The forest is not too far from the Yuan sect, but also not too close. Yushi An had the coachman stop the carriage not far from the forest and then instructed him to turn back. They proceeded to search for beastmen by flying on their swords.
In this remote place, with few people around, Yushi An wasn’t worried about others discovering their whereabouts. Yang Mu followed expressionlessly, not intending to exert himself in this mission.
Yang Mu was just here to spectate, casually tossed a sword to Shi Dixuan from his storage ring. He then followed Yushi An in flying on his sword.
Elder Wen and his disciple flew ahead of Yang Mu, seeming eager to confront some beastmen.
After wandering through the forest for a while, they spotted the silhouette of a beastman—a black panther with a wild beauty, sleek fur, and the cultivation level is at the Core Formation stage.
Yushi An’’s eyes gleamed as he signaled the others to stay silent. He stealthily approached the black panther, intending to ambush it. However, the panther’s perception was much sharper than expected.
When Yushi An was just a few feet away, the panther, as if sensing him, leaped and swiftly retreated. It was a speed-type, disappearing from sight before even Yang Mu could fully see its figure.
Frustrated, Yushi An returned to the group, his face dark. He instructed sternly, “Split up and search for the beastmen. Don’t let any of them escape!”
On the other side, the black panther that had escaped from Yushi An’s pursuit entered a different realm beyond the dense foliage. In this realm, various types of beastmen coexisted. Some larger black panthers approached the breathless newcomer, inquiring in the language of the beastmen, “Little Black, what happened? Why are you so alarmed?”
The black panther named Little Black hastily exclaimed, “I saw humans outside just now!”
“Humans?!” The eldest black panther became uneasy but quickly composed itself.
“Don’t panic. Now, instruct all the beastmen outside to retreat here. If humans are chasing them, lead them directly to the beastmen’s ruins.”
“Beastmen’s ruins? But…” A younger black panther seemed hesitant, wanting to say something.
The older one interrupted, speaking calmly and providing a reassuring feeling to the others, “Rest assured. Apart from us, humans entering the ruins will only get lost there. If lucky, they might find a way out. If not, they’ll be trapped and meet their end.”
“Alright! I understand.” Little Black acknowledged and hurriedly went to inform the other beastmen.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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—
Yang Mu, Shi Dixuan, Yushi An, and others had separated. Yang Mu wandered alone in the forest, uninterested, strolling leisurely along the forest paths.
Occasionally, some beastmen accidentally passed by him. Seeing a human, they were frightened, running away in a panic. Some ran so fast that they tripped along the way.
Yang Mu: “…”
Surprised by the unexpected presence of so many beastmen in the forest, he found their panicked and chaotic reactions both amusing and helpless.
Traveling alone can be lonely, so Yang Mu casually held the little duck in his palm. When the passing beastmen saw it, they thought he had captured a beastman .
Despite their intentions to help, their strength wasn’t sufficient. As they fled, they passed on the message, “A human has captured a beastman! Everyone, run away!”
As soon as the little duck appeared in Yang Mu’s hand, it behaved unusually, not rubbing against Yang Mu’s palm but holding its head high, as if searching for something.
It occasionally tilted its head, and after some time, its head suddenly fixed in one direction, eyes staring directly ahead.
Blinking twice, it made urgent “quack quack” sounds.
Following its gaze, Yang Mu looked in that direction, but he couldn’t see anything.
Green leaves intertwined, and tree trunks stood somewhat densely.
“Do you want to go there?” Yang Mu hesitated for a moment, softly asking the little duck.
Understanding Yang Mu’s words, the duck kept nodding its small head and quacked again, urging Yang Mu to move forward.
Thinking to himself that he had nothing else to do besides wandering aimlessly in the forest, Yang Mu decided to accompany the duck. He walked toward the direction it wanted to go, gently stroking the duck with his hand to keep it calm, while staying alert himself.
—
As Shi Dixuan entered the forest, he felt something peculiar.
There seemed to be something calling out to him from within the forest.
This mysterious force attracted him, akin to a beastmen whispering in his mind, repeatedly saying, “There are things you need here, things that can make you stronger.”
After separating from Yang Mu and the others, he immediately used his divine sense to scan the surroundings. Not finding anything unusual, he proceeded toward the place that held an infinite attraction for him.
He had a gut feeling that Yushi An wouldn’t gain anything significant here today. So, he wasn’t in a hurry to stop Yushi An from capturing the beastmen.
—
On the other side, Yushi An quickly spotted one. However, as he pursued it, he realized the beastman seemed to be consciously leading him in a particular direction.
…
Under the urging of the little duck, Yang Mu continued moving forward.
Along the way, several beastmen that were initially visible seemed to have completely disappeared, as if they had hidden themselves entirely.
After Yang Mu had walked a considerable distance and was considering stopping to ask the little duck about what lay ahead, his body suddenly felt like it passed through an invisible membrane. After detecting a slight sluggishness, Yang Mu noticed that the scenery in front of him had changed.
The dense forest he was in before now had fewer trees. Intersecting paths lay ahead, their destinations unknown.
Yang Mu furrowed his brows slightly. When he turned to look behind, where there should have been a cluster of trees, it had also transformed into a sparse forest with complex pathways.
Seeing this situation, Yang Mu already understood that he had entered a realm arranged by a formation.
He sighed, lowering his head and looking at the now calm little duck. “What is in this realm that got you so excited?”
The duck, with confusion in its small bean-shaped eyes, had sensed an inexplicable attraction when it was outside. However, upon leading Yang Mu here, that attraction mysteriously vanished.
Beastmen couldn’t communicate in their bestial forms, and the duck hadn’t reached the transformation stage. Yang Mu knew it would be futile to ask, sighed again, and raised his head to survey the surroundings.
Optimistically thinking, coming here might not be a bad thing. Perhaps he would encounter some unexpected opportunities.
Taking a step forward, Yang Mu chose one of the paths and continued.
In this realm, a faint fragrance of flowers permeated the air, creating a pleasant sensation.
After an indeterminate amount of time passed, Yang Mu, in a daze, seemed to see a gigantic stone statue standing ahead. Although the statue wasn’t very close to Yang Mu’s current location, his heart felt as if it were weighed down by a stone, making it hard for him to catch his breath.
Whose statue was this? Even from this distance, why did it exude such a powerful sense of oppression?
Yang Mu’s heart was filled with an unstoppable astonishment.
He looked in that direction again and decided to continue moving forward.
—Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it.
Thank You for the new chapter (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
Ooo so interesting…! I wonder what that statue is…!
Thank you for translating!!<3
I’m glad the beast men have somewhere to hide, away from those perverted people