Chapter 459: You Two Will Get This Old Lady Killed Sooner or Later!

One group had barely left when another arrived. Not long after those people departed, three more Myriad Beasts Sect disciples appeared. They were none other than Chao Shenghuai and the He brothers.

The three looked over the area where trees had been knocked crooked and broken during the fighting. He Youjian asked Niu Youdao's group, "What happened here?"

Niu Youdao answered, "Someone tried to capture Butterfly Rakshasas and suffered the backlash."

"Were they with you?"

"No. We were only passing by and stopped to watch."

"Which sect are you from?"

"We have no sect."

The three fellow disciples exchanged a glance. He Youjian continued, "First time inside, here to broaden your horizons?"

Niu Youdao replied, "Yes."

Chao Shenghuai spoke up. "This place can be safe, and it can also be dangerous. Don't wander around carelessly."

"Many thanks for the warning."

Apparently out of goodwill, Chao Shenghuai said, "Since this is your first time inside, why not come with us? At the very least, we know this place better than you do."

Niu Youdao hesitated. "Would that be appropriate? We wouldn't want to delay your business."

"It's fine. We came in to patrol in the first place. All who come are guests. We don't want to see what happened here happen again. You'll be safer following us, and we can point out the places worth seeing along the way."

"In that case, it would be rude to refuse your kindness." Niu Youdao cupped his hands in thanks.

Throughout the exchange, the Myriad Beasts Sect disciples spoke with the cool reserve and aloof superiority of members of a great sect, while Niu Youdao's side remained deferential and unfailingly polite. And so the four of them followed the three disciples onward.

One had to admit that the people of Myriad Beasts Sect truly did know the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm well. They led Niu Youdao's group through one strange region of dreamlike light after another, scenes worthy of the word "illusory." Someone unfamiliar with the realm could wander at random and never find such places. The sights genuinely broadened the four visitors' horizons.

After walking and stopping for nearly half a day, the group arrived atop a towering cliff. Six people stood in a row beneath the starry sky, gazing into the distance. Wonder appeared in Niu Youdao's eyes and those of the others.

Below the cliff stretched an endless forest, strange lights flowing through it in a magnificent spectacle. Only here did it truly feel as though they had entered another world.

Compared with the forest below, the trees they had seen along the way could only be called sparse saplings. Looking down and far into the distance, countless towering ancient trees interwove into fantastical colors, old and glorious beyond telling. From time to time, clusters of lights resembling drifting fireflies rose and sank through the forest, floating like a river of stars. The sight was even more brilliant and dazzling than the Milky Way overhead.

Yuan Gang was the last to arrive. He had run behind the others all the way to the cliff edge. When he looked out, even he was struck by the view. Chao Shenghuai and the He brothers exchanged another look.

Along the way, they had deliberately been measuring the cultivation of the four people with them. They had not expected one of the four to be an ordinary mortal. Stranger still, that mortal seemed anything but ordinary. He had kept pace with them simply by running and did not even appear particularly tired. What a peculiar man.

"I never imagined such a fantastical, magnificent sight existed beneath Heaven. This truly deserves to be called an illusory realm," Niu Youdao said with heartfelt admiration.

Chao Shenghuai replied, "You've only seen the grandeur of its surface. There are even more wondrous sights inside the forest itself. Would you like to go down and take a look?"

Niu Youdao glanced at the Light-Repelling Grass beneath his feet. "Going any farther means leaving the protection of the Light-Repelling Grass. Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"Look!" Chao Shenghuai pointed.

Two large flying birds suddenly rose from the forest, carrying six Myriad Beasts Sect disciples. They swept past to the left of Niu Youdao's group, apparently flying toward the exit. Their altitude was extremely low, almost skimming the ground inside the dark zone. Clearly, even they did not dare fly beyond the reach of the Light-Repelling Grass's scent.

"The forest is dangerous, but if you come with us, nothing will happen," Chao Shenghuai said. "Some of our fellow disciples are planting Light-Repelling Grass down there right now. Since all who come are guests, and you've already followed us this far, we might as well take you down and let you see the magnificent scenery inside that ancient forest. Ordinary visitors rarely get such an opportunity."

He smiled. "What does Brother Bei think?"

"Bei" was a surname Niu Youdao had casually invented for himself. He had wanted to test whether these people knew who he really was. From the way matters looked, they did not.

Niu Youdao replied, "Since Brother Li is being so generous, I wouldn't dare refuse."

After traveling together for so long, the two sides appeared to have become somewhat familiar and even developed a little camaraderie. Chao Shenghuai, naturally, had not given his true name either.

He nodded. "Better to be cautious. Senior Brothers, go scout the area first. Once you've confirmed it's safe, we'll head down. We wouldn't want to frighten our guests. That would hardly be the hospitality expected of Myriad Beasts Sect."

The He brothers nodded. Both leaped from the cliff and glided away on the height they had gained, finally disappearing into the depths of the ancient, dreamlike forest. After a while, He Youjian appeared atop a distant treetop and seemed to signal in their direction. Niu Youdao and the others could neither see nor understand the gesture clearly, but Chao Shenghuai did.

"It's safe. We can go down. But the sect is planting Light-Repelling Grass over there, and they don't want to be disturbed, so they've told us to go that way instead."

He pointed to a direction farther to the right.

"Follow me."

With that, he launched himself from the cliff first. The others followed, gliding after him.

"Bring Monkey with you," Niu Youdao specifically reminded Guan Fangyi, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Guan Fangyi caught Yuan Gang by the arm with obvious distaste and carried him along. Just as they were about to land, something unexpected happened. The He brothers suddenly flew in on a large bird. They caught Chao Shenghuai as he descended. As Niu Youdao and the others dropped toward the treetops, they watched helplessly as the bird carrying Chao Shenghuai banked away.

Now airborne again, Chao Shenghuai looked down from above with a faint sneer at the corner of his mouth. He drew his sword and slashed. A fierce arc of sword qi tore down into the forest below.

Boom!

The sound of a huge tree branch snapping and crashing down thundered through the forest. The disturbance was enormous. Chao Shenghuai had plainly done it on purpose. Aboard the flying bird returning toward the cliff, all three men looked back and watched Niu Youdao's group descend.

He Youchang said worriedly, "That bear demon won't be killed by the Butterfly Rakshasas, will it? If it dies, all this effort will have been wasted."

Since they had decided to act, they had naturally already confirmed Yuan Fang's background. Myriad Beasts Sect had methods of its own for identifying the true forms of demon cultivators. In that field, the sect was expert.

Chao Shenghuai replied, "Once a Golden King Bear reaches the Foundation Establishment Realm, its transformation becomes complete. Its hide and fur merge entirely with its transformed body, making it impervious to blades and spears. Those Butterfly Rakshasas shouldn't be able to kill him in a short time. As long as we intervene soon enough, there shouldn't be a problem."

"The sect records won't be wrong. Senior Brothers can rest assured."

During their time together, they had already sounded out the approximate level of Yuan Fang's cultivation. And Chao Shenghuai was not wrong. The reason Niu Youdao had dared bring Yuan Fang to a place like this was precisely because Yuan Fang possessed an exceptional natural gift. As long as he did not encounter someone overwhelmingly stronger than himself, calling him impervious to blades and spears was not an exaggeration.

He Youjian clicked his tongue. "The sect records say Golden King Bears are naturally slow-witted and rarely awaken true intelligence. Their simple, foolish nature meant that even with such extraordinarily tough fur protecting their bodies, they still could not escape being hunted to extinction."

"Who would have imagined we'd actually encounter one? And this Golden King Bear not only awakened intelligence but even cultivated into human form. Who knows what sort of fortuitous encounter brought him this far."

"If that bear demon falls into the hands of our Spirit Transformation Valley, I wonder whether they can really bring themselves to do it when he looks exactly like a living human being."

Chao Shenghuai scoffed. "As if Spirit Transformation Valley hasn't done similar things before. It's simple. Destroy his intelligence and make him revert to a bear. Problem solved."

The three men flew away. Niu Youdao and the others, however, were left behind and had no choice but to land among the treetops below.

Standing on a swaying crown and watching the departing figures, Niu Youdao admitted inwardly that he had not expected to be tricked in this particular fashion.

Those who lived by the mountain relied on the mountain; those who lived by the water relied on the water. Backed by Myriad Beasts Sect, these men naturally knew how to exploit the convenience of spirit beasts. Down in the forest, something had already awakened. A White-Wing Rakshasa with its wings folded crawled out from a hollow in a tree. It lifted its head toward them. A fierce light entered its eyes.

Its wings slowly spread behind it, and white radiance began glowing through the cracks in the opened membranes. Guan Fangyi was horrified. If there was one of these things here, there would inevitably be a second. Heaven knew how many Butterfly Rakshasas lived in this forest.

She could not understand why Myriad Beasts Sect disciples, people with whom they had no grievance or enmity, would deliberately harm them like this.

She cried urgently, "Go!"

Seizing Yuan Gang's arm, she tried to carry him away. But Yuan Gang was watching Niu Youdao for his decision. He flexed his arm forcefully and held his ground against her grip, showing no intention of leaving.

Guan Fangyi whipped her head around and snapped, "If we don't go now, it'll be too late!"

Then Niu Youdao suddenly said, "Let's see whether they come back. Down!"

And he meant it.

Whoosh!

He was the first to plunge through the treetops toward the forest floor. Guan Fangyi stared after him, dumbfounded. She wanted to curse him and ask whether he had gone insane.

"If you don't want to die, follow me. Old Bear, down!"

Yuan Gang threw out the words, tore his arm free from Guan Fangyi's grasp, and jumped. Yuan Fang looked equally stunned. Had these two masters grown tired of living? But he had always obeyed Yuan Gang without question. Gritting his teeth, he jumped after him. Guan Fangyi nearly went mad.

Yet seeing how impossibly calm the two men remained, she cursed, "You two will get this old lady killed sooner or later!" Then she steeled herself and jumped as well.

Whoosh!

The White-Wing Rakshasa spread its wings and shot straight toward Niu Youdao, the first person descending to the ground.

Clang!

Sword light flashed once and vanished almost in the same instant, the blade already returned to its sheath. Niu Youdao and the attacking White-Wing landed at nearly the same time. Half the creature's neck had been severed. Green fluid poured from the wound. Yet it still spread both arms and lunged toward Niu Youdao. A corpse in a tomb would not have disturbed him, much less something that merely looked monstrous. Niu Youdao raised his sword horizontally.

The White-Wing's arms closed around the pommel and tip ends of the weapon, unable to seize his body. Niu Youdao released the sword and caught the creature by the chin with one hand. For a brief moment, he seemed to study its hideous face slowly and carefully.

Crack!

His arm jerked. He snapped through the creature's half-severed neck cleanly and efficiently. As he knocked the corpse to the ground, his other hand smoothly reclaimed the sword. Expressionless, he planted it before himself and stood still, cold eyes slowly sweeping the surrounding forest. His composure made the entire sequence seem slow. In reality, it had happened almost instantly. By the time he finished dealing with the White-Wing, Yuan Gang had only just landed beside him.

Yuan Fang and Guan Fangyi followed immediately after, hurrying close to Niu Youdao's side.

[End of Chapter 459]