In this moment, the forest is exceptionally quiet.
Yusu and his companions make such a big commotion while hunting demonic beasts that any creatures with a bit of intelligence nearby have long distanced themselves. Not even the sounds of birds can be heard.
Yusu's divine sense scans the area, but there are no immediate discoveries.
With the little mysterious bird, he continues deeper into the forest alongside Luyan.
After an hour of walking, still no significant findings.
Yusu: "This forest is much larger than I expected."
Luyan: "Take a look."
He summons a magic sword, lifts Yusu onto it, and together they soar into the sky to overlook the entire forest.
They notice the forest extends endlessly from west to east, truly vast.
Opting for aerial exploration, Luyan controls the sword, while Yusu scans with his divine sense.
After flying for about a quarter of an hour, they finally detect traces of demonic beasts.
All low-level ones, trembling on the ground or swiftly retreating to their nests upon sensing the divine sense.
After searching for a while, no traces of high-level demonic beasts are found.
Yusu thinks for a moment, retracts his divine sense, and tells the all-encompassing spirit in his mind, "Little All, activate scanning."
Little All asks, "Is your spiritual power insufficient?"
Yusu: "No, I suspect that high-level demonic beasts can sense my divine sense and hide. Your scan won't alert them."
Yusu also expands a barrier, enveloping himself, Luyan, and the little bird, making it harder for high-level demonic beasts to detect them unless the beasts are a whole realm above him.
With the scan from Little All, the data becomes more accurate.
While flying over the forest, Luyan controls the sword, and Little All updates real-time information about the terrain and resources in the forest to its database.
Among the findings are spirit herbs, spirit medicines, and ores.
Unable to find high-level demonic beasts, Yusu decides to dig up the valuable items such as herbs and ores.
They even discover some ironwood in the forest.
After receiving the data, Yusu pats Luyan on the shoulder, directing him towards the area where ironwood grows.
"Lovely thick ironwood."
After Luyan controls the sword to descend, Yusu excitedly enters the ironwood forest. The trees have grown into towering shapes over many years. Ironwood is an excellent material for refining, and the higher the age and quality, the higher the level of artifacts that can be crafted.
"There are eight ironwood trees here, probably over..."
"Over a thousand years," Little All adds.
"Over a thousand years. If we're lucky, we might find ironwood hearts, and that would be a great gain."
Ironwood hearts, aged over a thousand years, are materials for refining top-grade mysterious artifacts. These artifacts can be used until the Nascent Soul stage.
Luyan, familiar with Yusu's basic refining materials diagram, knows the value of ironwood hearts.
"Let's see if our artifacts can cut them down," Yusu suggests.
"I'll do it," says Luyan.
He draws his sword and takes a swing at the ironwood.
The ironwood remains unmoved.
Yusu frowns: "Looks like we need to use spiritual power."
Luyan infuses spiritual power into the blade and takes another swing. This time, it makes a dent, but it still takes over a quarter of an hour for Luyan to bring down an entire ironwood tree.
Once the last one falls, Yusu suggests breaking open the one suspected to contain an ironwood heart.
"Let's go back and open it," Yusu urges, eager to return. They still need to find what controls the demonic beast tide in the forest.
Luyan sheaths his sword, saying, "We can let Yumeng and the others come here for training in the future."
Yusu's eyes light up: "You're right. The areas around our village have been explored thoroughly. It's time to let them explore somewhere else."
With their space now quite full, they resume their search for the cause of the demonic beast unrest in the forest.
As they approach a mountain stream, the little bird chirps twice.
Yusu asks, "What did you find, little one?"
The bird chirps, indicating the presence of a high-level demonic beast in a direction pointed out by the bird.
Yusu and Luyan conceal their presence and fly towards that direction.
The area indicated is a mountain peak with abundant spiritual energy. Many spirit fruit trees grow, laden with plump fruits.
Yusu sniffs the air and is puzzled, "The spiritual energy here is pure. It doesn't seem like a nest for demonic beasts."
Typically, demonic beasts carry a wild and bloody scent. However, this place is filled with pure spiritual energy.
"Little one, could you be mistaken?" Yusu asks the bird.
The bird chirps twice, assuring that it is correct—there is something in this mountain.
Luyan: "Either it's not the demonic beast we're looking for, or it's exceptionally skilled at disguising itself. Be cautious."
Yusu nodded, and both of them landed on the mountain top.
The all-encompassing spirit scanned the mountain top, guiding them towards the summit.
"The spiritual energy is most concentrated at the summit, and there's a pool. If there are demonic beasts on this mountain, they must be in the pool at the summit," the all-encompassing spirit conveyed.
Yusu informed Luyan, and they, along with the little mysterious bird, ascended the mountain.
Upon reaching the summit, they indeed discovered a pool hidden among the trees. A layer of white mist covered the surface, and rich spiritual energy emanated from the pool.
Yusu was surprised, "Is this a Spirit Spring Pool?"
Approaching, the all-encompassing spirit scanned, "It's just a pool with highly concentrated spiritual energy, not a Spirit Spring Pool."
Yusu expressed some regret.
He asked the all-encompassing spirit, "Can you scan what's inside the pool?"
After diligent scanning, the all-encompassing spirit exclaimed, "There's a person!"
Yusu was puzzled, "A person? Wasn't it supposed to be a demonic beast, little ancestor?"
The all-encompassing spirit clarified, "Indeed, I detected a person, but it seems like they're in a deep sleep and possibly injured."
It showed Yusu a three-dimensional image of a person lying at the bottom of the pool, with a faintly glowing formation underneath and closed eyes.
Yusu shared the discovery with Luyan, who asked, "A cultivator?"
Yusu replied, "I don't know."
He turned to the little mysterious bird, "Little ancestor, you said it was a demonic beast, right?"
The bird chirped twice, "It's a demonic beast. Who said demonic beasts can't take human form?"
Yusu was surprised, "What?"
Luyan was also stunned.
Yusu pondered, "Could he be the one controlling the demonic beast tide?"
The bird chirped, "I don't know, but his aura is very weak. He seems to have been in a coma for a long time, and it doesn't look like he's the one controlling them."
Considering the situation, Yusu observed the surroundings and said, "The spiritual energy on this mountaintop is dense, with many spirit fruit trees and this pool. Logically, demonic beasts should occupy this place, but we haven't seen a single one since we came up."
The bird commented, "There's the aura of high-level demonic beasts here, and they dare not approach."
Yusu asked, "What kind of demonic beast?"
The bird replied, "I can't see through its true form. It seems to have used a treasure to conceal it. This person's aura is very weak, likely comatose for a long time, and doesn't seem like he's controlling them."
Yusu thought for a moment, then looked at Luyan, "I want to go underwater."
Luyan agreed, "I'll go with you."
The bird couldn't understand, "You're not trying to save him, are you?"
Yusu said, "Let's see first."
Yusu felt that the aura here was pure, and the person at the bottom of the pool didn't seem like a bloodthirsty individual. He wanted to take a look first. Whether they could save him or not wasn't solely his decision; after all, this person, capable of transformation, must have a high cultivation level. Yusu, in the Foundation Establishment stage, might not be able to do much.
They removed their outer garments and descended into the water, slowly approaching the pool bottom.
The pool was quite deep, and as they approached, they noticed it was covered in water plants, with fish swimming around. However, the fish avoided the area beneath the person, and when Yusu and Luyan reached the pool bottom, they found a faint barrier preventing the fish from getting close.
However, the barrier seemed weak and on the verge of collapse. Yusu touched it and felt its instability.
Luyan pointed to the formation beneath the person.
The light emitted by the formation was extremely dim, likely the force maintaining the barrier. Now, the formation's power was almost depleted, and the barrier was about to disappear.
Once the barrier vanished, the fish would undoubtedly approach to nibble on the person's body.
Perhaps the high-level demonic beasts around the mountain could sense the weakening aura and invade the mountain. By then, this person would truly have no chance of survival.
After assessing the situation, Yusu carefully examined the person.
The person wore a red robe, had a slender figure, perfect proportions, and clasped hands over the abdomen, peacefully sleeping.
His skin was fair, facial features handsome, with slightly sharp contours. If he opened his eyes, he would likely be a handsome and imposing man.
There was a drop-shaped red mark on his forehead, like a kind of imprint, but Yusu didn't know what it represented. His jet-black hair flowed around him.
Observing, Yusu felt that this person probably held a high status before being injured.
Luyan made a gesture, asking Yusu if they should break the barrier and rescue the person.
Yusu pondered for a moment and nodded.
Previously, he had the all-encompassing spirit scan the person, confirming that there was no bloodthirsty aura. It was unlikely that this person followed the path of devouring the essence of blood and flesh, so the possibility of him being a cruel and evil beast was slim.
Moreover, Yusu felt that this person chose to hide here for healing, indicating that he might have encountered some trouble. With the formation's power nearly depleted, if they didn't intervene, this person would perish soon.
Seeing Yusu's agreement, Luyan broke the barrier.
The formation beneath the person cracked with a sound, weak and fragile. Even without Yusu and Luyan breaking the barrier, it wouldn't have lasted much longer.
Luyan lifted the person onto his back and swam up to the shore.
Once on the shore, Yusu, Luyan, and the little mysterious bird cast Water Removal and Body Cleansing spells on themselves, restoring dryness and cleanliness.
Yusu crouched down, placing his hand on the wrist of the man
.
It was almost as if he could hardly perceive the man's pulse.
This surprised Yusu, worrying that the person might die.
Quickly, he performed a major Revitalization spell and fed the man a few Revitalizing Pills.
Although it slightly strengthened the man's breath, the effect wasn't significant. The person's aura remained very weak, seemingly on the verge of perishing at any moment.
The little mysterious bird hopped over, perching on the man's chest, staring at the mark on his forehead for a while. It chirped twice, showing a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong?" Yusu asked the bird, "Did you recognize what kind of demonic beast he is?"
The bird chirped, "The mark looks somewhat familiar. It should be something I've seen in my inherited memories, but it's a bit blurry. I don't know who he is for now."
Yusu said, "Since it's something you've seen in your inherited memories, he should be someone with a notable background. Let's take him to Luoshen Mountain and ask Qingze."