"If it's really Demonbeasts, then we don't have a chance.", Yu Hao said from the side. "It's a different matter for Demonbeasts on land, but we know way too little about sea creatures and we have a natural disadvantage on sea."
"That's right. All the Demonbeasts in this Mystic Realm have the blood of dragons, so they're much more powerful than regular Demonbeasts. In the water, we stand no chance.", Lu Zheng agreed.
"Then we should avoid the sea as much as possible.", Yun Ye also agreed, a serious expression on his face. "What do you think, Brother Zhang?"
All of them looked at Zhang Baichi who was still lost in thought while staring towards the coast. 'They're right… The sea is way too dangerous and there might not even be anything there in the first place.'
He looked at the rest of the group and shook his head. "Let's forget about the sea for the time being. We'll search the land first and see what treasures we can find there."
'It's annoying, but I have to keep the mission Master gave me secret for the time being.' Zhang Baichi thought and turned to Lu Zheng. "I know you're not familiar with the north, but what do you know? Anything is better than nothing."
Lu Zheng looked at him and thought about his response for a moment. "There're a few things that can be regarded as common knowledge: The Demonbeasts have territories. And those territories naturally belong to the strongest Demonbeasts around here."
"Do you know what kind of Demonbeast this area belongs to?", Zhang Baichi asked.
Lu Zheng nodded. "Yes. The whole forest spanning the north-western and northern part is the territory of a gigantic snake with dysfunctional wings. Its cultivation should be at the 7th or 8th Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm."
Zhang Baichi's face fell. At their current level, a Demonbeast at the 7th or 8th Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm would be enough to wipe their team out.
He himself was confident in defeating a Demonbeast at the 4th Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm and to hold his own against one at the 5th Layer, but anything beyond that would be too much.
"That's dangerous. Do you know anything else about that beast? When is it awake, how does it hunt, its habits, anything?" Everyone understood that they had to treat a monster like that seriously.
"From what I've heard, it sleeps during the days and hunts at night.", Lu Zheng said. "Actually, that is true for many of the Demonbeasts in this Mystic Realm. The days are usually pretty tame, with the occasional Demonbeast roaming around, but the really dangerous ones come out at night."
"They're nocturnal?" Zhang Baichi was surprised. These beasts were supposed to have the blood of dragons, so why would they be nocturnal?
But he had to admin that the circumstances proved Lu Zheng right. Even while standing in the middle of the forest, there was barely any sound and it was mostly quiet.
When the animals of a forest became that silent, it usually either meant that there was a powerful predator close by, or that they we asleep.
'Let's just hope it's the latter… I don't want to deal with any powerful Demonsbeasts just yet.' Zhang Baichi thought while looking around. 'System, scan the area. What's the most powerful creature in the surrounding area?'
[Ding! Zhang Baichi, 13 years old, 10th Layer of the Body Forging Realm.]
'…I don't even know what to say.' He was rendered speechless but was also relieved. Without any strong beasts around, he could focus on his missions.
He pulled the second talisman that Jian Wubai had given him out of his Inventory turned to the rest of the group. "Let's try to meet up with the group from the Willow Tree Pavilion first. The Sect Master asked us to help them, after all."
Yun Ye raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What's the matter, Brother Zhang? You were so confident when insulting the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples before, but now you're getting cold feet?"
The mood in the group fell. Everyone had seen Zhang Baichi provoke the Broad Wisdom Sect before they entered the Mystic Realm, but was that just an act?
If those ten disciples at the peak of the Body Forging Realm came to cause them trouble because of that…
Yu Hao frowned and pulled Yun Ye back. "Watch what you're saying. He's the leader of our group and I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
"He knows what he's doing?", Ji Yuan, who introduced himself as the cousin of Ji Jian, sneered. "He's done nothing but as about common knowledge this whole time. To me it looks like he knows nothing at all!"
'Common knowledge?', Zhang Baichi frowned. He had assessed their situation and asked the only guy in the team who had experience with the Mystic Realm about the dangers, but how was that just common knowledge?
Seeing Yu Hao's concerned expression, the frowns of the rest of the group and Lu Zheng's indifferent smile, Zhang Baichi understood the situation a bit better. "Your Elders told you about the Mystic Realm beforehand?"
"Of course they did! Who would send us sect disciples into a dangerous Mystic Realm without any prior knowledge? That's just asking us to die!", Ji Yuan once again sneered.
"Well, that someone just so happens to be the Sect Master…", Zhang Baichi complained with a frown. "Unfortunately, I was indeed not told much about the Mystic Realm."
Everyone's faces changed. They were supposed to follow Zhang Baichi's orders as their leader when he didn't even know anything about the Mystic Realm? What was the Sect Master thinking?
"But,", Zhang Baichi continued in a calm tone. "Does that even matter? All of you know about the Mystic Realm and Lu Zheng has personally been here before. I'll have to rely on you to brief me on that information for now."
He turned to Ji Yuan, his eyes now as cold as ice. "About the other matter: There's no human in this Mystic Realm that I need to fear. No one I wouldn't dare to offend. And not a single one that I cannot kill."
His gaze alone terrified Ji Yuan so much that he grew pale and staggered a few steps back. Zhang Baichi spoke once more, his tone calm and firm. "Please keep that in mind the next time you intend to discredit me."
The other member of the Ji family, the young woman named Ji Yin, stepped in front of Ji Yuan, and stared back at Zhang Baichi. "There won't be a next time."
"That's good, then." Zhang Baichi turned to the side and sighed. "Lu Zheng, what do you think is our best course of action for now?"
Since it turned out that Zhang Baichi himself was the one with the least information of this Mystic Realm, he had to take a step back. Thus, he turned the focus of the other members of their group to Lu Zheng, who appeared reliable and knowledgeable.
"I agree with Brother Zhang's suggestion to meet up with the Willow Tree Pavilion's group. We can increase our overall strength that way, which is naturally the best for all of us.", Lu Zheng understood Zhang Baichi's intention and played along, crediting Zhang Baichi's decisions with his approval.
Zhang Baichi looked at him deeply and nodded with a calm expression. "Then we shall do that."
He allowed his Qi to flow into the talisman Jian Wubai gave him and soon felt a light tug directing him towards the direction of the corresponding talisman in the hands of the Willow Tree Pavilion.
"The Willow Tree Pavilion's group is further north and closer to the Dragon Peak that we are.", Zhang Baichi concluded and propped his group to move.
"Brother Lu, come with me to the front to lead the way through the forest.", he spoke, quickly giving his orders and turned around. "Brother Yun, can I leave it to you to protect our rear?"
"No problem.", Yun Ye spoke with his arms crossed and a light twinkle in his eyes. "Yu Hao, come with me."
He pulled Yu Hao along and went to the back of their group, after which their group move quickly into the direction the talisman pointed them.
Yun Ye nudged Yu Hao. "You were right. I like him. He knows when to retreat and advance and easily kept the morale high. It's no wonder you were willing to stick to him."
They moved through the forest for an hour and didn't encounter any Demonsbeasts.
Beyond the forest came a steppe filled with dry grass, hard soil and mostly dead or wilted plants and even many trees. Instead of a full-blown steppe, it looked more like a burned forest, causing the group to become more vigilant.
"Just a bit further. The talisman's reaction is already quite strong. We' getting close.", Zhang Baichi called out, pulling the groups attention back to their goal.
Just minutes later, they started to notice the signs of fighting in the surroundings; Damaged ground and trees, signs of blood and torn up pieces of clothing.
Everyone's nerves tensed up as they continued on and Zhang Baichi's eyes turned sharp.
In the distance, they could already see a four metres tall, wolf-shaped creature with dark brown scales surrounded by eight young women in white martial artists attires.
Zhang Baichi quickly assessed the situation and called out in a low voice. "Their group was ambushed by that Demonbeast. Everyone, get ready to fight."