Chapter 63: Gloomy Forest (2/2)

The crowd left behind in Mohe City slowly became smaller and smaller until they became mere specks, before completely disappearing. The sound of the wind was loud, but no one panicked due to the force of the suction beneath their feet. The smiles on their faces had yet to fade away.

The Gloomy Forest was in a remote area, and it was quite a distance from Mohe City. Even riding on this Curtain bat would require four hours. Xiao Chen did not wish to waste any time, so he sat down cross-legged and started to cultivate. A gratified look flashed in Xiao Qiang’s face. Xiao Chen was diligent, not arrogant and hot-tempered, and he had the inheritance of the Thunder Emperor. He would definitely accomplish great things in the future.

Under the influence of Xiao Chen, the others withdrew their excited expressions and sat down in a crossed-legged fas.h.i.+on to begin cultivating.

“Bang!”

After flying for a long time, the Curtain Bat finally stopped. Xiao Chen opened his eyes, putting on his socks and shoes before gently jumping down.

He saw a dull gray forest in front of him. He thought in his heart, This should be Gloomy Forest. I wonder what kind of surprise will it bring me.

Right at that moment, Xiao Chen felt a gaze filled with intense killing intent lingering on him. Looking in the direction where the killing intent was coming from, Xiao Chen saw the Zhang Clan’s clan head. He was not trying to conceal it, and there was a strong hatred in his eyes. Waves of killing intent surged towards Xiao Chen, but he was not afraid. His lips curled up into a smile; he was not bothered by it.

“Elder Xiao, are these the people your Xiao Clan is sending?” the Mohe City Lord led four old men in gray robes over.

Xiao Qiang nodded his head and pointed out the ten of them. When he reached Xiao Chen, under the City Lord’s request, Xiao Qiang introduced him.

“Elder Xiao, this is not your first time here. You are clear on the rules?”

Xiao Qiang nodded his head, “Of the ten people I have brought, the highest cultivation realm amongst them is Medial Grade Martial Master. The oldest cultivator is 18 years old. City Lord Dugu may inspect them.”

For the Trial of Gloomy Forest, the partic.i.p.ants cannot have a cultivation realm higher than Martial Master or be older than 20 years old. If they overshot the requirements, they would be killed. Xiao Chen breathed out in relief; he did not expect this requirement. If there were no Martial Grand Masters, even if the Zhang Clan and Tang Clan worked together to deal with him, he was not afraid.

After Dugu Feng and his group left, Xiao Qiang looked solemnly at the group he brought, “I shall not elaborate on the dangers of Gloomy Forest; you all should be clear on that already. If there is any grudge amongst you, put it aside while you are in there.”

“This Trial is extremely difficult. Xiao Chen will be your captain; his words are my words.”

When the group heard that, there was a look of amazement in their eyes. However, it disappeared quickly. With Xiao Chen’s strength, it was not strange for him to be made Captain.

Xiao Qiang waved his hand and did not let Xiao Chen speak, “Don’t reject this. I still have not told you your mission. Lead this group of people and keep them alive. Harvest 200 Rank 2 Demonic Beast’s Demonic Core and your mission will be considered complete.”

Xiao Chen felt helpless in his heart, but the First Elder had made his decision and he would not allow anyone to object to it. Xiao Chen could only accept this arduous and unrewarding undertaking. After half an hour, everyone’s preparations were complete. Under the leaders.h.i.+p of Xiao Chen, they slowly walked into the dull gray forest. They could see that the other two teams were also moving.

“How cold!”

In the instant they entered the forest, everyone could feel an attacking chill. The mud on the ground was actually pitch black, and it made their scalps feel numb. Raising his head to take a look, the tall and dense tree branches blocked off all sunlight; the forest was dusky. Everyone’s vision was severely impaired. Xiao Chen looked towards the front; he could see a black fog filling the air, and was unable to see clearly.

He sent out his Spiritual Sense and found that there was an unknown force hindering it. Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense was actually only able to cover an area of 200 meters.

Xiao Chen felt surprised; he had not expected such a situation to occur. However, now was not the time to complain. Xiao Chen took out the map that the First Elder gave him and took a look, then he led the group towards the front.

After twenty minutes, the scenery in front of the group's eyes had not changed. Finally, there were some people who could hold back no longer and complained, “Xiao Chen, where are you taking us? After walking for such a long time already, we still have not seen any Demonic Beasts. At this rate, we will never complete the mission of collecting 200 Demonic Cores.”

Xiao Chen felt helpless in his heart; it had not yet been half an hour and already there were people who could not stand the loneliness. This burdensome work of being captain was truly difficult.

“You are so eager to meet a Demonic Beast; are you not afraid of being eaten by it?” someone at the side teased him.

“What a joke. I am here to kill Demonic Beasts, not to feed them!”

“How could that be possible?” the person said in a loud voice.

Xiao Chen could not be bothered by him. However, a dangerous aura was suddenly felt. He hurriedly called out, “There is danger! Everyone, be careful!”

When the rest heard this, they immediately became alert. The person who spoke earlier looked around but did not discover anything. He said impatiently, “Danger? Where is the danger you speak of? Why do I not see it?”

“Pu Ci!”

From right above that person's head, the people at the side saw a horrifying scene. There was a long red tongue descending from above and it wrapped him up.