Free Web NovelChapter 149: Chapter 141: The Terrifying Dark Forest
After reaping a great, unexpected reward from communicating with the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, Shen Lang was completely fired up. He began frantically trying to communicate with it and move it.
He repeatedly depleted his Divine Thought, rested to replenish it, and then depleted it all over again... Through this simple method, his Sea of Consciousness grew stronger and stronger, to the point that Shen Lang couldn’t help but chuckle foolishly.
By the morning of the fourth day, Nalan Ziyun’s injuries had mostly healed. She had a good night’s sleep, woke up to eat two chicken legs, put on a face mask for a bit...
It was only then that Shen Lang finally managed to move the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron across from Yinfeng Cliff, to the Dark Forest.
The two of them finally saw the light of day again...
Nalan Ziyun, who had been looking to be in high spirits, stepped out of the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, and her expression immediately turned ugly.
They were standing atop a massive, mushroom-cloud-shaped rock hundreds of feet high. Below them was the dreaded Dark Forest, a name that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard it!
The Dark Forest was known as the scar of the Phoenix Mountain Range, a true Cursed Land. All one could see was a boundless, black forest stretching to the horizon. freēwēbnovel.com
It was no exaggeration to call this place a land of death.
"Are you... Are you kidding me? Do you have a death wish? Why would you come to the Dark Forest instead of going up Yinfeng Cliff?"
"This place is crawling with Cannibal Flowers, Cyan Netherworld Snakes, Dark Spiders, and other venomous creatures! Their toxins are horrifyingly potent and impossible to defend against! Even with your Spirit Martial Realm Cultivation, getting through the Dark Forest is next to impossible!"
Nalan Ziyun practically roared.
"I need to pass through the Dark Forest to get to Sorrow Swamp... Why don’t you go inside my Magical Treasure?" Shen Lang said calmly.
"No way!" Nalan Ziyun refused flatly. "If you were in there with me, at least I’d have company. Without you, it’s just empty and creepy... Do you think I’m some Demon Beast you can stuff into a Beast Escape Chapter?"
"Alright, then you can stay here. Although the Gang Feng is harsh, this place is very safe. Wait here, and I’ll come get you on my way back. You have food and drink in your Sumeru Ring, so you won’t starve."
As he spoke, without waiting for her reply, Shen Lang leaped off the edge. A pair of faint, almost imperceptible wings of light materialized behind him, and he began to glide downwards.
"I’m going with you!" Nalan Ziyun yelled, and without a moment’s hesitation, she jumped.
At her current level of cultivation, a jump from a rock hundreds of feet high... would leave her either dead or maimed!
Shen Lang had given her no choice as he descended.
But just as he was descending, he heard her shout from above. He glanced up and was so furious he could have died.
’Fucking hell, what a lunatic! She says I have a death wish, but she’s the one with the fucking death wish! If you want to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, you didn’t have to pick this place!’
Shen Lang cursed, flicking his wrist. A Profound Iron Chain shot out with a RATTLE, wrapping around Nalan Ziyun and pulling her to his side.
With the added weight, the wings of light conjured from his Spiritual Power flickered several times, nearly dissipating completely.
Shen Lang’s descent immediately sped up.
BAM!
Shen Lang slammed his feet onto a large bluestone on the ground. Cracks immediately spiderwebbed across its surface before the stone abruptly shattered!
"Are you insane?!" Shen Lang roared.
"You got a cure for it?" Nalan Ziyun shot back.
"If I hadn’t caught you, you would’ve been splattered all over the ground!" Shen Lang said, releasing her with a resentful glare.
"Whether I live or die is none of your business!" Nalan Ziyun retorted, refusing to back down.
Shen Lang shot her a fierce glare and said no more. He drew his Celestial Water Blade and began walking forward, thoroughly exasperated.
The Dark Forest was known as the Cursed Land, a place filled with slaughter and hatred where danger lurked around every corner.
The moment Shen Lang landed, he felt an indescribable hostility in the air, as if every living thing here intensely rejected outsiders.
The visibility was extremely low, and the forest was shrouded in perpetual twilight, never seeing the sun.
Sinister shadows seemed to swallow the horizon, and the land was gray and barren.
The enormous trees were vastly different from those in the outside world. Most were shaped like mushrooms, and instead of exuding vitality, they were suffused with a rotten Death Qi...
In just an hour and a half, the pair had already encountered at least nine major battles.
That was a new battle nearly every ten minutes, a frequency almost unimaginable anywhere else.
But in the Dark Forest, this was the norm.
Moreover, those nine battles were only against the more powerful Demon Beasts. That didn’t even count the relentless swarms of Cyan Netherworld Snakes and other venomous creatures, or the ubiquitous Cannibal Flowers.
Countless Cannibal Flowers hid in the undergrowth or clung to the massive trees, ready to snap their terrifying petals shut on anyone passing below. A moment of carelessness, and their spikes could pierce any defense.
Once the mucus inside the petals touched your body, it would quickly induce total paralysis, making movement difficult until you ultimately became food for the Demon Flower.
Meanwhile, venomous creatures like the Cyan Netherworld Snakes and Dark Spiders hid in the thick, toxic fog, moving in swarms.
The moment they detected movement from another living creature, they would launch into a frenzied attack...
These venomous creatures weren’t just incredibly toxic. The Cyan Netherworld Snake, for example, was no longer than a chopstick and moved with lightning speed, making it impossible to defend against.
The massive Demon Beasts were not to be underestimated either.
Having survived the brutal, dog-eat-dog slaughter amongst their own kind, they were the victors of the jungle’s law.
Furthermore, they had endured prolonged exposure to the toxic fog. Most had been infected and assimilated by it, their bodies slowly becoming completely poisonous.
In terms of combat prowess, they were far stronger than Demon Beasts of the same type and rank found in the outside world...
Normally, with Shen Lang’s Cultivation and his Thunder Power’s natural advantage against evil creatures, he could have navigated this place with ease.
But with the still-injured Nalan Ziyun in tow, things became much more difficult.
Shen Lang frequently had to divert a significant portion of his attention to protecting Nalan Ziyun.
Along the way, Nalan Ziyun had already used up three Defense Talismans.
Spirit Level Talismans were powerful, but the Energy of the Protective Shield was constantly drained by the relentless stream of attacks. The onslaught of attacks, big and small, had been nonstop.
"Maybe... we should go back? I feel like there are a lot of Ghosts nearby. All these sounds are unnerving me, and I can barely use half of my Power..."
Nalan Ziyun’s breathing grew ragged as she spoke, her voice trembling with fear.
She could see that dividing his attention to protect her was starting to take a toll on Shen Lang.
One or two Demon Beasts would be manageable, but if the attacks continued unabated like this, they would likely die of exhaustion long before a Demon Beast could kill them.
After all, the Dark Forest was as vast as four or five Tala Prairies.
"I thought Nalan Ziyun feared nothing in heaven or on earth. Who would’ve thought you’re afraid of Ghosts?" Shen Lang jeered. With a casual wave of his Celestial Water Blade, he sliced a Cyan Netherworld Snake that was shooting through the air in two.
"Bullshit! I’m just worried you won’t be able to handle so many venomous creatures and Ghosts! If a huge swarm of them rushes out, you’ll be outnumbered! You know, the Dark Forest is an ancient burial ground, a gathering place for Ghosts. Even large Mercenary Corps don’t dare come here."
As she spoke, Nalan Ziyun, who was walking to Shen Lang’s left, edged even closer, nearly pressing herself against his side.
"Uh, I dared to come here alone. Do you really think I came unprepared? I’ve just been walking this far to gauge the Attack Power of the local creatures. We’ll go a bit further, and then we can just ride the Fiery Demon Wolf and charge through... Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It seems we have a communication problem. It must be the generation gap."
"Generation gap my ass! I’m only a few years older than you!" Nalan Ziyun snapped.
Shen Lang rolled his eyes. "Classy! Real classy! You’re supposed to be the top dog of Celestial God Academy, but you have such a potty mouth. How improper!"
"Bullshit! You’re the one with the potty mouth!"
"See? You said it again!"
"..."
The two continued onward, bickering as they went.
Though he was busy talking, Shen Lang’s Divine Thought was spread out over a ten-meter radius, taking in every detail of their surroundings.
The Thunder Control Divine Technique was the strongest of all Thunder Element Techniques, and Thunder Power was the bane of all things evil. With his great skill came great confidence; why would he be afraid of a few mere Ghosts?
Besides, now that he had comprehended Sword Intent, he could slice even a Ghost that moved like the wind in two with a single strike of his blade.
The only problem was Nalan Ziyun. With her by his side, Shen Lang couldn’t go all out, nor could he pick up the pace.
If he were alone, he would have simply sprinted through this place at top speed.
’At this pace, it’ll take days to get out of here. I have a pretty good grasp of the Attack Power of the venomous creatures and Ghosts now. In a bit, I’ll just summon the Fiery Demon Wolf and we’ll charge through...’
Back on Celestial Pillar Peak, Shen Lang had taken Shui Qingwu’s Fiery Demon Wolf, which would serve as a perfect mount now.
Shen Lang frowned and looked ahead, but could only see a vast expanse of gray mist.
An endless gray-white fog drifted through the forest. Gusts of sinister wind occasionally swirled within it, carrying the hair-raising sounds of wailing ghosts and howling wolves.
"You little bastard... Do you think... we’re actually being followed by Ghosts? I keep getting chills down my spine..."
Nalan Ziyun timidly pressed even closer to Shen Lang.
At this moment, all the prestige of Celestial God Academy’s top dog had vanished completely. Nalan Ziyun was just like any girl next door, terrified of the dark and of ghosts.
If there was any difference, it was that she could simultaneously shriek in terror and viciously stomp on a venomous spider on the ground. With a single stomp, forget the spider—even the hard stone beneath her foot was crushed to bits.
"Of course there are. Can’t you use your Divine Thought to look? There are two little ghosts right behind you, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws. One of them is sticking out a long, blood-red tongue, and its saliva is about to drip onto your shoulder. Looks like it’s taken a liking to you," Shen Lang sneered.
"Eeeeek! You could have just said they were there! You didn’t have to be so graphic!" Nalan Ziyun shrieked, her whole body trembling.
Shen Lang let out a cold laugh. His left hand shot out and seized a ball of black mist.
Nalan Ziyun froze, seeing the black mist vaguely take the form of a small ghost with fangs and a tongue so long it dragged on the ground. freeweɓnøvel.com
SIZZLE... POP!
Before she could scream again, lightning flickered in Shen Lang’s palm. With a simple clench of his fist, he crushed the little ghost into nothingness.
"Scram!" Shen Lang snapped, glancing behind him.
The forest immediately echoed his shout: "Scram... scram... scram..."
A few strange shrieks echoed from above, and the large mass of fog instantly retreated, no longer daring to approach them.
"Wh-what was that? Was all that fog behind us made of Ghosts? Why were there so many? Are we really being targeted?" Nalan Ziyun exclaimed in shock.
At first, she thought Shen Lang was just trying to scare her. She never imagined they were actually being followed by so many Ghosts!
"You think that’s a lot? Not even close... Have you ever heard the legend of the Dark Forest?" Shen Lang said, his voice taking on an eerie, drifting quality.
"Eek! Don’t use that tone of voice! You’re scaring me to death... What legend?" Nalan Ziyun cried, hugging Shen Lang’s arm tightly and refusing to let go.
Staring into the depths of the woods, Shen Lang said coldly, "Legend says the reason the Dark Forest is so dreaded, the reason no one dares enter, is because a Ghost King was born here... one with a cultivation equivalent to the Peak of the Spirit Martial Realm."
As if to confirm Shen Lang’s words, a chorus of Gloomy and Terrifying laughter erupted from the Ghosts all around them.
"Hee hee hee... HAHAHAHA..."
