88: Into the Dark Forest

"Please, Senior Brother Ye, lead us all to find that dead scoundrel!"

"Please, Senior Brother Ye, make your move..."

Everyone echoed their agreement. Ordinarily, Ye Bufan would have been too lazy to bother with this matter, but this time was different.

"Good!"

Ye Bufan stood at the very front and asked, "Junior Brothers, do you have any important clues?"

Just then, a clever-looking fellow stepped forward and said, "Senior Brother Ye, I've uncovered an important clue."

"Ah, it's Junior Brother Bao from Yuheng Peak. Please, speak."

Junior Brother Bao's name was Bao Bujing, also known as Bao Dading, and sometimes called the Heavenly Dao Sect's Baixiaosheng, very skilled at gathering information.

Bao Bujing immediately became the center of attention. He quite enjoyed it, stroking his chin and saying, "The Dark Forest."

"The Dark Forest???"

"Yes! It's the Dark Forest. The Sect Master went to the Dark Forest before, and when he returned, he was pregnant. Don't you think the target we're looking for might be in the Dark Forest?"

"That makes sense."

"That dead scoundrel is very likely hiding in the Dark Forest."

"We must..."

Everyone chattered away, making perfect sense, and finally reached a consensus, locking onto their target: the Dark Forest.

Ye Bufan asked, "Junior Brothers, the Dark Forest is vast and boundless. Where do we even begin to look?"

At this moment, a somewhat shifty-looking fellow stepped forward, though he was surprisingly holding a small puppy in his arms.

"Senior Brother Ye, I might have a way for this."

"And you are, Junior Brother?"

The shifty man cupped his hands and said, "From Kaiyang Peak, Snow Thousand Search, especially skilled in tracking."

Hearing this, Ye Bufan was overjoyed. It seemed the Heavenly Dao Sect truly was a place where hidden Dragons and crouching Tigers resided, full of talented individuals.

"Excellent! What do you need to do, Junior Brother?"

Snow Thousand Search confidently patted the puppy in his arms and said, "It all depends on it. Don't underestimate it. It's said to have the Bloodline of the Divine Beast Howling Celestial Dog, and it can distinguish 128,000 different scents."

"Also... if it sniffs the Sect Master's scent, it can find anyone the Sect Master has come into contact with, as well as places the Sect Master has visited."

"Really?"

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Suddenly, someone asked:

"Junior Brother, how can we let your dog sniff the Sect Master's scent?"

Snow Thousand Search quickly interrupted, "It's not a dog, it's my companion, named Xiaotian."

"As for the Sect Master's scent, well, hehehe... you don't need to worry about that."

"Brother, tell us, did you somehow get your hands on..."

Ye Bufan suddenly felt as if he had swallowed a fly. This Junior Brother seemed a bit improper.

"Everyone, quiet down. We still have important matters to attend to."

Ye Bufan still commanded great authority. With a wave of his hand, he divided the group into seven small teams. They would disperse into the Dark Forest, and if they encountered danger or found the target, they were to immediately send a message to notify the other teams.

Ye Bufan personally led Snow Thousand Search.

"Let's go, set off."

"Kill!"

This group of people was truly arrogant and audacious. Not long ago, a major battle had just erupted in the Dark Forest, and many Cultivators dared not set foot in it.

It must be said that these Genius Disciples were truly courageous.

In Dragon Abyss, Li Daoxuan was preparing to leave. Although his strength was not yet powerful enough.

However, he really couldn't wait any longer. He had to go to the Ice Palace to rescue his wife.

Li Daoxuan also knew that the best way was for him to marry more wives and have more children, but having children wasn't something that could be done just by wanting to.

As for marrying more wives?

Where were there any targets now! He couldn't just keep trying to get more from the Heavenly Dao Sect, or his Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers would tear him apart.

If he didn't go out, how could he meet better targets?

Li Daoxuan had already planned everything. Finding the Ice Palace wouldn't happen overnight. After leaving Dragon Abyss, he would head north.

Then, while 'improving' his strength, he would search for traces of the Ice Palace.

Li Daoxuan suddenly thought of his Beast Tamer talent, but he hadn't had a chance to use it yet.

Although the outer perimeter of Dragon Abyss was protected by a natural mist illusion array, it still wasn't entirely safe.

If he could subdue a few Yao Beasts and have them guard the perimeter of Dragon Abyss, it could also prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Thinking of it, he immediately got to work. There were many Yao Beasts in the Dark Forest.

Li Daoxuan spoke briefly with his wives, then left Dragon Abyss and directly entered the Dark Forest.

Li Daoxuan was currently a third-rank Beast Tamer, which meant he could only subdue three third-rank Yao Beasts. Third-rank Yao Beasts had strength comparable to a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

However, Li Daoxuan was a Five Elements Spiritual Body, and all his Five Elements Spiritual Roots had reached Earth Rank High Grade, coupled with a Heaven Rank Low Grade Lightning Spiritual Root. Whether it was the richness of his magical power or the strength of his Primordial Spirit, it was hundreds of times that of an ordinary Cultivator.

Li Daoxuan felt that he could completely control four fourth-rank Low Grade Yao Beasts.

Upon entering the Dark Forest, Li Daoxuan became especially cautious.

However, what puzzled Li Daoxuan was that he had walked so far, yet hadn't encountered a single Yao Beast.

He continued deeper!

"These are traces left by someone fighting a Yao Beast?"

As Li Daoxuan delved deeper into the Dark Forest, he noticed many battle traces along the way.

It was hard to say whether Li Daoxuan was lucky or unlucky.

The path Li Daoxuan took happened to be the path taken by a team from the Heavenly Dao Sect. Along the way, any Yao Beasts of considerable strength had either been killed or driven away by the enraged Heavenly Dao Sect Disciples.

Li Daoxuan also sensed something was amiss and decided to change direction.

This time, Li Daoxuan was lucky. He encountered many Yao Beasts along the way, but their strength was a bit low.

At this moment, Li Daoxuan entered a dense forest, a forest so thick that sunlight couldn't penetrate it. Inside, it was like night.

Li Daoxuan immediately became alert. This dense forest was simply too silent.

Whoosh~

A shadowy figure flashed by, rushing towards Li Daoxuan. Li Daoxuan's eyes couldn't even catch the figure; he only twisted his body instinctively.

Bang~

Rip~

Li Daoxuan felt a burning pain on his back, followed by a chilling sensation.

"What the hell was that?"

Li Daoxuan quickly turned his head, but saw nothing. His Divine Sense search also yielded no results.

Li Daoxuan reached back and touched his back. His clothes were torn and damp.

"Hiss~ Is this a claw mark?"

"Good thing my Physical Body is tough; it just scraped off a bit of skin."

Li Daoxuan exclaimed his good fortune. The Dark Forest was indeed full of dangers. That thing was aiming for his neck; it was a good thing he dodged.

Li Daoxuan immediately became interested. This fellow was quite intriguing.

It was skilled at sneak attacks, could merge with the darkness, was incredibly fast, and could interfere with Divine Sense detection when concealing its tracks.

This looked exactly like the best guardian sent by Heaven to him.

Dragon Abyss was already shrouded in mist. If he put this guy near Dragon Abyss, it would simply be...

"Little fellow, come here for me."

Li Daoxuan even made a provocative gesture.

Seeing no movement, Li Daoxuan couldn't help but want to provoke it.

"If you don't come out, I'm leaving."

Li Daoxuan made to leave, deliberately showing his back to it.

Whoosh~