active, Xin saw a tiny splash of blood qi spread from the albino, while the qi active wolf emanated a subtle metal qi aura. This looks like trouble.

The qi active wolf approached the tree Xin was hiding on, then stood up on its back legs. These emanations are quite familiar — its claws are covered in metal qi! Xin looked at the albino goredrinker wolf again. What are you planning, creature? You're quite ruthless, using your pack mate to probe the waters. Well, I've heard this breed is intelligent, but at least they aren't known for their combat prowess.

Soon, the qi active wolf started climbing. Its movements looked rough and unrefined, its claws piercing into the wood as it scaled the tree bark. Its physique was unsuited for this task, and it had to compensate by leaking serious amounts of metal qi.

Xin leaned from his branch and pointed the sword at the wolf. Oh, it's a female. Come on, girl, don't do anything stupid. Live and let live.

"Hush! Fuck off, bitch!" Xin waved the sword at the she-wolf, but she kept on climbing. Damn, the goredrinker has her enthralled. No, I can't just sit here and waste time — this forest is too dangerous! Xin tensed his legs, infusing them with wood qi, then infused his sword's tip with metal qi. A moment later, his legs sprang, and he shot downwards, aiming to stab the wolf in the head.

Growl! The she-wolf's head emanated a metallic aura, an innate technique similar to the Iron Lung!

Stab! Xin's blade descended onto her head, and with her claws buried deep into the wood, she was unable to dodge. Despite her defensive move, Xin's blade cut into her forehead, and under Xin's accelerated weight, she couldn't retain the grip and was sent flying down. Xin landed on top with both feet, and heard several bones crack. Neck, spine — both broken. She's as good as dead. Now's not the time to celebrate, though! The remaining trio all lunged at him from different sides.

Expansion kick! Xin kicked the mundane wolf that reached him first away. Despite not being his strongest attack, it still dislocated the wolf's jaw and left it unconscious. The second wolf lunged right after, yet Xin just shoulder butted it away, crashing it into the tree he just jumped down from. And now, if my instincts are correct…Stab! Xin heard the enemy behind his back, reacted quickly and nailed it on his sword with a spinning motion. It entered half-way in, emerging from the albino wolf's spine. Despite the horrific injury, it wasn't stunned, and clacked its ugly crimson teeth at Xin's head, going for his throat. The albino goredrinker had a special physique, its qi active heart pumping fast, healing even grave injuries. It was also known to refine blood path dao shards in its innards, unleashing powerful blood path moves.

Xin knew all this, yet he also knew he was in control. A moment later, he freed up one hand and nailed the wolf's brain with his trusty steel sting dao shard. The creature's lifeless body dropped on the ground, and even in agony, it didn't produce a single moan, only a fountain of blood. He quickly ran up to the stunned wolf that he just crashed into the tree and finished it off.

Shit, why did they attack me? How did they detect me in the first place? Oh. Xin looked at his arm. The goredrinker wolf was probably able to perceive my cut, or even the tiny amount of the healing powder I used (it belongs to the blood path, after all) using its impressive sense of smell. I am truly unlucky, a thorny plant cut escalated into a fight with a pack of wolves! And it's just the outskirts of the forest, which I considered relatively safe…

Xin approached the qi active wolf's corpse. Given its metal element, it might have had some dao shards in its body, and its organs could be sold for a decent sum. The albino goredrinker's materials were certainly more expensive, but would be harder to sell legally, so Xin focused on the metal element wolf first.

What do we have here? Interesting, this female wolf clearly gave birth at some point in her life, and her biological age is around five. These three aren't related to her, as they don't share a single common trait, meaning it's a small, fresh pack, with albino goredrinker wolf as its leader. Xin moved its hand, infused with metal qi, around the she-wolf's corpse, hoping to scan and find some dao shards that would resonate…

Hoot! Hoot! A loud and menacing call of an owl resonated afar.

Hoot! Hoot! Another owl, but closer? No, it's the same one, approaching fast. Shit! No way!