They were resting in a large empty area without any trouble. Of course even though they were resting, didn't mean they would relax their vigilance—instead they would take turns checking the surrounding area without missing a single blind spot.
While resting, Xiao Ling took out a bundle from his pocket, "Take it and don't forget to share it with the others as well."
Jie Jiu, who received it widened his eyes when he saw the contents inside, "These are... Essence Replenishment Pills and there are so many inside."
Essence Replenishment Pill—are pill that can help restore spiritual energy within a cultivator—of course, how much also depends on the cultivator himself and the stage and realm of a cultivator.
"Yes, I brought the entire supply just for this." Xiao Ling replied while eating one of them.
"You prepared it much better than I expected." Jiu Jie said as he took one and handed the rest to the others.
"Yeah, I have to do it by giving it everything I've got."
Xiao Ling, who had been determined for this journey, had prepared everything perfectly. Even the Essence Replenishment Pill which were not easy to make at their current realm, and even with very few people having the skills to make them in the village, Xiao Ling was still able to gather more than enough for everyone.
There were fifty Essence Replenishment Pills that Xiao Ling had, he had kept them all this time just for emergencies. Knowing that he had brought them all, it meant that he considered this an emergency as well.
The reason why he had such a large amount regardless of the situation was because most of the amount he got was from outside the village— Xiao Ling bought it when he went to the city to buy necessary items.
There were twenty-seven people who participated in this quest, including Xiao Ling himself. Although the number of pills had almost doubled, he was still unsure whether or not this was enough until he found Mo Zhongzhi and returned to the village.
"Looks like Misty Mountain isn't as dangerous as we thought, right?" Hee So said.
"Isn't that more likely because there are twenty-seven of us here, including Xiao Ling, right?" Su Han replied.
"Yes. You're right, but don't you still think it's strange why this area is called a forbidden area."
"Hmm... You're not wrong about that. I'm also curious as to why our ancestors called Misty Mountain a forbidden area."
"Yo Xiao Ling! As the village chief, what do you think?"
Hee So, still curious, decided to ask Xiao Ling, who probably knew the most because of his position as the village chief.
Xiao Ling, who was just observing their conversation without intending to interfere directly was unwittingly dragged along without his consent.
Even if you decide to ask me about it... there's no way I would know about it, right? How could I possibly know something that has been decreed by our ancestors... Xiao Ling pondered this deeply.
Xiao Ling seemed to be thinking quite hard to find out the truth about the mystery behind Misty Mountain being called a forbidden area.
To be honest, Xiao Ling himself didn't know why Misty Mountain was called a forbidden area, If he and the others could get this far without any serious obstacles, then there should be almost no reason for their ancestor to call this place a forbidden area.
However, from the records he had, his ancestor was someone who had reached a much higher level in terms of cultivation compared to him.
Is what Su Han said the only reason that makes sense? No, it isn't. There's no way our ancestors didn't do what we are doing today.
Xiao Ling, who had been thinking and searching for the truth, gave up because he could not find a reason that made the most sense to him.
"There isn't much information that our ancestors left behind, and that also includes the reason why Misty Mountain is considered a forbidden area."
This was the conclusion Xiao Ling came to after thinking of many reasons.
Hee So and Su Han seemed to be expecting a different answer from Xiao Ling just sighed, as they still couldn't find the truth even after asking what they thought was the most knowledgeable person in the village.
"I don't think that our ancestors would make such rules for no apparent reason." Jie Jiu's words drew all attention to himself. "Whatever the reason, I think it was the best decision taken for the safety of the village. So, I think just because we were able to get this far smoothly, doesn't mean we can relax and be complacent."
Jie Jiu seemed to want to warn others to always be prepared and not lower their guard especially in a dangerous place like this.
Everyone who heard nodded and began to raise their awareness again.
While they chatted and talked, perhaps to lower the tension that had accumulated since they entered this forest, naturally none of them lowered their surveillance at all.
***
It had been getting late since Xiao Ling started this journey, previously the sunlight was able to shine through this forest, now there was hardly any sunlight to be seen. Slowly but surely, darkness began to creep in and began to envelop everything.
"Night is coming soon, what should we do?" Xiao Ling asked Jie Jiu.
Jie Jiu was silent for a moment, seemed to think about something before replying, "It's honestly not a good idea to spend the night in a forest like this, and it seems like even if we trace a route back and out of this forest, we won't have enough time to do so."
Jie Jiu, who looked towards the sky and his surroundings, seemed to have considered the time to return and get out of this forest, and decided that the time needed to do so would not be enough.
"Is it okay to spend the night here?" Su Han asked.
"Based on the observation and surveillance since we started resting, it seems like this place is quite safe compared to the others." Jie Jiu replied.
Xiao Ling thought so too, feeling that this place was very safe for them as not a single Magical Beast had attacked them. Instead, he thought that this place was too safe which made it strange.
Perhaps it was just his imagination or he was overreacting, but Xiao Ling couldn't shake his hunch.
Wouldn't it be even stranger if I didn't think so?
Anyone who was cautious would think that in a dangerous forest like this, it would be strange to be able to find a safe area with no disturbances at all.
Xiao Ling felt that something was wrong for the first time since he entered this forest.
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Why was this place so quiet compared to the previous place where there were almost always inhabitants? Why is there not a single animal or other creature approaching this place?
Xiao Ling couldn't get that out of his mind.
"Jie Jiu, don't you think it's strange that this place is so quiet?" Xiao Ling, who sensed something started to ask.
"It turns out that you also think that way, huh. To be honest, I also feel that way. There is something very wrong with this place." Jie Jiu replied.
"Everyone, tighten your surveillance so that no one is missed!"
Everyone started to feel that something was wrong since Jie Jiu gave such a call.
However, by the time they started to realize it, it was already too late.
One of them was suddenly hit by a surprise attack that killed him on the spot with a single devastating vertical strike—leaving behind a corpse that was torn and split into two thanks to its large, powerful and sword-sharp claws.
The sudden change in atmosphere made it too late for almost everyone to react and move in anticipation of the next attack.
"T-That's the Big-Footed Night Bear!" Someone shouted frantically.
None of them noticed the arrival of the Magical Beast until it suddenly appeared behind one of the trees and attacked quickly.
Capitalizing on the lack of attention caused by its sneak attack, the Big-Footed Night Bear quickly and aggressively attacked one of the people next to its victim.
Unfortunately, the person was unable to prepare his weapon in time for the defensive position— causing him to be hit by the powerful horizontal sweep of the Big-Footed Night Bear's limbs and fly off due to its overwhelming strength—with his abdomen being split into two and sending his internal organs flying.
What had just happened probably seemed like a horror to everyone who saw it—two of their comrades were killed just like that.
"Everyone stay focused! and keep a distance around it!" Jie Jiu exclaimed loudly.
Jie Jiu gave instructions to everyone to stay alert and focused after what happened.
There was no time for everyone to be shaken after the incident, instead, everyone again increased their vigilance from before.
Everyone had kept their distance and surrounded the Magical Beast except Jie Jiu, Su Han and Hee So who were directly facing it.
Su Han and Hee So were the fastest—their two tasks were to distract the Magical Beast. As for Jie Jiu—he was the most experienced of all—so he took the most forward position to attract the Magical Beast's attention.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, the only thing the beast has is its big and strong body!"
What Jie Jiu said was indeed true. Regardless, the Big-Footed Night Bear had no special abilities other than its claws that were up to ninety centimeters long.
The Big-Footed Night Bear—is a type of bear that has developed a beast core.
Unlike other types of bears, this bear can be considered an oddity because it has a much larger, ferocious, and deadly body. It has very thick black fur that can be used as a defense, and underneath the dense fur is a hard and muscular body, has very thick arms that have extraordinary strength, and plus it weighs up to a thousand kilograms.
Any ordinary human who receives a direct hit with full force will be crushed.
What makes it unique is that it has a pair of extremely wide hind legs that allow it to stand with perfect balance—just like a human. With a height that can reach over four meters, it looks like a giant.
What made it dangerous besides its large body was its intelligence. Of course, its intelligence is not comparable to that of an average human, but it is enough to make it a master of its territory and an excellent hunter.
The Big-Footed Night Bear is usually active and hunts at night, despite its large size, it moves carefully like a hunter—trying not to make noise as it moves, using its black fur color to hide in the dark, and can even hide behind trees.
The Big-Footed Night Bear is an ambush-type predator, it likes to hunt its opponents by sneaking up on them and ambushing them with one deadly strike.
The Big-Footed Night Bear, which seemed to realize that its territory had been entered by an unknown visitor, began to spread its arms which made it look even more threatening before a thunderous roar rang out.
"Grrrrooooooaaahhh!"
The sound produced from the magical beast's long snout could make even the air, ground, and forest tremble.
The tremendous roar left some people shaken and pale from the terror brought by the Big-Footed Night Bear.
The Big-Footed Night Bear is a solitary and authoritarian creature—it will prey on and fight with anyone who enters its territory.
Xiao Ling was in the center, setting up the formation as soon as he saw the first casualty fall and was waiting for the right moment to activate.
"Xiao Ling!"
There was a loud shout from Jie Jiu.
Xiao Ling knew the meaning of it—he immediately began to activate the formation he had prepared. And the formation this time was—
"[Formation: Boundary Light]"
A line was created around the entire area with Xiao Ling at its center, several interconnected lines emitting light and patterns that formed a circle.
[Boundary Light] is a formation technique that has the effect of strengthening everyone within it. Anyone inside the circle will receive an increase in strength as well as twice the physical endurance from before.
Among the many reinforcement-type formation techniques, it can be said that [Boundary Light] is one of the most fundamental.
When the formation has been made, everyone can feel their physical strength and endurance increase from before.
There were several blue-colored flickers that appeared around Xiao Ling's body and the others when the formation was active.
Xiao Ling saw significant improvements in the others' physical abilities when compared to before, both in terms of speed, strength, and endurance.
Jie Jiu was seen not using a sword, but rather his two-meter long spear. He used his spear to attack and keep distance between him and the magical beast. Jie Jiu agilely and powerfully used his spear to stab, parry, and continue to force the Big-Footed Night Bear's attention to himself.
While Jie Jiu focused the Big-Footed Night Bear's attention on him, Su Han and Hee So tried to find openings from both sides of Jie Jiu. The two of them kept trying attack and retreat tactics to distract the Magical Beast while simultaneously delivering attacks.
The others surrounded and attacked as soon as the opportunity arose in turn. The Big-Footed Night Bear began to see many scratches and wounds all over his body from being attacked from all directions simultaneously without pause.
Even a Big-Footed Night Bear that was good at hunting in its territory would not be able to use its abilities if it was surrounded and attacked from all directions. All that is left for it is to rely on its extraordinary physical abilities and fight head-on.
Although the Big-Footed Night Bear possessed tremendous physical strength, the fact that the formation made by Xiao Ling that enhanced physical abilities could make the difference in tremendous physical strength between the Big-Footed Night Bear and them could be reduced although not too significantly—especially Jie Jiu who skillfully played his spear carefully so as not to make a single mistake.
Xiao Ling, who had observed the battle so far, understood exactly what strategy they were using.
They use confinement tactics and attack from all directions to lock down the Big-Footed Night Bear.
When the magical beast that was forced into a defensive position was cornered with multiple wounds from stabs and slashes—the creature began to ignore its self-protection and started attacking blindly without regard for its body condition.
"Rrrroooaaggghhhh!"
A deafening roar sounded loudly—or it could be taken as a desperate declaration of battle.
For the Big-Footed Night Bears who seem to be on the edge, this fight is a matter of life and death for their survival.
The Big-Footed Night Bear became much more aggressive, vicious, and deadly than before.
Ignoring Jie Jiu who was in front of it, the creature began to attack the people around it—
"—Watch out!"
—Instead of ignoring its own body, the magical beast was hit by a powerful stab directed by Jie Jiu.
A warning sounded from Jie Jiu—but the long, sharp and powerful claws of the Big-Footed Night Bear's limbs moved even faster.
The poor guy who was hit hard flew a few meters away with some of his organs scattering making a red trail. After bouncing several times before finally stopping with an unnatural shape and a wide-open front body.
Xiao Ling, who saw the scene was shocked as he maintained his formation— he did not expect at all that one of them would die, let alone with a single attack even while in formation.
"Move aside! Keep your positions!"
"Don't relax your defenses! Stay alert!"
The Big-Footed Night Bear, which finally managed to kill one of its opponents after being cornered, seemed to be in a state of ecstasy due to the smell of fresh blood wafting through the air.
This magical beast began attacking every prey in sight from all directions—trying to bring more victims into its attack.
Jie Jiu advanced and began to counterattack strongly, forcing the Big-Footed Night Bear to direct its attention back to him.
While Jie Jiu attacked brutally, Hee So was seen trying to find an opening to attack from the side—targeting one of the magical beast's exposed body parts.
Using his speed and agility, Hee So managed to dodge the magical beast's arm by swooping right underneath it's attack, and slid in before slashing—right into its stomach.
Blood flowed profusely from the magical beast's torn belly—giving it a fatal wound.
The Big-Footed Night Bear looked wobbly and began to lose its balance due to the many wounds it had suffered—but this opportunity was not wasted by everyone who saw it.
"—Finish it!"
With Jie Jiu's order, everyone began to pour everything into this decisive attack.
Jie Jiu moved quickly forward, dodging the slow attacks directed at him, as there seemed to be almost no energy left in the magical beast.
While shouting loudly, Jie Jiu pointed the tip of his spear upwards—right towards the neck of the Big-Footed Night Bear.
The Big-Footed Night Bear was seen twitching for a few moments before falling backwards limply from the deadly stab aimed right at its neck.
The Big-Footed Night Bear was one of the high-level magical beasts. Even though it was alone—but because of its nature and strength—that was enough to make it the ruler of the territory. And of course, the goods produced by its corpse are also of high quality, such as its meat, fur, and long claws. However, no one seems to have bothered to do so.