“Ah,” a painful scream reached Xu Zimo’s ears just as he stepped into the forest.
Turning his head, he saw a corpse hanging from a tree branch not far away, obscured by the dense forest.
Judging by the clothes, it was a disciple from Scenery Heaven Mountain.
The tree branch had pierced through his back and chest, ripping his heart out.
Then, the tree actually grew eyes and a mouth. It tossed the heart into its mouth and began eating, grinning sinisterly at Xu Zimo.
“Provoking me?” Xu Zimo raised an eyebrow slightly. With a single palm strike, the tree didn’t even have time to react before it was annihilated.
Xu Zimo noticed something interesting: he had only taken a few steps into the forest, but now he couldn’t even find the way out.
It was as if the forest itself was shifting and changing constantly.
…………
Meanwhile, deeper in the Demon Mist Forest, Xue Qingming led a group of disciples from Grand Heaven Mountain, desperately fleeing.
“Senior Brother Xue, what should we do?” a disciple asked anxiously beside him.
“This forest is likely not that simple. Running around without any pattern won’t get us far.”
“It’s all the fault of those Jade Heaven Mountain people, they set us up,” another disciple said with a cold snort.
“Fellow disciples from the same sect, and they still tried to send us to our deaths.”
“Don’t you know the rules? Life or death doesn’t matter,” Xue Qingming said calmly.
“If you encounter danger, don’t hesitate, crush the spatial talisman immediately.”
They kept fleeing while staying on high alert, eyes darting in all directions.
Suddenly, a tree branch lashed at them from not far away.
Before they could dodge, countless tree branches rose from beneath their feet, surrounding them tightly.
“What kind of hellish place is this?” a disciple cursed.
Four or five disciples brandished their swords, slashing at the branches. But the branches seemed to regenerate, endless and relentless.
Not only that, the surrounding mist grew even thicker.
It became impossible to see clearly, which made the attacks from the branches even more erratic and dangerous.
“If this continues, we’ll all be trapped to death in here,” a disciple said anxiously.
“What else can we do? This is all we’ve got,” Xue Qingming replied.
As the branches multiplied, it became harder and harder to advance.
After about ten minutes, the group found themselves completely surrounded by a wall of dense branches.
Entwined and layered, inside and out.
What was worse, thorns began to sprout on the branches.
One disciple was grazed by a thorn and instantly melted into a puddle of thick fluid.
“Crush the talismans,” Xue Qingming said helplessly.
“We waited ten years for the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering, and it ends like this?” a disciple said bitterly.
“Then keep resisting if you want to die,” Xue Qingming said coldly. “Only by staying alive do you have unlimited hope.”
“Oh? Things are lively over here,” a light laugh suddenly broke the tense atmosphere.
A flash of sword light, formless and sharp, sliced through the prison of branches into fragments.
Everyone looked up in surprise and saw Xu Zimo standing to the side, watching with interest.
“Senior Brother Lin... Lin Qiu?” a disciple said in shock.
“You’re not leaving? Want to get trapped again?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Oh, right,” four disciples snapped back to their senses and quickly escaped through the opening.
“Just now, you-” Xue Qingming looked at Xu Zimo with a complicated expression.
That slash just now, its power, he knew he couldn’t do that himself.
“Something to say?” Xu Zimo asked indifferently.
“No, nothing,” Xue Qingming lowered his head, his expression unreadable, and shook it slightly.
“Senior Brother Lin, you’ve got to stand up for us,” a disciple nearby said, nearly in tears.
“Stand up for what? You were stupid, and now you blame someone else?” Xu Zimo retorted.
That disciple was left speechless.
“Have you seen Shen Lang from Jade Heaven Mountain?” Xu Zimo asked.
“You mean Jade Heaven’s First Blade?” a disciple replied.
“We saw him. He was the one who led us into this Demon Mist Forest.”
“Take me to him,” Xu Zimo said.
“He went north just now. But we have to get out of this forest first,” Xue Qingming said.
“That’s simple,” Xu Zimo raised his hand, and a ball of flame formed in his palm.
“Wildfire,” he called out softly. Instantly, the flame surged into a sea of fire, spreading out and igniting the entire forest.
Crackling sounds echoed all around as the fire blazed a path ahead.
The surrounding trees came to life, extending branches to try to extinguish the flames.
But this was no ordinary fire. Anything it touched was instantly incinerated.
“I know you can hear me. Open a path, and I’ll extinguish the flames. If not, I don’t mind burning this forest down,” Xu Zimo said calmly.
Moments after his words fell, the giant trees in the forest began to move.
A path opened up instantly, and even the mist around them was dispersed.
“This...” the others stared in shock at the scene.
“Senior Brother Lin, earlier how did you-” a disciple stared at Xu Zimo in a daze.
“How did I get so strong?” Xu Zimo smiled.
“No, I mean how were you hiding it so well,” the disciple rephrased awkwardly.
Xu Zimo shook his head slightly. He couldn’t very well tell them that his former self really had been useless.
The misty forest continued shifting, but after walking a short distance, they found the exit.
Looking back, the forest faded into the mist, disappearing from view.
“Which direction?” Xu Zimo asked calmly.
“North,” Xue Qingming pointed ahead. “But he’s not alone, there are several Jade Heaven Mountain disciples with him.”
“No problem,” Xu Zimo shook his head and walked north.
…………
Atop Dao Mountain, watching this unfold, many frowned.
“Mountain Master Lin, your son sure is hiding deep,” Wang Yuntian commented.
“Qiu’er...” Lin Beisheng frowned slightly, suddenly recalling what Xu Zimo had said earlier.
How he had killed Yang Cheng, how he had fought Lin Feng, the Imperial Son, he spoke so easily, but where had that confidence come from?
Countless thoughts raced through Lin Beisheng’s mind. He found himself more and more unable to see through this son of his.
“So it really was him,” Mu Changge at the front frowned as well.
In his heart, he confirmed that Xu Zimo was the one who had killed the Green Flood Dragon. He had only suspected before, after all, Xu Zimo was still so young…