Under Bai Jingshen's lead the two young men quietly made their way through the forest. They did their best to avoid the occasional beasts roaming the forest. After a while Bai Jingshen perked up, as he was able to hear the sound of flowing water. He was happy to come closer to their destination, but quickly reminded himself to be careful. Humans weren't the only one's searching for water, weaker beasts did too.
Realizing that they got closer and closer, Bai Jingshen decided to climb on a surrounding tree and move forward by jumping from branch to branch. This would cost them a lot of energy but would shield them from the gaze of most beasts.
In this way Bai Jingshen and Sam were able to slowly make their way towards the potential source of water. As the young men finally laid their eyes on a beautiful scenery, they realized that they miscalculated a little bit. The source of water the two men found turned out to be a small lake, adoring a magnificent waterfall. A few beasts could be seen peacefully drinking the life spending liquid. Some weaker herbs decorated the lake's shore, while foam added a colorful sheen to the air.
For a short few seconds Bai Jingshen rested his eyes on the marvels of nature, allowing his mind to relax. A feeling grew inside him, warm as if the world itself was embracing him. Unfortunately this blissful state only lasted a few moments, but he was elated, as such small enlightenment would lay a great foundation for a cultivator trying to get closer to the laws later on. The former emperor slowly caught his roaming thoughts again, as he focused his eyes on the beasts.
Although they were of different species, these beasts behaved peaceful for now. Bai Jingshen couldn't guarantee however, that this would be the case if some humans found their way over. For now, the two young men had no choice but to wait on some tree branches, hoping for a chance.
A few hours quickly passed, in which beasts kept coming and going. However, Bai Jingshen knew they had to act soon, as he could hear his friend gulping from time to time. He closely observed his surroundings, but with so many different species he was out of ideas as well. Since Bai Jingshen couldn't do anything about those beasts, he had to find another way. Out of options, the former emperor began to analyze the waterfall.
His eyes followed the cliffside which the water was rushing out from. A few meters behind them, they could use a branch to reach the stone wall. Bai Jingshen tried to mark a way in his mind, before signaling Sam to move. He hoped everything went well, since the young man looked rather weak by now.
Quietly Bai Jingshen took the lead again, jumping between a few trees, easily reaching the cliffside. He nodded at Sam, before taking a leap. The young man crossed a small gap before stably landing on a protrusion on the stone wall. He gripped some veins hanging down, before turning around to face Sam. The young man took a deep breath, readied himself and ran along the branch. At the end his muscles tensed as he used the momentum and jumped through the air.
Bai Jingshen saw Sam flying towards himself. He realized that this jump would be close, but he was already prepared. He held onto those veins with all his might, while stretching his arm as far as possible.
Fortunately, Sam had toughened up during their journey, so he wouldn't panic and firmly grabbed onto Bai Jingshen's hand, while somehow managing to bring one foot onto the stonewall. The former emperor threw his friend an approving look, dragging him onto the protrusion. Sam took a few breaths before continuing to follow Bai Jingshen. He was once again impressed as his idol managed to find a relatively safe way while climbing on the cliffside. His throat began to slightly hurt, as he longingly looked at the ever closer waterfall.
Bai Jingshen had epically waited until this place was at least a little darker, before enacting this plan. Unfortunately, even he made mistakes sometimes. How could the two young men know, that they weren't the only ones using the surrounding trees as a ventage point. On one of the trees closest to the lake a small creature opened its eyes. Although it was small and fluffy, its six paws carried some dangerous looking claws. They were only rivaled by its teeth, which looked like they were made to tear bodies apart. Paired with its red eyes, this beast proved to be the nightmare of many explorers in this forest.
As the red-eyed beast lazily laid on its favorite place among the trees, it suddenly noticed movement on the cliffside. Instinctively it brought some Qi to its eyes, activating some kind of heat vision. It quickly realized that some audacious humans were climbing over its friend's head. The little beast jumped up and suddenly screeched.
Bai Jingshen and Sam froze in shock. The young men looked around but couldn't find the screeching beast. They didn't need to, however, as the beasts on the ground started to roar as well. Bai Jingshen observed for a second and came to the conclusion that none of those beasts could reach them here. At least they didn't show any signs of trying. Therefore, he quickly made the decision to still hurry over towards the waterfall. From looking at Sam these past few hours, Bai Jingshen clearly knew how urgently his friend needed water and he couldn't go without some forever as well.
However, only a few seconds later Bai Jingshen realized that he made a bad call this time. He horridly signaled Sam to ascend the cliff together, as the water below them started to churn. The two young men gave it their all, while bubbles began to appear on the lake. Suddenly, with a loud splash of water a snakehead rushed towards them. Bai Jingshen realized that they wouldn't be able to escape this massive beast. He just wanted to tell his lagging behind friend to jump, as Sam made the decision himself.
The brawny young man knew he had no chance in reaching the top, so he simply let go and hoped to fight for a miracle. He fell towards the snake as he took the heavy mace scraped to his back in both hands. Bai Jingshen inwardly approved of Sam's decision, as he pushed himself off the stonewall, rapidly descending towards the beast's open mouth.
Just as Sam was already close to being eaten and only had the thought of bringing his mace down to buy a chance for Bai Jingshen, the latter's sword suddenly streaked past him. The big snake closed its eyes on reflex, leading to the sword powerlessly crumbling on its lid. Sam saw this scene and knew this was the perfect time to bring his mace down on the snake's nose.
A heavy impact sounded, but sadly Sam's mace was only enough to slightly disorient the late-stage tier two beast. The young man even lost his weapon while trying to push himself away from the beast's gaping maw. Sam was already trying to jump down towards the water again, as the beast opened its eyes again, freezing him with its menacing look.
He was surprised however, as all of a sudden, a sword buried itself deep into the snake's eye at the perfect moment. He watched his friend fall by the beasts had, frantically yelling at him to jump down. He didn't understand where this sword came from, but he didn't have any time to think about it either.
The enraged snake was thrashing around violently, spraying water everywhere. Bai Jingshen guessed, since it was able to raise its head seven meters in the air, at least the same length should still be hidden under water. He quickly took a deep breath, before diving into the dangerous lake. Sam followed closely behind him, while both of them tried to evade the snake's tail as much as possible.
The young men however couldn't avoid being thrown around by strong currents of water. Bai Jingshen was hoping to find some way towards the shore at first, but felling a strong suction force somewhere behind him, he made the split second decision to turn around and try his luck.
Sam didn't think about anything, only trying to hold on while his whole body hurt from being hit by the snake's tail. He desperately followed Bai Jingshen as the experienced man swam towards a hole in the cliffside. Suddenly a heavy pressure came down on them. Bai Jingshen's eyes went wide, as the snake's head followed after them, swiftly catching up. Fortunately, this beasts was consumed in rage and didn't notice that it shoved Bai Jingshen and Sam closer towards their goal.
The two young men frantically entered the hole Bai Jingshen spotted. The former emperor prayed in his mind, that the suction force he felt wasn't just his imagination. If this hole led to nowhere, they could just wait and drown down here. Surely a sad ending.
Luckily Bai Jingshen's guess proved right as a sudden force grabbed onto their bodies. The last thing they heard was a loud impact before the two men felt like they entered a whirlpool as they were sucked through a narrow tunnel.