A huge ancient tree appeared in Luo Hao's view. Dozens of meters high, it was so thick that it would need ten people to circle it hand in hand. The leaves almost covered the entire sky above.
Luo Hao suddenly stopped walking and released Mu Yu Die, then gazed at the ancient tree. His expression was uncertain and he seemed to be making a crucial decision.
As Zhao Xin, Di Yalan, and Hu Long came near the ancient tree, their faces turned serious as well as if they knew there was something unusual about this tree.
Shi Yan frowned, and he began to stare at this huge tree too without saying a word.
Luo Hao took a deep breath and turned to them, speaking in a low voice: "To the right side of this Sky Tree, there are hardly any demon beasts, so most warriors and trade caravans choose this way when they cross the Dark Forest. This route is quite safe. Even if we encounter some demon beasts, they would be of low level - Level One or Level Two. And this route is closer to the Merchant Union, merely taking ten days to get there."
Zhao Xin and the other two nodded. Apparently, they all knew the situation.
After pausing for a while, Luo Hao added in a serious manner, "But to the left of the Sky Tree, the situation is entirely different! Not only is it a longer way to the Merchant Union, but it's also haunted with demon beasts and many audacious warriors and soldiers. Those who dare to go this way are all tough guys. Being in danger all the time, they have no restrictions of any kind. If we choose this way, we will need to look out for not only demon beasts, but also for those irrational warriors and soldiers, especially when we have two pretty girls here among us..."
"Humph! Anyone who would want to take advantage of me, I will chop his head off!" Di Yalan made a cutting motion in the air, with coldness in her beautiful eyes.
"Uncle Luo, what do you think?" Zhao Xin asked carefully.
"If we advance towards safe route on the right, those from the Dark World will catch up in approximately one day and there will inevitably be a nasty fight." With a grim expression, Luo Hao said in frustration, "No one knows if we will be lucky enough in these upcoming days, plus, our enemies might have gained aid. And if we are to encounter them again, it doesn't bode well for us..."
"What about going to the left?" Hu Long asked.
"Demon beasts, evil-minded warriors, and mercenaries often wander on that side. If we go to the left, we would have to face demon beasts, and more likely, we will be killed by some insane warriors. However, the dangers we will face will also be faced by those from the Dark World. They have a bad reputation, and usually, hardly anyone will go against them in the Fire Empire. But in here, there will be many who will want to seek trouble with them. If they accidentally meet high-level demon beasts, it's possible that they all will be killed..."
Luo Hao made his speech slowly, and after explaining them the situation, he remarked, "To go via the right side, we won't be confronting any demon beasts or warriors, but the Dark World will be a huge threat. To the left, we may be attacked by demon beasts and warriors, but the Dark World might suffer worse than we will. Therefore, we have a greater possibility of escaping on the left route."
"Go to the left then!" Mu Yu Die said decisively.
"Okay." Luo Hao nodded, lastly he took a glance at Shi Yan, and said, "Hey kid, there is still time for you to leave. Leave now... or you will lose your chance."
"I will go with you guys." Shi Yan had made up his mind. There was a very irrational side in his personality. Otherwise, he wouldn't have drowned himself in games of death like those extreme sports for ten years of his life.
When Luo Hao was depicting the danger of the left side, Shi Yan was already excited.
Luo Hao nodded and waved his arm, "Well, let's set off. From now on, everyone must be on full alert!"
---
One hour later.
Mo Chaoge and the warriors from the Mo family also stopped at the Sky Tree.
"Second Uncle, which way would they have chosen?" Mo Yanyu asked.
"I will take the right route. If I don't come back in two hours, you guys will catch up through this route. However, if I don't find them in two hours, then they should have taken the left route." Mo Chaoge thought for a while and ordered them to wait at the intersection, while he flew away by himself to the right side.
After one and a half hours, Mo Chaoge came back with a dark expression, "Not even a slightest sign of these people. They actually dared to take the left route! Everybody watch out! There are many demon beasts and madmen roaming on the left route. Never be negligent! Remember, don't make a fuss with those warriors and soldiers. To hunt demon beast for money, these people are all lunatics. Try not to provoke these people who are fearless against death."
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's go!"
---
Three Saber-toothed Rhinos were strolling along a brook leisurely. They were Level-3 demon beasts. A silver glow shone on their backs, their teeth were as sharp as swords, while their fist-sized brown eyes glittered with a malicious look. The three rhinos were all covered by hard dried mud, which formed a natural armor, through which any normal weapon would find hard to cut.
The three Saber-toothed Rhinos were sipping water now and then, while looking around discreetly, seemingly to be looking for prey.
In the bushes not far from them, Luo Hao made a gesture to imply everybody to be quiet.
After the three Saber-toothed Rhinos walked away slowly, Luo Hao finally uttered a sigh of relief. He said, "Saber-toothed Rhinos are Level-3 demon beasts, equaling to Human Realm Warriors. They move fast and have sharp tusks. Against Saber-Toothed Rhinos, low leveled warriors would either be crippled or killed."
Shi Yan kept wandering his cold eyes over those slowly disappearing rhinos, his expression showed an interest in a fight with them.
"Rather than killing the demon beasts here, our goal is to protect Die. I hope everybody remembers this! Don't bring up any unnecessary ramifications." Luo Hao seemed to have noticed Shi Yan's thoughts, and thus reminded them casually.
Shi Yan grinned and nodded to show he understood.
"Let's keep going, we need to be careful here. To keep an eye on the surroundings is more important than rushing forward. Try to get away from demon beasts and warriors. Don't get ourselves in trouble." Luo Hao added. Then, he leads the troop to keep progressing forward.
---
It was getting dark.
Beside a lush tree at the brook, Zhao Xin and the other two separated and examined the surroundings with a cautious eye, ensuring no demon beast would suddenly show up.
Shi Yan sat upright on the wet ground with a serious look.
Bloodlust was lingering in Shi Yan's mind like smoke. He had an urge to release it. The crucial moment had arrived, at which he should purify the Profound Qi absorbed from the two Star emissaries. Thus, he was becoming a little irritated.
Luo Hao remained close to Mu Yu Die all the times. Frowning, he focused his eyes on Shi Yan, in fear that this boy may act abnormally.
Mu Yu Die looked indifferent, as she stared at Shi Yan for a while. When she saw the look on his face was starting to turn aggressive, she sat down gently and crossed her legs. Setting the ancient zither on her beautiful legs, she began to play.
Hearing the zither, the concentrated bloodthirst in Shi Yan's mind seemed to be resolved by a certain refreshing power and gradually faded away.
Holding his breath and focusing his mind, Shi Yan circulated his Profound Qi peacefully.
One hour later, a warm flow gushed out of his meridians all over his body.
Shi Yan's body suddenly shook.
Suddenly, Shi Yan felt a severe thirst in his body. The strange power gushing out from his meridians was absorbed by his muscles and bones before it could mix with the Profound Qi in his lower abdomen. The warm stream went into his muscles and bones and set root in his blood and flesh.
Within several breaths, the weird warm stream from his meridians pervaded into his blood, flesh, and bones all over the body, which made him bewildered and astonished.
Thus, Shi Yan began to feel the warm stream flowing in his blood, flesh, and bones.
"Bang!"
There was a heavy strike in his head, and the next moment, he felt a strange change in his body.
Turning pale with fear, he opened his eyes promptly to find his bare arms turning gray, bit by bit.
Petrifaction!
Shi Yan was frightened. He hurriedly withdrew his attention from his body, giving no more thought to the sudden change.
As his thoughts changed, his hardening body soon went back to normal.
Concentrating, Shi Yan looked at the others. Luo Hao and Mu Yu Die were chatting behind a tree not far from him, without noticing what he had just experienced.
Relieved, a look of happiness took over his face, as he secretly enjoyed a mirthful time.
His body became hard, which was a clear sign that the Petrifaction Martial Spirit of the Shi family had awakened!
The Petrifaction Martial Spirit was exclusive to the Shi family. As one's level increases, it would become stronger and stronger, to the extent where one could even become invulnerable and become completely fearless against the impact of Profound Qi.
Before, Shi Yan had thought that the owner of his body didn't possess this Martial Spirit. It surprised him that it had suddenly awakened after he reached Nascent Realm. He was ecstatic.
The Petrifaction Martial Spirit was very useful in battles. After Petrification, his body would be as hard as a rock, but was still very agile, which would increase one's power on a whole new level.
Apart from Petrifaction, Shi Yan had confirmed long ago that he also possessed the Immortal Martial Spirit, which could achieve self-recovery. With the help of these two Martial Spirits in complement with each other, he couldn't possibly imagine how powerful his body would become once he cultivates these two martial spirits to their finest state.
"No!" Shi Yan frowned and thought, "Don't Martial Spirits show up not long after birth? But this body is already seventeen, and yet my Martial Spirit can still awaken? No way! Could it be that it has something to do with the weird energy gushing out from the meridians?"
An idea suddenly flashed in his mind. The activation of the two Martial Spirits was somehow related to the blood pool and the changes in his meridians.
Shi Yan guessed that the weird stream gushing out from his meridians could stimulate the Martial Spirit hidden in one's body. With this thought, he was so excited that he wanted to sing out loud and celebrate!
A Martial Spirit could only be inherited. Generally, it only got stronger as one's level increased. There were hardly any other ways to strengthen a Martial Spirit.
A Martial Spirit was the gift that a warrior was most proud of, and also the vital thing to define a warrior's capability. Warriors trained arduously to improve their Martial Spirit.
But even if one's level had upgraded, there were limitations in increasing the level of a Martial Spirit.
In the Grace Mainland, even those legendary God-Level alchemists could barely refine pills effective on common Martial Spirits. Those pills were the rarest and precious treasures on the Grace Mainland and were believed to exist merely in legends.
Nonetheless, the effect those pills had on Martial Spirits was still quite limited. After all, Martial Spirits were an inherited gift, which was very hard to change.
Surprisingly, the weird warm stream gushing out from Shi Yan's meridians seemed to go against the rules. It could virtually stimulate Martial Spirit and strengthen this inherited ability.