After a quick meal of dry rations, Du Chen and his group set off once again.
The afternoon's journey went smoothly without any of the dangerous situations they had encountered earlier. Even if there were a few tough beasts to deal with, for these hardcore gamers, it was just a matter of time before they were knocked over.
As evening approached, the red sunset painted the trees in the forest, making the cold, dark woods feel a little warmer.
But Du Chen, who had been traveling and fighting all day, didn't have the heart to enjoy the scenery. He grabbed Li Zhong by the collar and began shouting:
"What's going on? Didn't you say it'd only take half a day to get there? It's almost dark! Why haven't we even seen a trace of the road we're supposed to be on? Huh? Tell me, what's the deal!"
Poor Li Zhong, who barely understood what Du Chen was yelling, was terrified out of his wits.
Canghai stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, what's the point of blaming him? Maybe we've just been slower than expected. They've never taken this route before, and Li Tongyu only heard about it from some cultivators who had business with the Baoshi Pavilion. There are bound to be differences in reality."
Reluctantly, Du Chen let go of Li Zhong, muttering, "But now we have to spend the night in the forest again... Ugh, just thinking about those miserable days sleeping in tree branches, or squeezed into tree hollows, I could just spit blood... I'm not a squirrel..."
Li Zhong, sensing an opportunity to calm things down, eagerly added, "Don't worry, master, I've already prepared a tent for the night. We won't have to sleep out in the open."
For some reason, whenever Du Chen saw the tall, honest-looking Li Zhong, it irritated him. He snapped, "I don't care about your tents or whatever! I want a bed, a BED! B-E-D, bed! Got it?"
Seeing Li Zhong nervously nodding, Du Chen felt a sudden surge of pride, as if he were a mighty general. The frustration in his heart melted away. He puffed out his chest, dramatically released Li Zhong, and turned to ask Canghai, "What did he say about tents? What do we need tents for?"
At this point, Sang Tian casually walked over, not even bothering to look at them. She muttered aloud, but just loud enough for Du Chen to hear, "If you don't understand classical Chinese, that's fine, but at least speak properly. Speaking English to someone from another world like an ancient person... so creative... and your pronunciation was all wrong. You were saying 'bad' instead of 'bed'..."
Du Chen gritted his teeth and rubbed his temples. In his mind, he comforted himself like an old sage: Forget it, your husband is here, I'll let it slide.
Canghai also heard Sang Tian's comment and, suppressing a laugh, said, "He was talking about the tent. That's what it means."
Tongxin Fen, walking by at that moment, glanced over and nonchalantly added in a low voice, "The boss must be jealous because Li Zhong is taller than him, that's why he's always picking on him..."
"Hey! You guys are getting worse! Saying it right in front of me is one thing, but now you're saying it on the channel? My image is ruined! You see, they all heard it!" Du Chen huffed, his cheeks turning red.
When they set up camp, they couldn't find any water source, so Li Zhong chose a flat patch of grass, cleared away some rocks and branches, and carefully checked for any signs of wild animals. Only then did he call over the younger men to help set up the tents. Once the tents were up, he weighted down the corners with heavy objects and, after getting some packages from Sang Tian and the others, he skillfully lit a fire, set up a simple stove, and started cooking.
The five of them stood by, watching a little dumbfounded as the Li family worked effortlessly. In just half an hour, the tents were set up and water was boiling on the stove. The only female servant in the group was already busy by the fire, breaking up the dry rations and adding pieces of dried meat, followed by a pinch of salt. Soon, the aroma of a savory meat porridge wafted through the air, making everyone's stomachs growl.
"Heh, looks like they don't need our help after all," Xiao Yue scratched the back of his head, laughing.
Canghai adjusted his glasses and nodded, "You really can't underestimate the wisdom of the people from this world. It's good though, let them handle these things. They're much better at it than we are. We'd probably just make things worse."
The other three were content to enjoy the break. That evening, they gathered around the fire for dinner. The adults from the Li family, having seen Du Chen and the others fight during the day, still held a sense of awe. The three kids, however, were simpler and quickly figured out that Du Chen and Sang Tian were easy to approach, so they started asking questions.
"Big Sister, I saw you turn into a giant bear earlier. How did you do that?" asked Xiao Shitou, a mischievous seven-year-old boy, who had already forgotten about the trouble he caused earlier and was now full of curiosity.
"Heh, that's a spell I can do," Sang Tian replied.
"Oh, if I cultivate, can I be as strong as you, Sister?" Xiao Shitou asked. The only girl, a nine-year-old named Daniu, sat quietly to the side, her bright eyes full of longing as she stared at Sang Tian.
"Uh... probably?" Sang Tian hesitated, unsure how to answer. Should she tell him that it wasn't exactly a cultivation spell?
At that moment, they heard another voice, bright and cheerful: "When I grow up, I want to be as cool as Uncle Du, and become a general!"
The adults, who had been tense all day, couldn't help but laugh. Du Chen, having gained a little fan, felt pretty proud of himself, though he was teased by the two girls. They continued chatting around the fire until the children, too tired to stay awake, started nodding off. The adults fell silent and began preparing for bed.
The night deepened, and as usual, the little ghost was assigned to keep watch. They divided the tents by gender, and Li Zhong scattered insect repellent powder around the campsite. After a long, tiring day, everyone eventually fell asleep.
The next day, they set off again, and by evening, Li Zhong noticed the trees starting to thin out and human footprints appearing on the ground. They were getting close to the edge of the forest. Spirits lifted, they picked up the pace.
Suddenly, Tongxin Fen stopped and looked up at the sky.
"I think I understand why they said we'd get there in half a day," she murmured, pointing to the sky. "Because those cultivators flew through the air."
Everyone followed her gaze and saw a figure dressed in flowing robes, stepping lightly on a gleaming sword, soaring above them.
Even the Li family, who had only seen Du Chen and his group's imitation of cultivators, felt a sense of awe as they watched. The figure zipped across the sky like a giant bird, vanishing from view in the blink of an eye. But the group continued to stare up, still in awe.
Du Chen rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little sore. He muttered enviously, "I thought driving a fancy car was the coolest thing, but now I see... stepping on a flying sword is way cooler. Heh, I'll get there one day..."
"Yeah, that's just a matter of time," Canghai said, adjusting his glasses, a brief glimmer of light flashing in his eyes. He turned and smiled, "Let's keep moving."
However, things didn't go as planned. They were hoping to exit the forest before nightfall, but unexpectedly, they encountered a level 9 Tiger-faced Spider.
This giant, poisonous spider was no pushover, often spitting webs to trap Du Chen. Sang Tian had to transform into a giant bear to tank for them.
After some effort, the Tiger-faced Spider finally fell. Xiao Yue seized the opportunity to land the finishing blow and successfully absorbed a soul fragment.
Just as Du Chen was gathering the loot, a sharp voice called out, "Demon cultivator!"
Before anyone could react, a white arc of light shot toward Xiao Yue, aiming straight for his face.
Having never encountered such an attack, Xiao Yue froze in shock, his mind going blank. He instinctively raised his hand to block, but just as the white light was about to sever his left arm, Little Ghost suddenly opened his eyes, blocked with his sword, and deflected the attack with a loud clash. The white light flew off and spiraled into a nearby tree.
In the blink of an eye, no one really saw what happened, but everyone quickly followed the white light's direction and looked up at the big tree.
There, standing in the branches, was a man—just like the cultivator they had seen in the sky earlier. He wore a flowing ochre robe, and without any wind, his clothes seemed to move on their own, shimmering with a faint glow. This cultivator looked older, with a long beard that flowed down to his chest. His face was stern, and his eyes shot out sharp glances, scanning the group one by one.
In one hand, he gripped the white light, which, as it turned out, was a short sword around seven or eight inches long. The sword was still pulsating with light, almost as if it were alive, glowing in a rhythmic, breathing-like pattern. It was clear this wasn't an ordinary weapon.
The middle-aged cultivator's face darkened as he shouted at Xiao Yue, "So it's a demon cultivator after all!"
He then turned to Du Chen, Canghai, and the others, anger flashing in his eyes. "You people of the righteous path—why are you associating with a demon cultivator?"
The five of them exchanged confused looks. Canghai stepped forward, cupping his hands in respect. "Senior, please, this is one of our companions. He's a man of integrity, just someone who knows a few family techniques—he's not a demon cultivator."
The middle-aged cultivator waved his hand dismissively, scoffing. "Hmph, stop making excuses! I've been watching for a while now. This kid's surrounded by dark energy, every attack he makes is full of demon realm light, and he controls ghosts and demons. And you still say he's not a demon cultivator?"
Canghai tried to explain again, but the cultivator gave him a furious glare. "Stop trying to argue! I know you're from the Beast Master Sect, so I'm giving you a chance to explain, but if you don't hand over this demon cultivator now, I'll spare no mercy. You're young and naive, so I'll let it slide for now, but if you keep going down this path, I'll wipe you all out and clean up your sect!"
Without waiting for a response, he made a hand gesture, and the short sword immediately transformed into a lightning-fast serpent, lunging straight for Xiao Yue's chest.
Seeing that things weren't de-escalating and the middle-aged man was already making his move, Du Chen immediately charged forward, rushing under the tree and slashing at the cultivator's legs with his big sword. The cultivator was caught off guard, and with a grunt, he fell from the tree. His sword immediately shot back at Du Chen, aiming for his back. Canghai saw it coming and instantly cast a light shield around Du Chen. But even with the shield, Du Chen took the full hit, and the shield shattered. Du Chen stumbled forward, fell to his knees, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
That one hit drained Du Chen's health by half, and in bear form, Sangen rushed in to tank the damage. The others quickly launched their spells, and Canghai took the chance to heal Du Chen.
Du Chen lay there, panting heavily, feeling like his insides had been shifted around. But as soon as the healing spell hit, a warm, soothing sensation enveloped his chest, and the pain quickly eased. Even so, he couldn't help but feel shaken—this was the worst injury he had sustained since arriving in this world.
The middle-aged cultivator, seeing the other three immediately join the fray and realizing their spells were unlike anything he had ever seen, was visibly shocked. He took another look and saw they were only at the 7th or 8th stage of Qi Refining. Still, he felt confident he could handle them, so he snorted and said, "If you're looking to die, I'll gladly help you out!"
He wielded his short sword and engaged the three, matching them blow for blow.
Canghai let out a deep sigh. Jumping into a fight without understanding the situation had been a reckless and unwise move. But now that it had come to this, and the cultivator was so stubborn, there was no point in trying to resolve things peacefully. Canghai glanced at the middle-aged cultivator's avatar on the interface—a level 10 elite monster. It might be a bit tricky, but it wasn't unbeatable.
With Canghai and Du Chen joining in, the five-person team quickly found their rhythm in the battle. The middle-aged cultivator's spiritual blade was strong, but it couldn't instantly kill anyone. Whenever someone took a heavy hit, the priest would quickly heal them, and they'd jump right back into the fight, full of energy.
The more the middle-aged cultivator fought, the more shocked he became. He had never seen anything like this before—just a simple wave of the hand, and the person who had been near death would immediately recover as if nothing had happened. What kind of miraculous spell was this? If he could capture this Beast Master kid and get him to teach him the spell, wouldn't that make his travels a lot safer?
He made up his mind then. His desire to kill these five grew stronger. However, their coordination was excellent, and their weird spells kept coming at him from all sides. He was still at a disadvantage.
After thinking it over for a moment, the middle-aged cultivator gritted his teeth. From his storage bag, he pulled out a low-grade treasure— the Purple Lightning Golden Bell. He had just stolen it from someone else and hadn't fully refined it yet. Given his current skill level, he could only trigger one attack with it, but seeing that these were just a few Qi Refining stage kids, he figured it should be enough to handle them.
Although he was already at the 10th level of Qi Refining, using a foundation-building level artifact was still a bit too much for him. So, instead of attacking, he kept his spiritual blade around him for defense. He took three small recovery pills and swallowed them. As the medicine entered his body, he felt a surge of hot energy in his dantian. He then threw the Purple Lightning Golden Bell into the air and began to chant a spell.