As Will was going through the city, he heard about a forest that was so dangerous that only those above the second step of the silver core realm could survive. Instantly, he decided to try his luck. After all, danger was accompanied by oppertunities. If the forest was so dangerous, there had to be something that made it so dangerous, and that was most likely natural treasures that beasts there would eat and get more powerful. These natural treasures were not only helpful to the beasts, but they were immensely helpful to cultivators who ventured there.
He had heard about the forest by chance of overhearing people talking about it. They were talking about one of the geniuses of the Black Iron sect that had gone into the forest to try his luck and improve his strength. He did not care about the genius of the Black Iron sect, but he cared about the forest which was filled with danger. Hearing them talking, he decided to go over and ask about the forest.
Hearing his question, the people revealed a confused expression but answered his question anyway seeing that he was at the spirit realm while they were merely at the middle of the foundational realm.
"The Mirage Forest is a forest which is extremely dangerous. Only those at the second stage of the silver core realm and above can survive, and even then, they rarely come back alive. The mist is the most dangerous part of the forest, and it will make people who go in see illusions and fall prey to the powerful beasts within. No one knows why it does this, but few ever survive it. A few days ago, we got the news that an expert at the fourth level of the silver core realm from Black Iron sect went exploring there. Even his chances of survival are low though," said the person in front of Will.
This astonished Will, but it did not diminish his encouragement at all. Instead, he was looking forward to the forest even more!!
After getting some more basic information about the Mirage Forest, he decided to get a basic weapon that he could use other than his wings in case he came upon other cultivators. After all, he decided that it would be better to not attract attention with his wings. As such, he headed to the nearest weapons shop.
Weapons were some of the most important things to a cultivator, and they would sometimes be the difference between life and death in a battle. Cultivators in the spirit realm at the fourth thread and above could imbue their weapons with the inner breath to make them many times more powerful.
After reaching the weapons shop, Will went up to the counter and asked the person to show him the weapons that they had and use them to attack him. Of course, the shop owner was confused because of Will's blindness, but he would do this for his client whether or not the weapon would be of use to them if it made him money.
Bringing Will into the back of the shop, the owner quickly showed him a big axe, saying, "this sword is at the first level of the spirit realm, and it is fast and sharp, but it lacks weight."
Proceeding to swing the sword, he slashed it towards Will with a violent stroke that contained the strength of someone at the spirit realm.
However, despite his blindness, Will avoided this stroke in only a moment and could not help but say, "This sword is a good weapon, but it is not suitable for me. Please move on,"
After this, the shop owner was astonished, but he figured that this person in front of him was a true expert and that he could not be underestimated because of his blindness.
He then moved on to a short heavy blade, but this ended up being avoided by Will easily as well and he said that it was too slow and unsuitable for him.
Time passed quickly and the shop owner had gone through every weapon in the shop but two. He had gone through axes, swords, blades, sickles, daggers, and every other type of weapon, ranging from the foundational realm to one at the middle of the spirit realm, but every one that he showed was unsuitable for Will and every time he could point out the flaws without failure. Now, there were only two weapons left, a saber and a dagger. both of which were fairly weak, only at the peak of the foundational realm.
The moment that the shop owner took down the dagger, he did not bother explaining and instantly attacked Will with it. Will had told him long ago to not bother explaining the weapons as he could feel if they were compatible with him without the description. As the owner slashed with the saber, Will could feel that it was well balanced, with a sharp edge, good weight, and speed, but each of these aspects were only mediocre. But most of all, Will could feel that this weapon was compatible with him, but he did not know why. Compared to the many weapons he had been shown, this one was one of the weakest and would not even help him much if he were to run into a cultivator at the silver core realm. One should know that those at the silver core realm would use weapons that were at the middle of the spirit realm or stronger, whereas this one was only at the peak of the foundational realm, which was an entire realm below what the silver core realm cultivators would use. However, he did not pay any mind to this since he could feel that this weapon was compatible with him.
This time, instead of simply dodging the weapon, Will grabbed towards it with his bare hands. However, when his hand was about to reach the blade, he redirected it towards the shop owner's wrist, grabbing it in an instant. This astonished the shop owner because he did not even have the chance to react before his wrist was firmly grabbed by Will. It was so fast that he could barely see him move, and it was so strong that even though he had the full force of his swing behind it, he could not move an inch. One should know that he was at the third thread of the spirit realm, and he had condensed three threads of inner breath. This meant that his body, whether or not he used his inner breath, would naturally be stronger than those of a lower level. But now, Will had grasped him so firmly that he could not even move an inch. Seeing this, the owner asked, "You like the blade?""
Will simply nodded, taking the blade out of his hands after releasing his arm, and observing the saber. He could not see, but he could still feel the emotions of anything, even if it was an inanimate object such as this saber. It sought to be balanced, to be in tune with its user. This was what made it so suitable for Will.
With this, Will used it and made a simple slash with it. This slashed contained no inner breath, but the shop owner could not help being astounded when he saw it, because he could clearly see that the person in front of him was buying his first weapon, but the first slash he made with any weapon before him could be compared to himself in terms of skill, and it was obviously stronger than him in terms of pure strength. One should know that he spent many years studying each kind of weapon and that he had become a minor master in each one. Yet the first casual slash of a child in front of him, only at the first thread of the spirit realm, had made a stroke stronger than his own? This was simply absurd.
However, despite his expectations, Will handed him the saber and said, "Next weapon please," with a smile on his face.
The shop owner was confused, but he put the saber back and went to the dagger. The same as before, he simply attacked Will with it. However, the same scenario played out and his wrist was caught, giving way for Will to grab the weapon and inspect it.
Will could feel that this weapon was also compatible with him, and it gave off an aura which sought to go on until the end, as if it hoped to remain in this world after he was gone. He could tell that this was compatible with him due to his emotion of hope.
"How much do the saber and the dagger cost?" asked Will with a smile on his face. Old Man Dai had given him some money which was enough to buy weapons at the spirit realm, let alone the peak of the foundational realm.
"They will cost ten gold pieces each, sir," said the shop owner politely. Will was surprised because normally weapons at the peak of the spirit realm would cost about fifteen gold pieces, but they only cost ten. He was surprised, but he did not mind them costing so little since they were compatible with him.
After paying the twenty gold pieces, Will left the shop and headed towards the blacksmith shop to get a belt that could hold the saber and the dagger.
After getting the strap made, he put the saber in the slot on his left side and the dagger in the slot on his right side. That way, he would wield the dagger with his left hand and wield the saber with his right hand, which was his main hand.
After this, he started his journey towards the Mirage Forest.
The journey took four months, and when he finally got there, there was a forest which was enshrouded in fog. It brought with it a feeling of helplessness and sadness, but it also brought with it a happiness that Will thought seemed slightly fake. After all, this was a forest of illusion, and he did not know the extent of the illusion.
This was Mirage Forest, famous for its danger and intense illusions.
Author's note: Sorry that this chapter is at a lower quality compared to the others. I just had a bad day while writing and will come back to fix it later. I'm just trying to get out at least one chapter each day for the next few weeks to see how it goes. Please check out the first four chapters, which have now been updated!!!!