628: Chapter 628 Aoki Tsubone

"Our current location should be in this primeval forest on the very edge of the Spirit Realm." Su Ming pointed to the dot. "According to Qing Yan's memory, this forest is called the Gloomlight Forest. It is the gathering place for those glowing, bloodthirsty plants we see now."

His finger traced a long line upward.

"To the north is the core territory of the Dark Current Sect, known as the Gloom Abyss Valley. That place is absolutely a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, teeming with experts from the Dark Current Sect. If we walk over there, we are just courting death."

Next, his finger turned to the right and drew a slightly larger circle on the ground.

"To the east, about a thousand miles away, there is a large settlement of the Spirit Race called the Green Wood Court." Su Ming looked up at Lin Yu, who was hovering in mid-air. "Master, Qing Yan's memory mentioned that it is the territory of the Neutral Faction."

Lin Yu nodded slightly, a glint of contemplation flashing across his soul body.

"The Neutral Faction... those old fossils who transformed into spirits from vegetation. They do not participate in the civil war, and while their territory is relatively xenophobic, it is also relatively safe." Lin Yu stroked his chin. "The reach of the Dark Current Sect cannot easily extend into the depths of the Green Wood Court."

"Not only that." Su Ming's eyes flickered with calculating light. "The Green Wood Court has an underground tree city established by Elder Muxin, a Spirit Race powerhouse who transformed from a ten-thousand-year-old banyan tree. This Elder Muxin has a gentle temperament and does not harbor the extreme hatred for the Human Race that the Dark Current Sect does. He is the only power we might be able to secure protection from at the moment."

Su Ming drew a straight line on the ground pointing from the Gloomlight Forest to the Green Wood Court.

"I have decided to head east. We will go and scout near the Green Wood Court." Su Ming tapped the ground, making his decision.

"The plan sounds decent." Lin Yu snorted coldly, unceremoniously pouring a bucket of cold water on it. "But have you forgotten the most fundamental problem? You are currently reeking of a pure Human Race scent from head to toe, inside and out."

Lin Yu's soul body floated in front of Su Ming, looking down at him from above.

"In this Spirit Realm, you are like a burning torch in the night. Forget about walking to the Green Wood Court; you wouldn't even make it ten miles out of this Gloomlight Forest before those bloodthirsty Spirit Beasts gnawed you down until not even your bones were left."

Su Ming fell silent.

Indeed, the Corpse Decay Powder could only mask his scent temporarily, enough to fool the low-level plants and insects outside. When encountering truly intelligent Spirit Race beings or high-level Spirit Beasts, such crude camouflage was simply vulnerable.

"The scent problem must be solved at its root." Su Ming's brows were tightly locked, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the Storage Pouch again.

Just then, Shadow, who had been lying on the ground, stunned by the excess Spiritual Qi, suddenly burped and spat out a small puff of pure white mist. It wobbled as it stood up, walked to Su Ming's feet like a drunkard, rubbed its head against Su Ming's pant leg, and let out a faint "chiu chiu" sound.

Su Ming looked down at Shadow, watching the strange halo on its body that had appeared because it had absorbed a small amount of source essence, and a flash of lightning-like inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

"Master." Su Ming jerked his head up, his eyes erupting with startling brightness. "What if, instead of covering up my scent, I used the Life Essence that is ubiquitous in this Spirit Realm to weave an active outer garment on my body?"

Lin Yu was stunned.

"Weave an outer garment using Life Essence?"

"Yes!" The more Su Ming thought about it, the more he felt this crazy idea was feasible. "I cannot absorb Life Essence because the Law rejects me. But I am an Array Master! I can treat the fluctuations of the Life Law as a natural material for a Formation."

Su Ming stood up and paced back and forth in the narrow crevice, speaking extremely fast.

"I will use Ruoshui Spiritual Power to engrave a miniature assimilation Array Pattern on the surface of my skin. I won't introduce the Life Essence into my body; I will only attract them, letting them form a closed circulation layer on my skin. In this way, to the outside world, I will be a Spirit Race creature radiating pure Life Law, perfectly blending into this world!"

After a long while, Lin Yu finally squeezed out a sentence, his voice filled with undisguised shock: "How exactly is your brain wired, kid? Using the Laws of Heaven and Earth as clothing? You actually dare to think of such crazy nonsense!"

"The first principle of The Way of Cautious Survival is to harmonize with the light and integrate with the dust." Su Ming retorted calmly and sat down cross-legged again. "As long as I don't touch their core and only borrow their outward appearance, it won't trigger rejection. This requires precise micro-control, but my Divine Sense has already been lit, which is enough to support such delicate operations."

Su Ming did not hesitate at all; he took out the Jade Slip that recorded Qing Yan's intelligence from his Storage Pouch. He pressed the Jade Slip to his forehead and confirmed the coordinates of the Green Wood Court and the characteristics of Elder Muxin once again.

"Coordinates confirmed correct."

Su Ming carefully put away the Jade Slip, then took a deep breath and formed complex hand seals in front of his chest again.

"Master, I am ready to begin the first experiment with the Life Essence camouflage Array Patterns. Please protect me; if there are any signs of violent backlash, immediately use your Soul Power to cut off my connection with the outside world!"

Watching Su Ming's swift and decisive manner, Lin Yu sighed faintly in mid-air.

Just as Su Ming was about to enter a state of meditation.

"By the way, Disciple."

Lin Yu's voice suddenly rang out in the Sea of Consciousness, carrying a rare hint of seriousness and a playful warning.

Su Ming paused and opened his eyes: "Please speak, Master."

"When you arrive at the Green Wood Court, if you are lucky enough to actually see that Elder Muxin..." Lin Yu snorted coldly, his tone revealing a sense of world-weary desolation. "Absolutely, under no circumstances, mention Qing Yan's name."

Su Ming frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled: "Why? Isn't he the last Elder of the Qiming Sect? Does the Neutral Faction not like the Qiming Sect either?"

"They might sympathize with the Qiming Sect." Lin Yu's illusory mouth curled into a mocking sneer. "But what kind of person was Qing Yan? A suicide spy for the Dark Current Sect! A peerless conman who cheated both sides! Do you think his petty business could really be hidden from those old tree spirits who have lived for tens of thousands of years?"

Lin Yu's voice became chillingly cold.

"The label of a spy is the most detestable in any realm. If you use his name to try and get close..."

Lin Yu rolled his eyes inside the xuantian ring. Although the soul body made this action look somewhat comical, his tone was incomparably icy.

"They will likely just take you as a new scout sent by the Dark Current Sect, won't even give you a chance to explain, and will crush you on the spot to bury you as fertilizer for their flowers. Remember, you are just a lost, harmless Formation Cultivator."

Su Ming felt a chill in his heart, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master. This Disciple will remember it."

He withdrew all his focus and stopped speaking.

In the narrow rock crevice, the deep blue Ruoshui Spiritual Power began to flow slowly over Su Ming's body. Like thousands of slender knitting needles, they were attempting to weave the wildest Life Law under this alien sky into an impeccable survival cloak.

Outside the crevice, in the dense fog deep within the Gloomlight Forest, pairs of scarlet eyes were gradually awakening, accompanied by hair-raising chewing sounds, waiting for the night to descend completely.

In this crisis-ridden Spirit Realm, the true exploration had only just begun.