Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 102 The First Appearance of the Secret Realm: The Dangers of the Jungle

He glanced at the four people's positions and added, "Keep a three-meter distance between you, and don't get separated. Be extra careful in shady areas."

The five people moved. Lin Chen walked in front, Leng Feng to his left rear, Chu Fan to his right rear, Su Muyue in the middle slightly behind, and Su Ling'er at the very back. The spacing was just right, allowing everyone to see each other's backs clearly, yet not so close together that they could all be caught in one fell swoop. Their footsteps were kept to a minimum, the sound of their footsteps on the fallen leaves barely audible, blending into the forest breeze.

The forest grew deeper and deeper.

The tree grew thicker and thicker, from something that took two people to encircle to something that four or five people couldn't wrap their arms around. Vines, some as thick as an adult's arm, climbed the trunk like green pythons, their drooping roots swaying in the air. The fallen leaves on the ground grew thicker, soft and yielding underfoot, like walking on a cotton blanket; the hardness of the soil was completely imperceptible. Occasionally, one could see clusters of spiritual herbs hidden among the tree roots or in the crevices of the rocks—blood-activating herbs, mind-calming flowers, and heart-purifying fruits. Their grade wasn't high, but their spiritual energy was abundant, far superior to those sold in the pharmacies outside. Su Ling'er picked them as she walked, her movements swift and efficient, tossing them into her medicine box without even looking back.

The woods grew increasingly quiet. The birdsong had stopped sometime earlier.

Leng Feng paused for a moment, not stopping, but slowing down slightly. His right thumb fully opened the scabbard's latch. He didn't say anything, but everyone's rhythm changed with him—the distance between them tightened, their steps became lighter, and their breathing became half an inch lower.

When the bushes burst open, no one panicked.

Three dark gray shadows darted out of the bushes on the right, kicking up a clump of leaves and dirt. Their tusks were bared, their manes bristled, and their blood-red eyes were particularly chilling in the dark green light—three second-tier tusked wild boars, each as large as an adult calf. The one charging at the front had tusks at least half a foot long, the tips gleaming with a dark yellow luster.

Their target was clear—Su Ling'er at the back of the group.

Su Ling'er didn't even retreat. She flipped her left hand, and the Blazing Flame Pill was already between her fingers, but she didn't rush to throw it away because Leng Feng had already arrived.

The moment Leng Feng took that step, the fallen leaves on the ground were sent flying. He moved like a cannonball, cutting diagonally through the middle of the group and intercepting the three wild boars five steps in front of Su Ling'er. The sound of his sword being drawn almost overlapped with the sound of the blade cutting through the air. By the time he landed, the boar at the front was already lying on the ground—the blade had sliced ​​diagonally through its lower jaw and throat. It didn't even have time to scream; it only made a gurgling sound in its throat before going limp. Blood gushed from the wound, staining a large patch of fallen leaves red.

The remaining two wild boars couldn't stop and continued charging forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions. One charged straight at Leng Feng's face, while the other veered off course and headed straight for Su Muyue.

Leng Feng sidestepped the charge, grabbed the boar's mane by the scruff of its neck with his left hand, and slammed the hilt of his knife into the boar's eye socket. The sound of bones cracking was muffled, like stepping on a thick block of ice. The boar squealed in pain, veered off course, and plunged headfirst into the nearby bushes, struggling for a moment before failing to get up.

The one charging towards Su Muyue wasn't so lucky. It had only taken three steps when a ring of pale golden array patterns suddenly lit up beneath its feet—Su Muyue had been setting up an array from the very first second it landed. It wasn't a large array, just a few simple binding patterns hidden beneath the fallen leaves, waiting for its prey to step on them. The wild boar's limbs were bound by the array patterns, its speed drastically reduced, as if its hooves were tripped by invisible ropes. Its body leaned forward, plowing a shallow furrow in the ground.

Su Ling'er's Exploding Flame Pill finally went into action. It didn't blast the wild boar, but rather the ground in front of it—with a deafening roar, dirt flew everywhere, and flames leaped up to waist height. Startled, the wild boar instinctively tilted its head. And it was in that slight turn of its head that Lin Chen's sword arrived.

The first move of the Starry Sky Sword Technique, "Starfall," isn't the fastest sword move, but it's certainly the most accurate. The sword tip pierced the wild boar's ear, slicing diagonally downwards through its skull without any resistance, like cutting butter with a hot knife. When Lin Chen pulled out the sword, not a drop of blood touched it—it was too fast, so fast that before any blood could flow, the sword was already back in its sheath. The wild boar's front legs buckled, and it knelt on the ground, then its entire body rolled to its side, smothering the burning bushes and extinguishing the fire, leaving a wisp of smoke.

The three wild boars were wiped out in less than ten breaths, from the initial attack to their complete annihilation.

Su Ling'er crouched down and carefully plucked a second-tier Blood-Activating Herb, still glistening with dew, from the base of the tusk of the last wild boar, placing it in the insulation layer of the medicine box. Her fingers were steady, without the slightest tremor.

"Although the monsters in this secret realm are ferocious, the accompanying spiritual herbs are of really good quality." She patted the mud off her hands and said with a smile, her voice already regaining its usual lightness. "They are more than a level better than those sold in the pharmacies outside."

Chu Fan didn't pick any herbs. He squatted down beside a wild boar carcass, took out a small knife from his pocket, and cut open the boar's chest cavity. The knife tip parted the muscles and ribs, revealing the internal organs—the heart and lungs were the wrong color, not the normal dark red, but blackish-purple, covered with fine, hair-like black lines, like ink had been poured into blood vessels.

Chu Fan frowned slightly. He adjusted his glasses, used his knife to pick up a black thread, and examined it closely. The thread writhed slightly on the tip of the knife, as if it were alive.

"Residual evil power." His voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it. "It's exactly the same as those ferocious beasts in Black Wind Ridge that were corrupted by the Soul-Controlling Gu. The characteristics are very obvious; there's no mistake."

He stood up, wiped the stains off the knife on the tree trunk, and then put it away.

"The evil race has already infiltrated the secret realm. Not just the outer perimeter, but probably also the middle and upper levels. The evil power infiltrating these wild boars isn't deep, indicating that they haven't been in contact with the evil race for long—at most, no more than half a month." He looked at Lin Chen, his eyes behind his glasses deep and serious. "The demonic beasts we encounter later will only be more troublesome. The evil power will amplify their ferocity, weaken their sense of pain, and even cause them to self-destruct before they die."

The air fell silent for a moment. A deep, guttural roar came from afar, muffled and like thunder.

Just as Lin Chen was about to speak, a slow, steady clapping sound suddenly came from the dense forest at the fork in the road ahead.

"Wow, that's brilliant, truly brilliant."

Qin Hao emerged from behind a large tree, followed by seven people, all dressed in identical silver-threaded school uniforms, adorned with jade pendants and talismans, and well-equipped. He clapped as he walked forward, his smile as warm as the spring sunshine, but the coldness in his eyes was like shards of ice in winter.

"To deal with three second-tier wild boars, you used a combination of array talismans, pills to restrain them, and swordsmanship to kill them. It's a five-in-one tactical coordination. You truly deserve to be called the little hero who wiped out the evil clan's stronghold in Black Wind Ridge." He stood twenty steps away, tilting his head to look at Lin Chen and his group of five.