Chapter 35: The forest guardian.

When Yao Jun and Yun Yantian turned around, they came face to face with a person that was made out of wood and earth. The person was a bit smaller than two meters in height and his build was slim.

The person's face was blurry and indistinct, but he gave them the same feeling that the small snow man from the previous world of ice did. They couldn't see his expression, but they could feel a sense of anger radiating from him, causing their backs to be covered in cold sweat.

“I'm sorry if we offended you senior, we didn't mean to slight you. If you will allow it, we will leave immediately.”

Yun Yantian quickly opened his mouth and gave a small bow. The person in front of them was obviously angry at them for killing the black tiger. The person in front of them seemed to be the guardian of this forest, much like the snow human was the guardian of the world of ice. This also meant that this person was the boss of the forest, controlling everything within it. If he so wished, neither Yun Yantian or Yao Jun would be able to leave this forest alive.

“Even if you don't want to, you will still be forced to leave this forest now. If it weren't for my master ordering me to send you to the next level, I would have killed you immediately.”

The wood person coldly snorted at Yun Yantian before turning to Yao Jun. The wood person moved his hand, globs of light gathering in front of him, quickly taking on the form of a gray wolf.

The wolf was a bit longer than one meter, and slightly less than a meter in height, looking like a completely normal wolf. The only thing about the wolf that seemed a bit strange were it's eyes. It's eyes were a clear shade of blue, looking like someone had trapped a piece of the sky in it's eyes.

“My master told me to give this to you before you leave. He also told me to tell you a message. 'I have kept him safe for all these years, his name is Sirius. It is time he returns to his rightful home, take good care of him.'”

After the wood person finished speaking, the wolf looked at Yao Jun and walked over to him, rubbing it's head against him. When Yao Jun looked at the wolf, the gate within his chest started throbbing, growing more frantic as the wolf approached.

Yao Jun had never felt the gate have any kind of reaction before, so feeling it throb in the presence of this wolf clearly told him that the wolf was not normal. He also felt a sense of closeness when he looked at the wolf, like he was looking at an old friend.

He reached out with his hand to stroke the head of the wolf. When his hand touched the head of the wolf, the wolf suddenly vanished in a flash of light, disappearing into his hand. Yao Jun felt a strange energy move from his hand to his chest, sinking into the gate located at his heart. The energy was only present for a short second, but Yao Jun was sure that this energy was the wolf moving into the gate.

Yao Jun found it weird that he could absorb this wolf without having to kill it first, but it didn't look like the wood person was going to explain it to him, so he threw the thought to the back of his mind.

He was also slightly dejected when he noticed that his cultivation level didn't increase after absorbing the wolf. He quickly threw this thought away. If he was too reliant on absorbing Demonic beasts to increase his strength, he would quickly become lazy and unwilling to work hard. Cultivation was called an act that went against heaven's will, so if it was too easy there was no point in it.

“Thank you senior, I will make sure to take good care of Sirius. I wonder if you could tell us who your master is so that I can thank him personally?”

Yao Jun gave a small bow and spoke politely. He was almost completely certain that he knew who the wood person's master was, this mixed with the power this wood person obviously had, made Yao Jun scared of angering him any further.

“My master is the master of this tower. If you manage to conquer this tower, you will have the chance to thank him then. Now follow me, it is time you leave this forest.”

The wood person spoke bluntly and started walking deeper into the forest, beckoning for Yao Jun and Yun Yantian to follow him. Hearing his words, Yun Yantian and Yao Jun couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. They were almost 100 % certain that the master of this wood person was the master of this tower, but hearing him confirm it still shocked them.

They followed the wood person through the forest, going in a straight line towards the center of the forest. They didn't encounter a single Demonic beast as they were heading to the center of the forest. The wood person clearly didn't want them to meet any more Demonic beasts, lest they get tempted and attack them.

After walking for around an hour, they came to a large clearing in the forest. The clearing held a single large lake in it. The water was completely still, almost perfectly reflecting the surroundings.

Not long after they reached the lake, the water on the lake suddenly moved. Three massive heads poked out from the water, looking at Yao Jun and Yun Yantian. The heads were larger than Yao Jun and covered in deep blue scales, a row of spikes going down the middle of the heads, following the neck downwards and into the water. Each head had two amber eyes and a massive maw filled with long and thin teeth.

“They are moving on to the next location, let them through.”

The wood person spoke to the three heads, pointing at Yao Jun and Yun Yantian. The three heads quickly nodded, looking closer at Yao Jun and Yun Yantian, seemingly trying to see through their secrets.

“Go, I don't want you in my forest any longer.”

The wood person spoke bluntly and waved his hand. When he waved his hand, it was like an invisible hand grabbed Yao Jun and Yun Yantian, throwing them into the lake. After throwing the two of them into the lake, the wood person sank into the ground next to the lake and disappeared.

Yao Jun and Yun Yantian quickly stabilized themselves after entering the water, quickly looking at their surroundings. The first thing they saw was the body that the three heads were connected to.

Below the three heads were three long necks that connected them to a massive scaled lizard body. The body looked like it was around 20-30 meters in length alone, and around half that in width. The body had four legs with large claws, a long shark like tail adorning the rear of the body. Every inch of the body was covered in deep blue scales.

Seeing this body, Yao Jun and Yun Yantian both wanted to suck in a breath of air. Three heads and a massive scaled body. Wasn't this the hydra that they had read about? The hydra was already considered extinct on the Guanyu continent and the Grand Quan continent. Legends had it that once a hydra managed to grow nine heads, it would be strong enough to drag an entire continent down into a watery grave. They truly didn't expect to see one here.

Yao Jun quickly looked around. Since the wood person had pushed them into the lake, the exit was clearly in this lake. After looking around a bit, he saw a small whirlpool at the bottom of the lake. Thinking about the words they had read when they entered the forest, 'Go deep and no heads can stop you from leaving the forest.' The exit was clearly at the bottom of the lake.

Yao Jun tapped Yun Yantian on the shoulder and pointed to the whirlpool. They began to swim towards the whirlpool, quickly arriving right above it. There was no current around the whirlpool, but when they were right above it, a stream of energy moved out from it's center and dragged the two of them into it. Their vision went white and the space around them congealed, transporting them to the next area.