TLN: Wu Yi means Shaman, or Witch doctor, so whichever one you are seeing out of it, just know they mean the same thing
This is Yu Su's first battle with a monster of the same level.
But this snake's combat abilities are evidently stronger. After all, it has ruled this mountain for quite a while, and its battle experience is richer than Yu Su's.
With Little Xuan Niao and Lu Yan by his side, Yu Su is confident. Despite having less practical battle experience than the Thunder Snake, he confronts it evenly, adapting to its moves and countering effectively.
In addition to its fangs and tail, the Thunder Snake can unleash lightning attacks.
Yu Su, almost electrocuted, grits his teeth and says, 'This fellow knows how to use lightning.'
All-Purpose Elf: [With your current strength, you shouldn't be killed, at most, you might get injured.]
Yu Su certainly doesn't want to get injured.
Despite Lu Yan's attempts to help, Yu Su stops him. He can only stare at the snake, expressing his resentment with his gaze.
After some time.
"Boom—"
The Thunder Snake crashes to the ground, convulses a few times, and then lies still."Yu Su lay on the ground, panting heavily, not wanting to move a muscle. He disregarded the small wounds and bruises on his body; all he desired now was rest.
Lu Yan looked at him with concern, while the Little Xuan Niao perched on Lu Yan's shoulder chirped at Yu Su.
It was something easily handled by its regal aura, but Yu Su insisted on taking matters into his own hands.
Yu Su didn't need to guess what the bird was chirping about: "If I don't test my strength, how will I know? Today's battle emptied all the spells I've learned; my Dantian has almost no spiritual power left."
Unable to bear seeing the injuries on his body, Lu Yan helped Yu Su up and took out Purple Cloud Grass and Gan Wu from his backpack.
Yu Su waved him off, "Just give me something to drink."
He produced a bowl from his spatial storage and gulped it down.
Seeing this, Lu Yan put away the herbs, turned them into ointment, and applied it to Yu Su's small wounds, asking, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts," Yu Su honestly nodded.
Lu Yan lightened his touch, gently touching Yu Su's wounds.
Yu Su shivered, the tingling sensation both painful and satisfying.
"No need to apply more; it'll be fine soon."
Observing the wounds slowly healing, Lu Yan knew the medicine was working and stored away the ointment.
Yu Su got up, "I'll meditate for a while; you go ahead and retrieve the snake's inner core."
Lu Yan nodded and went to extract the Thunder Snake's demon core, dismantling the entire snake with a particularly brutal technique that made the Little Xuan Niao suspect Lu Yan held a grudge against the snake.
An hour later, Yu Su opened his eyes, finding Lu Yan had prepared a fire and was cooking snake meat soup from the backpack's ceramic pot and seasonings.
Yu Su: "..."
Surprisingly, it smelled somewhat appetizing.
After having dinner together and tidying up the surroundings, they entered the tiger demon's cave, spending the night there.
Early the next morning, they continued heading southeast.
This time, they encountered almost no monsters. Yu Su speculated it was because the deaths of the tiger demon and snake demon frightened the other creatures in the mountain, preventing them from daring to provoke the duo.They enjoyed a relaxed journey, collecting a good amount of Return-to-Origin Grass. On the third day, they descended from the mountains and arrived at the plains to the east.
Yu Su found a high vantage point and observed that the eastern plains were indeed broader than the Great River Plains, surpassing even the vastness of the northern wilderness.
Qing Ze informed him that the Tree of Life was in the southeast direction. So, after leaving the mountain range, Yu Su and Lu Yan continued to travel southeast.
Beyond the distant mountains, they came across the first village, a small settlement with a population of over a hundred. Though not large, the standard of living was better than Yu Village, approaching that of Ironforged Village.
The productivity of the village on the eastern side of the mountains was noticeably higher than the other side, leading to overall prosperity.
Lu Yan understood the local language and communicated with the villagers, while Yu Su, having learned from Lu Yan, could comprehend some.
Seeing Yu Su and his companions dressed neatly, the villagers were surprised and asked, "Which major tribe are you from?"
Yu Su didn't specify their exact location and simply mentioned they were from Yu Village.
Since the villagers had never heard of Yu Village, their curiosity grew, and they asked many questions. Seizing the opportunity, Yu Su inquired about other villages in the southeast direction.
Unexpectedly, one villager, who had initially been friendly, suddenly changed demeanor. "Why are you asking about this?"
"We're travelers, heard there's a large village in the southeast, wanted to take a look."
Yu Su, attractive and gentle, quickly gained the villagers' trust. They warned him about a cannibalistic large tribe in the southeast, advising them not to go there.
A cannibalistic large tribe?
Yu Su looked at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan pondered and said, "It's likely referring to the Lion Tribe."
Having spent a considerable time in this plain, though not visiting the Lion Tribe, Lu Yan had heard about its general location. Combined with the information obtained from the shaman warrior, it was highly probable that the cannibalistic tribe mentioned was the Lion Tribe.
The villagers strongly cautioned against the Lion Tribe, emphasizing the danger.
Yu Su acknowledged their concern on the surface.
After leaving the village, they continued southeast.
Yu Su needed to find the Tree of Life and obtain the Wood Spirit's treasure; heading southeast was inevitable.
Lu Yan remarked, "Have you ever considered that the Lion Tribe's shamanic fruit might be related to the Tree of Life?"
Yu Su nodded, "I have, but the Tree of Life that can nurture the Wood Spirit's treasure certainly won't be something harmful. Moreover, the spiritual power inside the shaman warriors is too chaotic, not matching the pure Wood Spirit's treasure."
*
The Lion Tribe was a large tribe with over a thousand members, ranking among the top on the eastern plains. A significant portion of the southeast area belonged to them, with many small villages depending on them for their livelihood.
Before the Lion Tribe began massacring and forcibly feeding people the shamanic fruit, many small villages from farther away sought refuge with them. However, in recent years, nearby villages aimed to escape rather than seek refuge.
As Yu Su and his group traveled south, they encountered several villages that turned pale at the mention of the Lion Tribe.
Later, they found deserted villages.
The villages were in disarray, with numerous bones piled at the entrances.
At a glance, Yu Su and Lu Yan knew what had happened—massacres.
Yu Su remarked coldly, "The Lion Tribe is indeed audacious, piling bones at the village entrance to intimidate."
Lu Yan examined the village and returned, saying, "This village was destroyed not long ago, likely within the past month."
Frowning, Yu Su looked back at the path they had taken. There were many villages on the way, and the Lion Tribe's next target might be one of them.
After some thought, Yu Su and Lu Yan decided to return to the nearest village they had passed. He informed them of the situation in the previous village, urging them to evacuate promptly.
The villagers were terrified upon hearing about the recent massacre in the neighboring village. As Yu Su had predicted, they could be the next target.
The village chief and the shaman came out to thank Yu Su. Their faces were full of worry, clearly concerned about their future.
"We've lived in this village for generations, relying on cultivation and hunting for a living. If we leave here, we don't know where else we can survive," sighed the village chief.
This village was called Dao Village, resembling the once River East Village. They were skilled in rice cultivation, with a vast expanse of land suitable for growing rice. If they moved away, they would have to abandon this large piece of land.
The elderly shaman, with deeply etched wrinkles on his face, gazed silently at Yu Su.
Perplexed, Yu Su asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
The old shaman smiled and said, "You must be a shaman too."
Surprised, Yu Su wondered how the old shaman could deduce that since he hadn't revealed anything related to shamanism. The old shaman chuckled, "It's just intuition. You seem knowledgeable, and I sense a divine power in you."
Amazed, Yu Su didn't expect his abilities to be discerned.
The old shaman explained, "It's a faint perception. Our village worships Lord Tian Shen, and I haven't felt such a sensation for a long time."
Deep in thought, Yu Su recalled that Feng Village also worshiped Lord Tian Shen. That day, Shanshan claimed to have foreseen something, and now this old shaman mentioned sensing something. Could it be that shamans who worship Lord Tian Shen possess such abilities?
Without further concealment, Yu Su nodded, "You guessed right; I am a shaman."
The village chief was astonished; Yu Su, looking so young, was indeed a shaman.
Yu Su smiled, "Thanks to our Mountain God's trust in me."
Upon hearing that he worshipped the Mountain God, the old shaman remarked, "Then you must be favored by the Mountain God. Otherwise, you wouldn't possess divine power."
Intrigued, Yu Su continued chatting with the old shaman, inquiring if he could identify the nature of his power.
The old shaman shook his head, "I can only sense it vaguely; I can't pinpoint it."
Yu Su found this remarkable—a kind of mystical artifact.
He wondered if he could establish a shrine for a celestial deity.
Well... he could ask Qing Ze about it later.
Knowing Yu Su's intentions, Lu Yan's expression was somewhat difficult to express. It seemed like Yu Su was capable of such things, but wasn't he afraid of offending the Mountain God?
Yu Su replied, "The Mountain God is easy to please. If it doesn't agree, I just won't worship."
The old shaman, not understanding the words regarding the mountain, continued, "After coming from the other side of the mountain, you must have been guided by a god."
Otherwise, a village shaman wouldn't abandon his own village.
Indeed, Yu Su had been guided by Qing Ze to come here. Although his goal was the Wood Spirit's treasure, what the old shaman said was not entirely wrong. He nodded in agreement.
The old shaman nodded, "Although I don
't know why, you must be cautious. The Lion Tribe's shamans are very powerful. If you encounter them, run away quickly; don't face them head-on."