Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

At this moment, Brother Crane, seeing everyone's enthusiasm being roused, couldn't help but nod in approval inwardly.

He continued to speak, "It has grown late, everyone has worked hard these past days. Let's rest here tonight. Brother Feng, Brother Bao, Fellow Daoist Lian, how about you three scout the surrounding area and stand watch for the first half of the night?"

"The six of us can take turns. Only then can we safely meditate and recuperate. Otherwise, the ferocious beasts in this dense forest will disturb us, and no one will be able to rest peacefully."

Naturally, everyone agreed.

The two dark-faced men immediately got up and went off in different directions.

This bizarre forest was home to strange beasts, much like giant mantises, incredibly strong, covered in pitch-black carapaces, swift as the wind, and comparable to cultivators at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, with their numbers being plentiful.

Ever since entering this forest, their small team had been attacked numerous times, already annoyed to the extreme, each rest could only be taken in shifts through the night.

Watching the two dark-faced men depart into the distance, a pretty female cultivator with plum blossom tattoos on her ankles, did not stand up but instead coquettishly said to a young male cultivator with somewhat thin shoulders and thick lips, "Brother Lin, why don't you take my place on night watch? I'm quite tired today."

The young cultivator, his gaze full of affection, swept over the pretty female cultivator, nodded gently in agreement to her request. Only the short, plump cultivator hesitated as if he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.

…

…

Lin Yueshen carefully ventured into the distance, the black-green forest at night looking even more sinister and terrifying under the faint luminescence of the moss.

After walking for about a kilometer, he suddenly heard a strange noise from under a giant tree far ahead. His muscles tensed instantly, and he couldn't help but draw his black long spear, a magic artifact.

This forest was exceedingly strange, with an invisible force that could greatly suppress a cultivator's spiritual sense, meaning he could now only rely on his eyes to search everything around him.

"Is it that giant mantis?"

"These fools usually attack on sight, fearlessly and recklessly. How come this one is hiding?"

Fearing other mighty strange creatures might be nearby, Lin Yueshen's palms began to sweat slightly. He moved closer to the tree cautiously, and at that moment, a giant black mantis suddenly sprang out from behind it.

As a cultivator in the eighth layer of the True Person Realm, Lin Yueshen's reactions were quick, and he speared the creature, sending it flying, with inky green blood scattering everywhere.

"That scared me to death. I didn't expect it to be this kind of dumb beast. I've ended up scaring myself," Lin Yueshen patted his chest, feeling somewhat embarrassed about his just-now nearness to call for his companions.

After all, he was at a critical moment in pursuing Fellow Daoist Lian Hong; if others knew he had made such a big blunder, wouldn't that be a total loss of face?

"It's just that I don't understand why Miss Lian Hong is sometimes cold and sometimes warm toward me. It's truly perplexing."

The so-called Six Wonders of the Southern Domain was merely a medium-sized power formed by loose cultivators, controlling a place called the Six Flags Market, a gathering spot for loose cultivators.

During an excursion, he and his good friend Bo Jian chanced upon Fellow Daoist Lian Hong. He fell for her at first sight, and the three of them traveled together. Later, when passing through the Six Flags Market, they hit it off with the market's leader, Young Master Crane, and joined the Six Flags Market, swearing brotherhood, self-styled as the Six Wonders of the Southern Domain.

Years later, at the hearty invitation of Young Master Crane, they came to the Extinction Ruins in search of opportunities.

With a long sigh, just as Lin Yueshen was about to return, suddenly, a ribbon-like spectral light descended from the canopy of the black tree.

"Damn it!"

As the unexpected event unfolded, Lin Yueshen was greatly shocked, he turned around, his spear at the ready, thrust!

Thrust!

The long spear, like a roaming dragon, pierced the body of a massive black mantis with strange purple stripes falling from the sky, splashing out a large amount of black-green blood.
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However, the huge scythe-like arms of the purple-striped mantis also pierced through Lin Yueshen's organs in an instant.

In pain, the purple-striped mantis struggled and retreated explosively, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye, while Lin Yueshen stood in place, holding his chest, leaning on his long spear.

At this moment, he could distinctly feel his life force draining from his body.

Instantly, a black hue began to spread rapidly from his wound. He suddenly felt his entire body go numb; he was no longer able to muster any strength, and there was a fierce poison at the site of the wound.

Just as he could no longer hold on, his eyelids about to close, a tall figure riding a scarlet panther arrived at his side.

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"Eh, fellow Daoist, you seem to be about to die."

"Even Bian Que would shake his head at this."

"What creature did this?"

Yi Chen, illuminated by the glowing lichens, looked at the young man before him and sighed softly.

He had followed the River of Extinction upstream and half a day later entered this eerie dark green forest. After a short walk, he heard a rustling ahead, only to find he was a step too late.

"Look at this wound, it seems to be the work of some strange beast. Buddy, you're dying anyway, you wouldn't mind if I took a look at your memory, right?"

"No response means you agree, eh."

Suddenly, a large hand covered the head of Lin Yueshen, seizing the last breath of life to receive a myriad of memories.

As Yi Chen perused carefully, his frown slowly unfurled.

"This team actually knows of a cave that contains the 'Great Sun Buddha Purging Sutra' from the Reincarnation Temple's Discipline Hall, and the 'Dragon God Flame' derived from this scripture?"

"This is fated for me indeed."

"And those treasures in the Treasure Pavilion, they are also destined for my Hidden Dragon Temple, aren't they? The connection isn't shallow!"

A bold plan took shape in Yi Chen's mind as he pondered.

With no one around and the man before him already dead, and since no one would notice, why not take his place and follow the team into the cave?

If the "Dragon God Flame" cultivation technique really existed there, he was determined to get it.

Thinking thus, Yi Chen began to search the corpse.

A moment later, under a large tree, a figure indistinguishable from the young man appeared, the crimson leopard had already been stowed away by Yi Chen in his spirit beast bag.

"Buddy, you haven't got a bad deal either. I chanted the scripture of passing on for you three times. Remember not to be a bootlicker in your next life; groveling is bad for your destiny, won't get you a house."

After perusing the young cultivator's memories, Yi Chen naturally came to understand much about the man's life,

and after pondering the details, he only made his move when the sky began to brighten.

"Yueshen, why have you come back?"

The two grim-faced men had returned and were resting by the bonfire. The woman in black, startled to see 'Yi Chen' return, couldn't help but express her surprise.

Although she had asked Lin Yueshen to keep watch for the first half of the night, based on what she knew about him, he would definitely not give up his rest easily and would have certainly waited until the next morning to come back.

"Nothing much, I've just been highly strung these past few days and my body's a bit weary; I need to meditate to recover. Lian Hong, it's your watch now, please take over for me," Yi Chen said calmly.

At this, disbelief swept over the woman cultivator's face.

"Please, Lian Hong."

Yi Chen couldn't care less about her reaction. Some people are bootlickers, but he, a Taoist, is a warrior. If it weren't for the knowledge from Lin Yueshen's memory fragments that the leading Crane Young Master was a cultivator in the late stages of approaching the Dao, he would even consider having a casual chat with him.

Substituting a pear for a peach was simply to avoid complications. A gentle approach was preferable if it sufficed, instead of a violent one. It would be awkward if he met someone who would rather die than speak.

"Brother Yueshen is quite straightforward today, giving my brother and me quite an eye-opener," said the two black-clad men as they watched the woman in black walk off with a darkened face, not being able to restrain their laughter while popping open a jug of wine and passing it to Yi Chen.

Yi Chen gave a noncommittal response and closed his eyes to meditate.

As a Xibei good, it's better to say less to avoid errors. As long as he could get through this period, it would be a great success.

"That strange Purple-striped Mantis that killed Lin Yueshen is indeed peculiar, using misdirection tactics as if it possesses some cunning intelligence."

"Does that ghastly thing have something to do with the cave this team is heading towards?"

All sorts of thoughts appeared in Yi Chen's mind, and he couldn't help but start considering his options.

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