Dark Blood Path

The Black Forest might not cover a vast expanse of land, yet it could pose some challenges. Fortunately, the half-abomination swept all obstacles along their way; therefore, they all had a smooth journey, encountering no difficulties on the path. However, the edges of the Black Forest painted a different picture altogether. Adjacent to a vacant lot, the land appeared barren and almost desolate. Perhaps due to its proximity to the forest, the vegetation struggled to thrive here, and as a result, the ground was littered with gravel, while clumps of withered, yellowed weeds scattered here and there.

Towards the end of the barren terrain, a small-scale ruin stood in the distance, consisting of about a dozen dilapidated buildings. Some of the structures still had homemade, rudimentary canopies, while outside lay scattered tricycles and motorcycles in a state of disrepair. In the vicinity, a group of middle-aged laborers could be seen, each of them wielding saws and straining to cut through the wood. As they heard a rustling from the nearby woods, they immediately looked up and spotted Xiao Yu and his entourage making their way towards them. These workers quickly ceased their labor, casting uneasy glances at each other and arming themselves with weapons such as axes.

It turns out that the area is inhabited after all.

Though the small size of the settlement could explain why Xiao Yu missed it during his initial exploration. Upon closer inspection, the place resembled a modest county or a small town, with the tallest buildings no more than three or four stories high, their simple and unrefined exteriors belying any indication of a bustling metropolis. The local people have notably dark skin and give off the distinct impression of being farmers, perhaps because they were accustomed to physical labor.

The standoff persisted for several minutes as the opposing sides sized each other up. Eventually, more than a hundred people emerged from the other side, including a dozen or so women and children. Among them was a dark-skinned, gray-haired man, who appeared both short and stout. Fixing his gaze upon the opposing party, he bellowed out a warning: “This is our territory. What are you doing here? Leave immediately, and don’t attempt any deceit, or we will not hesitate to treat you harshly. You’ve been warned!”

The man’s pronunciation was notably non-standard. As both Xiao Yu and Jiang Xiaowen hailed from the south, they could deduce that the man was speaking in a regional dialect common to that area. While some of his words were difficult to comprehend, the tone of the man’s voice was unmistakable in its hostility. Indeed, the others in his party shared in his animosity, evidenced by their rising tempers and quick acquisition of weapons—including those dropped by monsters, as well as basic tools such as hoes and hatchets.

Du Tao quickly stepped forward with his hands held high, seeking to reason with the hostile group. He assured them that he and his companions were merely passing through and had no intention of causing any trouble. The locals appeared to be somewhat skeptical, but after noticing that most of the newcomers carried bulky backpacks, they began to let their guard down. Gradually, their expressions began to soften, and they seemed less convinced that the outsiders posed any immediate threat to their territory.

Just as he was about to speak, a poor farmer yelled, “If you’re just passing through, then pass through. We don’t accept strangers camping out here for the night. You should leave immediately!”

Du Tao smiled wryly and shook his head, “Okay, let’s go now!”

Xiao Yu had no intention of lingering anyway, so he decided it would be best to avoid wasting time with further conversation. He quickly led his companions into the woods on the other side and continued on their way.

As he observed the group moving briskly away, the man, who had earlier appeared to be a hardened poor farmer, was slightly taken aback. He questioned them, “Are you truly just passing through here?”

Wang Chao rolled his eyes and said, “Nonsense, look at you; you are so poor. Even if fatty wants to steal something, he wouldn’t come here!”

The man with the appearance of a poor farmer looked back at his companions and gestured for them to lower their weapons. He then spoke with a mischievous smile, “My name is Zhou Fu. So, you are really just passing through? Where are you headed?”

Wang Chao was a little impatient, “None of your business, you wanted to drive us away just now; are you going to hold us back now?”

“Hehehe…” Zhou Fu laughed dryly for a while, “No, no, we’re very familiar with this area. We can guide you for a certain distance, and it will be much safer for you along the road.”

Wang Chao grew annoyed upon hearing this: “Are you guys still worried that we won’t leave?”

Zhou Fu’s wrinkled, dark old face broke into another mischievous smile, with a hint of cunning flashing in his bright eyes.

Du Tao quickly intervened and tried to calm the situation. He politely smiled at Zhou Fu and said, “We didn’t lie to you, old man. But if you could show us the way and help us avoid some dangers, we would be sincerely grateful.”

Zhou Fu readily accepted Du Tao’s request and promptly signaled seven or eight strapping young men, each clutching a weapon, to lead the way. Du Tao and the others were taken aback by their prompt action, as they did not expect the farmers would really do what they said.

However, with local acquaintances leading the way, many dangers on the path could be avoided. Hence, no one had any misgivings, except for Xiao Yu, who narrowed his eyes slightly.

Xiao Yu’s intuition told him that this seemingly honest old farmer was not trustworthy.

If Zhou Fu and his group were really concerned that they would not leave, then he must be wary of them, fearing that they were a group of evildoers. That being the case, how could he dare to lead the way with only six to seven people? This raised suspicions in Xiao Yu’s mind. If they were truly a group of evildoers, shouldn’t the other party be afraid that they could overpower them? Moreover, there was a risk that they, Xiao and the others, could suddenly turn around and attack Zhou Fu and his group on the way, and then go back to their gathering place.

But he only thought about it and didn’t say anything out loud.

Under the guidance of Zhou Fu, the group of over a hundred people walked into the forest at a much faster pace. Not a single monster was spotted along the way, and after walking for about an hour and a half, they finally reached a particularly dense part of the forest. Zhou Fu and the others were a little tired, so they sat down on a tree root to rest

At that moment, Fei shouted in excitement, “Look! There’s a huge fruit tree ahead with so many fruits! Tonight, not only can we savor Master Sun Dazhu’s delicious food, but we can also taste the freshness of these fruits. Hahaha! Wait here, I’ll go pick them right away.”

As he spoke, he ran towards the fruit tree in the woods.

As Fei exclaimed in surprise, everyone’s attention was drawn to the large fruit tree in front of them. It stood tall, reaching over 20 meters with a crown that resembled an umbrella. The tree was huge, and its branches were adorned with attractive red fruits that hung from them in abundance.

Xiao Yu cast a suspicious look at the fruit tree and noticed something strange about it. He then turned to Zhou Fu and saw the group of people quietly retreating. Realizing something was amiss, Xiao Yu quickly shouted, prompting everyone to run back.

“Sun Fei, stop!”

Xiao Yu’s face changed as if he had come to his senses, and he shouted hastily.

Fei ran towards the big fruit tree and exclaimed, “Wait a minute, I’ll pick some right away!” He arrived at the bottom of the tree as he kept chattering, “It’s so hot in here, eating a few wild fruits can satisfy our hunger….”

Without warning, a huge tree root burst out of the ground like a long spear, directly piercing Fei’s chest and coming out from behind, abruptly interrupting his words. Everyone was shocked, and Tian Hongguang and his wife even cried out in horror.

Fei’s eyes widened in shock, and before he could even react, two more roots pierced his body, followed by a third and a fourth… and then more than a dozen more in quick succession, turning him into a human pincushion.

No blood flowed out, because in an instant, all his blood was sucked clean, leaving only a withered corpse behind.

In a sudden turn of events, the big tree came alive as hundreds of roots and vines began to move, quickly surrounding everyone from all directions. Green vines and barbed roots flew through the air like countless branches, with ferocious arms that made people feel fearful.

“A dryad! This is a monster in the late stage of the first order!” Xiao Yu took out his blade and said angrily, “Damn it, that old bastard really wants us dead. Everyone, fall back!”

He formed a blazing flame in his left hand and extended it towards the dryad, unleashing a scorching fireball that blasted through the forest. As he did, hundreds of tree roots and vines entwined quickly to form a thick net that blocked the blast flame skill and caused it to explode with a loud bang, shattering the net into pieces. However, the dryad itself appeared to have suffered little damage.

The Dryad, infuriated by the attack, leaped into rage. The ground trembled as numerous green vines emerged from beneath, wrapping around a large group of people in an instant. Sharp, pointed branches and roots shot towards everyone, with some aimed directly at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu engaged, and the cyan light of his blade danced to chop up all the roots attacking him.

Yun Yun shot a rocket like flaming projectile, and the powerful arrow penetrated deeply into the dryad’s body, causing it to suffer serious injuries. As the flame power burned a large part of its body, the dryad realized that Yun Yun posed a significant threat and retaliated by mobilizing more than a dozen roots to shoot at her.

Yunyun reacted quickly and took several steps back, while several members of the Hawks on both sides stood up and brandished their weapons to help her defend. However, during this process, one of the Hawks was accidentally caught by a swinging tree root that penetrated his left chest and pierced his heart, draining him of blood and killing him on the spot. Meanwhile, Yunyun was hit in the back by another swinging branch, which broke two of her ribs, and she spat out a mouthful of blood before falling to the ground.

Fortunately, someone behind her had quick reflexes and grabbed her, pulling her out of harm’s way just in time. The wooden root meant to impale her instead pierced the ground where she was standing moments before.

The three teams witnessed the immense power of the dryad and they didn’t dare to fight any more. They retreated one after another. Meanwhile, Han Kexin’s sharp claws moved swiftly like the wind, forming a sharp mesh of cold light that sliced apart any vine roots that tried to approach her. Although her combat skills were not weak, she was still at the elementary level. After Xiao Yu took on the bulk of the Wood Demon’s attention, Han Kexin’s abilities were only enough to defend herself.

Jiang Xiaowen, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao acted quickly. However, Jiang Xiaowen had used up too much spiritual power in the Black Forest not long ago and could no longer summon her half-abomination. Instead, she wielded a long spear and unleashed a fierce gust of wind with impressive momentum, which descended from the sky to smash the dryad.

Jin Shi and Wang Chao stood side by side as Jin Shi entered his state of complete rock formation. He roared and charged towards the dryad, with vines constantly whipping his body, yet leaving no injuries, and thorns of tree roots being blocked by his hard body. He was the fastest one who managed to approach the dryad.

Jinshi raised his warhammer, preparing to strike the dryad, when suddenly, five to six vines fell from above, tightly binding his right arm. Then, a large number of tree roots burst out from beneath his feet, wrapping around him like a rice dumpling, leaving only his eyes visible between the vines. Two small tree roots then pierced toward the only weak point in his body—his eyes.

Seeing this, Wang Chao roared and hastily unleashed a blood-red shock wave from his mace, which blasted Jin Shi away. This level of damage could not harm Jin Shi, but it was enough to break all the vines wrapped around his body.