65: Chapter 65 The Beastly Path Reappears

The final roster for the expedition team was confirmed. Wang Sheng stood in the center of the training grounds, his golden pupils sweeping over everyone present.

• Wang Sheng (Holy Light Warrior · Warrior Rank 4), Captain

• Murong Xue (Holy Light Knight · Warrior Rank 3), Vice-Commander

• Liu Ruyan (Phantom Assassin · Warrior Rank 2), Scout

• Zhao Linger (Spirit Sound Master · Warrior Rank 2), Sonic Support + Intelligence

• Bai Lu (Deer Spirit Archer · Warrior Rank 2), Ranged + Beast Race Perception

• Xiao Yuqing (Rainstorm Archer · Warrior Rank 2), Ranged Firepower

• Elf Archer × 5 (Warrior Rank 1), Formation Ranged Squad

Seven people plus five Elf Archers—a twelve-person elite squad, the strongest combat force Guangming Village could currently mobilize.

Shen Xun'er stood at the edge of the training grounds. The Moonlight Priestess did not wave goodbye like the other villagers; she simply stood there quietly, her moon-white priest robes swaying slightly in the morning breeze.

Her long, raven-black hair draped over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her almond-shaped eyes, moist and clear, watched Wang Sheng's back. There was no worry or reluctance in those eyes, only a trust as calm as moonlight.

She knew he would return.

Su Mengyao stood beside Shen Xun'er. The Nature Druid had injected a wisp of Power of Nature into each Elf Archer before their departure. Emerald-green spirit energy flowed like fine threads from her fingertips into the bodies of every Elf Archer.

The blessing of the Power of Nature lasted for one day, enough to sustain a medium-scale battle. She watched the Elf Archers march away, her emerald eyes filled with the tenderness and reluctance of a mother sending her children off to the battlefield.

Frost Mage Lin Shiyun stood further away. The Frost Mage's figure was hidden in the shadows of the defensive wall, her silver-white hair like a streak of silver light in the gloom. Her ice-blue pupils watched the team depart from the training grounds, her face expressionless.

But her slender fingers were clenched tightly within the sleeves of her mage robes.

Had he brought the ice-chilled spirit waterskin?

She did not step forward to confirm; a Frost Mage would not do such a thing. She simply stood behind, watching the golden team walk out of the gates of Guangming Village in the morning light.

Then, she turned and left, her silver-white hair acting like a cold waterfall as she turned.

Returning to her tent, she would need to rub some ointment on the fingers that had been frozen red by the ice spirit water last night.

Between the outskirts of the Savage Beast Forest and the spirit fields of Guangming Village lay a transition zone of open grassland. The Lingxi River meandered past the east side of the meadow, its spiritual energy nourishing the land and causing waist-high spirit grass to grow. In the morning breeze, it looked like a silver-green ocean rising and falling with the wind.

Past the transition zone was the dense forest, where towering ancient trees blocked out the sky. The trunks were so thick they required five people to encircle them, and the bark was covered in thick moss and spirit fungi. The interlaced branches and leaves formed a natural green dome, allowing sunlight to cast dappled spots of light through the gaps. These light spots jumped and flickered on the dim forest floor like gold coins scattered by some wild, ancient deity.

The air suddenly became humid and cold, filled with the mixed scent of rotting leaves and Savage Beasts. It was an aura that instinctively made one want to grip their weapon—like the oldest warning of the wild continent: This place does not belong to the human race; it belongs to the Savage Beasts.

Wang Sheng walked at the forefront of the team. The golden spirit energy of the Holy Light Warrior circulated slowly within him, like a dormant golden dragon ready to awaken at any moment. His pace was steady and alert, leaving shallow golden footprints on the ground with every step—the resonance between his Holy Light spirit energy and the earth's spirit veins.

Murong Xue followed closely behind him. The Holy Light Knight's silver armor flickered in and out of the dappled light of the forest. She carried a Holy Light Spear slung across her shoulder, the Spirit Rune on the tip of the spear shimmering like a silver star in the shadows. Her brown eyes scanned the tree crowns vigilantly; Savage Beasts were not just on the ground.

Liu Ruyan walked on the flank of the team. The Phantom Assassin's figure was like a wisp of blue smoke, moving silently between the shadows of the trees. Her speed was half a beat faster than the team, maintaining a fifty-meter scouting distance ahead. Every tree trunk, every texture of moss, and every cut on a broken branch was silently recorded and analyzed by her eyes, which were like smoke and mist.

Zhao Linger walked in the middle-rear of the team. A Spirit Sound Master did not need to be in the front; her weapon was sound, and sound had no direction. Her small figure moved nimbly through the roots of the ancient trees. The playful expression on her doll-like face was gone.

In its place was a focus unique to a Spirit Sound Master. Her lips were slightly pursed, like a butterfly listening in the wind. The perception of a Spirit Sound Master was like an invisible net extending in all directions. She was listening: the heartbeat of Savage Beasts, the resonance of trees, the pulse of the spirit veins in the soil—all sounds were within her detection range.

Bai Lu walked on the right flank of the team. The Deer Spirit Archer's beast ears were always slightly pricked, and her golden eyes were like two tiny golden lanterns in the dark forest. Her nostrils twitched continuously, capturing every change in scent in the air.

The beast race's perception of Savage Beast scents was far sharper than that of humans, and Bai Lu's intuition as a Deer Spirit Archer was second to none among all the beast race maidens. The red rope on her white deer antlers swayed gently, looking like a tiny flag from Guangming Village.

Xiao Yuqing and the five Elf Archers brought up the rear. The Rainstorm Archer's neat, short hair swayed slightly in the forest breeze. She and the five Elf Archers maintained a vigilant posture with their bowstrings half-drawn.

The emerald-green spirit bows looked like six faint emerald lanterns in the dim forest, and the glimmer of the Power of Nature on the bowstrings looked like ripples of emerald green.

The team advanced in silence for about half a mile.

Liu Ruyan suddenly raised her hand to signal a stop.

Her movement was extremely light, just a slight lift of her right hand with her five fingers spread, but the entire team stopped in unison as if under a paralysis spell the moment they saw the gesture. Murong Xue's Holy Light Spear sank half an inch,

Xiao Yuqing's bowstring pulled taut, and Zhao Linger's lips parted slightly, the spirit energy of her Spirit Sound Technique building up in her throat.

Liu Ruyan squatted down, her fingers brushing over a piece of seemingly ordinary moss on the ground. The Phantom Assassin's eyesight was the strongest among them all; her eyes were like a pair of blades tempered by shadows,

capable of capturing details in the faintest light that ordinary people would absolutely never see.

"Shadow Beast Path."

Her voice was kept very low, like a sigh in the dark night.

"It's the same as the one we found in the forest last time, but wider."

Wang Sheng squatted down to look. Beneath the moss was a very fine, dark purple pattern. If not for the Phantom Assassin's eyesight, it would have been impossible to discover. This pattern snaked deep into the forest,

like a vein of shadows pulsating beneath the ground. The dark purple glimmer, concealed by the moss, was like a venomous snake slinking along.

He remembered this pattern.

When they first explored the Savage Beast Forest, Liu Ruyan had discovered the same dark purple pattern—a Shadow Beast Path. At that time, they did not know what this meant, thinking it was just some migration route for Savage Beasts. But now...