Yu Chen barely had time to get his bearings when the monkeys arrived, effortlessly leaping between the treetops. They came to a halt as they saw him, screeching and hooting at the stranger from the vines and branches they hung from.

There were dozens of the little beasts, ranging from two to four feet tall, each covered in a shimmering coat of golden fur. Their long, prehensile tails were banded in black fur, and their amber eyes contained a hint of mischievous cunning.

Their chatter began to irk him, so Yu Chen shouted back at the monkeys, waving his fist at the annoying creatures.

That was a mistake. They let out sounds of rage, insulted by his insolence, and leapt down from the trees attacking him. They swarmed around him, but he activated his movement technique, avoiding their encirclement with deft steps.

He landed clear of the crowd, but another was already leaping towards him. He spun out of the way, grabbing the monkey’s foot as it flew by before sharply spinning it around and throwing it towards the gibbering mass of simians.

The monkeys dodged out of the way, causing their unfortunate friend to slam into a tree, dazing him. Yu Chen couldn’t capitalize on the opening as the rest of the monkeys swarmed towards him, continuing their attack.

Two of them managed to get ahold of him, clinging to his robes as they beat at him with their fists. He ripped one off of his body, lifting it high overhead to toss it aside when another monkey landed on his back, screeching loudly before biting deep into his shoulder.

Yu Chen let out a roar of pain, dropping the monkey he was holding as he scrabbled to grab the one on his back. It bit him again before he managed to get ahold of it. Channeling all of his anger he slammed the surprised monkey into the ground.

It hit hard, rolling a few steps before trying to pick itself up with a dazed look in its eyes.

That was when Yu Chen’s boot smashed into it, ending its life.

The rest of the monkeys gave up their attack at the sudden violence, retreating to the treetops where they continued yelling. They shook the branches they sat upon as they watched him, hooting and hollering, before one picked something up and pelted him with it.

The hard object struck his face with a thump, cutting Yu Chen’s forehead open. The monkeys squealed at the sight, those who’d observed the throw shaking their branches even harder. More monkeys began seizing whatever was at hand, and the air soon filled with objects that came flying towards him. He watched in dismay as the smaller monkeys began racing down the trees, bringing back small rocks and other things for the older ones to throw.

Yu Chen was more than willing to fight, but the monkeys refused to get close to him after what had happened to their friend. In the end he’d been forced into an ignoble retreat as they’d redoubled their efforts, bombarding him with various objects.

The monkeys chased him from their territory as he left, and Yu Chen had to bitterly listen to their shrill victory cries as he pressed further into the jungle.

He’d thought the worst was over once their shrieks faded into the distance, but he soon realized he’d ended up in deeper waters. Literally. The ground he was walking on had become soft, and then it was soggy, before turning into a squelching marsh that sucked at his boots and bogged down his footsteps.

It stretched endlessly around him. Some trees still dotted the landscape, but mostly it was a vast expanse of thin, golden reeds, interspersed with large puddles whose still waters reflected the sky above. Waters that had soaked into the earth around him, making travel miserable.

More than anything, the marsh was alive, filled with a vibrant cacophony of sights and sounds.

Turtles lay lounging on a fallen log, next to signs of a muskrat den. A group of egrets watched him from off in the distance, graceful, long-legged birds with a striking white plumage. Yu Chen didn’t know what species they were, but a sharp crest rose from their heads, and intelligence lurked in their eyes. Fish and other small creatures swam in the shallow pools, while insects of all sizes filled the air.

The frogs and toads as well, the marsh was filled with them. They covered most empty surfaces, filling the air with their loud croaks.

What shocked Yu Chen, however, was that every single one of the creatures was a stage one spirit beast. Some of course, were just barely so. Many of the fish and small amphibians contained negligible amounts of spiritual energy, but it was still there.

Others, such as the egrets in the distance and a large turtle he’d spotted, were much stronger. Beyond even the typical beasts he’d hunt around the sect. Even so, he didn’t chase them down. The secret realm contained much greater treasures than spirit beast cores, and he was intent on finding the strong source of energy he’d sensed, that lay somewhere in the direction of that large hill in the distance.

Which was when the large hill moved.

Yu Chen froze in fear, watching as it turned, splitting in half to reveal a gaping cavern of a mouth. A massive tongue was unleashed from within, shooting through the air to wrap around a dragonfly the size of a horse, dragging it into its mouth.

The soft crunch of chewing came from the massive toad, filling him with a palpable sense of fear. The hair on the back of his skin stood up, and he was fearful of swallowing, fearful of making the least bit of noise as he retreated as quietly as he could.

He didn’t stop, even after it was out of sight, moving as far away as possible.

That monster had reached the level of Foundation Establishment, making it a stage two spirit beast. Such creatures were rare, and almost none existed around the sect. Among spirit beasts they were considered lords, ruling over a vast territory. More than that, they could possess the intelligence of humans.

The toad was something Yu Chen was incapable of fighting.

He wasn’t sure how he’d escaped its notice. Perhaps it simply hadn’t noticed him, or perhaps he hadn’t been worth noticing. It could be simple laziness, the toad content with the food it already had. Whatever the reason, he thanked all the gods he knew that it hadn’t chosen to chase after him.

Before long the ground started to become firmer, and the puddles grew sparser. He could see the woods thickening in the distance, and he was close to leaving the marsh when an excited ribbit entered his ears. He turned, seeing another toad behind him, this one the size of a man and emitting a strong aura.

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The toad was eyeballing him in excitement and Yu Chen gave a wolfish grin in return.

It attacked him before he could react, a hungry gleam crossing through its eyes. Its mouth split open in much the same way the larger one had, shooting a long tongue towards Yu Chen. He hurriedly dove out of the way, splashing into the muck as the attack flew overhead.

He scrambled to his feet only to have to hurriedly dodge again as the tongue sliced through the air towards him.

“Enough.” Yu Chen said to himself in anger.

He cycled his movement technique, running across the soft ground with light steps. The toad’s eyes opened in surprise as he neared and its mouth dropped open once more, shooting its tongue out.

It cut through the air as it flew at the young boy and Yu Chen ducked beneath it, close enough to feel the air it displaced.

He closed the distance and reared back, slamming a fist full of condensed qi into the toad’s side. He hit it again, striking it as many times as he could before it could pull its tongue back into its mouth. The beast seemed surprised at the power in his blows, letting out a deep croak of pain as his fists struck deep into its thick, oily hide.

Yu Chen followed up on the attacks, not letting go of his advantage as he pummeled the toad into submission, sending its high-pitched croaks of worry resounding throughout the marsh.

Before he could finish it, the toad hopped back, escaping him. Instead of fleeing however, it leapt forward, slamming its heavy body into the young boy in an attempt to finish him.

However, at this point Yu Chen’s body wasn’t so different from that of a spiritual beast. Two temperings had helped him bridge that great divide between beasts and humanity.

After all, Jin Hua had brought a group with him to take on the Blackscale Asp for a reason.

The Asp had been at the peak of stage one, and its spiritual pressure was stronger than that of most Qi Condensators. Common sense said that in an even fight the spirit beast had the edge, and it was common practice to send two, or even three cultivators to defeat a strong beast.

Yu Chen on the other hand, possessed a body that was no more than a half step below that of a beast, and a vitality that matched even the greatest of them. Every blow of his was filled with more than condensed qi, containing a sort of primal power, raw strength that promised to only increase in the future.

He took the brunt of the toad's attack, in return slamming a hard fist into the toad’s soft forehead, putting an end to its plaintive cries.

At least his trip to the marsh had earned him something. He cut into the beast, retrieving its core. Walking to one of the shallow puddles nearby, he leaned down, cleaning the bloody core before dropping it into the spatial pouch the sect had provided him with.

A heavy aura settled over him.

“Shit.” He whispered, turning to see the massive toad in the distance. It leapt, covering a large swathe of the marsh as it drew closer to him, before landing with an impact he could feel from all the way over here. It gathered itself, leaping again. Yu Chen didn’t hesitate, burning his qi without regard as he activated his movement technique to the max.

Lue She stuck her head out from within his robes, her nap interrupted as the beast appeared. She hissed in concern as she took in the sight of the colossal toad.

"Don't worry." He said in a voice tight with anxiety. pushing her back in as he dashed into the distance.

A whistling noise filled the air, and Yu Chen threw himself to the ground as a tongue thicker than a tree trunk cracked overhead with an audible noise, striking hard enough to cause a temporary vacuum that sucked in the nearby air.

He rose, ears ringing as he desperately cycled his movement technique.

The thick tongue flew through the air once more, but this time Yu Chen was further than it could reach, and he listened as it cracked behind him. He realized with relief that he was outpacing the strange beast. Then, the feeling of qi in the air intensified. It reminded Yu Chen of something, filling him with a familiar sensation that he recalled from -

Pain flashed through his body, and Yu Chen dazedly realized he was bleeding from a finger sized hole in his side. The sensation arose again, and he dove out of the way, barely able to make out the sight of a pressurized bead of qi filled water shooting through the air.

His face screwed up in pain, as he moved erratically, dodging the angry toad’s qi attacks. The water bullets carved up the landscape around him as he ran, drilling through nearby trees and cutting into the soft soil, destroying various bushes and plants that had begun to dot the jungle floor as he left the marsh behind.

Thankfully the giant toad refused to leave the marsh, filling the air with angry croaks as Yu Chen escaped its attack range, disappearing deeper into the jungle.

Yu Chen stumbled through the wilderness, pressing a hand against his injured side. He’d only been here for a few hours, and he’d already been attacked three separate times. He’d been wounded as well, and his body ached, sending pulses of pain with every step. His qi reserves were beginning to dip dangerously low, and there was no sign of safety anywhere.

He hadn’t even found a single spiritual treasure to boot.

He sighed, lowering with a grunt to rest beside a large tree. He fished into the pouch at his side, pulling out one of the nurturing pills he had and swallowing it. It dissolved in his stomach, and he sighed in relief, feeling it go to work.

The pill-energy bolstered his natural vitality, further increasing his rate of health regeneration. It even had an ancillary effect, its revolutions helping to draw spiritual energy towards him, refilling his dantian.

He rested there for a time, waiting until his wound had stopped bleeding. The angry bite marks had closed and the new wound in his side scabbed over. The pill had created a maddening itch in his wounds, and he stood up, continuing to walk as he did his best to keep his mind off of the sensation.

He hadn’t gone far when his nose twitched.

An enticing scent reached him, and he stopped, itch forgotten. His eyes turned, searching for the source of the rich qi scented smell. He activated his spiritual vision, seeing the energy diffused through the air all around him.

Without hesitation, he began walking towards the dense source of spiritual energy.

It was a short trip through the undergrowth of the jungle. He pressed through the bushes and wilderness, crossing over a small creek and stepping between two trees before entering a clearing where he found the source of the rich scent.

As well as someone else.

Yu Chen locked eyes with the strange cultivator, warily examining the young boy. He was roughly his own age, wearing thick red robes with a long pole across his back, composed of some strange material. The boy had a domineering gaze, and stood with his shoulders back, staring at Yu Chen with furrowed brows.

A dead jaguar lay on the ground near him, its beautiful hide leaking slowly coagulating blood from numerous wounds.

A tall tree stood in the middle of the small clearing; the source of the enticing smell Yu Chen had been following. Golden seedpods, thin and glossy, hung from its branches. They gently swung in the wind, releasing a tempting aroma that carried a hint of sandalwood and vanilla.

The other boy’s frown deepened as he saw Yu Chen’s gaze shift towards the tree. He took a step forward, blocking his view.

“Who are you?” The young cultivator asked, crossing his arms.

Yu Chen paused for a moment, letting the silence grow before replying.

“Yu Chen, from the Golden Mist Sect.”

“And you?”

“Cang Wuji.” The other boy replied with a fierce look in his eyes.