Martial Peak

Chapter 5607: You Should Not Follow The Crooked Path

Fang Tian Ci felt that the Head Manager had found him a wonderful Squad to be a part of.

Initially, he only decided to take a look at Yang Xiao in Profound Nether Territory after getting a suggestion from the Head Manager, but he hadn’t made up his mind yet to join his Squad. After all, he had been cultivating in seclusion in the Star Boundary since he left the Void World; as such, he knew little about the 3,000 Worlds.

He had his own ideas, but he would also accept kind recommendations. He had passed Zhao Ye Bai’s test, and he acknowledged that the latter had a better grasp of the Dao of Space. By cultivating alongside such a powerful person, he would gain immense benefits.

However, he soon realised that the Ten Directions Supreme Squad did not only have Senior Brother Zhao, but also Senior Sister Zhao and Senior Brother Xu.

The Dao Lord’s three Disciples had respectively inherited his three primary Grand Daos.

By joining the Ten Directions Supreme Squad, it would mean that Fang Tian Ci had a chance to frequently exchange insights on these Grand Daos with them. It was a good reason for him to join the Squad.

An energetic Yang Xiao declared, “Since that is settled, we should go and get some resources first; then, we’ll throw a welcome party for Junior Brother Fang. When we’re done getting prepared, we’ll set off.”

They could finally leave the Profound Nether Territory and roam the Great Territories that the Black Ink Clan had occupied. Yang Xiao could not wait to get started.

The others were naturally fine with it. Over the years, Yang Xiao had been the one leading the Squad. It wasn’t that he was the strongest. In fact, the Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad were all equally powerful. It was just that the others had no interest in managing the Squad’s affairs, so they decided to let Yang Xiao take charge of everything.

At the mention of resources, Fang Tian Ci suddenly recalled something and fished out a Space Ring, “By the way, Senior Brother Yang, when I was at the Army Headquarters the other day, a Junior Sister named Yun Xi told me to pass this to you. There are some pills inside…”

Before he could finish his words, he felt a forceful clasp on his shoulder, which caused him some pain.

Fang Tian Ci was astounded, thinking that Yang Xiao’s strength was quite intense.

“What are you talking about, Junior Brother? I don’t understand.”

Fang Tian Ci was confused so he tried to explain again, “Senior Brother, it was a Junior Sister named Yun Xi…”

“Hehe…” A melodious laugh was suddenly heard from the side. Fang Tian Ci reckoned that it was Yang Xue’s voice, and he could feel that Yang Xiao was shuddering.

When he turned his head, he saw Yang Xiao glaring at him, “Junior Brother, you should not follow the crooked path.”

Fang Tian Ci was puzzled.

Without explaining further, Yang Xiao left him and walked up to Yang Xue before whispering to her. Fang Tian Ci could faintly hear him saying, “I don’t know any such woman. Don’t listen to his nonsense.”

Zhao Ye Bai came over and patted Fang Tian Ci’s shoulder with a smile, “Let’s go, Junior Brother Fang.”

A worried Fang Tian Ci said, “Senior Brother Yang…”

“He had it coming!” Zhao Ya walked past them and snorted.

…..

In a dense forest, the sprawling branches seemed to be connected. All the trees were gigantic, and their crowns were so vast that when one looked down at the continent from above, it was as though it was a sea of green. 

Although many Humans lived in the Myriad Monsters World now, the environment hadn’t changed much. Such wilderness had been sustained for uncountable years, so not much change would happen in a short time.

In this dense forest, danger was hidden everywhere. The roles of hunters and prey could be flipped upside down in an instant. A more powerful creature might just be hiding somewhere behind, waiting to pounce on its prey and gnaw at it.

It was the perfect representation of natural selection.

In such an environment, the Monster Race had an unrivalled advantage when it came to their cultivation. The Heavenly Way and Principles of this World favoured Monster Race too. It was made even more conspicuous after a World Tree clone was planted several hundred years ago.

More and more Great Monsters broke through their shackles and shook off the Universe World’s shackles, allowing them to head out into the expansive Outer Universe to explore the unknown.

As the strongest Great Monsters left, the original balance was shattered. After several hundred years of change, there was now a new order in this World.

Even though it was daytime, it was still extremely dark in the forest as the tree crowns blocked all sunlight.

An arm-thick snake with glistening skin slithered around a branch and approached its target in silence, a tree cave in the trunk that exuded the aura of blood and flesh.

Although the snake was furtive, the prey in the tree cave still noticed its presence. Just as the snake stuck its head into the tree cave, a grey shadow dashed out at the speed of lighting.

The snake seemed prepared. The moment the grey shadow appeared, the snake shot forward and opened its hideous mouth before biting down.

The grey shadow howled in pain, but it couldn’t get rid of the snake. As poison entered its body, the grey shadow soon stopped moving.

The snake then wrapped its body around the trunk and widened its bloody mouth. It was ready to enjoy its meal.

Unbeknownst to it, there was a shadow behind it that moved slightly. The shadow perfectly blended into the tree’s shadow, ensuring no one could see it. The shadow had seen the snake successfully take down its prey, but it remained unmoving, which showed how patient it was.

Just as the snake was deluged with the joy of having killed its prey, the dark shadow leapt out.

Compared to the snake, there was no doubt that the dark shadow was smaller, but it was extremely agile and appeared behind the snake in the blink of an eye before biting its neck.

The snake hissed in pain as its figure started writhing and fell to the ground. The dark shadow quickly leapt away with a piece of flesh in its mouth and gulped it down.

As a metallic tang permeated the area, the snake hissed wildly as it coiled up and raised its head high to intimidate the opponent.

However, the dark shadow remained unphased. As it stepped on the fallen leaves, it made no noise. It just kept circling the snake, patiently waiting for a chance to strike.

This kind of life-and-death battle frequently took place in the forest. The winner would enjoy its delicious meal while the loser ended up in the other’s stomach.

Half an hour later, the battle ended.

The snake lay on the ground with countless wounds on its body, many of which were bone-deep. The dark shadow was the winner as it now devoured its prey.

However, the dark shadow soon collapsed to the ground.

Although it had gained victory, it wasn’t unharmed. Its prey resisted fiercely and bit the dark shadow several times earlier; as such, the dark shadow had been struck with poison.

This kind of poison wasn’t lethal, but it would make the dark shadow blackout for a while.

However, in such a dangerous forest, the dark shadow probably wouldn’t wake up again.

An incense stick later, the sound of something brushing through the canopy was heard in this silent forest and several figures dexterously jumped from branch to branch.

Although the Human Race had started living in the Myriad Monsters World over 200 years ago, this World remained a treasure trove that was yet to be fully exploited.

Apart from Monster Beasts in this World, the things that were most useful to the Humans were Spirit Flowers and Herbs.

After all, this was a Universe World where ancient wilderness remained unexplored, and Monster Race knew nothing about Alchemy. Other than the Spirit Herbs that could be consumed directly, the rest wasn’t put to good use. As such, the Humans living in this place would come together and enter the forest to collect precious resources every so often, gaining massive rewards each time.

However, this came with many risks. Although Yang Kai had told the Great Monsters in the Myriad Monsters World they could not hunt the Humans back then, this kind of thing couldn’t be prevented entirely. There were still some Monster Beasts who retained their wild nature and who functioned more on instinct than reason, so if they came across a Human on their own, they would normally just eat them.

Under most circumstances, the Humans and Monster Race got along fairly well in the Myriad Monsters World. Neither side made a move on the other for no reason, which was why the Humans dared to enter the forest and collect Herbs. Without Yang Kai’s restriction in the past, these Human cultivators would’ve been destroyed the moment they stepped into the forest.

Suddenly, a petite figure stopped in her tracks. She looked like a beautiful young woman in her early twenties and her aptitude was clearly quite good as she was already in the Separation and Reunion Boundary.

The metallic tang in the air was obvious, so she certainly noticed it.

As she looked around, she soon saw the bloodied battlefield. She leaped from the branches and landed beside the snake; then, she saw the dark shadow lying on the ground.

“Junior Sister,” another figure landed beside her. He seemed to be a young man who was a few years older.

The young woman pointed at the dark shadow and said, “It’s a Shadow Leopard!” 

“Is it dead?” The man asked.

“I don’t think so,” the young woman replied. Then, she placed her hand on the Shadow Leopard’s neck and said affirmatively, “It’s still alive, but I think it’s been struck with poison.”

The man urged her by saying, “Ignore it. In the Myriad Monsters World, it’s only normal that Monster Beasts fight with each other. We should focus on our mission.”

“However, if we ignore it, it will be eaten by other Monster Beasts.” The woman didn’t have the heart to let the small leopard die, so she looked up at the man, “Please save it, Senior Brother.”

The man frowned as he wasn’t willing to have a hand in the affairs between Monster Beasts, so he dissuaded her, saying, “It would be terrible if its parents misunderstand us. This Shadow Leopard is still very young, so perhaps its parents are nearby.”

The young woman replied, “If they were nearby, they would’ve saved it already. Its parents must be dead. It’s such a pity that this leopard has to start hunting at such a young age.”

As she recalled certain memories, she felt a lump in her throat.

She went on to say, “Moreover, it’s fine even if its parents come looking for it. We’ll just give the leopard back to them. Please save it, Senior Brother.”

As she tipped her head back, she looked at the man with teary eyes.

The man didn’t have the heart to see the woman cry, so he raised his hands and gave in, “Alright. We’ll save it. Stop crying.”

The young woman instantly stopped crying and smiled, “You’re the best, Senior Brother.”

Then, she crouched down and picked up the Shadow Leopard, “Let’s go, Senior Brother.”

“Are you going to carry it just like this?”

“Yes?”

“Shouldn’t you give it a detoxifying pill and dress up its wounds?”

“Ah…” only then did the young woman come to her senses and start treating the little leopard. Since they had to enter the forest to collect Spirit Herbs frequently, they always made sure to bring some detoxifying pills with them as they never knew what they might encounter. Such pills were useful at this moment.