55: Chapter 55 Deep into the Forest

"If they can't be bought, then forget it. In a few days, I plan to head deep into Wantai Forest. Perhaps I'll be able to find water cloud vine and red snake gall."

Nie Ning sighed, stood up, and walked over to the window.

He wasn't good at fawning over others, nor did he have anything of sufficient value in his hands. In that case, it was better to take a look around Wantai Forest first.

If he was lucky, he might not even need to seek out those noble lords.

Hearing this, Borton paused for a moment.

"Why not try buying them somewhere else?"

Exotic beasts gathered in the depths of Wantai Forest; even creatures like the Frenzied Giant Bear had been driven out. Not even High-Tier Knights dared to venture deep inside, and for ordinary people, entering meant certain death.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in Nie Ning, but rather that the place was simply too dangerous. One wrong move and he would die there.

Nie Ning pondered for a long while before ultimately deciding to make a trip to Wantai Forest.

"Even if I go to Wantai Forest, I might not necessarily find them. Keep trying to purchase them; in the end, I might still have to rely on you."

Exotic beasts usually didn't leave Wantai Forest; in recent years, only one Frenzied Giant Bear had emerged.

Besides needing promotion materials, he was also short on crystal cores, lest he lack enough mana to promote to a First-Ring Wizard later on.

Thus, this trip was imperative; it was merely a matter of time.

Seeing that he couldn't dissuade Nie Ning, Borton stopped dwelling on the matter.

Everyone had their own path to walk. As an ordinary person, he couldn't help a genius knight like Nie Ning much.

...

After leaving Wantai Forest, Nie Ning visited the residential area where Mrs. Terry lived once again.

No more accidents had occurred here since Mrs. Terry's passing. The only unusual place was the lake in the nearby forest.

After so much time, the surrounding trees seemed to have been affected, with those within a hundred-meter radius turning withered and black.

Warning signs were posted on the nearby trees; clearly, someone had noticed this place.

After walking a circle around the lake and finding no sign of the culprit behind the regional mutation, Nie Ning could only return to Hervais Manor.

...

Three days later.

Deep within Wantai Forest.

After walking for a day and a night, Nie Ning passed through the dense forest, and the view before him suddenly opened up.

High mountains and flowing water, lush vegetation—it was magnificent.

At this moment, Nie Ning stood atop a cliff several hundred meters high.

In the distance was still an endless forest, but the variety of flora had clearly increased.

Moreover, unknown birds flew across the sky from time to time, and various beastly roars echoed from within the forest.

"No wonder the exotic beasts don't leave; the environment here is much better than outside."

Gazing at the beautiful scenery in the distance, Nie Ning couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

He had originally thought it was because exotic beasts were rare that they seldom left the depths of the forest.

But looking at it now, they simply had no need to leave; the resources inside were sufficient to sustain them.

Meanwhile, the cities were crowded and polluted; exotic beasts probably wouldn't even want to live there if given the chance.

...

Shaking his head slightly, Nie Ning leaped down.

When he was about a hundred meters from the ground, Nie Ning thrust his scabbard into the rock face to slow his descent.

Then, using the protruding rocks on the cliff, he reached the ground in a few bounds.

*Ding~*

Nie Ning looked down and found that he had stepped on a small green snake that was biting him; the sound was from the snake's bite hitting his leg armor.

Although he had returned this set of armor to Borton last time, Nie Ning had borrowed the repaired armor again because the depths of Wantai Forest were too dangerous.

Not caring much, Nie Ning kicked the little green snake away.

Nie Ning had already eaten this kind of snake before; eating more would have no effect.

Continuing into the forest, Nie Ning soon encountered a Colorful Copper Raccoon.

The Colorful Copper Raccoon wasn't an exotic beast, but a creature with color-changing abilities that looked similar to a raccoon.

The moment it saw Nie Ning appear, the Colorful Copper Raccoon seemed startled, its fur changing colors like neon lights.

Nie Ning found it somewhat amusing and walked straight past the little cutie.

The Colorful Copper Raccoon's color-changing ability came from its fur. Supernatural Adaptability didn't guarantee gaining such an ability, and Nie Ning didn't want a mess of fur growing on his body anyway.

Besides, for experts, merely changing colors wasn't very useful; anyone with sharp eyes could see right through it.

As he continued deeper into the jungle, most of the vegetation inside was not found outside.

However, Nie Ning didn't dare to eat things blindly.

Poison resistance wasn't omnipotent. Nie Ning's poison resistance mainly came from the food he had eaten over the years; if he ate something extremely toxic, he would still kick the bucket.

...

After wandering for an hour, there were plenty of rare animals, but exotic beasts were scarcer than Nie Ning had imagined.

Along the way, he hadn't encountered a single one.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Nie Ning scanned his surroundings and finally chose a large tree.

Relying on his outstanding strength, he quickly built a simple treehouse.

Nie Ning nodded with satisfaction as he looked at his treehouse.

He had to admit, if he had possessed this kind of strength before transmigrating, he would have been able to carry more bricks than anyone else.

Just as Nie Ning was admiring his masterpiece, he suddenly heard the sound of a creature running.

Nie Ning looked around and quickly identified the direction; it seemed to be heading straight for him.

As the sound grew louder, accompanied even by the sound of trees being snapped, Nie Ning immediately drew his sword.

Suddenly, an earth-yellow creature with red tusks, resembling an elephant but without a trunk, burst out.

Red Fang Beast!

Seemingly startled by Nie Ning, the Red Fang Beast blindly crashed into the tree where Nie Ning had built his treehouse.

*Crack~*

The large tree was snapped directly by the Red Fang Beast's terrifying strength.

Nie Ning's eyes widened. Holding his longsword, he leaped into the air, intending to land on the Red Fang Beast's back.

But then, a section of the ground bulged, and an earthen pillar rose abruptly, knocking Nie Ning into the air.

Before Nie Ning could land, the Red Fang Beast slammed into him.

Under the Red Fang Beast's terrifying force, Nie Ning was sent flying into the bushes, stopping only after crashing through several trees in succession.

Nie Ning couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

His current strength was even greater than when he hunted the Frenzied Giant Bear, yet he had been injured by a smooth combo from a Red Fang Beast.

I was careless!

Feeling the dented armor on his chest, the longsword in Nie Ning's hand turned fiery red in an instant.

Sensing danger, the Red Fang Beast stomped its front hooves, and several earthen spikes immediately rose from the ground, shooting toward Nie Ning.

Relying on his Shadow Gliding Steps, Nie Ning easily dodged the earthen spikes and rapidly closed in on the Red Fang Beast.

Seeing this, the Red Fang Beast lowered its head, tusks aimed at Nie Ning, and charged at him.

Naturally, Nie Ning wouldn't compete in physical constitution with an exotic beast.

Even if a Red Fang Beast was weaker than a Frenzied Giant Bear, it wasn't something he could just take head-on.

...