Chapter 561: Ghost Octopus

Deep in the Dark Forest, a group of figures was currently weaving through the trees...

They had already penetrated deep into the heart of the Dark Forest; it could be said that it was already quite dangerous here.

Having ventured this deep, the small Origin Beasts that had popped out to harass them along the way had vanished. This was not a good sign; it indicated they had entered the territory of mid-tier Origin Beasts.

Mid-tier Origin Beasts have a strong sense of territory. Generally, those small Origin Beasts at the very bottom of the Dark Forest's food chain would hide far away the moment they caught the scent of a mid-tier Origin Beast.

Duan Rong was naturally in this group as well, Wind Riding as he wove through the forest...

Their party was to cross the heart of the Dark Forest to reach the most core, eerie place—the location of the God-Demon Relic.

For this opening of the God-Demon Relic, there were eight candidates from the Sect entering: Jiang Hanyan, Su Xinjue, Guo Tian, Duan Rong, Lu Chu, Yang Sui, Xu Hui, and Du Wan.

All eight of them were at the Qi Cyclone Realm; even as a group of eight, it would be impossible to cross the thousand-mile-long Dark Forest to reach the core of the God-Demon Relic.

Right now, they had only reached the territory of mid-tier Origin Beasts. Venturing deeper into the heart, there were still high-tier Origin Beasts. The destructive power of a high-tier Origin Beast was equivalent to the attacks of a Dongming Realm powerhouse; it was absolutely not something they could withstand.

Therefore, two Elders from the Elder Council were leading the team: Lin Youjian and Liu Su!

These two Elders were also the ones who had trained them during those ten days of intensive training.

After those ten days of training, the eight who had originally been somewhat excited now all had grim expressions.

The terror within the God-Demon Relic far exceeded their imaginations, but even so, no one proposed quitting, because the benefits were equally immense. Every cultivator who had received the nourishment of the God-Demon Whisper had, without exception, advanced to the Dongming Realm. This alone made it impossible for them to refuse.

At this moment, Lin Youjian was leading the team in front, while Liu Su was bringing up the rear!

Twenty-nine years ago, both of them had entered the previous God-Demon Relic and performed quite well, which was why they had the opportunity to become instructors for this training!

Among the eight selected, Jiang Hanyan was Lin Youjian's personal disciple. Duan Rong had seen her years ago during the Yougu test, but at that time, Jiang Hanyan wore a veil, and Duan Rong had not seen her true face.

It was only during this training that he saw Jiang Hanyan's face for the first time. It was naturally beautiful, but Duan Rong still felt that the faint sense of mystery from the veil was more captivating; once he saw her true face, he felt a touch of disappointment instead.

Liu Su's personal disciple, Xu Hui, was also in the team. This person was a thin, fair-skinned man who was usually taciturn, though he did not seem disagreeable.

As for the others, Duan Rong had become basically familiar with them during those ten days of training. Once they entered the God-Demon Relic, they would need to cooperate with one another, so mutual understanding during training was a necessary course. Of course, no one would completely expose themselves to others; some reservation was inevitable.

The group passed through the dense forest and suddenly arrived at a fairly vast grassland.

They were Wind Riding, moving across the vast grassland like ghosts in the dark night.

This large area had no trees, only wild grass, which was usually related to the geology. The Dark Forest stretched for a thousand miles, and its geological formations were quite complex.

The group's speed was extremely fast, whistling past as they Wind Rode!

Just then, several ear-piercing, strange cries suddenly rang out above their heads!

Upon hearing those cries, Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. He was all too familiar with these cries; they were the cries of the Suanyu monster birds!

When he and Lv Qingzhu were retrieving the Black Fire Lotus Seed, they had once been trapped in a cave by a Suanyu monster bird.

The monster bird's terrifying speed and attack power had left a deep impression on Duan Rong.

The critical thing was that, above his head, it was not just one Suanyu monster bird, but as many as eight.

High in the sky, they were swooping down at their party from two directions!

Suanyu birds had excellent eyesight and could see things on the ground even from high altitudes.

Their party was whistling across the vast grassland; the Suanyu birds could see them from very far up in the sky.

A single Suanyu monster bird could force Duan Rong and Lv Qingzhu to retreat when they joined forces, let alone eight of them now; this combat power was already quite terrifying.

Lin Youjian, who was leading at the front of the team, looked up the moment she heard the ear-piercing, strange cries. She saw several black dots approaching from the distant high sky, their speed as fast as thunder.

Lin Youjian frowned, flicked her sleeve, and a Green Jade Flute about seventy centimeters long was pressed to her lips.

Lin Youjian stood sideways in mid-air, her clothes fluttering, and a flute note that sounded like a long, deep breath drifted out.

It was just a single note, not yet a melody!

To Duan Rong's ears, the note felt only slightly piercing, and because it was quite long, he couldn't help but feel a faint sense of nausea.

But wherever that note passed, the several black dots rapidly approaching from two directions high in the sky instantly exploded into clusters of blood mist, drifting and dissipating in the high altitude...

By this time, Lin Youjian had already put away the Green Jade Flute. She stood sideways in mid-air, beckoned to their group, and said, "Move!"

The group continued to whistle along on their journey!

The scene where Lin Youjian had caused the eight Suanyu monster birds in the sky to explode into blood mist with a single note still gave Duan Rong quite a shock. It wasn't just Duan Rong; the others were also somewhat stunned!

As Duan Rong whistled along, he looked at Lin Youjian's slender back a zhang away.

A flash of depth crossed his eyes. "Sonic Force!"

Back when he was choosing a master at Longyu Hall, he had ultimately chosen to join Zhu He's school, though he had also hesitated over Lin Youjian at the time. Even then, he had been quite curious about the mystery of Sonic Force.

Seeing Lin Youjian kill eight Suanyu monster birds with a single note just now made him feel even more regretful.

Because Jiang Hanyan was not far from his side, he had had every opportunity to touch Jiang Hanyan's zither during their training. But he had ultimately given up on devouring it because Ancestor Lv Yinlin had already told him that mixed Artistic Conceptions were unfavorable for forming a Dongming.

He had finally, after experiencing life and death in the Wanxiang Cave, fused and refined over a hundred mixed Artistic Conceptions into one. Why bother devouring others?

However, the power of a Dongming Realm powerhouse still left a very deep impression on Duan Rong.

Calculating based on Lin Youjian's combat power in instantly killing eight Suanyu monster birds, he realized that his killing of Xiao Qiwu in the Wanxiang Cave two months ago had truly been a stroke of luck.

After all, cultivators of the Dongming Realm had mastered Law Power; their strength was truly no joke. Back then, in the Wanxiang Cave, if Xiao Qiwu had been given even a single chance to use a move, he would likely have been destroyed, body and soul!

Thinking of this, Duan Rong couldn't help but touch his neck. But the place where the Yinlu Cicada usually hung was now empty.

Before entering the Dark Forest, he had already handed the Yinlu Cicada to Zhu He for safekeeping.

Because the Yinlu Cicada could not be brought into the God-Demon Relic. The Yinlu Cicada contained Law Power that was incompatible with the laws inside the mysterious relic; once brought into the God-Demon Relic, the Yinlu Cicada would self-destruct!

As Duan Rong was touching his empty chest, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that someone was looking at him from the side. He turned his head abruptly, and Su Xinjue's face immediately turned away, her eyes flickering as she looked ahead!

But in that instant just now, Su Xinjue had clearly been staring at him!

Su Xinjue was quite beautiful and alluring; in terms of temperament, she was not as good as Jiang Hanyan, but in terms of temptation, she surpassed Jiang Hanyan by a point.

Duan Rong had been paying attention to her for a long time! During training, Duan Rong knew that Su Xinjue's master was the Sect Elder Shentu Ying!

Su Xinjue was Shentu Ying's personal disciple!

Since Shentu Ying was a dangerous hidden threat to him, then Su Xinjue was likewise a dangerous hidden threat!

In their eight-person team entering the God-Demon Relic, Su Xinjue was the first person Duan Rong had to be careful of!

The God-Demon Relic holds many dangerous variables; it is hard to guarantee this woman does not have the heart to harm him! Why did she look at him just now?

Be careful!?

Duan Rong and the others have already been whistling through the wind, rushing forward for more than ten hours.

Although they are all experts of the Qi Cyclone Realm, once Three Flowers Gather at the Crown is activated, the rich Heaven and Earth Qi within the Dark Forest will continuously gather into their bodies.

In terms of Qi, they will not be exhausted.

However, flying by riding the wind actually consumes quite a bit of Divine Soul, and the whole group looks somewhat fatigued.

At this moment, suddenly, from up ahead, Lin Youjian's voice came over. "Everyone be careful, we are almost at the true hinterland!"

Hearing this, everyone's hearts tightened!

The true hinterland that Lin Youjian spoke of refers to the place where High-Tier Beasts appear; this is the truly extremely dangerous place within the Dark Forest.

Lin Youjian was originally leading the team a zhang ahead of the front, but here he suddenly retreated like a ghost, standing directly by Duan Rong's side, pressing close to their group.

Liu Su, who was bringing up the rear, did the same, pressing close to the end of the line.

Lin Youjian glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Little Duan, back then at Longyu Hall, why did you not choose me as your master? If you had chosen me, you and my Hanyan, one playing the zither and one the flute, wouldn't that have been a beautiful thing?"

Jiang Hanyan, standing nearby, heard this and also glanced at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong said, "Senior Lin, to tell you the truth, I originally wanted to choose you. But I don't play musical instruments, nor do I understand musical temperament. You just killed eight Suanyu monster birds with a single note. If I, who don't understand musical temperament, tried it, I might end up blowing myself to death."

Duan Rong said it in a funny way, and Lin Youjian couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Nonsense!"

In fact, it would not be difficult for him to learn master-level musical temperament through a Devouring Artifact Spirit. It is just that, in the end, he did not walk down that path.

The group traveled for another stretch of road, and both Lin Youjian and Liu Su felt the pressure of faint spatial fluctuations permeating the area not far ahead.

"Careful! We are about to enter the territory of High-Tier Beasts!" From the back of the group, Liu Su's somewhat gloomy voice drifted over.

Everyone's expressions were somewhat solemn, and Jiang Hanyan could not help but lean toward her master, Lin Youjian.

Once they entered that area, Lin Youjian and Liu Su also released their pressure to deter any High-Tier Beasts that might be lurking nearby! Perhaps this method was indeed effective; they traveled for a long time, and although spatial ripples permeated the surroundings from time to time, not a single High-Tier Beast launched an attack on them!

But even so, Lin Youjian and Liu Su did not dare to lower their guard in the slightest. As the instructors for everyone entering the God-Demon Relic this time, if even one person met with an accident in this Dark Forest, the Sect would hold them both accountable.

The group continued to move forward, and the area ahead became increasingly empty; let alone trees, there was not even any turf, leaving only bare, pitch-black soil, like dried silt.

Seeing such geological features, the location of the God-Demon Relic was not far off.

Although Lin Youjian and Liu Su were still full of solemnity, the other eight had already begun to lower their guard, as they were about to reach the location of the God-Demon Relic.

Who wouldn't want to see the true face of this eerie place?

But just at this moment, Lin Youjian suddenly roared, "Back!"

Almost simultaneously, his sleeve flicked, and a great wind sent everyone retreating backward. Duan Rong and the others all adjusted their posture, coordinating with the great wind Lin Youjian suddenly whipped up, and instantly retreated several zhang.

The moment Lin Youjian whipped up that great wind, his entire body soared into the high sky!

And at the same time, where the group had originally been, the pitch-black surface suddenly exploded and churned, and a slimy tentacle, like an octopus tail, stretched out, dancing eerily in mid-air.

And the surface around that tentacle also cracked in many places, with slimy tentacles probing out one after another, wriggling incessantly, quite disgusting...

Liu Su had been following the team, and the moment he saw those tentacles, his eyebrows instantly knitted into a knot. "High-Tier Beast, Ghost Octopus!"

The moment Lin Youjian flew into the high sky, he had already pressed that Green Jade Flute, about seventy centimeters long, to his lips. This time, a faint, lingering melody finally came out from the flute. It was a song, not a single note!

As the sound of the flute permeated, layers of spatial ripples also permeated, spreading toward those tentacles on the ground, and furthermore, passing through those tentacles and spreading deep into the underground...

Those tentacles rolled violently, and muffled roars faintly came from deep underground!

Lin Youjian's flute sound was clearly causing great pain to the High-Tier Beast Ghost Octopus lurking underground!

The Ghost Octopus's tentacles are powerful, but its main body is quite weak, which is why it hides deep underground!

But Lin Youjian's flute sound could pass through the Ghost Octopus's heavy defenses and attack its main body directly!

At this time, the pressure on Liu Su's body was also completely released; he had to prevent this group from being attacked by others at any time, especially now that Lin Youjian was dealing with the Ghost Octopus, his pressure was even greater.

The Ghost Octopus was in quite a bit of pain, coupled with the powerful pressure released by Liu Su. The High-Tier Beast already possessed intelligence and knew it was difficult to gain the upper hand, so it retreated deeper underground.

The dancing tentacles on the surface disappeared, leaving only a few churned mud holes of various sizes...

Seeing the Ghost Octopus retreat, Lin Youjian put away the flute, his figure lunged, and he arrived at the side of the group, his willow-leaf eyebrows raised as he said, "Let's go!"

Immediately, the group resumed their formation, with Lin Youjian leading and Liu Su bringing up the rear, their figures whistling forward.

At this time, the expressions of Duan Rong and the other seven were all very solemn; just a moment ago, if anyone had been coiled by those slimy tentacles of the Ghost Octopus, they would likely have already turned into pus by now...

(End of this chapter)