The annual bloom of the twisted forest was a spectacle, but not for the reasons one might expect.

When the leaf cocoons atop the talon-like branches bloomed, thousands of giant seeds would fly off like dandelions, each with a queen centipede larva clinging on snugly.

No opportunistic predator would let such an opportunity slip, for each seed and queen larva was a precious cultivation resource!

When the cocoons turned pink and were on the verge of blooming, thousands of flying spirit beasts would flock over like vultures circling a dying animal.

But there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Countless centipedes would also swarm to the treetops to protect the cocoons. Warrior centipedes would even sprout wings and soar into the skies to slaughter any beasts chasing the flying seeds! If not for the presence of the centipedes, the beasts would rip into the cocoons before they even blossomed.

Ying Shi mentioned the above as he briefed the disciples.

Mohei gasped.

"Those warrior centipedes are so scary, but they can still fly? What type of centipede has wings?!"

Ying Shi ignored him and continued the speech; Baiyun patted Mohei on the shoulder to comfort him.

The plan was simple.

Each day, Fei An would be sent to investigate the conditions of the forest. If the cocoons were turning pinkish, it was her cue to immediately return and report the situation. Then, the entire team would rush over in the carriage and set up camp, waiting for the chaos to unfold.

The hunting party would be split into two groups, one for looting, and another for invading the nest again.

Yingtao, Baiyun and Jingfeng would enter the nest once again to locate Lifesap, while the rest of the team would gather the corpses falling from above.

Yingtao would be in charge of navigating with the compass and fighting off warrior centipedes if it came down to that. Baiyun was chosen for his sharp senses, proven by how he detected the warrior before even Yingtao herself. Jingfeng was chosen for his expertise in scouting and his ability to lighten and dampen their footsteps with wind.

It wasn't exactly a bad selection, but Baiyun couldn't feel but shoot Ying Shi a questioning glance. He decided to voice a question he had on his mind from before.

"Is that Lifesap really that important?" he asked.

Back in the caverns, he was so focused on using the compass and searching the surroundings that examining the Lifesap with divine thread slipped his mind.

Ying Shi nodded.

"Somewhat. It's a valuable material, but if I wanted to, I could easily just buy it right off the market. Some sellers have captured other Twisted Forests and exterminated the centipede population. They can harvest large quantities of Lifesap daily because of that, so the price is affordable."

"But our clan has a tradition. While it will support us with cultivation materials, for breakthroughs, all ingredients must be gathered by our own efforts. Elder sister needs Lifesap as one of the materials to assist her breakthrough."

Baiyun slapped a hand to his forehead.

Another pesky "warrior clan" making trouble for their descendants! He had seen more than enough of such clans in his past life, claiming their descendants needed to be tempered by trials and hardships.

Ridiculous, it was only gambling on the lives of their descendants! Talented saplings were rare to begin with, and besides, what heartless bastards would send their descendants off into life and death encounters? There were better ways to hone combat skills and mental fortitude without such terrible consequences.

"Young master Ying Shi!"

One of the guards who distracted the warrior centipedes called out.

"It sounds like you didn't manage to collect much Lifesap earlier? And Sanguang seems to be badly injured too. What exactly happened down there?"

Yingtao sighed, before giving a brief summary of the disaster.

There was a moment of silence as the guards entered a daze.

Baiyun frowned. Why were they acting like it was the biggest shock in the world? Even if the warrior centipedes were supposed to guard the queen, it shouldn't be that odd for a few of them to wander around the nest from time to time.

"It launched a metal spike? Since when could warrior centipedes do that?" the clapping guard frowned.

"They shouldn't be smart enough to learn techniques of their own. We need to report this to the Beast Association." another guard said.

Wait. The warriors weren't supposed to know such a technique?

Baiyun went deep into thought.

Combat techniques and spells were far too complicated to create and use without years of dedicated study, something impossible for the less intelligent spirit beasts. But innate techniques were nature's saving grace. With them, even completely mindless spirit plants could use powerful spells, abilities imprinted into their very nature from birth by evolution!

But could such a mutation happen so abruptly? Changes to innate techniques only happened over many generations.

A technique like the metal spike was not simple. Creating matter wasn't possible at this cultivation stage, so some form of material shifting was involved, likely from its exoskeleton. Then, it would need to be fired with force befitting that of a Core Shaper.

Metal control, spike formation and velocity. This seemingly simple technique was actually an amalgamation of at least 3 other techniques.

Complicated innate multi-part techniques normally originated from several coincidences.

Baiyun imagined a hypothetical beetle, evolving a similar spike-shooting technique.

The hypothetical beetle had a metallic shell that grew stronger and stronger with every molt. But after many centuries, the shells would grow too powerful to molt, forcing older beetles to be trapped and crushed to death by their own shells.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Countless years passed before a new generation of beetles mutated an innate technique that let them morph their shells to fit their body, finally escaping their evolutionary curse.

These beetles eventually encountered a tricky new predator, excellent at grabbing onto their bodies. The technique underwent yet another mutation, allowing the beetles to expel specific parts of their shell to escape their predator.

They would learn to morph their shells into spiker shapes as well, making them tougher to prey on. Every new generation would be a little better at blasting off their shells, until eventually, they launched with enough force to be lethal.

Such a convoluted process, for a mere spike firing technique…

It was an absurdly slow process that took millions of years at the bare minimum.

The warrior centipede randomly mutating a new innate technique made no sense. It was possible that specific warrior had enlightened enough to become intelligent, but it would first require a teacher. And even then, learning the basics of spell theory took years! Considering Ying Shi's hunting party had been raiding the nest for the past 3 years, that didn't seem to add up either.

It made no sense for the warrior centipede to suddenly learn a new technique. But Baiyun didn't have enough information to guess how that was possible. Something was off.

"Oh right! Guards, salute to Baiyun!" a guard suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts.

The guards all stood up and showed their gratitude, catching him off guard.

"Baiyun, you've done us a real solid this time. Sanguang is a young master of the Stormseeker clan, and it would have been a major incident if he had died."

Letting their young masters enter dangerous territory, then throwing a fit if they died... that sort of behaviour from clans was all too familiar to Baiyun.

"I'm sure the young master has already rewarded you, but the least we as guards can do is show our thanks."

A guard who had entered the centipede nest perked up.

"Oh. You see that ring on his hand? Master Ying Shi was generous enough to reward him with it!"

"As expected of the young master!"

Baiyun laughed awkwardly as the guards began to talk excitedly.

If they would just leave him alone, that would be the best thanks he could receive. Being in the spotlight was exhausting.

...

The briefing ended soon, but the disciples began to discuss as the carriage rattled on.

Baiyun did not find much of what they said important, but a small detail caught his ear. Since they were staying in a nearby town for roughly 2 weeks, Ying Shi would take a quick trip back to the sect to try to request the aid of an elder once more.

If a Nascent Soul elder had been present, the warrior centipede Yingtao struggled so much to take down would be crushed in mere seconds. There would have been no such incident, nor major damage to the forest.

But Baiyun wasn't going to complain, since he got a good artefact out of it. He stared at the Thousand Wills ring with satisfaction. It wasn't particularly strong but it would be very useful.

Mohei suddenly tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out of the window.

"Baiyun, look! We're almost at the town!"

"I thought looking outside made you dizzy?" Baiyun asked.

"Eh? Now that you mention it..."

Mohei's face suddenly turned pale and he backed away with his hands clutching his stomach. Baiyun shook his head.

Outside the window, a town came into view. It was small and simple, consisting of many 2-storey white buildings with black tiled roofs. A river cut through its midst and passed through a manmade stone canal.

Upstream, grouchy fishermen held long nets and prodded for fish. Further down, elderly folk stood knee-deep in the water as they scrubbed away at clothing.

As the carriage drew closer, an old man jogged up to it. He grinned with squinted eyes and showed his crooked teeth as he waved.

The speeding carriage came to a stop beside him and stirred up clouds of dust in its wake, but the old man didn't bat an eye. He even tried to pat the bull, but it turned its head away and huffed in displeasure.

As Ying Shi opened the door, he spoke.

"Oh, hello again! Is it that time of the year again? Time passes so fast these days..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, old Lu. We will be stopping by for the next few weeks." Ying Shi said politely. "Now, if you'd excuse us."

He got off the carriage in a hurry, beckoning for the team to follow.

"Ah... Don't be so cold, young man!"

Ying Shi passed one of his guards a chessboard. The guard looked a little dismayed, pointing to himself for confirmation, only to receive a firm nod.

The clapping guard sighed and walked to the old man.

"Old Lu, would you like to play a game of chess?"

"Ah! Hahaha! I used to be known as the Dragon of the Chessboard back in the day. Come, let me show you my moves!"

Baiyun was speechless as the old man dragged the unwilling guard away. To think Ying Shi had a side like this to him! Hah... seeing youths treat the fellow elderly like pests was saddening.

Ying Shi led the disciples across stone pavings and arrived at their destination, a humble inn. It looked identical to the other buildings, save for its 4-storey height. If not for the oval sign of black wood hammered above the door with the inn's name engraved in gold, it would have been easy to mistake it for merely a larger house.

He pushed the door open with a creak.

They entered a large room where an old man was slouched on a counter, fast asleep. All around were unlabelled doors, as well as a circular staircase that led further up behind the counter.

As Ying Shi's footsteps echoed, the old man suddenly jolted awake, his eyes growing wide.

"Young master Ying Shi! Welcome back to my humble inn!" he said with a huge smile. "Excuse me while I prepare the keys!"

He ducked under the counter and rummaged through several drawers noisily, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. A notebook was tossed into the air and landed on the counter, followed by the clang of several brass keys with numbers on them.

"There is no need to hurry. Take your time." Ying Shi said.

More and more keys piled on the table, until the innkeeper popped back up, wiping his sweat off with a hand.

"Well, I can't have you waiting, can I? Ahaha!" he laughed. "Honoured guests, here are your keys. Feel free to head to your rooms immediately!"

"Thank you."

Ying Shi tossed a bag of tokens to the old man, who hurriedly poured them out and began to count excitedly.

Baiyun frowned. For an innkeeper, he had no manners.

To the disciples and guards, this was an everyday sight. They merely took their keys and began to head upstairs. But Baiyun's eyes were drawn to the tokens on the counter.

Each of them had rims of metallic metal that made them stick together neatly. On their backs, each had a simple carving of a pavilion. Without a doubt, those were tokens of the WanLing sect.

Baiyun could still remember the enormous map Ying Shi had taken out during the first meeting. This town had caught his eye previously with its ridiculous name, "Forest Tortoise".

It was located quite a distance outside WanLing, far from sect territory. Yet, they still used the WanLing sect's currency?

Baiyun found that quite intriguing.

The dullest explanation would be that WanLing owned this village; it wouldn't be unusual for a large sect. But a strange gut feeling told him this wasn't the case.

What Baiyun found interesting was the possibility that WanLing was influential enough for their currency to be widely accepted even in the outside world. With their strange magnetic rims, it would certainly be hard to make forgeries of. A currency backed by a powerful sect also offered far more assurance than a mortal bank could ever provide.

There was even a tiny possibility that WanLing had power over the country, but it was unlikely. Most sects with such power had branches all over their country, which WanLing lacked.

Baiyun rubbed his chin. If it was as he thought, he was sure the influence of the WanLing sect would prove useful to him in the future somehow.