Chapter 41
The morning light shone brightly as the breeze of the fresh morning air greeted each creature in the vast Daemon forest. Inside the illusionary mountain, a number of cultivators have already gathered near the entrance, but this time there are more than what had arrived as the others who had stayed inside the mountain would be coming back along with the group.
Shin Jiao is standing not too far behind Qin Lou at the front of the line as it was still her duty as part of the students' facilitator group. This time none look at her with scorn as they know that she is the new genius of the alchemy school. And behind her stood two elders at the peak of gold core realm as her protectors.
After the gate was opened, the procession of the students began to march forward and not long after that Shin Jiao was able to see once again the thick and green forest. And when he stepped outside his danger sense once again kicks in, as it seems like it's been a long time since he walked these parts and his nerves can't relax.
When everyone was out of the illusionary mountain the elder protectors of each school who carries with them spatial tools took out the carriages and let the lower level students and mortal servants get inside. The travel would take a long time if they would go on foot as those people can't fly yet.
And since they are going to be using carriages this time, unlike the first time Qin Lou and the many contestants that arrived here by flying through the forest, the rest decided to also just leisurely ride on their own carriages as well.
Along the way, Susu Ling once again decided to ride with Qin Lou which almost made the other facilitator curse but upon seeing who is it they just let her be. But the thing that made them frown is that she seems to be always talking to Shin Jiao as if they are discussing something, while Qin Lou would just casually nod every now and then.
At this time, Susu Ling is trying to convince Shin Jiao and Qin Lou to make a downgraded version of the rapid hemostatic pill. And she also convinces Qin Lou to give her the sole right to sell the pills, so that she won't be tricked by other merchants. Shin Jiao knows that her purpose is good, but she is truly a merchant's daughter as even when helping others she would still think about business, which is like hitting two birds in one stone.
"Okay, when we arrive at the school, we'll work on it." Qin Lou said with exasperation as Susu Ling is truly relentless.
"Alright, you said it, senior sister I'll be expecting that. I'll be expecting a new product from both of you. For the compensation just pay me 5% for my commission fee. Hehe…"
Upon hearing her demand both was truly dumbstruck. They never thought that she would just ask for that little amount. Seeing the two people dumbfounded look Susu Ling scratched her head.
"Is it too much, okay how about 2%?"
"No, no… I mean are you okay with just 5%? You're the one who's going to market and sell the product." Qin Lou asked with worry.
"Geez… that's not a problem. We are friends right?"
"Well, yes we are friends so how about no commission fee?" Shin Jiao interjected.
"You're shameless… Hump! I'm not talking to you mortal man… I'll just talk to senior sister Lou then." Susu Ling coquettishly said as she hugged one of Qin Lou's arms and send a glare while sticking her tongue out to Shin Jiao.
As the three happily banter with each other, their friendship began to deepen more as their journey continues. Whenever the group stops, the three would always share a tent and would always do small talks. Shin Jiao enjoyed the company as he never had these kinds of friends in his previous life.
3 days later…
The group has arrived a bit far from the border of the forest, unlike flying it took them a little while as they have no other choice.
Then all of sudden the carriage stopped, as the beast pulling them began to be restless. The students immediately feel the changes in the surroundings especially the protectors and the student facilitators, as they immediately came out of their carriages. Now in front of them lays a ruined ground, where trees have fallen, broken rocks and dirt are everywhere. It's like a great stampede of some giant beast just came in here and the things that stood in their way are trampled completely.
"What happened here?"
"This is too horrifying; what if there is a beast horde on our way? I don't think we can protect everyone in this situation."
"The ruined land's direction is towards Haven Town. This is bad… the town should be warned."
The students began to discuss and chatter as they felt anxious. They are just students and still not strong enough to face beast tides and some are even pampered young masters of big clans so these kinds of things are a little scary for them. But of course, not everyone is scared as some of them are prepared to fight it out with the beasts if it's necessary, this is true to the gold core realm students and the elder protectors.
"All right everyone, we should proceed with caution. I think the elders who went ahead of us have already warned the town and right now may be protecting it. So we need to think about our own safety in this area. Maintain high alert at all times." an elder who is with Qin Lou shouted and gave his instructions.
The group followed this as that elder has a high cultivation level and command a very powerful aura. And so the group continued to travel through the forest into the ruined ground.
Not long after traveling for about dozens of kilometers, they reach an area where they can now see a lot of carcasses of different kinds of beasts. It seems that the beasts in this area were trampled down by the stampede as the bodies are almost mangled and their bones are almost broken all over their bodies.
"Everyone gather any carcass that can be salvaged and the cores. With this number, your schools can benefit from it and this will be of use to increase your cultivations. Go now!" an elder shouted as the people who carry spatial tools quickly ran forward and grab as many beast carcasses as they can.
Not long after that, the area becomes clean of any dead beast as if nothing had happened and the only evidence is the dried blood on the ground which already dyed it crimson red. Soon the group once again continue on their way but not long after that, they have already noticed as they approach that the ground is trembling and a sound of fighting can be heard from not too far away. It seems that they are nearing the borders of the town of Haven.
Now as they have entered the area they immediately noticed a great number of beasts in the third level and there are also some at the fourth level, and they are fighting against a number of cultivators which seem to be the town's defenders. The elders and protectors quickly made a decision to give assistance to the cultivators fighting against the beasts.
"All students prepare to fight; we cannot just let the town of Haven defend this attack by themselves. Those who are at gold core realms should prepare to advance with us, the other lower realm cultivators and the alchemist should prepare to help those who would be injured. Now let's go!" a protector from the Snow Wind School shouted and rushed towards the beasts along with the other protectors of the school.
It is a common thing for these elders and protectors to fight in these beast tides as this usually happens at least four to five times a year. So they are all prepared for this and as per drill, everyone almost already knows what to do, everyone except for Shin Jiao as it's his second time seeing beast rampaging in the forest.
He wanted to go with Qin Lou and Susu Ling but as a mortal servant he is deemed weak and would become a liability, so he was thrown along with the other mortal servants in a single carriage protected by some cultivators.
When he enters the carriages everyone has a scared look in their faces. It is normal for them to feel this way as they feel powerless against any kind of beast even those at level 1. The only thing they could do is hide and hope that the cultivators outside will win this battle.
Upon seeing this Shin Jiao felt a little dejected, it was okay for him to hide if the threat is minimal as he didn't want to display his skills that much and he wanted to live and just cultivate in peace. He knows that a human heart would always be dark and would cause him trouble if they discovered his abilities and this is through his own experiences. But for this kind of threat, he really needed to help as his two friends are there and may face trouble. As a man, he would not be able to face himself if anything happens to them without him doing anything.
So he plans to help but at the same time hide his identity. Then an idea enters his mind as he slowly hides his presence from the group. Not long after no one noticed that one of them is already missing as Shin Jiao stealthily walks outside. Even the lower realm cultivators who are anxiously watching the battle far ahead didn't even notice his presence.
On a treetop stood a man wearing a dark weird suit and head cover, strapped on his sides are two glossy metals with weird craftsmanship, and on his back is a black wakizashi sword. The clothes that the man is wearing are purely black which makes him looks like a specter or even a spirit. And on the man's eye is a familiar thing that a certain human always has on his head, a black goggle.
This is Shin Jiao after donning in the hunting suit that he hadn't worn for a long time now. Then after wearing it, he found that it seems to not fit him perfectly, it's like he lost a lot of weight for the last couple of weeks. But still, he felt happy and excited to have a chance to wear the thing that he crafted which also helped him become stronger before. But now is not the time for him to reminisce those days as the battle in front of him is intensifying. Then using his goggles he noticed that the auras of the beast are a little suspicious. It's like there is a huge amount of energy inside their bodies which makes them erupt in fury and violence. Upon seeing this he felt a little suspicious but it's not the time for that, he would just investigate this thing later after the battle.
"Susu! Watch out!" Qin Lou shouted as she quickly grabs Susu Ling's arm and drags her backward evading sharp sickle-like claws of a huge Nue.
While being dragged Susu Ling flashed her whip towards one of the Nue's eyes. Hitting it directly as it was a surprise attack. The two ladies are in tandem as they attack as one, it's like they can both read each other's thoughts.
Roar!
The Nue roared in anger and pain as it shook its head while glaring at the two small preys in front of it. Then all of a sudden its tail moved and flew forward shocking both Qin Lou and Susu Ling. Though they know that the Nue can attack using its tail it seems that they suddenly felt that they cannot move. This is actually a stunning effect of the Nue's roar catching them off guard. The target of the tail which has a head of a poisonous snake is Qin Lou, as the Nue judge that she is the most dangerous opponent of the two.
The snake's fangs gleam with dangerous aura, as the poison drips from its tip little by little while the wind carries them away with the speed of the strike. The tail of the Nue seems to stretch itself as it near Qin Lou, who had a horror-filled look in her eyes under her mask.
Three meters…
Two meters…
One meter…
BANG!
Blood and gore were strewn everywhere as the snakehead of that tail exploded everywhere. Qin Lou felt her movement recovered as she lifted her hand to block but still was not scared of the bloody substance, making her winched in disgust.
The Nue yelped in pain as it rolled on the ground flicking its tail as if by doing this the pain would stop, unluckily for it the pain didn't stop. Before the two could recover and analyze what happened another sound came and the Nue's head had an additional bloody hole in-between its eyes before it slumped on the ground dead.
Qin Lou and Susu Ling watched wide-eyed in disbelief at what they saw. With just two hits a level 4 Nue died just like that, and then they saw a figure flash by them.
When Shin Jiao saw that Qin Lou was in danger, he didn't hesitate to pull out one of the Glock like pistols and shot twice without any hesitation. But he didn't stop because the area is still in danger as many beasts that are around level 4 are present. His goal is to eliminate them all as they are the only threat in this area that's giving the cultivators some headache. If he could eliminate them faster then, his heart would feel assured.
After dashing forward he just throws a quick glance back towards Qin Lou and Susu Ling who had a dumbfounded look on their faces, as their gaze followed him. Then, he just moved to the next level four beasts which he saw on the battlefield.
When Shin Jiao started moving, a lot of cultivators actually discovered him and at first thought that he was a ghost. After he would kill a level 4 beast with a single strike either by the black sword that he is holding or that weird small shiny thing, they would be stunned and a little relieve. Now on the battlefield, a black figure would weave in and out and every time he would flash by, a beast would die.
The elders who saw this felt a little worried, as they didn't know if the stranger is an enemy or a friend, so they were on guard towards him. But Shin Jiao didn't care about that as his goal is to lessen the load so that the battle would be over fast.
Not long after Shin Jiao began exterminating the highest level beast, the rest of the cultivators also began to have an advantage in the fight. So after a while, upon seeing that everything can be handled by them already, Shin Jiao immediately hid his presence and went back to the area where the mortal servants like him are being protected.
But before he could sigh a relief and enter, a blood-curdling shriek was heard behind the carriage.