Chương 43: Forest of Death

Nang Zhou was a country comprised of a whole continent. However, not only was it the smallest continent it was also the weakest. The only reason the royal family could still rule over it was because there were not many treasures there. After all, ruling over people wasn't an easy task. There many things to worry about and it would make things infinitely more difficult if you ruled from another continent. In addition, cultivators mostly perused to advance their strength, they don't care very much about political power and those kinds of struggles. After all, if you were strong enough, everyone and anyone would bow to you regardless of their status so, what was the point of chaining yourself down? Plus, Nang Hzou didn't have many treasures so if they ruled over it, they wouldn't advance much in terms of individual power. So until now, no one really bothered with Nang Zhou. Along with Nang Zhou, there were three more continents, varying in size, in different directions. All four continents corresponded to the four directions: North, East, South, and West. The reason people knew this was because, in the center, connecting all four continents, was a gigantic forest.

This forest houses many demonic beasts and various poisonous plants. Once they went in, no matter if they were a cultivator or a normal person, they would never come out again. So, over time, people have come to call it the "Forest of Death". It wasn't as if powerful cultivation organizations never tried to explore or clear it. In fact, the first ones to enter were members of powerful families, who were ordered to explore and search for treasures. However, after they didn't return for a long while, and seeing the many casualties of others, they decided to band together to clear the forest. There was limited contact with the other continents so they couldn't coordinate perfectly, but all the continents tried raiding it at around the same time. However, they all failed miserably, loosing many cultivators with no gains. So they decided to give up for the moment to rebuild. And things have dragged on until now.

Though theoretically, one could cross to the other continents via the Forest of Death, not many have succeeded. The few that did merely stuck to the edge of the forest, which ended up taking about the same amount of time as it would traveling in water. There were flying devices, but those were so pricey, only the most wealthy could afford them. After all, the craftsmen also want to make money. As formcultivators, Meridians Level and above martial artists could fly over, but with the distance, one would need some spiritual power recovery item if they didn't want to run out and drown in the sea.

The forest itself was covered with miasma to the point that it seemed more like a miasma shield that reached the skies. This was also the reason cultivators don't fly over the Forest of Death. There was so much miasma in the air, it was even more dangerous than flying across the ocean without a recovery item. Not to mention the demonic beasts in the air, like Bone Eagles and Sonic Bats. Strangely enough, there were plenty of healthy, tall, and strong trees that make up the forest. Though some speculate the trees most definitely had some abnormality, no one dared to try to find out after what happened with the failed raid. Also, not many people were so bored to investigate the trees of a place no one want sot enter. Inside the dense forest, the bowls of magic beasts can be heard constantly. Sometimes, the howls almost seem human. Perhaps the only place not affected with the human race's crazy hunting of demon beasts was this Forest of Death.

...

"Come on! Hurry up!" A girl yelled a short distance away from the edge of the forest as she waved her hands. She was wearing a simple robe with varying shade soft green. Above the waist, leaves and white flowers were embroidered until her elbows. The sleeves were a light green. Below the waist was just a plain, light green skirt, tied with a green ribbon. In her waist-length black hair, tied in a pony tail, was a simple hair clip made of white flowers.

There was a man and young girl where she looked, behind her. The girl was wearing a snow blue robe that reached her ankles. On the skirt was embroidered blue dragons. On the front half of the sleeves were blue emblems. Over the robe was a Snow White cape with soft white fur on the edges clasped below her neck with a blue flower pin. On it was a simple embroidery of a black crane. Part of her hair was tied in a small bun at the back, clipped with a hair clip of blue pearls, with pink tassels hanging from it. In her bun was a hairpin with a faintly silver phoenix with blue pearls as eyes.

The man donned a black robes with purple edges, tied by a dark purple sash. The edges of the sleeves had light purple butterflies on them. His hair flowed freely behind him as he walked towards the girl that shouted, giving off an elegant and aloof air.

When the pair almost arrived in front of her, she said. "Let's go in! The earlier we go in, the earlier we get out! Maybe."

"What's this 'maybe' about?" The man asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Maybe means I might decide to stay in longer to train a little more." The first girl responded.

"That's not safe." The man frowned.

"Don't worry so much, we have the breath Tian Yu's disciple here!" She responded as she hugged the second girl. "If you're that worried then we'll try to get out early."

The man just nodded. "I'll protect you."

The first girl was stunned for a moment before revealing a brilliant smile. "Thanks."

The three then proceeded to enter the Forest of Death.