Chapter 305: Death Forest Sea

We traversed the star realm to return to the teleportation array in the ruins.

Seeing the palace mostly collapsed and smelling a sharp stench of rot, Lei En not only felt no discomfort but let out a long sigh of relief.

Bulaimit sneezed twice in a row and complained, "Why are we in such a hurry to leave the Storm Temple? I still want to discuss some new archaeological findings with Suolim."

Lei En, still uneasy, replied, "I'm afraid if I stay longer, Elder Suolim will lose control and cut me down."

The dwarf shook his head, "Suo Lim wouldn't go that far against you."

"Who knows? He's a demigod." Lei En shrugged; even the Titan Elder, however good‑tempered, would feel anger upon realizing he originally intended to hunt the Storm Giant.

To trade for source crystals, Suolim indeed wouldn't likely kill me, but casually hurling two bolts of lightning as punishment would be unbearable.

A demigod's thoughts are beyond mortal speculation.

Keeping a greater distance is safer.

Lei En decided privately that even after gathering source crystals, he would wait longer, trading with Suolim only after his temper cooled.

The two emerged from the cave entrance, and the valley was pitch black.

Kar Peak, under the night sky, loomed like a massive wall blocking most of the stars.

This lay within the ancient red dragon's domain; the two dared not linger and slipped down the mountain in the dark. Once more they rode the back of an Earth Bear for over two hours, returning to the remote valley where the Extreme Warriors waited.

"Boss." Kro Nuan stepped out from the camp.

【5】 It was already deep night, and now it was his turn to stand guard.

It's already deep night, and now it's his turn to stand guard.

As the original body, Lei En could be sensed by every symbiont for his location and safety; the four Extreme Warriors awoke and arranged dinner for him and Bulaimit.

With wine and food plentiful, Lei En slipped into his own tent to rest.

But he felt no drowsiness, took out the booklet Suolim had given and began leafing through it.

The booklet's entire content concerned source crystals, listing in detail possible production sites. This rare metal is a by‑product ore, with four main deposit types: silver ore, volcanic rock ore, ash coal ore, and sulfur crystal ore.

Other deposits might also host source crystals, but the probability is far lower.

The booklet described in great detail the morphology when source crystals mixed with other minerals, how to discern and extract them, methods to estimate reserves, and the ore grades, among other things.

Finally it offered a set of processes for refining source crystals; these were not complex, differing little from common industrial smelting techniques, merely tweaking certain steps.

Lei En closed it after reading.

Though thin, the booklet covered a lot, showing how deeply the giant clan had studied source crystals—it was undoubtedly their exclusive craft.

He pondered briefly; source crystals were certainly worth collecting.

However, most of the Empire's mines were controlled by the Mechanical Guild, so it seemed he'd have to enlist Akaland's aid, uncertain whether rivals existed.

As for refining source crystals, that was his greatest advantage.

With the over‑heavenly ability to activate metal, he needed no crystal‑refining furnace; he could manually extract source crystals of nearly 100% purity.

He spent the night in the camp.

At dawn after breakfast, Lei En looked at the dwarf and asked, "Bulaimit, where are you headed next? Back to Rongyanbao or back to the Storm to see Elder Suolim?"

"We'll leave the Storm Temple for another time," Bulaimit thought, "I just left Rongyanbao not long ago, not in a rush to return; how about we hunt together in the Death Forest Sea?"

His tone sounded as if it were a picnic outing.

Lei En laughed, "The Death Forest Sea isn't a safe place; I'd advise you not to risk adventure with me."

"I'm the greatest hunter; I've been to the Death Forest Sea countless times, as familiar as my own home. If you worry about me, you'd better worry about the beasts in the forest." Bulaimit sneered, confidently patted the long‑barrel soul‑gun on his back, embraced the Earth Bear and leapt onto a Flame Dragon.

"Alright."

Lei En shrugged indifferently, nodding; having a legendary hunter familiar with the terrain would surely help.

The five‑headed Flame Dragon took off, soaring toward the northeast.

The Death Forest Sea lay not far from Kar Peak; even on foot it was only a two‑day trek. The Flame Dragon flew just half a day, crossing the northwest corner of Seien Plateau, and an endless primeval forest appeared on the horizon ahead.

From high above, the terrain below dropped sharply, forming a massive basin the size of two or three Empire provinces.

The entire basin was cloaked in forest, as if filled with green sea water, hence the name Forest Sea.

Back when Lei En attended the Transcendent Academy, he often heard classmates mention the Death Forest Sea.

It was the favorite soul‑hunting zone for newly‑ranked transcendants, because the Forest Sea lay relatively close to the Empire and teemed with species, mainly demonic beasts, insects, and birds; staying only on its outskirts rarely brought encounters with especially powerful foes, making it far less dangerous than the New Continent.

In the Empire's markets, the majority of demon souls originated from the Death Forest Sea.

Of course, most of those demon souls were merely initial stage, a few mid‑stage, and high‑stage ones were scarce.

Venturing deep into the Death Forest Sea, one could very likely encounter green dragons.

According to seasoned adventurers, the depths of the Death Forest Sea house at least twenty green dragons, each staking its own territory. Green dragons are highly cunning true dragons, possessing intelligence surpassing ordinary humans, adept at employing all sorts of conspiratorial traps against foes, enslaving numerous sentient races as minions, ruling lands, or simply for amusement.

Thus caravans passing through Sokurode generally detour, traveling beneath the Sky Mountains at the north of the Death Forest Sea to avoid green‑dragon raids.

Lei En's objective this trip, "Isimu River Valley," lay in the southwest of the Death Forest Sea.

The valley remained on the Forest Sea's outskirts, yet close to its interior.

Upon entering the Forest Sea, the temperature rose sharply, much warmer than on Seien Plateau; the view was all green, starkly different from the Shi Jie Shan Mai scenery.

Lei En inhaled on the dragon's back, his mouth filled with fresh primordial scent.

Looking down, every inch of land was cloaked in vegetation; towering trees hundreds of meters tall dotted the area, their dense canopy making even sunlight struggle to penetrate.

He activated the Sound of All Things, and countless sound waves streamed into his ears.

He didn't need his eyes; the chorus of bird calls, insect chirps, beast roars, and wind formed a vibrant world, refreshing to the senses.

An ordinary transcendent would never dare to fly so boldly in the Death Forest Sea; they would proceed cautiously on the forest floor.

But Lei En need not be so cautious.

The five‑headed Flame Dragon, a high‑tier sky‑dragon, moving as a unit, could still stride across the Forest Sea's outskirts, with few monsters daring to approach.

Lei En also spotted traces of several soul‑hunting squads.

When the Flame Dragon swooped over them, they scattered in panic, scrambling into bushes or caves for shelter.

Once the dragon was far, they realized someone was on its back, raising a middle finger toward the sky and uttering a God's Curse.

Lei En heard it crystal‑clear and simply smiled it off.

In the afternoon, they arrived at Ismu River Valley.

Bulaimit possessed a crude map of the Death Forest Sea; after studying it for a while, he sketched the approximate extent of the valley, centering on a winding river and its two banks, the whole valley covering over a thousand square li.

The Flame Dragon flew once over the valley but gained nothing.

From the sky only the treetops were visible; the ground was blocked, and nothing could be found at all.

"Go down."

Lei En had the Flame Dragon land on an open riverbank.

The party had just touched down when, with a splash, a dozen huge long‑snouted demon crocodiles burst from the river, gaping their blood‑filled mouths and lunging forward.

These demon crocodiles had two extra legs compared to ordinary crocodiles, six legs that ran extremely fast; the largest was over ten meters long, its mouth filled with sharp fangs, spewing a cloud of foul poisonous gas. They were a family group, cooperating seamlessly; a dozen of them closed in from multiple directions, with three circling behind, forming an encirclement.

Despite the enemy's fierce onslaught, not a single one panicked.

Bulaimit shouted a warning: "Watch out for their toxic gas; it has a paralyzing effect."

"Got it, close your eyes."

Lei En, with a calm expression, drew his Arcane Flood Staff, raised it slightly, and the deep‑blue sapphire at its tip burst into a flash of white light like a lamp.

The Extreme Warriors and the Flame Dragon promptly closed their eyes.

Intense light flared, filling the forest within a hundred‑meter radius; instantly, every long‑snouted demon crocodile was dazzled, falling into a brief blind state and scurrying about like headless flies.

Four Extreme Warriors brandished their great swords and charged forward, beginning a slaughter.